Yeah the Knicks Rule!!!

Zach Randolph, eh?

2007-07-03T07:09:00.000-04:00

I've got mixed feelings about this trade.

I like the swap in talent - no question there. Randolph and Fred Jones are worth it to get rid of Steve Francis and Channing Frye. All Frye did was shoot jumpers. I know Jones can finish I hear he plays some defense. And Dan Dickau at least has a small expiring contract, so if he needs to just go away, it won't be expensive.

However, Randolph's contract is 4 years of badness, as compared to just 2 years of badness (Francis'). So that will keep the Knicks expensive for a while longer yet, as my dream of LeBron in Orange and Blue moves a bit further out into the unlikely future.

And how the Knicks play on defense with Eddy Curry and Randolph on the court at the same time remains to be seen. Neither is a shot blocker and neither plays very good defense at all. I guess they're going to be counted on to score 50 every game.

We'll see. I don't think Isiah is done. He has 17 players and that is 2 too many.

It has been a long time.

2007-05-28T10:27:00.000-04:00

I spent last year focusing on watching the team, trying to figure out what the hell is going on.

But a crisis looms. The Knicks acquiring Vince Carter would be what we call a "Catastrophic Mistake".

Please, no.

The Sonics are Leaving, Will Anyone Notice?

2006-07-19T02:47:00.000-04:00

A group of investors from Oklahoma bought the Sonics today. How did Seattle residents react to the prospect of its only pro team to win a championship moving to Oklahoma City?

In the parking lot outside the conference, two annoyed teenagers stood in Sonics jerseys, holding cardboard signs reading “Don’t sell my childhood to OK City!” and “39 years out the window!” I asked if they felt lonely in Seattle, still supporting the Sonics. Nope, one said, “Everyone loves the Sonics!”
I've lived in Seattle for 9 years, and I can count on one hand the number of people I know who will be upset by this.

Knicks Draft

2006-07-10T22:37:00.000-04:00

One quick thing about the draft:

Everybody is great. Everybody has tremendous upside. Everybody is the second coming of the Commerical Guy Who Ruined the NBA, Moses Malone or Dirk Nowitzki.

Everyone that is until the Knicks picked. Then it was if they had drafted me.

F**K the non-believers and the Knicks-haters. This is what it must be like to have been a Clippers fan.

Not that I love Isiah, but the draft is the one thing he hasn't messed up (Damon Stoudamire, Marcus Camby, Tracy McGrady, Channing Frye, David Lee - shoot even Trevor Ariza at 43rd overall was pretty good.)

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I've watched one Vegas Summer League game so far and I am trying to stay awake for tonite's. That said, here's the early progress report on the Knicks:

David Lee: is a legit NBA player. Can play the 3 or 4.
Channing Frye: will be great if he can stay healthy
Nate Robinson: hasn't appeared to progress since last year. I am beginning to be concerned that Nate is nothing more than a situational 3 point shooter and defensive pest. Not even a back-up PG. We'll see.

Knicks Draft picks:

Renaldo "Reverse-Nah" Balkman: athletic, hustles for rebounds and loose balls and plays defense - just what the Knicks need.

Mardy Collins - I was genuinely surprised by how big this kid is. He has basketball IQ and can actually initiate the offense. Will be able to guard the point and against most SG in the league.

More Draft Silliness

2006-06-30T15:03:00.000-04:00

Heckling Stephen A. Smith

Bill Simmons

2006-06-29T18:20:00.000-04:00

From the 2006 Draft Diary:

9:36 -- There are those moments in sports when you expect something great, and then it actually happens. And then there are those rare moments in sports when you expect something great, and something even greater happens. This was one of those moments: The Knicks on the clock, the crowd pushing for Marcus Williams, and then ...

--Stern: "With the 20th pick, the New York Knicks select ... Renaldo Balkman."

(Crowd explodes in horror.)

--Stern (over the boos): "Renaldo is not here."

--Patrick (without missing a beat): "And it's probably a good thing."

(Shot of a beaten-down Spike Lee laughing hysterically.)

9:36 -- That was fantastic. Everyone kept e-mailing me to write about Isiah and the Knicks last week ... what else was there to say? OF COURSE Isiah was meant to coach this team as his final job in the NBA before retiring to a life of greeting people at casinos and doing informercials. If somebody clogs your toilet, you ask him to clean up the mess. That's just the way life works. I'm telling you, we're going to remember the Isiah/Knicks Era the same way we remember things like Enron, the Hindenberg and the Bay of Pigs. It's reached that level. I don't know what else to say. Honestly. I have Knicks fans e-mailing me every day asking me if it's OK to root against their own team. What else can you say at this point?

(Wait, I know ... Renaldo Balkman!)

Oh dear god, no....

2006-06-12T23:15:00.000-04:00

I've heard rumors that Larry Brown was locked out of a secret workout that was run by Gerald Wilkins. What is he going to teach anyone? How to get to the basket and then hit the underside of the rim on a lay-up? How to miss an easy dunk?

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!

Channing Frye makes the All Rookie Team!!!

2006-05-04T22:07:00.000-04:00

Yeah Frye.

Is there a way that Isiah can make draft picks, but is not permitted to make trades or other hiring decisions?

Breaking down the trade

2006-02-04T00:32:00.000-05:00

Since this season is all but lost, I was going to start the lottery analysis. However, given that Chicago gets the Knicks first round pick in the draft, I declined to do so.

But now - the Knicks have 2 first round picks - Denver's and San Antonio's. Unfortunately, they are the third and first seeds in the Western Conference right now. But the bottom of the first round produced Nate Robinson at 21 and David Lee at 30, so anything's possible.

After this year, the Knicks finally stop paying Penny. Although they will need to re-sign Eddy Curry. But after the 2006-2007 season, Allan Houston, Jalen Rose, Mo Taylor and Shandon Anderson come off the books. And after the 2007-2008 season, its Malik Rose and Jerome Williams.

Still, even for the 2007-2008 season, payroll will drop from $110 million to $49 million.

So I don't know how I feel about Jalen Rose. He can't make the Knicks any worse. They give up 20 turnovers a game and consistently lose by 30. But the Knicks pick up a draft pick and some cash in the deal and the price is one more year of max-contract? Okay.

Here's looking forward to 2007-2008: only a season and a half away.

Ouch, ouch and more ouch

2006-01-31T22:11:00.000-05:00

Knicks lose by what to the Hawks? I barely had time to vent before they got crushed by the LA Kobe's by 30 something tonite.

Uhhh.

Hey Knicks, it's called Defense - it's what you do when you don't have the basketball.

Especially with how turnover prone the Knicks have been lately, they can't count on themselves to score in a shoot-out, so they better start playing Defense or Chicago is going to get a friggin lottery pick that should go to NY.

A Winnable Game

2006-01-30T18:33:00.000-05:00

Knicks-Hawks tonite at 7 pm.

Crap, Atlanta is one of the two NBA teams worse than the Knicks. If this isn't a winnable game for the Knicks, well then, I just don't know...

6 up ... 6 down

2006-01-25T23:30:00.000-05:00

So much for the great January.

uhhh ... sucker punch!

F**K Ben Gordon

2006-01-18T23:30:00.000-05:00

That's all I got to say tonight.

6 .. but no more

2006-01-17T22:27:00.000-05:00

... and now it's 2 in a row going the wrong way. Still 6-2 is a nice start to 2006.

The Knicks have Detroit this week at home, and then 3 more home games before going to Philly. The Knicks can beat Oklahoma City, Sacramento and Orlando at home. If the Knicks game get to Philly at 9-3 for the month of January, they could make it a 10 win month (at Philly, home for LAL, at Atlanta) with at least 1 win in the last 3 games.

5 in a Row!!!!! Happened so fast we skipped 4.

2006-01-11T23:12:00.000-05:00

A win on the road at Cleveland. Kept LeBron to 36, and stopped Ira Newble and Drew Gooden from beating us...finally.

Then an OT win at home tonight against Dallas on the next night - a tough pair of back-to-back games.

Knicks Knicks ... Make it Six!

3 in a row!!!!

2006-01-09T23:07:00.000-05:00

Knicks Knicks... Playoff Tixx?

We'll see about that. But in the mean time, I'll take 3 wins in a row - even if sorry, struggling Seattle makes three.

Knicks have to battle LeBron in Cleveland to make it 4 straight. Should be an entertaining tuesday night.

A winning streak!!!!

2006-01-07T08:31:00.000-05:00

It took 30 games, but the Knicks have made it two wins in a row! They have a legitmate shot of making it three in a row against Seattle on sunday. Seattle just fired its coach and if the Knicks can keep Ray Allen in check, Seattle will fall.

Go Knicks!

Worst Case Scenario

2005-12-29T12:34:00.000-05:00

The Knicks currently stand at 7-20, making them the team with the third worst record in the NBA. However, the Knicks will need to get better since they won't enjoy the fruits of that draft position.

