I can see it, and I think they can be better. Bynum has the potential to be like 2 times as good as Cartwright. And Gasol is twice the player Horace was. Fisher wins over Paxon/BJ/Kerr. The only comparison where the Bulls have advantage is Kukoc and Jordan. And not by much in either case.

I got the Lakers winning 68 games this year but losing to the Spurs in the Conf. Finals.

I personally think getting Artest was an unnecessary risk. I thought Ariza was a great complimentary piece and Artest is a nutjob that is no longer dominant defensively and who also goes into chuck mode because he thinks he's a legit number one.

I think Artest is better than Bill Simmons gave him credit for, but I do think they risked an awful lot when they could've not risked naything and still been vastly superior to every team not named the Spurs.

3. Some of the stuff that happens is good for a few people to know about, as opposed to, say ... a million people.

To Artest. Here's a classic case of someone hoodwinking the American public with a 10-year pattern of bizarre behavior that eventually immunized them to all future crazy Ron Artest stories and anecdotes, such as the fact that he's wearing No. 37 to honor Michael Jackson because it's the same number of weeks that "Thriller" led the charts (um, what?), or his recent revelation that he had been pining to play for the Lakers for two solid years. Artest told reporters that he wandered into the Lakers' locker room to express that desire to a showering Kobe Bryant -- right after L.A.'s bitter Game 6 thrashing in Boston in the 2008 Finals, no less -- adding, "Yeah, I walked in the shower. I'm not a homosexual or nothing like that, but Kobe had no clothes on."

These anecdotes just bounce off people now. Artest is a benevolent crazy. Or so we think. Being around this nuttiness every day is a little different from merely hearing about the nuttiness in secondhand anecdotes. I know for a fact he routinely broke plays on offense and is still a handful behind the scenes, and the Rockets buried every 2008-09 story that would have made this patently clear. For instance, Artest routinely walked around in his underwear in public places: the Rockets' team bus, hotels, you name it. People around the team barely flinched after a while. Before Game 7 of the Lakers series -- only the biggest game of the entire season -- they finally flinched.

Here's what happened: Artest missed the first two team buses (the ones for players, coaches and team personnel) from Houston's hotel to the Staples Center and barely made the third and final bus, which was reserved for business staff, sponsors and friends of the team. These stunned people watched Artest sprint to the bus right before it left, jump on and take one of the remaining seats ... yes, wearing only his underwear. Owner Leslie Alexander happened to be sitting on the bus and witnessed the whole thing. And you wonder why the Houston Rockets didn't make any effort whatsoever to bring back Artest.

(Note: If you want to make the "Kobe and Phil can keep him in check much like MJ and Phil kept Rodman in check" argument, just remember Rodman was still a world-class defender and rebounder when Chicago acquired him. Artest is neither. If anything, his athleticism is slipping and he can't defend quick small forwards anymore. So why even risk it? Wait, why am I complaining? Thank you for screwing up your title defense, Lakers!)

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=simmons/090727

Artest has had to take shots on the teams he's been on especially reciently. He's had success....i don't think you will see him dominating offensively on this team. Don't forget he does have teamates and a coach that has been running the triangle offense for the last 100 years.

Also Ariza was a bum!!! guys get open off his dunks, defense, and his new found wide open jumpshot. Forgeting the fact the dude can't create anything, or dribble to save his life or finish outside of a dunk or get his jumpshot off outside of a spot up. Lakers got themselves a Mark Aguirre like when he became a Piston.

Posted by orangeblobman:

I mean, the "artest problem" has already been solved by his year in Houston.

This guy proved that he can team-play and I think he has shaken his 'ill-fit' reputation for good.

If Rodman was anywhere near Artest in mental-healthy, the Bulls would have been undefeated.

Ron was not an angel in Houstan off the court. They just kept it quiet. Rockets did not want him back.