We discussed this on the show last night. I think this is a no-brainer. If you can get Dwight Howard you give up Amare or Carmelo but the preference would be to give up Amare. Howard is a game changer on both offense and defense. The Knicks really have something strong to build on with Carmelo and Amare but they would be a fool to not make this trade if it were available.
Episode 51: The Wager
We talk about the Orlando Magic game and then John from the first place team in our fantasy league calls in and makes a wager with us for the finals. We talk about the Boston Celtics, how they are reacting to the trade, how they are looking for the playoffs and who they would want and not want to see this postseason. We end the show talking about the newest Knicks trade rumor. Download Episode 51
HOLY CRAP: The Knicks Did Not Lose for Two Nights in a Row!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Of course, the Knicks did not play tonight but, hey, you have to get your celebrations in when you can as a Knick fan these days. And hey, the Cavs beat the Heat tonight which is pretty awesome.
So the Knicks have 8 games to go. I would like to see more winning and grinning so I have some requests for the Knicks upcoming opponents. The Knicks should be starting to adjust to each other and finding chemistry. Since they are not really doing that, I would like to request that their opponents adjust to the Knicks style of play in order to give the Knicks a better chance to win those games.
Dear Upcoming Opponents,
- Please do not use the pick and roll against us. We do not understand it. Switching on defense is like calculus to us and we do not understand calculus, especially Amare, who did not even go to college.
- Please drink half a bottle of NyQuil mid-way through the 3rd quarter so we have the same energy level to start the 4th quarter.
- When we go to isolation on offense (and that is about 70% of all plays we run) could you please not cover Amare or Carmelo with more than two players. It is not fair when you cover them with three or four players because you know they will not pass the ball.
- If we start a possession, especially a fast break with an incredibly ill-advised 3-point attempt (by say Billups or Douglas) could you please give us the rebound and let us have a do-over?
- If you are on offense against us please do not stand under the basket wide open and wait for someone to pass you the ball. We would have a much better chance in games if players would stop doing that against us.
- We get it, your big men can out rebound us and you can get second and third chances on offense. But, please limit yourselves to just second chances. It was like when I was a kid and my Dad kept getting all the rebounds on his missed shots. You are taller and it is not fair.
- If Carmelo and Amare think they were fouled on offense and no foul was called, please hold up your offensive possession until Carmelo and Amare are done arguing with officials.
- Please have a player on your team cover Jarred Jeffries. It is unfair that you do not have to cover him on offense.
- Please do not hurt Chauncey or any of our other players. We are fragile and barely have enough to have a normal rotation.
- And, if you have an extra 7 footer you are not playing, can we borrow him for the playoffs?
If D'Antoni is on his way out, what coach should replace him?
Justin over at KnicksGM makes the point that Herb Williams could be an interesting candidate. It would be great to have a home grown guy and one that emphasizes defense would be nice. I think the Knicks would be wise to not go after a big name for their next coach.
Holy Crap the Knicks Won a Game!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
To quote Frazier, it has been a long time since MSG has seen “winning and grinning”. The Knicks actually beat the Orlando Magic tonight, and though it took overtime to do it, I am just freakin’ happy. Some points from tonight:
- The Knicks played defense tonight!!! This was a shocking event. A less shocking event would have been Jared Jeffries giving birth to a unicorn baby through his anus at halftime.
this would be the unicorn baby
- Carmelo scored 39 points with 10 rebounds. Amare had 20 points with 9 rebounds. The Knicks got about as much as possible out of their boring isolation heavy offense. If they can actually get the offense grooving again and keep playing defense they could possibly put up a fight in the playoffs.
- While Shelden Williams fouled out in 16 minutes he had a couple of huge plays including a big rebound and forcing a jump ball with Dwight Howard.
- Jared Jeffries for some reason allowed Jason Richardson to shoot a basically uncontested three to tie the game at the end of regulation. I guess the defense Jared Jeffries provides does not include putting his hands up to contest important shots.
