It was a busy day for the NBA head office yesterday with news filtering that the league had handed down suspensions totalling 11 games.

Ron Artest of the Indiana Pacers was suspended for four games for his actions during the Pacers-Heat game, the official charge reading "confronting and making physical contact with Miami coach Pat Riley, taunting the Heat bench, committing a flagrant foul on Miami's Caron Butler and making an obscene gesture," according to Mark Monteith of the Indianapolis Star.  He is set to lose $84,000 of his $1.9 million salary and will return after All-Star break.  It is the second time Artest has been suspended this season, the defensively talented forward already missing three games after smashing a high definition tv camera at Madison Square Garden after a loss to the Knicks.

"I'm very disappointed," Artest said in a prepared statement. "I don't think the suspension comes close to going with my actions. I thought I might get a fine, but not a (suspension). I don't think four games is fair at all."

Pacers President Donnie Walsh said the penalty "kind of kicked me in the stomach."

Pat Riley, who was appauled at Artest's actions at the time of the incident, hinted he too thought that punishment might be slightly on the excessive side.

"I don't want to say it was excessive or not. But if I was them, I would be absolutely beside myself," said Riley.

Stu Jackson's other victim was Jerry Sloan, the head coach of the Utah Jazz.  Sloan was suspended for seven games after shoving a referee during Utah's victory over Sacramento on Tuesday night.  It was not the first time Sloan has been involved in such an incident, the ex-Bull committing an identical offense earlier in his coaching tenture.

Jazz players believe that Sloan's situation was two-sided, and videotape seemed to support that Sloan acted as if being provoked.  

"That's the reason this league is falling apart," center Greg Ostertag said. "Jerry protested the call and the official came and got in Jerry's face. I'm going to get fined if I keep talking."

"I doubt you can get a reaction from someone that much without doing anything to him. Even Jerry," Jazz forward Matt Harpring said. "There's got to be an action to set off the reaction, you just don't go off without something happening."

Sloan was not available for comment after the game but reports on ESPN.com state that he is expected to talk about his suspension today.  Jackson, however, defended the league's stance on the length of the suspension, stating that the punishment fitted the crime.

"Obviously his behavior was out of line, and the message is clear that that type of behavior cannot be tolerated" Jackson said.

"The level of the suspension is in line with the behavior."

Heat coach Pat Riley is frustrated with the officiating in the NBA and he repeated his criticism of what he feels is a bias against his team yesterday. Harvey Fialkov of the Sun-Sentinel reports that Riley labeled the officiating during Monday?s loss to the Pacers as "absolutely one-sided".

Riley said that his team drove hard to the basket 32 times to Indiana's 19, yet the Heat finished 18 of 23 from the line to the Pacers' 26 of 39, including a 16-7 attempts edge in the fourth quarter. His Miami team is 27th in the league in free throws attempted, ahead of only the Sonics and the Knicks.

"We can't overcome the inconsistencies of those calls when the games are equal," Riley said. "Both styles are equal, so it's perplexing for me. I can stand here and complain about it, but unless the officials make a consistent effort to call the game collectively or equally, we'll be on the short end of the stick."

After Miami?s loss to the Sixers on Saturday in which Philadelphia out-shot the Heat from the line by a 35-17 margin, Riley only smiled and said, "I'll tell you one thing, Caron Butler was fouled just as many times as Allen Iverson."

In both games, which were lost in the fourth quarter, Indiana and Philadelphia combined to take 74 free throws to the Heat's 40. "We can't win that way," Riley said. "I'm not saying we don't deserve it. We deserve the calls and last night's whistle was one-sided, absolutely one-sided."

Riley was fined $50,000 in December when he criticized the officiating and referee Steve Javie in particular. "It's giving us absolute delight to watch you and your team die," Riley said were Javie's words during a disagreement.

Ron Artest did his best to shake the Heat last night. His antics helped fire up his Pacers and led them to a come from behind 102-95 victory in Miami. Israel Gutierrez of the Miami Herald reports that Artest?s inappropriate acts may have left a bad taste in the mouth of the Heat, but their collapse in the fourth quarter hurt even more.

In the first quarter, after a technical foul called on Heat rookie Caron Butler who was protesting Artest?s physical play, Artest walked over to the Heat bench and had words with Pat Riley. The coach did not take kindly to what Artest had to say.

In the fourth quarter, after picking up a flagrant foul for shoving Butler out of bounds while chasing a loose ball, Artest got into more trouble with the Heat bench.

After hitting a layup while being fouled by Brian Grant, Artest walked in front of the Heat bench flexing his right arm. Miami assistant coach Keith Askins had some words for Artest. When Artest turned to confront Askins, Riley steped in and a crowd gathered.

