Be honest, how fair is today's NBA?  We have 'superstar calls' which favor a certain team over another out of sheer presence.  A call could go one way or another depending on who your name is or what team you play for.  Just ask Byron Russell of the Utah Jazz or Pacer Brad Miller and they?ll tell you.

There is some  inconsistency on the basketball court that can be accepted.  For starters different referees could call identical scenarios differently out of differences in opinion, and they also have to make a decision in a split second minus the luxury of instant replay like us folks at home.  

But this is just one side of the NBA, and should the punishment department of NBA headquarters receive the same benefit of the doubt?  They have time to review incidents many times over from many different angles, having discussions before drawing conclusions.  Do they use precedents to help form the basis of their outcomes, or are their conclusions purely case by case?

It is inconsistencies in this area which has Peter Vecsey of the New York Post up in arms in his latest column.  Stu Jackson, the ex-Grizzlies head man who morphed into the NBA?s Senior Vice President of Basketball Operations, is the person who hands out the punishments to players.  He has been far from consistent.

Take last week?s game between the Indiana Pacers and the Detroit Pistons for instance.  With 1:16 left in the Pistons win over the Pacers, Detroit up by 22 at the time, Corliss Williamson drives baseline past center Brad Miller.  Jermaine O?Neal comes over to help, banged hard into Williamson and was called for the flagarant foul.  O?Neal caught Williamson?s leg and hip on the way down, preventing him from falling and hurting himself, but Corliss still took exception to the contact and proceeded to throw the ball hard at O?Neal from only a few feet away in retaliation.  The ball hit O?Neal on the shoulder,  and he couldn't believe what had just happened.  The result: O?Neal confronted Williamson and Pistons peacemakers Ben Wallace and Michael Curry, while a Pacers trio of Jonathan Bender, Bruno Sundov and Primoz Brezec all left the bench.

Jermaine O?Neal was fined $10,000 and was suspended two games for his part in the altercation, while Bender, Sundov and Brezec all received $5,000 fines and 1 game suspensions for leaving the bench.  Williamson?  He received a $5,000 fine and no loss of court time despite sparking the controversy with his reaction.  Had he not thrown the ball at O?Neal the chances are that Jermaine would have been accessed with the flagarant and both teams would have proceeded as if nothing happened.

The major points here?  Ball thrown at player, no suspension.  Vecsey takes a look at the other projectile related suspensions in the NBA this season then summarizes the punishment scale which he refers to as ?Jackson Justice?:

? Throw a TV on the floor in the direction of no one in particular and you get suspended two games and fined $10,000
? Flick a wad of gum and get one game and a fine
? Hurl a fully inflated basketball at an opponent five feet away and you lose $5,000 in chump change but no court time

Sound fair?  It all comes down to one word, inconsistency, although there may be another extremely powerful word that Jackson has now exposed.  That word, of course, is precedent.

To be consistent and fair Jackson should now treat each ball-throwing incident just as he has for the Williamson-O?Neal fiasco, regardless of the ramifications.  

We can see it now.  Shaq fouls player.  Player throws ball at Shaq.  Shaq retaliates, opening up a suspension possibility.  Player is fined $5,000 but misses no games.  Who needs Hack-a-Shaq when you can eliminate him all together?  The precedent has now been set folks, so it may not be as far fetched as you think.

By calling himself a future All-Star, saying he was as good as Latrell Sprewell and Allan Houston, and all but begging for the opportunity to someday guard Kobe Bryant, the Knicks' Lavor Postell created a bit of an uproar before last night's game.

Chris Broussard writes that his teammates, particularly Sprewell, Houston and Mark Jackson, ridiculed him mercilessly on the team bus. MSG Network devoted a pregame segment to the bombastic comments he made Monday, and Postell, finding no humor in the Knicks' ribbing, was unusually despondent before taking the court for warm-ups.

But over the next three hours, the jokes turned to cheers, the mockery became respect, and Postell's image went from that of a young knucklehead to a one-game hero with potential.

Doubling his previous career best and hitting a clutch 3-pointer in the final moments, Postell scored a game-high 20 points in 22 minutes to help lead the Knicks to an 89-82 victory over the playoff-bound Detroit Pistons at the Palace.

