Welcome to The Basketball Chat. Every week, Mike Slane, co-founder of ElevationMag.com and myself will chat about the latest news in the NBA. We'll take a look at players and teams, as well as any trades, suspensions, and other NBA happenings.
Chat took place on Tuesday afternoon.
Dennis: Okay, it's me your humble servant at About Basketball and my partner here on The Basketball Chat, Mike. Well, what else is there to start off this week with but the unscheduled boxing match in Madison Square Garden between the New York Knicks and Denver Nuggets and the subsequent punishment handed down by the league. Mike, regular readers know that you're a Nuggets fan and I'm a Knicks fan, so let's talk about "our" respective teams. Since you're technically my guest, you can speak on this first from a Nuggs point of view.
Mike: Well, I'll start by agreeing with George Karl and say that Isiah Thomas is a JERK. As you may already know, I'm not the biggest fan of Isiah. In fact, I can't stand the man. His attitude, the way he messes everything up, his little smirks from the sideline, his pin, and now his role in Saturday's brawl bother me. And as for the fight itself, I think that Mardy Collins had a right to foul J.R. Smith because of Smith's earlier reverse dunk, but putting him in a headlock was uncalled for. Smith stood up for himself and it should've stopped there. I like that Carmelo Anthony stuck up for his teammate, but that punch ruined his reputation as both a man and a fighter. It was pretty sad watching Melo throw that embarrassing excuse for a "haymaker" and even sadder watching him run away right after.
Dennis: Well, your dislike for Isiah Thomas and his smirk are pretty much in tune with the way a lot of Knicks fans feel. I don't get the smirks the same way I don't get his transactions as a GM (drafting Channing Frye and David Lee excepted). I have to agree with you and George Karl - Isiah Thomas is a jerk and if it comes to light or even if it doesn't and the following is true - that Mardy Collins is Thomas' goon - then Thomas is even more of a jerk, if that's even possible! But, c'mon, it was like in back-to-back games were Collins thought he was playing hockey and did the equivalent of slamming someone against the boards. And while I'm disappoined that Thomas and his puzzle pin didn't get suspended, I understand that there was no hard proof that Thomas told anyone on the Nuggets to not come in the lane unless they wanted to suffer repercussions. But still...
And, yeah, the biggest loser in all of this is easily Carmelo Anthony. He was just building a solid rep too and we as basketball fans were forgiving him for his past indiscretions (valid or not). But, that all went out the door once he threw that sucker punch, and even worse, backed up quickly towards his teammates like a coward. Why Melo, why? He easily falls back behind Dwyane Wade and LeBron James again. I'm not so sure he doesn't fall behind Josh Howard now, who was the last pick in the first round in that highly regarded 2003 NBA draft.
One last thing... Nate Robinson is a straight up gangsta, but he needs to chill and get rid of that chip on his shoulder because we all know that he's a very good player. Fighting isn't something he needs to do to get a rep because it'll be a bad one that he gets.
Mike: And let me wrap up the brawl convo by saying this... I once heard an NFL coach say "you play to win the game." So what's the big deal with keeping starters in and "running up the score" if that was indeed what the Nuggets were doing, which I doubt.
Dennis: I'll agree with you on that statement as that was Karl's right to do, whether it was to embarass the Knicks because of Karl's connection to Larry Brown or not. But, let's get away from this negativity and focus on the positive. Just how good are the Phoenix Suns? Fourteen games in a row?!?!?! They are absolutely scorching right now (forgive the pun). Even Boris Diaw is starting to come on, going for a triple double against the Golden State Warriors last Friday. Can they stay this hot the rest of the year? They have Toronto tonight, the less than full-strength Nuggets tomorrow and don't really see a challenge to them until the 28th when they travel to face the Dallas Mavericks. Barring injury, can the Suns keep piling on the W's? Are we looking at a 60+ wins season?
Mike: I wouldn't be surprised if they won 60+ this season. There's no doubt about it that the Suns have all the pieces in place to make a championship run. As long as everyone stays healthy, the Suns should easily roll through the season into the playoffs. But one team people aren't talking about much is the Spurs. Dennis, why is the only time the Spurs are in the news is when one puts an engagement ring on a fine actress' finger?
Dennis: Because that actress happens to be one of the finest... err, actresses out there today! But, seriously, the reason why you don't hear much about the Spurs is because they just go about the business of winning, which is what it's all about. About the only flashy thing you'll ever see from the Spurs is Manu Ginobili slashing to the basket and putting up a reverse layup. Come playoff time, they'll be ready to make noise. And speaking of making noise, how about that Gilbert Arenas AKA Agent Zero yelling out "hibachi" with every shot release? Is this guy fun to root for or what?
Mike: He's a nut and I love it. Whether it's him believing that sitting in a tent with high-altitude air streaming through it will help his game or saying that his team record-setting 60 points against the Lakers on Sunday was "bound to happen,'' he's always a fun guy to watch and hear both on and off the court.
Dennis: Yeah, I think we should call him Agent SIX-Zero from now on the way everyone called Kobe Bryant KB81 last season when he dropped 81 on the Raptors.
