In the Year Two Thousand...and Ten

The Knicks' starting lineup will be...

PG: Darren Collison
The Knicks drafted Collison out of UCLA with the 16th pick in the 2009 Draft. After a season backing up Chris Duhon the Knicks turn the team over to their young floor general.











SG: Michael Redd
Redd saw the market for his services decline as the offseason dragged along. Although he was obscured by the mega-stars on the market, teams also shied away from him due to concern over his lingering knee problems. He signed late in September 2010 at a discounted rate with the Knicks rather than taking a more lucrative offer from San Antonio. The Knicks had the flexibility to sign Redd, even on the cheap, because they were able to unload Eddy Curry to the Mavericks by including Wilson Chandler in exchange for Josh Howard's expiring contract during the 2009 season.










SF: Lebron James
Having won a title during the 2008-2009 season in Cleveland, Lebron felt like he had given his all to the Forest City. To the shock of no one he quickly signed with the Knicks for a max contract after the Cavs were eliminated in the Eastern Conference Semifinals by the Orlando Magic. The press conference was held in the middle of Times Square at high noon and traffic was closed for eight square blocks like in those scenes from Vanilla Sky. Nike footed the bill for the street closures and unleashed a new Lebron shoe that would go on to be the greatest-selling shoe in the history of the company.











PF: Danilo Gallinari
The Italian Stallion is already hear. He's six feet and nine inches tall and still growing at 20 years old. He looks to shoot the three, can take guys off the dribble and can finish the ally-oop above the rim.









C: Chris Bosh
Of all the members of the Class of 2010, Bosh is the one who seems the surest bet to bolt his current team. Shockingly, he'll think long and hard about it. After Lebron quickly jumps to Manhattan, Wade signs with Miami and Joe Johnson inks a deal to play with Duncan in San Antonio, all eyes will turn towards Bosh. He'll realize that he likes the spotlight. He likes hearing about himself on Sportscenter after being relatively anonymous up in Canada for so long. For these reasons (and for that max contract), he will sign with the Knicks. Everything about the situation appeals to him. He'll get a ton of pub but won't have to carry a club. He knows Lebron and D'Antoni from the national team and even the weather in New York will seem balmy after so many years north of the border.

Weird Scenes Inside the Purple and Gold Mine

Kobe Scores 61, Lakers Beat Knicks

Milling about in Penn Station beneath the Garden about an hour before tip-off it was clear that there were going to a lot of Lakers fans at the Garden. Folks garbed in purple and gold mixed in almost one-quarter measure with those who were grey-flannel suited and heading home after another day in the widget factory.

Not surprisingly, Lakers fans had bought up a lot of the tickets several months ago since this was one of just two chances to see their team in the New York metropolitan area (the other being, the Lakers trip to the Meadowlands) whereas Knicks fans were less inclined to have these tickets sitting in their desk drawer since they were never made available at a discount. In fact, I hadn't been planning on attending this game. Yet there I was. Loitering beneath the board listing track numbers for LIRR trains and drinking the cheapest beer in midtown. The "oh-I'm-just-another-guy-waiting-for-my-train-drinking-out-a-brown-paper-bag" beer that you buy alongside the bags of popcorn for consumption on the train. A 24. oz can runs you nearly half as much as a pint served at a bar on street level.

But, I digress. I got a ticket from a Lakers fan who had a last-minute spare because his dad couldn't make it. In exchange for one small bottle of whiskey the ticket could be mine. And it was. Ensconced in the 400 level at midcourt, I was reminded again there is no bad seat in the Garden. The game was afoot. And the Bynum-less Lakers had the early edge on the scoreboard and in the stands. The Lakers fans were on time and in full voice whereas the Knicks fans were still getting settled. Kobe and Pau were putting up points while the Knicks players were still getting up to game speed. The Knicks closed within a possession on multiple occassions put never pulled astride Los Angeles in the first frame. Bryant had 18 at the end of one quarter but it seemed mostly unspectacular in a still very spectacular sort of way. It surely didn't seem like he was going to get off for 60. I mean, Pau had 12 (meaning the pair combined for 30 of 31 Lakers points) in the quarter and was arguably more impressive running up and down the floor. The Spaniard's combination of speed, agility and height makes him impervious the ways in which David Lee is normally able to get around or past bigger centers.

