Knicks-Nuggets megabrawl??

Wow. At first I thought you only hated old, white coaches, and now this revelation.

Are you a former NBA player?

Can I pick your brain one day? I find you fascinating. And when I say fascinating, I mean puzzling, with a hint of douchebaggery. Feel free to use that one in your sig.

 

I sense just a little bit of angst here ... not that I blame you. It's been said a couple times on this thread, but it holds true: If Isiah didn't want to see the score get run up like it was then PLAY SOME F-IN DEFENSE. Needless to say, I bet you Larry Brown is off somewhere with a huge grin on his face now that he's no longer there.

 

When I saw this, I was really hoping it would be Dave D'Alessandro and obviously I wasn't disappointed.

My interest in the NBA has waned massively since I stopped covering it, but I read D'Alessandro every time I get the chance.

 

Well, strangely enough, Larry Brown has whined about precisely this type of thing many times in his career. Larry and Isiah really are quite alike underneath it all -- always ready with a handy scapegoat to blame when your own best-laid plans turn completely into shit.

 

Good call on Larry and Isiah, Starman.
Why do you think they couldn't get along? A couple of phoinies who were busy blaming each other.

 

you're right, that may be the best column on this debacle speaking strictly from a baskletball standpoint. Not that the timing is ever good in something like this, but the fact that it came just four days after dolan said he'd get the year and just six days before his third anniversary on the job:

also, not sure if everyone saw this but this is the nuggets telecast of the events:

 

Only different in terms of the whole "competence at their job" thing.

 

I disagree. Jeffries showed intent to keep that brawl going by going after Anthony after Anthony's punk-ass punch. He did nothing to ease the situation and the NBA is going to throw the book at you for that.

For that reason, I think Robinson should have been suspended as long as Anthony was.

And no suspension for Thomas? That's the worst punishment the Knicks got.

 

Did Anthony deserve 15 games? You betcha. J.R. Smith and Nate Robinson? Sure.

But I want you all to stick with me on this one for a bit, and offer me some justification.

Let's say I have a family of five.

Well, Mr. Stern & Co. have already pretty much priced themselves out of my range, but I really loves me some NBA. So I try to get the family out to a game or two a year.

Maybe I'm within driving distance of Portland. Well, I see Denver's coming in on Jan. 14. Get to show the kids one of the game's top players? OK. Might as well skip right past dealing with the NBA for tickets; only way you're going to get a ticket is through the brokers (A/K/A LEGALIZED TICKET SCALPERS, but that's another thread).

Looking on StubHub, I can get five seats together in a nosebleed section for $45 each. By the time you're done with handling charges and all that, we're out close to $300.

You can count on spending another $100 at the game for parking, concessions. At least. So we're talking about $400 for a night out.

And NOW you're going to tell me, yeah, you're going to see the Denver Nuggets, but we've decided you're NOT going to see Carmelo Anthony.

Oh. OK. I would have paid $400 for Earl Boykins and Yakhouba Diawara anyway.

Right. Thank you, Mr. Stern. May I have A-FUCKING-NOTHER?!?

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Make them feel it ... in their wallet. Make damn sure they feel it.

But you all tell ME why Joe Fan should have to pay for it.

 

Shottie, you're my boy and all, but I don't agree with that opinion at all.

Legally, you pay for the teams on the ticket, not for the players in the uniforms. So the fan isn't "paying" for anything other than what the ticket says.

Realistically, you pay for the players in the uniform, I get what you're saying. But the PR bounce the NBA gets from showing it means disciplinary business with these brawls means more in the long run than the disappointment of those buying a Nuggets ticket for the 15 games Anthony is out.

If you do nothing about it, as the NBA pretty much did back in the 70s for those brawls that many here look back to with such fondness, the damage to the sport is very difficult to repair.

I think many have forgotten that those 70s brawls led to the NBA depression in the late 70s, when the image of the league was that of a bunch of brawling coke-heads, and even though it was an overblown perception, it became reality with the casual sports fan. The NBA's image outside of its own cities was VERY low. Tape-delayed NBA Finals, the whole nine yards.

Stern knows the NBA cannot thrive with those kinds of image problems, ergo, the suspensions.

 

Amigo, if I could spin like that, I wouldn't be wasting my time in the journo business.

It just seems to me that there are a LOT of things more important to the NBA (and the NFL, and MLB, and the NCAA) than the guy shelling out his hard-earned bucks to watch the product.