The Knicks 2006 1st Round draft pick, which goes to Chicago (Eddy Curry trade), is not protected. So the Knicks pick where San Antonio finishes which should be somewhere between 28 and 30.

And Chicago also has the right to switch 2007 1st Round picks with the Knicks, so Eddy Curry better work out.

Knicks play tough D. Phoenix plays even tougher D

2005-12-10T08:35:00.000-05:00

I was impressed with the Knicks last night - to a point. They kept the high-flying Suns to the mid-80s in points. The Suns did not even attempt a FT until the mid-4th quarter. And with a couple possessions to go, the Knicks were right there. I only watched the second half, but from what i could tell, the Knicks could not get the ball down low to their big men. When they did, Mo' Taylor missed his little hook shot and "Big" Jackie Butler was playing a little out of control. Eddy Curry was basically invisible.

While it was nice to see old friend Kurt Thomas - he did a number in the interior with 12 boards, 9 defensive.

C'mon Knicks, you're getting better...and you've already had to endure 2 west-coast trips in your first 19 games. With that, the Knicks are still only 3.5 games out of first place in the pathetic Atlantic divison. The schedule is clearly set up for the Knicks to win the divison. sweet.

Penny Sighting

2005-12-07T18:58:00.000-05:00

Got to see Penny play last night. It's always so clear when Penny plays that he knows what he's doing on the court and knows what everyone else should be doing too. I love the Penny/Ariza combo at SF - past, present, and future.

Rookie Blogging

2005-12-01T20:18:00.000-05:00

Nate Robinson has a blog

Knicks win on last second shot in Overtime. This just in: Cold Front headed for Hell....

2005-11-26T15:45:00.000-05:00

Take that Philly 76ers!!!

The Knicks were down big, fought back for a lead in the 4th, gave that up (naturally) and pulled it out in Overtime. Wow. This was a nice role reversal.

Keep it up Knicks.

This one's for Snabby....

2005-11-26T15:22:00.000-05:00

7 things I plan to do before I die
1. Sky-diving
2. Scuba-dive through a sunken ship
3. Learn how to ride a horse
4. Learn how to shoot an arrow from said horse
5. Climb a mountain tall enough to take more than one day
6. Bury a time capsule
7. Buy the Knicks

7 things I can do
1. Keep statistics
2. Scout defense
3. Scream loudly
4. Play hockey lefty
5. Paint
6. Dance
7. Ski

7 things I cannot do
1. Eat mushrooms
2. Dunk a basketball
3. Root for the Nets
4. Sleep late
5. Get live scoring for my complicated fantasy football league (yet)
6. Wait patiently in traffic
7. Be bored

7 things that attract me to another person
1. Energy
2. Honesty
3. Pleasant smell
4. Sense of humor
5. Better Knicks tickets than me
6. Being a Virgo doesn't hurt
7. Strong sense of self

7 things that I say the most
1. DE-FENSE!!!
2. DE-FENSE!!!
3. DE-FENSE!!!
4. Play Ariza!!!
5. (music: NAH NAH nah-nah-nah) DA-VID LEE!!!
6. (in response to the other team's introduction) Who cares ?!?!?!
7. BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!

7 people I want to do this
1. Clyde Frazier
2. Charles Oakley
3. Anthony Mason
4. Red Holtzman
5. Section 339 Row L Seat 6
6. Alexander the Great
7. Yao Ming

Memo to Larry Brown: Play the Kids, Bench Stephon

2005-11-20T10:03:00.000-05:00

I'll admit that because of my new job, and the games being out on the west coast, I have not seen every minute of every game. That said, Larry Brown needs to play the kids. Frye can shoot and score. David Lee can shoot, score, rebound. Ariza can defend and finish - though he's still a bit erratic. But regardless, the three of them hustle all of the time, and probably listen to the coach.

Steph? Well, what have we seen of him since he's been in NY? A lot of last minute losses, games in which he scores 20-8-10 but the Knicks don't win, a handful of memorable misses late in games, and a pitiful start to this season, including a .549 shooting percentage from the Freethrow line. Okay - Steph, shut up and run the offense, or sit down and don't interrupt someone else who's trying to do it right.

Everyone knows Steph could score 20 points for you every night, but everyone also knows you NEVER EVER want him taking the last shot - so Q, Jamal, Frye - someone else had better step up.

I wanted to give Larry Brown 10 games before I started calling for his head - today's game at the Garden is game 10. Let's see how it goes. After all, 9 of the first 14 Knicks games are on the road - that's real tough for a young team. December should be a little easier in that regard - its 7 home and 7 away.

0-2: Post-Mortem on the Home Opener

2005-11-05T00:34:00.000-05:00

This was simple. Knicks came out flat, trailed by 16 after one quarter. Then Larry Brown put Ariza in for Barnes and the Knicks came alive. With Nate and Frye's help, the kids got the Knicks back into it. But no one on the Knicks could stop Arenas nor Jamison. There were too many fouls by the Knicks - again. And there were too many Gerald Wilkins moments - big move to the basket but you bounce it off the rim, or underneath it, wherever, but not in the basket.

0-1

2005-11-03T19:30:00.000-05:00

(0:22) [NYK] Barnes Rebound (Off:0 Def:4)
(0:20) [NYK] Team Timeout: Short
(0:16) [NYK 92-93] Marbury Driving Layup: Made (19 PTS)
(0:16) [BOS] Team Timeout: Short
(0:15) [NYK] Barnes Foul: Personal (3 PF)
(0:15) [BOS] Pierce Free Throw 1 of 2 missed
(0:15) [BOS] Team Rebound
(0:15) [BOS 94-92] Pierce Free Throw 2 of 2 (25 PTS)
(0:02) [NYK 94-94] A. Davis Fade Away: Made (9 PTS)
(0:00) [BOS] Pierce Turnover: Bad Pass (3 TO) Steal: Marbury (1 ST)
(0:00) [NYK] Marbury Turnover: Bad Pass (3 TO) Steal: Pierce (1 ST)
(0:00) End Period

Here's the last few plays of regulation. The Knicks did some nice things. Steph made a good move to the basket. Then the unavoidable foul call on whoever's guarding Pierce. But he missed one, allowing a very clutch Antonio Davis score to tie it in regulation. I won't discuss overtime where the wheels fell off.

This game saw too many missed free throws by the Knicks and Jamal was off his game, to put it nicely. We'll see tomorrow though - home opener.

Nah -- Nah -- nah-nah-nah -- Da-vid Lee!!!

Let's Go Knicks!!!

2005-10-31T19:01:00.000-05:00

Happy Halloween everybody!!!

To all the doubters out there - eat a dick!!! The Knicks are gonna beat people this year.

Anybody home?

2005-10-24T21:29:00.000-04:00

Hey, is anyone still posting here?

Cyndy at Mousemusings has a post up about the NBA dress code, and I thought it would be a good open discussion here.

Looking at the article she links, it's easy to see how there's certainly a racial undercurrent to the rule. I don't think that David Stern or anyone in the NBA is racist, but I do believe that the desire among fans for the athletes to be "well-dressed" shows up stronger in the NBA than in other sports. No one really cares if Jason Giambi does a post game interview with an offensive T-shirt, but A.I. showing up in a bandanna raises the ire of the few folks who can actually afford a courtside seat.

We're Free, We're Free.... of TimThom!!!

2005-10-04T13:23:00.000-04:00

The Knicks just traded TimThom, Michael Sweetney and some combination of draft picks for Eddy Curry and Antonio Davis.

Hoorah!!! Its about time. TimThom was using up a valuable roster position on the Knicks, and preventing Trevor Ariza from getting the minutes he's earned. It does not appear to be a cost-savings move for the Knicks, but it is not that bad either. The Knicks are going to trade Tim Thomas and final contract year for $13 million and change for Antonio Davis and his final contract year for $13 million in change. So the Knicks will have the $13 million coming off of the books after this year regardless, whether it be TimThom or Davis. And they got Eddy Curry for Sweetney to boot.

I like Sweetney - but he's a 6'5" PF who can't jump. Curry brings legitimate NBA size, as well as a pre-existing heart condition. I'll take my chances. TimThom also has a heart problem - they can't find it (insert rim shot here)

Schedule Is Out

2005-08-17T21:32:00.000-04:00

The schedule is out.

In Seattle on December 6th, 4 days after Larry Brown returns to Detroit.

And what's up with this? They had a chance to dump Houston, but they got rid of J-Y-D instead?

New Header

2005-08-04T10:06:00.000-04:00

You may have noticed the Flash movie in the header. It is part of my on-going attempts to better hone my web skills, as well as pay tribute to the Knicks.

Enjoy.