Through most of the second quarter it didn't seem like Kobe had a shot at 50+. Not at all. He rested early and we more or less forgot about him. Perhaps we were distracted by Danilo Gallinari and Nate Robinson. Or, maybe it was the fact that the pair, along with Al Harrington, actually pulled the Knicks within a point just about less than 8 to play. Pau had stayed in with the second unit for the Lakers (and played a team-high 41 minutes), further imprinting his scraggly visage on the game. Until we got within sight of halftime. Then it all changed.

Kobe checked back in. Harrington was at the line. He hit his second of two shots. The score was 39-40. The Lakers had a one-point lead when Kobe first touched the ball. The next seven and a half minutes decided the game and etched Kobe's name in Garden lore alongside Bernard King. Kobe scored 16 points in the second half of the second quarter. His spurt stretched the Lakers lead from 1 point to 11 points by the time the buzzer ended the first half. That was the game. That was the difference between a pedestrian 40 point night and a I-Was-There 61-point night. Seven and a half minutes. Kobe took 10 of the 15 Lakers field goal attempts during that span (and made 7) and totally dominated the ball and the game. This was really the only stretch were he was attacking the rim and that he looked indomitable in a Michael Jordan sort of way. The game was on the line and Bryant was proving the difference. Each of these points mattered.

In the second half, things weren't the same. Kobe still scored. A ton. But he made jump shots without ever going at the rim. And he got to the line a ton (making 20 of 20 in the game, for just about 1/3 of his points). But a lot of those fouls were on jumpers or while he was handling the ball. They were superstar calls and not because he was forcing defenders to foul him or let him pass. All in all, this was more like watching Allan Houston get 60 than watching MJ or Lebron or Bernard King do the same. And, I don't mean to belittle the accomplishment (at least not too much) but I think it needs some qualifying after the hyperbolic applause it received on ESPN and such from folks who didn't actually watch the game.

Even for the Lakers fan sitting next to me it seemed strange that Kobe was being serenaded with MVP chants (and hearty retaliatory boos) whenever he was at the foul line. Forgetting the season, we were unsure that Kobe was even the Most Valuable Laker in the game. Pau scored 31 points on 17 shots (to Kobe's 31 shots), pulled in 14 rebounds (to Kobe's zero), handed out five assists (to 24's 3), blocked two shots (to Kobe's 1) while playing 41 minutes (to Kobe's 37). He was the glue for the Lakers' first and second units whereas Kobe was only on the floor for shooting the ball. He wasn't defending. He wasn't rebounding. He certainly wasn't passing, especially in the second half. The point differential for Kobe in the contest was +19 while he was on the floor. It was +20 for Pau.

The Knicks actually outscored the Lakers in the second half by a few points as LA's raison d'etre became Kobe's point total. This wasn't like Lebron's 50 when the game was tight down the stretch and the points were meaningful. To watch the second half you marveled at Kobe's shotmaking ability and his vanity in equal measures. Fans jokingly screamed for him to pass the ball or yelled "shoot it" whenever he touched it later in the game. He obliged the latter request and ignored the former to the delight of all. But, it was weird. While being amazing. It was anticlimactic, mildly awkward. Especially since the Lakers lost the second half but never really were in danger of losing the game. The most exciting thing late was the Kobe rebound watch, which I got all of Section 405 talking about. As the minutes ticked down we were worried a long rebound might find him and ruin his 60/0 game. It didn't. And, I'll never forget that.

0 Rebounds

As you've heard, Lakers shooting guard Kobe Bryant poured in 61 points against the Knicks tonight at the Garden. It was the highest single-game point total in the building's history, narrowly edging Bernard King's 60-point Christmas outburst in 1984.

I think (and am currently looking into) another record that Kobe may have set. I believe he was likely the first player to ever drop 60 points in a game without grabbing one rebound. Yup, he had zero rebounds. 61 points. No boards.

