Artest adapting by just being himself

You're probably familiar with the famous story about Magic Johnson's first game in the NBA, where he was so excited after Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's buzzer-beater that he leapt into his veteran center's arms and was told afterward that he'd have to curb his excitement or risk burnout over the 82-game haul.
Watching Ron Artest in his first big road game with the Houston Rockets, a 112-102 win at Dallas, brought that Magic tale to mind.
If he plays at this pace through 82, it's going to be exhausting just watching him. No one is going to tell him to curb any enthusiasm, though. He's just delivering what was advertised.
A pitbull. A tireless worker. An inspiration.
The Rockets came out flat defensively far too often last season, but that problem appears to have been solved. Artest is up applying pressure on the opposing ballhandlers from the jump, instantly setting the tone that nothing is going to be easy.
Usually when Artest is locked in defensively, his energy level increases on the offensive end and he seeks out opportunities. That's the trade-off. Sometimes it can be a negative.
He scored 10 of his 29 points in the fourth quarter, so there is an element of fear that he'll go into hero mode more often than Rick Adelman would want him to given the presence of Yao Ming and Tracy McGrady on the roster, but on this particular night, it worked. He was in a groove.
Yao was taken care of, scoring a game-high 30. T-Mac was more interested in playing facilitator throughout, gritting through a nagging shoulder injury and finding himself a spectator when the Rockets made their game-cliching 16-2 fourth quarter run. Even when out there, he went out of his way to sure Artest is comfortable.
It's working. Ronnie is at his emotionally unstable best, thrilled to be part of a team that can win every night.
When Yao got tangled up with Josh Howard late in the fourth quarter, Artest flew in instinctively to ensure the situation didn't escalate. You might wonder why someone 7-foot-6 would ever need protection from anyone, but that's part of the package when Artest is your teammate. He's got your back, and in his mind, it's his responsibility to be an enforcer.
Zach Zarba gave him a technical, presumably for making contact with Howard, but Artest's intended message was delivered. His teammates got a glimpse of how quickly he's willing to put himself in the middle of things. Critics of his passion will say that he was out of control and could've compromised his teammates by escalating the situation, but Artest's reaction never got out of control. If anything, it was Howard's surprise to seeing him coming that made the situation seem tense.
Can't blame him for that, either. If an opponent is a little on edge, isn't that a good thing? So what if Ronnie seems a little reckless?
Artest's passion is precisely what the Rockets needed.
There are going to be nights where he'll force too many shots, nights where he will be something of a distraction. So long as the wins greatly outnumber the losses, the rollercoaster is worth the ride. Fortunately, he's at the stage of his career where winning a ring becomes your driving force, so it's more likely that he'll generally color between the lines.
The Rockets don't need him to be predictable, anyway. They need him to keep things interesting. They signed up for the spark.
There's no perfect outlet or proper dosage for his energy. Artest is going to be Artest. In the past, that has bigger than his team. In Houston, where the stars are laid back and willing to share the spotlight, his baggage seems to fit.
Good thing, since there's really no toning him down.

Coming to a Cocktail Party near you
Good thing the Florida-Georgia football game is scheduled for a 3:30 ET tipoff, or else we'd have to wonder about where Al Horford's mind might be during Saturday night's home opener against Philadelphia.
"Man I can't go," Horford said of the annual a Florida-Georgia festivities up in Jacksonville, a football experience still referred to by the locals as the "World's Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party." "I've never been. My three years at Florida I never got a chance. Coach (Billy Donovan) always had two-a-days that day. He kind of did it on purpose. He didn't want us out there on the Landings... Hopefully I can make it out there one of the next few years."
A winner of two national championships while on the Gators basketball team, Horford takes a lot of pride in Urban Meyer's program, especially since they won a national title while Horford was on campus. He'll no doubt be skipping any pre-game napping on Saturday afternoon.

Thursday's +/- report: Bad start for Larry Brown's point guards in Charlotte, as neither Raymond Felton (-11) nor D.J. Augustin (-20) could get anything going against the Cavs. Felton shot 1-for-10 and contributed to digging a huge hole for the Bobcats, while Augustin had a team-high four turnovers en route to the worst number of the night... Not surprisingly, Daniel Gibson, he of the 10-for-14 shooting night, came in with the highest total (+32). He arrived at the Q unconscious and didn't wake up til it was time to throw his suit back on at night's end... Aaron Brooks (+22), Chuck Hayes (+21) and Brent Barry (+21) were part of the late run that beat Dallas, making the Rockets bench look good. The Mavs' bench? Jerry Stackhouse (-21, 1-for-6), Jet Terry (-16, 4-for-13) and DeSagana Diop (-18) can do better... Morris Peterson (+17, 7-for-10) cleaned up against the Suns. His 21 points were the most he's scored since Jan. 5, also against Phoenix. He'll have to stay hot for New Orleans to overcome the absence of Peja Stojakovic, who looks like he'll be out for at least a game or three with a bad ankle... Gotta start watching these Suns on the second night of back-to-backs. Steve Nash (-15, seven turnovers) and Shaquille O'Neal (-10, 8 points) looked a little flat, with the Suns succumbing in the second half as a result.