Hurry Back Ron Artest

The Lakers knew that signing Ron Artest meant they'd encounter a few bumps and bruises along the way. They just never imagined it would be Ron Ron's own bumped head and a bruised elbow that would keep him out of the lineup for what has been four games now. For the most part, Artest has been a model Angelino. He's embraced the city, giving out his phone number on more than one occasion and keeping his tweeps well versed. He gets frustrated with opposing players from time to time, but he almost never has a problem with a referee. He even mixes in the old school raising of the hand when whistled for a foul.

As a player, he is still trying to find his role within the triangle. But if the last five games are any indication, the Lakers are lost without his defense. In the first of LA's four games in five nights, Artest had a so-so game against Cleveland and LeBron. LBJ had a solid all-around game (he missed a triple-double by one assist) and Artest fouled out, but James didn't dominate scoring-wise. Yeah, it's odd to say since he scored 26, but he mostly killed the Lakes as a facilitator. Overall, the Lakers D was terrible and they missed their own share of bunnies (see Gasol). Then Ron fell down some stairs and blacked out. The Lakers have struggled to wake up in his absence. In the four games Artest has missed, LA has given up 103, 118, 118, and 108 points.

Were it not for the heroics of the Kobester, they could be riding a five-game losing streak. Seriously. In the first game in Sacramento, they blew a six-point lead in the last three minutes and they were down by seven in the first OT. They were blown out in Phoenix and they followed that up by yielding 118 to a Golden State team playing the second of a back-to-back. The first game for the Warriors was a win over the Celtics! In fact, GS played Phoenix, Boston and LA in consecutive games (who made up that sked?) Joel and Stu kept marveling at how the Warriors were shooting close to 60 percent. "It's easy," I screamed at my TV, "when you give up layup after layup." Then, of course, last night the Lakers went down by 20 against the Kings at Staples and won on Kobe's third game-winner in a month.

Maybe that's an omen. Like I've said before, there's a tendency for decent teams who lose close games one year to come back and win a majority of those the next season (assuming most of the personnel is the same). The Lakers were great in close games last season. In fact, they were rarely blown out. So one wonders if the pendulum will swing the other way this season. For every blowout (Cleveland, Phoenix) which you think will serve as a wakeup call, recently there have been even more alarming near-catastrophes against GS and Sac-town. Will this team win 60 games? Are they good enough on defense to repeat? Heaven knows when they move the ball on O, they can be scary good.

I thought it was refreshing though to hear Artest say recently he thought that despite their record he felt the Lakers have played well as a unit in less than ten games this year. To repeat as champs, you need to generate hunger. To their advantage, the Lakes have not only the NBA's best player but the league's hungriest in Kobe. Even Artest is amazed by how much Kobe wants to win every night. But if this recent spell of poor play means anything it's that LA needs Artest. They need his shot, his hustle, his defense. Maybe, Trevor Ariza will end up having a better season stat-wise than Ron Ron, but Trevor can't guard guys like Carmelo or LBJ. It may be difficult to sum up just how much Artest means to this team. The past week has been a pretty good testament to his value, but ultimately it will be whether or not the Lakers are holding the trophy in June.