Where's The Ron Artest Swagger?

[dula14]

It's good to see Ron stepping up defensivley lately, and really making life tough on opposing perimeter players. But where is the edge and swagger we've seen in the past? Right now the Lakers could really use a spark of passion, and the Ron-Ron from years past might have provided it.

I'm not saying I want to see "Crazy Ron" who goes into the stands after fans, but I certainly wouldn't mind seeing "In Your Face Ron" who runs down the court after Kobe for an elbow to the sternum. He's made an impact defensively as the Lakers are better in that area this year, but I also thought he would bring a different mentality to this team as a whole. I expected his intensity and passion to permeate this team, and we'd see a tougher more intense group of Lakers.

Ron-Ron is no longer Ron-Ron, he is just Ron Artest. I mean how many technicals does he have this year? One or two maybe? I think he listened a bit too much to naysayers who said he would be a distraction and hurt team chemistry. He now seems to be going overboard in his efforts to conform.

He was at his best when he played on the edge and you didn't know what he would do next. This new controlled Ron is still a good defender but not the all-star caliber player we saw in Houston, Sacramento, and Indiana. Again, I don't want "Crazy Ron" going off the deep end and getting suspensions, but a dose of the old "Ron-Ron" may be just what this team needs.

[chefy]

playing it too safe

hes doing good for us...but we're not getting the full ron. I want him to be more aggressive both on offense and defense

[TruSkool]

he still thinks he needs to repair his image, which he doesnt anymore really...
and hes taking this opportunity in LA to do so.

but i expect him to raise his intensity level a couple of notches come playoff time

[chefy]

he still thinks he needs to repair his image, which he doesnt anymore really...
and hes taking this opportunity in LA to do so.

but i expect him to raise his intensity level a couple of notches come playoff time

+1

[TonyMontana]

Funny how before he came to the Lakers everyone b1tcched and whinned about how he is going to be a distraction and cause problems for this team and now all of a sudden he's a goody goody.

Some Laker fans just cant be happy. Its like they live in this "MY PERFECT LAKERS TEAM" where everything has to go their way or its wrong.


The ish some of you guys comeup with when we lose games.

[fareweatherfan]

the last person i would ask anything more of is Ron.

[DubaLakers]

I completely disagree OP. Run Run (that's what LO calls him) is focused, he had his best game last week vs. arguably the hardest offensive player to stop in the league, who scores easier than Melo ? Run Run's three is butter, is he our best three shooter now? Maybe. That side step three is one of the sickest shots around, I have no idea how he makes that, Sasha sure knows how to miss that same shot.

He's intense, he's not afraid, and his swagger is contained and focused, be careful what you wish for OP, because there were a few games he looked like he could blow up and he caught himself.

[TonyMontana]

I completely disagree OP. Run Run (that's what LO calls him) is focused, he had his best game last week vs. arguably the hardest offensive player to stop in the league, who scores easier than Melo ? Run Run's three is butter, is he our best three shooter now? Maybe. That side step three is one of the sickest shots around, I have no idea how he makes that, Sasha sure knows how to miss that same shot.

He's intense, he's not afraid, and his swagger is contained and focused, be careful what you wish for OP, because there were a few games he looked like he could blow up and he caught himself.

I got an idea DUB, BABY CAKES Ron needs to hire this guy to make him tough again.

http://www.youtube.com/user/hoopsking

[chefy]

I completely disagree OP. Run Run (that's what LO calls him) is focused, he had his best game last week vs. arguably the hardest offensive player to stop in the league, who scores easier than Melo ? Run Run's three is butter, is he our best three shooter now? Maybe. That side step three is one of the sickest shots around, I have no idea how he makes that, Sasha sure knows how to miss that same shot.

He's intense, he's not afraid, and his swagger is contained and focused, be careful what you wish for OP, because there were a few games he looked like he could blow up and he caught himself.

I got an idea DUB, BABY CAKES Ron needs to hire this guy to make him tough again.

http://www.youtube.com/user/hoopsking

[DubaLakers]

Lol, geez Tony get back to work already, before your boss goes remote desktop and checks your queue.

