The Los Angeles Lakers needed three hours and nine minutes to put away the Phoenix Suns on Tuesday; when a game goes to triple-overtime, it's all hands on deck. It's all biceps on deck too, and Ron Artest brought his out for a vital transition dunk in the third OT. (Via TBJ.)
VIDEO: Lakers’ Odyssey Against Suns Gives Ron Artest Opportunity To Appreciate His Own Power
Artest's sense of showmanship is one of the great things about watching him play on a nightly basis; when he played for the Kings, he actually got kicked out of a game against the Jazz because he played to the Salt Lake crowd constantly. (The officials were worried things would get out of hand.) Lamar Odom has the right take on what all the crowd interplay actually says about Ron-Ron. From the Los Angeles Times:
"He understands the stage we play on," said Lakers forward Lamar Odom of Artest. "He's going to make a great wrestler. He's got the antics and he knows what's going on. He'll hit a guy with a chair. Ron will be one of the best wrestlers ever."
David Stern will cringe if he ever reads that, but it's true. And face it: Kobe Bryant is exactly the same, just with a different persona. So are Dwight Howard, LeBron James, Paul Pierce. Ron-Ron's character just so happens to be the most cartoonish and dissonant given his image and appearance. The "kiss the guns" laugher fits that -- here's this brutal, strong player who is jokingly kissing his bicep after a rare dunk at the end of a brutally long game. What's not to love?
See More:
