Dallas fans booed the Spurs' Michael Finley, the fourth-leading scorer in Mavericks history, who left only after being dumped for luxury tax relief.
If that wasn't bad enough on the yahoo scale, several media outlets encouraged fans to boo Nash, whose departure to Phoenix had been lamented locally while he was twice most valuable player for the Suns.
Even Cuban, who suggested Finley was a "crybaby," thought that was a bit much and, as Jerry Stackhouse noted, it might be good to "let sleeping dogs lie."
\o7Bingo!
\f7Nash scored 10 of his 27 points in the last 3:26 of Game 1 as the Suns came from nine down to steal it. With Raja Bell reportedly out until Game 5, they remain underdogs but as we in the national media like to say, it ain't over till it's over.
Faces and Figures
Something else that would take some pressure off referees: A no foul-out rule. It's hard to believe we're still talking about it because it's been discussed at all levels of the game for decades and I've never heard a good argument against it.... Meanwhile in the East: The Detroit and Miami media are busy insulting each other's teams, calling Shaquille O'Neal "old and fat" and the Pistons "smug." Indeed, the every-other-day schedule will be hard for O'Neal, especially with three-hour flights after Games 4, 5 and 6, and Pistons officials say privately their players haven't looked as hungry since four became All-Stars.... The East finals also feature, or are embarrassed by, Detroit's Flip Saunders hacking Shaq and Miami's Pat Riley hacking Ben Wallace, highlighting the need to take all intentional fouling out of the game. Any foul that isn't a play on the ball should be penalized by awarding two free throws and the ball....
Lottery scenario, first of many: 1. Toronto doesn't want to re-sign mouthy free agent Mike James and trades down for Portland's No. 4 pick plus Steve Blake or Jarrett Jack. Portland, which wants to dump Theo Ratliff's salary and isn't sure it can re-sign Joel Przybilla, takes LaMarcus Aldridge. 2. Chicago, happy to take Aldridge or Tyrus Thomas, takes Thomas. 3. Charlotte takes Adam Morrison. 4. Toronto takes seven-footer Andrea Bargnani, a crack three-point shooter, as GM Bryan Colangelo gets set to spread the floor as he did in Phoenix. 5. Atlanta needs a point guard but takes Brandon Roy, who's too good to pass up. 6. Minnesota needs someone who can help now with Kevin Garnett antsy, takes Randy Foye. 7. Boston takes Marcus Williams. 8. Houston does a sign-and-trade for James (let's say Luther Head and Clarence Weatherspoon's expiring contract) and drafts another crack shooter, J.J. Redick. 9. Golden State takes seven-footer Patrick O'Bryant, whose stock is rising. 10. Seattle, going young and athletic, takes Rudy Gay....
Even in the Knicks' theater of the absurd, it was a memorable week. Team officials called police, who threatened to arrest media people waiting for Coach Larry Brown in the practice facility parking lot. The media retreated across the road to a grassy strip next to a ditch as traffic whizzed by, including Brown, who waved from his SUV but didn't stop.... Knicks officials maintained their silence on reports they'll buy out Brown and corporate boss James Dolan put off his request for a meeting, letting Brown twist in the wind. However, with Dolan's rock band, JD and the Straight Shot, scheduled to play at a Manhattan club this week, the New York Daily News' Frank Isola wrote, "Can't you just see Brown holding a beer in one hand ... rocking his head to the music?" ... Just in case, 100 or so media people will be there, holding beers and rocking, too.
