Ron Artest enjoys his first NBA championship. (NBAE/GETTY IMAGES)

A lot of people may not know this but Ron Artest is a loyal guy to the core. He has never forgotten where he came from (say Queensbridge!) and he goes out of his way to thank all those people who have helped him along the way – including his therapist.

During his proudest moment as a basketball player, just minutes after having a game for the ages in the deciding game of the 2010 NBA Finals to capture his first NBA championship, the ever unpredictable Ron Artest recalled his time with the Indiana Pacers and managed to recognize his former teammates and former managers Donnie Walsh and Larry Bird, saying how disappointed he was that he couldn’t share his greatest moment with them.

“When I was younger, I bailed out on my Indiana team,” Artest admitted after the Lakers’ 83-79 victory over the Boston Celtics in Game 7.

“I was so young, so egotistical and I bailed out on Donnie, Larry, Jermaine [O'Neal], [Jamaal] Tinsley, [Jeff] Foster, who never bails out. He just fights for you, for your team. Steve Jackson, who already had a ring, and he continued to fight for us,” Artest continued. “Sometimes I feel like a coward, you know, when I see those guys because, now that I’m on the Lakers, I had a chance to win with you guys. I never thought God would put me in this situation because of that.”

Artest feels that he owed the Pacers something after the ugly incident he ignited 16 years ago at The Palace in Auburn Hills, Mich., where he infamously went into the stands with Jackson and started an all-out brawl that still haunts the league to this day.

He may feel like he let down the Pacers but he certainly didn’t disappoint his new team, the L.A. Lakers, with the way he performed in Game 7 of The Finals against L.A.’s chief rival.

In the biggest game of his career, Artest played a superb all-around game, scoring 20 points, grabbing five rebounds and recording five steals in 46 minutes. And his defense throughout the series on Celtics forward Paul Pierce was top notch.

Lakers coach Phil Jackson said Artest was the Lakers’ MVP of Game 7 and was a big reason why the Lakers were able to escape with hard-fought victory and a big reason why the Lakers are celebrating their second consecutive NBA title and the franchise’s 16th overall.

“I want to thank Dr. Santi. She would come and help me relax in these moments because I’m not good at these moments,” Artest admitted. “And I know that about myself. So, what do I do to be good a these moments? We figured it out. I needed some type of way to relax during these moments. I missed a couple of threes, but then I trusted everything that she told me.”

So Ron Artest tells the whole world that he owes it all to his therapist. Great. Now, this surely validates the notion that a good therapy session can remedy all the craziness in Hollywood.

Artest’s outside shooting was absolutely therapeutic, though, because the Lakers badly needed offense on Thursday night against a very stingy Boston defense. With Kobe Bryant struggling and the rest of the Lakers were shooting just 28% from the field, Artest rescued the offense with some timely 3-point shots and his tenacity on defense kept Pierce and company from blowing the game open.

Artest said that even though Bryant was having an off night, he was still impacting the game.

“Kobe wanted to win. He didn’t want to lose. He was determined. He was Kobe Bryant, Black Mamba,” Artest explained. “Later in the second half, he started to move the ball and attack and pass. He trusted us and he made us feel so good, and he passed me the ball. He never passed me the ball.”

The “pass” Artest was talking about was the one Bryant fed him late in the fourth quarter. With the game hanging on the balance, Artest drained a 3-pointer from the wing with under two minutes remaining to put the Lakers ahead by six, 79-73. As Artest jogged back to play defense, he blew kisses to the crowd.

“Kobe passed me the ball and I shot a three,” exulted Artest while raising his arms up and down during his postgame press conference.

“And Phil didn’t want me to shoot the three. I heard him because he’s the Zen Master,” Artest said while pointed to his ear. “He can speak to you and he don’t need a microphone. You can hear him in your head, ‘Ron, don’t shoot. Don’t shoot.’

“I said, ‘Whatever. Pong! Three! Woo, hoo!’ ”

Of course, Artest was being overly dramatic with his story a little bit, but he’s Hollywood now. And you can’t blame the guy for being happy. He’s finally a world champion and this title can’t be taken away from him.

“My history in the playoffs is I’ll have two good games then I’ll have a bad game. Today was one of those where I trusted myself and I didn’t settle for shots. I just want to thank Coach Jackson and Kobe for having me and giving me this opportunity.

“I’m just really, really enjoying this. I just can’t wait to go to the club.”

Say Queensbridge! Say Queensbridge!

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Pau Gasol (left) and Andrew Bynum (right) helped limit Paul Pierce (middle) and the Celtics to 1-for-10 shooting from behind the 3-point arc in Game 1. (NBAE/GETTY IMAGES)

They stopped dribble penetration. They protected the paint. They rebounded the heck out of the ball. They took charges. They put a hand in the face of every shooter. They got to loose balls. And they took away the other team’s air space and made it a very uncomfortable night.

