Lakers Practice Report: 3/01/10

Phil Jackson needed just one word to describe Ron Artest's effort against Carmelo Anthony and the Denver Nuggets after L.A.'s 95-89 win on Sunday: "remarkable."

High praise from Caesar, indeed.

In our postgame wrap of the Lakers win, we detailed Artest's performance:

Sparking that defense was the terrific individual effort from Ron Artest, who was draped so close to Carmelo Anthony all night that ‘Melo may as well have worn cologne named “Ron Ron.” Anthony made only 7-of-19 field goal attempts, turned the ball over eight times and fouled out while trying to create space from Artest late in the fourth quarter. Artest tied a season high with six steals, and even went off for 17 points himself (’Melo had 21) thanks in part to four 3-pointers, plus four boards and four assists.

Not bad.

“It was just about playing decent and a lot of effort," explained Artest. “(Anthony) is definitely one of the better players in the NBA, but when I am hungry I don’t really worry about the offensive players even if they have a good game. I know that if I am doing my job, we should be OK.”

Artest, citing improved conditioning due to his trimming more than 10 pounds (and counting) off his frame, also pointed out that he's held the last six individual offensive players he's faced since the All-Star break below their respective averages, which is a constant goal for the Queens, New York, native.

"Some people get into a shooting rhythm,” Artest said. “I can get into a defensive rhythm. I think I’m in a little defensive rhythm right now."

The evidence supports his statement:

Opponent, Player, Points vs Artest, Season Average
Denver, Carmelo Anthony, 21, 29.1
Philly, Andre Iguodala, 13, 17.3
Dallas, Shawn Marion, 10, 11.4
Memphis, Rudy Gay, 17, 20.0
Boston, Paul Pierce, 11, 17.9
G.S., Corey Maggette, 17, 20.3

Five of those six players are either first (Anthony, Iguodala, Pierce) or second (Gay, Maggette) on their respective teams in scoring, and in four of the six games, L.A. emerged the winner (had Kobe Bryant played against Boston, a 87-86 victor, it may have been five).

After the Denver win, Bryant had this to say of Artest: "He earned his money tonight. That’s why he’s here."

Sunday's was certainly Artest's most notable effort, but Bryant could have been talking about any of those last six games.

Over in the NFL, Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Chad Ochocinco used to keep a list of opposing cornerbacks he was set to go against. But since Artest often refuses to even acknowledge individual assignments by name, going so far as to say that he doesn't know who is the starting line up of Tuesday's opponent (the Pacers), we're here to help: Indiana's Danny Granger (23.0 ppg); Miami's Quentin Richardson (7.9 ppg, which could make Artest thirsty for Dwyane Wade); Charlotte's Gerald Wallace (18.9 ppg); and Orlando's Matt Barnes (8.4 ppg).

Whoever it is, if Artest's physical, unrelenting play throughout the 2009-10 season and particularly in the past few weeks is any indication, those players aren't looking forward to seeing No. 37.