While Shane Battier was recently written up in part for his defensive work on Kobe Bryant, Artest checked LeBron James Thursday night and held him to 7-for-21 shooting and no assists in the Rockets' blowout win. While Battier is a master at forcing quicker players to go to their weaker hands and take shots they're not comfortable with, Artest is probably the only defender who can guard LeBron on the perimeter while matching up with him physically.

Now that Tracy McGrady's out of the picture, both Artest and Battier will log big minutes every night, making the Rockets much more effective on defense. Add in Yao Ming's offense and Luis Scola's solid and gritty play at the four, and the only major question is whether the electrifying Aaron Brooks can handle the floor general role. And if he can't, perhaps Kyle Lowry can. Either way, you have to feel for McGrady whose team might finally get out of the first round - with him in street clothes.