If you think I’m referring to the Boston Celtics you are dead wrong. As it turned out, the L.A. Lakers were more physical, more disruptive, more determined and more active than the Celtics in Game 1 of the 2010 NBA Finals. These were definitely not your 2008 L.A. Lakers. In fact, these are not even your 2009 L.A. Lakers. They’re better.

The Lakers simply looked far superior than the Celtics in their 102-89 victory on Thursday night to take a commanding 1-0 lead in the best-of-seven series.

Commanding? Yes. Commanding. Why? Phil Jackson is 47-0 when he wins Game 1 of a series. That’s why.

If the Lakers can sustain their defensive pressure for the rest of this series, it is going to be extremely hard on the Celtics to score points.

Paul Pierce scored 24 points but it wasn’t an easy 24 as he struggled against Ron Artest’s vice grip D. Kevin Garnett and Kendrick Perkins looked overmatched against Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum, as the Lakers’ big men dominated the Celtics on the boards. And Rajon Rondo couldn’t push the tempo fast enough to get easy layups and was stuffed a few times when he did try to get to the rim. Defense, defense, defense. That was the theme of Game 1, but it was the Lakers who displayed more intensity and tenacity – two things the Celtics are known for and two reasons why they beat the Lakers in the ‘08 Finals.

“The Lakers were clearly the more physical team today,” said Celtics coach Doc Rivers. “I thought they were more aggressive. They attacked us the entire night and we didn’t handle it very well. I’ve always thought that the team that is the most aggressive get better calls. That’s just human nature.”

The Lakers claimed they learned their lesson from ‘08, and they certainly showed it by playing hardball with the Celtics.

L.A. outrebounded Boston, 42-31, and completely took the Celtics apart on the offensive boards with a 16-0 edge in second-chance points. The Lakers were a plus-18 in points in the paint, a domination rarely seen done against a Celtic team that pride themselves in keeping teams away from the paint.

“I’m mean, they were,” Pierce said of the Lakers’ newfound toughness. “Look at the rebounding advantage, the blocks, and you look at the stuff that don’t even show in the box score if you watched the game. All the hustle plays. That’s all part of physicality.”

There must be an echo in the room because Ray Allen pretty much said the same thing. “We have to do a better job of keeping our paint tight,” Allen noted. “When they moved the ball, we didn’t suck in and close the gaps when they penetrated. We made them miss, but they got second chance opportunities.”

Artest set the table for the game when he scored a two-point takedown on Pierce 27 seconds into the game. It not only established a physical tone but it sent a message to the Pierce and the Celtics that the Lakers were ready to rumble.

“I expected it to be physical. He’s going to work as hard and he’s their defensive leader. I don’t know what else you want me to say. What are you looking for? I mean, he’s a good defender,” Pierce said of Artest, who was not part of the Lakers team that fell to Boston two years ago, along with Andrew Bynum.

“Obviously they’ve added some pieces,” Pierce said. “They brought Bynum back from a couple of years ago, added Ron Artest. They’re a seasoned team from a couple of years ago.”

The Lakers also held the Celtics to 43% shooting from the field and limited them to 1-for-10 from behind the arc. The Lakers took a nine-point lead at halftime and increased it to as many as 20 in the fourth quarter.

“We’ll go watch some film and learn from this. We’ll watch the tape and see what we can do a lot better,” Pierce said. “Obviously we can do things a lot better. We gave up 102 points and 48 percent shooting. We gotta do a better job of stopping the guards from penetrating, gotta do a better job rebounding the ball, and we gotta do a better job on Kobe Bryant. Everybody knows he’s going to shoot the ball, everybody knows he’s going to be aggressive so we gotta do a better job of getting the ball out of his hands.”

Though Bryant led all scorers with 30 points, it was Gasol who really did the most damage on the Celtics. The 7-foot Spaniard with the wingspan of a jumbo jet made eight of 14 shots, all from close range, scored 23 points and ripped down 14 rebounds. He was officially credited with three blocked shots, but it seemed like he altered 10 shots near the basket with his length.

Former TNT analyst and new Philadelphia 76ers coach Doug Collins calls Gasol the most skilled big man in the NBA. I’m going to take it one step further and start calling Gasol the BEST big man in the NBA.

“I knew it was gonna be physical,” said Gasol. “This being our third consecutive final, we understand the nature of the game, we understand who our rival is, and you gotta compete and match that aspect of the game in order to be successful.”

Because the Celtics had no answer for Gasol and Bryant, the game became so one-sided that Lakers fans began chanting for “We want tacos!” midway through the fourth. If you haven’t been to Staples Center in L.A., whenever the Lakers hold the opposition to under 100 points, everyone in the building gets free tacos courtesy of Jack In The Box.

By the way, I find it really hilarious that Laker fans who paid somewhere in excess of $500-$1,000 for playoff tickets are craving for $3 tacos. I’m pretty sure everyone in the arena can afford to buy all the tacos they want.

