We are now 35 games into the Ron Artest experiment.  The Rockets being a .600 team, right at 21-14.  Which is better than last year, but not nearly what was predicted or expected from this team. 

(Yeah, I had us at 25-10 in my season predictions for this point... of course I also expected the team to go undefeated in February.  Right now I am starting to doubt that possibility.)

But now is as good of a time as any to discuss the results of adding one Ron "Crazy Pills" Artest to the Rockets lineup and locker room.  For those that have been in hibernation since August, or are simply Lakers fans, yes, Ron Artest was traded to the Rockets.  And so far here are his statistical contributions to the team:

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First, a disclaimer:  We all know that Ron Artest cannot and will not be judged on statistics alone.  I am going to judge him on three "elements":  (1) wins/losses, (2) energy on the court, and (3) his presence in the locker room.  That said, yeah, I am disappointed that Ron Ron is shooting a career-worst 37% from the field.  I'm also disappointed that he's mimicking T-Mac and is shooting a wholly unnecessary 5.3 three-pointers a game (making 40%, but still).  On the flip side, his points, rebounds and assists are right in line with what could be expected... they just have not come in the way I expected back in August.  The injury to Battier didn't help.  Nor does the fact that Artest is playing through his own severe ankle injury.

But can we consider the Artest trade to be a successful one yet?

In short, I say abso-f--kin'-lutely.  Yes!

There is of course a reason why I am willing to say this.  The Rockets have been struggling mightily lately.  Losing games to bad teams (Indiana, Washington, the Clippers, etc.) while also showing up with no energy in important games (@ Toronto, v. Washington at home, v. Milwaukee at home, etc.).  Rafer Alston has been quoted as saying that the team is not on the same page.  Yao has expressed frustration in the team's day-to-day effort.  Tracy McGrady continues to be a whiny little bitch.  The Rockets are mediocre and have been uninspiring for the last 4-6 weeks.

Yet here's Ron Artest proving his value to the team.  Today he sums things up perfectly and beautifully (in Feigen's article in the Chronicle):

"It’s going to come down to Mac getting healthy, and then Mac’s got to kind of be more of a dog," Artest said. "Yao is definitely doing his part."

"I think it’s coming along. For some reason, we’re not able to put a good game together. I think right now we look better on paper than what it really is. You see the Big Three people talk about; it’s not turning into wins that people would think it would. We have to get more out of ourselves. Sometimes we play like our life is not on the line. Once we put our life on the line every game, we’ll be OK."

In one simple sound-bite, Artest is both a calming influence and a motivational "light a fire under someone's [McGrady's] ass" presence.  You can say what you want about Artest being a weird guy, or crazy, or unpredictable.  What you cannot say is that he doesn't "play like [his] life is on the line" in nearly every game.  Artest is the only player in the entire locker room not named "Yao Ming" who has the temerity (and ability) to call out Tracy McGrady and get away with it.  Yao just won't do it, which is why the Rockets need Artest.

Compare for a moment...

McGrady is hurt.  This is nothing new.  So McGrady is going to sit out every other game or something like that.  And in the games he does play, he's had a tendency to do nothing but stand outside the three point line and pass the ball to guys like Luther Head.  Yeah, that's really inspiring stuff, Tracy.

Ron Artest is also hurt.  But he's Crazy Pills and McGrady is not.  So Artest plays.  Why?  Because he feels compelled to.  And when Artest plays, does he stand around and do nothing?  No.  He makes sure his presence is felt.  Go back and watch the fourth Q and both overtimes in the Utah game.  Ron Ron was simply NOT going to let the Rockets lose that game.  Mind over injury.  Or something like that.

This is where the statistical stuff can get confusing. Yes, Artest's stats are "down" compared to his career marks, and yet he still finds ways to impact the game.  McGrady had a triple-double recently, and yet it had little to no impact on the outcome of the game.  Yao goes for 20 and 10 basically every night (he's a machine like that), and sometimes it's huge for us... and sometimes I wake up the next day and wonder where the 20 points/10 rebounds came from.  I rarely say "wow, Artest is quiet tonight."  So, element (2) of my evaluation (enegy on the court) says Crazy Pills has been beneficial to the Rockets on the court.

The Rockets are also a handful of games better than last year's pace... even though the team has been hurt, sluggish and cover-your-eyes awful at times.  With Artest being the only real "new" piece to the puzzle, he's gotta get some of the credit for this, right?  So, element (1) (wins/losses) is also in Artest's favor as being beneficial to the team.

And after calling out McGrady while also indicating that the team will be fine (in spite of Alston's recent proclaimations to the contrary)....... Artest has been anything but a cancer in the locker room.  He's been a Tru Warier, a beacon of strength and intestinal fortitude.  And a guy that refuses to quit.  And will not let others *cough*T-Mac*cough* quit on him or his team.  Element (3) therefore is a plus, too.

