Heckling Ron Artest is So Not Cool
This Sunday, I had an opportunity to go down to the Staples Center and watch the Kings battle the Lakers. It turned out to be a very exciting game. The Lakers are title contenders again, so everyone has started come in and bring their "A" game against them. As well, everyone in Los Angeles is back on the bandwagon. I’m sure all of these people didn’t get off the Bandwagon during the 2005 season or even during the 1994 season, because L.A. fans aren’t fair-weather like that.
Anyhow, the Lakers are back to selling out every game, and the arena is back to being electric. The electricity at games is back to feeling like when the Lakers were playing winning basketball in front of seventeen-five-o-five at the Fab Forum. In fact from my vantage point on Sunday it seemed like people were actually making an effort to arrive to games earlier. My point, the electricity is definitely there at every Lakers home game these days. Usually when I attend games these days, I’m lucky enough to get tickets that place me in a position to really analyze what’s going on the court. On Sunday I had an opportunity to sit a few rows behind the Kings bench. This was perfect, because it gave me an opportunity to take a good look at a team I’ve tried to keep up with throughout the year (thank you league pass).
Last season, the Warriors were the team that made me glad that I threw down $200 bucks (or whatever it cost last season) on league pass (thank you, Monta Ellis). This season, the Warriors are still the team that made league pass well worth every penny for me. But I’m also glad I have league pass this season to make sure that I don’t miss the Kings play at home. At home, the Kings are pretty darn good team. They play with energy and a confidence that makes me think that this team will one day be pretty darn good (especially if they pick up someone nice in the lottery this season).
Cisco Garcia is hot and spicy, Beno Udrih is pretty formidable going to his left, and Kevin Martin is a more evolved Reggie Miller (able to hit mid-range jumpers as well as take his man to the cup at will). John Salmons is also a vastly under rated. Spencer Hawes is going to be a hybrid of Chris Mihm (when he was healthy) and Brad Miller at their best. I don’t think he passes on the level of Brad Miller, but he score like him on the outside and finishes like Mihm did prior to his ankle injury. My only problem with him is that he celebrates every time he does something special on the court. He certainly comes off as a cocky son of a something.
Anyhow, despite all of that up and coming talent, the best player on the Kings remains Ron Artest. After watching him for a bit on Sunday, I couldn’t help but think about how great Ron-Ron could have been if anyone would have ever been able to relate to him on his level. On offense, he can pretty much get to the bucket at will, but yet, for some reason, he still settles for three pointers way too often.
John Hollinger sums up what I’m trying to say perfectly in his 2007-2008 season forecast:
Considering his talent on both sides of the ball, you would think Artest would be one of the top ten players in the league. However, because of Artest’s well documented roller-coaster like mental state, he hasn’t ever really been able to put things together. If he didn’t let his paranoia about the public, the coaches and his past and current teammates such as Jermaine O’neal, Mike Bibby, and Kevin Martin were better than him get in the way of his on the court performance, we would definitely be talking about Ron Artest as a perennial All-Star.
The brawl in Detroit obviously didn’t help Ron-Ron’s development much. Obviously Ron made a tremendous mistake. But I have to say, if I were in his shoes (in that atmosphere), I possibly would have lost my cool and went into the stands to kick that guys ass too.
Since that incident, Ron-Ron has been attacked mercilously by opposing fans. There was no better example of this than the game on Sunday. The fans in my section heckled him relentlessly. First of all, I don’t think any fan has a right to heckle players the way that fans do today. Fans often think that paying for a ticket opens the door for them to heckle opposing players in any fashion (okay, maybe $210 a pop for a seat does give them some right to moderately heckle). But that simply should not be the case. Especially with a guy like Artest. You should have seen the things the guys around me were saying. Some were even challenging Artest with questions like: “What are you gonna do Artest, run in the stands?” You gotta be crazy if you’re challenging Artest to come into the stands. I mean, did you not see this?
I think it’s time fans get off of Artest’s back. It’s like fans want to see the guy fail. From what most people say, Artest is a good hearted, but misunderstood individual. He probably has done more for his community than most of the fans that heckle him on a nightly basis have as a collective. If you’re a heckler or hater of Ron Artest, just do me one favor and read this Michael Tillery Interview of Ron-Ron before you pass judgment. If you still want to hate on him after reading that, then so be it. But at least get to know the dude and his perspective on things before you constantly hate on him. I could only imagine what it feels like to be in his shoes.
