Disgruntled KnicksFan Blog

Get it Done Donnie

2010-07-22T13:34:00.008-04:00

So far I’d have to give the Knicks a solid B for this off season. They signed Amare, Felton, traded for three young assets in Randolph, Turiaf, and Azubuike and stock piled three future second round picks. Couple that with the young nucleus of Toney Douglas, Danilo Gallinari, and Wilson Chandler the makings of a competitive lower seeded playoff team are definitely a possibility. Yet Donnie Walsh’s job isn’t complete for the off season. Last night the leagues best point guard Chris Paul came out and requested a trade to New York, Los Angeles, or Orlando. I’m sure teams like Portland and Dallas will also be in play but the near fact Paul mentioned New York on his wish list means we’re heading in the right direction.

The 26 year old Paul is definitely in the conversation as the leagues best point guard along with Derron Williams and Rajon Rondo. In four professional seasons Paul has averaged 19.3 ppg and 10 apg. Injuries limited Paul to only 45 games last season but he still averaged 18.7 ppg and 10.7 apg. When last healthy in 2009 Paul averaged a staggering 22.8 and 11.

Paul is a game changer folks. Amare Stoudamire is a very good player and every public comment he’s made in the last 4 weeks have only made me like him more as a player and leader but if you add Chris Paul to this roster we’re talking about a team that not only should make the playoffs but could legitimately win a few rounds in the playoffs and give teams like Boston, and Miami fits.

Knick Trade Assets

Eddy Curry – Let’s face it Eddy Curry is nothing more then a waste of god given talent but the fact remains that Curry has a massive 11.4 million dollar expiring contract. New Orleans is in financial shambles (hence Paul wanting to leave) and would love to be able to clear 11.4 million off there books.

Toney Douglas – If the Hornets were to trade Paul they would immediately need a point guard to backup Darren Collison. Toney Douglas would be an ideal fit. He’s 24 years old and averaged 13 points per game over the last two months of last season. Along with his upside Douglas is under team control for the next 3 seasons at a reasonable salary.

Danilo Gallinari – I’d love to keep Gallo but if it meant acquiring Chris Paul then so be it. The 22 year old Gallinari is under team control for the next two seasons and would make a max of 5 million dollars. Gallo averaged nearly 16 points per game last season and could easily make the jump to 20 this coming season.

Wilson Chandler – Much like Gallo, Chandler is under team control for the next two seasons. Will averaged 15 ppg last season and would be a nice cheap building block for a team rebuilding.

Anthony Randolph – Anthony Randolph might very well be the definition of upside. Randolph has the skill set and athletic ability to be a super star in this league. On the flip side he has the mental toughness to be the nice Isiah Rider. All that said a 21 year old kid who played has college ball at nearby LSU would have to be appealing to the Hornets.

Ronny Turiaf & Kelenna Azubiake – I lump them together because they both are young players who have expiring contracts and would be nice side pieces to make a trade.

I would trade every single one of the players above. The only real problem I would have is if we had to trade both Gallo and Randolph. To sweeten the pot I would also consider taking on one of New Orleans awful contracts. From looking at New Orleans Roster I would bet they would love to trade Emeka Okafur, Peja Stojakovic, or James Posey.

My proposed trades

Eddy Curry, Anthony Randolph, Toney Douglas and Picks for Chris Paul

Eddy Curry, Gallo, Toney Douglas and picks for Chris Paul

Or become more creative and do something like this

Curry, Turiaf, Azubiake, Chandler, and Douglas for Paul and Okafor

There are a lot of options but for once I actually do think the potential packages the Knicks could offer the Hornets are far superior then any of the teams that could make a move for Paul. Anthony Randolph or Gallinari are fair superior and much more cost effective then any player on the Magic, and Lakers roster.

A possible lineup of Paul, Azubiake, Gallo, Stoudamire and Turiaf is a pretty dangerous team. Not to mention the fact that there’s a certain free agent to be in Denver that will be keeping close watch on NY this season.

Champion? Maybe. Follower? Definitely. Greatest Ever? No longer possible

2010-07-09T15:14:00.002-04:00

To quote a disgusted Walt Clyde Frazier “He took the easy way out”. As the sports world watched; Lebron James went on National TV and declared he’s going to take his talents to South Beach and join the Miami Heat. In one statement James proved all his naysayer’s correct. The former king (I’ll get to this later) of the NBA shrunk under pressure yet again and took the easy way out.

Dwight Howard may be considered the superman of the NBA but by all accounts James was the player with all the super human ability and charisma, but last night in front of millions he burned his own cape. His lips quivered as he tried to explain to the world why he was leaving Cleveland to try to win championships with a dream team. Not only did the Ohio native leave his hometown team, he made a one hour TV special to rub it in the face of the fans that supported him since he was 15 years old.

James idolized Michael Jordan growing up and has often been proclaimed as the second coming of Michael Jordan, but would Michael Jordan ever have shown up at a boys and girls club in Connecticut in jeans and a button down to announce that he was leaving Chicago to go play with Charles Barkley and Patrick Ewing? MJ optimized the meaning of cool. MJ could show up at a press conference after dropping 50 or losing a nail biter looking as cool as ever in his $100,000 suits and answer ever single media question without actually answering the question. Lebron made it perfectly clear last night that he is no MJ, in fact he made it perfectly clear that he is no Kobe.

The Real King of the NBA

The name King now belongs to Dwayne Wade. With the help of Pat Riley, Dwayne Wade pulled the strings and brought two superstar level players to his team and his city. Wade flirted with other teams and went on visits but you knew he was never really going to leave. In fact he probably just went on these visits to provide the Heat staff with inside knowledge of the other team’s pitches.

Wade comes out looking amazing. He’s the unselfish player who is willing to take much less money in order to share the spot light with two other players. But the thing Lebron fails to realize is; Lebron is helping to further build the Dwayne Wade brand not the other way around. Wade is the star of what could very well be the next great sports dynasty. Lebron will now be villainized across the country while DWade comes out looking great. Wade won his solo ring and that’s something Lebron will never be able to say.

Goodbye DLee

David Lee gave the Knicks everything he had since his arrival. He played in one of the worst situations possible but he steadily improved every year and he should be commended for that. He’ll never be anything close to a defensive presence but he is a double-double machine and I wish him all the best in Golden State.

Next Season

I’m not going to lie the immediate future still looks pretty bleak. Amare Stoudamire, Anthony Randolph, and Kelenna Azubuike are nice additions and with the future growth of Gallo, and Toney Douglas we should improve. The main goal at this moment should be to find a short term solution at point guard and hope that coach D can work some magic with a roster that is better built to run his system. As things stand right now I’d have to predict around 35-40 wins max for this team. But with the expiring contract of Eddy Curry we may be able to make a trade that makes us more competitive.

The Future

You’d think I’d learn my lesson but as we stand right now the Knicks would have the most money going into free agency next season. Three free agents out stand out in next years class; Chris Paul, Carmelo Anthony, and Toney Parker. I’d take my chances with a squad of Amare, Melo, and Paul against the Heat.

The Time is Now

2010-07-07T10:45:00.002-04:00

After two years of speculation the wait is over. Tomorrow night at 9 p.m. Lebron James will officially decide where he’ll be playing basketball for the foreseeable future. By all accounts Chris Bosh has turned down an opportunity to join James in Cleveland and he’ll join Wade in South Beach. That leaves King James with the options of pairing with Amare and a nice young core in New York, forming an unholy tripod of greed in Miami, playing with Derrick Rose and maybe Carlos Boozer in Chicago, or going back to the same flawed Cleveland roster and being loyal.

I got to tell you the suspense is killing me. I’m refreshing realgm.com, theknicksblog.com, and espn.com at a clip that may lead to a serious obsessive compulsive disorder. Every 10 minutes my mood changes. Every pro Knick report is followed by about 10 reports (mostly from those ESPN assholes) that continue to give the Knicks no chance. The whole Lebron sweepstakes has turned into an ass backwards version of The Bachelor. He’s flirted with them all but in the end he’s only got one last rose to give.

Some thoughts before the biggest sporting event in the last 10 years;

Would Lebron and his team really make a prime time special just to announce he’s staying in Cleveland? That would be as anticlimactic as Geraldo Rivera entering Al Capone’s vault just to find an old cigar box.

Doesn’t it seem like this hour press conference somewhere in the Cleveland area would be a nice way for him to attempt to let the Cleveland fans down easy? There is absolutely no chance that the Cavs fans would ever forgive him but having an event where all proceeds benefit the Boys & Girls Clubs of Cleveland would be one of the better send offs he could have. He’d have an hour to apologize to the fans and confess his never ending love for them before slipping out the back door.

Lebron can now deflect some of the blame on Chris Bosh. Lebron tried to get Bosh to come to Cleveland. The trade was worked out, but Bosh said he had no interest in playing in Cleveland.

Sticking with the Bosh theme, doesn’t this make it completely clear to Lebron that he’ll never be able to build a dominate team in Cleveland. Nobody (Bosh would have made close to 130 million in Cleveland as opposed to 100 in Miami) wants to play in Cleveland.

The marketing machine that is Lebron James and his team has played this absolutely perfectly. He was visited by 6 teams; (coincidence that he’s changing his number to 6 next season) launched a brand new website, and opened up a twitter account while keeping one of the most logical landing places on the back burner. ESPN has always said Chicago, Miami or Cleveland while always giving the Knicks little to no chance of getting any free agents. It’s been ridiculously obvious how well this guy can market his brand; just imagine the money he could gross in New York.