Artest was assessed a technical foul for his display.

''I just flexed my muscles,'' Artest said. 'I'm 250 [pounds] -- I should be able to flex my muscles when I want to. [Askins] said, `Don't come over here doing that.' ''

Riley was not pleased with Artest?s act. ''The league ought to deal with that,'' Riley said. ``That's crazy. I mean, I scream like crazy. I scream at officials and I scream at my players. I never have ever talked to an opposing player, and I don't want anybody talking to me or coming over to my bench. That's not the way it is, and the officials are supposed to take care of that. That's how things get out of control. If they don't handle it early, it can get really ugly. From that standpoint, I think it's wrong.

After making his free throw, Artest raised both hands and held up his middle finger.

''It's just a bunch of [junk], really,'' Grant said. ``Ron just needs to play. We have the same agent. I respect his hard work and hard play, but he just needs to cool that out. Ain't nobody buying it.''

The reserves for the 2003 All-Star game are named today, and two names who are drawing serious attention on the Eastern Conference team are Ron Artest and Brad Miller of the Indiana Pacers.

If Heat coach Pat Riley's vote of confidence is any indication of things to come, both ex-Bulls players who arrived in Indianapolis mid-year last year could be in Atlanta next month.

"They both deserve to be on there," he said.

"Ron has really grown in three years. He's one of the best defensive players in the league, if not the best. He's just gotten a handle on everything. He's gotten a handle on his game, a handle on defense, a handle on his emotions."

"Brad over the last couple of years has just blossomed."

A significant anniversary passed for Pacers forward Al Harrington this past Thursday, something that speaks highly of his work ethic for him to get to where he is now.  It was this time last year that Harrington tore his ACL ligament, an injury which Mark Monteith says often takes two years for athletes to fully heal from.

Harrington is healed however, which can mainly be credited to his hard work rehabilitating over summer.

"I'm further along than I thought I'd be," he said. "I didn't think I'd be playing at the level I'm playing at so soon."

Team physician Dr. Sanford Kunkel agrees.

"Al's head-and-shoulders beyond where any ACL guy in this league has been at this point," he said. "And there's no doubt in my mind he'll be better in May than he is now, and he'll be better next year."

The Indianapolis Star announced that Isiah Thomas and his staff will be making the trip to Atlanta this February after his Pacers yesterday clinched the best record in the Eastern Conference before the deadline when the head coaches will be announced.  The coaches who lead their teams to the best records in their respective conferences are awarded the honor of coaching during the event which contains the stars of all stars, but the NBA prohibits the same person coaching two years in succession.

Thomas joins Larry Bird (1998) as Pacers who have coached the annual midseason game.

If you came to read this thinking it will be another article about Shaquille O'Neal you will be sadly mistaken.  Jermaine O'Neal, the Pacer's super-forward, again defied logic last night as he buried the winning three point play with just 3.2 second to bury the Raptors.

The play is the second successive match-winning basket for O'Neal at Conseco Fieldhouse, with a 19-footer at the buzzer sinking the Pistons only Saturday.

But perhaps even more impressive on this night was the fact that O'Neal finished with his career first triple double - including a Pacers record 10 blocked shots.

"That was Bill Russell-like; that was David Robinson-like," Pacers coach Isiah Thomas said. "He was everything we needed tonight. He saved us. A triple-double in points, rebounds and blocks; that's rare air."

"To block a shot is the most difficult thing to do in basketball. That's something you can't practice. To be able to get 10 of them in a game, that's like getting 50 points. It's probably easier to get 50 points than it is to get 10 blocks."

How two seasons can make a world of difference..

Two seasons ago the Toronto Raptors and the Indiana Pacers were two teams at different stages of development.  Behind Vince Carter the Raptors were fast becoming a powerhouse of the NBA, while the Pacers had dumped their winning veterans for youth in an effort to reload.

Since then the Pacers youth has come of age and Vince Carter has been injured, the teams switching places of where they were just 24 months ago.

It's very difficult," said Raptors captain Antonio Davis, one of the Pacers veterans dumped in the summer of 1999. "It's tough for me. It's really, really tough for me."

"I don't want to put my head down and I don't want to give up. But on the other hand, I'm taking a beating mentally every night out. Because I know what's right. I know how to be part of something special."

So where would the Raptors be without all the injuries over the last few seasons?  Mark Montieth of the Indianapolis Star has your answers.

It is getting into the funny season in the NBA.  Yes, that's right, from today there is exactly one month remaining for teams to tweak their rosters to make those playoff runs.  Will your team make a deal to make your team better?