This is why I love what Ron Artest brings to the Rockets.  He's the anti-McGrady.

Now, does Artest have flaws?  Yeah, he's been prone to being a blackhole on offense.  The ball movement has a tendency to stop when he catches it.  I have faith that this will change soon.   Artest also hasn't been his typical lock-down defensive self.  But that may change when his ankle is closer to 100%.  And I've already mentioned how Ron Ron shoots WAY too many 3s for a guy who should do more damage near the basket.  But these are flaws I can handle/accept.  Because I have no doubt Artest will continue to play hard every night.  You can tell the game *matters* to him.

So - do I have any regrets about the Artest trade now that I've seen him play for a couple months in Houston?  Oh... hell no!  (Translation:  re-sign Crazy Pills, Mr. Morey!!)

Guess who's back... back again...

the finger wag is back!  Tell a friend!

Dikembe is back with the Rockets for the rest of the season.

It's about time!
(Yeah, it is about time!)

Raptors HQ was kind enough to host this week's Blogger MVP/ROY rankings...

you can see the results here.  And, surprise surprise - a Rocket finally got a vote!  One Yao Ming is an "honorable mention" candidate.  Finally.  Oh, and if you are wondering, yes, the one vote for ROY for Joey Dorsey is from me.  Come on, I had to keep his name relevant after his D-League demotion!

We also voted LeBron #1 (and OJ Mayo).  We also had Brandon Roy at #2 in the MVP race... yes, ahead of CP3 and Kobe.  Really.

I'm just happy Yao is getting some much-needed attention.

 

First wave of all-star voting was released today.

Some notable names:

Crazy Pills is 5th among Western Conference forwards, but he's only 117,079 votes behind the guy in 2nd... Amar'e Stoudemire.  BTW, Amar'e - the new spelling of your name sucks.  And only Lee likes it because it allows him to use more apostrophes... nah, I bet he hates it too.

Anyway, also among WC forwards is one Luis Scola, languishing with only 181,253 votes to his name.  In contrast, one Rafer Alston has a stunning 211,017 votes.

Read that again.  Rafer Freakin' Alston has over 200,000 people think he's All-Star worthy.  His family must be really damned busy these days punching holes in ballots.

If that Rafer statistic alone isn't enough to yank away the privilege of voting from the fans, I don't know what is.  Oh, wait, check that... I found an even worse violation.  Easy Yi has 762,000+ votes to rank 3rd among Eastern Conference forwards.  That is seriously messed up.

Tracy somehow is 2nd among Western guards.  I'll stop now before I get a headache trying to analyze that one.  I know I should support Tracy to the end being that he's a Rocket, but to deny CP3 an All-Star spot is just wrong.

Ahhhh, enough of this.  GO VOTE FOR LUIS SCOLA!!  NOW!!

I'll take any chance I get to brag about Steve Novak aka The Rocket Redeemer and reminisce over his brief time as the face of our franchise.  As Pete Rock and C.L. Smooth so famously said:

I strive to be live 'cause i hit threes from way back
And run my own business like my boy Steve Novak
So pete rock hit me, nuff respect due
When they reminisce over you

Here it is, the moment you've all been waiting for.

That's right Clyde.  Mr. Big Shot...STEVE NOVAK.

Because Robert Horry is in semi-retirement, a group of bloggers suggested we have a discussion on whether or not Horry should be inducted into the Hall of Fame.  I think we all know my particular stance on the issue, so of course I joined them in this debate.

Here's the entire discussion.

Here's my opening statement:

Robert Horry is a Hall of Famer. The purpose of the Basketball Hall of Fame is to recognize the elite. Be it an elite scorer, an elite defensive player, or an elite distributor of the ball to teammates. There are no specific rules or requirements for "who" is qualified for the Hall. The facts are undeniable that Robert Horry was an essential and necessary piece of seven different championship teams. Without Horry, it is quite likely that none of these teams would have emerged victorious in that particular year. Furthermore, these seven championships were acquired by three different organizations.

In short, Robert Horry is the greatest winner of the modern era. Yes, even moreso than Michael Jordan. Horry has more championship rings than anyone not affiliated with the Celtics (whose own championships are watered-down given the fact that it was an 8-team league that intentionally limited the impact of African-American players).

Every single year Robert Horry played, his team made it to the playoffs.
And they never got bounced in the first round. Ever.

What made Horry great is he did whatever it took to win. Everyone knows about his penchant for clutch shooting. What is often overlooked is his willingness to do all the little things. Everything from a hockey assist, to taking a charge, to closing the passing lanes, to the flawless post-entry pass. These are not things that show up in a box score anywhere other than in the "W" and "L" columns. These just happen to be the most important statistics of all. And Horry made sure his teams filled the "W" columns every May and June.