The People Taking The Stairs

Madison Square Garden is dubbed "the world's most famous arena" and known as "the mecca" of basketball. The arena is right smack in Manhattan. It's above Penn Station. It's a block south of Macy's. It's not in the Bronx or Queens or East Rutherford. It's not on Long Island or at Auburn Hills. It's in New York City. It is New York City.

The lights at the Garden are lower away from the court and the game seems to be in a spotlight. Aesthetically the building is as ergonomically perfect for watching hoops as any place I've ever been. There are no poor sight lines and no steep inclines to scale to reach the cheap seats (you actually walk down to get to the highest seats in the 400 level). Rising up from the court, the seats extend unabated from Spike Lee in Row A of Section 26 to me in Row G of Section 412. The bowl seating is never broken by a level of luxury boxes, which are at the highest level of the stadium and as literally distant from the bulk of the fans as those within the glass-enclosed boxes are metaphorically different from the diehards who pack MSG and cheer on the Knicks. And, it's that tide of humanity that really makes Knicks' games special. That makes the Garden special. It's the fans that are the constant over the years. From the moment that Ned Irish first began organizing college hoops doubleheaders in 1934 at the Old Garden the New York City basketball fans have been learning the game. And learning the part they play in it. The fans know their stuff. They applaud the hockey assist while watching basketball. They love a guy who'll take a charge and commits the hard foul rather than allowing a layup.

The second worst part about the Isiah Thomas Error was that so many of the core fans stopped coming with regularity. The tickets were too expensive and the team was too bad. You were more likely to sit next to tourists from Italy or Spain then you were to be seating next to a longtime season ticket holder from Brooklyn. But, there were perks. Those who knew better could usually sneak down to better seats for the second half. And, you could always exit really quickly after the game. Not because the place was empty. Because somehow the Knicks still ranked in the top ten in attendance each of the last four years. You could get out early because nobody was talking the stairs. Most everyone was funneling down the escalators.

Along the outer wall of each concourse on the 300 and 200 level there are intermittently tan doors marked NO RE-ENTRY. Behind these doors are stairwells that let you at on the ground floor. The stairwells are not well marked but I've been walking down them my whole life. Most Knicks fans have been. And that's why stairwell density is a terrific barometer for the type of crowd at a Knicks game. When the stairs were empty you knew that there more tourists and folks with company tickets than people who have lived and died with this team over the years.

After Wednesday night's win over the Hawks, my brother and I darted into the stairs rather than trying to fight the crowd descending via the escalators, which were probably turned off. And, the stairs were jam-packed. Finally. We moved one step at a time down the many floors towards the street. And, I couldn't have been happier. The team's recent home winning streak and increased viability as a second (or maybe third) -tier playoff contender has brought the real fans back. This was brought home to me as I eavesdropped on the conversation of three men making their way down the stairs directly in front of us.

Who: "It all started with Duhon and his passing."

What: "Completely."

I Don't Know: "He doesn't force anything. He just knows when to keep or pass it."

What: "Completely."

Who: "He must be a jazz fan."

What: "Completely. "

Two had on jeans and sweatshirts. One wore sweatpants another a puffy wintercoat that seemed misplaced. One wore a baseball cap, one earmuffs and the third left his bald head unadorned. Each was surely closer to 60 than to 40. Closer to DeBuscherre than to Oakley. They continued to converse about the game and the future of this group (wondering "how can you really let Lee walk?") as they pushed towards 7th Avenue. I wanted to interrupt them and introduce myself. Because I couldn't have been more glad that they were back. But I resisted. The last thing I wanted to do was weird them out. So I just listened. And appreciated their conversation.

New York is a point guard city. Assists are the coin of the realm here. We love our bigs and our toughs but it is a passer that makes fans applaud. This is why I pay to see Chris Paul and Derrick Rose even when they are playing @ the Nets. Passers push us to be our best. It's a passer that makes us make links between improvisation on the hardwood and on the stage. Only in New York is there one step between a few nice assists and jazz music for a trio of soon-to-be AARP members. Who are white.

