If the West Coast is laid back, my man Renaldo Balkman is more California than board shorts.
"Sup Rey," I said as I walked in the Knicks locker room at Oracle Arena before Sunday's game against the Warriors.
"Whassup baby," Balkman replied.
You knew this was the type of game the hustling second-year forward might get some burn in. He's been in and out of the lineup, the doghouse and the minds of Knick fans throughout this season. Isiah Thomas would only offer a cryptic "good to have him back" a few weeks ago when Balkman re-emerged after a few weeks, as Thomas put it, "MIA."
We never quite got an explanation for it. Thomas said to ask Balkman and Balkman said he had no idea what Thomas was talking about. There's probably something about practice work habits and night-activity discipline involved here. Rey was put in timeout for a while, just like Nate was earlier in the year.
The disappointing thing about Balkman's second season is he hasn't quite shown signs of improvement or development. He enters games without much to offer on the offensive end -- he says he works on his shot, but it's more than just shooting the ball that develops you as an offensive player -- and he has yet to show enough on the defensive end to make him an effective player. In fact, you could argue that he was more effective last season.
Don't figure to see him in the Rookie-Sophomore game in New Orleans. The Knicks won't have anyone there at All-Star weekend this year. At least in the past few years they had someone in the Dunk contest and the Rookie game.
Balkman is still a very raw player, but he fancies himself a stopper. Perhaps he'll get a chance to show a little D Tuesday against Kobe. Before you laugh, ask yourself who the heck else the Knicks can put out there against Kobe? Jamal Crawford struggled so noticably to keep Monta Ellis in front of him that Isiah had to go with a zone defense for most of the game against the Warriors. It worked until Stephen Jackson got hot from downtown. Once he found the seam in the zone -- and kept going to the side where the big was forced to come out -- the zone was useless for the Knicks.
Balkman had a few J's tossed over his head in the game as well, but for a guy whose minutes have come and gone and come again, he played a good game, with 11 points and two steals and matched a career-best three blocked shots. Those were three of five blocks for the Knicks, who are the worst shot-blocking team in the NBA.
Can you guess who had the other two for the Knicks?
(Answer below)
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The Knicks will practice today at UCLA -- but not at Pauley Pavillion, at a student athletic center. The song may say it never rains in Southern California, but it is while the Knicks are in town. No Venice Beach pickup games for me.
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@Jeff: I know of LeBron's friendship with Jay-Z. But as long as that team is playing in the swamplands -- who really thinks that Brooklyn thing is going to happen? -- LeBron isn't going there. Whether it happens or not with the Knicks, you still have to set yourself up to be a player. It makes no sense to eliminate yourself from contention before you even know if you're a contender.
By the way, the Cavs, who beat the Lakers on Sunday, have remained in town a few days as part of their road trip.
If I see LBJ around town, I'll ask him.
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The answer to the blocked shot question: Crawford. A guard.
Aw man, crazy.
Comments (9)
Alan, let me ask you...do you have a BLATANT bias of Jamal Crawford? I know you are enamored with guys like Balkman, Lee and Nate...Jamal leads and is respected. The ball should have been in his hands, not Nate's, at the end of the game last night. He would have been smart enough to slow the tempo and not run rampant like a chicken without a head.
I thought Nate absolutely killed the game last night with that traveling call in the fourth Q. I also think he is out of control and I sometimes wonder why Isiah even lets him make an attempt to run the point. Nate completely played in to GS's tempo, which was the exact opposite of what we needed to do. Also his "D" on Diddy was worse than anyone's on the team. He has zero idea on how to run a team and Isiah shouldn't be allowing him, iin critical and close situations, to play on-the-ball.
I am actually psyched for Fred to return because Nate needs to be played for 25 mins a game. Not 35. He is way too feast or famine and he is mostly chaotic. He doesn't make anyone better.
What's up with your boy Lee? You talk about Balkman's lack of game improvement, but Lee, his offense of late...when he tries to make post moves, is deplorable. Plus, the guy is also crap on D. Put a HAND up and stop watching the ball sail over your head.
Balkman, however, he has improved a bit more than you think, esp in the FT area. Like the pass from Collins to JC under the bucket on the backdoor play.
Curry can whine all he wants about PT...get some boards and stay focused and you stay on the floor.
Also, isiah's coaching acumen is so suspect...timeouts are also used to kill momentum...and make adjustments...i rather have ellis scoring 2's than sjax making threes.
Nah, Hahn. I don't see Lebron going to the Knicks as long as his man crush owns .00056 percent of the Nets. There's also been talk on the Jay-Z side of things that he's in line to have a bigger stake in the organization.
If the Brooklyn thing doesn't work out (and I strongly believe it will once Forest City compromises with Don't Destroy and scales back their proposals) the Nets could always move to that nice arena down in Newark.