- One of the biggest plays of the game was a lucky foul call against Jason Richardson. Carmelo and Richardson were scrapping on the floor, Carmelo nudged Richardson to the floor while getting up and Richardson tripped Carmelo in retaliation. Luckily the ref only saw Richardson’s trip which nullified big Turk’s game tying three. YAY playing dirty and stupid retaliation!
- Shockingly no Magic player benefited from the Knicks Effect.
Random Thought from Tonight's Game on Free Throw Shooting
Frazier made the point tonight that Dwight Howard works relentlessly in practice to improve his free throw shooting. I have heard this countless times. I have heard announcers go on and on how Shaq hits all his free throws in practice. I get it. STOP TELLING ME ALREADY HOW THESE AWFUL FREE THROW SHOOTERS WORK SO HARD ON IT! I get it. Howard and Shaq shoot free throws like Chauncey Billups during practice but these two are just unlucky during the games. I am sure this is true.
Why can’t any announcer just admit that Howard and Shaq probably suck at shooting free throws in practice too? And, just because the announcer once saw one of these awful free throw shooters hit a couple in a row in practice does not mean they are really amazing free throw shooters when no one is watching.
Landry and Andy know how to score off the court
The Knicks are forced into desperate measures
Yes, that is right, the team has decided to PRACTICE. “A good practice could go a long way to helping the Knicks fine-tune some of their issues at both ends of the court.” I am not sure if what they need is called “fine-tuning” but I am shocked it has taken D’Antoni this long to try this.
Download Episode 50 of the Podcast.
Are Chauncey's days in New York numbered?
There is growing talk that the option for Billups will not be picked up. Which is kind of interesting since only a few weeks ago Billups was being discussed as a long-term solution at PG.
Either way it seems fairly clear to me that Billups is not the long-term answer at PG and the team needs to really start moving forward next year. In the short-term, Billups is clearly taking a while to adapt to D’Antoni and vice versa. But, even if D’Anton and Billups end up on the same page, Billups is past his prime and his skills will only diminish over the next few years. A better solution would be to pair Toney Douglas up with maybe a less expensive veteran PG or with another developing PG who has the speed to keep up with the fast PGs the Knicks encounter night after night.
Of course, once the Knicks decide to buyout Billups this trade will look even more lopsided as they will have given up a young and developing PG, Raymond Felton and received very little in return. The Knicks, however, need to be realistic and know when it is time to move forward.
The Knicks need to concentrate on building around Amare and Carmelo this off-season and if they keep Billups they will have little cap space to work with as Billups would get $14MM if his option is picked up. They would get $11MM off the cap if they let Billups go ($14MM – $3MM buyout for Billups) and they could use that money to add some much needed size and depth.
Red Cross abandons Japan, sets up camp at Madison Square Garden
The Knicks cannot even beat the Bobcats. Are they are going to win another game this season? Do they have a legitimate shot at an epic collapse? I think the only reason the Knicks are going to make the playoffs at this point is because with 9 games to go even if they lose every game they may still end up with the 8th seed. So here is a basic recap that you could use for any game lately:
- This game was close but then the Knicks lost control of the game in the _______ (insert quarter).
- _________ (insert name of superstar) had a really poor shooting night tonight and was noticeably upset at himself for how he played.
- The Knicks had a ton of trouble containing ___________ (insert name of mediocre player from the other team) who had one of his best performances of the season.
- Coach D’Antoni inexplicably gave _______ (insert name of crappy bench player) a bunch of minutes tonight while unexpectedly sitting ________ (insert name of crappy bench player) for much of the game.
- The Knicks overall looked confused on __________ (insert word: defense or offense) for long stretches tonight.
- Hopefully, the Knicks will be able to get their pizazz back in their next game against _________ (insert name of next opponent who will clobber them).
This is just getting awful. The only explanations that make sense any more is that the team is doing this on purpose to get rid of D’Antoni or that Ashton Kutcher, with the Knicks help is going all out for the new season of Punk’d.
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