Only a group of Knicks fans assume that Chris Duhon's court self-control and sense of the moment makes him a fan of jazz music. And, not because we like our team any more than other places. This isn't about passion. It's about depth. It's about applying our best curiosity and intellect to basketball. It's about the ways in which fans here really think about basketball. It is no mean entertainment. It can be an art form. It can be jazz. Basketball in New Jersey is not like jazz. Nor is it in Utah, where the Jazz actually play. Not even in Oakland or Los Angeles. This is not a matter of better/worse fans. It's just a difference. Many towns have great traditions and phenomenal home court atmospheres. It's just different here.

I don't mean to be provincial or offend fans in other cities. Not at all. I just want to celebrate the fact that the stairwells at MSG are full again. The Knicks are back. And the fans are back, too. And conversations like the one I heard shared between three strangers in a dimly lit stairwell are (jazz) music to my ears.

Requiem For A Miracle

My Last Trip To Shea Stadium

Around the Internets: Super Bowl Edition

While I'm busy constructing my fool-proof gambling plan, I figured you might want some things to read about the big game.

-The fine folks at Football Outsiders have broken down all the numbers and carried all of the ones for their annual SB Preview.

-They've also done the same with all of the exotic prop bets. This is my favorite pre-SB column to read.

-Speaking of prop bets, if you know me then you've undoubtedly already heard about the wagers that I may or may not have placed on Springsteen's set at halftime. Does he open with The Rising and close with Born to Run? Will he really play Born in the USA? Who knows? Not me. But after some speculation in Rolling Stone magazine, a bunch of online sports books were pulling down the bets for fear that word was out on what songs the Boss may or may not be playing.

-While most people are worrying over Heinz Ward's knee and Big Ben's brainspace, the fine folks at The Times are getting to know Pittsburgh's long snapper.

-The key to the Super Bowl: mullets.

-Don Banks at SI, Gene Wojciechowski at ESPN.com, Adam Schein at FOX Sports and Butters Professor Chaos are taking the Steelers. I'm not. My neighbor Carl, on the other hand is.

-Adam Duerson, Big Daddy Drew, The Sports Gal, Gregg Easterbrook, The Wildcat, King Kaufman and WWOD? are going with the upstart Cardinals.

-Although WWOD? is pulling for the Cardinals and is crafting a theory in which they win this game handily, I wouldn't mind if the Steelers won just so we could, as a nation, watch the fiscal situation in the Steel City play out. Because, you see, the economy is in such a state of disrepair that the city of Pittsburgh cannot actually afford a victory parade.

-The Super Bowl means four things. 1) Football 2) Gambling 3) I use the deep-fryer and my apartment smells like a carnival for two weeks 4) Commercials. With the fourth thing in mind, here's a rundown of the best Super Bowl commercials. Ever.

-If sport is not your cup of tea (which means you probably also have a literal "cup of tea" that you prefer over all others) then perhaps you should check out The Puppy Bowl. This marathon of canine cuteness is counted as one of EW's best counterprogramming options for those people too good for football or your boyfriend's, brother's or buddy's Super Bowl Party.

-The tens and tens of longtime Cardinals fans around the country are hoping that Sunday will provide a marquee moment for a franchise that has only given us one all-time great gridiron moment.

2008-2009 Knicks' Pregame Video Montage

Growing up one of my favorite moments of any Knicks game was the video that played above the court immediately before the Knicks' starting lineup was introduced. The house lights went down, the neon lasers fired, the strains of "Go NY, Go NY" mingled in the rafters with the retired jerseys of the 1969-70 club and all eyes were on the GardenVision screens.

I never wanted to be late for a game because I didn't want to miss the action on the front end. Even as the team started to decline you could count on the pregame highlight montage. When Nazr Mohammed was heading out to the center circle for the opening tip you still knew that you'd have a chance to catch an image of Patrick Ewing throwing down a dunk over the Empire State Building. At least until last season, when fans were ocularly accosted by some sort of dance/aerobic video featuring freestyle walking and hopping and scampering of various non-Knicks persons around town. The video made a tolerant individual want to spew homophobic invective at whomever was responsible for this sham of a montage. At first it was a sharp disappointment. The video was so bad that you almost felt hope before each game that it had been changed. But it wasn't. And, it eventually became another source of comedy. Another self-contained flaw in the patchwork travesty that was the Isiah Thomas Era.

