Artest was very unhappy when he was traded to the Warriors, and so was Stephen Jackson, but neither of them said anything about it.
After wasting three years, Artest was no longer that wild beast of a player who had just turned 25, won Defensive Player of the Year, and played in a 60-win season. Stephen Jackson, too, was no longer that coveted ex-Spur championship team member... mostly because both were nearing the end of their contracts.
This season was a contract year for Stephen Jackson, and the next for Artest. Currently, both were making an annual salary of six to seven million dollars, which was too low for their ability to score 20+ points per game. These were the "youth labor contracts" they had when they were at the Pacers, but after these contracts ended, they might not be able to get a higher salary than they were currently earning.
The situation for both was somewhat awkward. For weaker teams, they weren’t very useful, as neither had the ability to lead a team to victory on their own.
Strong teams, on the other hand, feared they might bring the team down.
Martial Saint was better off, as he had proven himself a great team player by leading his team to a surprise victory over the Mavericks last season, along with the bearded player.
Artest’s reputation now was as bad as the madman’s back in the day.
In order to secure new contracts, they restrained their dislike for each other and focused on playing well, now that they were finally on a 50-win team capable of victories in the playoffs.
Of course, given their personalities, it was impossible for them to perform a "heartfelt embrace" or "let bygones be bygones" in front of everyone.
Ironically, these two matched well on the court, as they were originally an offensive duo assembled by the "Big Bird". When they first started playing together, they kicked off with a 6-1 start... it was just a shame there was no follow-up.
In Artest’s first game with the Warriors, he struggled to adapt. Playing power forward wasn’t an issue for him; he spent a good part of the season’s early games playing as a power forward paired with Brad Miller, but this was his first time playing in a running game.
Last night, in his second game for the Warriors, he found his rhythm, hitting 6 of 11 shots for 18 points, 7 rebounds, and 2 assists, helping the Warriors to a 116-105 victory over the visiting Nuggets Team.
Coach Nelson was keen on this trade because of the synergy between the two players. If he couldn’t acquire Artest, he would have settled for secondary options like trying to trade for Maggette or Richard Jefferson.
After another fifteen minutes, the pre-game preparations ended, and the starting players from both teams took to the court.
Nelson fielded a lineup of Baron Davis, Ellis, Stephen Jackson, Artest, and Biedrins, opting for a ’one big, four smalls’ formation.
Carlisle didn’t adjust his starters to match the opposition and kept his twin towers, starting Tyronn Lue, Zhang Yang, Mike Miller, Okafor, and Brad Miller.
With Biedrins and Baron Davis as the opposing start, whether it was Jefferson or Lue, they were bound to get blown out. Given this, Carlisle simply left Jefferson on the bench, hoping the second unit would perform better when they came on.
As long as either Baron Davis or Biedrins were subbed out, Jarett Jack’s conditions for attacking would be much better.
At 9 p.m., Biedrins won the tip-off against Okafor, and the match between the back-to-back away-team Bobcats and the back-to-back home-team Warriors began.
The Warriors took the first possession, with Baron Davis pushing the fast break immediately upon receiving the ball. He continued his sprint into the frontcourt without hesitation, steamrolling over Tyronn Lue to penetrate the lane, then passed out to the wing.
Ellis caught the ball off a screen by Biedrins. He was double-teamed by Zhang Yang and Okafor, so Ellis passed the ball... Artest cut along the baseline, and even though Brad Miller moved to intercept, he was a step too slow; Artest slipped through and finished with a reverse layup for two points.
On the changeover, Tyronn Lue received the inbound pass and managed to advance the ball steadily, even under Baron Davis’s full-court press defense. It took him six seconds to cross half court, and by the time he reached the top of the arc, his teammates were well-positioned. He lobbed the ball to Okafor, who was backed against Artest on the right side of the lane.
Okafor played a post-up against Biedrins, and Brad Miller moved up from the left side of the lane. Artest hesitated for a moment but decided to follow. Okafor posted up, turned to face the basket, and took a high-arcing bank shot... It went in!
Biedrins had just lowered his center of gravity and was too late to contest the shot properly.
Okafor’s post-up move was straightforward but executed cleanly with impeccable timing.
When it was the Warriors’ turn on offense, they charged again!
The Bobcats chose to grapple and defend the basket tightly. Baron Davis penetrated and passed to Stephen Jackson, who swiftly shot a three-pointer, scoring for the Warriors, 5-2!
The Bobcats’ next offense continued with Okafor posting low, Brad Miller moving up high.
Artest didn’t extend fully but stayed one step inside the free throw line, seeing that Biedrins was struggling against Okafor. Artest doubled up.
Okafor didn’t pass the ball immediately; he calmly protected it, and when the moment was right, he flung it to the left of the top arc.
Zhang Yang used Brad Miller’s screen and, facing Stephen Jackson rushing to contest from the free throw line position in the middle, shot a three-pointer... He scored!
At the sideline, Millsap clapped enthusiastically upon seeing the shot – first, because the shot was precise.
But what was key was the play-making and coordination between Okafor and Brad Miller!
Although Artest and Stephen Jackson didn’t get along, their understanding of each other on the court was unquestionable. Artest moved in, along with Biedrins, blocking off the space and line of sight for Okafor’s pass to the left wing. Stephen Jackson immediately abandoned Mike Miller on the left and advanced toward Brad Miller; if Okafor was double-teamed and tried to pass to Brad Miller, it was very likely that Stephen Jackson would intercept.