The year of the Dragon: Free Jeremy Lin

First off I want to say he is an American. Brother was born and raised here in California. Not for nothing guys, California is the land of the point guards. Its where ttyhe best point guards are coming from in todays game. New York is no longer producing all world point guards anymore. I think that all died with Sebastian Telflair. What has he done lately? With that said, Jeremy Lin is in this generations group of California dishers and swishers. Their recent legacy? Try Jason Kidd, Andre Miller, Deron Williams, Brandon Jennings and our very own Baron Davis. They can ball out there and these are just some of the eguys sthat made it to the NBA. There are countless street legends out there that will forever be on californicationers (©, lol) minds the same way guys like Booger Smith was for Brooklyn when I was coming up. Im from Brooklyn so I saw them all. I know for a fact Jamal Tinsley can ball because he personally bust my tail in a pick up game near Tilden High School. Somewhere out there a guy is saying the same about Lin and wondering why this baller isn't cracking the Knicks rotation. I mean the Knicks need a point guard and at the same time had ttghe audacity to ship Lin off to the d-league. All he did was drop a triple double in his FIRST GAME! It was legit too...28/12/11.

Check his college career...he played for Harvard. That's a joke for anyone who wants to play that ignorant card. Fact of the matter is he dominated the conference and lead Harvard to its best season ever before he went pro. Google that. His NBA career? The NBA slept on him too. He goes out and dominates the summer league. Chris Webber can be heard screaming in the background as Jeremy Lin took it to John Wall. He didn't have just a few nice plays, he came out of that game on par with Wall in every facet of the game. Don't believe me? YouTube it! So why did I he fall into the Knicks hands? Golden State has money and expectations tied up in Monta Ellis and Stephen Curry. The kid with the non guaranteed contract is the one that has to go.

So why...WHY isn't this guy getting burn on the Knicks? I mean they need a point guard and he gets shipped to the d-league. There has to be a reason why they signed him. Was it a publicity thing? I'd like to believe D'antoni and the Knicks are better than that. Lets say they believe in this guy the way I do. Did they think they could just stash Lin in the d-league for the future? Lin clearly stated in his first game the future is now. Do ttyhey want to keep his value down so ttyhey don't have to pay him next year? Aside from those questions...think about it. Do you really believe Jeremy Lin wasn't dominating the likes of Mike Bibby and Toney  Douglas everyday in practice? He had to be killing them. Are they trying to hide him, hoping they can keep him from shining? Chinese new year was the other day. Its the year of the Dragon. If that isn't ironic I don't know what is. I'm cheering for this kid to succeed in New York. I want him to stay with the Knicks. Not because we have the cool Asian guy that can ball. I want this kid to succeed because he can and deserves to show that to the NBA audience. The Knicks deserve to have a young talented point guard like this. I don't want him to lose his confidence messing around with NBA politics. This dude needs his shot. Go Knicks!!!

Checkout our Melo D!

“That’s in the back of our mind,’’ Carmelo Anthony said of erasing the no-defense moniker following the Boston sweep. “For me, personally, I’m on a personal vendetta. I get tired of hearing it. We get tired of hearing it. And just bringing Tyson [Chandler] on made it that much better. The last five games we’ve been doing a great job. - Berman,  ny post

What did you see with your own eyes last night against the 76'ers Diehards?

We have been reading quotes like the one above from Carmelo all off-season and pretty much all year so far. The proof that what he's saying is true starts out there on the court. The Knicks have installed a switching/zone defense where guy automatically switch when they reach a certain area. I've noticed it the last few games but it was working perfectly last night. The concept kept Philly from catching any real rythmn all game and it help the Knicks soften the blow on any run they tried to go on. This has nothing to do witty Tyson Chandler or Shumpert individually. The team as a whole seemed to have bought into this new defensive concept and as a fan that enjoys the game on a X and O level, I must say I am thoroughly impressed! This new philosophy makes everyone accountable. These concepts can't work unless the star players take the lead and get their hands dirty. Carmelo can be see throwing signs in the game. One sign that stood out is when Philly brought the ball up and Carmelo could be seen swiping the back of his headband with both hands. When he did this the guys behind him got into position. When did you see something like this in the last 10 years? Seeing is believing and I feel sorry for time Warner cable subscribers because the revolution of the Knicks defense will not be televised for them.

