Pivot Points: The Lakers Will Animate Your Fears, So Pick Your Poison

"Adagio" and "allegro" are two French words that are used to describe rhythm and tempo, and for 29 other NBA teams, they may be the words that sound a death bell on their seasons.

One is a quickening of tempo, and the other means to slow it down, and for the Los Angeles Lakers, they represent the double-edge sword that other teams will be forced to defend this year.

The addition of Ron Artest gives Laker coach Phil Jackson the versatility to play two distinct styles, which is something that was missing from the Lakers' arsenal last year.

They were much better suited to an up-tempo game in 2009, and when the pace slowed down, the ball usually ended up stuck in Kobe Bryant's hands.

That's not a bad thing, but on some occasions, Kobe was forced to hoist up bad shots because of an expiring shot clock, or worse, he pressed and created opportunities for his opponents.

Teams began to figure out that the way to compete with the Lakers was to force them into a half-court game and keep the ball out of Bryant's hands until the last possible instant.

Although departed forward Trevor Ariza will be missed for his athleticism and ability to create steals, Artest is an upgrade at the position for two basic reasons.

Artest is a more accomplished ball-handler than Ariza and won't crumble under the pressure of a ball-hawking defense. Ariza couldn't be trusted to handle the ball in late game situations and his lack of handles were a detriment to the team.

Defense is where the most noticeable difference will be, because although Ariza was a terror in the passing lanes, his man to man abilities left a lot to be desired.

As illustrated in the Denver series, Ariza was punished in the post by Carmelo Anthony, and his inability to defend meant Bryant had to slide down to offer help or switch onto Anthony completely.

This created a mismatch on the wing, where Ariza lacked the quickness to defend J.R. Smith, and gave up a lot of big shots that ultimately kept Denver in games.

There should be no such problems this year, because while Artest doesn't possess Ariza's quickness, his man to man defensive skills are unparalleled in the league.

This will help Bryant the most, as he will not have to be exposed to bigger players and can concentrate on the suffocating defense that has helped define his career.

Artest's acute understanding of the triangle and his ability to master its nuances will be the thing that brings Laker fans the most joy, and that is what will make the Lakers almost impossible to defend.

The Lakers have the personnel to go big or small and can run it down your throat or punish you in the post.

A big lineup of Artest, Bryant, Pau Gasol, Lamar Odom, and Andrew Bynum will cause many sleepless nights for coaches, who will not be able to match up to the incredible size and skill the Lakers can deploy.

Similarly, a small lineup consisting of Derek Fisher, Bryant, Artest, Odom, and Gasol will leave teams gasping for air and trying to find ways to diminish the onslaught which is sure to come.

All of this will depend on the Lakers' ability to stay healthy, which is not a given in this league, but I can only think of one team that can create the same types of mismatches that the Lakers can.

The show begins tonight, as the Lakers will open up their title defense at home against the building-sharing Los Angeles Clippers.

Fans will probably not get a good chance to see the Lakers at full strength, because Gasol will not play tonight, but they will get an idea of what's to come.

Opposing coaches take note, because this Laker squad is a team that will come at you like Freddy Kruegger and haunt you in your dreams.