Speaking of Ariza, he posted nine points, eight rebounds, four assists, four steals, two blocked shots and six turnovers. He was statistically outplayed by Ron Artest (22 points, six rebounds, three steals), but his team got the win.

The Rockets advance to 6-4, while the defending champs drop to 7-3 with their second straight loss. The Lakers need Pau Gasol back in a big way.

…or so says Henry Abbott of TrueHoop.

It doesn’t happen all that often — thanks to Synergy Sports I just watched all 23 instances from the season’s first eight games. It’s ugly. Watch Ron ignore Bynum in the post, Kobe at the shoulder, and shooters on the wings to … dribble into three defenders and turn the ball over. Watch Ron catch the ball at the elbow, blow off an easy swing pass to an open shooter and dribble three times in a power-hunch, then pull up for a contested 3. Watch Ron decide late into his drive that he’d like to pass, only to leave the ball a yard behind a cutting Derek Fisher.

When he plays defense, he’s a force of nature built of size and strength. When he shoots open jumpers, he’s a professional built on long hours of practice. When he is isolated on the perimeter, he’s an adventurer built on hope.

The Lakers need Artest to play defense, rebound and score with open jumpers or on the block. They don’t need him to iso.

Photo from fOTOGLIF

Brian Windhorst, Cleveland.com: It was quite obvious the Cavs were uncomfortable and in search mode from the top on down. Mike Brown was changing lineups and strategies on the fly, the defense was a mess for long stretches and the offense was in its old, but infamous, all-James, all-the-time mode in the final minutes. This, of course, is what the Cavs were afraid of after a somewhat ineffective preseason. While there’s plenty of time to deal with those bumps — though the Celtics will have strong bragging rights until the teams meet again on Feb. 25 — perhaps most disturbing was the effect of Shaquille O’Neal in his first real game as a Cav. He had just 10 points on 5-of-11 shooting with 10 rebounds in 29 minutes. Deeper than those vanilla numbers, however, was his inability to deliver at all in the fourth quarter. Three different times James went to him with the score tight and the game on the line and three different times he was unable to come through.

Jay Mariotti, Fanhouse: All it means it that this is a work in progress, that no magic carpet will sweep the Cavs into June and a much-desired Finals matchup with Kobe Bryant and the Lakers. The Celtics didn’t look like a team whose Big Three is a combined 100 years old. Rather, they were energized again by the dynamic point guard, Rajon Rondo, and bolstered by the offense and outside shooting of a widely despised newcomer, Rasheed Wallace. The Cavs couldn’t match up at times with Wallace, Ray Allen and Paul Pierce, and with Garnett looking sturdy and effective in his first game in seven months, the Celtics made a statement that they aren’t dead yet as a contender.

Elliott Teaford, Los Angeles Daily News: Ron Artest had 10 points, five rebounds and four assists in his Lakers debut. At game’s end, Jackson praised Artest for his standout defensive work against Al Thornton, who had eight points on 4-for-11 shooting and nine rebounds in place of injured rookie forward Blake Griffin. “He played shut-down defense very well against their scoring forward, Thornton,” Jackson said. “I thought he looked like he was in the offensive mix most of the time.”

– Stephen Jackson, via Fanhouse

This year, we’re doing a division-by-division preview with quick-hitting analysis for every team in the league. If a franchise is a legitimate championship contender, I’ll focus on what stars have to line up for a title run. If a team is a playoff “also-ran,” I’ll identify the weaknesses that have to be shored up via trade, free agency or draft over the next couple of seasons to make it a contender. If a team is likely to miss the playoffs, I’ll take a look at the salary cap, and provide a blueprint for how the team should proceed in the near future to get back in the postseason. At the end of each divisional preview, I’ll provide some (random) thoughts for the fantasy hoopsters out there.

For each division, I’ll pick the order of finish. You’ll also see the team’s league-wide preseason rank in parenthesis. Be sure to check back over the course of the next couple of weeks for previews of each division.

