Faaaaantastic!

Rather than try to offer up any new thoughts on the Pacers/Pistons Pummeling, I will use this post to debunk several popular sentiments that I've been hearing over the past few days:

* The players had a right to defend themselves against fan violence

I do think that once fans enter the playing surface, they put their own safety at risk. However, there really was no need for Ron Artest to punch the portly Detroit fan who approached him on the court-- he could've easily just shoved him out of the way. And there was certainly no need for Jermaine O'Neal to come flying in from ten feet away with his best Felix Trinidad impresssion. There's a difference between self-defense and retaliation, the latter of which was clearly exhibited by O'Neal and Stephen Jackson, who was blatantly seeking out new people to fight in the stands. Many of the ex-players on the ESPN talking-head crew were justifying the Pacers' attempt to seek revenge on the Detroit crowd. If you want to believe in street justice, fine. But don't try and pass that off as self-defense.

* More security is needed at these games

Adding a line of rent-a-cops is not going to stop cups from being thrown, chairs from being tossed and it certainly couldn't contain a throng of 50+ fans determined to attack a group of players (this is obvious to anyone who has seen or participated in a college basketball court-rushing). Adding more security would be like the post-9/11 security added at airports: it may make people feel safer, but it wouldn't stop anyone truly determined to deliver mayhem.

* Alcohol was a big factor in the fans' unruliness

I'll admit that some of the fans had probably been drinking. But even if everyone in the arena was completely sober, the course of events would not have changed. Fans get adrenaline just from being in a sports arena for three hours, and they're sure to get even more jacked up from witnessing a live, unexpected fistfight. All it took to ignite the brawl was one fan (drunk or not, he was just angry) throwing a cup. Once the punches started flying, fans were going to punch back and throw concessions regardless of how much booze was in their system.

* The prep-to-pro movement in the NBA contributed to the fracas

Gee, I don't remember Moses Malone, Garnett, McGrady, or LeBron ever having any fan altercations. Last time I checked, Ron Artest went to St. John's and two years of college certainly didn't make him sane. A college diploma is not going to calm down a 250 pound guy who's been provoked. I can't stand it when people step way out of bounds just to preach their agenda. This is a clear case of the anti prep-to-pro crowd trying to push their point in a totally unrelated situation.

* The Pacers are done

As Bill Simmons writes in his comprehensive column today, the NBA Players Association is likely to get the suspensions reduced. There is a decent chance that Artest will be back by the playoffs. Besides, in the Eastern Conference, all the Pacers have to do is get another 30 wins in the next five months. Six wins per month is very doable, especially with a great coach like Rick Carlisle. Besides, a rested O'Neal and Jackson will be back in January, which gives them plenty of time to make a run down the stretch. I certainly wouldn't want to be the 2 or 3 seed who finds themselves matched up with Indiana in the first round.