Knicks defeat Wiz, 93-83

With 7 victories in a row at the Garden there are shades of '94 in the dejected eyes of visting teams these days. The Knicks victory over the Washington Wizards, highlighted by Crawfor'ds alley-oop to himself off the glass for the dunk in traffic, is the latest game during which the Knicks have been able to hold opponents scoreless for large stretches of the game. Clearly, the emergence of Sweetney as a force in the paint, Crawford's discovery of the pass, and the late arrival of the Tim Thomas that Isiah thought he was getting a year ago have all been integral in this mini-winning streak. However, it is the commitment to defense that really gives these wins promise. The defensive intensity of late shows that maybe these guys haven't given up on the season, maybe they do care, and maybe they don't like losing. Now, the knock on this team has never been lack of talent, these New York Knicks have talent. The only question is whether or not they will sublimate their talents to the team concept. Is winning important to these guys? Will they pass first, then shoot? Will they make that extra defensive rotation with the shot clock winding down? It seems as if they may have decided to change the way that they have been answering these questions for most of the season....

Knicks vs. Wiz:
ESPN
NY Times
NY Daily News
NY Post

Better Living Through Power Forwards

The Knicks have traded away all active (my apologies to Bruno Sundov) centers on the roster. The only big man on the side line is coach Herb Williams, and he is just slighlty more likely than Bruno to have a game changing offensive rebound. So, how is it that the Knicks suddenly find themselves a team with a newfound presence in the paint? Maybe there is a basketball method to Isiah's unmitigated financial madness. Mike Sweetney has emerged as a viable scoring threat down low, and his ample posterior commands post position. Tim Thomas is attacking the basket rather than lurking on the perimeter. Newly acquired Mo Taylor has proven (what everyone already knew) that he can score in the paint. And all of this inside play has opened things up for the Knicks bread-and-butter, the Marbury/Thomas pick-and-roll.

The Knicks are 5-2 since paring all centers from their roster. They are winners of their last seven in the Garden. One of today's papers referred to them as being in "the thick" of the playoff race in the East. Looking back at the Knicker-Blogger's Second-half Preview, the Knicks are staying the course for playoff contention: they are 5-0 in "should-win" games (including 2 of the tougher should-wins of LA and Indiana) and 0-2 in "tough" games. That being said, the Knicks are going to have to start stealing a game here and there from the NBA's upper-echelon teams if they want to keep their good times rolling straight into the postseason. With home games against Seattle and Miami in the next week there is no better time than the present to start putting a few upsets in the playoff piggy bank.

Thomas (the Tank) Out-Duels Kobe (the alleged sex-offender), Lakers

Knicks win in overtime, 117-115

Q: "Who's #31?"

A: "Not Shaq"

This exchange occurs midway through the first quarter after Lakers center Chris Mihm fouls a driving Steph. It doesn't matter that the Texas alum shows promise each time he takes the court, or that he made the All-Rookie second team last year. What really matters, to opponents anyway, is that he is decidedly not Shaq. This minor fact is especially important to the Knicks as the only true center on the New York bench is coach Herb Williams. On Isiah's "athletic" team (the tallest player plays small forward and the 5-spot is manned by a platoon of gentlemen ranging from 6-9 to 6-9.

Nevertheless, #31 is not Shaq and these other things are not problems. In fact, the Knicks front line is dominating in the early going. Sweetney--a flurry of headfakes and bulk--is a young man playing with the craftiness of an aged vet. The greatest by-product of trading Nazr is the chance for Sweets to step into the starting lineup.

On the other side of the ball, Lamar Odom is the Laker eliciting the most Oohs and Aahs from the Garden crowd. Meanwhile, Kobe is booed each and every time that he touches the ball. The boos start slow, spread out, but they course through the Garden (faster than allegations of sexual impropriety on Internet) as he holds the ball longer, longer, too long. With other visiting players the boos start strong, but eventually falter. Conversely, the more the people see Kobe play the more they seem to boo him. Maybe some didn't know that they didn't like Kobe when they arrived, but after seeing him play they know it now. They boo. And except for taking over at the end of the first half, the end regulation, and the opening moments of OT Kobe's presence was absent from large stretches of the game.

The amount of cognitive dissonance required to be a Kobe Bryant fan is approaching red-state levels. How does a mother bring her young son or daughter to this game adorned in a Kobe jersey, as a Kobe is an admitted adulterer and an accused rapist? How does any true Laker fan harbor any love for this guy after he exiles Shaq and Phil, effectively breaking up the dynasty? The Knicker-Blogger is all for irrational behavior, but the prevalence of Kobe jerseys throughout the Garden is incomprehensible. A couple sitting a few rows down is decked out in matching Kobe jerseys. How cute. It would seem that this guy can probably get away with a whole lot if his lady-friend is so understanding when it comes to Kobe's actions. As she chants "Go Kobe, Go Kobe" to the tune of that old standard "Go Sheila, it's your birthday!" One (and by one I mean to say I) can't help but chime in the with the infinitely catchier, "Go Kobe, Go to Jail. Go Kobe, Go to Jail." The two Lakers fans are not amused. Actually, the guy definitely cracked a smile while the girlfriend, well, she did not smile.

Still, Kobe is not the real story tonight. The Knicks center-less frontline is the story. Sweetney is just working the paint. In the second quarter Kurt Thomas got the loudest applause I've ever heard for a defensive stop. He stands up Lamar Odom as he slashes through the lane seemingly un-deterable towards the hoop, once Odom has stopped driving the Lakers iso him and Thomas on the elbow, but Odom cannot shake Kurt. Odom tries to kick the ball out and Steph swoops in to pick it off. The Garden goes crazy.

However, as the game wears on it becomes clear that Tim Thomas is the star of this game. Not Kobe, not Steph, but Tim "no longer referred to as Tiny" Thomas. He cannot be stopped. Every single Laker, three of the Laker girls, and the dude who used to carry around Shaq's edition of Bartlett's Quotation Dictionary all try to guard Thomas at some point in the game. People in the stands are yelling for whichever Knick has the ball to just "Pass it to Thomas." It is surreal. He is hitting shots with three defenders draped over him and his hands tied behind his back. The man who until recently barely averaged 10 points per, scores 17 points in the 3rd quarter alone. During a timeout my brother has to call Thomas' mom just to make sure she is taping the game.

On the broad shoulders of Tim Thomas the Knicks climb to a 83-68 lead at the end of the 3rd quarter. Lakers coach, Frank Hamblen spends the final minutes of the quarter sitting in his chair discussing the Slavic involvement in the European Union with Vlade Divac (sartorally resplendent in jeans and a long sleeve t-shirt).

Yet, somehow, predictably, the wheels come off. The center (so to speak) will not hold. The Knicks start the 4th quarter with Crawford at the point, Penny as the two-guard, Ariza at small forward, Taylor as power forward, and Malik Rose at center. Although this organization is only a guess as all the players are roughly the same height. Regardless, with no true point guard on the floor the team repeatedly turns the ball over with the help of series of poor passes. On defense, the referees seem only able to maintain respiration by breathing through their whistles; Herb's b-lineup racks up fouls at a clock-stopping rate, and the Lakers are hitting their foul shots. All of a sudden the lead is down from 14-15 and hovering around 9-11.

Steph, Timmy, and Kurt check back in with a little over 7:30 remaining in the regulation. The score is 89-78, good guys. Still, the music of a referee's whistle sets the beat as the Lakers continue their parade to the free throw line.

A pair of Brian Grant free throws make the score 101-92 with 2:27 left. Following the free throws Mike Sweetney brings the ball up the floor. The Knicks are nursing a 9-point lead with just over two minutes left and they let their potentially portly, second-year power forward bring the ball up the court! Steph just jogs up the sideline and hangs out on the wing? To Sweetney's credit he moves the ball up well, and even breaks some Laker ankles with a nifty cross-over. He does all of this right before he turns the ball over. Thankfully the Lakers turn it over on their subsequent trip down the floor leading to a Marbury layup.

Knicks lead 103-92.

Kobe is fouled next trip down the floor. He hits 1 of 2. Knicks lead 103-93.

Steph is fouled next trip down the floor. He hits 2 of 2. Knicks lead 105-93.

The Knicks hold the Lakers scoreless on their next trip, but cannot capitalize as they turn the ball over on a shot-clock violation. Another late game shot-clock violation. The chants of DEE-FENSE are punctuated not by clapping rather by the sound of knees knocking and hearts pounding throughout the Garden.

Chucky Atkins hits a 3. Knicks lead 105-98.

Kurt Thomas is fouled. He hits 1 of 2. Knicks lead 106-98.

The crowd starts leaving.

Odom hits a 3. Knicks lead 106-101.

Marbury receives the inbounds pass. The Lakers are not pressing. Rather, than holding the ball, milking the clock, Steph fires a baseball pass down court to Tim Thomas. The pass is intercepted by the Lakers.

Another 3. Knicks lead 106-104. There are 19 seconds left. Steph is fouled.

With the heavy departure of so many Knicks fans, the Lakers fans can be heard supporting their team. Bad vibes and hung heads. The obnoxious Lakers fans a few rows down are going nuts. The boos (from the Lakers' fans) are plainly audible when Steph steps to the line.

Steph hits 1 of 2 shots. Knicks lead 107-104.

Kobe hits a 3 with 4.4. seconds remaining. Knicks no longer lead, as the score is tied at 107.

Crawford forces up a shot, well-defended by Kobe, at the buzzer that does not fall.

Ah, Overtime.

Momentum is entirely on the Lakers side, as is about half of the remaining crowd. The Knicks heads hang low, shoulders slouched, eyes on the floor.

Please, not again.

The Lakers win the opening tip of the overtime session and quickly jump out to a lead. Everyone has seen this before. A close game goes to overtime, and one team dominates the extra session en route to a 8-10 point victory.