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Ron Artest was at the TD Garden when the Boston Celtics crushed the L.A. Lakers in Game 6 of the 2008 NBA Finals. He went to the Lakers locker room to seek out Kobe Bryant, following the Lakers’ star all the way to the showers.

Artest told Bryant, and anyone else who would listen, that he can help the Lakers win a title and would love to wear the purple and gold. Two years later, Artest will have an opportunity to fulfill his promise.

“This is his chance to shine,” said Lakers coach Phil Jackson, who told reporters on Wednesday that he plans to stick Artest on Boston’s Paul Pierce. “We had a tough matchup with Pierce last time we played them in the playoffs. [Artest] is a guy who we know can defend, so we anticipate this as a matchup of interest.”

Ron Artest will be matched up against Paul Pierce in the 2010 NBA Finals. (NBAE/GETTY IMAGES)

Artest is one of two Lakers starters who did not play in the ‘08 Finals, the other being center Andrew Bynum. The Lakers signed the eccentric but gifted forward with the idea that he’ll be the physical defensive stopper that L.A. severely lacked against physical small forwards such as Carmelo Anthony, LeBron James and Pierce.

The Lakers never had to face Anthony or James in the playoffs, but they are facing Pierce, the 2008 NBA Finals MVP and a player who makes the Celtics a more dynamic team with his ability to create his own shot and get to the free throw line. He averaged 21 points in the ‘08 Finals and has a career 25-point average against the Lakers.

However, in two games against the Lakers during this past regular season and primarily guarded by Artest, Pierce was held to 13 points and shot just 40% from the field.

“Pierce is a tough matchup. He’s very smart, he’s one of the few players that has a long ball, has mid-range game, can get to the basket so, I think, that makes him a tougher cover than most. But Ron’s up for the challenge,” said Kobe Bryant, who also believes the presence of Bynum, despite his ailing knee, will be a factor in the series.

“It helps having him against this Celtics team. They’re a big team, a physical team. I’m excited for him. This is a big challenge for him,” Bryant said of his 7-foot, 280-pound starting center, who averaged 16 points and 10 rebounds in two games against Boston during the regular season.

Bynum and Artest are two defensive layers that discourages Pierce from driving to the basket, making him a one-dimensional player. If Pierce puts up similar numbers in The Finals, the Celtics are going to lose the series because they are not good enough offensively to make up for Pierce’s scoring.

Artest will use his 260-pound frame to uproot Pierce out of his sweet spots. He’ll make him work extra hard for his points and not allow him to camp out on the free throw line where he has made his living for the past 12 years.

“It’s not going to change my mentality. I’m gonna approach the game the way I approach a lot of these games,” Pierce claimed. “Just a scorer’s mentality, being real aggressive. Obviously, I’m playing against one of the top defenders in the game. So, he’s going to make things a little bit more harder, a little bit more physical. You gotta expect that. I mean that’s what Ron Artest is – a guy who tries to get in your head throughout the game, grab on you, pull on you, scratch on you. You gotta expect those things. When I go to a game, playing against him, I expect all those things.”

Though Pierce knows what to expect from Artest, the matchup will still be extremely difficult for him – similar to what transpired in the Cleveland series in which Pierce had to wrestle with LeBron – and the Celtics will need to find their offense somewhere else. But where? Bryant will blanket Rajon Rondo and Pau Gasol should be able to handle Kevin Garnett. The only real matchup advantage for the Celtics is Ray Allen against the smaller Derek Fisher. But at this stage of his career, Allen can’t be counted on to score 30 points every single night.

There is a strong perception around the league that the Lakers are soft team and the way to throw them off their game is push them around. But that was two years ago. The Lakers are no longer pushovers and Artest provides them with an edge, a type of bulldog-type player who embraces ruggedness and doesn’t back down from a challenge.

“Ron is unique. He’s very much an individual,” Jackson said. “As the NBA goes, every player has his own individual personality you have to handle in a different way. Ron is determined, I think he’s dogged and that’s what makes him a great defensive player.”

The Celtics are not the only team in this series who can play in-your-face defense. The Lakers can play that too. Boston’s defense pitted against L.A.’s offense is a stalemate. But L.A.’s defense is much, much better than Boston’s offense. Ultimately, that is the difference in the series.

Prediction: Lakers in 6.

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Ron Artest is surrounded by his teammates after hitting the game-winning shot in Game 5. (NBAE/GETTY IMAGES)

Ron Artest waited all season to make his mark as a L.A. Laker and his moment finally came Thursday night.

After the Phoenix Suns rallied from an 18-point deficit and tied the score at 101 with 3.5 seconds left on Jason Richardson’s bank shot from the behind the 3-point line, the Lakers drew up a play for Kobe Bryant to win the game but his shot from near the sideline fell way short. Fortunately for the Lakers, Artest never gave up on the play, grabbing the loose ball and beating the clock with a short, off-balance bank shot that gave the Lakers a 103-101 victory in Game 5 at Staples Center.