This time of the year is renowned for its hot air talk, with rumors running rampart and unrealistic deals hitting the papers we read and the sportstalk radio we hear.  So who will be discussed this year?

The Indiana Pacers were involved in the biggest trade of the period last season when they traded Jalen Rose to the Bulls for Ron Artest, Brad Miller and Ron Mercer.  According to Dave Lewandowski of the Indianapolis Star the Pacers again are set to make the headlines this year, but will it only be hot air?

The Pacers are a wild card thanks to the impending free agent status of starters Reggie Miller, Brad Miller and Jermaine O'Neal.  Team President Donnie Walsh is committed to re-signing all three and all signs appear to point to these players liking Indiana, but with the team quickly looming on the luxury tax threshold it will be very hard to achieve without being penalized.

"I'm depending on Donnie to do his magic," co-owner Herb Simon said.

The Pacers could certainly do with cap space to make Walsh?s job a little easier, and according to Lewandowski deals talked about over the upcoming month will have everyone from Austin Croshere and the remainder of his four-year, $39 million contract to the injured Jonathan Bender going to a team for a player in the final year of his contract.  [RealGM Note: Bender signed an extension this summer and this season still remains on his rookie contract.  For this reason he qualifies for the Poison Pill Provision (PPP), a nasty type of Base Year status that makes him very difficult to deal.  Ron Artest of the Pacers also fits under this category.  For more information on PPP please visit Larry Coon?s CBA FAQ (link available on RealGM left menu)]

Gary Payton has already been one name mentioned as a  potential acquisition for the Pacers, a deal which the Pacers would be reluctant to do due to the cost involved.  Payton has thus far been unbothered by the trade talk.

I'm going to keep doing what I'm doing," said Payton. "Trust me. That other stuff, that's not bothering me."

Other players likely to be involved in trade talk is Kelvin Cato of the Rockets, Kenny Anderson of the Supersonics, Brian Grant of the Heat, Marcus Camby of the Nuggets, Robert Horry of the Lakers, Jamal Crawford of the Bulls, and Jason Terry of the Hawks.

Of these players the most likely to be dealt would be Horry, who Lewandowski states has a cap-friendly contract, his on court performance during the Lakers struggles may just make him available.  The other player highly likely to be dealt would be Anderson, whose final year-$9 million contract makes him all that more attractive.  Washington and Minnesota, two teams desperate for point guard help, appear to be the obvious suitors.

While picturing Gary Payton running the show in Indiana is certainly intriguing, Bob Kravitz of the Indianapolis Star believes that the temptation of trading for the veteran All-Star is best ignored.

The rumor seems to be a figment of the media?s imagination, yet people cannot help but talk about it.  While the Sonics are going no where fast out West, Indiana could be a potential NBA Finalist with a  veteran such as Payton at the helm.  But acquiring a player the calibre of Payton would no doubt cost the Pacers some of their valuable youth, and with the team already finding success is that a risk they really want to take?

"What do you make of all the speculation now about Gary Payton coming to the Pacers?" coach Isiah Thomas was asked after Tuesday's practice.

He paused, then answered. "Our team's pretty good right now," he said. Another pause. "What don't you like about our team?"

When you consider that the Pacers are off to their best start since entering the NBA out of the ABA Thomas? question certainly appears fair.  They are two games ahead of the team that went to the 1999-2000 NBA Finals only to be beaten by the Lakers, and at 27-10 haven already played through their toughest and most road intensive part of the season Kravitz believes that there is no reason why this team cannot win sixty games.

?Is Jamaal Tinsley the biggest question on this team? Absolutely,? writes Kravitz.
?When he's good, and he's been good since his recent benching, he can be good enough to hold his own against Jason Kidd and the like and give the Pacers a chance to win in the playoffs. When his mind and game are somewhere else -- last season's Nets series comes to mind -- the Pacers are in serious postseason trouble.?

But the truth is that Tinsley is only a second year player.  He still has a lot of time to go in the league and he also has a lot to learn, but there are a lot worse point guards in the NBA than Tinsley.

Think Celtics-Rodney Rogers last season.  Do the Pacers acquire Payton on a two month rental in a title-or-bust attempt?  With Brad Miller, Reggie Miller and Jermaine O?Neal free agents this off season along with Payton there is no way the Pacers will have enough to pay all three, especially when they paid hefty extensions to Ron Artest, Jonathan Bender and Jeff Foster this offseason.  The Pacers have already committed themselves to re-signing their current batch of free agent hopefuls.

"Do you feel like you can get to where you want to go in the postseason with Tinsley as your starting point guard?" Thomas was asked.

He didn't hesitate. "No doubt about it," he said.