Other then Miami the Knicks have the best supporting cast to offer. Amare, Gallo, and future cap space is better then what the Bulls, Nets, or Cavs currently have to offer. That’s just a fact at this point.

Come 9 p.m. we’ll find out. But my gut is telling me I’ll be pre-ordering a Lebron Knicks jersey come 10 p.m. that night.

Amare Thoughts

To be honest I’ve always thought Bosh was a better player then Amare and he probably is. But if I had to choose between the two I’d probably go with Amare.

Amare took on the challenge of coming to New York by himself while Chris Bosh has made it perfectly clear he wants to be a number two option. Not only did Amare sign on the dotted line without any help he proclaimed to the media that the “Knicks are back”. That took a lot of guts and that’s something Chris Bosh would never have done.

Big Risks Equal Big Reward

2010-06-29T13:22:00.000-04:00

At the age of 17 Lebron James was anointed with the title of King James. During his 7 year NBA career King James has certainly lived up to the billing. He’s averaged close to 28ppg and is the two time most valuable player. But as July 1st comes closer the rumor mill continues to intensify. Will Lebron stay in Cleveland? Will he attempt to do his best Michael Jordan impression and run wit the Bulls in Chicago? Does a team that will play its home games in Newark for the next two seasons really have a shot? And finally will Lebron give New York fans a reason to care again?

Cleveland

The more I think about it the more I feel like Lebron should stay. Cleveland is the most depressed City in America. Nobody knows this better then the Akron born James. The closest Cleveland has come to winning a championship is when Jake Taylor laid down that terrific suicide squeeze to beat the Yankees in Major League.

The Cavs front office has let Lebron down. That can’t be denied. Since his arrival they have made bad decision after bad decision. (Instead of letting the expiring contracts of Ben Wallace and Wally Z come off the books this summer making them a free agent player) they rolled the dice and traded for an over the hill Shaq.

All that said if Lebron wants to be a global icon and a great player shouldn’t he want to embrace the challenge of defying the odds and winning a championship for his home town fans.

Nets

Can somebody please explain to me why the Nets young core of talent is so appealing? Last I checked this young core of talent just barely won over 10 games last season. Brook Lopez is a decent player and Devin Harris is nothing more then a shoot first point guard.

The Nets biggest appeal is their new owner and their impending move to Brooklyn, but does Lebron really want to play in Newark for two seasons? And say what you want but no matter how bad the Knicks are they will still be New York’s number one team. Just ask Mets fans about how the Yankees own New York.

Chicago

I understand that a nucleus of Lebron, Rose, Noah, and second max free agent is probably the best situation talent wise for Lebron but from an outsider’s perspective what does Lebron really gain from winning a championship in Chicago? It’s been done. It’s actually been done 6 times in one decade by the greatest athlete of our generation.

Besides living in the shadow of MJ, the Bulls also have many holes that people fail to mention. Derrick Rose is an outstanding point guard, but does his game really mesh well with the ball dominate Lebron. Lebron is bust suited to play the role of Magic Johnson and dominate the ball while be surrounded by outside shooters. Last I checked the Bulls have zero shooters on there roster.

Last but certainly not least, if the Bulls sign Lebron and another max free agent how are they going to be able to resign Noah next season and Derrick Rose the season after? Bulls ownership is notoriously cheap (they broke up the Bulls dynasty because they didn’t want to invest money into Pippen and Jordan after 98). The Bulls could very well compete for a championship the next two seasons but after that Lebron would basically be stuck in the same situation he is now.

Miami

This option actually infuriates me and in some respects questions Lebron’s competitiveness. Forming a three man all-star team in Miami is the easy way out. Does it mean anything to anybody if three of the top 10 players in the NBA join forces and win a championship? If Lebron, Wade, and Bosh hold up a championship trophy 4 of the next 5 years in Miami nobody would be surprised in the slightest.

Wade won his championship so he’ll always be able to live on the fact he was the best player and carried his team to a championship, while Lebron will always be known as the player that took the easy way out and joined forces with two other superstars just to win a championship. You see this often with players late in their career, but it would be a slap in the face of every NBA fan if a player of Lebron James caliber in the prime years of his career just decided to cash in on some easy championships instead of taking on a challenge and fulfilling his still untapped potential.

Does winning 5 championships in Miami with an all star team around him = winning one championship in Cleveland or New York? And does playing with an all-star team help Lebron reach his absolute peek ability?

New York

I’m obviously biased here, but to me there are only two options for Lebron James. Stay in Cleveland or come to New York. In 1991 Mark Messier was traded from his hometown Edmonton Oilers to the Rangers and the rest is history. Messier is now known as the Messiah. He brought the fans of New York something they only dreamed of for 54 years. Lebron has the chance to do the same

The challenge is huge. The Miami and Chicago (debatable) would obviously offer you a better chance at instant gratification but the opportunity New York offers you is life long gratification. The Knicks haven’t won a Championship since 1973 and they haven’t been relevant since 1999. This city, this fan base, and the NBA (they won’t admit it but the NBA needs the Knicks to be relevant again) need a New York basketball revival.

With all do respect to Walt Frazier and Patrick Ewing, upon arrival Lebron will be the greatest basketball player to ever put on the orange and blue. He’ll leap frog Derek Jeter and Kobe Bryant and become the biggest name in New York and professional basketball.

As far as basketball goes the situation is painted pretty bleakly by most of the national media but the Knicks do have the second (Mia # 1) most money to spend in free agency and they could offer Lebron a sidekick free agent, Danilo Gallinari, Wilson Chandler, Toney Douglas, the 12 million expiring contract of Eddy Curry, and the full mid level exception for next season.

It wouldn’t be that far fetched to turn Eddy Curry’s contract into a point guard and center for next season. Also Toronto is rumored to be interested in signing David Lee which would open up a sign in trade for Chris Bosh which would lead to additional savings. The opportunities are their. The Knicks may not be the most appealing in 2010 but come 2011 and so on they have the most flexibility of all the teams on this list and would be able to reload the team via free agency and trades.

The Choice is yours. Do you truly want to be King or just part of a great team.

Tough To Swallow

2009-12-16T15:25:00.009-05:00

Three and a half quarters of quality basketball just don't cut it folks. After yet another sluggish start the Knicks led the Bobcats by 12 midway thru the 4th quarter only to see the game slip away. The Cats ended the game on a 12-2 run and beat the boys in blue and orange 92-87.

Would it have been nice to continue this recent hot streak? Absolutely it would have been, but all things considered i can live with the performance and shake the loss of quickly. Despite our recent good play, we're a mediocre team that lacks a go to scorer down the stretch. Raymond Felton took over late and the Knicks din't have an answer.

I know it seems like the same old Knicks. They tease you into believing they've turned the corner only to go on one of their trademark 8 game losing streaks. But when you take a step back and look at the game objectively, we really didn't play all that well. Chris Duhon was our leading scorer and if not for some sloppy play down the stretch we could have stolen a road game against a decent Charlotte team. To me the one positive to take out of last nights performance is that we can play a C+ game and still be competitive.

Game Notes

As i said Chris Duhon led the Knicks in scoring last night with 18 points. Duhon has turned the corner since his early season struggles. I'm 100 percent behind the benching of Nate Robinson but you cannot ask Duhon to play 43 minutes a night and be effective. The combination of Toney Douglas and Larry Hughes have to play atleast 13 minutes a night at point. If you limit Duhon's playing time to 35 minutes those late game turnovers should deminish.

Larry Hughes and Al Harrington combined to shoot 7-23 from the floor. Hughes and Harrington have been the offensive catalyst as of late. If both players are having an off night its going to be tough to win games.

Jared Jefferies played a great game. 11 points, 5 rebounds, 6 steals, 2 blocks, and 3 assists. The Knicks were + 15 with Jefferies on the court. I can say with absolute certainity that if JJ doesn't foul out we find a way to win that game.

Sticking with the Jefferies theme, can his trade value get any higher at this point? As important as he is to our current success,it is far more important to trade Jefferies for our future success. Larry Brown is known for making bonehead trades, (the names Jalen Rose and Steve Francis ring a bell?) give him a call.

Last but not least.... Can our best offensive player and shooter get crunch time minutes. Gallo had an off night but your best shooter needs to be on the court late in games. I don't even care if the ball touches his hands but Gallo is a great decoy who will spread the floor.

That's all for now.

A Winning Streak?

2009-12-08T15:19:00.003-05:00

Three Straight Wins, 4 out of 5, and a respectable 6-6 since getting off to a franchise worst 1-9 start, and last but not least just two games out of the final Eastern Conference playoff spot. That’s right folks your 7-15 New York Knicks are in playoff contention. Welcome to Eastern Conference of professional basketball.

In all seriousness, this recent win streak has been borderline impressive. Beating the helpless Nets doesn’t mean much but beating a good Hawks team and a banged up Blazers team has to catch your attention. This recent turnaround has been spearheaded by the impressive play of Larry Hughes, and Jared Jefferies (not a misprint). Along with the better on the court play the coaching of Mike D’Antoni has been impressive as of late.

Larry Hughes

If he had a longer contract I would definitely consider buying a Larry Hughes jersey. Larry Hughes is a good player. He has a great basketball IQ, defends the perimeter, conducts himself in a professional manner, and is the best passer on the team.

