New York Knicks's New York Knicks friend's fan blogs

In the first game in the new meadowlands stadium the Giants defeated the Jets 31-16.  The problem for the Giants is that the final score of the first preseason game is not always the most important measuring stick for a team’s performance.  In the first half the Giants starters were outhustled and outplayed by the Jets starters.  The Jets played a more physical game, they sustained longer drives, ran the ball effectively, stopped the Giants on the ground (Bradshaw and Jacobs netted only a yard on the ground), and even bloodied Eli Manning.  Manning’s first half injury was one of the scarier moments for Giants fans.  He had his helmet knocked off and cut his head on a Jets player’s facemask.  Manning received 12 stitches for the gash on his forehead, though he said after the game that he could have returned if the Giants needed him. 

Continue reading "Review of Preseason game 1 - Jets vs Giants"

“When I say D, you say FENCE!” Last night was the final Knicks home game of the year. Sergio Rodriguez surprisingly stole the show with 12 late points. Danilo Gallinari scored all 24 of his points in the second half as the Knicks rallied to outscore Washington 40-21 in the fourth quarter of fan appreciation night. The Knicks handed out free T-shirts before the game with the word “declare” on the front. They fired T-shirts into the stands and gave out prizes all night.

For one night at least, Knicks fans were treated to winning basketball and allowed to forget about the summer; when LeBron James and others become free agents, and the Knicks, with their $30+ million in cap room look to make a move for them. On this night, a lineup of Gallinari, Bill Walker, Sergio Rodriguez, David Lee and Earl Barron was enough to pull the game out. Going into the fourth period, the knicks trailed 82-74, and as Clyde Frazier would say “they looked tired and uninspired”. Suddenly, Gallinari awoke. He started converting three pointers and getting to the line. The Knicks survived a big game from Mike Miller for the Wizards. He scored 23 points and hit five three pointers. The Knicks had 11 threes, with Gallinari making four.

Continue reading "Knicks final home game"

The Knicks failed in their attempt to win three straight games for the first time since early in the year.  In this game the Knicks had to come back from numerous deficits, including a 20 point hole early in the contest.  They came back with three point shooting from Toney Douglas and Bill Walker.  Danilo Gallinari had another big third quarter following his 19 point third quarter outburst against Boston two nights ago. 

It seems like the Knicks are going to fall short of their record from the previous year of 32-50.  They need to win their last four games to duplicate that record.  Right now I'm somewhat upset with coach D'antoni for replacing Toney Douglas in the starting lineup.  It seemed obvious that Douglas was making an impact as a starter with his defense and scoring.  Douglas finished the Indiana game with 20 points off the bench. 

Continue reading "Knicks comeback against Pacers falls short"

 As Danilo Gallinari and Carmello Anthony continued their heated discussion during the third quarter last night, the Knicks found a way to take control of the game.  They have been playing winning basketball lately, since moving Toney Douglas to the starting lineup.  Douglas brings toughness and a lively scoring touch, not to mention a propensity for clutch play.  He seems to come alive during the second halves of games.  He went scoreless in the first half but finished with 16 points. 

 Something seems to have clicked with Gallinari lately as well.  He's become much more aggressive on offense and has been getting to the line with impressive frequency.  Gallinari's development is big for the Knicks, he's one of the few players who will still be here next season, and his sophmore campaign, which started off impressively looks like it's ending with a bang as well. 

Continue reading "The new look Knicks pull out another one"

Welcome to the starting lineup Toney Douglas! The Knicks are 2-0 in games Douglas has started, and he has clearly given the team a spark it was missing when it started Duhon and Sergio Rodriguez. Douglas has averaged 20 points over his last three games, and has brought great energy to the defensive end. His three steals against Philadelphia and clutch three point shooting helped keep the 76ers from coming back.

