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NBA Most Improved Player: Artest deserves some attention

By Terry Brown

Thursday, December 12 Updated 11:01 AM EST

I must have missed the story on Ron Artest telling us how many jump shots he took over the summer to improve his perimeter game.

Ron Artest

Guard-Forward

Indiana Pacers

Profile

2002-2003 SEASON STATISTICS

GM PPG RPG APG FG% FT%

21 15.7 5.7 3.2 .456 .788

The memo on the new diet must have missed my desk, or was it a new personal training regimen mixed with yoga, pilates and marine basic training?

The new shoe contract, music video or clothing line commercial to announce the return of Artest to the Indiana Pacers never aired in my time zone.

All I remember seeing last week were the bandages wrapped around both of his hands to protect them while getting them dirty. He broke his right ring finger last year while playing for the Bulls and had surgery on his left pinky in September. Either one could have happened while collecting one of his 455 steals in only 3 1/4 seasons in the NBA.

He wears athletic tape and gauze around two fingers on each hand but won't say if that's the reason he's shot 13-for-38 in his last three games. It wasn't too long ago that he was leading the league in three-point shooting percentage. Heck, he's still shooting 46 percent from the field on the year.

And in those same three games, he stole the ball 10 times.

Mark Montieth of the Indianapolis Star will tell you that he's always the last Pacer to leave the practice floor.

But that's the way it's always been for Artest, who made the All-Rookie Second Team in 2000 after averaging 12 points, 4.3 rebounds and 1.6 steals. He was the 16th pick that year of the Bulls, but all anyone remembers is Elton Brand from that team, or Baron Davis, Lamar Odom or Shawn Marion from that draft. No one is even quite sure how he became a Pacer except that Jalen Rose was gone at around that same time.

It's always been Reggie Miller's team, anyway. Jermaine O'Neal is the one making all the headlines. Head coach Isiah Thomas still gets all the quotes. Austin Croshere has the cash, Jonathan Bender the interest. Is there anything even left for Artest except to lead the Eastern Conference-leading Pacers in steals, be second in scoring, assists and minutes and third in rebounds and blocked shots while being tied up top for three-pointers made?

The Most Improved Player in the NBA could very well be Artest. Too bad nobody has heard the news, yet.

Bobby Jackson

Sacramento Kings

Current Stats: 20.2 ppg, 4.7 rpg, 4.0 apg, 1.5 spg, 0.04 bpg, 50% shooting in 34.7 mpg

Career Stats: 9.2 ppg, 3.2 rpg, 2.9 apg, 1 spg, 0.1 bpg, 42% shooting in 22 mpg

In only 24 games, Jackson has already scored more points than he did in all of 1999 or 2000. In another week, you can add 2001 to that list. In another month, you can add 2002. Last year, he scored a career-high of 896 points. His rookie season, he scored 790 points, the second-highest total of his career. That's 1,686 combined. At his current pace, he will score 1656.4. Don't forget the decimal point. He's earned every one and fraction thereof. And let's not forget that he's tossing in four dimes a game for the 18-6 Kings. Mike Bibby averaged five assists per game last year to go along with 13.7 points while also averaging fewer rebounds, steals and blocks than Jackson. By the way, Bibby's spectacular playoff run lasted a grand total of 16 games. Bobby Jackson will play his 25th on Saturday.

Ron Artest

Indiana Pacers

Current Stats: 15.9 ppg, 5.8 rpg, 3.2 apg, 2.1 spg, 0.7 bpg, 46% shooting in 33.3 mpg

Career Stats: 12.6 ppg, 4.4 rpg, 2.8 apg, 2 spg, 0.6 bpg, 41% shooting in 31 mpg

See above.

Alvin Williams

Toronto Raptors

Current Stats: 17 ppg, 3.8 rpg, 5.5 apg, 1.6 spg, 0.4 bpg, 46% shooting in 37.1 mpg

Career Stats: 8.7 ppg, 2.4 rpg, 3.9 apg, 1.2 spg, 0.2 bpg, 42% shooting in 28 mpg

Let me be the first, er, second, er, third . . . dang, this bandwagon is getting busy . . . to take back every bad thing I ever said about Williams. But how could you blame us? It wasn't too long ago that this guy was traded to Boston, hopped on a plane, landed, hopped back on a plane, flew back to Toronto after the deal also involving Danny Fortson was canceled for reasons unknown. The only reason he isn't any higher on this list is because we want to see if he can repeat these numbers with a healthy Vince Carter, which may or may not ever happen.

Ricky Davis

Cleveland Cavaliers

Current Stats: 21.5 ppg, 4.1 rpg, 3.8 apg, 1.5 spg, 0.2 bpg, 43% shooting in 35.9 mpg

Career Stats: 9.1 ppg, 2.5 rpg, 1.9 apg, 0.8 spg, 0.2 bpg, 46% shooting in 18 mpg

Forget that Davis was benched one game since we last talked on this subject matter, suspended another or that some 21 year old is percentage points away from leading the team, his team, in scoring. The fact remains that he is putting up more than 20 points per game despite double-teams and shot clocks running down. Really, how many guys can get into a shootout with Ray Allen, Sam Cassell and Michael Redd and live to brag about his 45 points? The problem, though, is that the Cavs lost that game and 18 others to only three wins, which could explain why he is both able to score this many points and actually fall down on this list.

Michael Olowokandi

Los Angeles Clippers

Current Stats: 14.1 ppg, 9.3 rpg, 1.5 apg, 0.2 spg, 2.1 bpg, 47% shooting in 28.9 mpg

Career Stats: 9.9 ppg, 7.9 rpg, 0.7 apg, 0.5 spg, 1.5 bpg, 43% shooting in 30 mpg

OK, so he hasn't played since Nov. 29, when he scored a scant six point against the Sacramento Kings, but you can't blame him for becoming the third-best center in the NBA at best because Yao Ming went butterfly collared with flaired pants. He is due back Friday when the Clippers take on the San Antonio Spurs. You remember them, the guys who provided the confetti and streamers for Yao's coming out party a few games ago. Maybe we'll see what it takes to get this former No. 1 pick motivated.