“I thought Kobe got fouled on his shot, so I figured it was going to be short,” Artest said of the final play. “I just thought I’d throw my weight a little bit, and let my weight work for me.”

The Lakers now lead the 2010 Western Conference finals, 3-2, with a chance to close out the series in Game 6 in Phoenix.

“It’s amazing you go through all this stuff, all the preparation, and it comes down to fundamental things,” said Bryant. “They knock down a 3-pointer because we didn’t box out, and they wound up losing a game because they didn’t box out. Little things like that are the difference between winning big playoff games and losing them.”

Bryant took the inbounds pass from Lamar Odom, but when he turned to shoot Steve Nash and Grant Hill converged on him and didn’t allow him to get a clean look at the basket.

“I felt I had a great look, but Grant Hill stuck his hand in there at the last second and forced me to double pump,” Bryant said. “Other than that I was gonna shoot over Steve. Once I release the ball I saw Ron sneaking in, and I was just hoping he got it off in time.”

It was easily Artest’s biggest play as a member of the Los Angeles Lakers and it almost didn’t happen because Phil Jackson contemplated about taking him out of the game for taking an ill-advised 3-pointer with under a minute left in the fourth quarter and Lakers ahead by three. “I’ll have a substitute to get you next time, that’s what I said,” Jackson joked. “I don’t know why I left him in the game. I questioned it myself when I put him out there. But there he was made the key play.”

Artest was 1-for-9 from the field prior to the last play, but found redemption by being at the right place at the right time.

“It was a great moment,” said Lakers guard Derek Fisher, who has had his share of game-winning shots during his career. “We’re very happy for Ron because Ron has been asked to sacrifice a lot with his game to really try to fit in on what we do things. He has sacrificed a lot to get to where we’re trying to go. And that’s why we were so happy for him.”

The Lakers led for much of the game but had to withstand a furious Suns fourth-quarter rally led by Nash, who scored 29 points.

“We just didn’t quite finish the play,” said Suns coach Alvin Gentry. “They made a good play. You gotta give Ron Artest credit. He ran down the ball and put it in the basket.”

Gentry continued: “The only thing negative is the way we approached the game a little bit. We weren’t quite as aggressive and they got into us defensively and we struggled a little bit getting into our offense. But on the defensive side of the ball we did great. We’ve now gotten them down from 58 percent to 41 percent. They keep talking about the zone, and our zone has been fine.”

Artest’s last-second shot was the second game-winning putback for the Lakers in the 2010 playoffs. Pau Gasol made a similar play in the first round when he followed up Bryant’s miss to win Game 6 in Oklahoma City.

“It was a crazy game. It had a bit of everything,” Nash said. “We found a way to tie it up and we lost on a last-second putback. Just when you thought everything was OK, and we’re going into overtime, we lose. But that’s life. We take a lot of positives from tonight and we gotta home and play as well as we did in games 3 and 4.

“Everything’s OK. We came back obviously with a great effort,” added Nash. “Maybe we deserved this game, maybe we didn’t. We lost and they held homecourt. We’ll go back home and we’ll do the same, and we’ll come back here for Game 7.”

Joel Huerto is the editor and publisher of OneManFastBreak.net, an online journal for basketball fans around the world and a proud partner of SportsFanLive.com. To read more about the NBA playoffs, visit OneManFastBreak.net.

Video courtesy of NBA.com

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After winning his second consecutive NBA Defensive Player of the Year award, Orlando Magic center Dwight Howard has clearly established himself as the best stopper in basketball

Howard made NBA history when he led the league in rebounding (13.2) and blocked shots (2.8) in consecutive seasons (2009 and 2010). The 6-foot-11, 275-pound All-Star center was a near unanimous choice as the league’s top defender, garnering 110 of a possible 120 first-place votes.

The best way to measure a player’s worth on defense is how his team ranks defensively. Howard’s presence allows the Magic to be one of the top defensive teams in the league as Orlando yields just 95 points per game (4th) and opponents shoot just 43.8% from the field (1st). Howard joins Ben Wallace, Hakeem Olajuwon, Dikembe Mutombo, Alonzo Mourning, Dennis Rodman and Sidney Moncrief as back-to-back winners of the defensive player of the year award.

OneManFastBreak.net ranks the five best defenders in the NBA (regardless of position):

1) DWIGHT HOWARD, Orlando Magic, center
Howard stops and alters shots like a great goalie in hockey. Orlando’s entire philosophy on defense is to funnel all the scorers to Howard, and more often than not Howard ends up protecting the basket with his incredible jumping ability and intimidating raw power. No big man in the league defends the paint better than Superman II.

2) GERALD WALLACE, Charlotte Bobcats, forward
Wallace finished 13th in the rebounds (10.0), which is very impressive for a small forward. He also ranked 17th in steals (1.5) and 42nd in blocks (1.09). He earned the nickname “Crash” for his penchant for crashing to the floor, the stands and the basket padding. Wallace is a solid one-on-one defender, but he is even better as a weak-side defender.