Response to Mark Stein's Column

2005-07-27T16:35:00.000-04:00

I read the column above, and as is typical these days, it got me all riled up. Here is the response I sent to Mark Stein:

I must take offense with several of your points.

Yes, the Knicks were 33-49. I was a season ticket holder so I know the truth, unlike many sports reporters who simply enjoy dumping on the “down” Knicks.

1)The 2004-05 Knicks had to endure the Lenny Wilkins situation - he should have been removed prior to the start of the season.

2)If the Knicks could have simply diagrammed a last-possession play, they easily could have been 41-41, given how many games they lost in the last minute of play.

3)Sweetney is undersized, I'll give you that. JYD is a role player and so is Malik Rose. You don't know what David Lee is capable of doing - Charles Barkley played the '4' at a stature less than that. And Maurice Taylor has the length to guard that spot.

4)Crawford, who the Knicks should keep anyway, has a reasonable contract. His salary stays under $9 million until the 2009-10 season, and there is a player option for more in 2010-11. But that is still 4 years away. He may be a bargain by then.

5)Boring? Hardly. Though they were frustrating, the Knicks were not boring. Trevor Ariza and JYD brought more 'juice' to the Garden than anyone since Spree first arrived with that two-handed tomahawk dunk.

6)Ariza is 20, Crawford and Richardson are 25, even Marbury is only 28. All showed MAJOR, MAJOR improvements over the last season. They should all continue to do so and provide a young core, along with the 3 1st round rookies they just added.

7)They should have traded Kurt Thomas 4 years ago. When he was not hitting his jump-shot off of the pick, he provided no offense. Removing the predictable pick-and-roll play as their only offensive option will at least create uncertainty for their opponents.

8) Penny and TimThom will be gone after the year, and so will Allan Houston. Isiah will have more freedom and will be out of the "shadow" of the legacy of Leyden's terrible deals. Since I am a die-hard, a few years of struggles won't scare me off.

I don't know why everyone in the media enjoys kicking the Knicks while they're down, and are writing them off. Larry Brown may help, but he will have to help THESE Knicks, on THIS roster.

Sports Talk Hosts are Stupid

2005-07-20T11:08:00.000-04:00

Now don't get me wrong, the Knicks were not good last year. And it remains to be seen how successful their new rookies will be once the NBA season begins. Nevertheless, having watching almost every Knicks game last year, and better than 75% of the home games in person, it is really clear which sports hosts actually watched those games, and which just dump on the Knicks because they are down. Now being a Knicks loyalist, I will be a "fan" regardless, and maybe these folks need to act like "professional commentators" and not as fans. But still, the Knicks lost something like 30 games by a single possession. That means the Knicks could have been 49-33 instead of 33-49. And wouldn't they be singing praise then.

Well Fuck you Mike Greenberg and everyone else dumping on the Knicks. When Channing Frye and (nah nah, nah-nah-nah-nah)Da-vid Lee are dunking on people's head this year, and Stephon Marbury is not the only scoring option, and Trevor has gained weight and can lock down the 3, they'll all be eating their words.

Go Knicks Go! Fuck everyone else!!!

Zydrunas Ilgauskas remains a Cavalier

2005-07-12T16:14:00.000-04:00

In response to Lugosh's post, and Z's recent signing, I'm giving the Cavs more room. Zydrunas is a good player. He can score, and while not a great defender, his length changes shots in the paint. Despite his reputation as fragile, Big Z has averaged 80 games per year and better than 30 minutes per game over the last three seasons. He can even step outside and shoot a 15 footer for you.

Cleveland just signed Z to a 5 year deal between $55 and $60 million. While a touch on the high side, Z just turned 30 and should be able to honor the contract with 5 legitimate seasons of quality play.

So where does that leave Cleveland?

C: Zydrunas Ilgauskas, DeSagana Diop (is a Free Agent)
PF: Drew Gooden, Anderson Varejao
SF: Bron-Bron, Ira Newble, Aleksandar Pavlovic
SG: Larry Hughes, Luke Jackson
PG: Jeff McInnis (is a Free Agent), Eric Snow

Robert "Tractor" Traylor, Scott Williams, and Dujuan Wagner are also FA.

The Cavs definitely, DEFINITELY, need help at PG. But otherwise, they are good now - especially in the east. If Z stays healthy, he, and Varejao and Gooden can get it done up front. Varejao is one of those crazy Brazilian energy guys. Pavlovic proved to be a decent 3 point shooter. And I think Luke Jackson may be too, though he did not play enough last year to know. It is a shame that Cleveland had to give away their first round pick this year, in the year of the PG. But there will surely be someone available for them to take, or give the mid-level exemption to, that will definitely be better than either McInnis or Eric Snow.

So Long Mike Saunders...

2005-07-12T12:36:00.000-04:00

The Knicks have named a new Head Athletic Trainer, as Mike Saunders has moved up to take a position as assistant to the director of player care. For the last 27 years, which includes all of my memories as a Knicks fan, Mike Saunders has cared for the Knicks. Thanks Mike, and good luck.

Here's hoping that his replacement, Roger Hinds, does as well as he did.

Cavs and cap room

2005-07-09T11:19:00.000-04:00

Thank Jebus the Cavs have a lot of cap space since they don't have any draft picks. The signing of SG Larry Hughes is a great first step in showing Cavs fans that the executives are at least attempting to build a team around Lebron. Frankly I prefer Larry Hughes to Michael Redd although the latter has been more durable and consistent. Next, they will try to lock up Big Z but I fear that he may ask for too much. We'll see. An upgrade at PG is also needed as McInnis has shown flashes but ultimately proved inconsistent and was benched in favor of Snow, YIKES! Since there wasn't much to choose from in FA this year, there is talk that they will go after Sarunas Jasikevicius, a highly tauted point guard from Lithuania.

If only time machines were a reality it would be nice to go back a few months, not fire Silas and instead kick Paxson in the balls and send him packing!

We will see how Brown and Ferry do. I don't know if Ferry has any balls to kick?! Although, didn't he and commercial guy get in an on-court fight many years ago? I guess Ferry ain't all bad.

Looking ahead

2005-06-29T09:01:00.000-04:00

So Penny and TimThom come off of the books AFTER this season. Allan Who?ston is going to be waived. That's $28 million officially off the books in 2006, plus $19 million more in relief from Allan Who?ston's contract. That will leave Goatbury as the only Knick earning more than $10 million in yearly salary.

Maurice Taylor's contract expires after 2006-2007, and he will surely have incentive to earn another one. Malik Rose and JYD are both sitting at $6-7 million per for a few more years, and at least the two of them contribute. Sweetney hits option years in 2006-7, and 2007-8 and he will have to play for a new contract also.

The good news is that Crawford is locked in under $10 million per until 2009-10 and his option year in 2010-11 is just over $10 million. Quentin Richardson has 5 years and 37 million left on his deal, which takes him to 2009-10. Those are two good young players locked in for several years. This should give Trevor Ariza, the new Knicks - Frye, Robinson, Lee - and the others to come ample time to gel into a legitimate team.

I have to be optimistic about the Knicks.

Knicks of the Future

2005-06-29T08:44:00.000-04:00

So the Knicks future is clearer, having acquired C/F Channing Frye - 6'11", F David Lee - 6'9", F/G Quentin Richardson - 6'6", and G Nate Robinson - 5'9" draft night.

A quick guess at the Knicks line-up is as follows:

C: Channing Frye/Jackie Butler/TimThom
PF: Malik Rose/Mo Taylor/Sweetney/David Lee
SF: Ariza/Richardson/JYD
SG: Richardson/Crawford/Penny
PG: Goatbury/Nate Robinson/Jermaine Jackson

And that's 15 players, which means Allan Houston is gone. One way or another, he will not, should not be on the roster next season. Bruno Sundov is a Free Agent, and may be gone, depending on what happens the rest of the off-season. Jermaine Jackson is also a Free Agent. Since the Knicks could theoretically also have Crawford playing PG, and now with Nate Robinson backing up Goatbury, Jackson's future as a Knick is also in question. Jackson did contribute some decent minutes at back-up PG last year and I would not mind if he sticks around.

Deal Update and the Exodus of Allan Houston

2005-06-26T09:01:00.000-04:00

Apparently, the Knicks would RECEIVE the conditional 1st round draft pick, not GIVE it to Phoenix. I like the sounds of that much better. Isiah, if he doesn't fuck it up, has the opportunity to add some serious size and youth and athleticism to the front court over the next few years as their now stacked guard/small forward rotation matures. Should be interesting. C'mon Isiah....

...also in the news. The amnesity provision of the new CBA allows a team a one-time cost saving measure. A team can cut a player from the roster, and although their salary still gets paid, and still counts against the cap, it does not count on the luxury tax. So this means the Knicks are likely to waive Allan Who?ston now, rather than waiting for his contract to expire in 2007. Woo-hooooo!!!

