Szczerbiak, Artest give new teams reason for hope

	Wally Szczerbiak scored 10 points in his Celtics debut while Ron Artest had 15 in his first game with the Kings. Steve Babineau/NBAE via Getty Images

BOSTON -- Ron Artest lost his Sacramento debut 84-74. But then, as everyone knows, it could have been worse. Much worse.

So long as Artest avoids going into the stands, demanding to be traded, hurling a camera off its joist, smashing framed pictures of himself or any of a million other misdemeanors that remain unimaginable until the day he brings them to life, then, yes, the future promises great things for the Kings.

Simply by pulling on a bright purple jersey and joining his new teammates for his first NBA game in almost two months Friday night in Boston, Artest instantly changed the dynamic of the Kings' starting five, giving them a defender to irritate the opposition's star player on the wing (in this case the Celtics' Paul Pierce, who finished with seven turnovers and 18 points) as well as a pillar at the offensive end.

Artest, who chose to wear No. 93, a statement eloquent in its inexplicability, did his best work from the 3-point line (3-for-7) while struggling to fit in elsewhere (he was 5-for-14 overall for 15 points), but that will change soon enough. The Kings will benefit from his post-up game, and he'll quickly learn to play off the screening and passing of Brad Miller and Mike Bibby, respectively.

This was a captivating game. The Garden was practically full in anticipation of Artest as well as the new Celtics shooter, Wally Szczerbiak, who was traded to Boston from Minnesota on Thursday and arrived in the building 10 minutes before the opening tip. He entered the game in the final three minutes of the second quarter, started the second half and went on a flurry to finish 4-of-7 for 10 points.

Artest may have looked odd dressed in his visiting purple with black trim, but few things in NBA life will take more getting used to than the name of SZCZERBIAK stitched in green onto the back of a Celtics old-fashioned white top. There's just something about a Celtics uniform that makes everybody look slow: When Szczerbiak ended the first half with a half-lurch into the lane to set up his normal step-back jumper, he looked suddenly and unmistakably just like Larry Bird, falling away from the basket with his legs dragging under him like dead weight. There's little doubt that he's going to be a big hit in Boston: In the second half a few hundred fans were already chanting, "Wally, Wally,'' to the familiar cadence of two decades ago.

Both sides will benefit from their trades, but neither team is going anywhere fast. The Celtics are too young, and the Kings need too much work to fix their broken chemistry and rebuild their identity around Artest.

Then again, once they rebuild it will Artest impulsively tear it all down again? On this night, he was so intoxicating in his flashes of brilliance that it was easy to put aside the inevitability of it all.