3) RON ARTEST, L.A. Lakers, forward
Age may have robbed Artest of his quickness but definitely not his power. Ron-Ron uses his hands very well, and he has extremely strong hands. At 250 pounds, he likes to put his body on opposing scorers to take away their air space and thrives on physical contact. But his biggest strength is probably his reputation, as most players are afraid to go at him.

4) LeBRON JAMES, Cleveland Cavaliers, forward
James learned to play one-on-one defense from Kobe Bryant when the two were teammates on the U.S. Olympic Team. His signature blocks from behind have become regular highlights on SportsCenter and NBATV, and his intensity has picked up on the defensive end, LeBron is the only guy on this list who can defend all five positions.

5) RAJON RONDO, Boston Celtics, guard
Rondo is the leader in the NBA in steals (2.33) and has one of the quickest hands in the game. Boston’s defensive scheme doesn’t highlight Rondo’s one-on-one defense because they prefer to use him as a free safety. He tends to gamble a little too much, but Doc Rivers will live with that as long as he gets two or three steals a game.

6) KIRK HINRICK, Chicago Bulls, guard
Suns coach Alvin Gentry said that Kirk Hinrich is the best on-ball defender in the league. That’s high praise for a guy who doesn’t get enough credit for his ability to make it extremely tough on perimeter players to score. Just ask Dwyane Wade, who always struggles against the Bulls mainly because of Hinrich’s defense.

7) KOBE BRYANT, L.A. Lakers, guard
Because of injuries and wear-and-tear on the body, Kobe has lost some of his aggressiveness on defense. But when Phil Jackson needs to apply the glove on an opposing team’s scorer, he often calls on No. 24. Bryant’s best attribute is his preparation and intelligence. He does his homework off the court and scouts his competition.

8) KENDRICK PERKINS, Boston Celtics, center
Perkins is big and strong (6-10, 285) and is tough to root out of the post. Then, you combine his size with effort and you have a unbelievable post defender who plays his role to perfection. He rebounds, he blocks shots, he steps out on pick-and-rolls, and he also plays with a huge chip on his shoulder.

9) JOSH SMITH, Atlanta Hawks, forward
Smith has grown into a borderline All-Star player and his defense sets the tone for the Hawks. Mike Woodson said, “You think back six years ago, Josh Smith has come a long way. I tip my hat to him because he’s worked over the years and has developed into a player.” Smith averages eight rebounds, nearly two steals a game and is the only forward in the NBA ranked in the top 20 in blocks (2.06).

10) JOAKIM NOAH, Chicago Bulls,
When Noah was sidelined with an injury, the Bulls struggled. When he returned, the Bulls made a playoff push. Noah plays with great energy and a vocal leader. He not only defends his position, but he also helps his teammates. He is among the league leaders in rebounds (11.0) and blocks (1.6) and loves to compete.

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It was the NBA’s worst nightmare, a day that gave the sport a permanent black eye.

Five years ago, on Nov. 19, 2004, the Indiana Pacers visited the Palace of Auburn Hills, Mich., to play the Detroit Pistons. As with every Pacers-Pistons game during that time, the game was very chippy and physical.

With 45.9 seconds remaining in the game and the Pacers ahead 97-82, Pistons center Ben Wallace and Pacers forward Ron Artest got tangled underneath the basket. Wallace didn’t appreciate Artest’s hard foul so he shoved him with both hands.

After referees and players tried to separate the two, Artest goes to the scorer’s table and lies there for a few seconds. What transpired next was the ugliest bench-clearing, fan-clearing melee in NBA history – and quite possibly in American sports history.

Five years ago, Ron Artest went into the stands at the Palace of Auburn Hills and forever embeded an ugly image of the NBA and its players.

A fan threw a cup of beverage in Artest’s direction and, in TruWarier fashion, Artest rushed up the stands to confront the perpetrator and the pushing and shoving turned into an all-out Mike Tyson-like punch-0ut.

Pacers forward Stephen Jackson went into the stands with Artest and began throwing haymakers as if he was in a “Toughman” competition. Soon, fans were punching back and the brawl spilled over onto the court.

A man in a Pistons jersey approached Artest on the court, shouting at him. Artest punched him in the face, knocking the man to the floor before leaving the court. Artest was pulled away, and the fan charged back. Artest’s teammate, Jermaine O’Neal, stepped in and punched the man.

Former Pistons ticket holder and the infamous fan that threw the cup at Artest retold the incident to ESPN’s Jay Crawford Thursday morning.

“I remember throwing the cup, actually a cup of Diet Coke, not a beer, but I had been drinking and I’ve had issues with alcohol in the past,” Green told “ESPN First Take.” “I remember [Artest] running into the stands and grabbing the wrong person and I felt bad. I grabbed Artest from behind, the whole thing was kind of a huge blur. It happened so fast.”

