D is for Detroit who has a terrible team. A team so terrible the Knicks were able to play mediocre on both end of the floor and still win by 20.
E is for enthusiastic, which is how I feel about Harrellson’s play as well as the handlebar mustache he is growing in.
T is for Tyson Chandler who was a beast all game.
In honor of Bibby’s performance this season we give you:
Thank you Evan for sending us this.
This is a photo of the Knicks shot selection tonight:
The Knicks had a chance to close the gap on the 76ers tonight, playing the terrible Raptors. They had a multi-faceted strategy:
This strategy did not work.
Carmelo Anthony said that since Mike Woodson took over he’s had focus and energy he hasn’t had all season. It’s not like this is game 5 of the season. It’s game 45 and he finally decides to try on defense. What a guy! It’s good to know that our 18 million dollar a year man decided to start trying. Now it would be nice if he could remember how to shoot again too.
What pisses me off the most is that the Knicks have a much better chance of getting out of the first round if we finish the season as the 6th seed and play the Magic instead of the Heat or Bulls. We have 19 games to make up 3. That’s doesn’t leave much room for error. I can’t help but think if Melo graced us with some effort a few games earlier our road to the 6th seed would be much easier. And if the plan was to get D’Antoni fired don’t half-ass it, just completely tank and let management make a decision 20 games ago.
Don’t get me wrong, we’re on a 5 game winning streak and everything seems great now, but if this is the kind of personality we’re dealing with who knows when he’s going to lose his motivation again. He had 18 million reasons not to the first few months of the season and that didn’t seem to work.
Anyone want to fill me in on the logic of this move?
This is my guess as to what the GM was thinking, “Hmmmm, I think I’d rather sign a 4th shooting guard and continue to play Jeremy Lin 40 minutes a game instead of signing a backup point or even a backup big man. OK so I’ve talked myself into a SG, but our 4th SG can’t be just any SG. What we need is a ball stopper. Preferably one who’s a very streaky shooter like Jamal Crawford was. Oh let’s make sure he is suspect on D and has a bad attitude, things were getting a little too happy around here, we need to make things interesting. I know, J.R. Smith!”
Last I checked we have Landry Fields, Iman Shumpert and Toney Douglas all fighting for minutes at the 2. Obviously Douglas is currently the odd man out, but it looks like Shumpert will also lose most of his playing time when Smith arrives. You know, our best wing defender. Also a young player that needs to get some run to develop.
I hope this works out, but I have a feeling I’m going to be waching the game from my computer (not my couch because MSG still has their channel blacked out in NY) and thinking about this post when he’s in the middle of a 2-14 game and Shump looks miserable on the end of the Knicks bench.
Remember a few weeks ago when we were complaining that the Knicks went 4 deep with one of the worst benches in the NBA? Well now if Baron Davis ever comes back we’re suddenly 2 deep at every single position.
Jeremy Lin Baron Davis
Landry Fields Iman Shumpert
Carmelo Anthony Steve Novak
Amar’e Stoudemire Josh Harrellson
Tyson Chandler Jared Jeffries
And that’s with Toney Douglas, Bill Walker, Renaldo Balkman, Mike Bibby and Jerome Jordan all getting zero minutes.
Are we actually resembling a real team?
The Knicks won their sixth in a row, the first five with a starting lineup of Jared Jeffries, Bill Walker, Landry Fields, Jeremy Lin and Tyson Chandler. If you’re doing the math that’s 1 legit starter, a D-leaguer, a 2nd round pick, a guy who was the 11th man in Boston and a guy who couldn’t break into Houston’s rotation when all of their forwards and centers were injured. Amar’e was back for this one, but started out real rusty.
So why are they winning?
The season is 25% finished already. What have we learned?
Western Conference
Oklahoma City – This team is on fire right now. The loss of Maynor for the season doesn’t seem to have affected them at all. The Westbrook/Durant feud seems to have been nothing but hot air. The team that everyone expected to make the conference finals before the season started is on pace to do just that.
Los Angeles Lakers – Kobe is ignoring the fact that this team is much worse than last year and Metta World Piece has only had 1 good game all season. Playing with a chip on his shoulder after ESPN named him the 7th best player in the league, he’s been destroying teams, recently with four straight 40 point games. Will be interesting to see how they handle Bynums annual injury. You know it’s coming Laker fans.
San Antonio Spurs – These guys just won’t go away. They’ve been called old and past their prime for years and yet still lead their division. It helps when your scouts consistently find a player no one has ever heard of that ends up being very good. Gary Neal was that player last year; James Anderson is that player this year. Continue reading
As part of my weekly columns on Popblerd I deceded to write my initial reactions on every team in the eastern conference:
Eastern Conference
Miami Heat – They look scary good so far. They’ve had 4 blowout victories in their first 8 games and a win without Wade OR James. It also looks like they got a steal in Norris Cole. Exactly what a team with 2 of the 5 best players in the league needs, to get really lucky in the draft on top of that. Barring any long-term serious injury to their big three, they are pretty much a lock for the conference finals.
Chicago Bulls – Boozer is playing closer to what the Bulls thought they were getting last year, Rose looks even better and they were able to steal Richard Hamilton for next to nothing. The East is a two horse race this year between Miami and Chicago.
Indiana Pacers – They made some great moves in the offseason, getting David West being the best of those moves. They have a lot of good young pieces and no terrible contracts. While not contenders this year, they will be a tough out and they are in position to make some noise in the very near future. Continue reading
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