De-Emphasizing the D
Before I get into my stuff here, read Ken Berger's column on Patrick Ewing. Money.
OK, to matters of today (and last night).
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Fixers, I'm putting out a bull**** alert.
Twice in one night Isiah Thomas insulted my intelligence. First, before the he tried to suggest that Jerome James would have "looked better" if Eddy Curry wasn't around -- which suggests Jerome decided not to be in shape because he became a backup center -- and then after the game he denied concerns that his team is giving up over 105 points per game after four games.
"We'll get better," he said. "It's the fourth game of the season and we played agaisnt two high-scoring teams that took a lot of shot. We're not playing against teams that hold the basketball. When you look at possessions within the course of a game, Denver puts the ball up and Orlando puts the ball up. We'll eventually play against some teams that don't shoot as often and as quick as these two teams do and the point total will come down.
"The thing that I'm concerned with the most is whether we win or lose the basketball game. If you win the game, you know, that's all that matters. And we lost the game by not taking care of the basketball."
When did Paul Westhead take over as head coach?
I'd still like to know why the plan on defense was to double-team Dwight Howard, who, yes, is improved but really doesn't have a great post-up game. He seems more dangerous to me without the ball than with it. The guy you want to get the ball away from is Jameer Nelson. But Howard you just need to body up almost constantly, just to keep him from getting off the ground so quickly and easily.
Eddy Curry agrees with me. He says the Knicks can't use "traditional defense" against Howard, while also pointing out that guards need to stop Nelson from penetrating.
“He’s somebody that you really got to devise a defensive scheme against because he’s so athletic," Curry said. "You can’t use traditional defense against the guy. Any time a guy drives, if you step up and help, if he’s anywhere by the rim, they just throw it at the rim and he’s getting it.”
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Speaking of things relating to the letter D...
Jessica Simpson was at Friday night's Knicks-Magic game, sitting a few rows back of celebrity row. And, yes, we made eye contact several times until I finally offered her a wave and she blushed, ducked her head and giggled with her friend. She must have seen me on that web video.
Mock me if you will (and I'm sure you will!), but you can't take this moment away from me. It was a moment. A pure, delicate moment, like the time my friend barrelled over Tara Reid at this club on the Sunset Strip or when Tyra Banks asked me for the time after a WNBA all-star game (yeah, the "time" I get it...oh, really? Um, it's 9:34). Between Jessica and I, however, there was an undeniable connection.
Suddenly the crowd at MSG, the players, the other media; it all disappeared as I heard Jessica singing Oliva Newton-John's "I Love You" in a dream sequence I am not ashamed to share with you. I am confident enough in my manhood to quote ONJ in my blog, especially when it's Jessica singing it.
If we both were born
in another place and time
This moment might be ending in a kiss . . .
Dwight Howard then crashed the dream with another thunderous alley-oop over the Knicks.
I immediately text-messaged my wife (who, I should insert here, is a beautiful blonde, herself). Like some couples, we have a "list." Jessica is No. 1 on that "list." So, Ms. Simpson, with the blessing of my wife (and the fact that the Knicks play the Clippers), I'll be in LA next week . . . have your assistant call me. The paparazzi will never know. I promise.
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The Magic definitely pose a difficult matchup with all of those shooters around Howard and Nelson so quick off the dribble and good at drive-and-kicks. But can they live off the three-point bomb the way they are? Hedo Turkoglu is actually a critical component of their lineup. When he picked up two early fouls in that game, Stan Van Gundy had to put him on the bench and the Magic weren't the same. When Turkoglu was back in the second half, he was very tough on the Knicks, who couldn't defend him and Rashard Lewis on the perimeter at the same time. Here's where Jared Jeffries is supposed to help once he is back from the knee injury.
Lewis is a guy you want to make put the ball on the floor. He'll rarely go all the way to the rim, so you really want to get up tight on him. Renaldo Balkman tried that, but was called for some tough fouls (one on a three-pointer by Lewis that really didn't need to be called).