“Just a very bad scene,” he added. “It was a scary situation.”

Green said Artest called his home several months ago to apologize.

“He said that he was sorry, that … the whole thing embarrassed him as it did me,” Green said. “He wanted to do something for the community for troubled youth. Of course, I can’t do much on this end without him.

“We tried to come up with something to give back to the community and come up with something positive. It’s not like it’s not always going to be known as the brawl, but maybe we could take something good out of it. We’re going to try to do something in inner-city Detroit or L.A., maybe after the season ends and he has more free time on his hands.”

Green was convicted of misdemeanor assault — he punched Artest when the player stormed into the crowd at Detroit’s Palace of Auburn Hills — and sentenced to 30 days in jail and two years’ probation. He also was ordered to attend Alcoholics Anonymous and anger management counseling, and was banished for life from Detroit’s home games.

Artest, who now plays for the Los Angeles Lakers, was suspended for a record 73 regular-season games and 13 playoff games, and lost approximately $5 million in salary. Overall, the NBA suspended nine players for more than 140 games combined, including a 30-game suspension for Jackson, 15 for O’Neal, five for Pacers guard Anthony Johnson and six for Wallace. Others got one-game suspensions for leaving the bench.

Artest and Green will never live down the Brawl at The Palace, but both men claim they have changed since their tempers ignited a firestorm the NBA is still trying to extinguish.

“You know, I realized then the trouble I got in that night pretty much stemmed from alcohol,” Green said. “I wouldn’t have done that sober. Look at the video of people throwing stuff. One little thing triggered this huge event with people throwing stuff and getting way out of hand. It all stemmed from alcohol. If we can control that, we can control these situations.”

As for Artest, Green said: “He’s reached out to the community. He’s trying his hardest to let people know he’s not the same person.”

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Here are the juiciest stories worth keeping an eye on for this upcoming season:

Artest, LO-Dashian and the Lakers

Ron-Ron said that he’ll be on his best behavior when the real season begins. However, I think the Truwarier is talking about off the court stuff. As far as on the court, his game is about as hard as his deltoids. It’s not going budge. He’s a ground-and-pound player, meaning he likes to dribble away the shot clock and prefers isolations on one side of the court. It will be interesting to see how well Artest embraces the triangle offense.

Now with Artest in the mix, for the first time since 2004 when Shaquille O’Neal left town, Kobe Bryant will have to deal with a BIG personality in the locker room. Add Lamar Odom’s sudden rise to the tabloids’ front pages with his recent marriage to reality TV star Khloe Kardashian, the Lakers will be a traveling rock band and TMZ and the E! channel will never be too far away.

During the Lakers Media Day, Odom refused to comment on his recent marriage to Kim Kardashian’s younger sister. Not sure how long LO will be able to fend off the media, and it’s unrealistic to think that he’ll be able to completely focus on just basketball this season. Stay tuned.

Kobe must be saying to himself: “Thanks, Ron and Lamar, for giving me a break from the media spotlight.”

KG and his knee

The Boston Celtics are still holding their breath to see if Kevin Garnett is completely healed from the knee injury that kept him on the bench throughout the playoffs. Reports say that Garnett has been working out with his team and seems to be coming along nicely. However, once a player suffers a major injury to their knees, they are never the same. Time will tell if KG can overcome this major obstacle. Celtics Nation is on pins and needles.

LeBron James is surrounded by microphones and cameras during Media Day. (AP)

LeBron & Shaq

Shaquille O’Neal likes slogans as much as he likes nicknames. The Diesel has vowed to “Win a Ring for The King” this season. That’s big talk for a 7-foot-1, 350-pound man. At 37, Shaq is in the twilight of his Hall-of-Fame career and his skills have diminished to the point where he can only rise up every other game. Despite all the kryptonite thrown his way, Shaq is STILL a Superman when it comes to punishing people in the post and he is STILL the second best center in the league behind only Dwight Howard, which speaks volumes about the lack of great big men in today’s NBA.

Spurs Reloaded

The San Antonio Spurs have quietly added some key pieces to their championship puzzle. Gone are oldies Fabricio Oberto and Bruce Bowen, and in comes Antonio McDyess and Richard Jefferson. McDyess will be asked to fill the role of David Robinson and be Tim Duncan’s bodyguard in the post while Jefferson will be asked to be the fourth scorer on a team that has relied on the Big Three (Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili) for nearly a decade. San Antonio also added two kids to its aging roster with 2008 pick George Hill and 2009 pick DeJuan Blair. Both played well during the summer and should contribute off the bench.

