When playing in the NBA and being a millionaire are not enough.....
We all seek out attention from time to time. Even the most introverted person accepts a notice here, and there. But when it comes to Ron Artest the ability to be noticed is at an all-time low. Why else would Artest color his hair blonde , and write defense all over in Japanese, Hindi, and Hebrew? Some would boast that he is crazy, or trying to be like Dennis Rodman. I think Ron is just bored, rich, and simply reminding Lakers fans that he is committed to defense, which the Lakers have had little of during this 3-game road trip.
After a loss to Miami, and Charlotte, the Lakers rolled into Amway Arena trying to avoid the first 3-game losing streak since Pau Gasol was traded to the team. Ron Artest didnt want to talk about his hair(why dye it blonde then?) and instead let his game do the talking finishing with 8 points on 2-10 shooting. Way to get noticed!
Lakers 94, Magic 96
I do hold Artests’ hair responsible for the referee whistle war. Both Andrew Bynum, and Pau Gasol had 5 fouls for the Lakers, and Dwight Howard and Vince Carter had 5 for Orlando.
But stealing the show from Dennis…I mean Ron, was the defensive play by Matt Barnes on Kobe Bryant. Barnes did about everything in the “piss of the superstar handbook”. For the most part Kobe didn’t really seem affected by Barnes until he missed the game winner, that he would have usually made with his eyes closed.
The Lakers are 32-4 when they score a 100 points. They are 14-14 when they don’t. Kobe Bryant made 12-of-30 FGA (40.0 pct) Sunday against the Magic. The Lakers have lost seven straight games in which Bryant has attemtpted at least 30 FGA and made 40.0 pct of his attempts or fewer. Vince Carter had 25 points, Howard finished with 15 points and 16 rebounds.
Wizards 83, Celtics 86
The Celtics are 21 games from the playoffs, and they cant wait. The entire Celtics season has been covered in fog, or leg braces, and arm sleeves,..and what the hell happened to Rasheed Wallace? Wallace and Kevin Garnett were a combined 1 for 10 from the floor. If the Wizards were still playing to make the playoffs this would have been a blowout win for them. The Wiz were up 13 with 6:11 remaining Boston responded with a 20-4 run to close out the game with eight points from Ray Allen and six from guard Rajon Rondo. Allen finished with a game-high 25 points.
A Penny for your thoughts Mr. Roy?? Photo by Garrett W. Ellwood/NBAE via Getty Images
Brandon Roy shot 3 for 14 and finished with 12 points. Carmelo Anthony shot 11 for 19 and finished with 30 points. Now guess who won…..Trail Blazers 106, Nuggets 118
Also Saturdays highlights:
After a six day rest the Denver Nuggets prepare to fly to Los Angeles and take on the Lakers in Game1 of the Western Conference Finals on Tuesday. The Nuggets were a bump in the road of the Lakers march to the Finals last season, losing in the first round. But this years Nuggets is a far cry from the team the Lakers saw last season. The addition of playoff veteran Chancey Billups and uber hype man Chris “Birdman” Anderson have changed the demeanor of the team. The Nuggets have steam-rolled through the playoffs, embarrassing the New Orleans Hornets and over playing the Dallas Mavericks. The Nuggets are the the most impressive team this post-season next to the Cleveland Cavaliers who have yet to lose. The Los Angeles Lakers enter this series unsure of who they are. After losing big leads in Round1 to the Utah Jazz, it appeared the mighty Lakers had chinks in their armor. In Round2 the Houston Rockets put a serious dent in that armor pushing the Lakers to the brink of elimination, without Tracy McGrady or Yao Ming. Kobe Bryant said on Sunday following their Game7 victory over the Houston Rockets “We are bipolar”. The Lakers clearly showed a tendency to play at a higher more determined level at home. This would be a problem if they didn’t posses home-court advantage throughout the Western Conference playoffs. But their “bipolar tendencies” will come back to bite them come Tuesday when the Nuggets roll into town. Chauncey Billups is the key that Denver has needed for years and has the Nuggets poised to make it to beyond this match up. The key for the Lakerswill be using their length to their advantage once again. Andrew Bynums howed up in the playoffs for the first time in Game7, Sunday with 14 points on 6-7 shooting, and Pau Gasol was huge with 21 points and 18 boards.The Nuggets are a much smaller team, but can match the Lakers offensively. Kobe Bryant and Carmelo Anthony in the Western Conference Finals is a must-see, but they will be out shined by the performance of Billups, super sixth-man JR Smith, and the post players of the Lakers. This series looks to go the distance with the winner being bruised and exhausted at the end.