The removal of the franchise's heros from the video montage also kept in line with Thomas's seeming disdain for Knicks history. Thankfully, Donnie Walsh and co. have again embraced the past and the fans. And, the pregame video montage is returned to its former glory.

The Post is (Epilogue and) Prologue: Wizards @ Knicks

Knicks (15-22)
@
Wizards (7-31)
Verizon Center
7:00 p.m.

I love the home and home. Just love it. It's a mental/emotional test for a team no matter how the first game plays out. Ego comes in to play because nobody wants to lose to the same group two games in a row. Things get testy. I'm looking forward to an angry game tonight from both teams. I think the Knicks are anxious to extend their mini-streak and I know that the Wiz don't want to lose to the Knicks for the fourth time this season.

Perhaps it's just inertia or the ghost of Gilbert Arenas, but I still see the Wizards as a dangerous team in spite of their 7-31 record. Or at least, I see them as a danger to these Knicks. They've got two players who participated in last year's all-star game suiting up tonight. That's two more than we've got. Apparently Vegas agrees. The Wizards are giving the Knicks 2.5 points. They're also winning this game 62% of the time according to ESPN.com's Accuscore. My guess is that these two facts say more about the overall lack of confidence in the Knicks to win a third straight game than it actually does about the ability of the Wizards to win one.

As (is again becoming) per usual, I've been trading emails today with a blogger who covers the Knicks' opponent. Below you'll find a back-and-forth with noted Wizards blog Bullets Forever. I answered a few questions for them that were posted over at their shop before Wednesday night's Knicks game.

WWOD?: First of all, welcome to the bad team's club. Secondly, how did you end up here? Was 7-31 something that crossed your mind before the season began?
BF: I figured we’d struggle once Brendan Haywood went down for the season. Haywood’s always been criminally underrated as the lynchpin of our defense and on the offensive glass. Gilbert Arenas’ third knee surgery was big, but Haywood’s loss was bigger. But I can’t say I expected 7-31 bad. The fan in me kept thinking optimistically, hoping that Arenas would return, hoping that Haywood’s so-so defensive plus/minus numbers in 07/08 (at least compared to previous seasons, when his presence single handily made us a league-average unit when he was on the floor) was a sign that we didn’t need to lean on him as heavily on that end. Obviously, those were just empty hopes.

WWOD?: For a few seasons I made a point of paying for tickets when the Wizards were visiting MSG because I always wanted to see Gilbert Arenas play. For me, he made those appointment games. But now I almost feel like I will avoid buying tickets to see the Wiz so that I don't have to deal with the disappointment of having paid for tickets only to learn he's hurt the week before the game. At this point, what's the vibe in the District about Agent Zero and his contract?
BF: Umm…the detractors feel vindicated, I suppose? There was always a ton of objection to the deal, particularly because there’s a vocal minority of Wizards fans that believe Arenas wasn’t worth the money even when he was healthy. Ernie Grunfeld clearly took a major risk with the deal (though reports are that it was Abe Pollin move) and it doesn’t look like that risk has worked thus far.
But there still is a lot of time on that deal left for Arenas to perhaps turn it around, even if the signs point increasingly to the opposing view.

Personally, I always felt the move was justified based on the circumstances of the team. Letting Arenas walk either indicates you’re rebuilding or that the Arenas-less team of 2007/08 had a legitimate chance to make noise in the East. The latter view is pure lunacy, as indicated by the team’s lack of success this season. The former is a big risk in and of itself, particularly when, to sign any marquee free agent last year, the team would have also had to get rid of Antawn Jamison. You’re then left with a 28-year old Caron Butler, several veteran role players, a ton of kids that aren’t necessarily can’t-miss prospects and maybe enough cap room to sign Corey Maggette or Luol Deng. Not exactly promising either, at least not until the long process of clearing out bad contracts occurs. Washington doesn’t necessarily have this luxury in the same way New York does, since Washington isn’t the draw for free agents like New York.

Still, if Arenas continues to stay hurt, Ernie and the organization should definitely be held accountable. So yes, I suppose there is an ever-growing group of fans justifiably exhibiting buyers remorse.

