December 18, 2006
I found it interesting to hear Isiah Thomas' comments during his post-game press conference. He said nobody was going to humiliate the Knicks on their court that they weren't going to let them just dunk and embarrass on them. Just before the Mardy Collins foul on J.R. Smith, there was a thunderous dunk by Smith.
The bottom line is, Thomas had to be concerned about his team. This is not the CYO or high school ... my friends, this is the NBA. I don't buy worrying about why starters were still on the floor late when the game was decided already. I don't care about the theory that George Karl wanted to run up the score because of what happened to Larry Brown with the Knicks.
This is all nonsense. Thomas should be worried about his team's effort and the fact they shouldn't be in the position of being down so badly at home, being humiliated at Madison Square Garden. The coach should worry about getting his team to perform and not worry about who Karl is playing.
Don't get me wrong I have always been a fan of Isiah Thomas. Pound for pound, he was one of the best players in college under the General, Robert Montgomery Knight. I sense he is frustrated with the way the Knicks have been playing and that may have been a factor in his approach to this situation.
When looking at that fight, everyone should thank the security people at Madison Square Garden, as well as the coaching staffs that held everyone back. They should also thank the fans because this had the potential of being just like the brawl between the Pacers and Pistons, with people from the crowd getting involved to make the fracas even uglier.
So there was a positive ... the fans, coaches and security did not make a bad situation even worse.
Looking at the tape, I feel that Nate Robinson had a big part in elevating a flagrant foul into a brawl. I wasn't there, but watching it, Robinson came up and pushed Smith, and then followed with a slap at the Nuggets player. Then Carmelo Anthony threw his punch at Collins to escalate it further.
As a former coach, it is embarrassing to hear some of the things that came out. If the investigation shows that Thomas was talking to Anthony about "staying out of the paint", there is something very wrong with that. As a former coach, there is no reason for Thomas to be talking to an opposing player.
People are speculating that Thomas' comment to Anthony was a sign that something was going to happen. I know the players were humiliated by the score and Thomas should have been jumping on his team for its performance, not worrying about Anthony and other starters still being on the floor in a blowout. That is absurd and that is not coaching ... that is more playground basketball.
It is really sad that commissioner David Stern is working like crazy to be a friend of the players, trying to teach them on how their image is so important to their growth professionally, as well as the league. Some of these guys don't get it, and because they make so much money, they don't seem to care. They sit there and figure they will still make their mega-dollars.
Anthony has had a phenomenal season, both on and off the court. He has done so many good things for charity, such as having a center in Baltimore named after him. Now he'll have to live with the blemish of having thrown a punch. Hopefully he will learn from this and move forward in his career and life. He's already done the right thing by issuing a statement of apology for his actions, admitting that he embarrassed his team, his community and his family.
I just wonder how much some of these players care about image. I look at what happened with Terrell Owens of the Cowboys and his spitting issue with DeAngelo Hall of the Falcons. Owens could care less about his image. What a terrific role model he is with that type of action!
It really tears my heart. I work hard speaking to young kids and talking about chasing dreams and goals. They can make it in their lives, coming from tough environments like Dwyane Wade and Alando Tucker in basketball. They have done things the right way. There are athletes like Tim Duncan, Grant Hill, David Robinson and Derek Jeter who have always done things the correct way. I hope they are not overshadowed by incidents like this.
Some athletes have to understand that young people are watching their every move. Some players simply forget where they came from and are a disgrace to the uniform they wear.
Shame on them!
Dick Vitale coached the Pistons and the University of Detroit before broadcasting ESPN's first college basketball game in 1979. Send a question for Vitale for possible use on ESPNEWS.