It is no accident that Horry played in more playoff games than anyone in history. It was not just about picking the right teams or being aligned with the best players. Hakeem was never a champion until he met Horry. Same for Shaquille and Kobe. Tim Duncan admittedly would have 2 less rings if Horry was not there to bail him out in '05 and '07.

If being the greatest winner of your sport in a particular era is not enough, the Hall of Fame has problems.

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Discuss....

I find it incredibly mean that no one pointed me to this ESPN interview with Robert Horry... which I'm about to just cut/paste here:

Five questions with seven-time NBA champion Robert Horry:

 

Q: We miss you, Big Shot Rob. So can you tell us we're going to see you in a uniform again before the season is over?

A: To be honest with you, I doubt it. It's a trend in the NBA right now to go with youth. I don't think anybody is going to be going for a wily, 38-year-old veteran such as myself. … You never know. It would have to be something I really want for me to even think about it.

Q: What about the trend of signing veterans late in the season that Boston started with P.J. Brown? I hear that Sam Cassell is already trying to convince the Celtics to bring you in after the All-Star break.

A: Sam actually called me about a month ago. I was down in San Diego training, just trying to do something to stay in shape. Sam said: "I talked to Doc [Rivers]. He's thinking about bringing you in at the end of the season, so make sure you stay in shape." I said, "That's fine about Doc, but who is that GM in Boston?" I don't think that's gonna work out.

[Editor's note: Horry was obviously referring to longtime nemesis Danny Ainge]

Q: Were you actively looking for a team in the summer and just couldn't find any takers?

A: I really wanted to keep playing. But for me it's kind of hard because I don't have an agent calling around for me. … I'm still trying to stay in shape the best I can. I'm shooting about once every three days. I do a lot of pool work to stay off my joints; I get out early in the morning with all the 60-year-old women. But once the holidays come, if I'm still around the table at Thanksgiving and Christmas, it might be time to just eat and enjoy life.

Q: If you really have played your last game, can we assume you're leaving happy with what you've accomplished?

A: It was a tremendous run. I'm kind of upset the way it ended having a DNP in my last playoff game. My very last game, I don't even get off the bench … it's not the way you really want to go out. But I guess I've had enough on-top moments, probably more than anybody in the league right now. If you told me I'd be able to get seven [rings], I've either been very lucky or I've done a great job helping these great players. I don't think there's been a luckier guy, not being a superstar or even a star.

Q: I know you're trying to downplay it here, so I'll say it: If this turns out to be the end, shouldn't you retiring be a bigger deal with a little more hoopla, even though you've always told us you're a low-key guy?

A: That's happened a lot of times. For as much as I accomplished, I think there's been times I got screwed over in some way, like the way I was treated by some of the refs. Even Nike. I've been a Nike guy for 16 years, and once I looked at their Web site … I'm in the league and I didn't even know some of the guys who were on there instead of me. So looking back, I got screwed over sometimes as far as being recognized. But at the end of the day, you can ask any of the players that I played with or any of the coaches that I played for -- except Danny Ainge -- and I bet they say, "I loved that guy." Overall I didn't get some of the things I wanted to get recognition-wise, but I got the respect of my peers.

Q: What do you think of all of us experts who've anointed James Posey as the new Robert Horry?

A: No, no, no. He ain't no Robert Horry. Posey is a good friend of mine, I love him as a person. But he can't play as many positions as me. I think he plays D almost as good as me, even though he doesn't block shots like I did. He's a great player, but until he reaches that seven mark, he's no Robert Horry.

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Oh, be on the lookout for a round-table-ish interview where I get to argue the Hall of Fame credentials on behalf of Robert Horry.  To think someone actually took the approach that Horry isn't a Hall of Famer... and that this person isn't Danny Ainge!?!?

... he hates it when all he has to wear are purple pants.

h/t - Deadspin

(no wonder he was so bothered about playing for the Kings... too much purple.)

Yao will take the court tonight against the Washington Wi**rds!

Yao is going to play!!!

note:  without Agent Zero, there is no "a" or "z" in "Wi**rds"

Yeah, at the risk of under-stating it...

I fucking LOVE what Ron Artest brings to the Rockets.

 

In 39 minutes of beastly action, Crazy Pills puts up 29 points, 6 rebounds and a hell of a lot of toughness and needed emotion.

And the technical foul was complete and total bullshit......... and yet it was probably the spark that helped us pull away at the end.  We will have to get used to that though - refs are going to have the Rasheed-esque quick whistle every time RonRon makes an aggressive move during a dead ball situation.  Even if it is to help out Yao.  Talk about becoming fast friends, huh?

Oh, Yao had a good game, too... 40 minutes, 30 points and 13 boards.  Nice.

GO ROCKETS!  2-0!