The Palace Guard Gets Reinforcements

Three hours before the start of Sunday’s NBA game between the Detroit Pistons and Charlotte Bobcats, it was easy to notice the presence of law enforcement officials outside The Palace of Auburn Hills.

On every corner there were uniformed policemen; at every gate, more than one guard greeted fans, who numbered 22,076. Once inside the arena, people had to clear a security stop that included a metal detector and bag check.

“But they always did that,” said season-ticket holder Janet Wood, who with her husband, John, attended Friday night’s much-talked about brawl against Indiana. “I really didn’t see anything extra done.”

The changes Detroit fans did see were in the added security around the court as a result of Friday’s melee that led to the suspension of nine players, including four Pistons -- Ben Wallace, Chauncey Billups, Elden Campbell and Derrick Coleman.

The Palace had 200 security members inside the arena, 50% more than normal, most of them keeping an eye on the players. Near the Bobcats’ bench, there were four crowd-control officers and a policeman sitting close enough to be Coach Bernie Bickerstaff’s second unit in Detroit’s 117-116 double-overtime victory.

Before the game, fans seemed to take the extra security in stride. Many held signs that read ‘Free Ben Wallace’ or ‘Let the Fro Go.’

Josh Bohland, 15, said that he couldn’t wait for Sunday’s game because of Friday’s events.

“I was excited to see what the crowd would be like,” said Bohland, who was not at Friday’s game but has attended numerous Piston home games in recent years.

That mood changed minutes before the opening tip when it was announced to the crowd that Billups, Campbell and Coleman were also suspended. After a series of boos, fans tried to make the best of the situation by turning on the opposing team.

But the expansion Bobcats are not the Pacers, who reportedly were harassed by fans throughout Friday’s game. The best one Piston supporter could do was pick on veteran guard Steve Smith.

“Hey Steve, you play on the worst team in the NBA!” the fan yelled at the former Michigan State standout. “What happened to you? Why don’t you just retire than play for these guys.”

Comments like this have been common in arenas throughout the league for years. But Sunday, the fan had to deal with a security guard, who told him to stop the criticism during a first-quarter timeout. In the second quarter, the fan had nothing but nice things to say about Smith and by the second half, he was gone.

Welcome to the new NBA, which promises to operate with a more conscious eye on security after Friday’s fights.

Said Commissioner David Stern: “We must develop and implement new NBA rules to assure that the unavoidable confrontations likely to occur in the heat of competition are not allowed to escalate to the level we witnessed on Friday, even prior to the egregious behavior by individuals in the stands.”

And that does not sit well with fans like the Woods.

“Honestly, I wasn’t too excited about being here tonight because we pay good money for our seats and they are talking about limiting courtside access and that would be wrong,” Janet Wood said.

“I was embarrassed to be a part of the crowd that night.... I absolutely feel that some of the responsibility falls on the players but the few people who were involved with [Indiana’s Ron] Artest, it could have just been limited to them. Everyone did not have to be involved.”

Sunday’s game had the feel of a glorified summer league contest. With the Pistons having only eight players in uniform, Coach Larry Brown’s team struggled early and rallied late.

Detroit’s Rasheed Wallace made consecutive three-point baskets at the end of regulation to send the game into overtime. Smush Parker, who started in place of Billups, scored a late basket to send the game into a second overtime, and Tayshaun Prince gave the Pistons the win with a last-minute dunk over rookie Emeka Okafor.

“From the fans’ perspective, I thought that they really turned up their level a notch,” Prince said. “They really got behind us.”