May 4
Houston Chronicle
columnist Richard Justice
"
Are you ready for Ron Artest with a mohawk? If that sight doesn't rattle the Los Angeles Lakers, nothing will. Advantage, Rockets. "I've been trying to avoid it," Artest said Sunday afternoon, "but I'm not going to renege on my deal." He promised to get the haircut if the Rockets got out of the first round of the playoffs, and Von Wafer intends to make sure he has it by tipoff of Game 1 tonight. "I never should have made the deal," Artest said. Come on, Ron-Ron, roll with the punches. What's one bad haircut in a season in which so much has gone right? Bad haircut or not, this season has been everything for which Artest could have hoped. He was reminded of this again Sunday afternoon when ..."
April 30
Houston Chronicle
columnist Richard Justice
"
The Rockets had just lost Game 2 of this series with the Portland Trail Blazers when Ron Artest went around the locker room challenging his teammates. "You guys don't understand what it takes to win a championship," he said at one point. He was loud and he was angry and he made plenty of good points. That night in Portland, the Rockets became careless and blew a chance to win a playoff game. (Later, Rockets assistant coach R.J. Adelman attempted to lighten the mood by telling Artest: "Hey, Ron, I won a Division II championship [at Williamette University] if that counts.") Never mind that Brent Barry won two NBA championships with the San Antonio Spurs or that Luis Scola has an Olympic gold ..."
April 24
Houston Chronicle
columnist Richard Justice
"
Let's face it, Ron Artest has made things a lot more interesting around our dusty little town. For instance, on Thursday afternoon he was asked about some of the things that went wrong when the Rockets lost Tuesday night in Portland. "I had a great first quarter and then I didn't play well the next three quarters," he said. So far, so good. Plenty of other jocks would have stopped there. Honest assessment, boring quote. Plenty of other jocks aren't Ron Artest. Just when it would have been smart to stop, Artest kept going. "Yao (Ming) didn't play well the entire game," he added. Maybe you've heard the one about people in glass houses throwing stones. Artest was 8-for-20 from the field that ..."