The Ron-Ron, the Rockets and the Rebirth

Ron Artest.

Simply mentioning the name will set off hundreds of thoughts in your mind. Memories of old headlines. Visions of past video highlights.

Unfortunately barely any of these are to do with basketball.Ron Artest might be the player who is talked about concerning off the court issues since J.R Rider. Only Lebron and Kobe could touch him on this. I don’t know Ron Artest personally. I know very little of his personal life (yet I think we probably all know a little too much, so i offer no thoughts on his acclaimed violence towards his wife or the other charges brought to him over the years. We’ve heard enough of Detroit-Indiana to last us all a lifetime (It truely is one of those moments you remember where you were when you first heard). What’s done is done.

The reason we’re talking about Ron is because he’s a basketball player, and a dam good one. He was on the edge of an MVP season in 2004 and is probably the best perimeter defender of the decade. His offensive game is one of the most underrated in the L. Ron Artest is tenacious, aggressive and one of the guys i adore because they dive after absolutely every loose ball. Ron Artest was brilliant in 2004 because he made the little things interesting!

Let me give you a glimpse into my memory.

2004. Mavericks-Pacers squaring off in Indianapolis.

The Pacers were leading the league and the Mavs were having their last season with Steve Nash. On one possession, Nowitski got the ball on the block, with Artest meeting him there. Being around 5 inches taller, Dirk smartly tried to back him down. But Ron doesn’t back down. He gave as good as he got before stripping the ball, bringing the ball down the floor, giving it up to Reggie miller (in his last season before ruining television broadcasting), and turning around with his hands up before the ball even left Miller’s hands as it splashed home for a three.

On the next possession, Nash managed to get a steal and ran for what should have been a free break-away layup. But Artest chased him down, Nash went up to get the foul, but even as he jumped, Ron stayed perfectly vertical, not giving away a foul, and put his hand up straight, not simply swiping away at the ball. This resulted in Nash desperately changing his shot in mid-air, and it simply bouncing hard off the board.

Perfect defence.

Ron Artest 2008 is not the same Ron Artest 2004. It is very unlikely he will ever be mentioned in MVP talk again. However, he has improved in some ways. His offence can now half-carry a team, as we’ve seen with the Sacramento Kings. And he doesn’t get half as many tech’s.

And now he joins the Rockets. They were a strong contender beforehand, and now they have Artest.

This could either work out very well, or very very bad.

On one side, Artest could put himself first and not share the ball at all, he could earn himself more suspensions and he may not make basketball his top priority. Houston will have wasted another season and everyone will jump on the ‘I told you so’ bandwagon.

On the flip side, Artest will implement his way into the system, will listen to his coach, will provide what the team needs. Houston will become true contenders, and Ron will take them into the sacred land of the second round. Or, can I dare to even suggest it, beyond. Artest will truely be heralded as a saviour, and will take the biggest step he ever has to put his past behind him. This is the first time he’s been on a contender since Indiana won the East almost half a decade ago.

This is his first true chance.

I think most people still put the stigma on Ron because, in all honesty, he doesn’t seem to regret it that much.

Stephen Jackson was the 2nd worst in that brawl, but he managed to turn it around. He managed to get headlines that were about basketball written about him. People started to forget.

Ron Artest has not had this just yet. But he hasn’t had the same chances. But now, he has an even better chance than Jackson. It is extremely unlikely he’s ever going to get this kind of opportunity again, that a contender will simply be already set-up and where he can just walk on and contribute. It is unlikely he will ever get a chance to realign his legacy in the same way that he can do with the Rockets.

Funnily enough, we are all saying all this before the trade is all confirmed. Make sure you watch this throughout the season.