If it wasn’t bad enough that good ole Ron Artest’s Lakers got routed 96-80 on Christmas, or that he tallied only 8 points and 5 rebounds against the Miami frontcourt, it appears that he may have a hidden feud with 11 year veteran Jamaal Magloire.
After dribbling the ball off of his leg in the middle of the 3rd quarter against Miami on Saturday, Artest chased down the loose ball which was headed straight towards the end of the Heat bench. In his typical disregard for human life fashion, Ron did his best Superman impression by diving head-first into the first row of seats in an attempt to save the ball from going out of bounds.
Most players assume that either the fans or players sitting in the first row will help ease the fall of diving into the stands but the man sitting at the end of the Heat bench was none other than former Kentucky Wildcat stand-out and one time NBA All Star Jamaal Magloire, who has been known to have a nasty on-court demeanor from time to time.
Magloire, also known as “The Big Cat” during his prime, decided to seize the opportunity to throw an elbow at Artest rather than helping him land softly, which prompted both players to have a mini 3 second stare down prior to Artest returning to his feet with the help of some fans in proximity. I actually thought Magloire was going to throw down with uncle Ron-Ron for a brief moment.
I’m not exactly privy if Magloire and Artest have some sort of prior unresolved beef (doesn’t everyone) or if the “Big Cat” got upset that Ron spilled water all over his best Sunday suit but the two definitely shot daggers in each-other’s directions, even if for a brief moment.
Check out the footage:
Allen Moll has been a lifelong NBA and NCAA College Basketball fan who watches and studies games religiously, and coaches youth basketball in his native Lehigh Valley region of Pennsylvania. Allen also provides content to Bleacherreport.com, Upperdeckblog.com, in addition to being a tenured NBA and NCAA columnist for TheHoopDoctors.com.
