We've heard many times how tough life was for Ron Artest back in the day - how it was him against the world.
It's still him against the world, except now, the world includes Mike Bibby and Brad Miller, his co-captains.
Miller called out the team for their lack of offensive focus after the Cleveland, according to The Bee's Sam Amick. Bibby went further after Wednesday's practice:
And Bibby, well he just might have a point.
And don't forget this gem, which was included in the Ron-Ron journal entry we linked to yesterday:
No, it was a horrible game. I'm almost positive at least 100,000 Kings fans didn't sleep well Thursday night solely because of that game. I found nothing amusing or fun about it - that's the dark side of sports fanaticism, games like that. You think Kevin Martin thought it was a good game? You think Mike Bibby, or Eric Musselman, or Corliss Williamson thought it was a good game? It was a disaster. You lost. To the Lakers. In overtime. In a game you should've won in regulation. Not fun! Not difficult to understand.
I'm not saying players should be suicidal after tough losses, especially when it's clear this team is not that good. But you shouldn't give the appearance of revelry in the face of incredibly disappointing performance. Attorneys don't lose big cases, costing their clients millions and possibly jail-time, then say, "It was a good trial. I was glad to be a part of that." (Maybe they do. But lawyers are crazy.)
Could it be any clearer that this guy is the problem? I know Bibby's defense sucks. I know Miller can't rebound. I know Ron is the best defender this team will ever have. But this, it's a huge problem that won't go away until he does.