Sunday, December 17, 2006

Final Thought Before Suspensions

(Boulder-CO) Ok, ok the whole thing was a shame and so on and so forth, so I am just going to give one more "Jerry Springer-esque" final thought and leave it alone. That thought is that this whole thing wouldn't have even happened had Isiah Thomas not suspectidly instructed for, in a Tony Soprano like manner, his players or his team to act like goons and not take their loss like dignified professionals. It doesn't matter how many points the Nuggets were up. George Karl and his staff are entitled to play whoever they want at whatever juncture of the game they wish. This is a team that needs to work on finishing games and I believe that the point of leaving some starters in was strickly for the development of this team and not to run up the score on the Knicks (who had come back to shorten leads drastically a couple of times might I add and only were behind by ten entering the fourth quarter). Here is a little known fact; Mardy Collins was a player at Temple when his coach at the time, John Chaney, called for one of his players to act like a hit-man and consequentially caused a serious injury to an opposing team's player. Evidently, he has not learned his lesson from that incident, but what is shocking to me is that a coach, and Hall of Fame Player, would be suspected of considering such actions be implemented on the hallowed hardwood. The whole thing, for both teams, reeks like a grade school teacher in the summer time... NO CLASS! Is it going to fade the NBA's appeal to men and women of all ages? The answer my friends is an emphatic no! However, what it does accomplish is showcasing how professional athletes are capable of not acting accordingly just like anybody else. When all the dust settles, we still have each other and we still have the NBA. A game that for all its improvised beauty can still display such ugliness.

7 comments:

Nugg Doctor said...

Here is why my thought are what they are: Taken from the Chris Sheridan report speculating on how many games each player will be suspended for.

"Isiah Thomas is the trickiest call of the bunch, and a lot will depend on what he tells Jackson -- and what Anthony tells Jackson -- over the phone. Anthony says Thomas, who was angry that the Nuggets were still playing four starters despite being up 19 with under 2 minutes left, told him a minute or so before the brawl that he should stay out of the paint -- pretty much a warning that a hard foul was coming. That would make Thomas culpable for helping incite the brawl, and instigators never get off lightly with Stu and his boss, David Stern. Prediction: 3 games.

Chris Sheridan covers the NBA for ESPN Insider.

Pradamaster said...

I'm surprised that few people are playing the Collins angle with John Chaney.

Perhaps Collins is simply a dirty player.

Nugg Doctor said...

pradamaster,

I was also surprised about that. Especially after it was brought to my attention by Ryan over at www.hoopsaddict.com during our podcast earlier today.

I refuse to think that this is a character trait of Mardy's, because he deserves the benefit of that doubt. More so, I think he just needs to learn his lesson about unnecessarily rough and unneeded fouls. The opportunity to learn that lesson has now been presented to him twice and hopefully will not have to knock a third time.

Thanks for reading,

The Nugg Doctor

JJ said...

Yo Doc. I been reading your entries since the night you gave me your card. I appreciate it. I finally created a log-in so i could comment. First of all I like the way you write and I dig it much more than reading the paper. or whatever else. It's always good to hear from someone you know rather than someone you don't.

Nugg Doctor said...

Hey JJ,

Great to know you put my card to good use. I'm glad you are part of the readership and look forward to hoopin' with you soon!

Thanks for reading,

The Nugg Doctor

JJ said...

here's my questions for you.
So whats happening with Iverson?
How long are the suspensions for?
I feel that after watching the fight a few times that if anything they really looked like a team. A fight can bring you together, especially a team suffering from change of lineup, injuries player coach relations.... whatever. It makes me really agree with what you said about keeping certain players if a trade occurs. I like keeping the same core you stated. you think they can pull off phoenix? or should i just stay home and watch it?

Nugg Doctor said...

I'm glad you asked that, JJ. I think that the Iverson trades are still being negotiated as we speak. A lot of money involved and people want to make sure they are covered on the back end of any deal that goes down.

As for the suspensions, I think that Stern and Co. will hand those down tomorrow. They must have been Holiday shopping or something today, but rest assured that before the Nuggets play tomorrow night their fate will be made public.

As for going down to the Pepsi Center to catch a game... That depends on how much you like Carmelo Anthony! If he is one of the main reasons you were thinking about heading down, you might want to reconsider. He DEFINATELY will not be playing anytime this week or possibly longer. I personally would stay home, stay off the roads, and avoid Holiday chaos if I were you.

That is, if there is no Allen Iverson trade by that time...

Thanks for reading,

The Nugg Doctor