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.