WWOD?: Eddie Jordan was fired the day after the Knicks beat the Wiz in DC with just seven players. If the Wiz win that game does Jordan still have a job?
BF: Probably, but it was only a matter of time before he would be ousted. He and Ernie never were on the same page. Ernie has always wanted a more defensive-oriented coach, but Abe Pollin hired Eddie before Ernie, and Eddie exhibited enough success where it would look bad if Ernie fired him. Ernie was just waiting for the right moment to lay down the hammer. If it wasn’t that game, it would have been another.

WWOD?: What's the deal with Interim Head Coach Ed Tapscott? Is he a viable candidate to take over this team permanently? Or is he a patsy to take the many falls that the Wiz have ahead of them this season?
BF: He’s a patsy. At least I hope. It’s become clear that he has no real power and that he is continuing to favor many of his veterans over the team’s young guys. That’s slowly starting to change, but it should have happened sooner.

WWOD?: I know little about Tapscott but the quotes of his that I've read have been pretty darn good. My favorite may be "A day without Jamison would be a day without sunshine for me." Even though Antawn Jamison is having a heck of a first half, are ready to equate him with the life-giving sun?
BF: No. But Antawn’s having one of the best seasons of his career, shooting the ball extremely well and continuing to rebound well (one theory was that Haywood made his life easier, but that’s somewhat been shattered). If he wasn’t on the Wizards, he’d get more all-star consideration.

WWOD?: After having worked under the brothers Van Gundy in Houston and Orlando, could DC be the place where former Hoya Destroya Patrick Ewing earns his first head coaching gig?
BF: Dear God I hope not. What exactly are Ewing’s qualifications? And you want to put a man in charge who’s major weakness as a player was his aloofness. No thanks.

WWOD?: I know all about what Caron Butler and Jamison are capable of doing on the court, but what under-the-radar player should I be paying attention to during tonight's game?
BF: Watch Nick Young. He’s been scoring extremely well in the past couple games (as you saw when he went off for a career high on Wednesday) and is finally getting the playing time he’s always deserved.

WWOD?: The Wizards picked Jared Jeffries with the 11th pick in the 2002 draft and then declined to match the free agent offer he received from the Knicks a few years ago. Was this because the Wiz weren't that high on him or because the Knicks offered an illogical amount of cash?
BF: Both. Probably mostly the latter.

WWOD?: Looking back over the past decade+ a lot of players have come through your town and moved on (Mitch Richmond, Rod Strickland, Chris Webber, Rasheed, MJ, Oak, Ben Wallace, etc.) Who are the players that Wizards fans really consider as your guys?
BF: Gilbert Arenas. Wes Unseld?

WWOD?: Lastly, Charles Oakley played 514 minutes for Washington during the course of 42 games during the 2002-03 season. Which was your favorite?
BF: Favorite Oak game? None of them. He was such a cancer on that team, hate to say it.

The Devil Went Down In Nashville

In the waning moments Saturday's AFC divisional playoff between the Tennessee Titans and the Baltimore Ravens there was a tear in the veil separating this world from the next. And lo and behold, NFL fans witnessed the visage of damnation pouting on the Tennessee sideline. As the CBS camera panned the Titans sideline there was revealed a red-eyed Kyle Vanden Bosch. Centered in the whites of his eyes were blood-red pools of pure evil. A momentary glimpse quieted and sobered a room full of boisterous and mildly intoxicated football fans. The smell of sulphur burned in our nostrils as we looked into Vanden Bosch's red eyes.
We wound back the DVR to make sure that we had seen what we thought we had saw. And, we had. We had beheld the morningstar. Or, at least some foot soldier of the fallen host. Digging slightly deeper (by means of google and wikipedia) into this sinister character's background I uncovered further evidence that this defensive end may in fact be pure evil. While attending the University of Nebraska, Vanden Bosch was a member of the "Society of the Innocents," which was a secret-ish society on campus. The insignia for this organization is an illustration of Satan. Rumor has it that Vanden Bosch also frequently attended lectures given by Gozer the Gozerian whenever he visited Lincoln.
Of course, it's also possible that Vanden Bosch is just wearing amber-tinted contact lenses in place of eye-black or a visor to protect his sensitive God-fearing eyes from the sun. I guess that is possible. And boring.