Sunday, January 13, 2008

Pre-Gaming: Knicks at Pistons

Tip-Off: 7pm @ MSG

If Eddy Curry falls in the paint during a Giants playoff game does it make a sound?

I guess it does because Curry is a big boy but I don't think that too many folks will be listening. In fact, I've been racking my brain all day and I can't think of one person that I know who will be watching the Knicks tonight when the Pistons come to town. Not one single person. Everyone will be watching the Giants/Cowboys game. MSG is selling off tickets at $10 a pop so maybe the in-house crowd won't be as bad as the at-home crowd.

The Game
The Pistons have won 13 of their past 15 games (losing only to Boston and Dallas), while the Knicks have lost
nine of ten and fifteen of their last eighteen. So, there's that to bear in mind when placing your bets.

Oh, and the Pistons have won ten of their last twelve games against the Knicks.

[Ed note: I will be watching. I think]

It's like a carousel: you pay the quarter, you get on the horse, you go up and down and around. Circular. Circle. The Flow, feel it."

Great article in today's News, by Filip Bondy chronicling the Knicks cycles of bad basketball going back decades.

Bondy contends that every generation of Knicks fans has seen an extended period of ineptitude and refers us to swoons in the 1960s and 1980s to support this point.

No News is Bad News. Or not.

Since I wasn't the only one who perked up a bit with Saturday's stories about Isiah's imminent sacking, the Garden felt compelled to issue a statement.

As reported in the Post (and probably elsewhere), Garden spokesman Barry Watkins proclaimed that "there's nothing new" concerning Isiah's job status.

OK, there's nothing new today. That's not great news. But, it's not quite as bad as it seems. In fact, it's better news than we've had in a while. Previously, MSG employees, just like Mr. Watkins, have been sent forth bearing ridiculous and undeserved plaudits and votes of confidence that were as miscast as the worst that Diebold ever was responsible for.

So, on the bright side, Dolan and his peons passed on supporting Isiah by merely stating that he has not, in fact, been fired.

For a team and organization that consistently moves backwards, standing still is a good thing.

***

Of course, Isiah himself is handling all of these reports with characteristic poise and sensibility. According to the News, he has flatly denied that he confided to anyone anywhere that he will ever choose to step down as coach. Or as he put it:

"I will never ever, ever quit, ever."