Add 'em up - more years and dollars

2005-06-23T13:06:00.000-04:00

The Knicks, pending approvals and physicals and all that, are about to trade Kurt Thomas and a future conditional first-round pick for Quentin Richardson.

I am not sure how I feel about this deal - it depends on what the Knicks do in the draft THIS year, and what they end up doing with Goatbury. At least Q-Rich is not max contract. He has 5 years and $37.7 million left on his deal, with an additional option year. Kurt Thomas has 2 years and $14 million left, with an $8 million 2007-2008 option. So once again, Isiah has increased the length of contracts on the Knicks.

At least Q can play. He lit up the Knicks when he played this year, making 7 of 14 3 pointers. And he is young, 25 with 5 years in the league.

So what is the Knicks line-up going to look like?

C: TimThom/Jackie Butler/Bruno Sundov
PF: Malik Rose/Mo Taylor/Sweetney
SF: Ariza/Richardson/JYD
SG: Richardson/Crawford/Who?ston (if he ever plays again)
PG: Goatbury/Crawford/Jermaine Jackson/Penny (if not hurt)

The reason this trade does not make sense is that the Knicks now have 2 SG (Crawford, Richardson) or 2 SF (Ariza, Richardson) or 2 PG (Goatbury, Crawford) but have a SF as their starting center (TimThom).

Here's hoping the draft produces a 6-11 dunking PF and a 7 footer who can play D and block shots for the Knicks!

3 Cheers for Mike Saunders

2005-06-17T13:58:00.000-04:00

As has often been noted (more like yelled) by us at Knicks games, the best Knick is their trainer, Mike Saunders.

Apparently, others agree. The National Basketball Athletic Trainers Association (NBATA) voted Mike Saunders as the NBA Trainer of the year.

If only Goatbury was half as valuable as Mike Saunders....

There goes our Coach of the future

2005-06-01T21:00:00.000-04:00

Reports indicate that current Detroit Pistons coach Larry Brown has agreed to become the Team President of the Cleveland Cavaliers following the end of this season.

There goes the best coach not available to the Knicks. I hope they don't do something stupid and hire PJ Car-lose-some-mo'. And I don't think Phil "Front-Running" Jackson would take the job, and I don't want him either.

Who's left? Smokin' Herb Williams, former Minnesota coach Flip Saunders, and a bunch of who knows whos.

Please Isiah, don't hire PJ Carlesimo

2005-05-11T15:56:00.000-04:00

That would be a terrible mistake. Thanks to Basketball Reference.com (see link at left), I was able to gather some evidence of PJ's futility.

1994-1995 Portland Trailblazers – 44-38, Lost in 1st round of Playoffs
1995-1996 Portland Trailblazers – 44-38, Lost in 1st round of Playoffs
1996-1997 Portland Trailblazers – 49-33, Lost in 1st round of Playoffs
1997-1998 Golden State Warriors – 16-63, Did not qualify for Playoffs
1998-1999 Golden State Warriors – 21-29, Did not qualify for Playoffs
1999-2000 Golden State Warriors – 6-21, Did not qualify for Playoffs

PJ's W-L record over his 6 seasons is, 183-222(.452) and in the playoffs, 3-9(.250)

Latrell choked PJ on December 1, 1997, at which point Golden State was 1-13 in PJ's first year as coach of Golden State. They had finished the previous year 30-52 with Rick Adelman.

Given how poorly Golden State played the remainder of his time there, I think Latrell was on to something. Please Isiah, don't doom the Knicks to first-round exits from the playoffs.

More Knicks Pre-Draft Activity

2005-05-08T21:42:00.000-04:00

This past thursday, the Knicks took a look at these two players:

Julius Hodge, a 6-7, 205 lb, G/F who hails from the Bronx. A senior who can score - he averaged better than 17 points a game for his last three years of college. He shot for a nice percentage from the field too, .507 as a junior and .493 his senior season. But his 3 point and FT percentages fell off significantly as a senior. Nice size shows in his rebounds, better than 6 a game the last couple of years, and 4.8 assists to boot this past year. According to the Knicks site, Julius says, "“I think I am mainly a point guard in the NBA". I like the idea of a 6-7 PG on the Knicks. But unless he can play defense, the Knicks don't need another SG/SF swingman.

Hakim Warrick, a 6-8, 218 lb, senior F out of Syracuse. Warrick has nice stats - better than 8 boards and 19-20 points per game over the last few years. But the Knicks need an undersized PF like a hole in the head. And I don't know if his defense and speed are suitable for perimeter defense. Can he guard NBA SF? I don't know. He does not have enough steals and blocks to indicate that he is an intense defender, which is what the Knicks really need.

I like these two better than the other prospects the Knicks brought in. And Hodge does have some interesting size if he ends up at the point. The Knicks really need to move Goatbury. But assuming they don't, the need a stud at PF and a legitimate center - which means someone taller than 6-9 at Center. As for PF, they need a athletic monster like Kenyon Martin, only one who's a bit less of a prick.

Knicks Pre-Draft activity

2005-05-04T12:40:00.000-04:00

The Knicks are reportedly working out the following players today:

Stephen Graham, a 6-6, 215 lb Guard from Oklahoma State. A senior with nice size, and shot .455 from 3 point range last year. Decent shooting percentage I suppose.

Jamaal Levy, a 6-9, 186 lb Forward from Wake Forest (from Panama originally). This senior’s scouting report says he has the game of a PF in a SF body. But he can’t shoot free-throws (shot .506 last year), and he is too skinny. Way too skinny.

Chris Thomas, a 6-1, 190 lb PG from Notre Dame. This senior may be a good point guard, according to his scouting report, but he is an Allen Iverson type-scorer, which means he will take 30 shots to get 20 points. His shooting percentage this past year was only .346.

Ricky Shields, a 6-4, 190 lb G from Rutgers. This senior is not a great shooter, but he likes to shoot 3 pointers. He only shot .362 from the field this year.

Why are the Knicks looking at these guys? Except for Graham, they all have major flaws. Uhhhh, the Knicks.

Lottery Update

2005-04-25T15:48:00.000-04:00

Adding insult to injury, the Knicks lost the tie-break with Toronto and will pick 8th instead of 7th, unless they manage to sneak into the Top 3:

1)Atlanta............0.159
2)New Orleans.....0.220
3)Charlotte.........0.220 (lost tiebreak to New Orleans)
4)Utah..............0.317
5)Portland..........0.329
6)Milwaukee.......0.366
7)Toronto..........0.402
8)New York.......0.402 (lost tiebreak to Toronto)
9)Golden State....0.415
10)L.A. Lakers.....0.415 (lost tiebreak to Golden State)
11)Orlando.........0.439
12)L.A. Clippers...0.451
13)Charlotte.......0.512 (this was Cleveland’s pick)
14)Minnesota......0.531

Goatbury is a Goat

2005-04-21T18:37:00.000-04:00

The Knicks' point guard, S-Goatbury, is a goat. I'm tired of reading about the numbers he's put up, and that he takes too much blame for the Knicks' losing, or that he should play more off guard. Look, the guy is a point guard. He's too short to play the 2 consistently. He doesn't commit himself to defense. The Knicks lost at least 20 games in which they were winning in the second half, and many of those by 2 points or less. What does that say? The guy who is supposed to make those shots never does. I've watched almost every Knicks game this year, nearly half of them in person, and Goatbury has never hit a clutch game winner. He misses critical free throws down the stretch. He turns the ball over in long stretches to give up big leads as if he's laying bets on the other teams. These things dont really show up in the stats, but they make the difference between a me-first punk-ass with a bad attitude, and a winner. Until this guy dedicates himself to becoming a student of the game - and clearly his intelligence is in question here - and devotes himself to defense, the Knicks will not win because of him. They may win in spite of him, but not because of him. Not on a regular basis.

It's very irritating to read other coaches being interviewed about Goatbury and see them rattle off his stats. First of all, they dont watch him play every night. Second, it's not cool to throw someone else's player under the bus so they aren't going to say anything substantial. Walking out of the Garden last night, the opinion was pretty consistent - Goatbury is overrated, has a bad attitude and chokes in the clutch.

Thank goodness Crawford is showing signs of comittment to improvement and the ability to hit big shots when it counts. He doesn't always hit them, but last night he took over the game when it mattered and put it away. You could see that after what happened in Chicago the night before, he just wasn't going to let himself fail. I wish we could see that kind of willpower, commitment and maturity from Goatbury, but it seems like we'd all have seen it already.

Lottery Update

2005-04-21T08:44:00.000-04:00

This is the second to last update - there will be another when the tie-breakers are announced, and then after the draft lottery, I'll probably post the draft order.