There is definitely the potential of a serious man-crush developing between Larry Hughes and myself. Hughes played so horribly during the preseason that contract buyout discussions were being reported but since be inserted into the third game of the season (coincidence… I think not) Hughes has been the best player on the team. The shooting numbers won’t impress you but Hughes fills out the stat sheet. For the year he’s averaging 13 ppg, 4.3 rpg, and 4.5apg in just 32 minutes. I’d say the chances of Larry Hughes being in New York next season are at about 5 % but I can say with complete confidence that if Hughes continues to play at this level he can help make a good team great. He’d be a tremendous 3rd option or 6th man off the bench on a contender. I’d say he’s a Bruce Bowen type with a more well-rounded offensive game.

Jared Jefferies

I want to preface this by saying Jefferies is grossly overpaid, just like Hughes, Jefferies could help make a good team great. If you cut Jefferies salary in half and put him on the 90’s Knicks he would be a fan favorite. The guy has little to no offensive game (can be said of a lot former Knicks) but the intangibles he brings to the game can’t be measured in stats. JJ can guard every position on the court. Just this season he’s guarded Rajon Rondo, Chris Paul, Steve Nash, Kevin Garnett, Brandon Roy, and Brook Lopez.

Jefferies leads the team in charges taken and while he doesn’t block a ton of shots he alters most. Isiah Thomas signed Jefferies with the idea of him being a glue guy. Jefferies is a glue guy but there is no such thing as a glue guy on bad teams. As much as Jefferies is bashed by fans and media (myself included) I defy you to find a win this season where Jefferies didn’t contribute in a positive way.

Mike D’Antoni

The so called genius of Mike D’Antoni has been tested this season. Many uninformed fans have even called for D’Antoni’s job (his coaching tenure starts opening night 2010). But as of late D’Antoni has made some coaching adjustments that have paid off. The three major adjustments I’ve noticed are; coaching defense, added movement on the offense, and sending Nate Robinson to the bench.

Defense

During training camp all the buzz being reported was that the team was working on defense. The season started and there was absolutely no defense to be found. When you have zero size in the front court it’s tough to be a good defensive team but with players like Hughes, Douglas, and Jefferies in the rotation you can be an adequate defensive team. Along with better individual defenders D’Antoni has also flirted with using a 2-3 zone scheme. It’s probably a good idea to mix up your defenses when your team lacks shot blocking. It only took the coach 90 games to realize this but he’s come around.

Better Offense

Three point attempts are down and scoring is up? The ball movement has improved tremendously over the last 2 weeks. The offense is similar to a Princeton style offense with all the cutting and off the ball screens. Other then Al Harrington the Knicks lack isolation players that can consistently created their own shot. With Hughes, Gallinari, Hrrington, and Chandler playing a motion style offense the number of uncontested easy buckets have doubled.

Along with the obvious change in offensive philosophy the resurgence of David Lee and Chris Duhon has to be praised. Too start the season Duhon was good awful but as of late he’s been serviceable. He’s started to trust Gallinari more on the offensive end, and Gallo has delivered. Late in last nights game with Portland, the Blazers pulled within 9, only to have Gallinari exploit a mismatch and drop a cold blooded three-pointer with a hand in his face that sealed the deal for the Knicks.

Adding to Duhon’s resurgence has been the further development of David Lee’s game. Lee no longer is just a hustle player on the offensive side of the court. He’s added a 15 foot jumper and is slowly trying to add a post game. David most likely won’t see a 10 million dollar contract from the Knicks but some team will pay him and that team will be acquiring one of the hardest working players in the league.

Benching Nate Robinson

I like Nate. He’s a dynamic scorer who can change the tempo of a game the second he steps onto the court. But his act is played out at this point. He’s not a rookie anymore, posing for the crowd when your team is down 15 points ain’t working for me. At some point he may realize his strengths and tone down his act but until that day comes he really is of no use to this team ( Interesting stat: The Knicks are 7-6 when Nate Robinson plays less than 15 minutes. That includes the games in which he's been injured and/or received DNP-CDs. When Robinson plays more than 15 minutes the team is 0-15. ) Add that up with the fact that Toney Douglas is younger and shows a willingness to defend and there really is no reason to give Nate playing time.

Before the season I predicted the Knicks would go 38-44 and that prediction is still possible. They’d have to go 31-29 the rest of the way which I wouldn’t bet on but if they can reach 35 wins (28-32) they make the playoffs. The Knicks are as good if not better then Philadelphia, Indiana, Detroit, Charlotte, and Milwaukee.

Trade that should happen but won’t

Knicks Trade: David Lee, and Al Harrington
Portland Trades: Steve Blake, Rudy Fernandez, Andre Miller, and Travis Outlaw
Chicago Trades: Kirk Hinrich, Tyrus Thomas, and Jerome James

New York Receives: Steve Blake, Rudy Fernandez, Tyrus Thomas and Jerome James

Chicago Receives: Al Harrington, Travis Outlaw, and Andre Miller

Portland Receives: Kirk Hinrich, and David Lee

“Illusion, Michael. A trick is something a whore does for money”.

2009-11-18T12:20:00.002-05:00

Since becoming Knicks head coach Mike D’Antoni has compiled a stellar record of 33-59 (27-56 since the Zach Randolph and Jamal Crawford trades). The former coach of the year with Phoenix was brought in as an established coach with a proven offensive system. Since his arrival we’ve realized his “seven seconds or less” system only works with talented players and his lack of interest or overall lack of ability to teach defense is a huge negative when building a championship team. Two summers ago I believed D’Antoni was the right hire and even now I still think he’s the right man for the job. While Marc Jackson and Avery Johnson may have taught defense they wouldn’t have had the past success needed to get a free pass from the media and fans.

Most Knick fans are under the belief that Mike D’Antoni’s tenure as Knick
head coach begins opening night 2010; sadly most Knick fans are wrong. Mike D’Antoni’s official evaluation begins tonight when the 1-9 Knicks travel to Indiana to take on the Pacers. I’m well aware that a 1-9 starts basically seals our fate and the Garden playoff draught will reach 5 years, but starting tonight the overall goal of this franchise is to give the league the illusion that Eddy Curry is still a player destined for stardom.

Phase one is complete. The new slimmed down version of Eddy Curry actually looks the part of the NBA player. Now the hard part begins, offensive “guru” Mike D’Antoni must devise an offensive scheme that highlights Curry’s strengths and hides his many weaknesses. For those who don’t remember Eddy Curry averaged close to 20 points per game just three years ago. Despite all his problems he does have strengths that can be highlighted. Even after losing close to 60lbs Curry is still indefensible after he catches the ball deep in the post. He has an above average post game and despite his size he’s surprisingly athletic and can finish above the rim. If I’m Mike D’Antoni I’m using every motivational technique I’ve ever learned in my life and urging Eddy Curry to run to the opposite block after every missed shot by the opposition. The key to making Eddy Curry look effective is proving to the league he is in shape and inflating his stats (It shouldn’t be hard… Stat wise Wilson Chandler, David Lee, and Al Harrington are having good years). If you can get Curry to bust it down the court and receive post entries before the defense has time to setup he can score and score in bunches. If that option isn’t available I’d run the normal offensive and tell Curry to focus only on hitting the offensive glass. While his defensive rebounding is dreadful, he’s shown flashes of being respectable on the offensive glass.

Unfortunately for us Curry makes David Lee look like a good defensive player. Despite his athletic gifts he shows no lateral movement and zero shot blocking ability. There is a bright side though folks. When your team is so bad defensively you can’t blame just one player so Curry should receive the same pass the rest of our awful defenders get. His sole focus should be on blocking shots and inflating an overrated NBA stat. Sean Williams of the Nets is a great shot blocker but an absolutely horrible defensive player. While I believe the stat is overrated, many NBA executives look at shot block numbers and believe a player is a good defender.

The goal to me is simple. Ease him back into the lineup the first week. The last thing we need is have Curry injury himself again. But come middle of December the goal should be to have him playing 26 minutes a night while averaging 10 points, 4 rebounds, and 1 block. If Curry can do that he becomes a tradable asset and let’s not forget that by trading either Jarred Jefferies or Eddy Curry we can afford to sign not one but two superstars come next summer.

At this moment it may seem far fetched but there is one GM out there that may just be stupid enough to pull the trigger on an Eddy Curry trade. The Golden State Warriors are in even worse shape then we are and they have a coach/gm in Don Nelson that has a proven track record for making bad decisions (Nelson was the coach that wanted to make Anthony Mason into a point forward). Monta Ellis and Anthony Randolph are unhappy in Golden State and would both fit this offense well. We probably wouldn’t be able to get both but I’d consider a package of Eddy Curry and Wilson Chandler for Monta Ellis and Ronny Turiaf a definite possibility.

To continue on the Arrested Development theme The Final Countdown for Eddy Curry begins tonight.

Draft Night

2009-11-12T15:33:00.005-05:00

With the first pick of the 2010 NBA draft the New York Knicks select John Wall, point guard University of Kentucky. No wait we don’t own the rights to our own number one draft pick. That sure fire lottery selection belongs to the Utah Jazz per the ill fated Stephon Marbury trade in 2004. That’s right 6 years after obtaining Marbury and two years after buying his contract out we’ll still be paying for it come draft night.

