I'm not dreaming am I? The Knicks and the Sixers are doing far better than they were post-brawl and post-Iverson, respectively.

I'm also watching the Heat play in Phoenix tonight, and it seems like even without Shaq, Wade, Walker, and Posey, they are doing quite well (only 5 points behind a fully healthy phoenix team).

Could it be that these 3 teams starters were lacking in effort and now their replacements' passion is actually translating into better gameplay?