8901020562
DETROIT FREE PRESS
890112
Thursday, January 12, 1989
METRO FINAL
1D
MITCH ALBOM
Copyright (c) 1989, Detroit Free Press
KNICKS STOKE FIRES OF POST-SEASON RIVALRY
I see auto workers against cab drivers. I see Coleman against Koch. I see
a Coney dog with onions against a corned beef sandwich with lots of fat.
I see Detroit versus New York.
Ugly.
"We beat them three times so far this season," Patrick Ewing said after the
Knicks' 100-93 win over the Pistons Wednesday night at the Palace. "We got one
more. And we plan to win that one."
I see the results. I see a defense that choked the Pistons' shooting. I
see a freak play that broke a bone in Joe Dumars left hand and put him out for
a month. I see Chuck Daly calling a post-game powwow with Isiah Thomas and
Bill Laimbeer to regroup this team.
And I say this: OK, Big Apple. That's enough.
Now you're getting us mad.
I see a rivalry here. It is just beginning. I see rap music against soul
music. I see the Winter Garden theater against the Fox. The Celtics are down.
The Lakers have a sudden fear of flying. Pistons-Knicks. This could be bloody.
Already the Knicks -- in first place in the Atlantic Division -- have
assured themselves the better of the Detroit- New York season series. The
post-season anger has been planted.
Or weren't you watching Wednesday night? There were skirmishes. Dennis
Rodman went right in the face of Sidney Green. Bill Laimbeer got ugly on
Patrick Ewing. Why not? When these two teams play, it is like the protons
against the electrons. Bing, bang, bing. They bounce off each other in
furious motion. The Knicks press. The Pistons pressure. The Knicks hand it to
their big guy in the middle. The Pistons send their little guys right down
the middle. Fast on fast. Stick on stick. And I'm not sure they like each
other.
"When Dennis Rodman started his celebrating, it fired us up," said Knicks
coach Rick Pitino.
Added Ewing: "Bill Laimbeer needs to work more on his basketball and quit
acting."
Uh-oh. I smell trouble. Don't you?
I mean, what's the fun of sports if you can't hate a team from New York?
Knicks on top? Of course
Cleveland? I am not big on this Cleveland thing. I don't know who told
Cleveland it was OK to suddenly become the Godzilla of the NBA, but I know I
didn't get a vote.
New York is another story. New York I don't mind. The fact is, New York is
owed something by basketball, the way Chuck Berry is owed something by rock
'n' roll. Neither invented the craft; but both helped define it. Basketball
is a city game; New York is the city to end all cities. But in recent years,
the Knicks have been a forgettable organization, and the NBA was like homeroom
class with a perpetually empty chair.
Not anymore. With Ewing and Charles Oakley and some hot- shooting guards,
the Knicks have jelled. They make you dizzy with defense. They say "Bombs
away!" from three-point range. When they dump it into Ewing, you triple-team
him, he dishes it back out. They play the Pistons well. Really well.
"I remember the last time we played them in the Garden," said Vinnie
Johnson. "They beat us, and some fans were yelling 'That's two! That's two!'
They didn't care about records or standings. They cared only about the
Detroit-New York series, that they'd beaten us twice already. 'That's two!
That's two!' I can still hear him screamin.' "
That's three now. But you can understand the sentiment. There are matchups
here. There is Mark Jackson, the suddenly hot guard, vs. Isiah Thomas, the
forever-hot guard. There is Patrick Ewing, the monster in the middle, vs.
Bill Laimbeer, the middle of the monster. There is Chuck Daly, who waited
years for his turn at a head coaching shot, vs. Rick Pitino, who waited until
he was old enough to shave. Is he old enough to shave?
No matter. Red, white and blue against blue, white and orange. I can see
it. They claim an aging world championship. We claim a brand-new conference
championship. They claim Dave DeBusschere. We claim Dave DeBusschere. They
claim Sidney Green. We say you can have him.
It's us against them -- again
"It's intense against them," said Adrian Dantley, who saw his best buddy,
Dumars, injured in battle.
"Any time a team beats you three times you can say they have your number,"
said Daly.
Two defeats in the Palace. One in Madison Square Garden (where the Knicks
are 14-1). Their records are almost identical now. What if New York and
Detroit wind up playing for the Eastern crown? Trouble, that's what.
I see a bunch of GM autoworkers sitting around a lunch table, saying
"Those Knicks. They can't stop us." I see a bunch of garment workers on 33d
street in Manhattan, standing around a hot dog cart, saying, "Dose Pistons.
Dey ain't nuthin.' "
I see Brooklyn's Mike Tyson against someone from Kronk. OK. Maybe everyone
from Kronk. And some of their friends. I see Billy Joel singing the national
anthem for them and Stevie Wonder singing it for us.
Our way against Broadway. Motors against apples. We owe them for Dumars.
Their time will come. Let's face it. What's a major sport without a New York
team to radiate good, healthy hatred?
"They beat us three times, so far, yeah," said Dantley in a low voice. "But
the playoffs are a different season. If we meet, we'll be ready." We have
seen the enemy.
They shop at Bloomingdale's.