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QuickThoughts

by Harlan Schreiber (12/3/04)

1. Stern Lashes Out Again: Let's go over the fact pattern one more time...A large melee broke out during an NBA game. Many players behaved inappropriately and deserved punishments. The NBA's response is decisive, everyone's suspended for a long time. One of the teams involved is severely crippled by the penalties. David Stern appears on the podium and swears that he "to do whatever's necessary to eliminate violence in our game." When people questioned whether Stern's heavy hand did not properly differentiate the layers of wrongdoing, Stern offered the following response: "That question misses the point. You can't have a permissive situation where you say to people: 'Oh just come on out' and then we'll decide peacemaker or participant."

The above wasn't referring to the Pacer-Piston problems. Rather, we're talking about the brawl between the Knicks and P.J. Brown during the 1997 Playoffs. The incident is eerily reminiscent of the Ron Artest Affair. If you recall, the blood rival Heat and Knicks were playing an intense playoff series. After a free throw in Game Five, P.J. Brown became entangled with Knick Charlie Ward and threw Ward into the stands. The incident occurred in front of the Knicks bench and it caused nearly all the Knicks to leave the sideline and cross onto the court. Stern correctly noted that the most important issue was ensuring that players learn that "people won't go out on the court. That's what I think. We need people to understand and teams to understand and coaches to provide for it."

No argument there. The real issue, however, was to ensure that the punishment encouraged proper behavior and was fairly implemented. Stern's response did encourage compliance but it did not appear entirely fair. Stern suspended Brown (the instigator) two games but suspended Ward (quasi-instigator) and every Knick who left the bench (Patrick Ewing, Allan Houston, Larry Johnson, and John Starks). Indeed, Ewing, who was the Knicks best player, did not enter the fray and just wandered off the bench and away from the fight.

The suspensions eviscerated the Knicks. The lost the next two games and the series. There was some thought that while the Knicks were at fault for leaving the bench, suspending everyone only rewarded Brown's behavior as the suspensions accrued greatly to the Heat's benefit and certainly might encourage a team to rile it's opponent by sending out a scrub to start a fight near the other team's bench. Publicly, Stern had no apologies for the suspensions and projected a law-and-order image on the subject. Quietly, the rule was changed. When Richard Jefferson left the bench during the 2004 playoffs reacting to a similar melee, the NBA didn't suspend him. They ruled that Jefferson "remained in the vicinity" of the bench. It was an eminently sensible ruling.

Now let's go back to the Pistons-Pacers fight of last week. It's a given that Artest, Jermaine O'Neal, and Stephen Jackson deserved suspensions. But they weren't the only parties at fault. Ben Wallace started the fight, Piston fans escalated the incident, the Pistons' security force was abysmal, and the NBA's decision to sell alcohol at the games was no help either. With so many parties in the wrong, letting the Pacers bear 95% of the punishment makes little sense. The Pistons have wrecked their main rival, the fans won't be punished, and the NBA will continue to sell alcohol (hopefully, they'll protect their players better). Like in the Knick-Heat series, Stern hoping to show the world that the NBA doesn't tolerate dangerous behavior. Fine. But their has to be some concern that the punishment is implemented fairly. The Pacers deserved 95% of the punishment only if they were 95% to blame. Again, Stern made no attempt to slice the issue a little thinner. Obviously, this is a conscious decision by Stern. Indeed, I think in some part Stern hopes to discourage bad behavior on some level by making the players think that the NBA's response could be unpredictable. Another part, is to pile on to the most visible offender and ride the wave of public clamor to self-proclaimed righteousness.

I understand the rationale, good P.R. and scaring potential future wrongdoers straight. I don't think these type of edicts are helpful. Rather, the punishment should serve to 1) discourage future bad acts like this, 2) punish the wrongdoers, and 3) balance the equities of the situation. Stern could've suspended Artest harshly (40-50 games) and still made his point. Rather, Stern chose to hurl lighting bolts from above in an Olympic display, which ironically felt much like the metaphorical equivalent of Artest's mad dash into the stands. Artest is a guy who deserves little sympathy but Stern had an obligation, on some level, to bring order to this mess and he didn't quite do that.

2. If They Started Today....: Forgetting all the of the above, the Pacers actually still have the best record in the east (but have lost two in a row). Just for some perspective, if the playoffs started to day, here's what the east bracket would look:

Eastern Conference

1. Indiana (10-5)

2. Orlando (9-5)

3. New York (8-6)

4. Miami (10-6)

5. Washington (8-5)

6. Cleveland (9-6)

7. Detroit (7-7)

8. Philadelphia (6-8)

Boston (6-8)

The east is about as mediocre as we expected. Indiana needs to keep its head above water until Jermaine O'Neal returns but should be pretty good afterwards. Miami is the possible favorite but they are desperate for a third scorer (Eddie Jones has been unbelievably bad). The Cavs look like they could be a pretty good young team. The Wiz and the Magic have been entertaining scoring teams (they are second and third in the NBA in scoring respectively). The rest of the playoff picture involves mediocrities (i.e. the Atlantic Division).

The glaring question is what the hell is wrong with Detroit. The struggles seems to be defensive. Compare the numbers:

Year PPG Opp-PPG FG% Opp-FG%

2003-04 90.1 84.3 .414 .436

2004-05 92.4 94.1 .441 .450

Why the defensive lapses? Partly Ben Wallace has been missed (opponents score 97 ppg with him out) but there is general sense that the Detroit's team defense is weaker. This could change but decline in team defense is often attributed to less effectiveness by the coaching staff. Obviously, Larry Brown's been out (hip replacement) but the Detroit situation bears watching.

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