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Anyone notice the big game Shaq had last night? And there's some thought that D-Wade might -- might -- be ready to play by Sunday night.
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Somebody check TV Guide and find out when Family Feud airs. David Lee was on it with four other NBA players -- Grant Hill, Chris Bosh, Dwight Howard and Richard Jefferson -- in a charity game against their mothers. It's supposed to air Monday. Does Richard Dawson still host this thing? Because if he does, I wouldn't let his lips within 10 feet of my mom. Dirty old man.
Which reminds me of that scene from National Lampoon's European Vacation, when the Griswalds were on "Pig in a Poke."
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Move-in weekend for the Hahns. Anthony Rieber will have your coverage of Sunday's game against the Heat. I'll see you all from Phoenix on Tuesday.
Have a great weekend.
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Comments (17)
Orlando looked pretty bad last night, but the knicks looked worse.
Orlando gave the knicks pleanty of oppertunities throughout the first 3 quarters to take control of the game by missing several wide open jump shots.
About midway through the second quarter the knicks stopped scoring. They missed lay-up after lay-up, while the shooters lost thier stroke. The knicks offense was just plain ugly for a little more than half the game.
I hope no one mentions Lee's lack of PT. If he wants to be a player in this league, he better bulk up big time. The word is out, Lee can rebound. Now he is going to have to earn those double digit rebounding numbers. Instead of working on his jump shot, he should have been hitting the weights.
But thats for the off-season.....
Hey is Wade playing against us?
lives in da swamps of nj,
so, did ur fuggin pre-game analysis war & peace essay do any good last night against the magic and jamin nelson?
not a fuggin thing
ur novels are for retards
even jessica simpson eluded and percoalated against yukbury's fort knox defence. where was the centre's defence? non existent
bring back howard eisley and shandon anderson. those guys can ball
alright, so does anyone else think that Isiah's personal views are getting in the way of coaching this team. I mean, he never gives Lee any credit and almost always seems reluctant to put him into games. How many times has Lee done what Balkman did against Denver and while we heard Isiah give praise to Balkman he has almost never done that with Lee. He also always seems so reluctant to play Lee, like last night.
And I'm sorry, but if anyone had any hope that this team was going to make the playoffs, it died last night, not during the game but after the game.
When asked about giving 105+ points per game, Isiah let everyone know that he isn't even going to try to get this team to play any defense. He's just worried about turnovers:
"It's the fourth game of the season and we played agaisnt two high-scoring teams that took a lot of shot. We're not playing against teams that hold the basketball. When you look at possessions within the course of a game, Denver puts the ball up and Orlando puts the ball up. We'll eventually play against some teams that don't shoot as often and as quick as these two teams do and the point total will come down."
- Isiah Thomas
Somebody tell Isiah that its defense that limits the point total of your opponent not the opponent themselves.
Isiah must go, and he must go now. I am not down with waiting 'til the end of another disappointing season.
Get Jeff Van Gundy back in here and I assure you all that we will not only make the playoffs but we will will go far in it. We need a coach that realizes that these Knicks are a great offensive team and focuses on the defense for the first half of the season and then puts it all togethar in the second half.
Oh, and Starbury, is a nobody. I wish he would just disappear.
While i am on the subject of pple who need to go. . . Kid Dolan and that gross gut of his needs to go with Starbury and Isiah. We are the New York Knicks. We aren't the Atlanta Hawks, or the L.A. Clippers, we are the greatest city in the greatest country on earth. We expect efficiency and command respect, at least we thought we did. But now we are laughing stocks of the NBA.
I hope Isiah is fired ASAP. HE created a good team but he isn't the guy to get them to the promised land.
Does anyone disagree with me???
