Quick Tech's: Two Thumbs Down

From last night's Knick game against the Hawks:
Nate Robinson contested a Hawks player's shot, and was whistled for a foul. It was a very questionable call; Nate felt that he had a clean block. After the whistle, Nate jumped up and down - not to show up the official, he simply was not happy with the outcome of the play. It was not the least bit surprising - saying that Nate plays with emotion is as big of an understatement as saying that the Knicks had a below average season last year. He was immediately whistled for a technical foul. Watching the play, I was immediately put in a position similar to Nate's. I was so frustrated, I started kicking my feet and flailing my arms.

All players and former players felt Nate's pain. Knicks coach Isiah Thomas looked disgusted with the official. He called the official over, had a little chat with him. Rest assured, Isiah was not asking about the well-being of the official's family. A certain four letter word ended the conversation abruptly, and earned Isiah his very own technical foul.

Former NBA baller Kenny "The Jet" Smith was announcing the game. He had an interesting analogy for the new, stricter technical foul rule that Commissioner Stern has instituted. "If someone drops a glass of cold water on me, I'm gonna be like 'Hey, what's that!?' I'm not gonna say, 'Oh, yeah, let that cold water drip all over me.'"

In this case, he means that it is natural for Nate to show emotion after a sudden and extreme change in his mood. Nate experienced an extreme high - at 5'8," a blocked shot by Nate is about as common as a self-deprecating Walt "Clyde" Frazier comment - immediately followed by an extreme low - he was whistled for a foul. If Jet is sitting in the booth, calling a game, and he feels cold water dripping down his bald scalp, he will probably slap at his head, and may even exclaim, "What the...?!"

That being said, the quick T's just get the players even more riled up. They are caught off-guard by the seemingly unwarranted tech's. Carmelo Anthony, one of the first quick whistle casualties, explained, "I was shocked. That's the one word I can use is shocked," when asked how he felt about getting two technical fouls and an ejection from his first game of the 2006-07 NBA season.

David Stern and his minions are taking the emotion, and therefore, much of the fun out of the game.

Fortunately, the officials will ease up as the season moves along. All I can say is, I can't wait until they give that element of the game back - the one which lets players express how much they care about the game.
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Related news:
Jared Jeffries recently underwent surgery to repair a fractured wrist. This is what he had to say about the situation: “I hadn’t eaten for like 20 hours - I was delirious... I was following a hobbit in a cotton-candy field, chasing chili dogs.”

Right...

Also, former Knick Jalen Rose said that he will be signing with the Phoenix Suns. The Knicks waived Jalen earlier this week. When he was on the court for the Knicks in the preseason, he seemed completely apathetic. In Phoenix, he will play with more passion, and his skill set is a good fit for the Suns', now famous, offense.