Remember that whole “Malice at the Palace” thing? Of course you do. It’s the night NBA fans were glued to their TV sets watching Ron Artest hunt down the dopey fan who decided it was a good idea to toss a beer cup at a 6’8″ physical specimen with anger management issues. Aside from Artest’s infamous charge into the crowd, other memorable images showed a crazed Stephen Jackson tossing haymakers left and right, both in the stands and courtside.
In the eight years since the Palace brawl, The Artest Formerly Know As Ron (© Neil Everett) has had various run-ins with Commissioner David Stern — most notably, his Peace’s Elbow to the dome of James Harden just before the 2012 playoffs. Jackson, on the other hand, has managed to avoid the wrath of Stern, choosing rather to play for teams that don’t appear on national TV very often (or at all) — Warriors, Bobcats, Bucks — while also not throwing point blank sucker punches/elbows. But after a Friday night tangle between Metta World Peace and Serge Ibaka, it appears Jackson still very much has his ex-teammate’s back:
Somebody tell serg Abaka. He aint bout dis life. Next time he run up on me im goin in his mouth. That’s a promise. He doin 2 much.
— Stephen Jackson (@DaTrillStak5) December 8, 2012
It’s still unclear as to what “doin 2 much” means. Is it the fact Ibaka is putting up career highs in all shooting categories (including a five point increase in scoring over last year)? Or, is Ibaka just another Fake Tough Guy? I guess we’ll find out during the remaining three games between Ibaka’s Thunder and Jackson’s Spurs. Stay tuned.