Patrick Ewing was in MSG tonight, it was good to see the big fella. Orlando is very fortinate to have a man with such knowlege and experierice mentor a "beast" like Dwight Howard. The knicks are stupid because they should have made Ewing apart of the knicks coaching staff so he could help turn Eddy Curry into a real center not a cream-puff who grabs only 3 rebs for an entire game, ah mean come on man, that's crazy. On the the real, it all comes down to who has the most heart and passion, and some players just don't have it. As an NBA player, you got to be hungry for this, and put it out there on the floor every night ex.Kevin Garnett.
Alan, spot on with Isiah. He lies and believes that we'll all just follow. The Knicks problems are the same as last year. Curry is an awful defender and an awful rebounder. The guards cannot defend.
"Insanity is doing the same thing, over and over again, but expecting different results"
Albert Einstein
Mark
Why don't you come to terms with your sexuality, get yourself a boyfriend, and alleviate some of your self hatred. Maybe then you'd stop spraying your venom (which is a broken record, btw) at us Knicks fans that just want to talk basketball.
Ken - just ignore and eventually it will go away. It doesn't deserve a response. Don't read. Don't respond. Just Scroll Past. (JSP) Don't feed the trolls. (DFTT)
I know, it’s only one game. But I’m praying we can look back on last night as the beginning of Q’s return to full strength. Before Zbo arrived, I think he was our best all-around player last year until he got hurt. With Zach playing like a monster, it’s hard to say who our best player would be, but what a great dilemma to have. If this team can count on the contributions from Q we were getting regularly through the first half of last year . . . it changes a lot. Again, I think he needs to move to the 2 and free up the 3 for ANOTHER strong defensive player. But wherever you play him, it changes our offensive and defensive options enormously, solidifying a significant inside/outside game with reliable jump shooting even on nights when Crawford is out of sync.
Don’t want to sound naïve, Alan . . . but what’s a “list.” I’m a couple. I don’t have one. And it sounds like I want one. (Could we possibly be talking about a fantasy we'd be allowed to indulge if it became available?) C’mon, Alan . . . what is it? Does everyone else know about this but me?
Alan,
Where has your blog gone???
I know....
Mark aka Mitch the grill has taken it over.
I feel our fortunes will change once we bench or preferably trade Marbury. His dour demeanor drags the attitude of the team down. He's got skilz obviously, but is not and will never be a leader of men.
Knicks are stocked with talent but no identifying attitude. Marbury symbolizes doom and gloom and ever realize how that impacts even your workplace?
We would instantly become the kind of team the Suns became once Starbury got the boot and we handed the rock to N8.
I'm wondering what your "list" is all about to, Alan. Is it for real?
Careful, Alan -- when this hits Page Six . . . you never know what it could lead to . . .
DFTT
I am pretty sure that Isiah knows very well that defense is a HUGE problem. When he made defense the focus of the off season, he could not have been talking about giving up 105 points per game. He just does not have the ability to admit when he has failed. I hope he is privately drilling the team about defense during practice. I am convinced that the Knicks, as currently constituted, will make it to the 2nd round if they can play even a modicum of defense.
Not hiring Ewing was another blunder that Isiah made. Even though the Knicks already have two coaches working with the big men, none is anywhere near Ewing's class. Ewing's word definitely would have carried more weight to Curry. What Ewing has done with Howard's offensive game, he could have done the same with Curry's rebounding and defense. We have noticed during the Denver game that Curry can rebound and defend when he puts his mind to it. There are not that many big men with the complete offense/defense package Ewing had. What wonder he MIGHT have done with Curry!!!
WOW ... is the first word that came to my mind after I read this article. I don't read much sports but I dont think Jessica Simpson is even on the roster of the Knicks. I used to think you were one of my dads coolest friends ... not like thats saying much but now ur at the bottom of my list. I'm sure my dad has already made fun of you about this ... actually i kno he has but I figured I would take a wack at it myself. Pretty pathetic Alan.
~hayley
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