Knicks lose at Orlando after three competitive quarters and miserable 4th quarter. Some thoughts:
- Early indications are that the shuffled starting line-up DID work. They had a 5 point lead after the 1st quarter. No big deal you say? Well bite your tongue! It was only the 2nd time all year that they held a lead of 5 or more after the 1st quarter! In contrast the Knicks have been down by 5 or more after the first quarter 14 times this year.
- With David Lee and Jared Jeffires infused into the front line in that 1st quarter, Knick fans saw things like "offensive rebounds", "deflected passes"; and even some nice ball movement that resulted in wide open three point shots for players. Quite encouraging.
- Curry and Zach were never in the game at the same time. A good start.
- Rashard Lewis and Hedo Turkolu went 7-10 from 3 point range. Ouch.
- Q Rich’s injuries (off-season back surgery; hyper-extended elbow) has clearly affected him, but keeps getting 36 minutes where he shoots the normal 3 for 12.
- Seriously, Isiah’s allegiance to Q despite brick after brick is inexplicable. Send the man to rehab.
- If Marbury comes back whole (not looking very likely!) with the new adjusted line-up, we can see just how much is the ingredients and how much is the chef.
- In other NBA news, Chris Paul dropped 40 tonight. Stick CP3 at the Knicks point and we’re a 50+ win team THIS year. BTW, good to see Marvin Williams doing a little something in Atlanta the last few games to avoid poor man’s Sam Bowie status…
- Free Renaldo Balkman! Do you think that The New York Daily News can print THAT poster for its fans?
MODI
Excellent observations and some damn funny analysis…
When IT did not start the same unit for the second half, after a very gritty and gutty performance by those very same players in the first half.
The GAME was over. I’ve played on plenty of TEAMS and that sort of hubris just doesn’t fly in a TEAM setting if no injuries have occurred.
Scandalous behavior by IT! Just the wrong move! He played, so he should know better. Talk about bush league!
IT has succumb to the pressures of NYC. The city that never sleeps will tempt you and try you, because the allure is if I CAM MAKE IT THERE I CAN MAKE ANYWHERE and I”LL BE THE MAN…Not many athletes in my lifetime can make that claim…
He won’t be the first or the last HOF caliber athlete that got Swallowed up and ended up in the BELLY OF THE BEAST we righteous call NEW YORK CITY…That’s My Home!
I’m just bloggin Modi! But it is something to ponder and consider…
I’m just saying…
Keep it POPPIN!
“When IT did not start the same unit for the second half, after a very gritty and gutty performance by those very same players in the first half.”
I completely agree. That showed a lack of confidence, sends the wrong message to your own players, and reaks of coaching desparation. As a coach he has been shook, and it is affecting his coaching performance.
Cooley, this also raises a bigger point that i hates about many of my fellow NYC fans. i honestly feel that we make our teams worse before better. I believe that some of our players might thrive better elsewhere, but not here. i also see this all the time with spoiled fickle-ass Yankee fans. I thought that the whole booing AROD thing was ridiculous. Do you remember Greg Maddux turning down more money to NOT play for the Yankees in ’92… stuff like that annoys me…
Modi,
Absent any real information on the goings on, the fan base is left to speculate as tempers and moods percolate.
You’re spot on Cooleyhigh–NY is the perfect percolator.
I hereby declare that if someone wants to prove their mettle, you are Welcome to NY! Kobe, you ain’t done a thing (rings and all) until you’ve done it at the Mecca or on the Big Apple.
NY tabloids are always about “what have you done for me lately?” and they act like they speak for all NYers. They will write good riddance when a franchise player/warrior gets traded and then make public apologies years later and advocate for his reinsertion to the team’s staff.
Those of us who were “made” here in NY have our skin thick and taught and we can see Monty coming from City blocks away. He’s that dude with the cardboard for a table top, a set of playing cards, and a bucket for legs. Some fellas call him Skip because he’s always ready to skip over to the next street corner/Borough/Precint/NBA Town and run his game.
We’ve seen many Skips in our lifetime and survived them all. We’ve seen playground legends as Monty, we’ve seen HOFers as Montys. We ARE, NEW YORK! We will outlive the 3-card Montys.
well said Steady…