It is business as usual at The Garden. Old friends prep for old foes. Jalen Rose unrolls his uniform like a sleeping bag: No. 5 jersey, two pair of NBA socks, shooting shirt and warmup pants stretch a full 6'8" across the dull carpet of the visiting locker room. Travis Best attempts to relace his Air Jet Flights after busting an eyelet. Sam Perkins inks a dozen ticket requests. Reggie Miller streaks shirtless into the training room to wrap his aging legs in black support braces and gives the press nothing more than a view of his tribal tattoo. Spike Lee is courtside, waiting. And somewhere in the arena, the hype machine is hard at work.

This is Mark Jackson's first game against the Pacers since he was traded to the Knicks on Feb 22. Reporters are poised to dissect its significance. But business is as usual. "It's no big deal. We know him. We've all played [with him and against] him before," Big Smooth states. And we remember that Jackson has bounced from the Knicks to the Clippers, Pacers, Nuggets, Pacers, Raptors and back again. Indiana just played Jackson's Raptors Dec 20. This is nothing new. This is life in the NBA. Transient and traveled.

But the script is still there. Eyes widen. Jackson is the first to take to the court for tipoff. He's got a pound and a hug for Reggie, and Smooth, and JRose. But then he turns his back. It's game time. "I'm close with a lot of guys, but when we get on the court it's war time. We're just too competitive." Jackson lays down the truth. And the game plays out. A mismatch. A comeback. A technical foul. Three rounds of "Reggie sucks" chants.

When Jackson walks off the court, 97-83 victory in hand, you can't help but wonder if his insider scouting report helped. But he shakes it off. "There were no surprises. We know them, and they know us. It's the media's job to hype up [a game like this]. But it's just like any other. I can cross one more reunion story off the list."

Just like that? Goodbye Pacers? Jackson sets me straight. Transience does not make intimacy hard. "No. It's easy. But it goes beyond basketball. I make friends for life. Obviously Reg is one of them. We talk on the phone and we two-way each other. But on the court, forget it. We're both in it to win."

It's just business as usual. And doesn't this business usually include a little trash-talking, even among friends? Not for Jackson tonight: "I can't afford to," he laughs. "We play again tomorrow. So I gotta wait until then."

So Mark Jackson exits (pausing to give Isiah Thomas a hug), clear in his mind where the line between friend and foe is drawn. And the hype machine cranks up for the next meeting.