Our old friend, Ronnie Artest comes to town Sunday night as his Sacramento Kings take on the Pacers. I'm a sucker for Ron-Ron, love his odd style of play, and look forward to watching him play again. One of the reasons I love the guy are his strange, playful comments in the media. He can get rambling around trying to turn a negative topic into a positive one and before you know it, you think he's right but really you have no idea what he just said.
There's a little of that flavor in this article from the Sacramento Bee. Artest tries to justify poor shot selection (a Ronnie staple) by using Allen Iverson as an example of a successful player with a poor shooting percentage. Hmmm, the success of A.I.'s team hasn't always been stellar. Ronnie prefers "feel" to stats, not minding a 3-20 night if one of the three provides the game winner. But wouldn't a few better shots or at least more makes render that game winner unnecessary. He finishes it off with a great quote saying he has no problem with a perceived slight although he it appears he does have a problem with the slight.
"I averaged 20-plus in the league before, averaged 18-plus, averaged 20 in the playoffs. I can score that rock."
Please don't misread the intentions of this post. I don't miss the day-to-day drama that was never far away with Artest on the roster. But it is nice to see these reminders of the entertainment value he provided at times.
If you want a primer on the Kings, check out Sactown Royalty.