Not only are we god awful but barring some miracle trade there is absolutely no basketball related activity worth watching this year. You can’t watch other games because you either have to watch what a true championship contender looks like or you get the pleasure of seeing about 15 rookies that are better then Jordan Hill. But here’s the kicker for people who didn’t attend a big time basketball college, when your team has absolutely no chance at landing any of the big name college players your interest in college basketball drops as well. If the Knicks still owned a first round pick I could have forced myself into becoming a Kentucky or Georgia Tech fan and following John Wall and Derrick Favors but what’s the point.

I’m a Walsh and D’Antoni fan so I give them the benefit of the doubt on pretty much every move they’ve made thus far. But knowing we had to hit a homerun with this years lottery pick Walsh and D’Antoni failed the fan base. Jordan Hill may very well become a good NBA player but the Knicks simply don’t have time for a project player. We needed an impact player that would help this season and more importantly help as a recruiting tool next season. Maybe it’s just me but if I’m a free agent the prospect of playing with Jordan Hill isn’t all that appealing.

Just to hammer my point home here are a list of players the Knicks passed on; DeMar DeRozan (younger and averaging 18 minutes a night), Brandon Jennings (at 20 years old Jennings is an absolute stud who is averaging 21 and 5), Terrence Williams (a prototypical shooting guard who is averaging 10 points in 30 minutes a game), Austin Daye (a versatile 6’11 shooter who is playing 12 minutes a game), Ty Lawson (averaging 10 points in 20 minutes), Omri Casspi (9.4 ppg not mention the fact that a Jewish player in New York would have been a great marketing tool), Taj Gibson (giving Chicago close to 25 minutes a night). This list doesn’t even touch the players taken in the second round that have outperformed Jordan Hill.

The Knicks we’re pretty much eliminated from playoff contention the day they traded Jamal Crawford and Zach Randolph. We knew early we were destined for the lottery which makes blowing this draft pick even worse. First and foremost Donnie Walsh should have thrown the kitchen sink at Minnesota and Washington (originally held the 5th pick) in an attempt to get Ricky Rubio. Its obvious Rubio only wanted to play in a big market so we had some leverage to work with. Not to mention the fact that other then Gallinari there is no untouchable player on this roster. Wilson Chandler, the 8th pick, David Lee or Nate Robinson for the 5th pick and an expiring contract, seems like it would have gotten the job done. If that didn’t work you should have rolled the dice and selected Brandon Jennings. Sure Brandon Jennings was a risk but I’d rather take a risk on talent then draft size for the sake of drafting size. And finally there were 3 legit trade options; trade the pick for a selection in the 2010 draft, trade the pick in an attempt to trade either Jefferies or Curry salaries, or simply trade down and select a player like Ty Lawson.

Some Random Thoughts

Wilson Chandler stinks. I don’t know if I’ve ever seen a young player regress so much in one year. Wilson Chandler is a C+ version of Andre Iguodala. Neither player can shoot but all the things Iguodala does well Chandler does half as well.

While Wilson Chandler stinks Al Harrington is absolute garbage. I could care less that he leads the team in scoring and that he claims to be a team leader. If I have to watch this Ninja Turtle look-alike put his head down and commit an awful turnover or force another shot I may throw a brick through my TV. And unlike Al Harrington when I throw the brick it’s going to hit its intended target.

I used to think Chris Duhon was a solid point guard that wouldn’t cost you any games. I was completely wrong. He’s not a solid point guard and he definitely can cost you games.

Play Jordan Hill. You spent the 8th pick on the guy you might as well play him. I can’t imagine him being any worse then JJ.

Toney Douglas can play. TD plays defense and has scored 20 plus his last two outings. Give him heavy minutes.

It’s probably a good idea to have your best player on the court the last 5 minutes of a close game. A lineup of Duhon, Hughes, Harrington, Lee, and Jefferies isn’t going to pull out many close games. Galinari is your best player and he needs to get late game experience. Not only should he be on the floor but he should be featured in the offense.

I give Larry Hughes a lot of credit. He's been a professional and his on the court play has been above and beyond all expectations.

The new and improved Eddy Curry looks like Plaxico Burress minus the gun in his sweat pants. All joking aside Curry looks thin.

Season Preview

2009-10-27T15:42:00.007-04:00

I’m going to go out on a limb and predict that the Knicks won’t put an end to their 36 year championship drought but I’m not as negative as some preseason prognosticators. For the record I’m predicting the Knicks go 38-44 and stay in the playoff race until the last weeks of the season. I could see this team winning as many as 42 games and squeaking into the playoffs and I also could see this team winning as little as 30 games and handing Utah a top 5 draft choice (for those who forget Utah owns our 2010 first round pick). This is a season of transition for the Knicks, their are plenty of naysayer’s who believe the 2010 plan won’t work but those are the same people who thought trading Zach Randolph, Jamal Crawford, and Jerome James was impossible. The hope obviously is to get Lebron but with or without Lebron the only way to become better in the NBA is to have cap flexibility and come this time next year we should be a team that not only is expected to make the playoffs but is expected to appear in the NBA finals for years to come. It’s the last season in a decade of embarrassment for the Knicks so buckle up for a season that promises to be exciting on and off the court.

What needs to happen for this team to succeed

Continued growth of the young core

I expect very little from Jordan Hill this year. Best case scenario Hill becomes an energy player off the bench in the second half of the year. Outsiders our always down on the Knicks as an organization and many times they should be but when you look at this roster it’s extremely young. The average age is 25 and that includes two players in Hughes (30 years old) and Curry (28 years old) who shouldn’t figure into the rotation.

This team is young and has the potential to grow. Other then Galinari there really isn’t any superstar potential in this group but with continued growth Wilson Chandler, Nate Robinson, Toney Douglas, David Lee, Jordan Hill, and even Darko Milic can be side pieces on a competitive team or valuable trade assets. These guys need to get big minutes and develop their game.

Find a go to scorer

We lost 16 games by less then 5 points last season. In order to improve our record and possibly sneak into the playoffs somebody will have to step up as a go to scorer late in games. Al Harrington and Nate Robinson are professional scorers but neither has that killer instinct you need in the last 5 minutes of a game. This is where Danilo Galinari comes into play. At 6’10 he’ll be able to get his shot off any time he pleases. It’s tough to ask a 21 year old kid who more or less is still a rookie to be your go to scorer but with this roster it’s a necessity for Galinari to step up.

Improve the defense

What team statistically was the best defensively during the pre season? Shockingly it was the Knicks. I’m not delusional we are still light years away from being the 90’s Knicks on defense but there are enough good athletes to make this team better defensively. Last year we finished near the bottom of almost every defensive category their is including averaging just .5 blocks a game. Jordan Hill and Darko should give us a much needed defensive presence in the post. I’m not stupid I don’t expect this team to be a top 5 defense but I do want and need them to become a top 15 defensive team.

Us against the world mentality

ESPN picked this team to win 26 games. I haven’t found one season preview that even had us even sniffing the playoffs. This where the “us against the world mentality” comes into play. This is a team full of young guys and players playing for their next contract. There are no expectations and no pressure on this team. All they have to do is go out compete. The fact nobody believes in this team could bring them closer together and develop chemistry and great team chemistry is a powerful tool.

How it could go wrong

Repeat of 08 Defense

It doesn’t matter how many points you score on offense, if you can’t stop the opposition you can’t win games. Every now and then you’ll be able to win a shootout but you can’t win like that on a game in game out basis.

Duhon breaks down.

Chris Duhon is nothing more then an average player but his value to this team is above average. He’s a floor general that limits his mistakes and plays solid defense. The first half of last year he was impressive but as the minutes piled up he began to break down and so did the rest of the team. The hope is Toney Douglas can provide 15-20 minutes of relief off the bench and keep Duhon fresh, but If Duhon breaks down and young Toney Douglas is asked to carry the load it could be disastrous.

Lack of interior offense

They shot poorly during the preseason but they have enough outside shooters to be just fine. The real worry has to be their lack of options in the post on offense. David Lee puts up numbers but he isn’t a back to the basket player and Danilo doesn’t have enough muscle at this point in his career to bang down low. The lack of an inside game puts a lot of pressure on our outside shooting.

Bold Predictions

Eddy Curry Plays in fewer than 7 games. I was going to say 5 but I’ll give Eddy the benefit of the doubt.

David Lee will make his first All Star appearance. There comes a point where you can’t argue with the numbers he puts up. He averaged 16 and 12 last season and it’s not a stretch to say he’ll average 18 and 13 this year. Those are all star numbers. The only real negative for David Lee making an all star team is the fact his contract demands go up. But on the flip side it gives him much greater value in a trade.

Knicks acquire Amare Stoudemire from Phoenix in late January. The Suns will be floundering by then and will want to get young talent and expiring contracts for a player they know won’t resign. If I had to guess I’d say we trade Wilson Chandler, Jordan Hill, and Larry Hughes’ contract for Stoudemire and another player.

Toney Douglas makes the All Rookie 2nd team. While Hill struggles during his first year I see TD contributing from day one. His offensive game needs work but he already is a great on the ball defender.

Gallo shows signs of brilliance. I may have jumped the gun by saying he’d average 18ppg this year but I honestly believe he’s going to be great. It may take more time then I expected but I’d expect their to be a handful of games this year when his superstar potential shines through.

