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They gave it away. The Knicks played a great game until the last few possessions. Two very costly turnovers with under three minutes remaining in the basketball game, and the gap between the 8th and final playoff spot, and the New York Knicks is further widened.

You win together as a team, and you lose together as a team, but if you saw the ending of this basketball game, you had to notice the veteran point guard leadership of the recently acquired Mike Bibby, and you simultaneously had to notice the errors committed in the Knicks’ back court.

2:11 remaining in the game: Knicks are up 91-90. Crawford’s bad pass is intercepted by the Hawks.

1:20 remaining: Knicks are still up 91-90. Crawford is called for an offensive foul off some good acting by an apparently still moving Mike Bibby. Indeed a bad call, but in your home building you get those calls some times in the NBA.

0:54 remaining: Knicks are down 91-92 because Bibby threw up an alley to the impressive Josh Smith. Back on offense, the Knicks make a play that swings the ball around the perimeter to a wide open Crawford for a baseline three point shot–no good. Perhaps someone else should have taken the shot since Crawford’s shooting was off tonight. That sounds familiar to me for some reason.

0:35 remaining: Crawford buys Bibby’s pump fake out on the perimeter, Bibby hits a wide open 20 footer to make it 91-94.

The ball game was essentially over at that point.

Zach was a beast tonight with 24p 15r 1bl, but when Quentin, Lee and Crawford combine from the floor to make just 14 of 43 shots (32%), it is no wonder the team that was able to execute down the stretch came out of Atlanta with a victory tonight. The Knicks are doing a better job limiting turnovers, but this time around, the few turnovers they did commit, unfortunately came during the most crucial part of the game.

Just got home one second ago. Are we up?

New post for anyone who wishes to use it.

LGK!

Played basketball in the city yesterday. After the gym closed, a couple of the fellas were still hanging around talking about the NBA as they often do, and someone among the small circle brought up the Knicks, so I was sure to walk over and listen in.

The consensus among the three was that Crawford was the one player the Knicks should really keep. I said nothing. Someone even said that Crawford is carrying the team, and that without him, the Knicks would be much worse. I wondered after hearing this, if this person understood exactly where in the standings the Knicks currently reside.

This other guy I played against, a very good player despite his age, added that Lee, Nate and Renaldo should be kept. I thought to myself, “I can see where this guy is coming from.”

But then the same guy who thinks Crawford is “carrying” the Knicks said he thinks Isiah deserves another year after this one. I made sure I heard him right.

They all thought Lawrence Frank was far worse of a coach than Isiah. No argument from me there. I don’t think Lawrence Frank has really proved himself as a coach yet in this league, nor has Isiah as a coach for that matter. They brought up the fact that during the playoffs last season, Frank allowed Vince Carter to continuously chuck up half-court shots instead of taking the ball to the basket. I reminded them that this is a common trait among aging players that have been injured previously. Look no further than Vince’s cousin Tracy McGrady, and how his game has changed over the years since his Toronto/Orlando days.

When I asked why Frank has yet to be fired by Rod Thorn, they said it is because of his political ability to keep his job. That may be true, but that’s also how I’d describe Isiah’s continued tenure with James Dolan’s Knicks at this point. Would Isiah Thomas the GM fire a NBA coach for going 17-39, from November through February, were it not Isiah Thomas coaching? Isiah fired Don Chaney, Lenny Wilkins and Larry Brown with comparable winning percentages, so you tell me.

But their argument with regard to Isiah staying on was that Isiah hasn’t had the right players to get the Knicks anywhere. I reminded them that Isiah hand-picked each and every player on the Knicks roster, and that he basically bet the franchise on Eddy Curry, giving up several high unprotected lottery picks to get him.

Eddy Curry was great last year as the first option every time, but now that he isn’t the first option, he’s starting to look like less of an NBA player and more of a very large and unhappy bench ornament. The Zach Randolph trade has really backfired in that respect, because last season with the ball going through Curry, as a team, the Knicks were simply more competitive in the NBA. The Knick games were more exciting last season than they are right now. Remember the frequent overtimes, buzzer-beaters, nail-biters? Not so much of that this season. Granted we only won 33 games last season, but we’re on course to win far less than that this season if the Knicks don’t get it together.