However, the Nets aren't just going to let that $400 million investment from Barclay's go down the drain. They're not throwing millions at community based organizations all over Brooklyn for nothing. This city is just dying for a pro team to come to Brooklyn and don't think for a second that Stern and even the WNBA/D-League (getting the Liberty from under MSG's thumb and adding a D team to the area are on the agenda) aren't keeping their fingers crossed as well for Ratner to come in and make the immovable object, Dolan, irrelevant.
Personally, I think Lebron has a greater chance of staying in Cleveland than anything. But if he leaves on his own accord, it won't be to go to anywhere but Rocafella-ville. The Knicks only hope is that the camel back rapper catches him in bed with Beyonce. They should focus on a more attainable goal - a disgruntled Wade, provided the Heat don't draft Beasley.
alan,
TOUGH GAME LAST NIGHT...
alot of bad matchups .nellie ball at its best.
once jackson started hitting his three ball it was a wrap.
BUT THE GUYS PLAYED HARD LAST NIGHT.
IF THEY KEEP PLAYING HARD LIKE THAT
THEY WIN MORE GAMES THAN THEY LOSE.
but they are never consistent on the energy level.
HYPER AND HUSTLING ONE GAME
AND DEAD MEN WALKING THE NEXT.
jamal will never be a defensive stopper so to expect that is just silly...he plays hard and is our only consistent offense right now.
he going to the rim alot more this year so even when his jumper is not falling he is still enough to keep us in the game.
nate is just nate...what makes nate great is also what makes me want to choke him,but i do think his energy is contagious.
WE STILL HAVE A GLARING WEAKNESS AT SMALL FORWARD.
that was the perfect up and down game to give chandler some burn.
and randolph morris's contract expires at the end of the season and we still don't know what he has to contribute...
and david lee is useless on defense.
how can a guy that athlectic be so bad on the defensive end?
put a hand up or something...
i always thought that billy donavan's florida teams were known for its defense.
Zippy, im confused why you keep ripping on nate he was our leading scorer (22) and assist man (8). Nate scored most of his pts in the 4th quarter too. And did you notice that when Nate drove no one could keep them in front of him and he got fouled almost every time? I agree with you that the carrying turnover was bad, but he did more good then bad that game.
And Alan by the way in the paper today you made a mistake. With 10 seconds left in the game it was q rich and jamal that missed the 3's not nate. Nate got the loose ball (like usual) and dished it to Q.
Kenneth is right about the Q shot, which raises the question of why Q is in the game late anyways.
NYC 2 Infinity - I agree on the up and down play - I think that is because there are big minute guys on the team who have no hustle. Zach works in that he fights for boards, but he doesn't scramble or dive for loose balls, or get after it on d, and Curry is a slug. That can kill any energy that builds up. Jamal may work hard, but only on one end of the floor - I'm really getting sick of his matador routine - he's too good of an athlete to be that crappy of a defender.
Overall, the Knicks played with the sort of effort that keeps them in games (and gets more wind then the first 30 of the season) and makes for more entertaining watching. Isiah switching to a zone is a rare sign of actual coaching. Could an offensive set or two be next?
I love Balkman, but one of his big problems this season is just staying on the floor when he gets the chance. I love his aggressiveness but it must be tempered with smarts. There are times when he gets on the floor, especially when he's guarding a marquee player like Vince Carter or Lebron, where he just needs to calm down, stay in front of the player and keep his arms up, instead of flopping around the court trying to draw the charge and slapping at the ball. His fouls per minute this season must be through the roof.
Regarding Nate running the point, we need to have a bit more patience with him, IMO. He was too frenetic down the stretch last night and it cost us, but the more experience he gets in critical situations like that the better he will be. Marbury, or even Jamal, was just as likely to turn the ball over in that situation. Nate's game has grown by leaps and bounds this season, but to expect him to be a perfect PG with so little experience at the point is unreasonable. Give him some time.
Regarding David Lee, too often he's playing defense against players who are much bigger than him. He's not a defensive stopper but neither is he the reason the Knicks are not a good defensive team. Too frequently he is rotating off of his man in order to stop penetration. When the team does a better job of playing defense as a unit, Lee will do a better job individually.
PETE
i agree with you about the defensive sets.
it was nice to see isiah call the zone.
it worked for a little bit but once the the three started falling it busted the zone.
I THINK ISIAH ACTUALLY THINKS WE CAN MAKE THE 8th SEED.
SO HE IS IN COACH MODE.
lets see what he comes up with against the lakers.
KOBE IS GOING TO BE OUT FOR BLOOD AFTER HIS LOSS TO LEBRON ON SUN AFTERNOON.
The weather guys botched the forecast. I'm in LA now and it hasn't rained all day. It's a little cool and windy but no rain - that was last night.
guys lee is not a bad defensive player in comparsion to the rest of the team he is flippen awesome on D...he was the only guy on the floor who defended yao well and also did a great job on shaq(which of late isnt saying much) but reguardless have u seen eddy curry and zach randolph on d? seriously, there have been a few nights when DLee is the only one with a blocked shot, the dude is 6'9 and defending guys much bigger than him...