Basketball Fiend

Noticed anything funny about the NBA this season?

Yeah, me too. No Ron Artest headlines.

So far, Artest has been neither erratic nor disruptive in Houston. Other than a strange rant on skinny jeans and a quip about not caring what percentage he shoots as long as the team wins, Artest has been quiet on the national front.

If you root for the Houston Rockets, this is awesome news. If you root for a team other than the Houston Rockets, it’s the worst damn news you’ve heard all year.

Why? Because an energized, motivated, non-disruptive Ron Artest is a super-effective weapon to have in the postseason. Not only is he a match-up nightmare for opposing coaches, he is also one of the league’s greatest competitors.

A focused Artest next to a healthy Yao and a confident Tracy McGrady can spell trouble for anyone in the league (and yes, that includes the Lakers, Celtics and Cavs). Artest can guard three positions, make shots from anywhere on the court and outmuscle anybody not named Dwight Howard for loose balls.

Remember the opening round of the 2005-06 playoffs? The Kings under Artest gave the Spurs fits in that series, ultimately taking them to six games and scaring the crap out of Gregg Popovich in the process.

And that was with a starting five of Mike Bibby, Bonzi Wells, Artest, (an aged) Shareef Abdul-Rahim and Brad Miller. Imagine what Artest can do with Yao, T-Mac, Battier, Scola and Alston (not to mention a terrific bench). Cue Kevin Garnett. (Anything is possible!).

For years we’ve been trying to find out how to harness Ron Artest’s potential. Through all of the album releases, brawls in the stands, domestic disputes, dog-watching fiascos, clashes with coaches and disruptive public comments, there has always been a glimmer of hope with Ron Ron. He’s an elite player after all. You just have to know how to keep him on track.

Which is where Rick Adelman comes in.

Under Adelman in Sacramento, Artest flourished. He was a good leader who inspired his teammates,  ratcheted up the level of team defense and played unselfishly.

When Adelman was fired and Artest failed to connect with new coach Eric Musselman (a colossal failure by all accounts in Sacramento) everyone, myself included, pointed to Artest’s previous success as The Honeymoon Period.

Little, if any, credit remained with Adelman.

Now, however, we see that honeymoons have little to do with it. Like the end of a really bad romantic comedy, Rick Adelman is Ron Artest’s perfect match.

Like Mike D’Antoni and Steve Nash (or if you prefer Gregg Popovich and Tim Duncan) Adelman and Artest just “get” each other. There’s trust there. And trust leads to buy-in. (Who else could have convinced Artest to come off the bench when Shane Battier returned from injury?).

Sam Amick of the Sac Bee wrote a feature recently on the reunion of Adelman and Artest. It’s an enlightening feature. I particularly liked this insight from Adelman.

“I think the biggest thing with any player, if you can reach him – and I think you can reach Ron – is that something can happen, and if I sit down and talk to him, he’s very positive, and he’ll be the first to say, ‘OK, I can see what you mean.’ He just has a way of doing things. He’s not someone you just undress in front of everybody or attack. You just talk to him. That’s the way a lot of players have been that I’ve had. I think if you just try to be honest with him and he trusts you, then he’s fine.”

The philosophy that Adelman describes here (addressing Artest in private, frequently checking in with him and avoiding instances of ‘making an example’ of him in front of the team) is very simple, but I don’t think many coaches in the past have taken this stance with Artest.

It’s a stance of mutual respect and, from the lack of soundbytes coming out of Houston this season, it seems like it’s working.

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