On the surface, this has clearly been a season beleaguered by inconsistent effort, execution, health, and focus by the Lakers. Despite those factors, they have still managed the second best record in the league at 46-18, and sit atop the Western Conference – for now at least. That is an immensely huge “for now” in the midst of the current three game losing streak as well.
In the beginning of the year, all Laker fans and the NBA media were curious as to how Ron Artest was going to fit into the locker room of the defending champs. Minus the half-naked interview on Jimmy Kimmel Live, and what is still an unsolved bizarre head injury episode at his own home on Christmas, Artest has been incredibly disciplined and quiet, perhaps even a bit too much.
If you haven’t heard by now though, Artest has trimmed a significant amount of weight off of his body, nearly 12 pounds, by running 45 minutes on a treadmill every chance he gets. That extra effort coupled with what now appears to be a nearly healed case of plantar fasciitis, has resulted in the Lakers finally reaping the benefits of the Artest for Ariza swap.
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