Continental divide

I have an idea for the NBA. For just this season, change the league's iconic logo ( Jerry West in mid-dribble) to a different tableau -- that of a pipe-smoking Freud ministering to a patient on a psychiatrist's couch. That seems entirely fitting as we herald a possible cross-continental rivalry between -- drum roll, please -- Phil Jackson and Larry Brown. Two big-time franchises, two big-time cities, two masters of the head game.

It was only a little over a year ago that we were comparing and contrasting the relative strengths of Phil and Larry as they met in the 2004 Finals. But so much has happened since then. Phil dissed Kobe in a book, Larry couldn't stay happy in Detroit even after a championship, and they both got kind of fired. But, as is always the case, talent wins out in the NBA. The Los Angeles Lakers think they'll be better with Phil in charge -- despite the fact that he dished dirt on his own team -- and the New York Knicks think they'll be better with Larry in charge -- even though in Detroit he added another head-shaking chapter to a resume dotted with them.

So what are we to expect? Well, despite their bench brilliance, neither will be playing in June of '06, that much we can count on. Perhaps not even in May. Beyond that? Here's some intelligent conjecture, presented in traditional five-pack form, as to what will go on in New York and Los Angeles. Well, intelligent might be the wrong word; it is the summer after all, and we are talking about two of the most unpredictable men in sports.

1. Along about December, as Stephon Marbury's turnover-to-assist ratio isn't up to Larry's standards, word will seep out in one of the tabloids that Larry wants GM Isiah Thomas to trade the point guard. Larry will deny it. Isiah will deny it. Larry will say he loves Stephon. Stephon will say he loves Larry. Isiah will say he loves Larry and Stephon. Stephon won't be traded, but they'll still be tension between coach and quarterback in the 82nd game of the season.

2. Larry will need a few games off during the season due to medical reasons. (The previous sentence is not in any way intended to be humorous.) Herb Williams will coach the Knicks in his absence. Everyone in management will rush to say that the team is every bit as good under Williams as it is under Larry, which doesn't explain why it cost them somewhere around $50 million to get Larry.

3. During the Knicks' first visit to Detroit, Larry will be booed. (Though he will not be showered with beer.) Every Piston, with the possible exception of Darko Milicic, will hug his ex-coach before the game. Larry will call everyone in the organization "special." Then, on that night, he'll find a way to beat the superior Pistons.

4. Quickly, very quickly, Larry will enlist the help of a veteran player, get him on his side, and that will ease the Knicks' transition to their new, demanding coach. My guess is that Penny Hardaway will play that role.

5. The Knicks won 33 games last year. Under Brown they'll win 10 more.

1. Phil will not claim, as Charles Barkley once did, that he was misquoted in his own book. But he will say that he took stuff about Kobe out of context and will announce that he will not be commenting to himself except on deep background.

2. Phil will be asked a thousand times if the Lakers would be a better team with Shaquille O'Neal at center than with Chris Mihm, Brian Grant, rookie Andrew Bynum or whomever else they pick up along the way. Phil will never exactly answer the question, but he will note that Vlade is "conjuring up the passion of the sagacious"; that Mihm is "exploring the frontiers of his own talent" and that the 17-year-old Bynum is "on an exhilarating journey of self-discovery."