From an ESPN article on Houston: Artest can also step into the role Shane Battier played for the Rockets last season, defending the opposing team's top scorer. Artest said he was asked to score more for the Kings last season and that coach Reggie Theus told him to ease up on defense to conserve energy. "I think I can play a little harder on defense now," he said. "I always wanted to guard the best player. Coach wouldn't let me guard the best player all the time, because I had to score also. This year, I can go all-out on defense. I haven't had that joy in a couple of years." Granted, everything Artest says needs to be taken with a grain of salt the size of a man's head. But does it concern anyone else if we had one of the league's premier defensive players and Theus really told him not to defend so much to conserve energy for offense?