On a more positive note, Marge Hearn--wife of the late legendary Chick Hearn--was seated across from my section. It was so cool to see how many fans came up to her took photos with her and shake her hand. Chick was definitely the King of Los Angeles, and I’m glad fans are still showing Marge a lot of love for Chick’s contributions.
Anyhow, the Lakers are back to selling out every game, and the arena is back to being electric. The electricity at games is back to feeling like when the Lakers were playing winning basketball in front of seventeen-five-o-five at the Fab Forum. In fact from my vantage point on Sunday it seemed like people were actually making an effort to arrive to games earlier. My point, the electricity is definitely there at every Lakers home game these days. Usually when I attend games these days, I’m lucky enough to get tickets that place me in a position to really analyze what’s going on the court. On Sunday I had an opportunity to sit a few rows behind the Kings bench. This was perfect, because it gave me an opportunity to take a good look at a team I’ve tried to keep up with throughout the year (thank you league pass).
Last season, the Warriors were the team that made me glad that I threw down $200 bucks (or whatever it cost last season) on league pass (thank you, Monta Ellis). This season, the Warriors are still the team that made league pass well worth every penny for me. But I’m also glad I have league pass this season to make sure that I don’t miss the Kings play at home. At home, the Kings are pretty darn good team. They play with energy and a confidence that makes me think that this team will one day be pretty darn good (especially if they pick up someone nice in the lottery this season).
Cisco Garcia is hot and spicy, Beno Udrih is pretty formidable going to his left, and Kevin Martin is a more evolved Reggie Miller (able to hit mid-range jumpers as well as take his man to the cup at will). John Salmons is also a vastly under rated. Spencer Hawes is going to be a hybrid of Chris Mihm (when he was healthy) and Brad Miller at their best. I don’t think he passes on the level of Brad Miller, but he score like him on the outside and finishes like Mihm did prior to his ankle injury. My only problem with him is that he celebrates every time he does something special on the court. He certainly comes off as a cocky son of a something.
Anyhow, despite all of that up and coming talent, the best player on the Kings remains Ron Artest. After watching him for a bit on Sunday, I couldn’t help but think about how great Ron-Ron could have been if anyone would have ever been able to relate to him on his level. On offense, he can pretty much get to the bucket at will, but yet, for some reason, he still settles for three pointers way too often.
John Hollinger sums up what I’m trying to say perfectly in his 2007-2008 season forecast:
"Artest's off-court antics take center stage, and largely overshadow his on-court antics. But those were considerable in their own right. Artest played as selfishly as any player in the league in the first month of the season, continuing a trend that he showed when arriving from Indiana the year before. It was as if he was trying to prove the Pacers wrong by scoring 40 points a game, except he didn't have the ability to pull it off so instead he was shooting 37.5 percent after two months.On the defensive side of the ball, Artest is simply one of the best one on one defenders in the league. He can defend the post as well as the perimeter with the best of them. (He'd be the perfect four for Golden State. I still can't believe they didn't try to trade for him. Could you imagine a team with Ron-Ron, Biedrins, Captain Jack, BDiddy, and Monta Ellis running at you every night? Down right scary, right?)
Then, somehow, sanity prevailed. It wasn't overnight, but from Jan. 1 on, Artest emerged to play like the Artest of old the rest of the way. Yes, he was too aggressive offensively, but he's always been. The difference was that he was being aggressive going to the rim, instead of trying to prove he could make 20-footers off the dribble. The result was roughly the same number of shot attempts, but more points, more assists and more foul shots."
Considering his talent on both sides of the ball, you would think Artest would be one of the top ten players in the league. However, because of Artest’s well documented roller-coaster like mental state, he hasn’t ever really been able to put things together. If he didn’t let his paranoia about the public, the coaches and his past and current teammates such as Jermaine O’neal, Mike Bibby, and Kevin Martin were better than him get in the way of his on the court performance, we would definitely be talking about Ron Artest as a perennial All-Star.
The brawl in Detroit obviously didn’t help Ron-Ron’s development much. Obviously Ron made a tremendous mistake. But I have to say, if I were in his shoes (in that atmosphere), I possibly would have lost my cool and went into the stands to kick that guys ass too.