The Lakers lead 115-111.

With the Knicks trailing 113-115 Crawford skies high up to intercept a Laker pass, the Knicks are fast breaking, Marbury misses the driving layup, Kurt Thomas misses the putback, Tim Thomas gets above the rim, above the crowd of Lakers who decended around the hoop, Tim tips the ball in! Tim Thomas is finally playing BIG, and using his 6-foot, 11-inch height around the rim. He backpedals down the court, hand still raised, basking in the delerium of the remaining crowd.

The Lakers no longer lead, the Knicks no longer trail, the score is tied 115-115.

The Lakers bring the ball up the floor. Steal! Marbury gets the steal (and doesn't pass it to Sweetney to handle). The Knicks call a timeout with 12.1 seconds left.

After receiving the inbounds near midcourt Marbury is fouled by Atkins as he dribbles around the perimeter. The sweat is pouring from my brother as if he has been on the court also trying to defend Tim Thomas. The night's third heart attack has begun to reverberates from the tips of my fingers down through the cuticles of my toenails.

Steph hits the first foul shot. The Knicks lead 116-115.

The Lakers call a timeout to ice Steph. If he misses this shot everyone knows that the Lakers will somehow score to win. It is a given.

"This is either the best thing or worst thing that has ever happened to me."--my brother during the time-out.

Steph hits the second shot. Exhales and exuberation. The Knicks lead 117-115.

The Lakers call a time-out. The Garden P.A. goes straight into playing the Bachman Turner Overdrive classic "Taking Care of Business," which it follows up with the greatest amp-up song of all-time, "Black Betty" by the oft forgotten Ram Jam. This is arguably the best combo of songs after a big play at a sporting event, there is no better soundtrack to high-fiving and drinking beer out of plastic cups.

Meanwhile, no one in the Laker huddle is really listening to Hamblen. Kobe stairs above his head, across the court, and at the basket he needs to get to in a matter of seconds. Caron Butler stands outside the huddle going through the motions of his jumpshot.

The inbounds comes into Kobe, Kurt Thomas d's him up just outside the 3-point line. Tick, tick. Kobe drives past Kurt into the paint, tick, tick, dishes to a cutting Luke Walton who gets caught off his feet, tick, tick, and passes the ball back to Kobe, tick, tick, Kobe faces up to basket only to find Kurt Thomas blocking his way to the hoop, tick, tick, Kobe turns away from the basket, tick, tick, puts the ball on the floor, tick, tick, BUZZZER. Kobe slams the ball off the court in disgust and charges for the locker room.

The Knicks lead 117-115.

*Fun Fact 0' the Night: During virtually every time out there was some sort of corporate sponsored shooting contest. From Foxwoods to Continental Airlines, from HSBC to HBO it seemed like every corporate sponsor was offering someone something to make a shot from somewhere on the court. Normally there are a few of these a game, and these sorts of things alternate time-outs with the Knicks City Dancers, the Knicks City Kids, and those kids that do the flips and the crazy jumps. However, it seems like the Knicks City Kids must have come down with a collective case of the chicken pox and in turn infected the jumpers because every time-out the crowd was shown another middle-aged overweight guy from Astoria who made Chris Dudley look like Mark Price.

and the news:
NY Times: recap; Bryant as choke-artist (wink, wink, nudge, nudge)
NY Daily News
NY Post: recap; Intensity=Infighting; Kobe
ESPN
Yahoo/AP

New Knicks, Old(er) Reggie

Knicks dispatch Pacers, 90-79

Of odds, ends, video montages and emerging folk heroes.....

--the worst part of showing up late to a Knick game is missing the video montage shown on Garden-vision right before the Knicks' starting lineup is introduced. It's a slickly produced highlight package that features Knicks all-time greats producing some of the franchises all-time greatest moments against a morphing backdrop composed of the NYC skyscrapers. Those hairs on the back of one's neck (the sort of hairs that no one could conceivably want, but are oddly integral to describing any sense of suspense/anticipation/etc.) inevitably rise to attention as soon as Starks slams home "The Dunk." By the time Patrick jumps--seemingly over the Chrysler Building--for a monster jam any true Knick fan is amped up enough to step into the lane and take a charge from the love-child of Shaq and Wilt Chamberlain. World domination would not be entirely out of the question if only this could somehow be cued up to the morning alarm clock at Knicker-Blogger HQ.......

--If you squint while watching Marbury or Crawford, you could almost see them playing on any stretch of blacktop in any city in America. There is a flash and bravado to the way they each dribble the ball up the court and cross-up their defenders. Kurt Thomas, on the other hand, is not someone who looks like he's out for a day in the park. Kurt is a man doing some work; get him a hard-hat and a lunch pail with a plastic-wrapped sandwich and some lunch beers. Playing center while listed at (a generous) 6 feet and 9 inches he has to hustle and muscle his way through every game. Even his nearly automatic 15-footer is obviously the prize won of innumberable hours shooting after practices and before games. It was with these hard-earned, automatic buckets that Kurt outscored the Pacers 6-2 in the last minutes of the 1st quarter, giving the Knicks a 27-24 lead.

--The Junkyard Dog is back in the rotation playing some real minutes tonight. Each thunderous dunk elicits a chorus of barks and growls; he's still the paws-down fan favorite of the squad. The Dog has been the most noticeable victim of Herb's experimentation to find the lineup that suits whatever it is that he's looking for.

--Malik Rose took the floor for the first time as a New York Knickerbocker with about 8 minutes left in the first half.

--Approximately fifty-three people booed when Reggie hit a 3 to close the Pacer deficit to 53-51 in the 3rd quarter. No one in my section made a sound. Coming to the game, Reggie's second-to-last at the Garden, it had seemed that he would loom large in this game's unfolding. He didn't. Louder than the boos was the growing indifference. Of course, the Knicker-Blogger had a few choice words for Reggie to pass on to his sister, Cheryl, but she totally had it coming. The Knicks began to pull away soon after Reggie's 3. More importantly, there was no fear that Reggie would inevitably pull the Pacers back into the game before it was over. He sat during crunch-time.

--Flowing with the crowd out towards 33rd Street and another Saturday night in New York City, a voice cracking with either puberty or drink is chanting. "Free Artest, Free Artest!"

and the news....

ESPN

fox sports

The Cautionary Tale of the GM who Cried Trade

Gather round the campfire children, as the Knickerblogger weaves a yarn full of terror, suspense, and daring-do......

There once was a land of winter and ice, where polar bears and east European hockey players roamed the tundra in search of penguins and their pucks. Then a magical film based on a more magical book spawned a renaissance of the Jurassic era which oddly enough brought a basketball team to the tundra. The polar bears rejoiced while the east Europeans were afraid. Would the people of Toronto, embrace Mr. Naismith's game from the south and shun their unshaven hockey heroes of old?

Well, it turns out that hockey players were to be safe, albeit only for a short spell, as the basketball team was entrusted to the most genial of GMs, a fantastical man who made his name displaying his most mesmerizing talents. Isiah was his name and he brought a smile that shown brighter than the Canadian sun. The reception for the Raptors was never far greater than luke-warm, but let us not forget that in those mountainous climes luke is as warm as it ever gets.

Now the future was bright, but all was not right. The basketball bounced, the nba on nbc pundits pronounced, and the Raptors were too frequently trounced. The team floundered, opportunities were squandered, and not even Marcus Camby could swat the trouble away.

In the darkest dark of the Candian night, Isiah strove south with suspicious speed as fast as he feets thought that they might....

(to be continued)

*I can't deal with Isiah right now, and by extension the team. The Knickerblogger will be back in section 302 tomorrow night for the Pacers game and Reggie Miller's last appearance on the Garden court. Actual coverage of the team, and what the recent trades have turned the team into will return to its regularly scheduled time after that. At present the depression and rage are too fresh to think objectively. So, stay tuned for the ongoing saga of The Tale of the GM Who Cried Trade.

Happy Deadline Day!

(someone please disable Isiah's cell-phone and buy this man a calculator)

Hot off the presses, the Knicks have traded away both backup point guards and two centers in exchange for more Malik Rose, San Antonio's first rounder, Maurice Taylor, both players' bad contracts, and the exclusive rights to the future bad contract that Knicks management will offer to the aformentioned draft pick. Happy Deadline Day, indeed.

developing....

Knicks' Comeback Stalls in Motor City

Tough Game #1 of the second half is behind us. The Knicks are one loss closer to the lottery and another win shy of the playoffs. The final score of 97-88 does not convey the tone of the game as the Pistons led wire to wire and would intermittently pull ahead by 13-17 points. A quick, meaningless spurt during garbage time kept the final score respectable, and must have drawn the ire of those in attendance as the game was prolonged by a series of Knicks' timeouts. In the end, there was just bad news all-around as the Pistons threw one alley-oop to a backdoor cutter after another. The Knicks big men were as ineffectual as the Pistons were dominant. Oh, and the Pistons didn't even have their coach as Larry Brown was kept behind closed doors with the flu.

Marbury summed it up himself when he said, "right now, we're just not that good."

the news....
NY Times
NY Post
NY Daily News

Knicker-Blogger's Second-Half Preview

For the sake of argument, for the sake of this website, and for the sake of rationalizing all the money that has been spent on ticket plans, souvenir cups, and throwback jerseys (purchased thankfully on ebay rather than at the Garden) let us say that the Knicks are going to pull themselves up by their high-top straps and make the playoffs. Let us talk about this with out a hint of cynicism, let us drink the kool-aid that they must have been serving at Knicks practice yesterday as everyone talked about the playoffs and second-half turnarounds.

The New York Knicks, currently with a record of 21 wins and 32 losses, will make the 2005 NBA playoffs if.....