Los Angeles Lakers (1)
The biggest obstacle for the Lakers this season is Ron Artest. This may sound odd, but the franchise is rolling the dice that Ron-Ron can behave for another season. They gave up on the quietly improving Trevor Ariza and made a big move to add the unruly Artest to the roster. This is risky, especially for a team coming off an impressive title run. Why fiddle with your chemistry like that? Well, GM Mitch Kupchak is well aware that the Lakers aren’t getting by on chemistry. They are a group of very talented players, held together loosely by Phil Jackson’s thoughtful approach and Kobe Bryant’s will to win. In other words, chemistry may not matter to the Lakers, because it’s a by-product of winning. (For most teams, it’s the other way around.) There’s no doubt that Artest brings a lot to the table, but he’s the biggest change from last season, so if the Lakers take a step back, he’ll probably get the blame. Meanwhile, it appears that the big lineup question surrounds the Lamar Odom/Andrew Bynum quandary, but the truth is that Bynum’s game has not developed enough to demand that he be on the floor in crunch time. Odom can shoot (albeit, only a little) and is a terrific ball handler/passer, so Jackson knows that he can better space the court than Bynum can. When both Bynum and Pau Gasol are on the floor, the lane gets clogged and Kobe can’t find driving lanes, so look for Odom to get the edge in minutes again this year. But back to Artest — assuming he accepts a reduction in his offensive role, the Lakers are the odds-on favorites to once again represent the West in the Finals.

Phoenix Suns (17)
The Suns took a wrong turn back in 2008 when they made the bold (but ill-advised) move to trade Shawn Marion for Shaquille O’Neal. That summer, they let Mike D’Antoni get away and tried to use a slower style that would benefit Shaq. The Suns have been on the slide ever since. Let’s not forget that in the 2007 Playoffs, Phoenix was a couple of bench-clearing suspensions away from upsetting the eventual-champion Spurs. Why not keep that team together for one more run? Anyway, not much is expected from this year’s Suns, whose best players are Steve Nash, a 35 year-old point guard that can’t defend in the half court, and Amare Stoudemire, a 6’10” man-child who doesn’t really want to play for the Suns. This looks like a team that’s rebuilding, but doesn’t even know it yet. They still have enough talent to make the postseason, but they aren’t going anywhere.

Los Angeles Clippers (23)
Poor Baron Davis. He was supposed to join Elton Brand in L.A. until Brand pulled…um…an Elton Brand and signed with Philadelphia instead. However, things are looking up. The Clippers won the lottery and the right to draft probable ROY Blake Griffin, and they somehow found a way to get rid of Zach Randolph’s anchor of a contract. (Just what was Memphis thinking?) The Clips are now in position to be a player in 2010 free agency and have a good nucleus of Griffin and Eric Gordon to build around. As for this year, it’s not going to be pretty. But Griffin is an upgrade over Randolph, so if their key players can stay healthy, the Clippers will be competitive. Just don’t expect them to go anywhere with GM/HC Mike Dunleavy leading the way.

Golden State Warriors (26)
Ah, what promise the Warriors once held. Remember when they upset the Mavericks in the first round of the playoffs? That seems like a long time ago. Baron Davis is gone, Monta Ellis is grumpy and Stephen Jackson wants out. Still, there is a lot of talent here, and if HC Don Nelson can somehow find a way to make it work, the Warriors are capable of winning 40 games. But right now, this franchise just looks dysfunctional, which is why Stephen Curry and Ricky Rubio didn’t want to work out before the draft. Curry drew the short straw, but he should make for an exciting backcourt mate with Ellis given a favorable matchup. However, the guy to watch is Anthony Randolph, who appears to be the only untouchable player on the roster. He’s averaging 14/9 in 29 minutes in the preasason, and I’d expect those numbers to rise as he consistently sees starter’s minutes. Also keep an eye on Anthony Morrow, who is averaging better than 22 ppg in the preseason and is absolutely killing people from long range. From a salary cap standpoint, the Warriors won’t have any financial flexibility until the summer of 2011, but they have the pieces to make a big splash via trade if they choose to do so.