The Who Cares Series

2009-10-26T13:27:00.004-04:00

The World Series starts Wednesday night in New York and I got to tell you I don’t think I could care any less about who wins. Maybe around 10 o’clock (which due to awful start times will be the 4th inning) I’ll flip over and watch a few minutes but for me I’ll be more locked into the Knicks season opener and Modern family (slam dunk choice for best new TV show). I live in central NJ and hate both the Yankees and Phillies. I’ve always hated the Yankees but for the most part of my life I’ve really had no opinion on the Phillies because they’ve always stunk but as of late I’ve definitely grown a nice little hatred when it comes to the Phillies. It sucks for me but I can’t even imagine being a Mets fan in this situation. I guess if your Mets fan you have to root for the Yankees but in the end it’s really a no win situation. If the Yankees win you have to hear all about their 27 championships and all that nonsense and if the Phillies win you’re really screwed because not only have the Phillies dismantled you over the last 5 years they’ll be a legit dynasty. There’s a slight reprieve when it comes to drunken arguments with Phillies fans because you can always pull out the you only beat the expansion Rays in the World Series but if they beat the greatest professional sports franchise ever you have absolutely no argument. What’s even sadder is that both teams have built such a solid young nucleus (more so Philadelphia) that a few World Series rematches isn’t that far fetched.

So what will I root for? It’s actually pretty simple. I’m going to root for that cataclysmic error that scars a player and franchise for the next 100 years. Wouldn’t it be great if Derek Jeter pulls a Bill Buckner late in game 7? Jeter is far from a good fielder but he’s too clutch to boot a ball in game 7 but Alex Rodriguez isn’t. He’s having this playoff renaissance but all the sudden come game 7 he makes some bonehead play and the Yankee fans never forgive him. And on the Phillies side how about the beloved Shane Victorino miss judging a fly ball or the star of every Phillie fans (male or female) wet dreams Chase Utley letting a ground ball right through his legs. There’s a lot of possibilities here people. That being said I’ll take the Phillies in 6.

The Atlantic in predicted order of finish

Celtics: As I mentioned in a previous post I hate the Celtics and by seasons end most NBA fans will hate them. The Bulls, Lakers, and even the old Celtics had admirable qualities and likeable players but with the exception of Ray Allen the Celtics have none of that.

Player to Watch: Rajon Rondo is the best and most important player on the Celtics. Hopefully Danny Ainge screws up his contract extension.

Toronto: I’m part of the group that thinks they overpaid for Turkoglu but in a division that’s very weak they’ll finish second and get into the playoffs.

Player to Watch: In case you live under a rock Chris Bosh is part of the big 2010 free agent class.

Philadelphia: I struggled with putting the Sixers or Knicks in the three slot but since the Knicks never beat the Sixers they have to get the edge. Andre Miller will be missed but Elton Brand may play 50 games this year.

Player to Watch: The worst part about overpaying for Brand and Iguodala is that they won’t be able to afford Thaddeus Young when his contract expires. Young is the only player on this team with superstar potential.

Knicks: Full season preview to come

New Jersey: I said it before and I’ll say it again. I can confidenaly say the Knicks are head and shoulders above this team. They play in New Jersey though so nobody cares.

Central in predicted order of finish

Cleveland: As a Knick fan we should probably be rooting for Cleveland to be hit with a rash of injuries and the Shaq & Lebron experiment to fail. The hope would be for the Cavs to have an early playoff exit which leads King James to New York.

Player to Watch: Who do you think?

Chicago: The Bulls really impressed me during the playoffs last season and Derrick Rose is going to be as good if not better then Chris Paul. The only negative for Chicago is losing Ben Gordon.

Player to Watch: This team will only go as far as their young front court takes them. Ty Thomas and Noah we’re top 5 picks who haven’t really amounted to anything.

Indy: I’m not saying Indy is good I’m just saying Detroit and Milwaukee are that bad.

Player to Watch: Danny Granger is a great fantasy player if you’re into fantasy hoops.

Detroit: I somewhat get the signing of Ben Gordon but I have no idea why they spent big money on Charlie Villanueva. Joe Dumars went from a great GM to a fool overnight.

Milwaukee: They stink

Player to Watch: We’ll probably regret not taking Brandon Jennings in 5 years.

Kryptonate vs The King

2009-10-23T11:47:00.006-04:00

The Knicks finished the preseason with a 5-2 record. In the grand scheme of things it really doesn’t mean much because other then a solid performance against the Celtics they really struggled. They beat an awful New Jersey team 3 times including the last game where our backups beat the Nets starting 5 over the last three minutes of the game. I’m not impressed by the 5-2 record but it’s a lot better then being 2-5 heading into the opener against Miami next Wednesday.

To me the biggest and most fun news coming out of Knicks camp this past week was Nate Robinson saying he’ll only participate in the dunk contest if Lebron James agrees to dunk. James did say last year during the all-star break that he planned to participate but until it actually happens I’ll remain skeptical. James for some reason has been reluctant to take part in an event that has catapulted the careers of Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, and Vince Carter. It’s obvious that Lebron doesn’t need to participate but I really think the games most exciting player should give the fans a show.

To me Nate has reached his peak as far as the dunk contest goes. He’s won the contest twice and finished second once. Nate is definitely a crowd favorite and at 5’9 he’s a show but what is left for him to accomplish on this platform. That’s why I completely agree with his decision to sit out the contest unless Lebron takes part. But if King James keeps his word and dunks it would be must see TV.

Nate would have to do something unworldly to beat Lebron. The mere fact Lebron is performing a dunk will add at least 5 points to his score but even if Nate can’t win, he can surely do some great dunks and really ratchet up New York’s recruiting campaign. Off the top of my head I can think of two great dunks Nate could do; dunk over a cardboard cutout of Lebron wearing a Knicks jersey, and while dunking stick a contract offer from the Knicks to Lebron on the backboard. Your probably thinking these actions and ideas are just desperate attempts to land Lebron and they are but the Knicks should pull out any desperate trick they have in hopes to lure Lebron. I want the Knicks to be as desperate as Jim Halpert was when he tried unsuccessfully for 3 seasons to land Pam. I’d even go as far as having Donnie Walsh singing “take a chance on me” a Capella ala Andy Bernard if it meant Lebron would wear the Orange and Blue.

Today I’ll preview the Southwest and Southeast divisions.

In predicted order of finish

Southwest

Spurs: The Spurs are always good on defense and still have a core of Duncan, Parker and Ginobili. When you factor in the addition of Richard Jefferson and the fact that the Blazers are still probably a year away the Spurs are probably the only real threat to the Lakers out West.

Player to Watch: DeJuan Blair was an absolute man-child at Pittsburgh and has continued to dominate in the preseason averaging close to 14 and 8. People were scared off by his injuries but he should contribute from day one.

Hornets: It’s not so much that the Hornets are good; it’s that Chris Paul is that good. Paul is hands down the best point guard in the NBA and should will a team with inferior talent into the playoffs.

Player to Watch: He’s been hurt all preseason but to me the trade of Tyson Chandler for Emeka Okafor is an underrated pickup for the Hornets. Okafor has been a disappointment but he’s a far more stable player then Chandler.

Mavericks: Does anybody really care about Dallas anymore? They’ll win a bunch of games and get swept out of the playoffs in the first round.

Player to Watch: I got nobody

Grizzles: A locker room filled with Allen Iverson, Zach Randolph, and OJ Mayo has dysfunction written all over it but it could potentially be a solid team to start a franchise with in NBA2K10.

Player to Watch: I was begging for the Knicks to take a one year flyer on Allen Iverson. If it doesn’t work it its just a one year deal so it doesn’t really hurt your team but if Iverson playing for his last contract puts up numbers it’s a great move. At worst Iverson will sell tickets.

Rockets: No Yao and Tmac will probably play about 10 games this year. It’s going to be a long year for the Rockets after a nice playoff run a year ago.

Player to Watch: With all the injuries Trevor Ariza is going to be asked to be more then a side piece and I’m not sure he has that in him.

Southeast

Wizards: I love this team and I expect them to be better then Orlando and challenge Boston and Cleveland. Gilbert Arenas is back and former Knick GM Ernie Grunfeld pulled off a great trade when he landed Mike Miller and Randy Foye.

Player to Watch: Caron Butler is one of my favorite non Knicks to watch. He can do everything.

Magic: They had a great run last season but I’m not expecting a repeat performance. Vince Carter has never been out of the second round of the playoffs and I don’t expect that to change this year.

Player to Watch: Jameer Nelson was having a career year before hurting his shoulder. With Rafer Alston gone the entire point guard load falls to Nelson.

Miami Heat: Dwayne Wade and 4 throw ins vs. the rest of the league. Wade is great but he needs help and Jermaine O’Neil isn’t good enough.

Player to Watch: I’ll stick with D-Wade

Charlotte: He never got a chance to show it in New York but Larry Brown is a good coach and he had Charlotte playing good ball towards the end of last season.

Player to Watch: D.J. Augustine is lightening quick and will officially take Raymond Felton’s job by early December.

Hawks: The Hawks have a lot of talent but I’m expecting a fall off this season.

Player to Watch: He’s not Lebron or Wade but Joe Johnson and Chris Bosh would be a nice fallback plan if things go wrong.

Mean-Muggin and the Pacific

2009-10-21T14:36:00.003-04:00

For most of my basketball life my pure hatred has been reserved for three teams; The Miami Heat, Indiana Pacers, and Chicago Bulls. But as of last night I now officially have a 4th team to add to that list. The stinkin Boston Celtics. I know the Knicks and Celtics have a storied history but for the most part the Celtics have always stunk during my lifetime. All that changed 2 years ago. The Celts landed Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen and won the NBA title. Being a Knick fan I obviously didn’t want the Celtics to win but for the most part I didn’t mind it. I was more upset when the Heat won the title in 2006. There’s a good chance I was the only person in America who wasn’t pulling for Alonzo Mourning after he battled through cancer. But after what the Celtics have done since they won a Championship has made them public enemy number one in my book.

