Kleeman's Jumphook: Ageless Mutombo, Manu Magic, Mavs vs. Lakers and More

When you see the Kleeman's Jumphook tag, prepare for a hodge-podge piece. I throw these together when I want to write about several topics under one umbrella.

The following quote from jazz great Elvin Jones (notice I don't call him a drummer, which he was, and a revolutionary one at that) could easily apply to basketball.

"I always believed that anything worth doing is worth doing well."

Here are a few thoughts on Dikembe Mutombo, the Ginobili-less San Antonio Spurs, Ron Artest, the frazzled state of the Dallas Mavericks and the Utah Jazz and Detroit Pistons' recent runs.

How Old is He? The Ageless Wonder Swats Away Wrinkles For Another Youthful Performance

I would love to know how he does it. Dikembe Mutombo, that is.

Maybe he's 42 like he says. Maybe Charles Barkley is on to something with those over-the-hill wisecracks. Maybe not. 

Deke's age did not matter Monday night.

The NBA's finger-wagging philanthropist played 24 minutes, his most of the season, and helped key a 95-84 Rockets win in New Orleans. He grabbed six rebounds and blocked three shots.

In the best sequence of the night, he ran from the weak side to swat a David West attempt into the first row.

It might as well have been the early 90s for the agleless Mutombo. He looked as spry and mobile as ever.

He chose to resign with the Rockets over the Spurs and Celtics after sitting out the fist half of the season.

Daryl Morey wanted some veteran insurance at the five spot for the playoffs and in case Yao missed some games with an injury. Yao Ming and Tracy McGrady couldn't handle leadership roles, so they begged him to come aboard their sinking ship again.

Not coincidentally, Yao missed the contest with the flu. Mutombo could not replace the 7-6 center's production, but he helped Carl Landry and Luis Scola do some nice patchwork.

Landry hauled down several key rebounds and forced a jump ball late in the fourth quarter. Von Wafer poured in 12 points and Scola dropped 14 points and 12 rebounds.

Scola has been one of the three top rebounders in the Western Conference since the All-Star Break and his hustle makes any game worth watching.

This road win is big for several reasons. It assures the Rockets at least a tie with the Hornets in the season-series. That last matchup is at Toyota Center in a few weeks. I like the Rockets chances of winning that one on their home court.

The Monday win leaves them just a game and a half behind the San Antonio Spurs for the second best record in the West.

After winning three of the last four away from Toyota Center, the Rockets are one victory away from a respectable .500 road record. While 17-17 is far from great, it is something on which this team can build.

Back to Mutombo for a second.

I have tremendous respect for a guy who plays all of 20 minutes in nearly two months with a team and then turns on his jets for 24 long ones against the squad with perhaps the best defensive frontcourt in the league. From five minutes here or there to starting against New Orleans, this guy is amazing.

Shouldn't Mutombo be at Bingo night? Did he miss his supper at the old folks home?

All age jokes aside, here's looking at you, Deke—the center who has still never committed a foul in his life.

No No Ron Ron: To Shoot or Not to Shoot

I will say this about Ron Artest. You never appreciate how hard he plays until he's doing it for a team you support.

You can't judge his competitiveness by watching him in a few nationally-televised contests.

I knew he went hard. I didn't know it was this hard.

Unfortunately, Houston fans have unearthed the enigma that is Ron Ron. For all that his toughness and fire can do for a team, his shot selection and affinity for running his own offense can be equally damaging.

In the Rockets past four games, Artest has made only four of his 27 three-pointers. He is shooting 40 percent from the field, his lowest career mark.

He missed all nine of his treys in Monday's game and clanged all eight tries from behind the arc against the Lakers last week.

He has not destroyed the locker room, but in too many games, his ball stopping, pop-a-shot act has crippled the offense.

As Artest discovered Monday night for the umpteenth time in his first Rockets campaign, good things happen at the basket. When he attacks the rim with ferocity and gets the opposing bigs in foul trouble, he is a valuable perimeter-to-post scorer. When he pitches a tent behind the arc and starts mindlessly hoisting trey after trey, he shoots the team into the abyss.

Artest shot a sizzling 57 percent from three-point land in his first eight to ten games after the All-Star break. That's the problem. When one of his bad shots goes in, he convinces himself that all of them will.

I love Artest as a spot-up three-point shooter. He probably bags better than 50 percent of his treys when he catches and shoots. He cannot be shooting better than 30 percent when he tries to create his own looks with defenders in his face.

I have seen his best and worst performances live.

The best: Teaming with Shane Battier to hold LeBron James to a horrific 7-21 shooting performance and the first assist-less night of his career. The Rockets beat the East-leading Cleveland Cavaliers 93-74.

The worst: With the Rockets hanging on for dear life against the league-best Lakers, Artest decided to trash talk Kobe Bryant in the fourth quarter of a 102-95 loss. Bad idea.

Ron Ron should know as well as anyone that Bryant is not someone you taunt in a tight fourth quarter. He is the one player Artest cannot intimidate.

Bryant summed up his monster 37-point night, in which he dropped 18 in the fourth quarter with Artest on him, perfectly. 

"It wasn't a battle. I kicked his ass."

The bigger issue with Artest is that even in that big win over Cleveland, he was 5-15 from the field. He fancies himself on the same level as Dwyane Wade, LeBron James and Bryant. He can be an above-average second or third scorer on a great team, but he's not close to those guys.

Fran Blinebury and Jonathan Feigen, the Houston Chronicle's NBA writers, have both said they would not resign Artest (if given the option) for all of the reasons listed above.

I now understand Feigen and Blinebury's reluctance.

If the Rockets ink him to a long-term deal, will his bad habits become so commonplace that it becomes a regret? Will he behave himself and be a stand-up teammate when he is not playing for a several-year contract?

He will likely want three to five seasons at $10 million a year. However, I want to reserve that kind of judgement until after the playoffs.

As much as I have ranted about his flaws, I still think he can do a lot in the playoffs for a team that has needed more testicles. He gives the Rockets an aura of physicality they have lacked for so long.

If the Rockets escape the first round, I hope Daryl Morey resigns him. I would welcome him back, given his thick skin and back-down-to-no one approach to the game.

However, I have a not-so-simple request: could you cut down on the bad shots, buddy, and promise to never yell obscenities at the league's best player in a fourth quarter, again?

Thanks.

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