The zone/switching scheme has allowed guys to show off their quick hands on defense. Shumpert has been doing his Derek Harper/Clyde impersonations for fast break layups off the steal. Melo has also been able to get in the lane and steal passes off the switch. If the Knicks don't get a steal, they get the turnover. It happens often enough to keep teams under control therefore surpressing huge runs that plagued the Knicks in the past. Another thing the Knicks are doing is trapping players on the corners out by the 3 point line. It causes the team to make a desperate scramble and the Knicks have been getting the turnover almost every time they do it.

What Knicks are you watching? I can't believe my eyes watching these guys play. The evolution of the team from game one till now is night and day. To think that the defense is what is leading this D'antoni coached team is ridiculous. Credit who you want. Mike Woodson  definately needs the props but the accountability the players are taking, especially with Carmelo taking the lead is monumental. Funny thing about it is the offense right now sucks. They are getting by on talent right now. All the guys need to do is hold on and not listen to the internet destractions. There was a rumor that the Knicks were gonna sign Keith Bogans and we all heard the Dwight Howard rumors. One thing is for sure. Baron Davis will play for the Knicks this year and is about 2-3 weeks away. If the defense can continue to improve with their new concept, inserting Baron will ignite the offense to levels we've seen in the past. We all seen the proof in that with other point guards, especially Raymond Felton. Baron is better than Felton....just saying!

Off to see the Wizards

The Knicks are in a dangerous spot right now as far as confidence and cohesion is concerned. They took out Boston and the Kings because both teams were missing something. Boston didn't have Paul Pierce or "P P man" as I like to call him. Sactown just fired their coach so they are far worse than us as far as being ready to play a nba basketball game. Are the Knicks in trouble tonight against the Wizards? Hell yes.

Public enemy number one on the wizards is their shooting guard, Nick Young. The dude plays lights out when he's playing the Knicks. John Wall understands the lights will be on and he wants them to shine on him so he will be ready to play. Blatche and McGee are two young carbon copies of Amar'e and Tyson Chandler. Only thing is these kids have been playing with each other for a while now. Judging by what Boris Diaw did the other day to the Knicks, how can you not expect the worst? Add Rashard Lewis shooting from the outside as well. Somehow the Knicks always find a way to leave him open. All hell can break loose and we might finally hear a "Fire D'antoni" chant sooner than later.

Can the Knicks win? Not just against the Wizards. I'm talking anyone. Right now the Knicks are playing to the strengths of the other team. First off, running the offense through Melo lets the whole defense take a break because whoever is guard in Melo is preparing for 26 points to be put on them anyway. Keeping the ball handling duties on him lets the rest of the team relax. They need to run the offense as if Baron Davis is starting. Toney  Douglas is not a point guard. Yeah we get that. He's still a decent guard. The lame duck right now is Landry Fields. I talked about him in my last blog. Right now the Knicks have Balkman and Novak coming in at small fwd. They have Jorts coming in for the power fwd and center spots. Where is the Knicks weakness you ask? Landry Fields is not built for prime time. His confidence is shot. How you fix a professionals confidence is you take his spot and give it to someone who is playing better. That man is Iman Shumpert. The kid deserves to play 35 mins a game. Landry on the other hand needs to take Balkman and Novak's minutes backing up the forward spots. Landry lead all nba guards with like 7 rebounds a game last year before the Melo trade. The dude is a natural rebounder. Sounds like a forward to me. He practiced the corner 3 pointer all summer? Sounds like a forward to me. Shawne Williams has left a void on the bench when he took the well deserved money from New Jersey. Landry should fill that spot easily.