It started last season. Every time you watched a Celtic game you were overwhelmed with the sheer douchebaggery displayed by almost every member of the team. It’s bad enough that Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett are walking around as if they’ve won 6 championships but when you have to watch players like Leon Powe, Glen Davis, Eddie House, and Kendrick Perkins walking with a sense of entitlement it just reaches a point where you have no choice but to despise this team. After every made shot, or defensive play you’d have to see a Celtic Player mean-muggin for the crowd. And god forbid if a Celtic player dunked a basketball. You might as well stop the game for 5 minutes so we all can see him pound his chest and fire expletives into the air. This behavior reached an all time low during the post season last year. Kevin Garnett was injured for the entire playoffs but while wearing his smart button down and sweater combos he was repeatedly shown on TV pounding his chest and cursing up a storm. Dude your not even playing but and your still mean-muggin.

Here’s a newsflash to the Boston Celtics… You aren’t the old Celtics. You’ve won one championship in a watered down NBA. Follow the lead of Ray Allen and act as if you’ve accomplished something before in your life. But then again Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett have never accomplished anything before. Also there’s one more important newsflash to the Celtics and there fans. Kevin Garnett isn’t the most important player on your team. The most important and most irreplaceable player on your team is Rajon Rondo. You made it to game 7 of the second round last year without Garnett but if you were to lose Rondo I have my doubts you could even win a first round series.

Game Notes: Knicks 108-103

* David Lee continues to impress. He scored 19 and grabbed 16 rebounds in just under 30 minutes played. He’s not a 10 million dollar a year player but the guy really has a knack for rebounding the ball.

* Al Harrington was back from an injury and the led the team in scoring with 20 points. I’m impressed with Al’s new role as a team leader. Late in the game when he took a bad shot early in the shot clock you could see him apologizing to teammates for what could have been a turning point of the game. I love the fact that players at least seem to be holding themselves accountable for their actions.

* Danilo Galinari stepped up and had his best performance of the preseason. His shot still isn’t falling the way it will but when Paul Pierce challenged him with an elbow he really started to get going. This is a guy who loves the spotlight and you can tell he doesn’t mind a physical game.

* Nate Robinson scored 21 points but that’s nothing new. The most important stat was his 5 steals. Nate has all the makings of being a pest on defense and averaging close to 3 steals a game. If he can commit to defense like he commits to running his mouth on the court we may have something.

* The defense continues to be good. We let up 103 points but considering the up and down style we play we’re going to let up points. There would be stretches last season where the opposition would have uncontested shot after uncontested shot and to this point in the preseason I haven’t seen that.

I started Monday by previewing the Northwest division and today I’ll take a stab at the Pacific.

In predicted order of finish

Lakers: Unlike most people I don’t think adding Ron Artest makes them a better team. This isn’t Ron Artest of 4 years ago. He’s no longer the best perimeter defender in the league and the Lakers probably would have been better off sticking with Trevor Ariza. Despite the possible problems Artest could cause the Lakers are still the class of the Western Conference.

Player to Watch: To quote Steven A. Smith “He’s the best player in the game, it’s just that simple. There’s nothing that Kobe Bryant can’t do. He will defend your best player. He will shoot from the perimeter. He will get all up in your mug, he will do whatever it takes. He is the most complete basketball player in the game today bar none. He has an assassin’s mentality”. That about sums up Kobe Bryant.

Suns: After trying to play slow it down basketball the Suns are back to their run-n-gun ways and should be much improved from last year. Steve Nash is still more then capable of being a great player but I just don’t see the great supporting cast he used to have. Gone are Shawn Marion, Boris Diaw, and Raja Bell and in are Jason Richardson and Channing Frye.

Player to Watch: We all remember Channing Fyre. He’s about as soft as charmin toilet paper but he fits what the Suns do. Channing Fyre can shoot and Steve Nash will get him plenty of uncontested looks.

Clippers: The Clips have a chance to be good. Marcus Camby, Blake Griffin, Al Thorton, Eric Gordon, and Baron Davis have the potential of being one of the better starting units in basketball. If they weren’t the Clippers I would be on board calling this team a major sleeper but they are the Clippers and they’ll have to prove it first.
Player to Watch: Blake Griffin dominated the summer league and has had a nice preseason averaging 15 and 8. In a draft that was far from deep the Clippers fell into a great player.

Warriors: If only the Warriors would have just followed convention and drafted Jordan Hill. The Knicks would have gotten the point guard they needed in Stephen Curry and Don Nelson wouldn’t have angered Monta Ellis and Stephen Jackson to the point they’ve both asked for trades. Even 15 years since being fired, Don Nelson is still messing with the Knicks.

Player to Watch: Not only does Anthony Randolph have all the talent in the world he also is completely nuts. The guy cried on the bench last season after being pulled out of games.

Kings: The Kings stink. That all I have to say.

Player to Watch: Jason Thompson is a Rider graduate so you got to give him a look.

WTF DAY

2009-10-19T11:49:00.005-04:00

I love football… I hate football… The greatest thing about the NFL is that it can make waking up for work on Monday’s tolerable. I’m not talking about the stupid ESPN Monday Night Football commercials I’m talking about the sheer satisfaction of waking up and heading to work after your favorite team wins a game. On your drive to work you listen to the radio and recap your triumphant weekend. Once arriving at work you go over your well thought out statistical analysis of the game with your co-workers and on a good Monday you also get the opportunity to land some well placed jokes on some opposing fans that had the misfortune of losing. Simply put work and life itself just seem better after a Sunday victory.

Now on the flip side when your team loses to the Oakland Raiders your life is pretty much one massive bag of crap until at least late Thursday. Unless you’re a gluten for punishment, (I am) you can go ahead and forget listening to sports talk radio and reading the newspaper for the next few days. All you can really do is think to yourself how can I continually put all my faith into something that inevitably will let me down. I would liken these circumstances with any teen drama. Being a fan of the Eagles is like being the head cheerleader’s best friend. Your the one whose put in years and years of loyalty but when its time for the big victory or in this metaphor the prom (still zero super bowls) there’s always that new guy in school (i.e. Losing to the Cardinals in the NFC Championship game) with the mysterious past that steals your thunder.

I honestly think the work place should build in two WTF happened to my football team days into my calendar year. Instead of giving me 3 personal days I think I’d rather have 1 personal day and 2 WTF happened to my football teams days. I’d be this simple people.

Me: I’m not going to be coming in to work today

Work: Is everything okay?

Me: Well Andy Reid only called 16 running plays yesterday, but other then that I’m just super.

Work: Alright I’ll put you down for a WTF day.

What’s the solution though? There really isn’t any solution. I’ve told myself about 150 times over the last few years that I’m done with this team. I’m just going to watch the games but not get emotionally involved. If you’re a true football fan that’s simply impossible, if your not emotionally invested your not a fan. To quote Jon Favreau from Swingers, “That’s the rub”. Come next Monday I’m going to tell myself all day that I expect the Eagles to lose to the Redskins but come around 7:45 the juices are going to start flowing and I’m going to put my jersey on a live and die with every play. If we lose I’m going to contemplate burning every article of Eagle memorabilia I own and if we win I’m going to check my calendar and see if it’s conceivable to fly down to Miami for the Super Bowl. It’s a sickness people.

Now in an effort to think about anything other then football I’m going to start my NBA preview. The plan is to do one division a day and then wrap it up with one giant Knick preview. Today I’ll start with the Northwest division.

In predicted order of finish

Portland Trailblazers: There isn’t a deeper team in the league then the Blazers. Portland can run 10 capable bodies at you each and every night. Their biggest issue may be finding playing time for all these players. I love Andre Miller and he is the perfect point guard for this team. He’ll take pressure off Brandon Roy and turn them into a better fast break team from day one. If Greg Oden (averaging 14 and 10 during the preseason) can develop into a force down low the sky is the limit for this talented club.

Player to watch: Brandon Roy is a top 10 player in the league right now. He doesn’t get the attention he deserves but he’s a special player that makes others around him better.

Denver Nuggets: Trading Iverson for Billups was a stroke of genius last season. It turned the Nuggets from a circus act into a legit contender. Carmelo Anthony is no longer just a great scorer. He now plays an all around game. I expect the Nuggets to be good but take a step back from last season. There’s no way both Kenyon Martin and Nene give you full seasons.

Player to watch: Chris Anderson is an absolute nut job but he’s great to watch.

Oklahoma City Thunder: First and foremost the nickname Thunder (one of the few sport nicknames that aren’t plural.. Name the rest) is by far the worst nickname in professional sports. Every team I see them play I automatically think of NBA Live 95 when the two created team options were dunkers and bombers. Thunder is pretty much on par with dunkers and bombers on the creativity scale. All that said the Thunder are a trendy playoff pick this year. I tend to stay awful from teams that everyone thinks are on the rise but the Thunder have tons of young talent. It’s not at all far fetched to think Kevin Durant will lead the league in scoring, he’s that good. At 6’10 he’s one of the toughest covers in the league. A nucleus of Durant, Greene, Harden, and Westbrook has a few long playoff runs in them.

Player to watch: Russell Westbrook
Think Rajon Rondo with a serviceable jump shot.