1) The Knicks can make the playoffs IF they can stay healthy. Over the late stretch of horrible-ness they have been decimated by injury. For this team to turn it around they need Timmy Thomas' finger to heal, Nazr's groin to stay strong, Crawford's ankle to holdup, and the Junkyard Dog's foot to stay on the floor. And of course, it wouldn't hurt to have Houston's knees un-arthritic.

(and speaking of Houston....)

2) The Knicks can make the playoffs IF Allan Houston realizes that he is not going to get back to 100% this season. If Allan were to realize his current limitations and accept them, he could still play 15-20 minutes most nights. Even as he has dragged his knees around the court this season the majesty of his jumpshot is still unmistakable.

3) The Knicks can make the playoffs IF they play better down the stretch than every other team in the Atlantic and the Chicago Bulls. Not to just state the obvious, I've broken out the abacus, carried the 1, and done the math on this:

The teams that the Knicks currently trail in the Atlantic are Boston (-6 games), Philadelphia (-5) games and New Jersey (-2 games). Of these teams, only Boston and Philly would qualify for the playoffs if they started today. Boston would be the 3rd seed as the winner of the Atlantic Division and Philly would be the 8th seed. New Jersey should be mentioned along with these two as the old and newly-improved Vince Carter gives the Nets a puncher's chance to make a run. Lastly, the Chicago Bulls would be the 7th seed out of the central division.

How many of the Knicks remaining 29 games will they have to win to pass these teams for a playoff spot?

The crime lab down at Knicker-Blogger headquarters has come up with a formula to tabulate how these competing teams will likely finish the season.
Top-Secret Super Formula:
3 parts current winning pct. + 1 part winning pct. over last ten games

By this math (and be forewarned that the Knicker-Blogger has no love of math, and majored in English as a younger man), the teams will finish with the following records:
Boston: 46-36
Philly: 42-42 or 41-43
NJ: 39-43
Chicago: 45-37

Boston won't likely finish that well, but we must trust in the power of the formula (and least the knowledge that between Boston/Philly/NJ one of them will finish that well). So, if these records are approximately accurate then the Knicks need go at least 20-9 down the stretch which would put them at 41-43. Realistically (well, not really), they probably need to go 21-8 or 22-7, unless two of the teams above them collapse. Now, Philly or Boston collapsing seems about as likely as NJ making a good run (read: likely to quite likely), but that still leaves the Knicks outside looking in.

Looking at the remaining games it isn't out of the question (as long as the question is being answered by the type of folk reading this site) for the Knicks to actually do this. Giving them the wins they should have (against the likes of Atlanta, Charlotte, etc.) the team must win 6-8 of the "tough" games.

Tough Games:
Indiana (they play Indiana 3 more times and I have placed one of the two home games into the "should win" category), Washington (also 1 of the two home games against Washington is a "should win."), Seattle, Miami, San Antonio, @Detroit, @Orlando, @Miami, @Seattle, @Lakers (the home game versus the Lakers is a questionable "should win."), @NJ (home game versus NJ is in "should win" category, but is more of a "must win."). @Indiana, and @Cleveland.

Should the Knicks win 6-8 of these and win the easier games on the schedule they will be in contention to for a playoff spot in the last week of the season...

Tough Game #1 is tonight in Detroit. This game holds "tough game" status only because the Pistons are the defending champs (and because they walloped the Knicks last time the teams met). Still, the Pistons have been lackluster and inconsistent this season, and have shown themselves to be beatable.

Please pass the kool-aid, Maholo.

"Hey Trevor, did you check today's mail?"

At approximately 9am EST yesterday morning Trevor Ariza recieved his invitation to join in the Rookies vs. Sophs game out in Denver. He rushed up the stairs to pack his bags, but then it hit him harder than a Shaq shoulder in the lane: David Stern and his cronies running the All-Star love fest had sent him an unvitation.

Unless Ariza opted out of this game, which I can't imagine a teenager doing, how do the powers-that-be keep him out? He is a rookie that has started 12 games and appeared in all but one of the Knicks 53 contests. Meanwhile, Slovenian guard Beno Udrich "earns" a spot on the rookie squad and the guy has never started for the Spurs. Moreover, Ariza has already played 941 minutes this season, which is more than half the guys who were picked to play for the squad.

Ariza is currently waiting by the phone to recieve the unvitation to partipate in tonight's Slam Dunk contest.....

Bad is Better than Worse

Knicks beat Bucks, 109-80

About 5:30pm I was sitting at my desk in my almost-cubicle and reminiscing about how great of a ticket scalper I was. But, was the NY Knicker-Blogger good enough to unload two tickets for a matchup of last place teams? Could his dashing good looks and inexplicable enthusiasm for the Knicks persuade some fanny-pack wearing rubes visiting from their red state--or some suburban teenagers with a bag full of whippets they bought down in the Village--to pay good money for the Knicks/Bucks game?

Probably not, so I called up my brother and headed for the game. Surprisingly, the fans were flooding into the Garden as if this team weren't awful. As I'm being patted down like a known felon leaving a gun show, my brother asks me if other teams with records like ours ever draw this good a crowd. Well, the Lakers could, maybe the Celtics, the Kings' fans are supposed to be real good, but not too many teams. And, this is why the Knicks (the franchise, not the team) are great; this is not the Nets (who are threatening to take over the Atlantic, again), or the Hawks, or any of the other teams that play before empty seats. The ushers at the Garden will never have to move fans down into the expensive seats so the game looks packed for the tv broadcasts.

Ah, I digress.... the Knicks came out and looked like the opponent of a last place team missing their best player (Michael Redd didn't play) is supposed to look: they looked better. Just not better by too much. With an early 18-12 lead the Bucks took a timeout and got the business from coach Terry Porter. Out of the timeout, the Bucks' rediscovered defense suffocated the Knicks and their sudden insistence on offense subdued what passes for Knicks' defense these days. The game was tied until Jamal Crawford hit the last shot of the 1st quarter to give the Knicks a 20-18 lead at the break.

Crawford, as mercurial as ever, stuck to his normal pattern of play:

astounding/atrocious/astounding/amazing/airball/astounding/atrocious

Bastard son of the tri-state teams, Keith Van Horn, started the second quarter for the Bucks. A smattering of applause made its way around the Garden even though the time of his entrance didn't allow for an actual "moment." I wished he could have come in during a play stoppage while Tim Thomas was at the line airballing foulshouts. What would the look on Isiah's face have been if the Keith got a huge ovation while his "athletic" Thomas gets booed during introductions?

The Thomas / Van Horn deal (remember that Nazr was basically a spare part in the original architecture) has completely bombed. Going into last year's All-Star Break the Knicks were winners of five on the bounce and Marbury and Van Horn were playing with enough chemistry to make the the periodic table nervous. Then, Timmy Thomas shows up, the Knicks lose 6 of 7 (or something like that) after the Break, squeak into the playoffs by the hairs on Moochie Norris' chinny-chin-chin, and are unceremoniously swept by the Nets. Not to mention, that Thomas didn't play in the last 3 games of that series after getting beat up by Jason Collins. Yes, that Jason "I couldn't even intimidate K-Mart's locker stool" Collins.

Anyway, Moochie is the only Knick that is overtly warm to Van Horn when he takes the floor. Van Horn looks tentative, like on one of those nights when Van Horn for Tim Thomas might seem like a remotely good idea. Meanwhile, Penny carries the Knicks through stretches of the second quarter, doing all he can to get them to halftime with the lead.

During a timeout shortly before the half the Knicks City Dancers are on the court mesmerizing my brother like an oasis in the desert (not to say that his sex life is like a desert...), and on the Garden-Vision is an ad* for the Dancers' and their new deck of playing cards**, on sale at all Garden gift shops. Of course, my brother nudges me and solemnly says "we're totally going to go buy those at halftime."

And we did.

The third quarter looked much like the second, with less a prominent role played by Penny: the Knicks held their lead, though ever a tenuous lead. More importantly, the best play of the game, of the past 20 games, occurred during the third quarter. Marbury had the ball on the left wing, beyond the 3-point arc, he's got himself crouched down low, dribbling, dribbling, dribbling, then he stands up, spins himself like a top (clockwise, I think), and as he finishes the first revolution (but before the second) the ball shoots out of the blur and hits a cutting Tim Thomas for a layup. There was no dunk and it was a bit too and1-ish for my tastes, but this pass literally took the breath out my lungs and the foam off the top of my beer. Some would say, that it was the sort of the thing that would suck the paint off your house and give your kids permanent orange afros.

Moments later, a guy, who I'm pretty sure was the main character from American Psycho showed up and sat two seats over from me. With his fancy clothes, his shiny face, and slicked hair all he was missing was the chainsaw. He clapped and yelled too loudly at all the wrong times seemingly to show his frightened lady -friend how big a fan he was. At one point I could swear that he was about to cut off the faces of the three small children sitting behind him (who were struggling to learn the nuances of the DEE-FENCE chant) to use them as coasters on his inevitable expensive coffee table.

Ah, I digress once again....as the players meander onto the court for the start of the fourth quarter the NFL theme music (the orchestral CBS tune NOT fox's robotic cacophony) is playing on the PA, and there's Curtis Martin decked out on Garden-Vision! The appearance of Curtis--and the standing O he received--was the best omen I've seen at a Knicks game in a long time.

And by the power of Curtis a strange thing happened. The Knicks actually started to pull away. With Sweetney dominating the paint and Crawford stringing together an unusually high number of good plays, the Knicks held their lead. By Curtis, they even extended their lead. Fans left early. Fans left early with smiles and high-fives!

Of course, the Knicker-Blogger stayed until the end just to make sure, but they won. They won going away. The lead did not wane, the team did not falter. This isn't much, but it is the hopes for the chance at optimism in the second half.