"I made a statement in the papers and I backed it up," said Postell, 24, who made his comments after shooting 1 for 7 in Monday's loss to Denver. "That's in the past. It was a mistake. I shouldn't have done that. But this is a great group of guys. They made fun of me, but they still supported me. They were like, `Young fella, don't make statements like that because it'll come back to haunt you.' I meant what I said. But I'll never do it again."

The victory and Postell's performance created a sense of joy in a Knicks locker room that has often been dismal after games this season. Sprewell, one of Postell's closest friends on the team, joked about moving out of the way for the reporters surrounding Postell's locker, and Jackson introduced Postell at his impromptu news conference by saying, "Ladies and gentlemen, Joe Willie Namath."

"I've been playing this game since third grade," he said. "I'm good at this. I'm here for a reason. I got an opportunity and I took advantage of it."

Healthiest team will likely win East
Published March 25, 2002

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Tim Povtak

In a season when there are no certainties in the Eastern Conference, the best players aren't going to reach the NBA Finals.

The healthiest will.

Toronto's Vince Carter, who had been struggling for weeks with a sore knee, was shut down for the season and faces surgery today.

Philadelphia's Allen Iverson broke his hand last week, and he isn't expected back for a month.

Orlando's Tracy McGrady scared the life right out of an entire organization Friday with his frightening fall, leaving him overnight in the hospital with back spasms.

Together last week, the three proved just how delicate the balance of power really is in the East. Without Carter healthy, the Raptors have been woeful. Without Iverson, the Sixers are nothing. Without McGrady, the Magic are dreadful.

Health -- and not stars -- will decide who wins the East.

If Jason Kidd had a bad ankle sprain, the Nets would do a free fall. If Ben Wallace wasn't there to rebound and block shots, the Detroit Piston would become the Atlanta Hawks.

"Whoever gets hot -- and stays healthy -- will come out of the East," said Magic point guard Darrell Armstrong. "It's so up for grabs, and we think we have as good a chance as anyone. I think this just shows you how important it is to stay healthy."

The Charlotte Hornets were without Jamal Mashburn early this season, and they weren't very good. With him and everyone else back, they are as good as anyone in the East, now riding a six-game winning streak.

The Magic are fortunate that McGrady could be back as early as Tuesday against Chicago. Once he left Friday, the Magic hardly challenged the Hornets. They never even made the Milwaukee Bucks sweat Sunday. Without him this season, they are 1-4.

"Everything is so balance in the East this season," said Hornets veteran P.J. Brown. It's like parity in college basketball. The eight teams that go into the playoffs from the East -- if they are healthy -- will all believe they can reach the NBA Finals. In the nine years I've been in the league, I've never seen it like this."

McGrady's stock on the rise

Tracy McGrady isn't going to win the NBA's Most Valuable Player Award this season -- Jason Kidd built too much of an early lead, and Shaquille O'Neal qualifies to win it every year -- but he certainly has put himself into strong contention for the future.

Voters normally go for the stars that have been knocking on the door for years. Just look at the last six winners.

Allen Iverson, who won the award last season, had to win two scoring titles and turn 26 before he became a MVP. O'Neal was 28 when he won, after two scoring titles and a month before his first NBA title.

Karl Malone and Michael Jordan alternated winning the prior four seasons. Jordan already had established himself as the greatest player in history, and Malone was an All-Star 10 times before he won.

McGrady, 22, has put himself into a favorite's role for next season with a dazzling second half. If he wins it then, at the ripe age of 23, he would become the youngest winner since Bob McAdoo became MVP in 1975 at 23.

McGrady, before he was hurt Friday, had been the best player in the league since the All-Star break, carrying the Magic to a 12-6 record after he stole the show with the All-Star Game, raising his confidence another level.

Since the break, he has averaged 29.2 points, 7.9 rebounds, 6.5 assists, 2.3 steals and 1.1 blocks. No one else in the league has won games in so many different ways.

Iverson has scored more. Duncan and O'Neal have rebounded better. Kidd has dished more assists. But no one has done it like McGrady in every statistical category.

Carter tired of criticism

Vince Carter says he will have a short memory next season, and he's going hunting for his critics.

As the Raptors struggled the last several weeks, falling out of playoff contention, Carter has been attacked for his lack of leadership and his inability to upright a sinking ship.