Utah Jazz: I’m going to keep this short and sweet. The Jazz are always solid. The end

Player to watch: Deron Williams is always going to live in the shadow of Chris Paul but come summer 2011 Deron Williams would be one nice consolation prize if we can’t get Chris Paul.

Minnesota T’Wolves: They drafted Ricky Rubio and Johnny Flynn then proceeded to sign Ramon Sessions and trade for Antonio Daniels. I’m more then a little confused.

Player to watch: Al Jefferson is a beast. Once he gets out of Minnesota the league will take notice.

If anyone cares the Knicks won two games this weekend but continued to look borderline awful.

Sixers 93 Knicks 85

2009-10-14T13:30:00.005-04:00

Sticking with the unexpected nature of this season’s preseason the Knicks actually played much better defense then offense last night. Despite having their best defensive performance in the Mike D’Antoni era the Knicks fell yet again to an average Philadelphia 76er team. I understand the Sixers are a better team then the Knicks, but are they better to the point of dominating us every time we meet. Andre Miller was by far the biggest Knick killer during his tenure with the Sixers so hopefully this trend of being dismantled by the Sixers will come to an end.

Game Notes

* This team needs to get tougher. The Knicks team I fell in love with, was built around the principal of; when you drive the lane you’re going to end up on your ass. As the Knicks are constituted now the new principal is; we’ll talk a good game but when it comes to getting physical, we’d rather jack up three pointers.

Lou Williams who has the body of a high school sophomore drove the lane for uncontested lay ups time after time last night. It got so bad that Williams often started his uncontested trips to the basket at the half court line. I mean seriously Lou Williams is going to carve your defense up. This isn’t Chris Paul, or Devin Harris this is Lou f’n Williams. I’m going to go out on a limb here and say that if one of our big men would have given him a hard foul just once during the game Williams would have been content to settle for outside jumpers.

For the second straight game a Knick player took an elbow in the face which needed medical attention. While Elton Brand’s elbow should have been a foul I highly doubt it was on purpose, that being said it was an opportunity for Jared Jefferies and his teammates to take a stand and let the rest of the league know that stuff isn’t going to happen anymore. It’s actually a perfect opportunity for Jarred Jefferies to get into a fight with Elton Brand. I’d imagine that both players would be suspended for 5 games which would mean Brand would miss the first meeting between these teams in the regular season.

* 7-41 from three point land. I repeat 7-41 from three point land. That’s just sad folks. It’s not even like the Sixers were playing suffocating defense. I’d say at least 20 of those three point shots were completed uncontested. I’m actually going to give them the benefit of the doubt on the awful shooting. From everything I’ve read D’Antoni has run a tough training camp and that means the players legs are gone. Other then Galinari this team lacks a knock down jump shooter but there’s no way they are that bad of a shooting team.

I’m not worried about the shooting percentage; I’m worried about the three point shooting attempts. Shooting 41 three point field goals in a game screams to this team not being tough. When your shots not falling you have to attack the rim but they continued to jack up shots that had little to no chance of dropping.

* A starting lineup of Duhon, Chandler, Harrington, Jefferies, and Lee simply isn’t going to cut it. You can’t have a starting lineup that has one player (Harrington) who can create his own shot. I think you have to insert either Nate Robinson or Galinari into the starting lineup. I’d probably lean to replacing Jefferies with Galinari just because Robinson has proved he’s a good 6th man.

* Wilson Chandler was brutal last night. Again I’m going to give him the benefit of the doubt on his shooting (7-18 2-10 from 3). Chandler is a mediocre shooter but has to attack the basket. When your 6’8 and all muscle you probably should look to attack the rim from time to time.

* While Wilson Chandler was brutal Larry Hughes (0-8) was absolutely awful. I’m pretty sure I could beat Larry Hughes in a game of HORSE right now. The sad part is Larry Hughes is a great perimeter defender. I can’t fathom how he ever averaged 21ppg during a season. If Larry Hughes could shoot the ball at all he would be our starting shooting guard.

* Galinari shot the ball bad but that’s one player I’m not worried about when it comes to shooting the ball. What I’m really worried about is his unselfishness. He never seems to force the issue. D’Antoni needs to call some plays for Galinari when he enters the game to help get him into a groove. Along with D’Antoni calling some early plays for him, Gallo needs to develop that killer instinct great scorers have. When he sees Jason Kapono guarding him, he needs to ask for the ball every trip down the floor.

* The biggest obstacle this team faces is that they have zero players that demand a double team. David Lee and Al Harrington put up numbers but they don’t scare a defense. When a defense can stay out home and not concentrate on stopping one player it really makes playing defense much easier. The lack of a legit scoring option makes shooting at a high percentage a must.

* If the NBA starts the season with replacement referees its going to be a travesty. The refs were awful last night. Nate Robinson missed a free throw and yelled in disgust only to receive a technical foul. Have these guys never watched a basketball game before? Almost every player makes some sort of noise when he misses a free throw.

* The one real positive from last night’s game was the defense. With our offensive system we will win a lot of games if we hold the opposition to 93 points. I’m not sure we’ll ever be a good defensive team but we do have a good amount of players who can play solid defense. Robinson, Chandler, Hughes, Galinari, Jefferies, and Douglas can all play good defense it’s up to D’Antoni to come up with a defensive concept that works.

This is a Knicks blog but to prove my flexibility as a sports fan I’m going to take a stab at predicting the AL and NL Championship Series.

Yankees vs. Angels: Yankees in 6

I’d love to pick the Angels but the Yankees are just too good right now. The only chance the Angels have is that the 3 man pitching rotation might be pushing Andy Petite and AJ Burnett to much.

Dodgers vs. Phillies: Dodgers in 7

Other then the bullpen the Phillies have the edge over the Dodgers in almost every facet of the game. That being said I just have a feeling the Dodgers are due and the baseball gods (Television networks) really want to see Torre vs. the Yankees.

Things I've Learned

2009-10-05T14:14:00.006-04:00

I had a hard time falling asleep last night. Just had a feeling that when I woke up there would be some sort of cataclysmic change to the earth. I mean if Jared Jefferies making 3 three-point field goals in one game isn’t a sign of the apocalypse what is?

The Knicks easily handled a lousy Nets team in yesterday’s preseason opener 115- 107. Its only the preseason and we were playing the Nets (for the first time in years I can say with confidence we are head and shoulders better then a team) but if you watched closely you could definitely learn a few things.

Like I mentioned earlier Jared Jefferies canned three jumpers. I remember reading that Allan Houston had been working with Jefferies, but until I see him consistently hitting the rim (making the shot is just to far fetched at this point) I’m going to stick with my belief that he is the worst shooter in all of basketball. Just to clarify all of basketball includes the NBA, College, High School, and YMCA adult leagues. Other then the high prices, the one major down side of sitting behind the basket at MSG is the likelihood of catching a facial from an errant Jarred Jefferies jumper.

While Jefferies was surprising, the performances from David Lee and Al Harrington have become pretty standard. Al Harrington is one of the sneakiest scorers in the league. At 6’9 he can shoot the long ball, drive, and has a serviceable post game. Al tends to fall in love with the three point shot but hopefully with the added muscle from this off season he’ll continue to expand on his post offense. At this point in David Lee’s career you might as well just mark him down for a double-double every game this season (20 points and 9 rebounds in 25 minutes of work). With the Knicks up-tempo system and Lee’s uncanny knack for seeing the ball off the rim it’ll be a rare feat this year for Lee not put up big numbers.

Another positive sign was the play of rookie Toney Douglas. While Jordan Hill has struggled to adapt to the speed of the NBA game, Douglas has excelled. Douglas’s offensive game isn’t ready for this level yet but at this moment he may very well be our best on the ball defender. With former Celtic Gabe Pruit not even seeing the floor yesterday its probably safe to say that the backup point guard job is his to lose.

The Knicks won and a lot of different players played well but that wasn’t the biggest thing I learned yesterday. The biggest thing I realized was that “Knicks In 60” is maybe the greatest thing to happen to a disinterested long time fan. Don’t get me wrong, I’m pretty much obsessed with this basketball team so you can mark me off as down come 7:30 on a game night but for those who aren’t sold on this team or just have lives, “Knicks In 60” is a great tool. I’d say on average an NBA basketball game last around 2 and half hours so by watching the replay you’re cutting out an hour and a half of crap. I’m a big NBA fan but lets be honest you can get everything you need to know about a game in an hour.

I know what you’re thinking. Obviously condensing a game into a one hour time period is a good idea and it caters to the fan that doesn’t have time to watch a full game or just misses a game. But this is when "Knicks In 60" becomes one of my all-time favorite things to watch. I must put a disclaimer on this first though; if the Knicks don’t win the game the experience is not quite as enjoyable.

During the regular season go out on a Friday or Saturday night (or for the unemployed any random day) and have a few drinks. Your goal is to be in that stage where you’re drunk, but you’re not a menace to society. You know that area where you feel good but one or two more is going to put you way over the edge, making functioning the next day a true battle of wills. Now once you reach that point of being drunk I want you to go home and crack open one last beer and enjoy a “Knicks In 60”.

If you’re lucky enough to do this on a night when the Knicks have won a game you will basically be watching 60 minutes of Knicks highlights. Due to MSG editing the footage you very well may see the Knicks putting up around 60 points while the opposition maybe drops around 20. It’s an excellent drunk experience and while being drunk and watching 60 straight minutes of your team looking like a good team you can easily convince yourself into believing they will win a championship in the next few years. Trust me I have convinced myself of that numerous times.