Replacement Refs

The NBA is prepared to go the entire season with replacement referees as the referees’ union continues to fight for their pensions and benefits. David Stern is not going to be bullied by a bunch of old guys wearing Footlocker jerseys. Rasheed Wallace said: “I know there’s going to be a lot of stupid star calls like it is with the old refs, so I don’t there’s going to be too much change.“

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Ron Artest hopes to point the Lakers to a 16th NBA championship. (ASSOCIATED PRESS)

When Ron Artest was introduced as the newest member of the Los Angeles Lakers, he didn’t disappoint and gave the assembled media a sneak peak at his colorful personality, starting with the No. 37 jersey he chose to wear for the 2009-10 season.

Why No. 37?

“I just ask all my Twitter friends and on MySpace and Facebook, and I asked all my fans to pick a number for me,” Artest said during his press conference on Wednesday. “A fan came up with this idea, because I like Michael Jackson so much, she said pick 37 because Thriller was the No. 1 album for 37 straight weeks and it was the No. 1 album of all time.”

The jersey number was definitely an odd choice even for an oddball like Artest. But that’s Ron Artest in a nutshell – half genius, half madman, but 100% quirky,

The Artest deal was reported at $33 million stretched across five years, and the agreement was basically consummated just hours after the free agency period began on July 1. Artest posted on his Twitter page on the evening of July 2 that he just signed a deal with a team. He did not specify which team, but the media dismissed the reports, saying the source was a phony. As it turned out, it was indeed Artest who sent the message on his “96TruwarierQB” Twitter account.

The acquisition of the 30-year-old forward signifies the end of the Lakers being labeled “soft.” The recently crowned world champions instantly got harder and tougher by bringing in the imposing 6-7, 250-pound enforcer. Everything about him exudes physicality. He could walk right up to you and say “Boo!” and you would be running for cover.

But before we hand the Lakers the Larry O’Brien trophy for 2009-10, consider some of the baggage Artest brings to the locker room. For all the heightened testosterone he injects into a ballclub (he has played for Chicago, Indiana, Sacramento and Houston) the highly combustible Artest is still…Ron Artest, and there are several warning signs that comes with the package.

His probation officers, also known as the NBA headquarters in New York, are always watching his every move. The Queensbridge native just can’t seem to escape the image of him climbing the standings and throwing down with paying customers in The Palace of Auburn Hills during the infamous Pacers-Pistons brawl in 2004.

From that point, Ron-Ron has developed a reputation for being a trouble-maker. He has become a magnate for technical fouls and is arguably the most scrutinized player in the league. The Lakers rely on continuity and steady flow, two of Phil Jackson’s favorite terms, so the addition of someone such as Artest – whether it’s with or without merit – can cause a disruption in Jackson’s circle of trust.

Think back to 2004 when the Lakers has Shaq, Kobe, Gary Payton and Karl Malone. Team chemistry was completely out of whack and the Big Four and their gigantic egos were too enormous even for a grand stage such as Tinseltown.

Last week, Jackson told a radio station in Los Angeles that he was not given the “either/or” when it came to choosing between Artest or Trevor Ariza. “He’s an unknown,” Jackson said of Artest. “He’s a player that even I think his own teams don’t know exactly what he’s going to do that particular night.”

Jackson didn’t sound like a guy who is looking forward to dealing with a headstrong personality, especially at this stage of his career where he is considering retirement and has dealt with numerous health issues.

Artest may have lost a step or two but his tenacity on defense can still be a huge plus. Bulldog forwards such as LeBron James and Carmelo Anthony can no longer push their way through the Lakers defense. However, the same can’t be said about his game on offense. It’s just not built for the triangle offense, which is defined by ball movement and spacing.

Artest tends to pound the ball on one side of the court and can be reluctantly to swing the ball to the weak side. He is extremely inconsistent as an outside shooter and, at times, forces shots and does not make good decisions. To be effective, Artest needs the ball in his hands but he might have a difficult time prying it off Kobe Bryant’s hands.

He is at his best when he posts up smaller defenders and muscles his way to the basket. But on a team that already has excellent low-post scorers in Bryant, Pau Gasol, Lamar Odom (whenever he decides to re-sign with the Lakers) and Andrew Bynum, Artest could be the odd man out. It is highly doubtful that he will plant himself behind the 3-point line and give way to Bryant and Gasol, much like what Trevor Ariza did during the playoffs.

If Ron-Ron falls in line and defers to Kobe and the others, then this experiment will work. But Artest is at the point of his career that his popularity is at its peak and he will do nothing halt his rising Q rating. He loves being in the spotlight and doesn’t hide his shameless promotions of his TruWarier record label.

To ask Ron Artest to take a step back and let others shine is a very deadly proposition.  It’s just not his nature nor his preference.

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Ron Artest is not going down without a fight in the Western Conference semifinals. (ASSOCIATED PRESS)

Despite having watched his team get destroyed by 40 points in Game 5, Ron Artest remained confident. In fact, he was so confident that he believed his Houston Rockets would be back in Los Angeles on Sunday for Game 7, which meant he guaranteed a Rockets victory in Game 6.