As far as the back up guards? Well you need to start both Toney  and Shumpert. They are the best the Knicks have. The Knicks don't have the luxury of keeping talent on the bench. If Shumpert or Toney  need to play 48 minutes then so be it. Baron will solve that as soon as he's back making Toney  a deadly 6th man. The bench is not dead though. Billy Walker is not going dunk on anyone any time soon. He is however a legit threat behind the 3 point arc. He shoots the 3 well were the shooting guard usually gets it, straight on or at the elbows. That's a nice contrast to the dynamic play of Shumpert. Walker also has a mouth that makes players want to choke him after games (ask Kevin Garnett). That's highly valuable in my humble and absolutely correct opinion! At this point Mike Bibby is done. Jeremy Lin however is not. The kid needs his little 15 minutes of real playing time now while Baron can't play. Lin is a point guard. If you YouTube the kid you can see how good he is. "Jeremy Lin vs. John Wall" is all you need to search for. Oh snap! How convenient is it that the Knicks are playing John Wall tonight!

Lets hope our team wakes up. I don't need my television filing for another restraining order on me. Go Knicks

Baron Davis: take your time but please, HURRY UP!

Iman Shumpert is a game changer. After what I saw in only his second game, fresh after straining his MCL ligament...this kid is absolutely for real. I'm talking a legit rookie of the year candidate unlike that bum Landry Fields from last year. What a joke Landry is! I hate to bash players in this spot so I'll be clear. I would love to hangout with Landry and throw down some pints of Guiness but no way do I want this dude playing on my professional basketball team! We heard about him practicing his corner 3 point shot and marveled at his new 24 inch pythons he got from training like Hulk Hogan in the off-seaon. What we got as a result is a dude that is absolutely scared to play NBA basketball. Where did he get better? He practiced a broken jumpshot all summer? Nobody tried to fix his mechanics? His shot is flat. I got into it on a message board about it and they brought up Reggie Miller and their favorite awkward shooters. Its embarrassing to even debate that. It doesn't matter how a guy shoots as long as the shot is consistant and has an ark giving it a chance to go in. Landry might as well one arm pitch it to the rim at this point. The dude can't put it on the floor either. His confidence is shot and I've come to the conclusion that this man is not made for MSG. He disappeared ever since the Carmelo deal. Its not the rookie wall. Its not that he doesn't get touches. The dude is afraid of the lights. Trade this guy....Please! At the very least put a real baller in and let Landry fill in behind guys that aren't afraid to play this game and compete. Its Shumpty Shump time!

Toney Douglas is what he is. He is not a point guard the same way Landry Fields is not a shooting guard. Thing is Douglas competes and doesn't give up. When Baron Davis makes his debute, Douglas will florish in the six man role. The same way you saw Iman Shumpert just come in and apply is will on the game, Baron Davis will do pretty much the same thing. Baron is a ball player. I had the privilage of seeing him live at rucker park when they had the tournament putting city against city. He showed up with his California squad and absolutely dominated. The man is a ball player. Nothing more or less. When he steps out we will see what this team is truly capable of. Right now Melo is struggling and working too hard for his 30 plus points. Stoudamire looks lost and laboring as well. Stat's body language to me suggest he isn't having fun out there. Baron takes the ball out of Melo's hands and lets him become more of a reciever where he could have room to operate. Stat will have his pick and roll back. Instead of moving the ball north and south, you will see the ball going east to west and guys will fall into their roles accordingly. Right now everyone is lost trying to do things they have no business doing. As a result the defense is out of sinc. Nobody is having fun out there.

Now fans...I hear you chanting for D'antoni to be fired. At this point, especially after seeing Balkman launch a three pointer last night, I'm ready for him to be fired as well. My thing is don't lose focus. The Knicks aren't stable yet. Shumpty Shump is gonna claim his spot at the starting shooting guard spot. Baron will be here soon running this team to its potential. Then Kenyon Martin will be here in March as soon as he's legally ready to join a NBA team. Don't abandon ship just yet. Our time is coming!