Random Thought O' the Game: Ariza didn't step on the floor until there was 4:20 remaining in the first half. Not too long ago he was in Herb's starting lineup. Weird, huh?

*during the Knicks City Dancers ad the achievements of each dancer were highlighted. Some have pre-med degrees, others have done a lot of modeling, but by far the best fun fact was that "Christie is afraid of fireworks." That's all the info we have about Christie. No education, no odd jobs, no beauty contests, just a strong aversion to sparklers and roman candles. Clearly, Christie didn't have a summer internship as, well maybe as anything, but definitely not as...say, a rocket scientist.

**the best part of the playing cards is that for the price of $16.99 they came with a DVD documenting the making of the cards.

Herb and Pat are BFF: Ewing stands up for Coach

In a telephone interview with the Daily News Patrick Ewing stood up for his closest pal, Herb Williams. While all too careful to not criticize the Dolans (his would-be bosses someday) or Isiah, Ewing did reveal his feelings about Phil Jackson and Larry Brown.

"I have a lot of respect for Phil Jackson and Larry Brown," Ewing said.
"They are both great coaches. But I think what they did was wrong. When they were first starting out I'm sure they wouldn't want someone saying that about them."

Ewing can see that Herb has been set up to fail, and that most likely he will be brushed aside in the offseason. However, Ewing maitains, and rightly so, that this isn't Herb's mess and no marquee coach is gonna make this team an instant winner. After all, as Pat says, "they just don't have the horses to win right now."

Daily News: Ewing Centers on Herb

"I'll flip ya, flip ya for real."

And then there were three, Flip will now take his rightful (as in he has quietly been one of the winningest coaches of the past decade and took his team to within a game of the Finals last season) place alongside Phil and Larry in the media debate surrounding the next coach of our New York Knickerbockers.

The immortally unintelligible words of everyone's favorite usual suspect came to mind this weekend, as I saw Kevin McHale's shoulders lumbering onto the floor in Minnesota. The Timberwolves have fired head coach Flip Saunders and McHale has made the move that everyone has been waiting for Isiah to make. And then, to prove that the Knicker-Blogger isn't the only one watching to much TBS Superstation, Stephon Marbury echoes the words of Finster by acknowledging that, "Flip is real."

Steph started his career under the tutelage of Saunders and admits that "[Flip's] the dude that taught me the NBA game."

NY Post: "Flip is real"

Allen Iverson, Not My Valentine....

Knicks get hearts broken on V-Day, falling in last seconds to Philly. Now, the Knickerblogger only saw highlights of this game, as he had himself a lovely date with his Valentine.

Maybe it was the wine, or maybe it was wine, but somehow another last second loss didn't seem to sting as much as usual......

...the news....
NY Times
NY Post
NY Daily News
Yahoo/AP
ESPN

Tiny Tim Comes Up Big

Knicks top Bobcats, 102-99

A bouncing shot from the corner, high off the rim, to the backboard, did it touch the shot clock?, and then, finally, as the buzzer sounds, through the net! Beleaguered small forward, Tim Thomas, saves the Knicks from their own worst enemy; their fourth-quarter selves. A game against one of the only teams more hapless than our hometown also-rans, the expansion Bobcats, that seemed thoroughly in the bag at halftime turned into a nailbiter. There have been many late leads squandered in the Garden this winter, and almost as many big shots at the buzzer, but far too few of these operatic sequences have ended with Knicks wins.

However, Sunday afternoon the Knicks made a shot when they needed one, and more importantly(surprisingly/luckily) they were able to keep an opponent from making one in the same spot. Too many times, visiting teams have driven the length of the floor with time ticking down, and shredded the Knicks' defense on the way to relatively easy baskets (see Jones tying bucket at the end of regulation versus the Heat on Thursday). Now, the Knicks didn't exactly put the clamp on at the end, but Bernard Robinson's (very open) shot missed.

People always say, "it's better to be lucky than good." At this point it seems fairly safe to say that these Knicks are not good, but at least for one day they were able to be lucky.

Et cetera, et cetera....
--Crawford was back on the floor and chipped in 23 points.
--Steph's streak of five consecutive games with 30+ points was broken as he only managed 16.

Knicks vs. Heat: Knicker-Blogger Preview

Home, sweet home. Can the confines of the Garden help the Knicks cool off the hot, hot Heat and put together back to back wins for the first time since, since, since before anyone had ever heard of Freddie Mitchell's hands?
--Super Snub: Can Stephon Marbury continue his recent scoring streak and will his recent exclusion from the All-Star game fuel his occassionally waning fire?
--Centers of Attention: Nazr was bullied and battered the last time he ran into He of Many Names, can he hold Shaq to modest 20/10?
--Losers, Repent! It being Ash Wednesday, one has to wonder if the Knicks will give up losing for Lent. Can they embark on a biblical winning streak that will last them 40-days and 40-nights?
--Beer Money: if any of the 1.67 people who read this site happen to be at the game tonight with a few extra dollars, I'll be sitting in section 302 and could always use another beer.

Most Overpaid Players

ESPN.com's "Page Two" has cobbled together a list of the top ten most overpaid players in the NBA. Not surprisingly it's like a summer bbq at the Dolan's: 6 members of the list are currently on the Knicks roster or were on it not too long ago, and just for good measure there is another guy on the list whose name keeps popping up in trade rumours.

TOP TEN MOST OVERPAID PLAYERS

Jazz force Knicks to Beat Them.

There was no way they could do this again. Was there? As the seconds of the fourth quarter ticked on, as the Knicks lead waned, it sure seemed like watching the final moments of Saturday night's heartbreaker in Sacramento all over again.

Tonight: Knicks vs. Jazz @ 9pm.

The woeful Knicks hit mormon-town looking to end the dismal road trip on a high note. They have lost every other game on this trip. I'm not going to the trouble to come up with any storylines for tonight's contest as, well, as it just doesn't seem worth the energy at this point. Still, the NY Knicker-Blogger will be planted on the couch come 9 o'clock with the remnants of the 6-foot sub from yesterdays Super Bowl fiesta. Hopefully there will be something worth writing about tomorrow.....

Knicks fall to Suns

I kind of boycotted this game (and by boycott I mean that I watched large chunks of it, but would keep my sanity by continuously seeing what else was on). I got my b-ball fix in other ways; by watching BC remain undefeated against Seton Hall; watching Notre Dame fall apart in the final minutes before a record setting crowd at the Carrier Dome, and attending the matinee Nets/Pistons game. And not that I want to spend any time at the NY Knicker-Blog talking about the Nets (unless we decide to pay homage to the late, great Drazen Petrovic), but there were a few noteworthy things about the game--which I did not pay to attend.

• Vince Carter was amazing; he ended up with 41 and was just scoring at will against the Pistons. I know that I didn't want him in a Knicks uniform, but he showed glimpses of his pre-dunk contest brilliance.
• The PA announcer at Continental doesn't have the chops to handle Vince: he kept awkwardly referring to him as "VC" and had nothing but lame comments like "Did you See VC!"
• Darvin Ham was the most popular player in the building: during the halftime shootaround he was joking with his teammates and with several of the Nets, by far the life of the party.
• The Nets didn't seem to like each other that much. While there was no Steph/Kurt Thomas bile on the court, you just didn't see them really joking around with one another. Vince Carter spent more time kissing Larry Brown's whistle at halftime than he did talking to any of his teammates.

Collapse, by the New York Knicks

Knicks--choking in final moments--lose to the Kings, 116-115

This one hurt, this one was like skinning your knee as a kid. Maybe you see a little blood, but you know that it's not so bad; you know you're ok, and yet you just can't help but cry at the surprise and indignity of it all.

NY Knicker-Blogger Game Preview: Knicks vs. Kings

The Kings have been hot as of late, but it is possible that Webber, Peja, Bibby, and Mobley could all be on the bench with injuries tonight. So, can the Knicks' starters beat the Kings' reserves?
--Fighting Words: apparently Steph and Kurt had a few heated moments at practice yesterday; do they hate each other or do they just hate losing?
--Steph stepping up: Steph hasn't played well in a while; can he score more than the 10 he put up in Denver?
--the King's Court: the Knicks haven't won on the road since 2004 and a Friday night crowd at Arco isn't exactly the best-case scenario to the break that trend.
--Doubting Thomas: Timmy should be back in the lineup tonight, but will he take back his starting job from Ariza.
--DEEFENSE: I know the Knicks don't seem to play any, can Herb get them playing some tonight?

Calling All Coaches

Is Isiah going to LA? Is Larry coming back home to New York? Did Phil just beat Marat Safin in a three-set tiebreak at the Australian Open? Confusion, rumor, and innuendo have not been this rampant in the NBA since the 1994 Sonics cheerleaders forced the team into those paternity tests.

It seems that so far everyone is denying everything, well, except for Phil Jackson who is open to coming to New York, open to returning to LA, and according to the Tuscaloosa Herald will be opening a home for wayward small forwards (his first guest will be Timmy Thomas).

After Larry Brown saw how bad the team was last week, I wouldn't think that he would be jumping at the opportunity to clean up this mess. Taking over these Knicks isn't exactly like heading to the Piston's; a team that had made the Eastern Conference Finals the season before he pulled the rug out from Rick Carlisle. Still, Larry Brown is the NBA's version of Kung Fu's Caine, roaming the open plains of the association looking for teams in trouble, and you can never count out his wanderlust.

However, if Larry leaves Motown I don't see him coming to New York. I think he would go coach the Lakers. I know that all the talk in the papers is about Phil Jackson returning to LA, hugging Kobe, tussling what's left of Mitch Kuptchek's hair, and taking back his job. I also know that few things can guarantee an event's occurrence better than the Larry Brown denial of aforementioned occurrence. Nevertheless, I really see Brown taking the Lakers position before Jackson does. Don't forget that Larry has lived in LA and been part of the city's basketball culture, having coached UCLA all the way to the NCAA championship game in 1979 (I think it was '79). Furthermore, the weather is a hell of lot nicer in LA than it is in midtown Manhattan, (since Brown grew up around here, we know that he knows that) and these sort of things matter to a guy in his late 60s who just had hip surgery.

