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Pacers' Artest says he'll still play hard
(AP)
Updated: 2005-10-12 09:10
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. - Anyone expecting a kinder, gentler Ron Artest on the
court this season is likely to come away disappointed.
Ron Artest of the
Indiana Pacers (L) talks to announcer John Salley before the NBA Hurricane
Relief Fund Charity basketball game in Houston September 11, 2005.
[Reuters] | "I'm going to continue playing hard and out of control, like a wild animal
that needs to be caged in," Artest said Tuesday night before the Indiana Pacers
faced the New Jersey Nets in the preseason opener for both teams. "I'll let the
referees handle it."
The game was Artest's first NBA action since a melee near the end of a game
against the Detroit Pistons at The Palace at Auburn Hills last Nov. 19 led to
one of the worst brawls in American sports history.
For his part in the altercation, Artest was given a 73-game suspension by the
NBA and teammates Jermaine O'Neal, Stephen Jackson and Anthony Johnson were
given shorter suspensions. Those four and Indiana's David Harrison were
sentenced this fall in Michigan to a year's probation plus community service.
Television replays again and again showed Artest running into the stands and
attacking a Pistons fan after he was hit with a cup of beer. When asked Tuesday
if he could envision a similar incident occurring again, Artest was guardedly
contrite.
"I don't think anybody's going to throw anything at me, and I don't see me
reacting how I reacted," he said.
A tough defender who was the NBA's defensive player of the year in 2004 but
also developed a reputation as a loose cannon, Artest played in the NBA's summer
league and said he gained about 10 pounds and is up to 260.
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