Working the Wire: I'm a Jinx!

I'm thinking of starting a new career as a professional jinx... it seems to have worked out pretty well for the John Madden Football and Sports Illustrated guys.

See, for the second week running, the main guy I featured in my Waiver Wire recommendations immediately got injured. Last week it was Cuttino Mobley. This week? Mardy Collins.

As luck would have it, I was watching the game when Collins was hurt... and was able to get a revised version of the column in just before the deadline... which is why you'll see Nate Robinson listed first over on NBA.com.

Knicks vs. Nuggets: The Response

Now THERE's the David Stern we all know and love.

I was getting a little concerned that Mr. Stern was going soft when he backed down on the whole "synthetic ball" fiasco. I mean -- he's David freakin' Stern -- since when does a little unfair labor practices complaint bother David Stern?

Mr. Stern was back on point today, handing out suspensions like they were those small-and-unsatisfying candy canes you get from Santa's elves at the mall...

• Carmelo Anthony: 15 games
• Nate Robinson: 10 games
• J. R. Smith: 10 games
• Mardy Collins: 6 games
• Jared Jeffries: 4 games
• Nene: 1 game
• Jerome James: 1 game

If you're wondering how these penalties compare with recent NBA history, ESPN.com has a recap of some of the NBA's greatest fights. This thing reads like a commercial for one of those "Pride Fighting" pay-per-view events -- but it's hard to imagine why the epic Knicks/Heat brawl in the '98 playoffs doesn't merit its own bullet point. I mean, c'mon -- how often do you see Jeff VanGundy clinging to Alonzo Mourning's leg like a fireman sliding down a pole?

Not often enough.

But enough of ancient history.

Does the punishment fit the crime? Probably. Everyone knew that 'Melo was going to get hit hardest... partially because he threw gasoline on the fire by taking a swing at Collins after the initial flare-up had died out... and partially because he's by far the biggest-name player involved, and David Stern don't play dat. I'm actually sort of surprised that Robinson didn't get the same penalty as Anthony. Little Nate's role in fanning the flames was pretty obvious, and he's been anything but repentant.

The sentences for Smith and Jeffries seem about right, and Nene and James got the automatic one-game rip for leaving the bench. (It's hard to fault James... he doesn't get to leave the bench that often these days.)

Conspicuous by his absence: Isiah Thomas. And y'know what? I'm glad.

This is probably the first and last time I'll defended Isiah in this space... but c'mon. The basketball world spent 24 hours foaming at the mouth over the possibility that (gasp) Thomas told Carmelo Anthony not to go into the paint before the fight broke out. The most shrill of the voices, the Daily News' Mike Lupica, says Thomas was threatening Anthony.

And I say: so what if he was?

Has the NBA really reached the point where a hard foul against a guy attempting a showy dunk in extended garbage-time (please pronounce that with the French inflection... gar-BAHGE... as Marv Albert would have) merits this amount of outcry?

George Karl was running up the score. There's no other explanation for the fact that four starters (Anthony, Smith, Marcus Camby and Andre Miller) and a key rotation player (Eduardo Najera) were still in the game with Denver up by 19 and a minute left. Why? Because he doesn't like Isiah Thomas. He wanted to embarrass the Knicks, the way the Knicks embarrassed his buddy Larry Brown.

Nice? No. Good sportsmanship? Hardly. But part of the game.

Thomas apparently responded by telling his team that the old "no layup rule" was in effect; that any Nugget who attempted to dunk should get a hard foul.

Nice? No. Good sportsmanship? Hardly. But part of the game.

Did Collins hit Smith too hard? Yes. Was Collins in the game specifically to foul someone? Odds of that seem pretty good... considering it was his second flagrant foul in two games. Could Collins have committed a hard foul in a less egregious manner? Absolutely. He could have at least pretended to go for the block.

That said... c'mon. Stop the whining. Home run hitters get fastballs in on the hands. Quarterbacks absorb enormous hits in the guise of "blocking" during interception returns. And guys who attempt NBA Jam-style dunks in garbage time get fouled. Blame punk behavior from Nate Robinson and Carmelo Anthony. Don't blame Isiah.

First Impressions on the Knicks

Got my first look at the 2006/07 edition of the New York Knicks last night, as they played a preseason game against the Celtics. Here's my take:

• Jalen Rose started, but don't get used to that. Isiah Thomas told the press that Quentin Richardson probably would have gotten the nod if Paul Pierce had been able to play. The Knicks seem to be thinking that small forward will be a primarily defensive position, and Rose plays no D. Until Jared Jeffries returns, Richardson or David Lee or even Renaldo Balkman would be better options.
• New York's perimeter defense was atrocious last season, and right now it seems that's a trend that will continue. The starting backcourt of Stephon Marbury and Steve Francis doesn't match up well with quick guards. Look for guys like Allen Iverson, Sebastian Telfair and T.J. Ford to do a lot of damage against the Knicks.
• How can you not like Nate Robinson? At one point in the first half, Robinson brought the ball up and passed off to someone on the wing -- it was either Jamal Crawford or Quentin Richardson, I didn't see. "Crawfordson" took a quick three, which hit the front rim... and Robinson snaked his way down the lane and scored on a putback. Left-handed. The guy is about as tall as my three-year-old son, and he's scoring on putbacks. That's outstanding.
  
• Eddy Curry was active, and he looked a lot quicker than at any point last season. Of course, the Celtics' interior defense could charitably be described as "horrendous," so last night might not be a representative example.
• Channing Frye was aggressive on the offensive end, really looking to score when he got the ball inside of 18 feet or so. I think he'll have a big season.

And finally, I think the fans at Madison Square Garden are going to fall in love with... Renaldo Balkman. The guy is crazily energetic on the floor, he attacks the basket with abandon, and he's able to rip down a rebound and immediately start pushing up the floor leading the break. New York hasn't had a big man with that sort of ability since Anthony Mason.

The more I see of Balkman, the more he reminds me of Mase-in-the-Face. Manic energy. Surprising ball-handling skills for a man his size. Active defense. Very limited offensive game. (Balkman's range extends to maybe six feet. Mason was famous for using the same ball-fake every time he got possession on the block, and then having his shot swatted.)

Do I think they drafted him too early? Yes. Could they have gotten another player with their first pick and still nabbed Balkman with the 29th? For sure. But Balkman will be fun to watch, and I think he'll make New York's rotation.