This year, they look more lost than when Larry “Next Town” Brown was the coach. Oh, that was another thing–they thought Larry Brown got a raw deal only getting one year to turn the Knicks franchise around into a winner.

Most of this is Dolan’s fault, and not Isiah’s in my opinion. Isiah is doing the best job he can, it just isn’t working out. When Isiah first came to New York, he said they’d have to be very creative and risky in order to try to get better, and that’s basically what he’s done, except the risks have backfired, especially the defensive liabilities. But the real problem here is Dolan doesn’t want to ever admit he was wrong or made a mistake, because when you are that rich, you live in your own world, with people kissing your ass instead of telling you when you suck. Dolan should not be allowed to have anything to do with a basketball team, he doesn’t understand it at all, as he’d be the first to tell you.

Just bloggin’

Good win the other night by our Knicks. Jamal got hot, Zach had another solid game, and Lee came in off the bench and produced. So we were able to close them out, but like so many of the defenders have said already, Jamal isn’t always going to shoot like that, so the keys to a victory today up in Toronto may be a little different. Jamal, when he gets going like that, is fun to watch however. As Gus Johnson would say, “Crawford has in-the-gym range!”

The game time tonight is slated for 6pm.

The Knicks have to take care of the basketball, play tight defense, and, like everybody’s been saying lately, move the ball. If they do these things, can they make it two on a row? In a few hours we find out.

I did get to see some of the #2 Tennessee vs #1 Memphis last night, what a great game. This guy Prince on Tennessee is just a heck of a competitor, they gave it 110% in terms of rebounding and defense and knocked out the undefeated Memphis to take their #1 ranking in the nation.

Derrick Rose looked like the real deal. We’ll see more from him during March Madness, but just going from last night, he can be a leader in the NBA. He had 24, 5, 5 and did whatever the game required him to do at that moment. Good ability to go coast to coast and finish at the rack, solid defense, got his teammates involved, can drive to the basket and take a hit, can pull up and stick the jumper, reminds me a little of D Wade. He might be a little short to play the two guard in NBA, but we’ll have to wait and see how his game translates at the NBA level. Dumars was a hall of fame two guard and he was the same height as Rose. Right now it looks like Rose or Beasley will go #1 and #2 in the draft, Beasley did had 44 and 13 last night, but his team also lost.

Free Wilson Chandler!

First home game in a while and its snowing outside (tonight it is supposed to rain). Tipoff is slated for 7:30pm at MSG. Bosh, Ford, Calderon, this is a good team. Tonight will be a challenge.

I guess there are many interpretations to the Knicks’ inactivity at the trade deadline. When you’re at the bottom of the Atlantic, and you get blown out by 40 the night before, it would seem that a move needs to be made. Still, nothing came through, so the Knicks will continue with what they have. I am glad we didn’t get a player like Kenyon Martin (high injury risk, even higher risk to salary cap).

So with around 28 games remaining in the season, and the Knicks currently out of contention for a playoff spot, we blog forward.

*Note: if Dolan does want to replace Isiah Thomas, and I have no idea if he does, because I am not him, but if he does intend to replace Isiah, why wait? Is Dolan trying to make Isiah look bad, they way he did with Larry Brown making him go to the draft camp in Orlando despite no longer having any say in the organization towards a draft choice? If you made the change now, you could at least make a 28-game audition for next season out of the remaining games. Maybe Dolan isn’t going to get rid of Isiah Thomas? Who really knows for sure?

Tough break last night getting blown out by 40 points after such a great ending just 24 hours prior, when the Knicks pulled out the overtime victory in D.C. Either there was no gas in the tank, or Philly just has New York’s number this year, blowing the Knicks out three out of four times on the season.

There were some positives in the game once you got passed the sting of the blowout. Wilson Chandler dusted off his warm-ups, cleared away the cobwebs and came in and shot 50% from the floor, including some nice drives to the basket. Chandler finished with 8 points and 1 block in 11 minutes of second half play. This kid never sees the light of day despite being the 23rd pick in the first round in 2007. I know he can help with some things, he is a shot blocker on a team with no shot blockers, and those nights when Q isn’t fully Q, I just wonder why Wilson doesn’t get an opportunity to test the NBA waters with his seldom utilized talent.

