Feeling feisty

Familiarity breeds contempt as playoff series move deeper

Tempers are flaring. Gums are flapping. And technicals are flying.

Yes, the NBA playoffs have officially begun.

The feeling-out process is over. Emotions are rising -- along with the stakes -- and players are starting to get under each other’s skin like Botox needles.

Saturday’s wild Game 4 between the Nets and Bucks featured six technical fouls and a couple instances where players had to be separated. In Boston, Ron Artest and Mark Blount got ejected in separate incidents in Game 3. Matters even got a little heated in Los Angeles, where Rick Fox got a bloody nose in Game 3 courtesy of Marc Jackson.

0 Career playoff points for Hornets forward Jerome Moiso before Saturday's fourth quarter, when he made five straight shots to fuel New Orleans' charge to victory. "He sheds bodies like a bear sheds dogs coming out of the woods." -- Lakers coach Phil Jackson, talking in his usual esoteric way about center Shaquille O'Neal. Why can't Greg Ostertag play with this much determination every night?

What in the name of Jo Jo English is going on here?

Nothing, actually. It’s just typical playoff basketball. It happens every year as teams get tired of banging and bumping against the same foes night in and night out.

The NBA clearly is keeping a close eye on the shenanigans. Even trash talk is being closely monitored. Indiana’s Brad Miller and Jamaal Tinsley, Milwaukee’s Sam Cassell and Gary Payton, New Jersey’s Jason Collins and Rodney Rogers, Portland’s Ruben Patterson and Dallas’ Shawn Bradley are just some of the players who have been issued T's for yapping.

Meanwhile, bodies are flying around like at a WWE tag-team match. Artest nearly got his teeth knocked out while chasing a loose ball in Game 3. Milwaukee’s Joel Przybilla got his molars loosened while taking a charge from Kenyon Martin. Even Jason Kidd’s four-year-old son T.J. suffered a broken collarbone when his dad landed in his lap chasing a loose ball in Game 2.

For the sake of all courtside spectators and grandmothers watching at home, we thought it might help to have an idea which teams really don’t like each other. After consulting with the NBA’s Department of Homeland Security, we present our first Tension Alert for the first round:

	Code Red

Nobody yet. It’s only the first round.

	Code Orange

Celtics-Pacers: Isiah’s new Bad Boys, with wild card Artest and vocal Jermaine O’Neal, are suddenly in dire straits. Surely Antoine (Trash Talker) Walker will be reminding them of it by the minute.

Nets-Bucks: Any series which features yappers like Cassell, Payton, Anthony Mason, Martin and Richard Jefferson is bound to get testy. The Payton-Kidd rivalry only adds to the volatile mix.

	Code Yellow

Pistons-Magic: Tracy McGrady, who once smacked Bobby Jackson, doesn’t Fear the ‘Fro. But Michael Curry and the Pistons have vowed to get physical, and tensions could escalate if the series stays tight.

Mavericks-Trail Blazers: The Mavs, the NBA’s version of the United Nations, are generally peaceable -- with the exception of Bradley. But the Blazers can stir the pot -- if they’re not too busy fighting each other.

	Code Blue

Timberwolves-Lakers: The T’wolves are feisty, but L.A. is too Hollywood to get drawn into a fight. The Lakers smoke the Zen Master’s peace pipe unless the foe is Doug Christie, Brad Miller or a TNT cameraman.

Sixers-Hornets: The Sixers aren’t dirty, but their strip-and-claw defense can raise both tensions and welts. But other than Jamaal Magloire, nobody on the Hornets seems to care enough to create a stink.

Kings-Jazz: Karl Malone and John Stockton have been getting under the skin of opponents forever. But Utah knows its upset hopes are slim, so why bother? And the Kings don’t want any fights.

	Code Green

Suns-Spurs: David Robinson. Penny Hardaway. Even Stephon Marbury and Stephen Jackson, former teammates in New Jersey, had dinner together after Game 1. ‘Nuff said.

	(Layne Murdoch/NBAE/Getty Images) Stud: Baron Davis, G, Hornets He may have the highest pain threshold of any player in the game, and showed it Saturday by limping his way to a 28-point, eight-assist effort that carried New Orleans to a surprising Game 3 win over Philadelphia.		(AP) Dud: Vlade Divac, C, Kings It's bad enough that he finished with six points and three turnovers. But what really made the habitual flopper the goat was getting his butt kicked by the normally docile Greg Ostertag, who blew up for 22 points and 12 boards on Vlade's watch.

Heading into this Sunday’s Game 4, the Lakers’ once-proud defense has yielded 110.3 points per game. But coach Phil Jackson says L.A.’s offensive struggles over the past two contests have helped fuel Minnesota’s transition game. The Pistons need Chauncey Billups (five points in Game 3) to score the ball Sunday in Game 4. With Ben Wallace and Michael Curry, Detroit is already playing 3-on-5 at the offensive end most of the time. They can’t afford to have Billups go AWOL. Pacers guard Al Harrington is upset about being stuck on the bench behind Reggie Miller during the past two games. But with Indiana down 2-1 heading into today’s Game 4 and struggling offensively, coach Isiah Thomas has to stick with Miller.

Marty Burns covers pro basketball for SI.com. Click here to send Marty a question or comment.

 

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