Artest debuts in SacTown

[dis-koast-ed]

Maybe "What would Ronnie Artesties do"......I don't know.

Hopefully stay in his Sac-town Kings shorts!!!  :puke:  

[JoMal]

How long of a honeymoon should Ron be allowed before he starts feeding off the fans instead of being fed by them?

So far, little negative (make that NO negative) images have emerged since Artest made his Sacramento debut. Admittedly, the Kings were an uninspired bunch prior to this trade. The team was going nowhere and self-motivation was not an option. Had to improve just with the change.

So far, we have seen actual inspired play from several of the King's players since Ron joined the team, in particular our second year swing man who has filled in for Bonzi Wells for over twenty games so far, Kevin Martin, and our rookie swingman who has taken on the role of 'bench energy guy', Francisco Garcia. Artest has taken a keen interest in both of these players, especially on defense.

According to Pete Carill, known as "Coachy", locally, Artest has taken both young guys under his wing and has been explaining to them what Coachy has been telling them for months now, but from a player's angle. It amuses Pete no end to see the light dawn on their faces instead of the usual blank rookie stares Carill most often gets rewarded with after talking to them.

So Ron Artest, as a 26 year old NBA veteran mentor to young and eager atheletic players, who play the sponge to Artests Fountain of Knowledge.



DEE DO DEE DO. DEE DO DEE DO.

"Consider, for the moment, a disgraced basketball player, hounded out of town for his crimes and impertinence, figuratively tarred and feathered by the local and national media, suspended, punished, and his career perched on the edge of purgatory, the noose of his enemies ready to swing him out over the fires of oblivion. But he is given one last chance, that thread of hope, that all is not lost, because he has been traded......to the Twilight Zone."    

[JoMal]

Not to belabor the point, but whatever Artest is doing for Kevin Martin and Francisco Garcia is working.

Martin is playing with so much more confidence, he is even being asked to be the interviewee at the halftime TNT break at last night's Chicago/Kings game. Earlier this year, most of the talk about him was that he was not NBA material. Suddenly, the deadly practice shooter is transferring his accuracy into the real games as well.

Garcia played so raw this last fall, he looked like he could use a tranquilizer. He was all over the court, but not, exactly in any kind of rhythm offensively or defensively. He would jack up threes (and miss them) every time he touched the ball, never passed, and defensively overplayed his man consistently. Now, he has clearly established himself as the most solid, all round player coming off the Adelman bench. He blocks shots, steals passes, his long arms corral just about anyone on defense and his shot and passing has improved.

And they flock to Ron Artest for their mentoring. You can see Ron always talking to them. When Garcia once bounced a pass by Artest under the basket, you could see Ron admonishing him for not seeing that the play was not there.

This guy is much, much better then his rep would have you trapped into thinking, and I admit that I was a non-believer as well. Even if this eventually blows up, his work with these young players is pretty impressive and that alone has made the trade a winner in SacTown.