Tip-Off: 7:30 PM @ Izod Center, East Rutherford
The Knickerbockers are looking for their first three-game winning streak of the season tonight against the Nets. And, all the numbers are against them. First of all, the team hasn't strung together three wins all year long. Secondly, the Nets have dominated the Knicks since Kidd surfaced in the swamp. And, last but not least, this is technically a road game and such games have not been the team's forte.
All of that being said, this is a winnable game. If the team puts forth the sort of cogent effort that they did last night and scores with nearly as much efficiency then they can put together a legitimate STREAK. The Nets are struggling this season and have been saved from the tri-state area's scorn only be the debacle across the Hudson.
Of course, the Knicks could be satisfied with their two wins and come out flat against a team that they've already beaten. If December was any indicator that is how it will play out.
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
"We won one yesterday. If we win today, that's called two in a row. Win tomorrow, that's called a winning streak. It has been done before."-Lou Brown
Knicks beat Wizards for second straight win
Yeah, it's a winning streak, just our third pair of consecutive victories this season.
Yeah, it's a winning streak, just our third pair of consecutive victories this season.
Pre-Gaming: Knicks versus Wizards
Tip-Off: 7:30 PM @ MSG
I must admit that I bought these tickets just for the chance to see Gilbert Arenas, one of my favorite players in the Association to watch, play in person. Unfortunately, Agent Zero had his second knee surgery of 2007 in November and is still in street clothes. Up until last night I felt like I had made a serious mistake including this game in my ultra-expensive mini-plan for this season. And, then I found out that the Wizards had pulled off their improbable home-and-home sweep of the vaunted Boston Celtics thanks to Caron Butler's game-winning bucket. All of a sudden the Wiz seemed like a pretty good team to go see on a Tuesday night.
And, all of a sudden, this is a big game for the Knicks that take the floor tonight. The Wizards are not a great team but they are a solid team that plays hard and plays to win on a nightly basis. They are an honest basketball team, which is exactly what I want the Knicks to be and what, dare I say, the Knicks (or at least some of them) have shown hints of becoming over the past week or so against the Spurs, Bulls, Rockets and Pistons.
Things to Know:
Like the Wizards who will be without Arenas, the Knicks will be without their "best" player as Marbury continues to be sidelined with an ankle injury and a bruised psyche. Caron Butler has assumed a leadership role for the Wizards and has been a monster on the court. Can Nate continue to play well for the Knicks and can the team find some cohesion?
Both teams are coming off surprising wins over superior opponents. The Wiz are coming off that shocking sweep of Boston and the Knicks are fresh off their mind-bending rout of the Pistons.
The Zach-Hole: He played well (meaning he shot the ball well) against the Pistons. What does he do tonight?
Brendan Haywood versus the Knicks frontcourt: The man in the pivot for the Wiz is averaging ten and a half per game so far this season and less than that for his career. Still, he is a traditional center listed at 7-feet which is a recipe for disaster for the Knicks regardless of any scoring prowess.
Caron Butler versus ?: Renaldo Balkman was back in the rotation on Sunday night. Butler seems like the sort of player that we should assign to Balkman.
I must admit that I bought these tickets just for the chance to see Gilbert Arenas, one of my favorite players in the Association to watch, play in person. Unfortunately, Agent Zero had his second knee surgery of 2007 in November and is still in street clothes. Up until last night I felt like I had made a serious mistake including this game in my ultra-expensive mini-plan for this season. And, then I found out that the Wizards had pulled off their improbable home-and-home sweep of the vaunted Boston Celtics thanks to Caron Butler's game-winning bucket. All of a sudden the Wiz seemed like a pretty good team to go see on a Tuesday night.
And, all of a sudden, this is a big game for the Knicks that take the floor tonight. The Wizards are not a great team but they are a solid team that plays hard and plays to win on a nightly basis. They are an honest basketball team, which is exactly what I want the Knicks to be and what, dare I say, the Knicks (or at least some of them) have shown hints of becoming over the past week or so against the Spurs, Bulls, Rockets and Pistons.
