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H2MO’?

H20/AH7/Allan Houston is making another comeback and this time he’s getting a head start on preseason training and announcing said comeback.

I would not be surprised if Jim Dolan again mandates a training camp try-out for AH7 (Jeffries is still a New York Knick at this moment so H20 is no go). The way Isiah cut Houston and kept Fred Jones instead really proved to me that Isiah was holding onto the past and not giving other players any real chance they may have deserved and earned. Although Houston had offers to play for other teams, he was only interested in coming back to play for the Knicks, and I admire that kind of commitment and loyalty.

I was at the Celtics-Knicks preseason game up in Boston that was not televised. That game was basically the only NBA-level game Houston played real minutes in before Isiah cut him. Despite the fact that the Celtics played like the future champs and the Knicks played like they didn’t have any idea on either end of the basketball court, I think Houston looked pretty good. He got up and down the floor just as I remembered during the days with Spree. He did not shoot a good percentage from the field, but who does in the first pre-season game of the year? His mechanics were pure, the shots were rimming out, I thought after watching him play about 12 minutes against the Celtics that he would do fine off the bench for the Knicks in the regular season.

I remember Isiah cut Houston the day of the open practice in Long Island. There were many, many Allan Houston fans wearing their Orange and Blue #20 jerseys in attendance that day that were waiting to see him and made the commute out to Long Island to see him in a Knicks jersey again. Like so many of these fans, I was very disappointed Isiah decided to cut Houston before the open practice. Nobody knew until much later that day that Houston had been cut from the team, just so players like Fred Jones and Jerome James could get theirs–if not ever on the basketball court, at least monetarily speaking.

If Houston can still play, if he can still still keep up the way Reggie Miller did in his later years, I say give Houston a chance to earn a roster spot. If they’re looking at someone as one-dimensional as Roberson, Houston deserves a look. If D’Antoni takes a good look at Houston and decides he’s too slow for the system at his age, I don’t think there is much sense in making him a full blown Knick again just for the sake of nostalgia.

My friend and fellow Knick fan Winston thinks the Knicks should play out Marbury in his contract year, at least until the trade deadline. He thinks since it is his last year that he would have extra incentive to be effective (see Jerome James and the horrible contract he was given for a few playoff games in Seattle) so that he can get another deal. He does not see the sense in paying Marbury to go away, especially when you consider the other options at the point on this team.

I don’t necessarily agree with Winston, but I wanted to represent his ideas here because the man doesn’t blog. Marbury has been a divisive Knick, the opposite of what a true point guard is supposed to do. His job is to put everything together into a cohesive unit on the floor and cater to his player’s strengths. Marbury has not done his job in new york the past few years. The sad part is he has all the tools to be a good point guard, it is mostly mental as to why Stephon hasn’t been on very many winning basketball teams. Maybe he just doesn’t get that thrill from making an assist that someone like Magic or Jason Kidd or LeBron does.

LeBron… Last I heard LeBron said he would not want to play with a player like Marbury. I still that that has much to do with the sneaker war and the all mighty dollar. When it comes to that debate, I’ll take a pair of Starburys over a pair of Nikes any day of the week, on the basketball court or just to wear around the block. I don’t get down with the Warrren Buffet empire like that. Steve and Barrys tried to do a good thing with their stores, it is very sad for me to see them go bankrupt.

*Note the score in the top left portion of the photo, Houston did not get burn until they were down by 30 in the second half.

*Note in the bottom left of the photo is our friend, the other AH, Alan Hahn.