More importantly, Jackson just left LA and wrote an entire book about how awful that last season was. Granted, Jackson seems like a megalomaniac and would probably write a trilogy of books containing his thoughts on the virtue of the double-knotting of shoelaces. Still, the mere fact that the Lakers want to bring him back does more for Jackson's cachet and reputation than anything else he could accomplish if he actually does go back. Having those guys come crawling back to him, begging his forgiveness for firing him, will do wonders for Jackson's ego. So obviously he isn't going to stop them from putting his name in the papers; each time an "unnamed source within the organization" floats his name to a reporter it gives Phil another I told ya so in the bank. Lastly, the best case scenario if Jackson goes back is that he turns the team around and in two seasons they win another title. Sounds good, right? Not really. Do you think Jackson really wants to legitimize Kobe as one of the all-time greats? Do you really think that he wants to let him within walking, or leaping, distance of the hallowed ground thus far only tread by Jackson's first love, MJ? I don't.

On the other hand, if Jackson comes to the Knicks he would actually have the chance to enhance his already mammoth reputation. The biggest knock against Jackson is that he has always coached guys who would make the First-Team All-Forever Squad; everyone (including the NY Knicker-Blogger) has at one point said something along the lines of

"Anyone could have won coaching Jordan."

or

"Hell, if I had Shaq and Kobe, I could coach that team blindfolded and high and still win at least one title."

For better or worse, the Knicks have no one on that level. This team gives Jackson a real chance to flex that brain of his that we all hear so much about. He would be able to give Bill Belichick a run for his money in the overrated, over-hyped coaching genius department. Also, coaching the Knicks would allow Jackson to take the job of his mentor and hero, Red Holzman. Jackson has long championed Holzman's place in the pantheon of greatest coaches.

Of course, coming to the Knicks carries with it the risk of sullying Jackson's pristine resume. This is a team that needs work, a lot of work, and someone as image conscious as Jackson would never let himself go out a loser. I don't know if the allure of having Holzman's job is enough to make him run the risk of it not working out on the biggest stage.

Now if we could figure out a way to trade Isiah and Bruno Sundov to the Lakers for the rights to Larry Brown's next erratic move, everyone would win, and Phil would have the time to get started on that shoelaces thing.

And onto the coaching news.....
NY Post: Knicks vs. Lakers for Phil; Post vs. News over Isiah; Vecsey
NY Newsday: Knicks over Lakers for Phil (I can't tell if it is good or bad to have Newsday agree with me)
Detroit News: Larry to stay, Isiah to LA
ESPN: Ric Bucher wants to watch while Phil and Kobe kiss

Ariza for Dunk Contest

The lone bright spot over the past few weeks has been the play, and more specifically the dunks, of Trevor Ariza. We need to get this kid entered in the slam dunk contest immediately. Someone track down Kenny "Sky" Walker and let's get the two of them working weekends to come up with something. I can't wait to see, and hear, Dikembe Mutumbo jump out of his seat and make the craziest Cookie Monster squeal when Ariza throws down All-Star weekend.

Rocky Mountain Low (or What Would Oakley Do?)

Knicks bow to Nuggets, 96-7

Another road game, another okay start, another awful finish, another loss. Once again, things started well, just like the Clippers game, but eventually fell to pieces.

In the early minutes, when teams feel each other out, the Knicks' talent always keeps them close and usually even gives them the lead. However, towards the end of the first quarter most teams usually move to a higher gear and really start to compete. This is the point, as soon an opponent decides to assert itself, that these Knicks fall apart. This point came last night after a Marbury shot gave the Knicks a 21-20 lead: the Nuggets went on a 5-0 run to end the 1st quarter.

The second quarter was predictably horrendous, no one was getting their hands up on defense, no one was getting back in transition, and no one could even manage to post up the diminutive Early Boykins. The Nuggets were driving to the basket at will and their dunks were as common last night as Knicks losses were in January. And oddly enough no one seemed more perturbed by the lack of defensive intensity than MSG announcers John Andariese and Mike Breen. Every time K-Mart would throw down another dunk and pound his chest as he skipped up the court, Andariese would get infuriated. Moreover, he kept making clear that he wasn't upset with Martin, rather he kept calling out the Knicks big men for letting themselves be embarrassed. Possibly with the exception of Tommy Heinshon up in Boston, I don't think I've ever heard an announcer who wanted to see someone get knocked to the floor so badly. In spite of his growing dementia, you just knew that Andariese was right on the money when he asked,

"How do you think Charles Oakley would have reacted to that?"

And let those be our watchwords from now on, some people ask themselves what would Jesus do, others what Oprah would do, but here at the NY Knicker-Blog we will always ask ourselves What Would Oakley Do?

With a little over ten minutes left in the game, just after Martin scored his 26th and 27th points of the game (on another dunk), with Mike Breen blasting apart the Knicks effort, I ask myself

What Would Oakley Do?

I believe Oak would have turned this game off and seen what was playing on Cinemax. So, I turned off the game, and, not having Cinemax, went to go check out ESPN News.

NY Post: Worse than Ever
NY Daily News: Last Place

ESPN

WELCOME TO FEBRUARY!

January 2005 is officially over! Celebrate, bring on February on Valentine's Day, Presidents' Day, and hooray for Black History month! Good riddance to January, the worst month in the history of the New York Knicks.

Knicks vs. Clippers

This post was lost to the ether, as the NY Knicker-Blog short circuited when it was revealed that the inimitable Gerald Wilkens will be competing for his own show on ESPN. And you know what, I think it was a sign: from here on out, this game never happened.

Knicks vs. Cavs: A WIN!

Of course, the night that I sell my tickets they finally win. The past two games I've been to are lost at the buzzer, but tonight they go ahead and win.

Dos Billetas, Dos Billetas

It being a Friday night, the team in the midst of a Mets-esque freefall, and Lebron James sitting this one out with a bum wheel, I decided that I would rather not go to tonight's game. However, I'm still in possession of the two tickets that I had bought several months ago (on the first day tickets went on sale as a matter of fact) while under the clearly mistaken impression that this matchup would be an important one between two teams vying for the Eastern conference crown.

So, I asked around the office. No one was interested in the tickets. I asked my buddies. No one was interested in the tickets. I asked my brother. My brother asked his buddies. No one was interested. I put the tickets up for sale on Craigslist, and a few people seemed interested. However, when it came to arranging a time for them to buy the tickets, all of sudden, no one was really interested. As I left the office burdened by the extra weight of two tickets, it seemed there was only one available course of action. I would head over to the Garden and try to scalp the tickets. I didn't want to go the game. Still, I would rather go to the game by myself, inevitably spending another $50 on beer, temporary tattoos and novelty foam hands, than just let the money go entirely to waste. Not that I've ever sold tickets like this before, but how hard could it be...

Stepping onto the sidewalk at the corner of 33rd and Sixth the familiar chorus washes over me.

Need Tickets? Need Tickets for tonight's game? Need tickets?

It seems like this corner is taken, and, honestly, this has always struck me as a bad place for a scalper. I would never buy tickets an entire block away from the Garden. If I've learned anything from shopping with my mom (and to a lesser extent with my sister), it is that there could always be better deals ahead; never buy the first thing you see. I have the feeling that the guys selling outside the Manhattan Mall have been ostracized from the fraternity of impromptu ticket sellers for some unforgivable trespass. Trudging on through the slush I realize that I'm out of uniform if I'm hoping to join the army of scalpers: my jacket, while dark, is not puffy.

Arriving on the steps of Penn Plaza around 6:15 there is a light crowd milling about. Most of the scalpers congregate at the bottom of the stairs. Most of the teenagers too nervous to approach said scalpers pace around in attempts to look busy at the top of the stairs. Several of the scalpers ask me if I want to buy tickets. I decline. Apparently, I don't seem like competition. Being white, relatively young, and not the least bit intimidating I look more like the kids without tickets than the burly gentlemen selling them. I quickly decide that I need to use this to my advantage.

I move inside the Garden and head towards the ticket office. I find the long line, surprisingly long considering, people waiting to try to buy the last remaining tickets to tonight's game. The second half of the line is outside of the main box office area in the foyer where bags searched, where unsavory characters and attractive young women are frisked, and unnecessarily high-priced programs are sold by a guy old enough to have remembered when "Knickerbocker" was a topical reference. Unlike the area just outside this area has been cleared of competition by the purple-jacketed Garden staff. With a captive audience I go to the head of the line.

"I've got two tickets in the 300 level for face value. Anyone want two for face?"

A momentary silence, guys glance at girlfriends for approval, girlfriends look around for security, I look around for security....

"How much? Where are the seats?"

Two girls near the front of the line step forward and ask how much. I am asking for $70 each (face value plus all charges). They offer $60. They are smug and British, and tell me that I should take what I can get. I tell them that I've got plenty of time before tip-off and will come back if I don't get any better offers. Next up, some guy offers me $50 for the seats. I make my way towards the back of the line repeating my offer.

"I've got two 300 level tickets for face. Anyone, two for face?"

A young lady unhappy waiting in line drags her overwhelmed boyfriend out of line and towards me.

"Are these good seats?"

"They're in the 300 level, which ain't the top. They're pretty good. I like 'em"

"How much?"

"I'm just trying to get back what I paid for them, so $70 each."

The look at her boyfriend is as much a plea as it is a demand, but to no avail...

"Uh, I think that is a little bit more than I wanted to spend. Honey, I think we're going to just get the cheap seats."