[TonyMontana]

Lol, geez Tony get back to work already, before your boss goes remote desktop and checks your queue.

The only person above me is God, and he's a Laker fan so Im sure he's cool with me posting.

On a serious note, my pops is my partner and he hates it when he see's me on this dam site. He's old school so he always rolls up on me like the PO PO saying "One of these days Im going to rip that piece of ish T.V looking ish (he means my laptop) right out from the wall and then you can send smoke signals to all these guys like you that have nothing better to do than write each other on a stupid computer"

You should've heard what he said about the "Killer crossover" video.

[DubaLakers]

Tony Toni Tone, dude same here I work for the family, Pops is old school USMC, we just moved our office to a upstairs downstairs unit before he would come in infrequently and work from home, now he's in the office daily, with the upstairs office, I get new projects on the hour.

[Dr Aki]

Funny how before he came to the Lakers everyone b1tcched and whinned about how he is going to be a distraction and cause problems for this team and now all of a sudden he's a goody goody.

Some Laker fans just cant be happy. Its like they live in this "MY PERFECT LAKERS TEAM" where everything has to go their way or its wrong.


The ish some of you guys comeup with when we lose games.

sooo true...

the lakers emotional leader isnt ronron! since when did we expect him to be??? hes been here less than a season!

why arent we getting on the team THAT ACTUALLY WON A RING?? to fire up this team

[Mamba Venom]

When it comes to Artest

Better safe (dacos) than sorry (dogs, detroit and being a dooche)

[TonyMontana]

When it comes to Artest

Better safe (dacos) than sorry (dogs, detroit and being a dooche)

Totally agree with you and Aki.

I myself want to see him get a few techs and bust a couple of jaws, but you know what the other Ron I LIKE just as much since if you realize the reffs arent being DOUCHE STARS, they are calling his fouls he earns, they are allowing him to be agressive and play his hard nose defense and the guy is being humble about it, just like last night against the Heat when he rolled up on Q.R and placed his hand on his shoulder in front of the reffs and told him "Just calm down Q" and if you notice the reffs minded their own business and everything turned out to be cool.

Like I said Im okay with the new Ron. I think as long as he keeps his mouth shut and plays the same way he has been then Im all for it. Its when he opens his mouth and yappps and cause too much negative attention towards himself Im worried about.

[dula14]

I completely disagree OP. Run Run (that's what LO calls him) is focused, he had his best game last week vs. arguably the hardest offensive player to stop in the league, who scores easier than Melo ? Run Run's three is butter, is he our best three shooter now? Maybe. That side step three is one of the sickest shots around, I have no idea how he makes that, Sasha sure knows how to miss that same shot.

He's intense, he's not afraid, and his swagger is contained and focused, be careful what you wish for OP, because there were a few games he looked like he could blow up and he caught himself.

I actually wouldn't mind seeing a minor Artest blowup. Like I said, not "Malice in the Palace" type blowup, but maybe a hard aggressive foul on a point guard who's carving the Lakers up. The last time we saw a mini explosion from Ron was last year in the playoffs when he got a flagrant the game after the infamous "elbow." The type of edge he played with that series, IMO was a big part of the reason the Rockets were able to take it to 7 games without T-Mac or Yao. He let it be known that he nor his team was going to be pushed around, and there would be a price to pay for choosing to mix it up.

I know it's a bit unfair to expect Ron to be an emotional leader in just his first year on a championship team, but unfortunately there's no one else on this team who seems to be willing to put someone on their a$$.

[DubaLakers]

Funny how before he came to the Lakers everyone b1tcched and whinned about how he is going to be a distraction and cause problems for this team and now all of a sudden he's a goody goody.

Some Laker fans just cant be happy. Its like they live in this "MY PERFECT LAKERS TEAM" where everything has to go their way or its wrong.


The ish some of you guys comeup with when we lose games.

+1

[Edrees]

If everyone was playing with Ron's intensity the past 3 games we'd be on a win streak, not a losing streak, right now.