Thursday, December 30, 2010

Getting numbers is not enough to beat these Knicks


Ever since Amar'e Stoudamire called out his teammates and seemingly took control of the locker room the Knicks have been on a tear. Much wants to be made about who the Knicks are beating. I'm glad the media talking heads have stopped but some fans are still claiming the Knicks haven't beat anyone. That's so far from the truth it isn't funny. Without boring you with stats, just reciently the Knicks handily defeated Durant and Westbrook and the OKC Thunder while giving the business to the Boozer/Rose led Chicago team. Both teams are considered elite in their respective divisions and sport a record 2-3 games better than the Knicks.

The kicker with this Knicks team is they are not afraid to compete. You simply cannot lay off this group and cruise because they will make a run and can "drop the hammer" like Amar'e Stoudamire favorite gesture after a big play. In every win, the opposing teams have been able to get their stats. Against OKC the other day Durant and Westbrook got their numbers and the Knicks blew them out for nearly the entire 48 mins. Against Chicago, Rose got theirs and then some yet the Knicks prevailed. Checkout the recient 3 game losing streak. It took a great player in Paul Pierce to hit a last second step back jumper to defeat the Knicks. If it wasn't for a bonehead clock operator (curses!!! *mojo jojo voice*) not putting the .2 back on the clock the Knicks would have won with Stoudamire's prayer. Against Miami last week the three Queens had to play their best came collectively to beat the Knicks, scoring a total of 84pts between them. Knicks scored 91 as a team. Cleveland is the lone blip as everybody including some Knicks admitted they took that game off that day. Last example I'll make is the recent Miami loss. Lebron had a near triple double, bosh had a double double, IIgauskas dropped 14pts/10rebs in 14 mins, while Wade gave the Knicks 40pts. See my point. The only way you're gonna beat the Knicks in 2010 is if all your teams top playes have career games at the same time. Even then the Knicks are always right on their heals fighting tooth and nail always staying within striking distance of pull out an upset victory. Erase the first 10 games and this is your New York Knicks basketball club. Your season averages aren't good enough....you must bring your "A" game or you will lose.

This is coming from a Knicks team that's not even complete. The Knicks are a team that is in dire need of a rotational big man compliment what Amar'e, Turiaf, and Wilson Chandler have been able to do inside on both ends. Even though that Rookie Landry Fields has been balling, he's still a rookie and at times he gets that "deer in the headlights" look and needs to be taken out. Knicks need to either test Azubuike's knee out or make a trade to bring in an adequate shooting guard for the rotation. Billy Waller and Roger Mason both had their shot and floundered. I'm not Captain Patience the way Donnie Walsh has been. I guess he's waiting to see what happens with Melo. At the same time the season goes on and whatever moves need to be made there will be a gelling period. In my humble opinion, the Knicks can't wait till after the all-star break when the trading deadline is over. They need to add these small pieces to their rotation and reinforce the seemingly dog mentally this team has adapted this year.

Couple names:
Dalembert in Sacramento - he's a prototypical lunch pail NBA center. Rebound, block shots, dunk. He will get starters numbers in those categories in bench player minutes

Varejao in Cleveland: he's been playing well this year in a full-time starter role averaging nearly a double double with decent blocked shots. He's an uptempo player with a great motor....he's what we all wish Mosgov could be

Mike Dunlevy in Indiana: dude can light it up from the outside and fill up the stat sheet at times. He's been hurt but playing decent right now on a team that's treading water around. 500

Nene in Denver: dude is a tough Guy. He gets his 14/7/1 with a chip on his shoulder. He'd fit well next to Amar'e instead of nose to nose with him.

Honorable mention (to avoid more rambling) Zaza Pachuilla (atl), Speights (Philly), Koufos (Minn), Fernandez (Port), Mayo (Memphis)

"Now its sing song time!!!"

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Sunday, December 19, 2010

Pump the breaks...need service after 3 game skid

Lets face it...the Knicks are back, but they haven't arrived yet. Against Boston they fell victim to experience and the hand of a cold blooded assassin. In Miami, the Knicks were simply out classed and overpowered by the 3 Queens. What hurt the most was losing to the scrappy Cavaliers. The Cavs have a losing record but they don't suck. They play hard and they don't give up. They're a well coached team and the players play with pride. The coaching played a huge part in making Amar'e look human. The Cav players did a great job of cutting Stoudamire off and making him work for possession. 23pts is very pedestrian like for Amar'e Stoudamire this season.