Sacramento Kings (30)
The young Kings suffered a setback when starting small forward Francisco Garcia broke his hand in a freak balance ball accident, so the season isn’t getting off to a very good start. Sacramento went with Tyreke Evans in the draft and is now building around a backcourt that also features Kevin Martin. The Kings’ payroll is only around $40 million for the next three years, so they can become a player in free agency if they choose to do so. Considering Garcia’s injury, the signing of Andres Nocioni looks pretty good and he should provide a steady veteran presence on the wing. With Jason Thompson at power forward and Spencer Hawes at center, the Kings are very, very young, and they’re going to struggle mightily to win games this season.

Fantasy Thoughts: The Lakers are likely to use a three-headed monster at point guard again. Derek Fisher is the wily, but fading vet, Jordan Famar is (was?) the heir-apparent and Shannon Brown is the crowd favorite…Channing Frye is now the starting center in Phoenix and should be able to post 14/7 if he gets 30+ minutes per game…Looking for a couple of sleepers in the Bay Area? Look no further than Anthony Randolph and Anthony Morrow. Randolph tore up the summer league and is averaging 14/9 in the preseason, while Morrow is a long-range sniper who hit almost 47% of his three-point attempts last season…Even though the Kings will be bad, that doesn’t mean they should be ignored in fantasy hoops. Kevin Martin, Tyreke Evans, Spencer Hawes and Jason Thompson are all likely to post good numbers, and Andres Nocioni is a sleeper now that Francisco Garcia is sidelined for four months with a broken hand.

Garnett’s knee is just fine. It has been a concern in camp, but apparently KG has his explosion back. In a recent practice, he caught an alley-oop and slammed it home. The Celtics’ fortunes depend heavily on the health of Garnett’s knee. Without him at full strength, they’ll have a tough time competing with the Cavs and Magic. As an NBA fan, a healthy KG is good for the league.

Is Russell Westbrook turning into a dependable point guard? The Oklahoman reports that is A/T ratio in the preseason is 5.4. Last season it was 1.6, which is quite bad. It’s a small sample size, but if Westbrook can get his A/T ratio above 3.0, it will reap dividends for the Thunder. From a fantasy perspective, if he were to cut his turnovers in half and have the same number of assists (which would result in a A/T ratio of about 3.0), then he’d be the 15th most efficient point guard (just below Mo Williams) instead of the 21st most efficient.

Stephen Jackson will play for the Warriors, but he’s not happy about it. There’s a good chance the Warriors will acquiesce and try to fulfill Jackson’s wishes to be traded, but the 31 year-old has three more years remaining on his contract at the tune of $9.3 per season, so there’s no guarantee that a playoff team would be willing to make a move for him. Miami could move Michael Beasley, but Jackson’s contract would ruin the Heat’s financial flexibility next summer. The Suns could use Jackson to replace an aging Grant Hill, but they’re in financial trouble. The Hornets probably make the most sense, but are they willing to spend?

Who will be on the court to finish games — Bynum or Odom? This seems to be the annual question with the Lakers. When is Bynum’s game going to mature enough that it demands that he be on the floor to finish games? Odom is the better player right now, and although he’s flaky at times, he shows up when it counts. Bynum has been erratic, and he’s going to have to produce consistently to convince Phil Jackson to go with a “twin towers” approach. Odom can face the basket, which helps the Lakers spacing. When Bynum is on the floor with Pau Gasol, the lane gets clogged and Kobe doesn’t have as much room to penetrate.

Andre Miller isn’t happy being a backup. If I were Miller, I wouldn’t be happy backing up Steve Blake either. But the simple fact of the matter is that Blake is more suited to running the Blazers if they continue to grind-it-out offensively. Blake is a 39% 3PT shooter (Miller is a career 21% shooter from long range), and if Portland continues to play at a slow pace, then they’ll need Blake’s accuracy on the floor to create penetration lanes for Brandon Roy. Miller can post up, which is one way that Nate McMillan could use him in the half court. But he’s a point guard that thrives on the break, and in recent years, the Blazers just don’t push the ball all that much. This will be one of the more interesting storylines to follow this season.

Paul Millsap doesn’t worry about whether or not he’s starting. And he shouldn’t, because he’s still not quite as good as Carlos Boozer. Millsap should just put his head down and go to work, because he will be the starting power forward in Utah soon enough. The team made it clear by the commitment it made in the offseason. Boozer probably won’t be in Utah next season.