How will the Denver/New York Brawl Affect the NBA

by Crypt0naut on Dec 16, 2006 7:39 PM PST

http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news?slug=ap-nuggets-knicksbrawl&prov=ap&type=lgns

Lots of people think that the NBA is just filled with a lot of punks. Today's game where JR Smith and Mardy Collins sparking a 10 man fistfight at Madison Square Garden can, and most likely will damage the whole positive vibes that the NBA and David Stern tried to give off.

Every time I watch an NBA cares commercial, I don't even know who means it and who doesn't mean it anymore...

I hope that in this day and age of athletes making insane amounts of money that responsibility could be properly taught, professionalism exhibited, and necessary punishment could be doled out in such an instance as this. I expect Carmelo to receive a heft y sentence, as well as JR Smith, Collins, et al.

This FanPost is a submission from a member of the mighty Golden State of Mind community. While we're all here to throw up that W, these words do not necessarily reflect the views of the GSoM Crew. Still, chances are the preceding post is Unstoppable Baby!

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Fistfight at Madison Square Garden

"most likely will damage the whole positive vibes that the NBA and David Stern tried to give off"
Just some more entertainment for the fans, the garden has a rich fight history, what could be better than a double header of basketball and boxing?
Seriously, I doubt that basketball fans are as distressed about these things as stern thinks they are? All sports have fights, it's part of the high pressure competition, I'd rather see them fight once in a while than to not care enough to fight!
Fine or suspend the guys that started it and move on!!

by Skeptic con Urquell on Dec 16, 2006 7:56 PM PST 0 recs

Amen

couldn't have said it better G.

by gsdubz on Dec 16, 2006 11:24 PM PST up 0 recs

Discipline!

Fine and suspend everyone who participated regardless of who started it.

by ssmokinjoe on Dec 16, 2006 8:11 PM PST 0 recs

forget the NBA

this is gonna funk up my fanstasy team...melo was my anchor..now he's gonna be gone for a minute

collins deserved to get smacked up..that was a cheap ass foul..

but i hope they suspend the whole nuggets squad...then there'd be one less team we gotta contend with for the playoffs

the crowning achievement of ira newble's illustrious career

by JudBooshlur on Dec 16, 2006 8:38 PM PST 0 recs

hahahah JudBooshlur.... THAT IS THE FIRST THING

I thought about when I heard the news. Yes! the West will be slightly weaker for a short while. Just in time for when we go on our Eastern road trip!

But yeah, I always hate it when the Warriors play Denver. Carmelo is such a whiny (word-that-rhymes-with-witch). He's always hella mugging the warriors for trying to put effort into guarding him. No respect for his peers. Just a straight up thug. And did you guys see Nate Robinson trying to size up Carmelo??? Carmelo wouldve whooped Nate!!!! Nate Robinson is another NBA player that I find to be very irritating as well.

by ZombieWarrior on Dec 16, 2006 9:45 PM PST 0 recs

I just hate this fools trynna act hard.

You can't be a street sav when ur making millions. Even if Melo or Nate use F*** up people back in the day, they forfeited the right to act hard when they started getting the big time $$

RIP mAC dRE aka aNDrE mACAsSi aka MuHaMMeD I-E aka pILL cLinToN

by jmefrisco on Dec 16, 2006 10:04 PM PST up 0 recs

these*** not this

RIP mAC dRE aka aNDrE mACAsSi aka MuHaMMeD I-E aka pILL cLinToN

by jmefrisco on Dec 16, 2006 10:05 PM PST up 0 recs

Hey

Its nothing we haven't seen from some of the best players in the league in the past.

Jordan, Bird, Dr. J, Ewing, Barkley, Reggie Miller, etc, etc, etc. have all gotten into fights over the years.

So they've given us some crazy memories such as:

Van Gundy holding on for dear life, Chris Childs hitting Kobe twice in the mouth, Reggie and Kobe throwing eachother around, in the NBA Finals no less, Larry Bird being held in a chokehold from behind while Julius Erving wails on him.

Who is this Mardy Collins bench player for life?

Why would Carmelo even let someone like that get to him?

Now all these sportswriters who live off of little incidents like friends of players having marijauna found on their person, Carmelo in some "Stop snitching" street bootleg tape, and other things will write nonstop to judge his character and make comparisons to the Ron Artest/Stephen Jackson brawl.

The comparisons won't be valid either, Carmelo didn't run into the stands to hit fans like Artest and Jackson did.

But as for the NBA cares commercials, our man Adonal went overseas to teach basketball along with some others as well as Camby promising to visit Africa every year from here on out after his great experience he had last year.

by back2back51s on Dec 16, 2006 10:37 PM PST 0 recs

i dont blame JR

for fighting back. if i had some idiot like collins start taking a piggyback ride and takin me in to the fans, i would have fought back a lil. its people like melo, jefries and robinson who had no business in that fight. they also ejected najera but if you watch the tape e was just trying to stop the fight, so that was cheap. the wort part is that robinson actually tried to slap melo! i mean holy cow! he may be a punk but hes got some guts.

by mydedgerbil555 on Dec 16, 2006 10:42 PM PST 0 recs

They ejected everyone on the floor

even guys like David Lee and like you mentioned Najera.