1)Atlanta............0.159
2)Charlotte.........0.220
2)New Orleans.....0.220 (+1)
4)Utah..............0.317
5)Portland..........0.329
6)Milwaukee.......0.366
7)New York.......0.402
7)Toronto..........0.402
9)Golden State....0.415
9)L.A. Lakers......0.415 (+1)
11)Orlando.........0.439
12)L.A. Clippers...0.451 (-1)
13)Cleveland.......0.512
14)Minnesota.......0.531

Fan De-preciation Night

2005-04-21T08:40:00.000-04:00

The Knicks won last night, moving them into a tie with Toronto at 7th worst overall. I hope that they at least lose the tie breaker with Toronto and actually claim the 7th lottery spot. We'll see.

Interestingly, the Garden was as loud as its been in some time. Why, I can only imagine.

Stupid Celtics. They were posting updates in the Garden, but after leading for most of the game, the Nets shot out to a 12 point lead the Celtics couldn't close it. Sorry LeBron, maybe next year. Fucking Nets. I hate them so much.....so much!!!

It will be interesting to see what becomes of the Knicks.

Penny and TimThom come off of the books AFTER next season, Allen Who? comes off the books AFTER the 2006-2007 season. Looking at this list, it makes me want to gag when I realize how much Stephon Marbury will earn before his contract his up. Talk about an over-rated, overpaid, GOAT.

Marbury has offically replaced Ewing as King of the Goat-Squad.

As long as they sign Ariza to a reasonable long-term contract, I'll be happy with no other moves but patient ones - signing draft picks and waiting for these contracts to expire. I just hope they don't do what they've done in the past - trading expiring contracts for bad, long contracts for overpaid players.

Lottery Update

2005-04-20T08:52:00.000-04:00

1)Atlanta............0.160
2)Charlotte.........0.210
3)New Orleans.....0.222
4)Utah..............0.321
4)Portland..........0.321 (+1)
6)Milwaukee.......0.366
7)New York.......0.395
8)Toronto..........0.407 (-1)
8)Golden State....0.407 (-1)
10)L.A. Lakers.....0.420
11)Orlando.........0.444
11)L.A. Clippers...0.444 (+1)
13)New Jersey.....0.506
13)Cleveland.......0.506
14)Minnesota.......0.531

**** I've accidentally been leaving out the 14th team until today - lousy NBA expansion - anyway, here's a more accurate list with all 14 eligible lottery spots ***

Groundhog Day Season - Part IV

2005-04-20T08:41:00.000-04:00

I was watching the Knicks at Chicago last night. I was so impressed, once again, by the Knicks' bench effort. Mo Taylor, JYD, Ariza and Crawford were getting it done, and Stephon sat for basically the entire 4th quarter. I was thinking about the Knicks blog and what nice things I was going to say about Crawford, who genuinely has gotten better this year.

But then it happened. Clinging to a one point lead, Crawford missed two big free throws with 11 seconds left. The Bulls got the rebound and Ben Gordon, noted Knick-killer, of course made a basket at the other end with 5 seconds left. So the Knicks call timeout and seemingly diagram a last minute play. Everyone in the arena knew the ball was going to Jamal, he was double teamed, missed his shot, and the Bulls won 92-91.

Another game - same outcome. It really is amazing. Having really watched the NBA this year - it really does come down to how a team plays in the final two minutes of a game. And the Knicks have blown it almost everytime, the same way, regardless of the opponent. This is why they will have a new coach next season, more than any other reason.

Seattle's first round match up

2005-04-18T16:44:00.000-04:00

Seattle has come out of oblivion to have a great season and no one can take that away from them. However, they have looked very ordinary and beatable of late. So while they knocked Minnesotta out of playoff contention, they most likely won't make it out of the first round of the playoffs. They had better hope the playoff standings stay as is and they matchup against Sacramento. They might be able to take the Kings. However, I think that Dallas, Houston, and Denver are all much better teams and will be able to take Seattle in round 1. We'll see.

On another note, Bron and the Cavs must beat Boston and Toronto to have a chance as NJ owns the tie breaker. NJ plays in Boston for their last regular season game on Wednesday. I may have to buy an overpriced ticket to the Fleetcenter (or whatever the fuck monstrosity of a name they gave it recently) to booooooooo J-Kidd and V-Carter until my throat is sore and voice gone. I have thus far refused to pay to see the Celtics (I probably only will next year when the Cavs come to town). I just hope the Celtics don't roll over and rest their starters now that they have clinched the 3 spot. Nonetheless, I fear that this is exactly what they will do. Even though Miami will surely destroy Bron and the Cavs should they secure the 8th spot in the East, at least Bron could get some early playoff experience.

As for the Knicks losing to Atlanta, I didn't see the game. It surely would have been extremely painful to watch even as a non-Knicks fan. But Fishy, Ed, and the rest of the NYK faithful, just think LOTTERY, LOTTERY, LOTTERY! And one more thing, while STeph is a good player, I have never liked him. He'll never win the big one (but surely will bite it!).

Groundhog Day Season, Part III: Post-Mortem of the Atlanta Hawks game

2005-04-18T12:55:00.000-04:00

The Knicks lost to the 13-67 Atlanta Hawks last night. You read that correctly. By the way, the Hawks had lost 17 of their last 18 games before this one.

Yet, Atlanta had scored 62 by the end of the first half, and 118 by the end of regulation. The Knicks set a franchise record for 3 pointers last night - a tell tale sign that the Knicks were settling for jumpers and not driving to the basket - as was the fact that Atlanta shot 15 more free throws than the Knicks in the game.

The Knicks really struggled to keep it even all night - but managed to build a 7 point lead in the 4th quarter. But then Herb Williams pulled Ariza for TimThom. Sure enough he made a stupid foul and Stephon made his just-in-time game-killing 4th quarter turn over and the Hawks got back into it.

Even still, the Knicks had the ball 3 times in the last minute of the game - and failed all 3 times to break the tie, so the Knicks would have to wait until overtime to lose.

Stephon Marbury on the Knicks' defense last night: We just weren't doing it. We weren't getting it done tonight. We were ready for everything they did.

Steph sucks - seriously! Tyronn Lue ABUSED, Steph in overtime with a cross-over fake, step-back 3 pointer to clinch the game. Tyronn Lue.
Good job Stephon, you get the MCP award for the 2004-2005 season.

Lottery Update

2005-04-18T12:52:00.000-04:00

1)Atlanta............0.163
2)Charlotte.........0.213
3)New Orleans.....0.225
4)Utah..............0.313
5)Portland..........0.325 (-1)
6)Milwaukee.......0.375
7)New York.......0.400 (+1)
7)Toronto..........0.400 (+2)
7)Golden State....0.400
10)L.A. Lakers.....0.425
11)Orlando.........0.438
12)L.A. Clippers...0.450 (-1)
13)New Jersey....0.500
13)Cleveland......0.500 (-1)

Cavs stink!

2005-04-17T16:38:00.000-04:00

NJ is clearly a better team and deserve the 8th spot in the East. Bron must be freaking exhausted having to play 48 minutes everynight and chuck up 30+ shots. The Cavs need to rehire Silas and fire Paxson!

Lottery Update

2005-04-15T08:32:00.000-04:00

1)Atlanta............0.154
2)Charlotte.........0.218
3)New Orleans.....0.231
4)Utah..............0.321
4)Portland..........0.321 (+1)
6)Milwaukee.......0.372
7)Golden State....0.392 (+1)
8)New York.......0.397 (-1)
9)Toronto..........0.410
10)L.A. Lakers.....0.436
11)Orlando.........0.449 (+1)
11)L.A. Clippers...0.449
13)New Jersey....0.487

Witness the Power of the Knicks bench

2005-04-15T08:30:00.000-04:00

4th quarter: JYD, Mo Taylor, Malik Rose: 12-0 run and a Knicks win. 0 points from Stephon Marbury, TimThom on the bench.

Uh-huh.

But this win allowed Golden State to slide into the 7th spot for the lottery. Doh!

Groundhog Day Season - Part II

2005-04-13T13:36:00.000-04:00

I took a moment to re-read some the earliest posts on this site, dating back to mid-December.

Then, we were lamenting Lenny Wilken's inability to draw up a last minute play, or get the Knicks to safely inbound the ball; we were calling for more minutes for Ariza, JYD and Sweetney and less minutes for TimThom.

Its mid-April and nothing has changed except for the coach.

Here's to the 2007-2008 New York Knicks!!!

Where was Trevor Ariza?

2005-04-13T10:42:00.000-04:00

The worst part of last night's loss to the 31-46 Raptors was that Trevor Ariza, the Knick most worth watching, did not play a single second of the game.

According to ESPN's recap:

rookie Trevor Ariza did not play in an absence that Williams declined to explain.
"You have to ask (Williams). He made the decision, not me," Ariza said.