Most of the criticism, from players, fans and media, came from those who didn't know how badly he was slowed by the cartilage damage in his knee.

"In the summer, when I'm home, I can just sit there and think about all the rough times, all this, all that, all the players who tried to come at me when I was hurt,'' he said. "All that stuff. I'm gonna remember so there's going to be some hell to pay next year.''

The Raptors, remember, were supposed to be contenders this season after re-signing Carter and everyone else they wanted last summer. But the season became a disaster. Carter took much of the blame.

"They're all going to eat those words. I'm going to do what I have to do to get to the situation where I want to be, and once I'm healthy and ready to go, I'm gonna start attacking people,'' he said. "I refuse to make excuses. Like I said a long time ago, if I choose to go out there and play, I have to go out there and perform regardless of my situation. I wasn't looking for some sympathy. If I was hurt and playing well, no one would have said anything."

Popularity almost 'Shaq-like'

Interesting scene at the Meet the Magic night for season ticket holders at the RDV Sportplex last week. The doors opened, and there was a flood of fans all racing to the table where Tracy McGrady was sitting. The difference from last season -- his first with the Magic -- to this season has been huge for McGrady in the eyes of the fans. "It's become Shaq-like,'' said Chris D'Orso, Magic director of marketing. "It's exciting to see, but I just hope it doesn't overwhelm him.''

Officials watching Martin closely

Rod Thorn, general manager of the Nets, said officials have been picking on his power forward/thug Kenyon Martin ever since he tried to take off McGrady's head under the basket.

Martin has five flagrant fouls this season, and he will receive a two-game suspension now for any more.

"He's looked at very closely. Since the (Tracy) McGrady foul, he's been looked at extraordinarily close," said Thorn.

And that's a good thing for the rest of the NBA.

Hardaway complaining . . . again

Penny Hardaway of Phoenix had an outstanding game against the Magic, his former teammates, earlier this month, but then things quickly turned sour again. He and Coach Frank Johnson are not seeing eye-to-eye very often.

"I'm getting sick and tired of reading little comments (from Johnson) that I don't know anything about after every game,'' he said. "If I don't have the pop, tell me, 'Hey, give me a little more energy.' I don't know what it is I'm not doing when I'm out there. I'd love to know.''

The Detroit Pistons had every reason to be tuckered out.
     They were the ones playing their fifth game in seven nights, and their second in a back-to-back road set.

Yet it was the Jazz, following a full day off, who looked old, which they are in large part, and tired, which they shouldn't have been, as the NBA's Central Division-leading Pistons rolled to a 94-87 win Tuesday night at the Delta Center.
     "They had us right where they wanted us, pretty much, after the start of the second half. We just couldn't have any energy to be able to run the floor," said coach Jerry Sloan, whose 36-31 club's two-game winning streak came to an unceremonious halt on an evening of ceremony and milestone for the Jazz.
     Prior to the game, Utah's first in a three-game homestand, NBA all-time assists leader John Stockton was presented with a crystal bowl in recognition of his 15,000th career assist, dished late in a loss at Memphis during the Jazz's just-completed road trip.
     Appropriately, the 39-year-old Stockton passed . . . the gift back to a team official before going to work on a 20-point, five-assist night.
     Near the end of the first quarter, which the Jazz led 26-21, Karl Malone was recognized for moving past Elvin Hayes (50,000) and into second place behind Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (57,446) on the NBA's career minutes-played list.
     Malone, who wound up with a game-high 22 points and team-high 11 rebounds for his 25th double-double of the season, played 41 minutes in all, pushing his 17-season total to 50,033.

It isn't easy playing backup to a legend.
     Sometimes, it can make you look pretty bad even when you're doing your job.
     Such is the case with Rusty LaRue, the latest in a long line of unsung players to toil as John Stockton's understudy.
     If you looked at the play-by-play of Tuesday night's 94-87 Jazz loss to the Detroit Pistons at the Delta Center, you might think LaRue was the prime culprit.
     After all, in both of LaRue's stretches on the court, the Jazz were outscored. LaRue entered the game in the first quarter with Utah up 18-12, and when Stockton returned early in the second quarter, the Jazz lead was down to one.
     In the third quarter the Jazz led by nine when Stockton sat down, and when he came back seven minutes later, the score was tied.
     But coach Jerry Sloan says you can't blame those disparities on LaRue. A bigger problem was players who refused to hustle in stretches, especially those stretches when LaRue was trying to run the offense.
     "We had a chance to put them away . . . and never could get on the same page as far as what we were trying to do offensively," Sloan said.
     Sloan said there's an obvious difference in the way Jazz players react to LaRue and Stockton. But, he emphasized, there were also instances where they didn't make Stockton look very good.
     "John had a couple times where he pushed the ball up the floor and didn't get anything, either," Sloan said.