 Another big contributor to the Knicks lately has been Bill “Sky” Walker. Walker’s high flying dunks and surprising outside touch have been on display of late. He’s shooting near 60% as a Knick and has been a pleasant surprise in general when considering he was originally a throw-in in the Nate Robinson trade. Tracy McGrady’s frequent injuries have opened up minutes for Walker and he’s taking advantage.

Continue reading "Welcome to the starting lineup Mr. Douglas!"

CLAAAANG!!!  Another errant Knicks shot glances off the rim.  The New York Knickerbockers have mastered the art of losing for the past 10 years.  The only silver lining after this season is the possibility of signing two big name, “max contract” players.  The Knicks traded away their upcoming draft pick (along with Jared Jeffries and others) to Houston,  to free up more money for these players.  Nothing is guaranteed, the Knicks aren’t necessarily getting anyone for their trouble. 

The losing that the Knicks have been doing is a relatively new experience for their head coach, Mike D’Antoni.  D’Antoni came over from Phoenix, where he had an outstanding winning percentage, playoff appearances every year, and usually a late-season meeting with the San Antonio Spurs that ultimately would decide who would come out of the west.  Before he coached Amare Stoudemire, Steve Nash and Shawn Marion to 60 wins a year.  Now he leads Al Harrington and a band of inexperienced, below average knicks to likely two 30 win seasons. 

Continue reading "New York Knicks, what the salary cap future holds"

I ran out of words, so I now use BBM faces to express my hatred towards Jared Jeffries of the New York Knicks.  

Check it out:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9DxBwQIOKeM

Continue reading "Jared Jeffries - Undeniably the WORST player in the NBA"

Today, after receiving a pair of free tickets to the Pistons/Nuggets game at the Palace, I had a few reactions.

My first one was, “Hell Yeah! Free Pistons Tickets!”

The second one was, “Have I seen Carmelo Anthony in person?” I had to think about it, but nope, I’ve never seen ‘Melo play.

The fact is, I haven’t seen a lot of the best players in the game play.

When I was younger, I went to a ton of Pistons games, and I saw most if not all of the best players of the 90’s play in person.

But when you spend a good portion of the 2000’s in college, and the rest of it fresh out of college still looking for that high paying job that the $30,000 piece of paper you just received tells you that you deserve, it becomes a little tougher financially to squeeze in a whole lot of Piston games.

Continue reading "Three Year Bucket List"

Tim Donaghy, the referee who spent 15 months in a federal prison for his role in a betting scandal that rocked the NBA, is out of prison and looking to make a splash once again.

The NBA did a phenomenal job sweeping the whole Donaghy scandal under the rug as best they could when the revelations were made public that he had ties to organized crime and that he may or may not have affected the outcomes of NBA games.

Beyond the initial outrage, little was mentioned of Tim Donaghy and his potentially crippling claims that he bet on NBA games that he was officiating. The NBA public relations department did a great job of painting Donaghy as a “rouge” employee and assuring the public that this was a very isolated incident.

I believe that the NBA even had a hand in getting Donaghy’s sentencing hearing pushed back from April (which would have happened during the first week of the NBA playoffs, a terrible time to remind people that there once was a referee that bet on game) to later in the summer when the NBA season was over.

Continue reading "An End to the Tim Donaghy Scandal (Hopefully)"

…and we know you don’t care.  This team is not going to trick me into watching it this year.  However, I have decided that I will check in on them, as one would check in on an ailing old friend.  They looked pretty good tonight, beating the Phoenix Suns, 126-99.  I’ll just give my critique of Gallinari’s play, since I know the Knicks arent doing anything this year, and Gallo’s one of the few players I know will be around next year. 

The Knicks and Suns entered the game with records that were the complete inverse of each other (3-14 to 14-3).  Gallinari looked particularly focused on this day, starting the game with a quick dunk, and a reverse layup.  After that his shot was on target the whole night.  In addition, his passing and his defense were excellent.  He never forces anything. 

Continue reading "Knicks Blow Out Best Team in NBA (12-1-09)"