Category: NBA

Nixed.

“Before the season, the Knicks were going to take New York back again. They were so sure of it…Now, [Isiah] Thomas simply stands in the tunnel between the locker room and the court, arms folded, watching this mess unfold night after night.” As another dismal season wheezes to a close, Adrian Wojnarowski sees no respite ahead for the Knickerbockers.

Trading Day.

Trades galore today in the NBA, with C-Webb off to Philly, ‘Toine back in Boston(?!), Baron in Golden State, Big Dog to N’Orleans, Van Horn in Dallas, and the Knicks…well, they picked up Malik Rose, Mo Taylor, and a couple of picks, which, well, probably isn’t going to get the job done. But, then again, we didn’t give up much either (Nazr, Vin Baker, and Moochie). I’m just glad I’m not writing the checks.

Isiahed.

After what looks to be a season-killing losing streak (9 of 10 games) for the Knicks, Lenny Wilkens gets the boot. (Ok, ok, he “resigned”…yeah, right.) For now, Knicks stalwart Herb Williams is in charge, but both Larry Brown and Phil Jackson are already waiting in the wings, and it seems clear Herb’s tenure will be a short one.

I dunno. Sure, there were several mental mistakes made in recent games by the coaching staff…but let’s face it: The Knicks are a bad (and badly-constructed) team. Without a single front-line player who merits a double-team in the post, our offense is basically reduced to hoping two of our three perimeter shooters (Marbury, Crawford, Houston) have a good game. That’s not going to win a championship, no matter who’s coaching. It wouldn’t even get us in the playoffs if the Atlantic Division wasn’t so terrible across the board. To my mind, Lenny was made the scapegoat for an unwinnable situation.

Basketbrawl.

So, while I was at home this weekend, Ron Artest et al completely lost it (to say nothing of my two home college-football teams.) Clearly, Artest, Stephen Jackson, and Jermaine O’Neil should never have broken that inviolate line between the court and the bleachers of (rude, inebriated, schmuckish, asking-for-it) Piston fans…but we already knew Artest was a terminal head case. Now, he’s gone for the year, and, for once, I have to say I concur with the crashing-down of David Stern’s iron fist. This cannot happen again.

That being said, while I thought it was interesting to see normally sports-agnostic sites like Drudge suddenly take on the mantle of shocked-and-appalled basketball enthusiasts, I can’t say I see the fracas in Detroit as the end of the NBA, or of Western Civilization in general, for that matter. Then again, I wasn’t all that perturbed by last week’s MNF intro either, so perhaps I’m just a reflection of the sad consequences of a too-permissive society.

Perhaps the strangest fact of that night in Detroit? Rasheed Wallace didn’t get in any trouble (although he’s now making up for lost time.) Ah well, in happier NBA news, at least the no-D-playing, .500 Knickerbockers are inexplicably in first in the awful, awful Atlantic right now.

Zen Master Tells All.

“The meeting with Kobe reinforced an idea I had been contemplating since July, since Colorado, since everything changed. I decided to enlist a therapist to help me cope with what will surely be the most turbulent season of my coaching career. After receiving a few recommendations, I selected a therapist who has dealt with narcissistic behavior in the Los Angeles public school system. He’ll be right at home here.” Sports Illustrated publishes some revealing excerpts from Phil Jackson’s forthcoming book on the 2003-2004 Laker season, and it’s already clear this tome won’t do much for Kobe’s tattered reputation around the league…he comes off here as a hopelessly arrogant prima donna, as well as an out-and-out terrible teammate.

Payton’s Place, Pippen to Pasture.

With the sports world focused on the baseball playoffs right now — I’m rooting for the BoSox as usual, but that’s more a tip-of-the-hat to my many friends among the Nation than it is a deeply-felt affection on my part — some news of the coming NBA season has nevertheless begun leaking out with the start of training camp. Despite rumblings to the contrary, Gary Payton showed up in Celtics Green on time and ready to give it a go, as did Vince Carter (still) in Toronto. Meanwhile, Scottie Pippen gave notice and the Knicks signed Tracy Murray, who’s a pretty one-dimensional 3-ball shooter when you get right down to it, and who probably won’t make much of a dent in the Power Rankings.

When did the Hugging Incident come up?

In a salacious document dump of Ken Starr-like proportions, the Vail Daily News received the transcript of Kobe’s police interview yesterday. I must say, I’m sure he was very flustered at the time, but what with the lying, the backpedaling, and the constant fretting about “my career and my image,” Kobe comes across as both thoroughly unlikable and exceedingly guilty here. He’s fortunate this never went before a jury.