What the fuck? Ariza is the best hope for the Knicks future, one would think that they'd give him as many minutes as possible at this point.

This is why the Knicks were outscored 28 points in the second half to a team that was 15 games under .500 entering the game.

Lottery Update

2005-04-13T09:40:00.000-04:00

1)Atlanta............0.156
2)Charlotte.........0.208
3)New Orleans.....0.234
4)Utah..............0.312
5)Portland..........0.325
6)Milwaukee.......0.377
7)New York.......0.390
8)Golden State....0.397
9)Toronto..........0.410
10)L.A. Lakers.....0.436
11)L.A. Clippers...0.449 (-1)
12)Orlando.........0.455
13)New Jersey....0.494

On Stephon, TimThom, and soon to be fired Herb Williams:

2005-04-13T09:29:00.000-04:00

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!

Stephon: never makes clutch 4th quarter free throws, frequently throws bad passes when it matters most, nearly always takes 2-3 very bad shots early in the shot clock when what the Knicks need most is a quality possession

TimThom: is the offspring of Gerald Wilkins and Charles Smith, never scores any points that matter, is the softest 6-10 player since Charles Smith

And yet once the Knicks had built a 16 point half-time lead on the efforts of Jermaine Jackson, Crawford, JYD, Mo Taylor and Malik Rose, Herb Williams put Stephon, TimThom and Kurt Thomas back in for the second half where they were outscored by 18 points in the 3rd quarter and 10 more points in the 4th quarter.

Good job Herb Williams - if you were deliberately trying to lose the game that is.

Lottery Update

2005-04-11T11:21:00.000-04:00

1)Atlanta............0.158
2)Charlotte.........0.197
3)New Orleans.....0.237
4)Utah..............0.316
5)Portland..........0.320 (-1)
6)Milwaukee.......0.382
7)New York.......0.395 (-1)
8)Golden State....0.403
9)Toronto..........0.408
10)L.A. Lakers.....0.442
10)L.A. Clippers...0.442
12)Orlando.........0.461
13)New Jersey....0.494

Pacers getting theirs

2005-04-10T21:09:00.000-04:00

The Knicks finally did it to someone else. Kurt Thomas makes the end-of-regulation 3 pointer to tie the game. Sweetney makes a buzzer beater in OT to win by a point.

Go Knicks, F the Pacers.

Lottery Update

2005-04-09T17:42:00.000-04:00

1)Atlanta............0.147
2)Charlotte.........0.200
3)New Orleans.....0.240
4)Utah..............0.320
4)Portland..........0.320 (+1)
6)Milwaukee.......0.387
6)New York.......0.387 (+1)
8)Golden State....0.408
9)Toronto..........0.413
10)L.A. Lakers.....0.447
10)L.A. Clippers...0.447 (+1)
12)Orlando.........0.461
13)New Jersey....0.494

Groundhog Day Season

2005-04-09T17:30:00.001-04:00

The Knicks went up 11 early, let Chicago back in and were tied in the third. Right on cue in the 3rd quarter, the Knicks squandered their chance to seize the game. Then on three consecutive possessions the Knicks went shot-clock expiration, bad pass out of bounds, shot-clock expiration.

And sure enough, when they seemed to inch towards Chicago late in the 4th, noted Knick-killer Ben Gordon made sure they didn't.

Lot-er-ree!!

Lottery Update

2005-04-08T07:00:00.000-04:00

1)Atlanta 0.149
2)Charlotte 0.203
3)New Orleans 0.243
4)Utah 0.311
5)Portland 0.324
6)Milwaukee 0.378
7)New York 0.392 (+1)
8)Golden State 0.4 (-1)
9)Toronto 0.405
10)L.A. Lakers 0.44
11)L.A. Clippers 0.447
12)Orlando 0.467
13)New Jersey 0.487

Lottery Update

2005-04-06T11:20:00.000-04:00

1)Atlanta 0.149
2)Charlotte 0.205
3)New Orleans 0.247
4)Utah 0.315
5)Portland 0.329
6)Milwaukee 0.384
7)Golden State 0.392
8)New York 0.397
9)Toronto 0.411
10)L.A. Lakers 0.446
11)L.A. Clippers 0.453
12)Orlando 0.473
13)New Jersey 0.48

Lousy Quitters

2005-04-06T11:14:00.000-04:00

Well that's it folks. As Stephen 'Psycho' Jackson nailed his 6th wide open 3 pointer last night, it became abundantly clear that most of the Knicks have quit on the season. The last time I saw such apathy was Michigan-Penn State in 1996.

The worst part is JYD played less than a minute, and some early foul trouble (I guess) kept Trevor Ariza on the bench. Okay Herb Williams, pop quiz. Your team is getting killed by open perimeter jump shots and you keep your two best perimeter defenders on the bench. Good move.

TimThom must go. Crawford must hit the weights. And Steph? Steph needs to go to the basketball version of Outward Bound or whatever. Because the Knicks are stuck with him and he needs to do a better job of playing basketball and leading this team. You'd think Isiah would have him in his office every day teaching him how to be a fucking point guard. Either that or the Knicks should move Steph/Crawford some place else in exchange for a real point guard.

Reggie Sucks!!!

2005-04-06T11:05:00.000-04:00

Last night was Reggie Miller's last game at MSG. Good riddance.

He was mostly contained - with the exception of early on, when his teammates were busy setting illegal screens for him. Stephen 'Psycho' Jackson killed the Knicks, but that's another story.

What was worst was the end of the game. What was left of the crowd (the Knicks were down 18 or so for most of the second half) began to chant "Reg-gie, Reg-gie". I can't believe that 1) there were that many Pacers fans in the crowd or 2) that many Knicks fans forgot all of his bullshit antics throughout the years. And to top it off, he and Spike Lee met for a half-court hug after the game. Pussy. I wanted to vomit. I can't belive Spike of all people would lower himself as such.

I heard on ESPN this morning a post-game with Reggie and he was surprised by the "Reg-gie" chant, but noted he heard plenty of "Sucks!" also. Good - that was us.

How many Ping-Pong balls does 8th worst get?

2005-04-04T15:15:00.000-04:00

With 10 games left in the season, the Knicks are comfortably settled between the 6th and 11th worst teams in the NBA as per Winning percentage.

Worst gets: 13
2nd gets: 12
3rd gets: 11
4th gets: 10
5th gets: 9
6th gets: 8
7th gets: 7
8th gets: 6
9th gets: 5
10th gets: 4
11th gets: 3
12th gets: 2
13th gets: 1

So if things stand where they are now, the Knicks get, I guess, 6 ping-pong balls chance of getting in the top 3. Excellent. Add to that the pick from San Antonio that they picked up and the youth movement is on its way.

Nets Suck

2005-04-01T14:03:00.000-05:00

Knicks-Nets tonight. Yessir!

Good thing I've had a week off of home games. My throat is healthy and my voice is loud and I am ready to BOOOOOOO the Nets.

The Knicks may be playing inconsistent ball right now, but the Nets suck always.

Dirk got game

2005-03-30T23:17:00.000-05:00

This isn't Knicks related, but I must comment on seeing Nowitzki live for the first time as I just returned from watching Dallas beat up on Boston. I've seen him play on TV many many times, but it doesn't do justice. He dropped 36 on Boston and didn't even look like he was breaking a sweat. I was amazed at just how sweet his shot is. Most of his makes were the purest of swishes, some in the face of tough defensive pressure or a even a hard foul. I've never seen a 7 footer with such versatility. At the risk of sounding corny, it was a real treat.

And on another note, White Charles Smith had a great game off the bench. It was quite surprising.

Uhhh. 3 West Coast Games, 3 Straight Losses

2005-03-29T06:19:00.000-05:00

Well, the euphoria of mopping the floor with Boston has faded. Three straight losses on the road to west coast teams will do that. But what can you do? The Knicks sometimes don't get calls at home. One can barely expect them to win games out west.

Knicks at the Key

2005-03-26T11:10:00.000-05:00

Last night was the Knicks sole appearance out in Seattle this season. It's been a while since I've taken in an NBA game. But with the NHL on strike, Catfish and Edward taking on the role of uber-Knicks-fans, and my near miraculous fantasy hoops season last year, I've slowly begun to drift back into the NBA fold. And what better way to dive back in completely than a Friday night ESPN-televised game during Sweet 16 weekend.

I left work at 4, catching the commuter bus from my office in Redmond to downtown Seattle. Getting off the bus at the south monorail stop, I shared the monorail station elevator with a French-speaking family on vacation which might have been a more interesting story if the elevator ride was more than 2 stories. The north end of the monorail, my destination, was the Seattle Center, home to Key Arena, the Space Needle, and the new bar Sport, where the Seattle 'fantasy' crew had been hanging out watching the NCAA tournament.