And Eddy Curry at least contributed offensively in the first half, finishing with 12 points 6 rebounds and 1 block in 24 minutes. Something is better than nothing, and we’ve been getting a whole lot of nothing from Eddy Curry lately. Unfortunately, Eddy’s scoring coincided with the early hole the Knicks dug for themselves, and once they went through that stretch of 4 straight turnovers, there was no coming back. What a difference a year makes. This time last year, I was so pissed Eddy was not on the all-star team, he deserved to be on there–he really was effective when we force-fed him the ball. Eddy is basically a non-factor when he isn’t the first option on a team. And most the NBA knows even if Eddy does get the ball everytime, he’s still not going to play defense on the other end of the court.

The game was not competitive.

So it is a matter of hours before the trade deadline is here, and I have absolutely no idea if the Knicks will make a move. Rather than try to cook up a homemade rumor, I’d like to know who you think the Knicks should keep on their roster beyond 2008. Although I like quite a few players on the Knicks, Zach, Nate, Lee, Renaldo, to name a few, I don’t think there should be any players that are off limits if you can somehow get back young, defense-oriented players, because that to me has been their greatest problem this season, the abysmal defense that allows the opponents their choice of going to the hole for an easy bucket, or shooting wide open j’s all day. The knicks must try to address this issue either by 3:00pm today, or come draft day in June.

The Knicks are on the clock.

Check out the picture of Eddy Curry on the Knicks home page and tell me, that was the best they could do? That photo is very harsh.

The five guys that played outstanding team basketball last night: Nate Robinson, Jamal Crawford, Zach Randolph, Quentin Richardson (keep it up!), David Lee. that sounds like a starting five in the east to me, but with Eddy Curry reportedly on the market, look for Lee to continue to come off the bench since his production is basically independent of starting or coming off the bench.

Apparently nothing more happened between Nate and Zach after the drink/towel-throwing incident on the bench–winning can have that healing effect on a team.

I think Zach is starting to play better defense. He’s not going to block many shots, but he’s at least staying with his man and sometimes even forcing steals. Now if the knicks could just improve their zone… I won’t say it. There are 29 games left to play, and the Knicks are 16-37. just take it one game at a time.

Just a few remaining thoughts on all-star weekend, which was very entertaining throughout.

Nate Robinson would do well in that three-point shootout. I believe Nate is the best three point shooter on the Knicks. I don’t know who controls it, but when Kobe went out with injury, they could have reached out to a team without a representative at all-star weekend. Instead they went with Dirk, who has been in the competition before, and was already there for the all-star game. It would be interesting to know how many NBA teams did not have any representatives this past weekend, besides the Knicks–and out of those omitted teams, which franchise is more important than New York’s? In any case, if it is exciting to see a short player in the dunk contest, when was the last time a player of Nate’s stature was a contestant in the three-point shootout?

LeBron James is quickly closing in on Kobe Bryant as the best basketball player in the NBA. The dunk he had toward the end of the second half where he powered through the lane was on three or four western conference all-stars. When was the last time you saw somebody dunk on four all-stars? He’s just a very powerful all-around player and yet he’s still humble enough to say on a regular basis that Kobe is still the best player in the league.

Senior VP of basketball operations Glen Grunwald was in New Orleans with Knicks owner Jim Dolan for the all-star festivities. Why was Glen there and not Isiah? In any case, Glen was sure to inform the press while he was in New Orleans that all Knicks players are on the market, a stark contrast from Isiah’s previous stances, which have ranged from “David Lee and Renaldo Balkman are off limits” to “everybody is off limits,” to a report that the only players Isiah likes on the Knicks are Jamal Crawford, Nate Robinson and David Lee.