Since that incident, Ron-Ron has been attacked mercilously by opposing fans. There was no better example of this than the game on Sunday. The fans in my section heckled him relentlessly. First of all, I don’t think any fan has a right to heckle players the way that fans do today. Fans often think that paying for a ticket opens the door for them to heckle opposing players in any fashion (okay, maybe $210 a pop for a seat does give them some right to moderately heckle). But that simply should not be the case. Especially with a guy like Artest. You should have seen the things the guys around me were saying. Some were even challenging Artest with questions like: “What are you gonna do Artest, run in the stands?” You gotta be crazy if you’re challenging Artest to come into the stands. I mean, did you not see this?
I think it’s time fans get off of Artest’s back. It’s like fans want to see the guy fail. From what most people say, Artest is a good hearted, but misunderstood individual. He probably has done more for his community than most of the fans that heckle him on a nightly basis have as a collective. If you’re a heckler or hater of Ron Artest, just do me one favor and read this Michael Tillery Interview of Ron-Ron before you pass judgment. If you still want to hate on him after reading that, then so be it. But at least get to know the dude and his perspective on things before you constantly hate on him. I could only imagine what it feels like to be in his shoes.
On a more positive note, Marge Hearn--wife of the late legendary Chick Hearn--was seated across from my section. It was so cool to see how many fans came up to her took photos with her and shake her hand. Chick was definitely the King of Los Angeles, and I’m glad fans are still showing Marge a lot of love for Chick’s contributions.
8 comments:
Great article, but Artest gets what he deserves. He has wasted his opportunity to have become one of the greatest ball players. He is a selfish teammate and public figure. If only he would understand his role on the court, his wackiness would be ignored and appreciated like Rodman. Rodman was a selfish self-promoter, but understood his role, and was relentless on the court.
This pisses me off a bit. Ron-Ron's "...off court problems," include such zany antics as being convicted of beating his wife. His rush into the stands did more damage to the image of the NBA than any other single event in the last decade (save the Kobe scandal). True, he's one of the best defenders in the NBA. He pulled five turnovers out of Brandon Roy last night (and finished with six! steals). He's well paid for being talented however, and I think he's hated not just because he's a player, but because he's an asshole of a player. Rodman was a jerk, but he was smart enough to keep his mouth shut when Jordan commanded him to rebound. If all Artest had done in Indiana was take pictures holding Janet Jackson's boobies, maybe he'd be playing on a similarly talented team. He blew it though, and it's his own fault.
800, your uneducated comments piss me off a bit. He was not convicted of beating his wife. Stop reading headlines and start reading the story. The only eyewitness of the entire incident said his WIFE attacked the car with a frying pan as Artest was trying to leave.
Every time I see Ron-Ron play he impresses the hell out of me. Like you said, he can absolutely score at will if he wants to but settles for jumpers way too often. He's a menace and a bruiser that has not even come close to his potential.
The vacuum that is Artest hands work both ways. Those hands suck in steals and also suck the live out the offense.
Artest treats his teammates like he treats his animals. He can't even throw them a scrap. He's a jerk in life and as a player.
Artest is a punk on and off the court. I have to respond to the post about being uneducated about the situation. In defense of the person who posted it, the poster may have the facts wrong, but Artest is a bad guy. He got in an altercation with his babies momma and then tried to cover it up. He has also been charged with animal abuse. He treats his dogs off the court like he treats them on the court--He can't even throw them a scrap. His hands are a vacuum for steals and the flow of the offense.
Nate did they even read the interview? Goodness...
Hey Nate, TC from Forum Blue and Gold. I agree with your thoughts about Ron Ron. He's a lockdown defender. I've never had the good seats you had, but yeah, I think given the price of seats, an argument could be made that those fans have a right to heckle. Still an' all, why would you go to games if you don't have some admiration for these athletes' abilities? I don't get it. Ron Ron, as you and Mizzo made clear via the interview seems to be a bit of a wunderkind. Totally misunderstood. Not perfect, obviously you shouldn't react...but who among us can say they wouldn't do the same thing in the same circumstances? Certainly not all the haters who take cheap shots at Ron's obvious weaknesses. Anyway, I'm always rootin' for Ron Ron to come to terms with his demons. It's not anyone who would be invited to help Michael get back into shape for a comeback.
Post a Comment