Scouting the Knicks: Take your foot out the grave

I been quietly observing the Knicks these past few weeks since  the season got reinstated. The Tyson Chandler trade from heaven. Signing Bibby. Shumpert looking like a draft day steal in preseason. Picking up Baron Davis off fresh off of clearinb amnesty waivers. It was fun for a hot second because it seemed the basketball gods had thrown us a bone for the first time in 10 years. The season starts and all it took was a third quarter implosion for every single Knicks fan to abandon ship. You guys should be absolutely ashamed of yourselves!

I bought my 8 year old son his first Knicks hat just before Christmas so he could have it in time for the game. I taught him his first lesson in becoming a fan of a team. NO FLIP FLOPPING! Once you are a fan, in the Knicks case you need to also understand that the Celtics are public enemy number one. I went into depth teaching him the history of every NY sports team and I think he understood what responsibility he has now. I learned this on my own following sports all my life. I wonder what in the world happened to New York fans especially when it concerns the NY Knicks? Sure we've had a rough decade. Quite embarrassing to say the least. As of today none of that matters because of whahts going on with the team today. The Knicks have the talent and the ability to manuver the roster as it sees fit. It should be all sunshine eand Daisy's for all of us.

Lockout....shortened training camp....short preseason....early injuries. Did I miss something? Forget the Knicks for a second. Dallas and Boston have yet to win a game. Do you see the media throwing them under the bus? I mean the Knicks beat Boston on Christmas but you would never have known if you watched the NBA tv highlights or listened to the bums on TNT. What is it about having New York on the chest that brings on such hate and disrespect? Fans are undulging in self hate already. Its only been 3 games! Reggie Miller was killing the Knicks last night while calling the Lakers game. In my opinion, the refs were calling alot of stupid calls. Travels, offensive fouls, not calling fouls on the shot allowing the Lakers to capitalize on the turnovers. Lets just ignore the fact that the Knicks are hobbled and trying to run the offense through Melo for the first time without a real training camp. Lets ignore the fact that Landry and Tony Douglas are playing gout of position and over their heads as fill in starters. Baron Davis and Shumpert are hurt. One never played a game for the Knicks the other is a rookie. One could take the dark road and say the Knicks are in trouble if they are waiting for those guys to save them. You could also skip through the tulips and acknowledge that Shumpert is probably a first team all rookie selection/rookie of the year candidate. Baron is also a walking 15 points and 7 assist guy. Add those elements and the Knicks would probably be undefeated right now.

I ask you Knick fan. Where are your balls? I'm not talking Spaulding either. Find your courage. Drink your kool-aid and get back on the bandwagon before I start naming names up in here! Lets give this time. Its a short season, but its still 60 something games to be played. I think its ironic that "Sactown" is up next. Grow a pair will ya? The Knicks are on the road now. Lets get ready for the home stand and get behind our guys till health and reinforcements get here!

Build the power within

All the players are begining to gather at the MSG facility. We're hearing about all the new muscles Toney Douglas and Landry Fields have packed on now. We're hearing about Carmelo being healthy, focused and arguably in the best physical shape he's ever been to start a season. A'mare is hard at work in florida and should bring his topless practicing self to westchester by Wednesday. Chancey is in denver resting his nuggets....you see the theme? Its no wonder they don't release a calender so fans can really admire the body's of professional atheletes that are supposed to be inproving their already near peak conditions anyway. Landry in a speedo. Get it done!

In all seriousness, the talk of building and improving players from within is the way the Knicks should focus. What else are we hearing? Grant Hill? That dude signed in pheonix a few years ago because the Knicks weren't good enough. Now he's on the last legs of his career and he's on our radar again. At this stage of the game how much better is Grant Hill than Landry Fields? The Knicks don't have a need for a utility guy with Landry on the roster. Carmelo is the man at the 3. At the 2 the Knicks now have Iman Shumpert who's going to make an impact without a doubt this year. Grant Hill in my opinion is thinking about post career right now. Are the Knicks also looking to have him smiling for the camera and possibly behind the scenes one day?

