A look back on the Pistons-Pacers brawl

[sohi 23]

I remember watching this life, it was so surreal

I think people forget that that Pacers team was good.
They had�just finished smashing the Pistons in Detroit and were 7-2 at that point in the season.
It was still very early and you never know what could have happened, but many people(including myself) though they were the best team in the league and couldhave won the chip.
Well, they ended up losing to the Pistons in the Conference Semi-finals wothout Artest and the same Pistons who got beat by Indiana went on to the finals.

Stephen Jackson missed 30 games
Jermaine O'Neal(who hasn't been the same since that season) missed 25 due to suspension
and of course Artest missed the entire season.

The Pistons were relatively unscathed from the incident, they went to the Finals that year and lost to the Spurs in 7.

The Indian Pacers franchise has still yet to recover from that incident though.
They have the 2nd worst cap situation in the league( I think we all know who #1 is

).
They have 3 horrible contracts with O'Neal, Troy Murphy, and Jamaal Tinsley, you can also add Dunleavy Jr(who's making 8.2 million this year), althoughhe's been living up to it this year
Did you guys know that Murphy + O'Neal + Tinsely are making� 35.2 million this year alone?
Tinsely and Murphy each have 4 years left on their deals while O'Neal has 2 years left.
They have no hope of getting cap space until 2010 at the earliest (unless they can pull off a Shaq type trade, but I don't see that happening)

The melee also forced them to get rid of Jackson and Harrington for the Dunleavy/Murphy�*$%$ contract platter
The trade rejuvinated basketball in the bay area and put the�Pacers in an even worse financial hole

It's a damn shame that Ben Wallace had to get butt-hurt about a foul and push Artest.
On a sidenote, looking back on it, why am I not suprised Ben Wallace was the start of this mess?
You have to place blame on the @#@%#$* fan and Artest as well for running up to the stands.

Not to mention, it certainly changed the rules with player-fan interactions over the past three years


So, NT... what are your opinions on the Brawl 3.5 years later?

 

[barondavis5]

remember watching this live, craziest thing ever. Then after the game it was all over the local news replaying it over and over.

 

[bigmike23]

That mess was comdey. i remember that day to had all the homies at the house cause was about to go out somewhere and we just missed it. got to where we wasgoing and seen the replays of it had most of us in tears and the

goingon.

 

[wstcoastgotti]

The Pacers were considered the favorite to win the Chip that year.

Still one of the most unbelievable things I have ever seen in my life. I still get a weird feeling in my gut when I watch the vids of it.

 

[acidicality]

Lookin back at it....drunk fairweather fans should not be allowed to sit in the lower bowl where they could throw stuff at players

.

Artest more than overreacted, but still the fans at Detroit that day=

 

[barondavis5]

my friend is cousins with the dude that got sucker punched by O'neal

 

[trillipinotrapstar]

Crazy as #%%*.

I remember watching this at my local BBQ restaurant and many people came to the bar area and watched the teams get at it on tv.

 

[knightngale]

you need to include the youtube link

 

[vctry20]

i just remember that haymaker from o'neal when that dude tried to square up with artest on the floor

 

[sohi 23]

Originally Posted by TrillipinoTrapstar

Crazy as #%%*.

I remember watching this at my local BBQ restaurant and many people came to the bar area and watched the teams get at it on tv.

Wait a second, wait a second.

TEAMATLANTAHAWKS

You're an Atlanta Hawks fan now??

 

[mjdalegend]

that dude Artest mistakenly went after.. oh man, poor dude..

 

[franchise3]

Watching it live was

But after all the replays, and when the dust sorta start to settle, it was even more

- Ben Wallace's brother/cousin or whoever in the stands, I forget.
- Artest going after the wrong guy who he thought threw the beer cup.
- And the look on dude's face.

- J.O.'s slow-mo replay of his overhand punch.

etc.

 

[theymademepick]

i was actually in line for the blends san diego grand opening. kept walking over to the pizza place to see what was going on.

 

[true 3 blue]

Ben Wallace is the one who was salty. If it weren't for him this would have never happened.

 

[metrokid26]

what your about to see will be talked about for years to come.
was not kidding one bit. that fiasco was

imo
the hostility was ridiculous. to me it seems like the first chapter of "Artest's Downfall"

 

[downtown43]

Originally Posted by true 3 blue

Ben Wallace is the one who was salty. If it weren't for him this would have never happened.

no, Ben Wallace just initiated the typical NBA scuffle. wouldn't have even been even close to the level of Nuggets-Knicks. we would have seen it on thegame highlights that night, the SC replay the next morning, and then we would never see it again.

it was Ron Artest, who, already restrained and allowing the scuffle to die down, WENT INTO THE STANDS after somebody threw a drink at him. if he had justused his senses and not retaliated, the whole thing would have died down.

 

[mr supreme stussy]

most entertaining event in NBA history. hands down. seeing o'neal clean that fat *#*+% clock was priceless

 

[marsiv]

Anyone who throws beer at another man, deserves to get his !*% kicked. I'm glad Artest went after him. Much respect.

 

[sohi 23]

Originally Posted by MarsIV

Anyone who throws beer at another man, deserves to get his !*% kicked. I'm glad Artest went after him. Much respect.

To bad he went after the wrong guy

 

[jpzx]

Saw this live, that #@+# was crazy. My dad, my mom, and myself were just looking at the TV in awe as these players, fans, and coaches were just beating up onone another. Craziest thing I've ever seen in sports.

 

[andrew630]

yea if ben wallace didnt overreact none of this would have happened...but seriously...the fans at the palace of that night were just despicable.

 

[nanbeezy]

Originally Posted by theymademepick

i was actually in line for the blends san diego grand opening. kept walking over to the pizza place to see what was going on.

so was I... "Artest is in the stands"

 

[daprescription]

That was horrible. Stupid fans. Artest was out of line, but the other fans had no business reacting like he was going after their family or something. It couldhave been controlled if the other fans didn't start fighting with the other players. And it always gets me when Jermaine hits that guy on the court

.

 

[eg47]

Is it me or is Stephen Jackson the only major player to come out of that brawl in a good situation?



-You never know what your going to get outta Ron-Ron, although his talent alone can help any team.

-We all know how NT feels about Big Ben

- Jermaine O'Neal is always injured

 

[billyoshun]

Originally Posted by Mr Supreme Stussy

most entertaining event in NBA history.

co-sign. I saw the whole thing live. With all these fake reality shows on tv these days, I was glad to see some real reality tv ....