[CBS] Have a happy and healthy New Year? Rockets, Artest hope so

Spacemoth · Dec 23, 2008

Good read. Always nice to see the national media giving us props. Until they give us too much, like during last year's streak. It's a delicate subject, media attention, because you know T-Mac needs a little bit to get his confidence up but not too much or else the pressure will get on him.

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Have a happy and healthy New Year? Rockets, Artest hope so

by Ken Berger
CBSSports.com Senior Writer

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- During the second quarter of the Rockets' game against the Nets on Monday night, a heckler noticed that Ron Artest's shorts were a tad snugger than they needed to be. OK, Santa's drawers have more breathing room.

The building was even more silent than usual at the time, so when the heckler let Artest have it, everyone seated at that end of the floor could hear him.

"Hey, Artest! Are those your sister's shorts?"

Uh-oh. The combustible Artest, the same man who went into the stands during the infamous Malice at the Palace brawl, surely would react. And he did. But not the way you might expect. Not the way you'd expect Artest to react if you didn't know him, or if you only knew the guy he used to be.

His back to the basket and hands on his hips, Artest didn't turn around and look. Didn't say a word. He simply did this: He slowly hiked up his shorts to reveal a little more, um, detail.

It was the essence of the new Ron Artest.

"I haven't had this feeling in a long time -- a long time," Artest would say after the Rockets coasted to a 114-91 victory, their fourth straight and sixth in seven games. "We've got a good opportunity."

So does he.

While the Celtics, Lakers, Cavaliers, and even Magic are getting all the attention, the Rockets (19-9) are running in place. The trade that brought Artest to Houston -- with his formidable gifts and a reputation -- doesn't have anyone anticipating a long playoff run in June. The Rockets-Cavs matchup Tuesday night doesn't even register on the buzz meter. With the Celtics (26-2) going for a franchise-record 19th straight victory and the best 29-game start in NBA history, everyone else has to take a back seat.

"That's cool," Tracy McGrady said. "It's hard to have attention when you've got Boston winning 18 straight games and you've got Cleveland playing the way they're playing. It's kind of hard to overshadow those guys."

The team that G.M. Daryl Morey envisioned when he acquired Artest from Sacramento -- reuniting him with his former coach, Rick Adelman -- is still in the incubation phase. The anticipated starting five of Yao Ming, Luis Scola, Shane Battier, Rafer Alston, and McGrady have been healthy enough to play together only four times; the Rockets are 3-1.

McGrady has succumbed to his usual assortment of nicks and knacks, missing seven games. Battier has missed 16, Alston six, Artest three, and Yao one. Scola has been the exception, answering the bell every night.

"If we can keep guys healthy," Adelman said, "then we'll have a pretty good idea in January where we are and what type of team we can be."

You might see Artest coming off the bench since missing two games with an ankle injury and assume he hasn't found a way to be part of what the Rockets are trying to be. And you'd be right; even Adelman admitted Monday night that he's still trying to figure out how to use him. I don't know, but I just have a hunch he'll figure it out.

Artest is shooting a career-low .370 with the lowest scoring average (15.6) since his first full season in Indiana (2002-03). But he's doing everything else that Morey imagined -- shooting the 3-pointer (.400), getting almost two steals a game, and creating mismatches for McGrady and Battier during the rare times the three of them have been on the floor together.

"Once we get our identity, that'll help us figure out what type of team we are," Artest said. "We still don't know yet."

Morey, the moneyball G.M., has a PDA filled with so many numbers it would make your head spin. He was easily able to quantify what Artest would bring to the Rockets that was lacking in the past. What he couldn't compute was the baggage factor. So his instincts took over where the spreadsheets left off.

"I think we felt like we got Ron at the right time in his life maturity-wise and in his career, in terms of this being an important year for him career-wise -- with a coach that he likes and a great locker room," Morey said. "So if it was going to work out anywhere in the NBA, we felt like we had the best chance of any team in the league."

You heard him. The words "Artest" and "maturity" in the same sentence.

Artest contributed 10 points, two assists, one 3-pointer (in four attempts), no steals, and one wedgie Monday night. And the strange thing was, he was OK with it.