There is a rumor going around that Kenny Smith is being considered for Knicks GM position, should it ever become available. I don’t see it happening, because everybody knows Kenny Smith’s personality through the great show Inside the NBA, and Knicks fans know Kenny even more through the games he calls through MSG. For Jim Dolan to hire someone who is already that familiar, it would be obvious to everyone how much of a pain in the ass Dolan’s media policies are, because you wouldn’t see the usual enthusiastic Kenny, you’d see the cautious, constantly looking over his shoulder Kenny, with the MSG PR representative glued to his hip at all times except for when he is down the road from the Knicks practice facility.

Orange and Blue mentioned he was not able to read the article I posted earlier on the possibility of Eddy Curry going to Miami. Sorry about that O&B. When I read the article, they didn’t require any registration. It basically said that Riley is very uncomfortable coaching a team without a big man, since he’s always had one. The author thinks Riles isn’t going to wait very long to secure one now that Shaq is gone in the trade for Shawn Marion. Since Riley loves a motivational challenge, and the Knicks are letting everyone know that Randolph and Curry are being shopped, the author speculated that Riley may go after Curry with some expiring contracts to offer in return.

For any of the Force MD’s who are attending the game tonight in D.C., enjoy the game. We’ll be looking for you on the screen in the living room.

Some people have understandably objected to the use of certain offensive words other people have been using on this public forum. It was never my intent for free speech to be abused in this way.

To show respect towards all bloggers, there must be a banned words list, there is no way around it. There is no age cutoff for this website, no parental guidance on this website.

As of right now, there are only two words on the banned list, and they are variances of the same word.

This is a serious matter. I want all the people who have been offended by reading any objectionable words on this website to email me these exact words [ knicksdefense at gmail.com ] so that we can take care of this problem once and for all. This is your opportunity so speak up now, or forever hold your peace.

I will somehow communicate with you the final list of banished words so that people know which words are off limits. Once the list is in play, all posts containing these words will automatically be deleted. Furthermore, if the blog software accidentally screens you somehow although you are not using any offensive words, those posts will also be deleted, and not recovered. The best thing to prevent this from happening is to never use the banned words to begin with. That’s just the way it goes with software, as many of you have complained previously when this software was implemented before.

Trying to circumvent this rule by coming up with alternate derogatory words in other languages is just as offensive, so please don’t try it, it is still disrespectful.

Overall I’d say it was an entertaining evening throughout, the skills contest, three point shootout and the dunk contest.

Watching Chris Paul move through that obstacle course, I thought he’d definitely win because the guy is so quick and precise with his maneuvers, but it ended up being being Deron Williams who took home the trophy with the the best skills. Good for Deron.

I couldn’t believe that the Spurs won that team shootout game because they had Tim Duncan and David Robinson anchoring their team. Those guys always could score. And Becky Hammon impressed me with her range as well.

I was a bit disappointed in the three point shootout because I thought Kobe Bryant was going to be competing, yet they still had some great shooters going at it: Dirk, Peja, Kopono, Daniel “Boobie” Gibson, Rip Hamilton and Steve Nash. Turns out Kopono hasn’t been playing much at all this season, but he still shot the ball lights out the best of the night and congrats to him for beating out all the other great shooters. Lord knows he’s been a knicks killer in the past with that jumper.

In terms of creativity and athleticism, the dunk contest was great. Lots of new and innovating things were tried, especially the behind-the-backboard dunks. But I’m getting pretty sick of the judges fudging up the scores. I knew without a doubt that Dwight was going to win before anybody even tried a dunk because he got robbed last year and the judges probably felt guilty about giving the sticker on the backboard dunk a 45 or whatever BS number they gave it last year.

The judges absolutely do not know what is going on, and only got maybe 30% of the dunks right in terms of scoring. Even Magic Johnson said it best, “three of us never dunked it before,” although he was joking, I do think that certain people got robbed with low scores.

Birthday cake. That was the second best dunk of the night. Highly impressive. That should have been a 50, no doubt about it, because it was new, innovative, athletic. They gave it a 46.

Don’t get me wrong, Dwight deserved the title, but I doubt one of his 50’s was even a real dunk, but a throw down from above the rim.

Anybody have any predictions for today’s all-star MVP? I’m going to guess that Kobe wins it, because I think the west will get the W with Kevin Garnett out with injured abdominals. If the east wins, probably Dwight or LeBron will get the trophy.