The Knicks Fix

Saw Chuck D post this among the comments and I had to follow-up on it because I had talked about exactly this point -- why George Karl had his starters out there with less than two minutes to go in a blowout win -- with a few other people in basketball.

First and foremost, GK wanted to win big at the Garden. Before the game he talked about how sad he felt about the atmosphere of MSG these days and, while on the surface he seemed to be spewing wistful nostalgia, his comments seemed laced with sarcastic venom at the current leaders of the once-hallowed hoops hall.

“There's basketball luck and there's karma and there's all types of things and the Knicks have not been very good in those areas lately,” Karl said. “I think it will change. There's a pride in this city and a pride in these fans and of course some pride in the organization to put a high-level product on the court.”

But there is also another defense worth exploring and that was that Karl and the Nuggets, who entered the game with consecutive losses, wanted to ensure this win. Remember that on Nov. 9 in Denver, the Knicks rallied from a 12-point fourth-quarter deficit to pull out a 109-107 win on Jamal Crawford's wild trey with 6.9 second left. (Excellent recollection, Mr. Chuck).

And in Saturday's game, the Nuggets saw a 24-point lead cut to 10 when the Knicks ripped off 28 points in the final 5:58 of the third quarter. Karl wasn't taking any chances. He was making sure the 'W' was in the books before he called off the dogs.

But, come on, you know Karl, being Larry Brown's boy -- all those Carolina guys stick together -- wanted to enjoy hearing boos rain down on Isiah Thomas' team.

Wonder what he was more disappointed with: Carmelo Anthony for suckering Mardy Collins and making himself liable for a lengthy suspension (which the Nuggets can ill-afford) or hearing the jacked-up Garden crowd cheer the Knicks off the floor despite a 123-100 defeat?

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Sound off, Knicks fans. How many games should Melo get? How many for N8 the H8er? JR and Collins? Thomas??
Here's my scorecard:

Melo - 10 games. Why: The Nuggets are about to open a five-game homestand and will have eight of their next 10 at home, so you'll hurt the franchise at the turnstile. The Nuggets don't play too many important games in that stretch, but they do have the Lakers and Jazz in the ninth and tenth games of the stretch, which is why you can't cut it at an 8 game suspension. Gotta make it hurt.

N8 - 5 games. Why: Because instead of stepping in and moving his teammate out of a bad situation, he sprayed lighter fluid on the smoldering coals by shoving J.R. Smith and then doing the street-fight pose-down. (Which I never understood: why put your fists at your waist to start a fight? wouldn't it make more sense to raise them up? If Rocky Balboa ever stepped into the ring that way, the Italian Stallion would have been at the glue factory before Clubba Lang ever got to the party.)

Mardy - 1 game. Why: Because of the flagrant 2. It's in the books.

JR - 1 game. Why: Because he sacked N8 into the front row like Michael Strahan.

Thomas - A fine for his comments. Why: Because its not the first time he's done things that are unbecoming of an NBA coach (see: the Bruce Bowen incident in San Antonio).

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P.S. -- If I haven't said it yet, awesome job by the Garden and NBA security for acting quickly to diffuse the situation on the court and for keeping the crowd around the court under control. No one wanted to see another Auburn Hills Melee and, thankfully, no one did.