Another point on him, before I go make dinner: Yes, it’s great that Ron can do a talk show interviews in his underwear without being crucified, but it’s nearly as important that he’s not being celebrated for his antics either.

As Kurt pointed out, a guy walking around in Hollywood in just his underwear is called Tuesday, and it’s not a big deal. When you’re a bit different (and let’s not mince words, with Artest that’s a bit of an understatement) having everyone around you constantly gush over how great it is that you’re so comfortable with being different, and how much they support you being able to be yourself, can be just as bad as the crucifixion would be.

But when you can go home from work and relax completely and just be you… without anyone around you making a huge deal out it in any way… then all of a sudden, all those frustrating things at work that used to drive you crazy, that you never could let go of, that eventually piled up until the pressure was too great and everything exploded, all those little things just don’t seem that bad anymore. Because when you get home, you are finally able to just relax and be yourself, and forget all about that work stress.

I am now going to make dinner. Wearing sweats and fluffy slippers.

Before the Lakers played the Nets, they had a pretty tough ranking. Something like .524, despite having played easy teams recently. NJN singlehandedly dropped them to .496, which is right in the middle of the league. Add it to their home-away numbers and they’ve had an easy go of it so far.

Okay, but other teams on the extreme, where you might expect to see some shifting in perception as the schedules regress to the mean. The easiest records so far this season (with win %):

1- Denver: .401
2- Bucks: .412
3- Portland: .420
4- Sacramento: .443
5- Cleveland: .450
6- Indiana: .451
7-Boston: .453
8- Clippers: .455
9- Phoenix: .457
10- Orlando: .466

Okay, now hardest scheds:
1- New Orleans: .605
2- Houston: .595
3- Toronto: .587
4- Chicago: .582
5- Oklahoma: .578
6-Detroit: 577
7- Minnesota: .545
8- Atlanta: .534
9- Golden State: .528

Anyways, you get the picture. What I don’t know is: Will these all gradually revert closer to .500? Is this more or less important than home-away numbers (which you usually hear more about)?

If so, then I think we can look at those with the easiest records as being overrated right now, while those with the toughest records being underrated.

Speaks well for what Houston and Okalhoma are doing, while predicting brighter days ahead for the Hornets (whose schedule will only be rated harder after tonight). Meanwhile, Denver and Portland may not be as good as they’ve seen and the good starts for the Bucks and Kings could be illusory.

I’m interested to watch.

I gained even more appreciation of Artest after watching that Kimmel stint. And I think he’s a huuuuge upgrade on Ariza. I just hope he doesn’t let the nitpicking bother him. We don’t need him to score 17 ppg. We need him to lock down guys and be an enforcer and nail those corner 3′s…but he also has shown that he’s a great passer, which is a huge bonus.

Check out the last post.

Sheridan:
Based on what I’ve seen so far? He’ll be a tremendous asset in the finals, should they get there. He’s going to be an even bigger distraction sometime in the meantime — especially if he keeps playing as poorly as he has been and his frustration boils over — and his going on Jimmy Kimmel in boxers will look tame by comparison. I’m with Hollinger on this one and believe the Rockets got the better end of this deal. If I’m wrong, we’ll see why in the finals.

Unbelieveable!