"I just want to win," Artest said. "So coming off the bench -- sixth man, 10 points, five points -- I'm fine with that. As long as you win."

Oddly enough, one of the factors Morey considered in trading for Artest -- that he was in a contract year -- hasn't fazed Artest. That's what he says, anyway. And that is how he is carrying himself, realizing that this is his last, best chance to change his imprint on the game from controversial figure to winner.

"I'm not playing for a contract," he said. "I'm playing to win. I made that decision last summer. ... You can go out and average 20 points and get a few rebounds. I'm not trying to fool anybody anymore. I want to win."

The Rockets haven't won anything yet, and they know it. It is hard for a team that has suffered four first-round playoff exits in five years to exude swagger -- and harder, still, when swagger has been copyrighted by the defending champion Celtics.

"They've had the ultimate pressure, and that's being in the Finals and winning the championship," McGrady said. "I don't think they feel any pressure. Those guys are just going out there and playing the game they know how to play. That's a very unselfish group."

Houston has talent, but it also has a problem. Two, actually. Since their two signature players, McGrady and Yao, have been together, the Rockets have been without one, the other, or both due to injuries for a total of 91 games over four-plus seasons. Add the fact that the Rockets lack the playoff pedigree of the other title contenders, and it would seem to be a longshot for them to make that leap now.

Maybe not, though. Past champions tended to suffer near-misses in the conference finals or semifinals before breaking through with a title or Finals appearance.

The Pistons of the '80s had to fall short against the Celtics before appearing in three straight Finals, winning two titles. Michael Jordan's Bulls had to bow to the Pistons before winning their six titles in the '90s. Tim Duncan's Spurs were confounded by the Jazz of Stockton and Malone before starting their run of four championships in nine years.

From 2003-07, the league saw five straight Finals matchups involving teams that had advanced to at least the conference semifinals the year before. The anomalies were in 2002, when the Nets made it to the Finals a year after missing the playoffs, and last season, when the Celtics won the title after winning 24 games. They beat the Lakers, who'd lost in the first round in '07.

For the Rockets to make that kind of jump, they'll need Artest to play a big role. Just not too big. He has always been the star of his team, the focal point. Even when he wasn't, he made himself the center of attention -- either by hoisting up too many shots, making the police blotter, or putting too much focus on his part-time job as a hip-hop artist.

He still likes his music, but is singing a much different tune.

Humility and fragility barged into his life one year ago this month. Artest's youngest daughter, Diamond, was diagnosed with kidney cancer. She was only 4. Days and weeks passed with doctors unable to tell Artest how it would end, whether his daughter would live or die.

"That was the first time I experienced something like that," Artest said. "So I didn't know what was going to be the outcome. That was the worst feeling in the world."

Diamond underwent radiation and massive surgery to have the cancer removed. Today, she is disease-free -- just a normal, happy 5-year-old who can't wait for Santa to slide down the chimney. Like her dad, she loves to sing. She plays a little piano, and some ball, too. Artest has never been so happy to be awakened from a pre-game nap.

He has achieved a new sense of happiness, and a renewed purpose, too. Like so many things in life, he just can't predict how it'll end.

"I guess we gotta wait and see," he said.
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blackistan · Dec 23, 2008

Didn't know about his daughter glad to see she's doing good

AggNRox · Dec 23, 2008

nice article. don't know ron's daughter had cancer. i am so glad she is healthy now. my best wishes will definitely go to ron and his family.

Jeff Who · Dec 23, 2008

blackistan said:

Didn't know about his daughter glad to see she's doing good
Click to expand...

Yeah, she had it last year but I belive they discovered ir early so it wasn't anything dangerous.

J-Wolf · Dec 23, 2008

blackistan said:

Didn't know about his daughter glad to see she's doing good
Click to expand...

Yeah, the article brought tears to my eyes. Ron is great so far. I have nothing but respect to him. Even in his off nights, you can see his efforts are in there. He is the "TRUE WARRIOR".

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[CBS] Have a happy and healthy New Year? Rockets, Artest hope so

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