Lakers forward Ron Artest doesn't think the Cavaliers would be a playoff team without LeBron James.

"Actually I thought about that [Thursday]," Artest told CBS Sports.

"If you take LeBron off that team, no. They're not. They're nothing. Not that they're nothing, they're still human beings. But you take him off that team, no. I guess that's why they got me, to take him out of the game. [Thursday] it didn't work. They got us this year, so all we can do is move on from that and see what happens in the playoffs."

Artest, a Queensbridge native, added that his hometown Knicks need some star power.

"No disrespect to Cleveland, but we need some star power here in New York," he added. "We need some legit star power, so I can come down and beat up on 'em. We still need some star power here in New York. We need one of those big-time players to come here and get a great team, and when the Lakers play the Knicks, we beat 'em by like 40 or 50 points. It would be great hopefully one day to see a New York-L.A. championship. I don't have any power to do that, but it would be nice."