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.