Things to Know:
Like the Wizards who will be without Arenas, the Knicks will be without their "best" player as Marbury continues to be sidelined with an ankle injury and a bruised psyche. Caron Butler has assumed a leadership role for the Wizards and has been a monster on the court. Can Nate continue to play well for the Knicks and can the team find some cohesion?
Both teams are coming off surprising wins over superior opponents. The Wiz are coming off that shocking sweep of Boston and the Knicks are fresh off their mind-bending rout of the Pistons.
The Zach-Hole: He played well (meaning he shot the ball well) against the Pistons. What does he do tonight?
Brendan Haywood versus the Knicks frontcourt: The man in the pivot for the Wiz is averaging ten and a half per game so far this season and less than that for his career. Still, he is a traditional center listed at 7-feet which is a recipe for disaster for the Knicks regardless of any scoring prowess.
Caron Butler versus ?: Renaldo Balkman was back in the rotation on Sunday night. Butler seems like the sort of player that we should assign to Balkman.
Monday, January 14, 2008
The End of an Error?
Reports are coming out that (meaning I read them on other websites) Stephon Marbury is going to need season-ending surgery to remove bone spurs from his ankle. If true, it is possible that we have seen the last of Starbury at the Garden.
Stay tuned.
[Update: Stephon isn't under the knife just yet. Apparently he is having an MRI on Thursday to determine IF he actually does have bone spurs in his ankle. All that happened yesterday was that Steph admitted that IF he does have bone spurs that he WILL opt for surgery immediately rather than trying to continue playing through the pain as he has been and as he did during the 2002-2003 season.]
Stay tuned.
[Update: Stephon isn't under the knife just yet. Apparently he is having an MRI on Thursday to determine IF he actually does have bone spurs in his ankle. All that happened yesterday was that Steph admitted that IF he does have bone spurs that he WILL opt for surgery immediately rather than trying to continue playing through the pain as he has been and as he did during the 2002-2003 season.]
Q: What is far more improbable than what happened in Dallas last night?
A: The Knicks beating the Pistons last night.
In fact, the Knicks didn't just win, they blew the Pistons out, leading by as many as thirty points in the second half. The dozens and dozens of people who saw the game can corroborate this story, as can these newspaper articles:
The News
The Post
The Times
In fact, the Knicks didn't just win, they blew the Pistons out, leading by as many as thirty points in the second half. The dozens and dozens of people who saw the game can corroborate this story, as can these newspaper articles:
The News
The Post
The Times
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]
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.
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."
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."
Saturday, January 12, 2008
Of Inscrutability and Regime Change
While the possibility of understanding the why? or the why not? is closed to us given the inscrutability of the Dolan mind and the Thomas ID, it is still healthy and logical to hope for and anticipate the when?. After all, at some point Isiah Thomas will either give up his job or it will be taken from him.
And, this morning's papers are wonderfully full of speculation that the when? could become a now!
In the Post, Marc Berman reports that Isiah has confided in someone (who apparently isn't very trustworthy if he is talking to Berman) that he is considering leaving the bench and that the only players on the roster that he likes are Crawford, Butch (Lee) and Sundance (Nate).
In the News, Frank Isola reports that Jimmy Dolan may actually have seen enough of the Thomas to bring about his own Regime Change in the Garden. According to another of these untrustworthy confidantes that proliferate in the Garden, Dolan has admitted that a change must be made and that he is gearing up for it. Isola also relays, from his source, that folks have been coming to Dolan and the Garden brass in droves to throw their hat in the ring to be Thomas's replacement.
Of course such stories appear weekly, if not daily, in the tabloids and on the internets as rational sportswriters and hopeful fans assume that each misstep must justly be the final one permitted, that each new crack stepped on will surely be the one that breaks our mothers backs. And, each night the PA announcer speedily announces Isiah Thomas as the HC of the NYK.
That being said, these reports feels all the more real given the width and the breadth of the insanity and inanity that lately flowers in the Garden. This has gone past the point of just being a bad basketball team (which is a forgivable sin) and has become something much more.
