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PHILADELPHIA
VS.
INDIANA
MILWAUKEE
VS.
ORLANDO
MIAMI
VS.
CHARLOTTE
NEW YORK
VS.
TORONTO
SAN ANTONIO
VS.
MINNESOTA
L.A. LAKERS
VS.
PORTLAND
SACRAMENTO
VS.
PHOENIX
UTAH
VS.
DALLAS
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Lots of rough stuff in Jazz-Mavs grudge match
By Marc Stein
Special to ESPN,com
Suddenly, it can't happen. This spring, somehow, hoop lovers will have to
survive without our annual New York-Miami playoff mugging.
|  | | Mavs point guard Steve Nash has gotten bloody in this series. |
Think you can make it?
Luckily, for the unsure, there is a consolation series. For one
more game we've got an alternative to ease the transition.
Smokers who try to quit throw on a patch. Knicks-Heat addicts might consider
attaching themselves to Jazz vs. Mavericks.
Which qualifies as Son Of Knicks-Heat.
Skeptics should tune in Thursday to see the latest from this throwdown. This
is the series that turned the next John Stockton into the new Steve Gash,
replete with a seven-stitch zipper across his forehead. This is the series
in which Karl Malone, to prepare for Game 4, bolted Dallas for his ranch in
Arkansas to point his rifle at wild game. This is the series which inspired
Shawn Bradley, at long last, to swing back.
This is the series where the fineable comments are uttered before the
opening tip, as a warning, rather than the more traditional practice of
responding to the roughhousing.
| |  | |
| Russell |
| |  | |
| Bradley |
"Some flagrant foul, somewhere in that game, is going to happen," said
Utah's Bryon Russell, submitting his Game 4 prediction.
"I'm sure," Russell continued. "That's how it's been the whole series."
That's how it's been for 18 months now between these teams, long before
there was any hint of an Old Guard vs. New Kidz matchup materializing in the
post-season. It started less than in a week into the Mark Cuban regime, and
amazingly had nothing to do with Cuban, when Don Nelson stormed onto the
Reunion Arena floor to go chest-to-chest and nose-to-nose with Malone. Tired
of watching his players bullied by a Mailman, Nelson bolted his bench and
threatened Malone with a "kick your ass" proclamation. Malone mercifully
declined to slug a 60-year-old man, but that was only Act 1.
|
“ |
Some flagrant foul,
somewhere in that game, is going to happen. I'm sure. That's how it's been the whole
series. ” |
|
|
— Bryon Russell |
We have since witnessed enough wacky episodes to make this series
sitcom-worthy. Heading into Game 4, the teams had played 11 times since Dec. 8, 1999 -- including
the first three games of their first-round encounter, which the Jazz used to build a 2-1 lead.
In those 11 games, Son Of Knicks-Heat has accounted for:
36 technical fouls
7 flagrant fouls
8 ejections
And 2 suspensions, one each for Nelson and Malone.
"It's always something between these two teams," Mail concurred.
Especially in the playoffs, with something finally at stake. Save the sight
of Nelson being dragged along the floor, clutching Malone's leg, it's tough
to imagine stuff we haven't seen from these clubs.
In Game 1, Nelson got tossed halfway through the fourth quarter -- with son
Donnie and veteran forward Mark Bryant also collecting technicals. Nelson's
subsequent rants about Utah's "flopping" and "manipulating the referees" led
to an even more hostile environment in Game 2, with the added spectacle of
the shy Dirk Nowitzki becoming public enemy No. 41 in Wasatch Country.
| |  | |
| Nowitzki |
Nowitzki, you see, unwisely uttered the closely held belief of every
visiting player -- that "Utah is a bad city" -- and wound up being booed every
time he touched the ball. Doesn't matter that Nowitzki might be the least
likely villain on his team. Just like that, he joined the Salt Lake City
Chamber of Commerce most-wanted list, alongside former teammate Dennis
Rodman and a Big D legend, Derek Harper.
At that point, it figured that Dallas would meekly depart like Miami, with
its reputation as 53-win overachievers stained by all the whining. So,
naturally, Game 3 was when Bradley unexpectedly summoned the gumption to do
what Nelson was looking for back when all the nastiness started. He stood up
to the Ultimate Mail, chopping at Malone with both elbows after being
knocked around for the first half-quarter, and, even more amazingly, there
would be Utah response. Malone obviously couldn't afford to get kicked out,
but there was nothing holding back C-O-P and Greg Ostertag, the Jazz's two
centers. Instead, Olden Polynice and Tag stuck around to total zero points
and four rebounds against Bradley's 10 and 10. It might have been the best
game Bradley ever played, and he didn't even block a shot.
It didn't hurt, of course, that the Mavericks managed to ring up 30
free-throw attempts to Utah's 11, after all that complaining. Also didn't
hurt that Nash-turned-Gash shrugged off the seven stitches he needed after
running into Stockton's teeth to make the game-winning hoop. Stockton, the
best player in this series, wriggled free for a go-ahead runner with 34
ticks left. Nash answered with a fall-away jump, then answered the big media
questions.
Officiating, Steve? "I thought it was great," he deadpanned. And the series
itself, Mr. Gash, when Utah's lead was sliced to 2-1? ""We feel it's a different
series now."
Uh, no it's not. Or did you forget what Russell said? You know what's coming
next. No one's forgetting the obvious experience vs. youth tussle, but the
physical conflict is just as recurring a theme here. Who is going to be
tagged next? Funny, but methinks the odds won't be too long on Big Shawn as
a target.
Just don't bother betting on punishments, because the league office has been
unusually quiet lately. Cuban, for example, went unpunished after heckling
Jazz employees at the scorer's table, slamming press row with both hands and
blowing kisses at Sloan ... all on the same night. All from the same guy who
got docked $100,000 for sitting quietly on the floor at the Target Center.
Again, what next? Well, a win by the Mavericks on Tuesday stretched this to
a Game 5 on Thursday. That said, even though the Knicks and Heat always take
it the distance, it's probably safer to simply brace for the next burst of
physicality.
That's the Sloan approach.
"I think it's kind of interesting," said Sloan, a longtime lover of the
rough stuff himself. Lots of New Yorkers and South Floridians wouldn't
argue.
Marc Stein, who covers the NBA for The Dallas Morning News, is a regular
contributor to ESPN.com.
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