“We come back in Game 7, we’ll know what to expect and how to play, and the energy they’re bringing and everything like that,” Artest said at the postgame news conference just minutes after the Lakers delivered a 118-78 thumping on the Rockets to regain control of the seven-game series.

Though the Lakers are ahead 3-2 in the series, Artest is not ready to see his face on TNT’s “Inside the NBA” show with a fishing rod in his hand.

“For us, it don’t matter which Laker team shows up. It’s all about which Houston Rockets team that shows up. I like the position that we’re in right now. I think we’re gonna be fine.”

Artest continued: “The good thing about is, Tim Ledger, or Leg … ‘How do you say his name?’ Legler! Tim Legler! When we lost Mac (Tracy McGrady), he said we’re not going to the playoffs,” Artest said. “Then, Charles Barkley said we’re not getting out of the first round, these guys are horrible. The good thing about it is, whatever those guys say is wrong. And they said the Lakers are going to win. That’s something to be encouraged about.”

Artest has not lost any of his swagger despite shooting 8-of-34 in his last two games, and has made just one of his last 13 3-point shots. He noted the Rockets are still adjusting to life without center Yao Ming. Matter of fact, he said they’re still adjusting to life without T-Mac.

“We’re learning on the go once again,” Artest said about forging ahead without the Rockets’ two franchise players. “We learned on the go when Mac went out early, now we’re learning on the go now that Yao is out. We got to find a way to win. If it was easy, you know, a caveman can do it.”

As for what he learned from the one-sided loss in Game 5, Artest singled out the importance of forward Chuck Hayes and the importance of taking care of the ball.

“Chuck has to understand he can’t foul early. When he’s out of the game, Gasol has a better chance in the low block. When Chuck fouled early, that hurt us,” said Artest, who cited the Lakers’ big height advantage inside with 7-foot Andrew Bynum, 7-foot Pau Gasol and 6-10 Lamar Odom.

“We’re 6-8, 6-9 … tops. We have no room for error. When Chuck goes out, they started getting tips and we miss rebounds. That’s what happened in Game 4; we didn’t make any errors. I don’t think it was so much was the Lakers did.”

As for what the Rockets need to do on offense for Game 6, Artest said, “We had a good couple of minutes, then we started to turn the ball over. But we’re gonna adjust. That’s been the thing with the Houston Rockets. Even when Yao went out, we adjust. We were on the road the first time without Yao. So that was an adjustment for us.”

The Rockets may be down in this fight, but Artest plans on going two more rounds with the Lakers.

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Kobe Bryant and Ron Artest got real physical with each other in Game 2. (NBAE/GETTY IMAGES)

The Los Angeles Lakers are going a little overboard in trying to shed their “soft” reputation. Against the Houston Rockets in Game 2, the Lakers lay down some serious smack talk during the game and smacked the Rockets with two vicious elbows. Both were calculated and delivered with malice.

In the fourth quarter of a hotly contested and very chippy game, Kobe Bryant sent a message to Ron Artest by swinging an elbow to Artest’s throat. It was an irony or ironies. The bully getting bullied. Ron-Ron did not like that one bit, as he stormed right to Kobe’s face to let him know about it. Artest was ejected, but Kobe brushed off the confrontation. When Bryant was asked about the incident during the postgame news conference, he said nothing. Bryant claimed he did not hear Artest. C’mon, Kobe! The guy was right in your ear. Stop playing the Obi-Wan card and just let the whole world know about your Darth Vader side.

But the biggest bow of the night was delivered by mild-mannered Derek Fisher. Just for the record, I like Derek Fisher. I think he is one of the most well-respected players in the league (he’s the president of the players’ union!) and is one of the classiest people you will ever meet. That’s why it was a total shock to me that D-Fish went to the bully tactic to deliver his message.

To recap what happened, Fisher sized up Houston forward Luis Scola and leveled him with a body check that lifted Scola off his feet and onto the floor. Fisher was assessed a flagrant 2 foul and was ejected. He tried to defend his actions, but he’s not going to convince too many people that it was just a hard, playoff foul. It was more than just a playoff foul. He wanted to hurt Scola to send the message to the Rockets forward, and the rest of the Rockets big men, that the Lakers guards are growing tired of all the illegal moving screens they have been setting for the first two games of the heated series.

Scola had been the target of many Lakers, including Lamar Odom, Sasha Vujacic and even Luke Walton, who rarely gets emotionally involved. Scola must have been really doing something shady to get almost half of the Lakers roster turn against him. Whatever it was, Fisher was going to let him feel it.

As much as I like good hard fouls and physical play in the postseason, I think the Lakers are crossing the line with some of their actions. It’s totally out of character for them. It’s one thing to play tough, it’s another to act tough. The Lakers are not what you call a “tough” team. They are a finese team. It is their greatest strength and their greatest weakness. Kobe is the only pitbull on their squad. The rest of them are puppies. The Lakers should be above all this nonsense, and should just focus on playing basketball instead of acting like a bunch of wanna-be mixed martial artists.

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