And, this morning's papers are wonderfully full of speculation that the when? could become a now!
In the Post, Marc Berman reports that Isiah has confided in someone (who apparently isn't very trustworthy if he is talking to Berman) that he is considering leaving the bench and that the only players on the roster that he likes are Crawford, Butch (Lee) and Sundance (Nate).
In the News, Frank Isola reports that Jimmy Dolan may actually have seen enough of the Thomas to bring about his own Regime Change in the Garden. According to another of these untrustworthy confidantes that proliferate in the Garden, Dolan has admitted that a change must be made and that he is gearing up for it. Isola also relays, from his source, that folks have been coming to Dolan and the Garden brass in droves to throw their hat in the ring to be Thomas's replacement.
Of course such stories appear weekly, if not daily, in the tabloids and on the internets as rational sportswriters and hopeful fans assume that each misstep must justly be the final one permitted, that each new crack stepped on will surely be the one that breaks our mothers backs. And, each night the PA announcer speedily announces Isiah Thomas as the HC of the NYK.
That being said, these reports feels all the more real given the width and the breadth of the insanity and inanity that lately flowers in the Garden. This has gone past the point of just being a bad basketball team (which is a forgivable sin) and has become something much more.
The Mourning After: Knicks vs. Raptors
Before, we move on to the latest debacle, let's take a look back at three of the keys to the game pointed out in yesterday's Pre-Gaming column and see how our boys fared.
1. Chris Bosh vs. The Knicks frontcourt: Bosh put hung forty points on Eddy, Zach and co. last night. That's percentage points shy of doubling his season average. I had claimed that holding him under 27 would have counted as a moral victory. In light of last night's heinous effort I guess that holding Yao to just 36 was actually the moral victory. Oops.
2. The Zach-Hole. In his defense, he didn't ruin too many trips to the offensive end of the court with his inability to pass the ball. In fact, Zach actually finished the game with more assists than points. Let me repeat that, ZACH RANDOLPH finished the game with more assists than points. Of course, that only happened because he was benched for arguing with his coach in full view of the Garden crowd, James Dolan and countless television cameras. The Zach-Hole only played ten minutes in the first half and not at all in the second, finishing with 0 points, 2 assists, 1 rebound, 1 personal foul and 1 turnover.
3. Calderon vs. Marbury. While the Raptors undeniably controlled the game Steph kept Calderon relatively in check from a number standpoint. Both players finished with 8 assists, Calderon had 9 points while Steph had 13, Calderon had 2 rebounds while Steph had 4 and Calderon had 1 turnover while Steph had 2. In other words, this matchup was mostly a wash and wasn't the deciding factor in the game. For that, see #1.
1. Chris Bosh vs. The Knicks frontcourt: Bosh put hung forty points on Eddy, Zach and co. last night. That's percentage points shy of doubling his season average. I had claimed that holding him under 27 would have counted as a moral victory. In light of last night's heinous effort I guess that holding Yao to just 36 was actually the moral victory. Oops.
2. The Zach-Hole. In his defense, he didn't ruin too many trips to the offensive end of the court with his inability to pass the ball. In fact, Zach actually finished the game with more assists than points. Let me repeat that, ZACH RANDOLPH finished the game with more assists than points. Of course, that only happened because he was benched for arguing with his coach in full view of the Garden crowd, James Dolan and countless television cameras. The Zach-Hole only played ten minutes in the first half and not at all in the second, finishing with 0 points, 2 assists, 1 rebound, 1 personal foul and 1 turnover.
3. Calderon vs. Marbury. While the Raptors undeniably controlled the game Steph kept Calderon relatively in check from a number standpoint. Both players finished with 8 assists, Calderon had 9 points while Steph had 13, Calderon had 2 rebounds while Steph had 4 and Calderon had 1 turnover while Steph had 2. In other words, this matchup was mostly a wash and wasn't the deciding factor in the game. For that, see #1.
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