Gallo Prediction Watch (18ppg)

In his first game experience in months Gallo had a solid outing dropping 9 points. But the thing that really stuck out was his four assists. There are very few 6’10 players that can drive the lane and distribute the ball the way this kid does.

You Can't Make This Stuff Up

2009-10-01T12:03:00.003-04:00

For the second straight season Eddy Curry made it through media day unscathed and ready to recommit himself to becoming a serviceable NBA player. Unfortunately for the second straight season Eddy Curry didn’t make it through the first day of practice. Ten minutes into the first scrimmage of the new season Curry went down in a heap (when speaking of Eddy Curry the word heap really drives the point home) with a torn right plantaris. I’m not a doctor but from what I’ve read the right plantaris muscle doesn’t even exist in 60 percent of the population and the obscure injury is most commonly found in tennis players.

The prognosis is 3-5 days of rest. 3-5 days of inactivity for Eddy Curry? He lost 40lbs this off season but after this period of inactivity, I’m betting at least 10 of those lbs magically reappear. For most professional athletes missing 5 days of training camp isn’t that big of a deal but to Mr. Curry this injury is likely just the beginning to yet another disappointing season. Unlike the NFL and Major League Baseball training camp in the NBA lasts only a short period of a time and 5 days is the equivalent of a NFL player missing the entire pre season. Curry will miss all of training camp in Saratoga and is listed as doubtful for the pre season opener Sunday.

Having Eddy Curry as your starting center is just one big disappointment after another. For those non Knick fans I can best describe the disappointment to waking up early for work and flipping on TBS to catch an episode of Saved by the Bell only to find that instead of seeing the true cast your stuck watching an episode featuring Tori Scott. Staying on that subject what were the producers thinking when they decided to go that direction. I understand that Tiffani-Amber Thiessen and Elizabeth Berkley had left the show by that point but the best idea you could come up with was bringing in a rough around the edges biker girl. I mean how much money would you have had to offer Leah Remini (Stacey Carosi) to join the cast on a full time basis. Stacy Carosi transfers to Bayside and television magic ensues. To this day Zack Morris is still my hero but I can’t and won’t get over the fact that he went from dating Kelly Kapowski to Tori Scott.

Camp Notes

The starting lineup as of now looks like Chris Duhon, Wilson Chandler, Danilo Gallinari, Al Harrington, and David Lee. All things considered that’s probably the best starting 5 we can throw out there at this point. Having four players 6’8 and above on the court at the same time will definitely be a match up problem for other teams.

Every news article or blog entry you read about camp centers around Danilo Gallinari looking amazing. I’m a firm believer that he will become a superstar in this league. I’m so confident I’m going to predict he’ll average 18 ppg this season and slowly become the second most eligible bachelor in New York behind Derek Jeter.

Jordan Hill has proven he’ll be a project player and most likely won’t contribute much this season while Toney Douglas should get playing time immediately.

A Fresh Start

2009-09-29T14:27:00.012-04:00

One thing you can definitely say about Donnie Walsh, the guy is a straight shooter. During his introductory press conference he made it painfully clear his number one goal was to create cap space for the summer of 2010. Well over the last 18 months he’s achieved that goal. Gone are Jerome James, Zach Randolph, Jamal Crawford, and Stephon Marbury. Walsh has gone as far as to say the Knicks have the most cap room in the league heading into next summer. By my research I’d say the Heat and Rockets have better cap situations heading into next off season but Donnie is getting old so I’ll let him slide on some mathematical mistakes. The fact of the matter is Donnie Walsh has slowly (emphasis on slowly) changed the culture in New York and the light at the end of the tunnel is finally visible.

Last season’s training camp opened with news that Eddy Curry was being hospitalized due to a bacterial infection (possibly some bad McDonalds), 6th overall draft pick Danilo Gallinari had a herniated disk in his back and would miss all of training camp, and last but not least Stephon Marbury was still a member of the team. The regular season was a roller coaster ride. Mike D'Antoni’s run-n-gun system was an immediate hit, the team started strong, but before you knew it they traded their two leading scorers and the once thought of “franchise savior” Stephon Marbury was wearing Celtics green. On the court the team was a notch or two below mediocre but off the court the season was a tremendous success. In just one season Donnie Walsh sent Jamal Crawford, Zach Randolph, and Jerome James packing without adding any payroll.

As the summer started most Knick fans with any sense of reality realized we wouldn’t and shouldn’t be players in the free agent game. Walsh brought in Jason Kidd and Grant Hill for visits but thankfully both players used the Knicks as contract leverage to get extra money from their respective squads. Nine out of ten mock drafts had the Knicks landing sweet-shooting guard Stephen Curry but at the last minute Golden State coach Don Nelson decided that having a team full of guards was the way to go so he drafted Curry, leaving the Knicks with Arizona big man Jordan Hill. After the draft the reality of losing fan favorite David Lee became a real possibility (apparently hustling and being white entitles you to ask for 10 million a year) but Donnie played hardball with Lee and brought back Lee and Nate Robinson on cost effective one year deals. The moral of these last three paragraphs is simple. Donnie Walsh wants to be a player in the summer of Lebron and he simply won’t add any payroll and frankly he’s 100 percent right for following this strategy. The NBA salary cap structure is absolutely awful. If you make one bad signing or one ill conceived trade your salary cap wiggle room and chances of winning a title are gone. Go ask Philadelphia how they feel about giving Elton Brand and Andre Iguodala big money contracts in a few years.

Back to the present day, training camp officially opens today and one word comes to mind that hasn’t been associated with the Knicks in years…. Stability. With the possible exception of Larry Hughes (I’m putting the over/under at 10 games, before Hughes starts to pout about lack of playing time) this team is filled with genuinely likeable guys who seem to understand the overall direction of the team. When and if this team returns to respectability the majority of this roster won’t be around to experience it but for the time being the players and coaching staff seem to be on the same page. Here are 5 questions that need to be answered before opening night

Can Fat Eddy Give This Team Anything?

The good news is that Eddy Curry has lost 40 lbs this off season; the bad news is that he still weighs 317 lbs. That’s right a professional basketball player attempted to play basketball while weighing 357 lbs. How can a player be that out of shape when 80 percent of playing basketball is running up and down the court? The answer is Eddy Curry simply doesn’t care about playing basketball. The sad part is, when in shape he’s extremely athletic for his size and could easily dominate games. Just three seasons ago Eddy averaged nearly 20 points per game and was a legit all-star possibility. Will Eddy ever live up to his potential? Absolutely not, but by default he is a major key to this season. I’m not asking for Eddy Curry to be an all-star, I’m asking for him to show the rest of his league he has a pulse. I guarantee you that if he looks semi productive their will be a general manager out there willing to take a chance on 7 footer. Let’s face it, in professional sports players with talent get a million chances to succeed.

Was Gallinari Over Brook Lopez The Right Decision?

I personally think Brook Lopez is strictly a robotic player that will never be more then an average big man in this league but there are plenty of people who feel Gallinari is nothing more then a spot-up jump shooter. Danilo actually got a pass from the media and New York fans last season. He only played in 28 games (14-14 record) but for the most part the fans stayed behind him despite his injury problems. There’s no questioning his ability. In the limited playing time Gallo showed glimpses of Nowitzki-like talent. It’s probably not fair to ask a twenty-one year old kid to be the face of your franchise and the number one recruiting tool in landing Lebron James but the bottom line is Gallinari needs to be all that and more.

Can Wilson Chandler Play Shooting Guard?

A major prerequisite to playing the shooting guard position is having the ability to shoot. Wilson Chandler has not shown me at any time during his young career that he’s a knock down jump shooter. He’s an athletic swing man who can run the break and play adequate defense but when it comes to knocking down an open jumper, I just don’t see it. I have no doubt he’ll be able to defend the position but on the offensive side he just doesn’t spread the floor the way D’Antoni would like. That being said he’s a better option then Larry Hughes.

Will Lee & Nate Put The Off Season Behind Them?

Just one week ago David Lee and Nate Robinson were still on the free agent market. Both received one year deals from the team last Friday. I honestly don’t think Nate feels at all slighted by not getting a long term deal because he realizes that playing in New York is the key to him staying in the spotlight and continuing to cash in on all the endorsement money the big city has to offer but I get the impression David Lee felt slighted by the front office during his negations. I’m a big time David Lee fan (so big I look past the fact he plays zero defense and has a limited offensive game) but there is absolutely no way I would pay him 10 million a year. David is the type of player that you want on your team and in your locker room but the Knicks just didn’t have the money to offer him a reasonable extension. Hopefully David sees that and continues to improve as a player and gets rewarded with a nice extension this coming off season.

Are the Rookies Rotation Players This Season?

There’s little doubt that if drafted Stephen Curry would have been the starting point guard from day one of training camp… Jordan Hill, not so much. What Hill brings is an athletic big body that can hopefully develop into a useful player down the road. With a glut of big men (Curry, Darko, Harrington, Jefferies, Lee and Gallo) on the roster I don’t see him cracking the rotation unless he earns it in practice. Hill may not play right away but there is definitely an opportunity for Toney Douglas to see some time as the teams backup point guard. Nate Robinson has proved he’s best suited playing off the ball so that leaves Douglas, Larry Hughes, and Gabe Pruitt battling for the backup point guard job behind Chris Duhon.