The timing was good. Theher got there just as I was standing outside the restaurant with my back to it wondering where it was. It was my first venture to this new bar. With individual TVs at each booth, it's the first sports bar in Seattle to have reached the point that many suburban bars on the east coast reached several years ago. Not surprisingly, the place is doing well, as theher and I had to share a seat for about 5 minutes until another one was found.

The fantasy crew had been there since 4 after a day of work that consisted of emailing each other about the possible outcome scenarios of our 8 player - 8 team pool, of which I'd already been eliminated after Georgia Tech and Cincinnati bit it last weekend. In one scenario, at the end of the tourney, two of the participants could end up tied. It was decided that in that event, the tie breaker would be a game of beer pong, making me wonder whether I should just suggest that next year, we say 'fuck the brackets' and just have an 8-person $240 beer pong tournament.

After watching the Big Ten send two more teams to the Elite Eight, it was off to the Key. The game started off with an uncalled flagrant foul by Stephon Marbury and a short Sonics run. Ray Allen, who I'd read was supposed to miss this game, played a solid game from start to finish. The Knicks made some runs, the Sonics pulled ahead a few times, but the lead never went above 10 the whole game.

Tim Thomas, whose bright orange shoes successfully prevented him from being shot at by other hunters in the area (hey, there were a lot of Wisconsin fans at the bar down the street), sank a three at the end of regulation to send the game into overtime. For some reason, neither Tim nor Kurt Thomas has their first initial on the back of their jerseys, so the riled up Sonics fans in the men's room before the overtime period were arguing over whether it was Tim or Kurt. They agreed it was Kurt.

All in all, the NBA is still somewhat kind of fantastic, and I have to admit that Mr. Starbucks has done a good job with the game experience. They now have breakdancing kids along with the cheerleaders during the breaks, and the halftime show was a dodgeball round-robin between several branches of the armed forced who've recently returned from Iraq (the Air Force was victorious). The mascot, Sasquatch, though, needs to lower the power on the potato gun that shoots T-shirts into the crowd. He had to bounce them off the roof of the arena into the upper-deck to keep from sending some poor fan to the same fate as Maude Flanders.

Yeah the Knicks Rule

2005-03-23T23:51:00.000-05:00

... and Yeah the Celtics Suck !!!

Tonight's game was the best. Paul Pierce sucked, Antoine Walker sucked, Doc Rivers sucked and the Knicks kicked ass.

Trevor played a tremendous game - he was making outside shots and had a couple of huge dunks. Further more, Malik Rose had a big shot block - the kind where you swat it off the court entirely - and then within the next couple of possessions, Trevor had one also.

But most of all, Jamal did it again. He was moving towards the basket, saw his chance, and did an alley-oop to himself off the backboard and slammed it home. Awesome. Totally Awesome.

F the Celtics

2005-03-23T13:51:00.000-05:00

You heard me. F*** 'em.
Snow or no snow - I'm not gonna miss my chance to boo.

Snake-bitten

2005-03-21T12:08:00.000-05:00

Unbelievable.

No Tim Duncan for the Spurs at Knicks game tonight.

That makes it 1 out of 2 for LeBron, 0 for 1 for Duncan; Van Gundy is ruining Yao Ming and we were snowed out of Kobe's appearance.

At least we got to yell at the Liar, and will get another chance to heckle C-Webb.

Bron drops 56.....

2005-03-20T15:44:00.000-05:00

......and the Cavs still lose to Toronto!? The recent poor play of the Cavs is highlighted in the bizzare box score of today's game. ONLY FIVE PLAYERS SCORED for Cleveland. Granted, the bench did not get many minutes as four starters logged 40+ with Bron playing all 48. This is the most extreme example thus far of how Silas has lost complete confidence in his bench. The starters have not been great either, but the poor play of the bench is the main problem of late.

What appeared to be a team strength during the first part of the season has become a liability. Should this trend continue, the Cavs won't make it out of the first round of the playoffs as they'll likely have to face Miami, Detroit, or Boston. That is, if they even make the playoffs at this rate!

I think Herb just lost his job

2005-03-16T11:05:00.000-05:00

I can't believe the Knicks blew another game to Miami at home. Uhhh.

Basically, the long and short of it is this: Herb Williams, or whoever is coach, needs to come up with a game winning play out of the final timeout. Last night, even after blowing a 15 point lead, the Knicks still had the ball with only a few seconds more on the game clock than the shot clock. They did nothing after the timeout, again, and Dwayne Wade beat them, again.

I like the job Herb has done, but last night he needed to do more.

Winter and Crawford's dunk

2005-03-10T13:23:00.000-05:00

If the snow causes me to miss one more Knicks game, I gonna be really pissed.

But how about Crawford's dunk the other day? We saw him do it on a breakaway a few weeks ago, but it was after the whistle and did not count. But it was amazing to see him do in in traffic, in real-time. As Edward pointed out, give credit to Mo' Taylor for pulling the defender out of the way, allowing the whole thing to happen.

Seattle's in town on sunday, Go Knicks!

3 in a Row and 4 out of 5 (and 5 out of 7)

2005-03-01T11:04:00.000-05:00

Go Knicks!!!

Kobe and Co. got hot at the end of regulation, with everybody making 3 pointers. Had the Knicks lost, I'd have a lot to gripe about here. But the Knicks got down 4 points in Overtime, then toughened up on D and made their free throws. Way to avoid collapse Knicks. They looked shaky, but they held on, and that is worth a lot.

3 out of 4

2005-02-27T11:30:00.000-05:00

Yeah Malik Rose, the newest Knick to kick ass.

Although the Pacers looked a little tired last night, the Knicks have won 3 of 4, so who can complain about that?

And they just made trades in which they received rather than gave away draft picks. I suppose I'll miss Nazr a little - he did improve over last year, but Nazr wasn't that good. So, Mo' Taylor, let's get it done.

Tired of Losing

2005-02-23T16:12:00.000-05:00

I admit that I am tired of all the losing. It gets depressing after a while, especially when it's February 23 and you've been realistically eliminated from contention for weeks. Needless to say, I'm not sure that i'll renew my season tickets until I see some positive offseason moves.

18 Point Win

2005-02-17T14:06:00.000-05:00

Milwaukee lost by 18 to the Knicks. Okay.

If Nazr makes the last second shot in Philly it could be 3 wins in a row. But 2 out of 3 aint bad.

A-ha-a-ha

The best thing about the Knicks

2005-02-15T20:43:00.000-05:00

Is that they play in the Atlantic Division. While Philly, Boston, and NJ have looked good of late and Toronto and NY have looked like dog feces, the fact remains that the Knicks are only 6 games out of 1st with 30 games left. Not likely, but possible. I don't know what the record is, but it seems like the Knicks lose most games when Steph puts up 30+.....which he's been doing a lot lately.

HA!

2005-02-13T20:31:00.000-05:00

Way to go TimThom

Oy, again.

2005-02-10T07:54:00.000-05:00

I was left extremely frustrated by last night's game. When the team makes a comeback from down 11 in the 4th quarter, and has the ball in their hands with 16 seconds left in the game, 14 seconds left on the shot clock and the score tied at 95, one would think they'd try a little harder to take a quality last second shot than the one the Knicks got last night.

But what else is new? The Knicks kept Shaq in check, and the Boy Wonder didn't start hurting the Knicks until the end of the game. Regardless, it does not matter how good you play if you can't finish a game. That is definitely the way the NBA works - about 1 out of 6 games are lopsided, and the other 5/6 games are decided in the last few minutes. Since the Knicks can't play in those kinds of games, we finally have a reason why the Knicks only win 1 out of every 6th game.

Oy.

DE-FENSE!!! clap-clap DE-FENSE!!! clap-clap DEFENSE!!!

2005-02-09T14:11:00.000-05:00

Hey Knicks fans, hear this thought: DE-FENSE!!!

The Knicks can stop Fat Shaq and Dwayne Wade, the boy wonder.

Make sure you cheer loudly.

A Win is a Good Thing ...

2005-02-08T07:05:00.000-05:00

... especially when you can come home off of a long road trip with the last game a victory. That should give the Knicks momentum going into wednesday's battle with Miami. Afterall, Utah is the West's third worst team, and Miami is the East's best team.

Bring it Fat Shaq. After all, Utah's leading scorer (The Liar) only scored 5 points before fouling out.

Well, they LOOK like they're playing better

2005-02-07T13:17:00.000-05:00

Two tough losses ... again.

What do you do with a team that can compete for 46 minutes and then disassembles? You can call them the Eagles in the Superbowl .. (a ha a ha)

But seriously, the Knicks' problems are between their ears. Seriously - they took Phoenix, in Phoenix, down to the end of the game. They just can't finish 'em.

But Smokin' Herb Williams will lead the way, even if the Knicks have to go kicking and screaming along.

Tonight they got the Jazz.

