Playoff Around The Rim: May 15
ESPN.com
Tonight's game: Sixers at Pacers
By now you've heard that Reggie Miller and Matt Geiger won't be pushing each other around in tonight's Game 5 at Indiana. We don't have much of a problem with that. But then there's the $50,000 being levied on the 76ers. That's a different story.
How in the world can the NBA make a precedent-setting move like this after a Game 4 in the playoffs? And forget the message Geiger's actions sent -- what message does did the league send with its actions on the team?
Nobody argues that Geiger's fouls were flagrant. But why would these flagrant fouls warrant a two-game suspension, $20,000 fine to Geiger and $50,000 fine to Philadelphia? Were they premeditated? Was someone hurt? Give us a break.
The NBA thinks it's separating its league from the NHL with this stern punishment. What it's doing is creating a problem that isn't there. How are Charles Oakley and Kurt Thomas going to make a living if they can't continue to play with passion and aggressiveness, which could -- now that the NBA has made it an issue -- be construed as being just as thuggish as what Geiger did?
Did Geiger intend to hurt Miller so the Pacers guard would miss Game 5 -- either with an injury or suspension from retaliation? Don't give Geiger that much credit. He knew his team and his fans needed a lift, and he gave it to them. Should he have been ejected? Absolutely. But the fine for the team? And a two-game suspension while Miller gets only one?
Clearly, the league is sending a message to all the rough players in the league and its teams, to teams that play Hack-A-Shaq, etc. Miller is a great player, he has proven it many times in the playoffs (though, sorry, Pacers fans, never in the Finals), but how many guards are dirtier than he? He normally invites you to retaliate and then claps in your face or to your crowd. So he finally got his and look what the league does.
Our question is this: If Miller doesn't throw a punch, does he get any fine or suspension at all? Of course he doesn't. Yet, he threw a punch and received a quarter of the fine (a mere $5,000) and only one game. He threw a punch! Who cares if it was with an open hand. Regardless, in hockey the player who retaliates normally gets punished more than the aggressor. We would have settled for equal terms.
Sorry, Mr. Stern, this isn't hockey. No need to treat it like it is.
Other thoughts
If you think that commish Stern is going to risk Pat Croce actually stepping down from his role with the Sixers, you're crazy. Expect the fine on the team to be rescinded. Croce has more enthusiasm, honesty, laughs and tattoos than any other NBA exec, including Mark Cuban, and is good for the league. He's at every game cheering. He pumps his team up in the locker room. He's more positive than an Isaiah Rider drug test. Stern can't risk this bad PR.
Three series entered the weekend close to sweeps, but none ended. Can we read anything into this? Probably not. The Sixers could have easily lost their game once the Pacers scored 15 consecutive points and eventually took a late lead. The Jazz had played so poorly in three games that they were bound to play better at least once. And the Lakers just didn't seem to care.
It would have been very boring this week had those series ended in four games. No game tonight, nothing on Tuesday, and an off day on Thursday. That would have been weak. While the Knicks and Heat will play Friday and possibly even next Sunday, everyone else would have been off, and you would be left to watch baseball. At least it's more exciting than Knicks-Heat.
The cries from the beat reporters are already being heard: No hotel rooms are available in Indy this coming weekend in case the Pacers host the Knicks-Heat winner on Sunday. There's some car race this weekend. Oh.
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VIEW FROM THE ROAD
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By Mitch Lawrence
PHOENIX -- The Lakers just didn't show up Sunday. Phil Jackson didn't even talk to them at halftime. He was sending them a message, ridiculing his own players. He didn't explain why afterward, but he's telling the team what he thought of their effort by doing this. Like saying the game is not worthy of talking about.
The Lakers are up 3-1 going home, so they're not losing the series. I think they will come out and wipe the Suns off the court. This was probably the worst they played all year. If I read the records right, it's the second-worst coaching loss in Phil's coaching life. As Ron Harper said, "when he wants to address us, he will." Phil will probably smoke 'em in practice, and they'll come out strong Tuesday.
Who knows what the Lakers did in Phoenix on Saturday night. They are a young, immature team in some ways. The Bulls teams would go up 3-0 and run the team off the floor in Game 4. I'm not surprised. It would have been a definite sign of growth if the Lakers had swept the Suns.
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VIEW FROM THE FANS
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The Blazers-Lakers war seems imminent. As a die-hard Laker fan, the Portland resurgence is a bit alarming. It's true on Feb. 29, the Blazers were without Brian Grant. This is the Lakers only weak link -- the power forward position. This guy could give the Lakers serious problems, if he becomes offensive-minded, rebounds, and helps out on Shaq. I just hope Kobe can dominate Pippen like he usually does and Shaq knocks Sabonis around like a senior citizen. It will be a very, very competitive series, and I think homecourt advantage will be the key to the Lakers victory. Bring on the Knicks!
Phillip Loya
Hemet, Calif.
Are you guys going to mention the fact that the winning shot in the Heat-Knicks Game 3 was taken from behind the backboard? If the refs make the right call, the shot
doesn't count and the Knicks win and are up 3-1. Sure, some teams have gotten robbed at the Knicks' expense on questionable foul calls, but there's no way that the refs can get away with blowing this one. This one was just a matter of a simple rule, not a foul. The refs blew that call, and I think your headline should read "Robbed!" instead of what it said. At least acknowledge that the call was actually blown. Thanks.
RC
Cambridge, Mass.
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HEROES AND GOATS (two of each)
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Charlie Ward
You know how close the Knicks were to losing two straight at home and falling behind 3-1? Ask Ward. In what might have been his career game, he had 20 points, seven boards, four assists, three steals. |
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Jason Kidd
Can't say the Lakers only lost it. The Suns won it early. Kidd got the Suns started with 10 points and eight assists in the first quarter, and finished with a triple-double and 16 assists. Where was this in the first three games? |
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Jamal Mashburn
Made an off-game worse by throwing a fit and hurting a reporter at the scorer's table. He has been a difference-maker in the playoffs, and the Heat need him on the floor, even if he's 6-for-15 shooting. |
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Arvydas Sabonis
After owning the Jazz frontline for three games, PolyTag got revenge. Sabonis was 2-for-6 in 26 minutes. Kudos to Olden Polynice (Ostertag did not play, coaches decision) for his D, and 12 points, 11 boards. |
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