But of course those guys won't be getting major post-fight suspensions/fines.

by back2back51s on Dec 16, 2006 11:23 PM PST up 0 recs

The underlying reason for the flagrant foul

Is there a rift between George Karl and Isiah Thomas? Thomas commented to Anthony that he shouldn't have been on the floor. And he probably shouldn't have, but that is no reason to send your goon in to take out Smith. That foul, like the one Wallace took on Artest should warrant the biggest fine and suspension, because that instigated the whole event. When are we going to have real security in the NBA? Why aren't the off-duty cops down there keeping the peace? I hate Isiah, and I think he has cheapened the game of basketball from his bad boy days. He always hated Jordan and Karl is a former Tar Heel. Did Isiah pull a John Cheney and ask Collins to "Sweep the Leg?"

by eshock on Dec 16, 2006 11:30 PM PST 0 recs

Bring on the tasers!

by racsan on Dec 17, 2006 10:14 AM PST up 0 recs

sportsmanship is lost art

old timers will recall that once the win was in the bag you weren't supposed to kick the dog - not only because it might bite (or snap in the case of a hard foul) but because you had to play them again, and they could embarrass you next time too ... no one likes getting embarrassed with extraneous hotdoggin and that may've been part of the problem here (though few of us saw the whole context of the game) ... the sport ethic is different now - jersey snapping and chest thumping and everyone worried about their rep - the fear of loss of "face" then fuels the reaction, and on and on ...

by hardcore on Dec 17, 2006 12:13 AM PST 0 recs

Its still nothing like

Those days where a man would put you down all night then drop 40 on you during the process, and in Gary's case, continue talking down to you nonstop.

This one sounds like a Cheney/goon thing going on between rival coaches as well.

The starters on the floor, the rookie stuck on the bench player giving a hard foul, Thomas/Karl(who is friends with Larry Brown).

Isiah also was quoted as saying "Break his legs!" or something like that earlier this year in regards to the Bruce Bowen injuring Steve Francis by stepping under him during jumpshots.

by back2back51s on Dec 17, 2006 12:38 AM PST up 0 recs

carmelo deserves at least 20

When you sucker punch a guy, you don't just run like a __. That's just low.

by reppin the bay on Dec 17, 2006 9:22 AM PST 0 recs

It wasn't a sucker punch per se'

either as he did it to his face, not behind his back like the Shaq Brad Miller deal.

Collins saw it coming, and certainly instigated it by continuing to mouth off, then was surprised when he got a half fisted slap/punch in return.

But again, Melo should have known better as this Collins guy isn't going to amount to much this season or anytime soon.

by back2back51s on Dec 17, 2006 11:16 PM PST up 0 recs

Heh

Sorry if this wasn't even about the Warriors, but thanks so much for providing opinions and ideas.

-Crypt0naut

by Crypt0naut on Dec 17, 2006 11:17 AM PST 0 recs

Thanks for posting it

We're all here to talk hoops and this is what the hoops world is talking about. I'm glad you put it up.

by Atma Brother ONE on Dec 17, 2006 11:23 AM PST up 0 recs

It was just dumb

The whole incident was just stupid. It shouldn't have escalated into what it did. Stupid flagrant foul no doubt- just move on.

I don't think it's symbolic of a larger problem in the league or that the players are "thugs". There are 1,230 games in the NBA regular season. At most you'll usually only see 1-2 fight or brawls a season. That's nothing. Now hockey on the other hand...

But again, the whole incident was just stupid and unnecessary.

by Atma Brother ONE on Dec 17, 2006 11:21 AM PST 0 recs

Dan Wetzel's comments sum it up

http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news;_ylt=AkmGLFfAGFCSAbYZbcbeCUS8vLYF?slug=dw-knicks121606&prov=yho o&type=lgns

We were spot on here. Zeke looks the punk here. In deep contrast, the Warriors were very concerned over Jose Calderon today. Isiah needs to be fired, now! He is ruining that franchise.

by eshock on Dec 17, 2006 5:15 PM PST 0 recs

So much hullabaloo over what?

First of all, what brawl? It was more of a shoving match.
Secondly, what happened at MSG was NOTHING compared to the violence you can witness on any given night watching hockey (which is partly why I hate that game). Also, The comparisons to the Pistons/Pacers brawl are completely ridiculous because what happened during that brawl far exceeds, in size and scope, what happened at MSG.

Melo has some splainin' to do, fur sure, but I hope the league guys don't lose their heads handing out punishments. I mean, it's not like anyone charged into the stands and attacked a fan (the wrong fan at that).

by Jeremy Belvins on Dec 17, 2006 8:32 PM PST 0 recs

Suspensions Handed out

http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news?slug=ap-nuggets-knicksbrawl&prov=ap&type=lgns

Melo suspended 15 games
JR Smith 10 games
Nate Robinson 10 games
Mardy Collins 6 games (not that it matters)
Jared Jeffries 4 games (has he even played 4 games this year?)
Jerome James 1 game (it woulda helped the Knicks if Stern banned him from eating twinkies for a day)
Nene 1 game (who?)

This could potentially knock the Nuggets out of the playoff hunt. Melo and JR Smith are one of the highest scoring duos in the league.

The punishment seem a little excessive, but I can't say I really care to make a case for these guys. It was just stupid all around.

by Atma Brother ONE on Dec 18, 2006 11:50 AM PST 0 recs

The punishment seem a little excessive,

Make that a lot excessive! 3 games for fighting would be plenty.

by Skeptic con Urquell on Dec 18, 2006 7:13 PM PST 0 recs

re punishments

are they too harsh? what else is Stern supposed to do? The NBA has two levels: the athletic and public. From a PR pov, what are the other options? Suggestions?

this won't help Denver pick up AI immediately, but since Philly is (obviously) in no hurry ...

they also don't help GS - we don't play either team soon enough for them to matter. I did wonder if they had any effect when Dunleavy got mugged goint to the hoop tonight vs. NJ - there was zero response by anyone on the court to that ....

and, this isn't hockey - those comparisons are not going to provide any meaningful perspective for those who know the different dynamics of those sports

by hardcore on Dec 18, 2006 8:17 PM PST 0 recs