The Knicks Fix

It’s too self-righteous and sanctimonious for me to sit here and type all types of condemnations about the behavior of Nate Robinson, Isiah Thomas and Carmelo Anthony in tonight’s game. I won’t even bother tearing into Robinson for being the igniter of the whole situation because he decided to push and shove Nuggets players and knuckle up when J.R. Smith squared with him. It’s not even worth all of the infinite space on the internet to psycho-analyze the choice Robinson made between stepping in to remove his teammate (Mardy Collins) from the situation or pick a fight with Smith, who, if my eyes did not deceive me, was the one who was headlocked to the hardwood by Collins. And it's usesless to predict what the NBA will hand down as far as suspensions go.

So let me just get to the real issue at hand here: Isiah Thomas’ inexcusable behavior before, during and after the fight.

Before:
Thomas seemed more fixated on the fact that George Karl left a few of his starters in for the final minute of what was a blowout win for the Nuggets at the Garden. This probably goes back to Karl taking shots at Thomas after the Larry Brown incident. Thomas was seething. And he should have been seething at the end of that game, but not about anything Karl or the Nuggets were doing. His team had yet another awful night defensively. Awful. The team’s interior defense was practically non-existent. I was shocked it took until 1:15 left in the game for someone to deliver a hard foul on a layup. Where was this in the second quarter, when the Nuggets were punching holes in the Knicks 'D' for layups, oops and dunks?

But Thomas was distracted by what Karl was doing instead of focusing on what he needs to do to improve his team’s defense.

During:
Thomas' player, Collins, took a sucker-punch to the face from Mello Yello – and there’s no way he didn’t see it, the whole Garden saw it – but Thomas went to mid-court to meet with Anthony. He put his arm around him and the two spoke briefly. Thomas later revealed that he explained to Anthony that he and Marcus Camby shouldn’t have been on the floor up by 19 points that late in the game. Karl should have been ticked off that the opposing coach was talking to one of his players, never mind that the opposing coach was trying to blame it all on him.

Meanwhile, Collins is back at the Knicks bench, where Thomas should have been with his arm around his first-round draft pick. Showing that solidarity the Knicks talked about after the game with such bravado. And giving his appreciation for his determination not to give up another fast-break dunk to the high-flying Smith. Instead, Collins had to see Thomas hugging the guy who just suckered him in the jaw.

Very classy.

After:
Thomas had the audacity to claim this was all the result of the actions of the Nuggets and, though he never mentioned him by name, Karl. “Most people have been around long enough and you watch any type of sporting event, when it’s a minute to go or something like that, guys know when they’re rubbing it in their face,” Thomas said. Then Robinson echoed the company line a few minutes later in the locker room. Robinson spoke as if he knew something was going to happen.

Premeditated?

Garden chairman James Dolan was in a video room across from the Knicks locker room after the game, reviewing the play. He cut it short when he noticed a few reporters standing nearby. He and Garden president Steve Mills declined comment. What could they say? That they were proud? There was nothing to be proud of about this night at the Garden.

But then again, some among the sellout crowd roared with approval as the five ejected Knicks left the court. Talk about a needed distraction. The Garden fans were applauding the Knicks with 1:15 left and a 19-point deficit.

If this isn't rock bottom, it's damn near close.

* * *

If any player involved in that mess deserves an ounce of respect it is Jared Jeffries, who went into the fray as a peacemaker, took a sucker punch to the ribs from Smith and then chased down Carmelo after the punch to Collins’ face. Robinson claims he was sticking up for a teammate when he shoved Smith, but he was the instigator there. Jeffries, however, clearly was coming to the defense of Collins when he charged after Carmelo. He had an assistant coach, a security guard and two teammates grabbing at him to hold him back. Otherwise, he would have gotten to Carmelo, who, by then, had retreated toward the Nuggets bench.

* * *

In case you missed it (things that the fight distracted us from focusing on after the game):
- Stephon Marbury had 31 points and shot 13 for 24 from the floor in his best offensive performances of the season that no one will remember
- Eddy Curry had 19 points but did so little on the defensive end, it’s fair to say he was ineffective in the middle of the 2-3 zone, which the Nuggets were able to divide by drawing double-teams on Anthony and conquer with easy layups
- Channing Frye returned to the lineup after missing 10 games with an ankle sprain, which was great news for Channing Frye
- Quentin Richardson missed the game with back spasms that flared up during Friday’s loss in Indiana
- The Knicks trailed by as many as 24 points for the third time in four games
- The Rangers lost 9-2 in Toronto, so it was a bad night all around for the Garden

* * *

If you read your morning paper and are wondering why there isn't a great deal of information on the fight, you have to understand that our first deadline was immediately after the game. So there was a small window of time (15 minutes to be exact) to basically rewrite everything I had already planned to submit before the fight and get as much detail in there as possible before I could rush to the locker room. A more complete story, with quotes, was submitted by the second deadline, midnight. That was for our Sunday late edition, which, considering how rare it is to find anywhere, is merely a rumor.

But extensive coverage of the brawl and all of its rhetoric can be found on Newsday.com.

Come to think of it, if you're reading this blog, you probably already know that.

It's been a long night. I'm sending this at 4:19 a.m. The day started in Indianapolis. It ends in chaos.