What am I getting at? Well lets look at what the Orlando magic did last night via trade. They basically get rid of old Vince Carter, mediocre Mickeal Pietrus, overrated Rashard Lewis and seldom used Gordon Gortat for Turkalou, Jason Richardson, and Gilbert Arenas. Real NY basketball heads know that's a grade "A" fleece job. This is the great Orlando magic team that was in the Finals a few years ago and was dominating the eastern conference. Its not like they are a bad team now. They were floundering a little and the highers up knew they were not good enough to compete with the top tier teams in the league. I believe they reloaded pretty good. They needed to get better ball handlers without losing their outside threats to open the inside for Dwight Howard. Mission accomplished. The Knicks have their own holes to fill. At this point the Knicks are good enough to get into the playoffs. What's the point of getting there if you can't beat anyone? Sticking with Orlando. Are the Knicks prepared to compete with Dwight Howard inside? Are they going to be able to compete with Richardson, Hedo, Arenas and Jameer Nelson on the perimeter? The Knicks aren't good enough.

The key now is to understand the teams strength along with the coaches game plan. It doesn't need to be revamped because it works. However the team does need reinforcements. #1 is poor Ronnie Turiaf. He's the lone big man out there assigned to do the dirty work and be the glue Guy inside. He's always hurt and forces Amar'e to start at center. Knicks need reinforcements inside. At least one player to throw in the mix to slide Amar'e back to the power forward and help Ronnie out there. #2 is the holes on the perimeter. Shawne Williams has been a big surprise but the Knicks can't expect to win with the rookie Landry Fields and the inconsistent Gallo out there. They both have been great at times but the Knicks need someone that can be at least pretty good every single night. They also need an extra rotation player in the backcourt with more experience than Landry.

I believe in Kelenna Azubuike. He's a legit nba shooting guard. He's excelled in golden state even though he jumped around from starter to 6th man often under Nutty Don Nelson. Its almost Christmas so I think he might be almost ready to contribute after recovering from knee surgery. He'd be that solid rotation Guy to plug into the mix with Landry Fields in the backcourt.

Melo, Melo, Melo, Melo.....how much is it gonna cost to get him? New Jersey made a move to get the same picks the Knicks wanted to ship over to Denver. The Knicks look to still be on the fence with Denver's stingy management. Do the Knicks need Melo? Yes...I know I've flip flopped on that subject, but after watching the Cavaliers put clamps on Amar'e and watching Gallo all but disappear when they needed him to produce buckets....I'm back on the bandwagon. Knicks need a true consistent scorer lined up next to Amar'e.....period. The Knicks can't properly compete without one. It's the difference between them crawling from pretenders to contenders *Clyde voice*

Go Knicks!!!!
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Monday, December 13, 2010

"The Knicks are back!"..."How sweet it is!!!"

I've been in disbelief the last few weeks. The last time I wrote a blog the Knicks were tail spinning. The offense was stagnant. Guys were just shooting every time they got the ball behind the 3pt line. Nobody was driving the ball and attacking the defense. They yweren't passing the ball. They weren't playing defense aside from blocking shots. They weren't rebounding. The pick and roll was horrible. It was a scene that us true orange and blue diehards were used to. It wasn't anywhere near Christmas and fans wanted D'antoni fired. I wasn't there yet, but I was definitely ready to abort the Gallo project for help inside....Well, Christmas is around the corner and the difference between the first 10 games and the last 14 is night and day.

The Knicks are running a beautiful ad campaign right now. They are connecting the past to the present. This time the organization didn't throw its fan base under the bus with that "formidable....you hear that Boston?" embarrassment. Its ironic that the Knicks next game is against those same Celtics. This time around they probably aren't laughing at us while licking their chops. The 2010 Knicks are the hottest team in the NBA. That is not fiction, that is a fact. 13-1 in the last 14. The proof is in the stats...and the truth is in STAT!

What brought on this resurgence? Did the Knicks trade for Carmelo Anthony and Chris Paul? Nope...for the first time in a decade all the pieces seem to be falling in place for our Knicks. Raymond Felton is making a name for himself and that name is All-star! (Check the stats and the record people!!!) When Amar'e came through he told us his name was STAT. In New York we're calling him MVP! (How many 30pt games does he need to prove that?) Wilson and Gallo have become solid NBA starters in this league. Wilson was ready from day one this year....Gallo needed Amar'e to badger the team in the media to figure out he's allowed to dribble in the NBA....also what can you say about our rookie Landry Fields? John Wall was the favorite amongst his jockers and Blake Griffin is a super freshman being drafted last year but never playing a game. Who's the top rookie behind those two rock stars? Landry!!! He was overlooked because of the school he went to but he is turning out to be the steal of the draft. If you disqualified Griffin and went by winning record, Landry is hands down the Rookie of the year. Clyde Frazier said it before I could. Believe it brother.

What's left to believe? That the Knicks can pull out a victory in their next to games....game 1 being the hated Celtics and....*wait for it*.......those 3 Queens in Miami!

"Bong!!!" Lil' Fame voice
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