The Pistons ended an 11-game losing streak at Utah on Tuesday night with a 94-87 victory at the Delta Center.

With the win, a good trip that started with victories at Milwaukee and Denver, has turned into a great one as the Pistons are 3-0 on the five-game swing.

Detroit is three games ahead of Milwaukee in the Central Division race at 39-27 after the Bucks' loss at Orlando.

And the Pistons avenged a 100-97 loss at the Palace on Friday with their first win at the Delta Center.

"That was payback," Chucky Atkins said. "We felt we should've beaten them at our place. They came away with the win, but we wanted to play better and harder than we did Friday.

Detroit is 18-16 on the road with a three-game winning streak heading into Thursday's game at Phoenix.

The Pistons found their offense in the second half after scoring just 34 points in the first. Scoring 30 in the third and fourth quarters, the Pistons showed no signs of wear from Monday's contest at Denver.

If the victory in Milwaukee to start this trip was huge, how big was the Pistons' stunning 94-87 victory over the Utah Jazz at the Delta Center on Tuesday night?
  Consider: It was the Pistons' fifth game in seven nights. They were playing in a building in which they had never won (11 straight losses) against a fresh Jazz team, fighting for its playoff life, that led by 12 in the third quarter.
  But somehow the Pistons found the wherewithal to outscore the Jazz 19-5 to close the third quarter, and 14-4 late in the fourth to seal the victory.
  "This was a huge win because it solidifies this trip for us," Jerry Stackhouse said. "We've got three of the five and now we are getting greedy."
  How about this? Milwaukee and New Jersey lost Tuesday. The Pistons lead the Central Division by three games and are two losses behind the Eastern Conference-leading Nets.
  With 16 games left, talk of a division and conference championships doesn't sound so farfetched.
  "This is what we are supposed to do," Coach Rick Carlisle said. "We are supposed to go out, play well and give ourselves a chance to win games. Our confidence level is high and we want to keep getting better."
  You can pick your hero. Stackhouse, Chucky Atkins and Cliff Robinson all scored 20 points. Corliss Williamson (10 points) and Jon Barry (seven points), playing despite a right elbow swelled to the size of a baseball, teamed to score 11 in the fourth. And Ben Wallace had 15 rebounds.
  Karl Malone, who scored 22 points, topped 50,000 in career minutes played, moving into second place behind Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

The Jazz returned home from a five-game trip looking tired and old, yet it was their younger players for the most part who were no-shows Tuesday night.

Seventeen-year veteran Karl Malone, 38, had a game-high 22 points for Utah on 10-for-16 shooting.

Eighteen-year veteran John Stockton, who turns 40 next Tuesday, added 20 points for the Jazz and was 6-for-11 from the field.

The rest of the team shot just 31 percent, with youngsters Jarron Collins, Scott Padgett and Rusty LaRue a combined 2-for-15.

""We just didn"t seem to have any energy to be able to run the floor," Jazz coach Jerry Sloan said.

HIGH POINT
   
   Midway through the first quarter, John Stockton found John Starks with a pass on the fast break, and Starks left the ball for Donyell Marshall with a sly behind-the-back pass. Marshall turned it into a thunderous dunk that started a personal streak of five points.
   
   LOW POINT
   
   You would think it was the six turnovers in the last 4:23 of the second quarter that set up the fade in the third. But maybe not. The Jazz did even worse in the fourth quarter, when they went nearly four minutes without a basket while giving up an 18-5 run.
   
   TURNING POINT
   
   Two words: Chucky Atkins. The 5-foot-11 point guard heated up from the outside in the third quarter, making five of six shots, including two three-pointers, as the Pistons turned a 44-34 halftime deficit into a 64-61 lead. Atkins hit another crucial shot from the corner early in the fourth quarter and finished with 20 points