I don't know who was more disappointed with this guy, me or his girlfriend. Regardless, there is another fella right behind him stepping up to inquire about the tickets. He walks up, stops about a foot in front of me, and just sorta stairs. I look at his girlfriend, she just looks back.

"No speak english. Speak Spanish?"

A smile crosses my face, and I decide this is too funny of situation to walk away from. Time to dust off the high school Spanish.

"Yo tengo dos bilettas para esta noche, setenta dolares"

The couple clearly enjoying my horrific spanish, seems grateful that I'm at least making an attempt to speak to them in their own language. They step out of the line and after about ten minutes of trying to communicate that it is $70 for each ticket, and this is, in fact, how much I paid for them, they buy the tickets for exactly $140. After pocketing the money, I attempt to wish them well, but by the looks on their faces did not succeed.

Knicks vs. Cavs: Knicker-Blogger Game Angles

you know the drill....
--The King and the Court: it's no secret that a lot of people bought tickets to tonight's game to see Lebron. Will he play despite injury? Will Jay-Z be disappointed at courtside if he doesn't?
--In the Knick of time: Will the return of Allan Houston and Penny Hardaway help stop the losing streak? How will they play? Will the crowd support them?
--Revenge Factor: all the numbers tell us that the Cavs should roll the Knicks tonight, but will the Knicks be extra (and by extra what I mean to say is "at all") motivated by the beatdown Cleveland handed them last time these two teams met?
--Battle of the Super-Subs: in my opinion the most exciting matchup of the game is between the Junkyard Dog and the brash Brazilian youngster Anderson Varejao. Who will hit the floor more? Who will take the greatest charge of the game?
--IS TONIGHT THE NIGHT?

Fantasy Rankings

FoxSports.com ranked the Top 200 players in the NBA according to their fantasy values. Here's how the Knicks (current and former) ranked:

Knicks
18. Steph
71. Nazr
82. K. Thomas
83. Jamal Crawford
105. Sweetney
148. Ariza
165. Timmy Thomas

notables
45. Camby
146. Lee Nailon
151. McDyess
153. Spree
180. Van Horn

There weren't any real surprises, as the upper echelon was made up of the usual suspects (sorry fantasy owners, but no hidden gems). And, of course, the top name on the list was a certain player, who doesn't need anyone else prostating themselves before him, from a certain team that will be visiting the Garden tonight.

No Knick with Knack for Leadership

Former New York Knick point guard and current basketball commentator, Greg Anthony has a column up on ESPN.com that dissects the Knicks utter lack of leadership.

Knicker-Blogger Fact of the Day

On Christmas day in 1960 the Knicks suffered their worst defeat ever, losing 162-100 to Syracuse.

As the Knicks current losing streak grows (possibly one day to become its very own Fact of the Day), it seems only appropiate to commemorate one of the team's most memorable losses.

AARP for Allan?

His ability to misdirect his opponents made him impossible to defend, and now it seems that Isiah Thomas is using that same ploy to hide his horrendous team up his sleeve. The Knicks are currently mired in a strech just as ugly as anything that happened under Layden's watch, their lack of effort is defenseless and their defense is clearly without effort, yet all anyone is talking about today is Allan Houston's retirement.

Isiah just happened to mention the possibility of Allan retiring sometime soon during a conference call with the media that was alleged to be about the return of Penny Hardaway to New York (he's been rehabbing in his hometown of Memphis) and hopefully to the court. Next thing you know, virtually every Knicks story in today's papers is about Houston.

Should stay or should he go? Is he selfish for staying, for trying to get back?

Meanwhile, where is the righteous indignation at the team's recent play? Where is the mob calling for Isiah's job? Who is questioning the effort of Brooklyn's golden child, Stephon Marbury?

NY Post: Retire Talk;

NY Daily News: Houston's Exit; Hou A Burden

*for those of you who didn't get the joke, AARP stands for the American Association of Retired People and this is the quasi-cult trying to convince your grandfather to take Viagra and never give up his driver's license.

DEE - FENSE(less)

Knicks pummelled by Suns, 133-118

Not satisfied with merely losing their seventh in a row, the Knicks made history last night. The 133 points scored by the Suns is the most allowed by any Knicks team since 1989! They allowed the Suns to sink a season-high 16 three pointers, which was good for all-time worst in the history of the franchise. Clearly, the Herb Williams Doctrine of Defense has yet to take hold. Instead they are just hoping that their plan of defending poorly and scoring less than the other team will eventually pan out.

Although the Knicks held a lead at the end of the first quarter it was clear that this was going to be a high scoring affair; it was inevitable that the Knicks couldn't keep that pace. Their only hope was that they could put the clamps on Richardson, who hit 7 three point shots, and Stoudemaire who was just too quick and too strong for our Kurt and Sweets.

The perimeter defense played by Marbury, Crawford, and company was just horrible. Given, the Suns make a ton of shots from distance, but 16 three-point goals is inexcusable. Marbury couldn't defend Nash of the dribble, and the defensive rotations along the perimeter couldn't have been slower if the teams had been playing at the bottom of the Hudson.

Nevertheless, with about 3 and a half minutes left Trevor Ariza provided a moment, albeit a brief one, of hope that they could pull this one out. After a great put-back dunk the Knicks were a few stops away from giving themselves a chance. However, they predictable couldn't get a stop when they needed one and the Suns regained their momentarily lost composure and pulled away.

It was during those brief moments of hope that the clearest sign of how far this team has fallen were revealed. When the Knicks needed a stop, Herb Williams brought in Jamison Brewer to defend Nash. While surprising and totally the right move at the time, it also showed that not even Steph's coach believes his claims to be the best point guard in the NBA (coincidentally, or not, the Knicks are something like 1-11 since he made those remarks). Steph hadn't been able to defend Nash off the dribble all night, and at times looked thoroughly overmatched on the defensive end of the floor. The final insult came when Nash drove, was turned away from the paint by a combination of Brewer's brawn and dreadlocks and then kicked the ball out to Quentin Richardson for another three. Marbury had been guarding Richardson. That basket sealed the loss.

TONIGHT: KNICKS vs. SUNS

Check out the game on MSG @ 7:30pm (or head down to the Garden and grab yourself a free Knicks ski hat). Then, let me know what you think the Knicks did well, what was just awful, and which of the Knicks City Dancers you think would ever give you her number.

Email knickerblogger@gmail.com

Larry vs. Phil:

Larry Brown or Phil Jackson? Coke or Pepsi? Hamlet or King Lear? McDonalds fries or Burger King Fries? Speed or Crsytal Meth? Let the debate begin. After the awkward brilliance that was Phil Jackson's televised interview from the Australian Open it seems that the floodgates have opened. Every two-bit hack, from the dispicable Peter Vescey to one up-and-coming Knicker-Blogger, has felt compelled to weigh in on the subject.

Here goes.....I would definitely rather have Larry Brown. He coached Steph in Greece, and although the team didn't play well, all reports said that the two of them got along great. Steph came home talking about Wins and Losses being the stats to judge him by, and although he seems to have lost the plot here, it was a great idea. The Knicks need a guy who can flat-out coach. They need X's, they need O's, and they need someone to get them in the gym and remind them how to play D. They don't necessarily need a flashy name (not that Larry Brown doesn't have a certain luster about him) and leather-bound copies of The Art of War.

Knicks vs. Suns: Knicker-Blogger Game Angles

If the Knicks are going to turn this thing around it might as well happen against the Phoenix Suns, the league's best (as long as Nash is playing) team. After all, it wouldn't have been much fun--and way too obvious--to break the slump with a win over the lowly Bucks last Sunday.

--The Best vs. What We've Got: Tonight Steph, three weeks removed from dubbing himself the best point guard in the league, will go up against Steve Nash, the guy who everyone else thinks is the best point guard in the league. Now, we all know that Steph is stronger and will be able to get into the paint (for that floater that is quickly becoming his signature shot), but if he really wants to prove anything to anyone the Knicks need to beat Nash's Suns.
--The Speed of Light: For all of Isiah's talk about putting together an athletic team, the Knicks plodding style will need some fast-forwarding to keep pace with Phoenix. Herb Williams should start Trevor Ariza regardless of Tim Thomas' status because he is the only man on the roster that is consistently quick and explosive.
--The Cold Chill of Defeat: Everyone at the game tonight will get a free ski cap courtesy of Met Life, and I bet it will be way better than the useless crap they were handing out before the Rockets game.
--DEEFENSE: Herb says this team will put a greater emphasis on defense while he is patrolling the sidelines.....well, let's see how they handle the Suns who are currently the league's most prolific offense with about 108 per.
--Terrible Two's: What kind of production will the Knicks get from the 2 guard spot tonight (when they will probably need to score more than usual)? Will Houston sit? Can Crawford improve upon the criminal 28% that he's been shooting since returning from turf toe?

Knick Notoriety

With the Knicks in the midst of one of the franchise's worst stretches in recent memory they are finding the bright lights of the big city to be harsher than ever. With two stories on ESPNs homepage today about the team, it seems that the national media finds the bad Knicks to be big news. Of course, it's much more of story if a team from New York is struggling than if they are playing well....

Phil-ing the Job

The whispers have turned to whailing and the rumours are now masquerading as reportage. It's official the "Phil Jackson for Coach" train has left the station and will be making daily stops at a back page near you.

and so it begins....
NY Daily News
NY Post

Recap #2: Knicks vs. Bucks

Honestly, I caught about two minutes of this game during the third quarter. I was still a little upset by Friday and just wasn't emotionally ready to watch this team lose (which they eventually did) again. Also, there was football to watch.

