I want to root against the red-hot Celtics — as a Knicks fan, it is genetic — but I have always like Kevin Garnett and would like to see him win a title. I guess that, as long as Isaiah Thomas continues to turn the Knicks into a freak show, the old rules don’t apply.
(I’m actually rooting for Phoenix and Steve Nash and Shawn Marion — my favorite current players — this year.)
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I remain, despite the embarassing state of my belove Knicks franchise, a fan of the NBA. Last year’s playoffs, for instance, were thrilling — watching LeBron James come into his own but then run smack into the remarkable Spurs, a team that in many ways reminds me of the Knick title teams of yore.
This year features a lot of expectations for one of the league’s marquee teams — the Celtics — thanks to a pair of trades that make Boston the Eastern Conference’s most talented squad; another likely title run by the Spurs; a soap opera in Lakerland; what is likely to be the final run for the most exciting team in the league (the Suns, which will need to do some reconstruction if they fail to get to the finals this year); and an embarassing referee scandal.
The Knicks open Friday agaisnt LeBron in Cleveland. My prediction is another mediocre year, with the team approaching .500 — figure between 38 and 42 wins — and finishing behind the Celtics and the Nets in a weak division while sneaking into the playoffs (maybe).
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As John Saccenti, my colleague here at the Post and Press, says: “The biggest name to move in sports today was a basketball player.”
A not-so-strange day at the deadline, possibly more active than in recent years — I don’t know the numbers — but a few moves that could have an impact:
Mark Texeira to the Braves will be a thorn in the Mets’ side — I mean, who wouldn’t want to add a major power bat to the middle of their lineup. The Braves had the best setup going in, an ability to move a big-league-ready prospect and a highly though of prospect without hurting their organizational depth. Rangers get Jarrod Saltalamacchia (stuck behind the young study Brian McCann) and a young shortstop.
Braves also get Octavio Dotel in the who cares category. Dotel hasn’t been the same since becoming the Houston closer and losing the job to Brad Lidge (and then being traded to Oakland).
Kyle Lohse? This probably says more about the Phillies’ pitching than anything.
Eric Gagne makes the Sox even more dangerous. You better score early because there is little chance you’ll get to the team in the late innings now.
Met fans are still waiting for something else to happen (perhaps the acquisition of Chad Cordero?), but at 4:40 it’s not likely. But things are not done. There will be some waiver-wire deals.
As for the basketball player? Well, the Celtics have nearly finished their offseason makeover, going from young wannabees to older, but dangerous. The Celtics — who acquired Kevin Garnett for their best youngster and a bunch of other guys — now feature Garnett, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen, a formidable scoring trio that should put the team in the mix in the awful Eastern Conference, if not at the top of this rank heap. The Celtics will not win a championship — Spurs, Suns, Mavs are all better than them — but they should challenge Miami and Detroit, good teams with significant flaws. But only if Pierce and Allen are willing to play supporting roles to one of the greatest players ever, an unselfish offensive player who loves to play D.
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Finally, a sports league that takes action (pictured is Tim Duncan — from the ESPN site — who was tossed the other day by Joey Crawford essentially for laughing on the bench) against an out-of-control umpire or referee.
I am put in mind of an incident back in 1988. Pete Rose was managing the Reds in a game against the Mets when he got into a heated exchange with umpire Dave Pallone. Rather than backing away, as umpires used to be taught, Pallone got right in Rose’s face and the argument escalated, ending with Rose bumping the ump and forearming him in the chest — leading to a record 30-day suspension for Charlie Hustle.
Rose, of course, crossed a line and deserved his punishment. But the incident raised serious questions about the role that umpires play in these kinds of tussles — had Pallone turned away, there was no guarantee that it would have died down. But getting in Rose’s face was guaranteed to turn the heat up a notch.
I always felt Pallone should have been suspended along with Rose, perhaps for a shorter period, and that sports umpires and referees often play a part in these blowups.
So it is gratifying to see NBA Commissioner David Stern come down so quickly on Joey Crawford.
(Question: Would Crawford had been suspended if it hadn’t been a superstar with a clean record like Tim Duncan? What if it had been a no-name like Mardy Collins or someone like Rasheed Wallace, who has had problems in the past? Just asking.)
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The South Brunswick Vikings basketball team did something few have done in the history of the school this year — they battled their way to the state championship game, falling nine points short of their ultimate goal.
No shame in it, of course. It was a rather magical run, made possible by a team that took seriously the notion that it was a team — every doing his part, no one dominating the spotlight.
It was the kind of team that reminds me of why I like basketball, a team that moved the ball, shared the ball, played defense and hit the boards.
So congratulations to the South Brunswick High School Vikings basketball squad and thank you for a thrilling ride.
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Hank Kalet 