There weren't too many fireworks between Ron Artest and his former teammates during the Lakers' overtime victory in Houston on Wednesday, other than a double technical called on him and Trevor Ariza in the first quarter.
But judging by what Artest had to say afterwards, there certainly could have been.
Artest claimed that the Rockets were being extra-physical with him in hopes of getting him ejected. And after taking a shot from Ariza early, Artest admitted that thoughts of getting violent out there definitely crossed his mind.
There are 10 games on the schedule this evening, but perhaps none holds more intrigue than Ron Artest making his return to Houston, to face the Rockets as a member of the Los Angeles Lakers.
But Artest isn't the only one with something to prove, as L.A. will be seeing Trevor Ariza for the first time since his agent played hardball with L.A.'s ownership group over the summer.
It's a little early to tell which team has come out ahead in this virtual trade, but looking at tonight's matchup, the Rockets would appear to be the ones with the advantage.
The Lakers are coming off of a championship season, and are the favorites to take home the title again in 2010. But with the virtual trade of Trevor Ariza for Ron Artest, along with the media circus created by Lamar Odom's whirlwind marriage to a reality television personality, they've certainly inserted enough wild cards into their stacked deck to make even the most die-hard of fans question the team's ability to repeat as champions.
There is a scene in Major League where the manager relates how ownership essentially has stacked everything she can against the team. They have no hope, because no matter what happens, they'll only be released as soon as it's convenient in pursuit of moving the team. Essentially, there is no reason for hope, no reason for effort, no reason for showing up to play. Tom Berenger's character looks up and says, " Well, I guess there's only one thing left to do ... win the whole (expletive) thing."
And that's pretty much where the Rockets are this season, barring the psychopathic sexbomb owner, threat of relocation, and the fact that they play a much more strenuous sport.
Here's hoping Lamar Odom and the L.A. Lakers reach an agreement and he returns to the defending champions.
If and when that happens, judging the offseason of general manager Mitch Kupchak will be simple. Odom returning to the Lakers, essentially means the offseason consisted of swapping Ron Artest for Trevor Ariza.
That's going to be an easy one to judge when it's all said and done. And Kupchak's going to get the credit or the blame.
Ariza admitted to hearing from LeBron James and Shaquille O'Neal but denied an ESPN report that James had confirmed he planned on staying in Cleveland after he becomes a free agent the summer of 2010.
HOUSTON -- The Houston Rockets were supposed to provide answers during the official introduction of the newly signed free-agent forward Trevor Ariza on Wednesday.
Instead, their behind-the-scenes maneuvering created even more questions.
On the day the Rockets introduced Ariza, a key contributor of the Los Angeles Lakers' championship run, the team admitted it signed the 24-year-old budding star with money from an injury exception granted by the NBA for Yao Ming, who's nursing a broken foot that could keep him sidelined for all of 2009-10.
What you see above -- that reigning MVP LeBron James wooed free agent Trevor Ariza to Cleveland by assuring the young ex-Laker that 'Bron would be sticking with the Cavaliers past 2010 -- is the report from ESPN's Chris Broussard. The way Broussard's source tells it, James didn't make that note a central part of his pitch -- the assurance came in response to a question from Ariza, who had asked whether the King would still be in Cleveland after 2010. (For what it's worth, Broussard reports that Ariza wasn't convinced James told the truth.)
Rasheed Wallace is one of the last major free agent names to make a commitment, and if the reports turn out to be true (thanks to Hedo Turkoglu, you can never be too sure), he'll be suiting up to start the 2009 season as a member of the Celtics.
Our own Matt Steinmetz thinks that makes Boston the favorite to take home the title next year. But to me, that seems -- to put it as politely as possible -- a bit overly-optimistic.
There is a reason nothing stays the same in the NBA. It's never good enough -- even at the top.
What the Los Angeles Lakers learned from the previous four NBA champs – Detroit, Miami, San Antonio and Boston -- was that the status quo will just get you beat the next season.
It's why there have been no repeats lately.
By landing Ron Artest to replace Trevor Ariza -- a huge upgrade -- the Lakers did what others before them didn't do. They got better after they won.
There weren't too many fireworks between Ron Artest and his former teammates during the Lakers' overtime victory in Houston on Wednesday, other than a double technical called on him and Trevor Ariza in the first quarter.
There are 10 games on the schedule this evening, but perhaps none holds more intrigue than 
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Here's hoping 
HOUSTON -- 
The 
What you see above -- that reigning MVP 
There is a reason nothing stays the same in the NBA. It's never good enough -- even at the top.