Another guy mentioned is Anthony Parker. He's being sold to fans as a sharp shooter. If you believe that then you believe anything. Anthony Parker is a bum. If you watch games then you know the Knicks would be better off signing Shawne Williams who knows the system and has a point to prove....and he also can be labeled a sharp shooter if Anthony Parker is. Its a joke in my opinion.

The Knicks have financial stability and once Chancey Billups is off the books they will have wiggle room to make real improvements year to year. Press the easy button. Allow the the guys in house to build chemistry. These players aren't terrible. What the Knicks do need is a center. They have Jerome Jordan in europe playing very well. He is putting up numbers that translate to 20pts and 7 rebounds per 36 mins. He's playing against grown men that play the chippy euro style. He's getting banged out there. He's ready for the nba now. Its not your fathers euro league. The talent is very strong. No one is expecting Jerome Jordan to be Patrick Ewing. He could very well be servicable to platoon with the kid from kentucky and a veterans minimum guy.

Let's not try to hypnotize fans with nonsense. Fans that are talking about other low level players like Anthony Parker like they are going to do something need to take a chill pill. I got another blog coming to speak on Chris Paul. Get your mind right everyone!

Knicks are back (almost), blog is back, and goes is the drama

I can blow a big sigh of relief now that its basically a fomality that my Knicks are gonna play some ball in 2011/12. Its been hard for me as a blogger because I want to talk basketball not get into my political views and just stress myself out. I mean I put it in my introduction. True fans want to hear about the game. I'm in a union with my day job and I don't need to sit home or in the toilet at work reading about labor disputes with the NBA. I have a huge opinion on what transpired this summer/fall. I'll leave that to guys that sell papers and talk smack on tv. Basketball is back baby. My new Knicks gear is on back order. Christmas is coming. Fresh gear and fresh season. Santa gets extra cookies this year!

Ok got that outta the way.....

Rumors are spreading, there's rumors a gwon! *in my Greggory Issacs voice*

Chris Paul's agent formally requested a trade to the Knicks. It was immediately shot down by Paul as "just rumors, I can't control that". Its irritating to see these guys react like they are being attacked. Melo did the same thing last year. They know what's going on. Someone is feeding these "sources" with information good enough to put reporters names and reputation on the line and in print for all to see. Let's not forget....Chris Paul started this! He was the one that was talking smack at Carmelo's wedding infront of alot of people. There were reporters present that can confirm his shananagans. So yeah, Chris Paul wants to be a Knick. Will it happen? That's another story.

Can it happen? Absolutely. The Knicks have Chancey Billups contract that is almost equal to Chris Paul's salary wise. It would only take adding Balkman's contract to the deal to make it work on paper. The Hornet's are going to try and fleece the Knicks but the Knicks already gave up all their future picks to Denver. What the Knicks do have is Landry Fields, Toney Douglas and Iman Shumpert. Now would you sell your Knicks soul for Chris Paul? The Knicks as a franchise has gone all in when it comes to selling out just to get star players. Why stop now?

I personally hate Chris Paul's game. I think he trash talks too much during the game. His trash talking gets personal and he screams at the top of his lungs saying all types of things. I saw this myself live at MSG. He's  rubbed me the wrong way ever since. I don't even think he's that good as far as passing and creativity. Chris Paul's game is alot like Stephon Marbury's game when he was in his prime. Stop and think and you probably would agree. Paul forces the issue with his dribble and is a shoot first, pass when Im in trouble kind of point guard. Deron Williams in my humble opinion is the guy the Knicks need to try and get....thats if they even need to do that.

The Knicks have an opportunity to solidify their team this year. They need a center and a shooting guard. They have Landry Fields coming off a all rookie season and a rookie in Iman Shumpert that is looking to be something special as a scorer a la Latrell Sprewell at the shooting guard spot. Why not add a center and another vet to solidify things and make a run right now? Chancey Billups is old now, but hes not dead. Derek Harper came to ny old as hell and would have won the finals mvp if the Knicks would have won it in 1994. Steve Nash, Jason Kidd....just bloggin.

Anyway this is my blog...im back, im orange and blue and I know what to do! Write, write, write!!! Go Knicks!!!