F that Boozer .... Liiiiiiaaaarrrr .... Liiiiiiaaaarrrr .... Liiiiiiaaaarrrr

Sacramento, Take II

2005-02-04T11:33:00.000-05:00

Knicks at Sac tonite. They really should have beaten them in the Garden. We'll see what they can manage. It is so frustrating. The Knicks will be competitive for stretches and then the sos will take them down. Well, I'll be watching.

Also, I heard on the radio that Kurt Thomas and Stephon got into a scrap after the Knicks win over Cleveland last week. Cool. I hope Steph punched him in the face. The Knicks should have traded Kurt two years ago when they had the chance. He seems the first to be disgruntled and it shows in his play.

I still hate Kenyon Martin

2005-02-02T07:12:00.000-05:00

And he still kills the Knicks. It is so apparent when the Knicks play a team like Denver, that they are missing both size and athleticism. Compare Marcus Camby and Kenyon Martin to Nazr Mohammed and Kurt Thomas. HA!!! There aint none. Those guys can jump out of the gym, and the Knicks guys can't. Trevor Ariza can - can we clone more of him?

O-4 and 3 TO in the 4th Quarter - the Unforgiveable

2005-02-01T06:36:00.000-05:00

Uhh. There you have it - an otherwise very beatable Clippers team. You have yourself in a tie game in their building with 6 minutes to go ... bad pass by Marbury stolen by Jaric for an easy hoop. Next possession ... bad pass by Marbury stolen by Jaric for an easy hoop.

Unbelievable. Not to mention that each time Marbury drove to the hoop in the 4th, he neither made a basket nor drew a foul.

You can talk all you want about the 17 offensive rebounds the Clippers got on the Knicks. Okay, that wasn't making it easier. But Steph literally handed them the game. Remember that scene in Blue Chips when the coach goes back and watches the game film where one of his players was alleged to have shaved points of the score? That's what it felt like watching Steph at the end of last night's game.

The Knicks aren't good enough to overcome their 'best' player sandbagging it.

I Take Back What I Said...

2005-01-31T19:21:00.000-05:00

...about Penny. If he could only stay healthy, but none of the rest of what I wrote matters if he can't play an entire game without being injured.

It's tough to be a Knicks fan this year...but we are doing our best. I'm just glad I enjoyed the Knicks being over .500 for the brief time it lasted.

Letdown in Motown

2005-01-31T15:35:00.000-05:00

The Knicks looked tired in the second half against detroit. The first half was competitive though.

The loss of Trevor Ariza for any extented period will be the final nail in the coffin for these Knicks. He has been jumping all over the place making plays lately. As the Knicks' only NBA star-quality athlete, he is the last player they can spare.

Got the Clips without Maggette and Kittles tonight. Take a nap, the game's at 10:30.

Pen-NY Pen-NY!!!

2005-01-29T07:46:00.000-05:00

It's very simple - Penny with team, team win. Penny not with team, team lose. Say what one will about Penny, it's horrible that he can't stay healthy because this is the one guy on the Knicks who understands basketball and how to win games. His clutch shot last night with about 30 seconds to go was evidence of this. Apparently, he told Marbury in the huddle to look for him coming open because he believed Crawford would be denied on the play. He was right. Instead of Marbury staring down Crawford like Ryan Leaf would his receivers and causing a turnover because he's not looking for an open man, he didn't have to think - he just had to do what PENNY told him to do.

Penny is the leader of this team. It's not fair to judge this guy for his injury problems. He's persisted for a long time and is still a very good player. Many players lose their explosiveness as they get older. Even the Commercial Guy became a low post shooter later in his career. But the mind of the instinctive superstar keeps improving, and Penny has that mind for ball. He's got the ability to rise above the moment and lead. In his heart, he's a superstar, just as he was at one time in the NBA's marketing office. Penny can hold down the starting SF spot and he's a much better option on the floor than Tim Thomas (who's hurt anyway). Just keep giving him the chance - I mean, shoot, he's Penny Frickin' Hardaway!!!!

Now, I am starting to agree with Jamal Crawford's critics. Far too often he fails to look for an open man when he drives and draws double teams. Further, he falls back on his little crossover-3 pt move far too often and kills possessions. Even if he makes the ill advised three, he's just playing one on one basketball. He's really not in the flow and only seems to be able to play isolation offense. Early in the game last night, Crawford actually made a good read and passed the ball to Marbury as he cut into the lane. He would have had an open layup, but Crawford decided to fire an underhand scoop pass that was too low and behind Marbury. The crowd reacted to the flashiness, unfortunately, but in the end it was sloppy, streetball stuff that has no place in the NBA. Jamal, if you want to play streetball, I'm sure AND1 would love to have you (though you can't dunk well enough for those guys...). If you want to play real NBA basketball, learn discipline and how to involve your teammates.

Kudos to Herb Williams for drawing up a play that lead to a critical Nazr Mohammed dunk. It's things like that which demonstrate how much the Knicks needed new blood. At crunch time, you'd just never seen Lenny Wilkens draw up or call a play like that.

Now, all positives aside - the Knicks still defended the perimeter poorly most of the night and struggled to rebound on either end much of the time. The offense has very little if any flow to it at all. We are not out of the woods yet by any stretch of the imagination. Stephon said after the win, "we stopped the bleeding." No Steph, you just slapped on the tourniquet. The blood clots at .500.

Bron giving KG a run for his money

2005-01-27T09:30:00.000-05:00

As the best player in the NBA. His play of late has been SICK as he is almost averaging a triple double during the past couple weeks (not to mention the steals, blocks, and the fact that he's shooting nearly 50% for the season)! He's making a strong case for MVP as the all-star break approaches. I only hope he's good to go Friday night at MSG as he injured his ankle last night. He's a gamer, so I anticipate that he will play. Also, it would really suck for you season ticket holders to see him in street clothes. It will be interesting to see if the bench can step it up with the recent injuries to key role players Varejao and Newble. At least McInnis is back. His absence down the stretch last season showed just how important he is to this team. Anyway, enjoy the game. I wish I could attend!

Getting back to the Knicks, the Atlantic is a true cluster-fuck! Only 4 games separate the 5 teams. I don't know much about Herb Williams, but these next few weeks leading up to the allstar break are critical as they represent an opportunity for one or two teams to start to separate from the rest of the division if they get hot. Unfortunately, the Knicks host the Cavs Friday and then go on a very difficult 6 game road trip before hosting Miami at home on February 9 (Lugosh's birthday, Woohoo!). If the Knicks can go at least 4-4 during this stretch with the injuries to Penny and TimTom, they should be in decent shape as the allstar break approaches.

On a somewhat related note (Atlantic Division), I will be attending the Celtics v. Nets game next Wednesday along with some Bigs and Littles and will have an opportunity to meet some of the players during warm up. Any messages for Kidd, Pierce, the Glove, or the all-time-Johnny favorite....V-Cart?

Ref You Suck!

2005-01-26T16:09:00.000-05:00

The more NBA games I watch, the more I think the league is rigged. Clearly certain players - like the Suns' Amare Stoudamire - are given extreme favoritism over other players. Amare can hook, shove, bump, travel and charge all he wants. Breathe on the guy, you'll get a foul. When Amare commits fouls, they are charged to teammates. He's not the only one that gets this kind of treatment and it's wrong. The NBA isn't a level playing field. If the league is spending big dollars to promote you as one of it's stars, you're going to get unfair advantages over other players and teams.

So answer me this - Is is Steve Nash or special treatment that launched Amare into the top of the league in scoring, rebounding, etc.? Definitely a bit of both, but there's no question a guy's scoring and rebounding averages are going to skyrocket if opponents are afraid to touch him or bump him because of the refs.

Toward the end of the game last night, the refs starting calling all kinds of bizarre fouls and violations on the Suns as if they realized how lopsided they had made things and we're trying to save face. The Knicks got within five points with help from the refs, and then the help ceased and the game was again quickly out of reach.

Smokin' Herb Williams

2005-01-26T09:15:00.000-05:00

The Knicks lost again last night. Sigh. But it was not all bad - after all, Phoenix is the second best team in the league (1/2 a game out of best team overall). The Knicks hung tough last night - especially being short on players - TimThom, Moochie, Allan Who?ston and Penny were unavailable.

Trevor Ariza played his ass off. The Knicks genuinely appeared to try and get the ball in down low to Sweetney and Nazr, and they did a half decent job of pushing Amare Stoudemire out of the paint. But Stoudemire is getting Commercial Guy level respect from the refs now, so you can't look at him without getting a foul call.

Keep it up Herb - let's go get Bron-Bron on friday.

Go Herb Williams Go!!!

2005-01-22T15:39:00.000-05:00

The good news is that even losing 9 of their last 10 games, the Knicks are only 1 1/2 games out of first place.

Rock and roll.