So here's the news....
NY Daily News: Herb's debut; Same Problems
NY Post: recap; supporting Herb
NY Times: recap; rebuidling
ESPN
AP/Yahoo

Lenny Wilkens Resigns

The winning-est, and losing-est, coach in NBA history has resigned from his position as coach of the New York Knickerbockers. After the latest in a series of devastating losses Wilkens has decided he just can't take it anymore (seems familiar...) and walks away from the players before their performance, or lackthereof, gets him fired. Herb Williams has been named interim coach. Who will Isiah find to patrol the sideline and take the blame for the lackluster play of the team he's assembled?

PAAA -- TRICK EWWW -- ING

Alright, I'm sorry, but I'm super psyched-up

Knicks vs. Rockets: Knicker-Blogger Game Angles

A few things to keep in mind while watching tonight's game:
--Patrick's reception
--Van Gundy's reception; last time Van Gundy brought a team to the Garden his squad thoroughly embarrased the Knicks. That night heard the first chants of "Fire Chaney." If things go awry tonight (with Ewing and Van Gundy reminding us all of brighter days) do the "Fire Lenny" chants rain from the rafters?
--is there any way to stop Yao?
--can anyone D up on McGrady? does Lenny throw Ariza at him early?
-who gets the shots tonight? does Timmy Thomas take 10 first quarter shots compared to one by Houston?
--DEE-FENSE, is there any played by the home team?

PAAAA-TRICK, PAAAA-TRICK

In case you haven't been paying attention, Patrick Ewing, in my humble opinion the greatest Knick of all-time, will be back in the Garden tonight. Get down there early, stock-pile a few beers under your seat, and just hope against hope that he's got kneepads on under those slacks.

Also, the Big Fella--always a man who let his actions do his talking--thinks Steph is great but should keep it to himself. story

A Rose By Any Other Name....Is Still Surly and Overpaid

With the team in freefall the Isiah rumour-mill has gotten into full swing and momentarily taken the back pages away from Omar Minaya and the Mets. The latest deal, allegedly in the offing, involves Jalen Rose and Donyell Marshall of the Raptors. The Knicks would be giving up Kurt Thomas and Penny Hardaway. Aside from the fact that Jalen Rose was on the wrong side of the Knicks/Pacers rivalry, is a cancer in the locker room, and has a contract so unsightly you can't help but wonder if Scott Layden was involved, I don't like this deal because we can't give up Kurt Thomas without getting a big body that plays defense.

Marshall, quietly one of the better fantasy ballers around, is obviously the prize out of this deal, and Rose's contract the penalty. However, unless we can replace Kurt Thomas in this deal with Tim Thomas this doesn't make any sense. The Knicks don't need another oversized small forward who hovers around the perimeter, doesn't rebound, and can't guard players his own size. Moreover, this deal makes no financial sense because although Rose's contract is just as bad as Penny's, Rose's lasts for an extra year. This deal only serves to shake things up, but does absolutely nothing to improve the ingredients of this team, and, if anything, worsens them. This is the sort of reckless and vainglorious deal that will keep the Knicks from succeeding on Isiah's watch.

Last night on ESPN's Around the Horn, one of the topics in the Buy or Sell segment was the Knicks. All the commentators were in agreement that Isiah was making a mess of things, and this Rose deal, if consumated, would assuredly doom his tenure in the Garden.

PAAA -- TRICK EWWW -- ING

The Big Fella will be back in town tonight with the visiting Houston Rockets. Patrick is currently assisting former Knick coach, and current Rocket coach, Jeff Van Gundy; Patrick was brought in to help tutor the 7-6 Chinese wall, Yao Ming.

Regardless of which bench he's on, Patrick will hear my cheers tonight. I've got my Ewing jersey tucked away in my desk drawer and can't wait to pull it on. With the current team's dismal play becoming increasingly hard to handle, the presence of Patrick is the real draw for tonight's game.

Knicks vs. Raptors: Don't Look Back In Anger

Lenny sent out Stephon Marbury, Jamal Crawford, Tim Thomas, Kurt Thomas, and Nazr Mohammed to the start the game. So, it seems that Houston will be the 6th man (or 7th as foul trouble may dicate). In the early going it is clear that neither team's shot had thawed out, as everyone was missing open looks. Tim Thomas was being aggressive early on which is good (because this team becomes much more dangerous when he can score consistently) and bad (presently, he can't score consistently). By the time that Houston checked in, with a little under 2 and half minutes remaining in the 1st, Tim Thomas had already taken 8 shots (missing 7 of them). Houston's first shot is runner in the lane that he hit in a very Crawford-esque fashion after coming off a high screen. This turns out to be the last made basket of the quarter.

While I agree that Houston is not ready to play 35+ a night yet, and am aware that his defense is a liability (which seperates him from the rest of the team how?), I still have a hard time not starting him. There are just so many shots that are better off if they are taken by him. Tim Thomas does not need 10 shots in the first quarter of a game; especially if the majority are taken off balance as his body is moving away from the basket (which seems to be Tim's specialty as of late). I think that Houston needs to be on the floor as the game revs itself up because he cannot just jump in when the game is already at full speed. However, Jamal Crawford is young and spry and would create a great energy boost off the bench. I don't think that too many teams would have a better set of sparkplugs than Crawford and the JYD coming off the bench.

All of the pros and cons of Jamal Crawford’s game played themselves out over the course of a few minutes in the second quarter. He could seemingly drive to basket at will, victimizing anyone he chose with his outlandish cross-over yet he would intermittently become a black-hole sucking in every well-timed pass and churning out only awful perimeter shots. He is both mesmerizing and maddening. Now if Lenny (or whomever replaces him) could teach Crawford that he isn’t obligated to shoot the ball every time he touches it, then I think hewill eventually be able to take rightfully take the reins at the 2 spot. Likewise, a team could do much worse than to have one of the association’s deadliest perimeter shooters coming off the bench. I remember when Allan replaced Starks in the starting lineup and both players flourished in their new roles. Unfortunately (for the sake of this comparison), Crawford reminds me much more of Starks than of a young Houston.

During halftime MSG aired a promo for tonight’s game against the Rockets that began, "Friday night is a special night," and I was waiting for the Ewing highlight package to accompany the announcement that he would be back in the building. Alas, the commercial was for the most recent Hardwood Classics Night (meaning we all get another chance to buy those attrocious early 80s unis) that is sponsored by the History Channel. Adding insult to injury (or rather something to something else) was the fact that during the game, as part of the Hardwood Classic celebration, the Knicks will honor great centers of the past. Clearly, the event was scheduled to allow Patrick to participate, why don’t you at least mention his presence in the commercial? Other than Willis Reed, who would mind if Ewing got a shout, Bill Cartwright? Frederic Weiss?

Anyway, the second half started just like the first: neither team could make a shot. The only facet of this game that makes it even slightly watchable is the play of Chris Bosh. This young kid out of Georgia Tech can flat out ball. A little past the midway point of the third quarter he gets his 10th rebound which locks up his 9th straight double-double: the longest streak of double-dips in Raptors history. And this is a franchise which had a young Camby, Carter and McGrady. Bosh is explosive to the basket and has enough handle to beat just about anyone off the dribble. To top it off, the guy also has a jumpshot.

AT THIS POINT MY CABLE GOES OUT

After too many minutes spent waiting for the cable to go back on, I realize that it’s not going to happen for me. I go looking for my walkman. No batteries. Finally, I find a camping radio that is powered by either the sun (no good as it’s dark) or by turning a crank on the side. So, I cranked this pup up and tuned back into the game with 10:22 remaining in the fourth quarter, the Raptors lead 65-62. It seems (or sounds) like Jalen Rose has been heating up and is starting to will the Raptors past the Knicks. This is a bad development on two levels. First: it sucks because the game seems to be getting away from the good guys. Second: it sucks more because Isiah is undoubtedly watching this and plotting to bring Rose to New York (see Knicker-Blogger game angles).

Long story short, the Raptors, led by Marshall and Rose, hit a flury of threes to push the lead up to 95-81. I turn off my radio and sit in the dark for while with the following thoughts in my head...

Man, it sure is completely awesome and not in the least bit frustating to be a Knicks fan. At least I can look forward to the JETS playing in the AFC Championship game this weekend. Oh, wait...What? They choked and gave the game away last weekend. Whiskey anyone.....

SICK DAY

No, I haven't given up the pen after Wednesday's defeat in Canada. Yes, it was awful. Yes, I was made physically ill by the game (and the fact that my apartment maintains steady Hoth-like temperatures at all times), and was forced to miss work yesterday. And since, my frozen home isn't equipped with access to the internet there was no posts yesterday. While I'm sure that no one wants to re-live the game, I'll have a few thoughts on it later. But, seriously, lets get to the real important news of the day....

PATRICK EWING WILL BE AT THE GARDEN TONIGHT!

Knicker-Blogger Game Angles

A few things to keep in mind while watching the Knicks take on the Raptors tonight (@7pm on MSG)
--Who starts? With Crawford and T. Thomas healthy again will Houston and JYD hold onto their spots in the starting line-up?
--Defense, do we play any? does Steph?
--Crawford's shot selection: has he learned anything while he's been hurt the last few weeks (I'm giving him an emotionally-induced pass for his heinous shooting performance, including an 0-7 mark from downtown, against his old mates on Saturday)?
--Houston's minutes: while it's good that a still recovering Allan won't have to play as many minutes as he had to while Crawford was hurt, it's NOT good to have him on the bench (or just off the bench and not warmed up) when the Knicks desperately need a basket in the waning moments.
--Jalen Rose, does he put up a big game in hopes of impressing his old boss, Isiah?
--Do they look like they mean it? There were glimpses of desire on Saturday, but at the end it was clear the Bulls just wanted the game more.

BREAKING NON-KNICKS NEWS: THERE IS A GOD*!

PAUL HACKETT RESIGNS

Although the Knicker-Blogger generally only deals with Knick-related news, this one is just too big for the city to leave be... PAUL HACKETT IS NOW ONLY ASSOCIATED WITH THE JETS AS A BAD MEMORY!

*I can neither confirm nor deny that the aforementioned god is a Knicks fan....

TONIGHT: Knicks vs. Raptors

Can there be must-win games in the middle of January? Can a 1st place team have their backs to the wall? Can the coach of a 1st place team be fired? Yes, yes, and most definitely if the team in question plays in the horrendous Atlantic Division of today's NBA. Although mired in a three-way tie with Philly and Boston for 1st place, the Knicks have clearly lost cabin pressure.

Please fasten your safety belts and return all Knicks City Dancers to their upright position.

Tonight the Knicks will take the floor in one of the few places that could possibly be colder than Manhattan is today: Toronto, Canada. The Knicks and Raps have split this season's previous two games with each team winning at home. The Knicks need to change this trend if they hope to alter their downward trajectory.

I know that it's still relativley early in the season, but I just feel like tonight is one of those games. If they win, right the ship, and make a run deep into the playoffs, you'll hear someone on the year-end highlight video saying how, "winning that game in Toronto really turned things around, got us back on track." If they lose, it'll be their 4th in a row, and 8th out of their last 9; Lenny will most likely be a goner, and with a few tough home games leading up to a foreboding foray out West, the season could be out of reach before the end of February.

A quick look at the schedule would seem to hint that the time for righting the ship is passing and that the Knicks have been stumbling through one of the softer parts of the schedule (New Orleans followed by a double-dip with Chicago). However, both the Hornets and the Bulls--undeniably awful to mediocre--are both surging and playing better than they have been all season (this is not an excuse, rather hopeful explaining away). Regardless, the past can only be prologue to the rest of the season, and if the rest of the season is going to look any better than the parts that have proceeded it the Knicks NEED* to win tonight.

*allow me to qualify NEED, a bit. Clearly it's January and the team is in 1st. They can lose tonight and still potentially be tied for 1st place. So, they don't necessarily need tonight's game to keep things going, this is just a game they SHOULD win and the type of game that they HAVE to win from here on out if they are going to become the team that we all think they can be.

Jerome Williams, is there anything he can't do?

He dunks, rebounds, plays defense, and has been the heartbeat of this arrhythmia-inducing team, but did anyone know that the Junkyard Dog is also an author? Honestly, I don't want to start anything crazy, but I've never seen Jerome and Philip Roth in the same room together. One walks in and then, all of sudden, you notice the other is gone......hmm.....

Check out Triple Threat by Eric Walters and Jerome "Junk Yard Dog" Williams.

Still Hate Jordan? Studies Show It's OK:

If this weekend's double-dose of disaster didn't remind Knicks fans that they (I) hate Michael Jordan, then let Slate's Charles Pierce show you that #23 was always as soulless as you (I) thought he was. This is a great article, a great argument, and, unfortunately, very timely...

Matinee Idles

Weekend Recap: Knicks' Fall Apart in Final Moments Again, and then again. A home-and-home series of afternoon clashes with the Chicago Bulls leaves Knicks fans with an unwelcomed sense of 1990s nostalgia. (more to come...)
NY Times: recap
NY Post: recap; Lenny not gonna last; Gordon; Where is Allan?
NY Daily News: Deja vu all over again; Houston on bench; Lupica; No defending lack of defense

Jamal hearts Lenny

"Lenny's the best coach I've ever played for, he really is. That's not to say anything bad about Skiles [Crawford's coach in Chicago] or any of the others, but he's forgotten more than all those guys know...He's a Hall of Famer, he explains to me what I do wrong. I love him for that. He's really genuine...[The speculation about Wilkens being fired] bothers me because I feel we're prepared, it's the players. We have to come out with effort and we have to play hard. We can't put it on the coach."

Crawford, clearly a big supporter of his beleaguered coach, is the first Knicks player to come forward and take the blame for the recent run of wretched performances...kinda. Since Crawford's turf toe has kept on the sideline the past three weeks his statement isn't exactly a mea culpa, it's more like a they-a culpa.

Boo! Boo this team!

Since I'll never get back the time I spent watching the game I'm not going to give up any more of my life writing something about that is thought out or articulate (also, it's entirely possible that my boss is beginning to realize how much of the work day I spend doing this stuff). Instead, here are some observations and notes from the game that was and should never have been.

• New Orleans had lost 15 straight road games before last night
• Jerome Williams (JYD) kept the Knicks within striking distance in the first half as the team, JYD notwithstanding, took the floor pathetically unprepared to play (Lenny I'm looking at you).
• Allan Houston didn't have the stroke that he had on Sunday, but his ability to move with and without the ball continues to improve incrementally. Early on, he drove to the hoop, PAST his defender, and dished the ball off to the JYD for a dunk.
• Following the aforementioned JYD slam (set up by the Houston drive), JYD intercepted a pass and drove the length of the floor for another dunk. On the next possession he forced a jump ball. After winning the jump ball against the taller Anderson the Knicks scored again to tie the score at 30-30 with 8:40 left in the first half. JYD had just dragged the Knicks back into this game, whether they wanted to be there or not remained to be seen. During the next Hornets possession, Marbury left Dan "my mom is taking me to get my haircut after I finish all my homework" Dickau wide-open for a jumper. It was starting to seem that the Knicks, in fact, did not want to be in the game.
• With just under 7 minutes remaining in the half the Knicks take their first lead of the game when Jerome Williams rebounds his own missed foul shout and slams it home. The Garden filled with barks and growls and Tim Thomas officially loses his spot in the starting lineup.
• This lead doesn't last.....
• The first boos rain down on the court (with 7:30 remaining in the 3rd quarter) after two consecutive Knicks possessions end in turnover. Meanwhile the Hornets are in the midst of a 7-0 run that extends their lead to 59-51. You always wonder how the players will respond to getting booed. There are two ways to go, and for the moment I refer to one as the "Kurt" and one as the "Steph." The "Kurt" is defined by the way that Kurt Thomas played in the minutes immediately following the boos: he scored on the Knicks next three possessions. Meanwhile the "Steph" is defined by continued lackluster defense and body language that looks suspiciously like sulking.
• An example of Stephon Marbury displaying the traits of the "Steph" reaction: after Ariza pulls the Knicks within three, at 74-71, and the Knicks force the Hornets to take a poor shot, Stephon allows Dickau to grab an offensive rebound. Dickau finds a cutting Baron Davis for an easy layup.
• A 2nd example of Stephon Marbury displaying the traits of the "Steph" reaction: the Knicks have the ball down by 2 (after a huge offensive rebound and basket by Ariza) with only 2 and a half minutes remaining in the game, Marbury brings the ball up the floor, passes it to JYD who stands at the top of the three-point arc, and then Marbury drifts to the wing and stays there for the length of the possession. Meanwhile, JYD swings the ball to Houston who misses a contested shot from the perimeter. Now, at first glance, it might seem appropriate for Houston to get the ball and the shot in this situation. However, Marbury is the team's point guard and allegedly its leader. He needs to control this offense during crunch time. He cannot give the ball up at the start of the possession (least of all to a big standing beyond the three-point arc), and just hang out on the perimeter. Marbury needs to take that ball to the basket and either get a shot for himself or dish it to Houston, who is probably open as the defense would have collapsed on Marbury. This non-play was the game.

Knicks Lose to Worst Team in NBA, 88-82

Every time I think about last night's loss to the lowly New Orleans Hornets (only their second road win of the season) I throw up in my mouth a little....more to come later.....

and the news, the opinions, the hearsay, and the naysaying...
ESPN
New York Post: recap; Lenny; Hornets, not so bad?
New York Daily News: recap; Lenny
Newsday
Yahoo Sports/AP

Tri-Captains, Try Again....

According to published reports, Vin Baker orchestrated a players only meeting sometime after the team got rocked in Cleveland and before they took the court Sunday night against Sebastian Telfair and the Blazers. While I applaud the veteran leadership shown by Baker, and am glad that his voice can still be heard from his somewhat baffling seat so far down on the bench, it is extremely unsettling that this sort of action would fall to him. Why isn’t Marbury calling this meeting? Why isn’t Houston setting the tone as the last vestige from the team’s defensive heyday? Why isn’t Kurt Thomas exhorting his teammates to match his own defensive intensity? Why is Vin Baker the only one who sees that there is a problem? And the scariest question of all, what happens if none of the "leaders" are listening?

It's Not Alright to just be OK

There seems to be an outbreak of complacency spreading around the Knicks organization faster than the flu in a kindergarten class.
(quotes are courtesy of The New York Times)

Isiah: "Those who have been around a team that wins 42, 43 games, I mean, this is what it looks like."

Steph: "I think the way he's looking at it, he's trying to be realistic... If we do better than that, that's a plus. I feel if we're healthy, we can be better than that. But right now, where we're at, with so many guys out and guys down, it would be tough to win 50 games."

Lenny: "Let's get everybody healthy and see: Are we just .500, or what?"

It sure doesn’t seem like anyone is too frustrated with being mediocre. It doesn’t seem like anyone is disappointed with being average. It doesn’t seem like anyone is going man up and keep this team from slipping every time it manages to climb a little higher.
Just because every winning streak comes with a free a losing streak (of equal or greater value) doesn’t mean that it should be. Once again, this team is too talented to lose 4 games in a row in today’s NBA. Each loss is marked by a lack of effort, focus, and determination. The Knicks didn’t get beat by the Cavs on Sunday: they beat themselves by not showing up. Knicks losses are either blowouts (see Cleveland, Dallas, Boston) or games where they fall far, far behind in the first half, stage a strong comeback, but can’t compensate for their lackadaisical start. Regardless, it’s rare that this team plays a good game from start to finish and loses. The only thing stopping them from pulling away with the Atlantic division is consistent effort.