Take 40 points out of the Charlotte Bobcats lineup and you have a blowout win for the Knicks. Gerald Wallace (20.6 ppg) was already out with a concussion and then Jason Richardson (20.3) was knocked out of the game in the second quarter when Nate Robinson accidentally poked him in the eye with his thumb after the whistle.
Is it coincidence that the Bobcats led 37-35 at that point when Richardson left the game with what eventually was diagnosed as a contusion in his right eye and small corneal abrasion? It swelled shut on him by the time he got to the locker room and, considering the Bobcats' record, no one would expect him to grunt, "Cut me Mick!" just to get back on the court.
Once J-Rich left and Charlotte's lone scoring threat was gone, the Knicks tied it at 37, then 39 and after the Bobcats went up 41-39 after a jumper by Raymond Felton with 3:51 left, the Knicks reeled off 15 straight points to end the half with a 54-41 lead.
Ballgame.
The NBA. Where yaaawwwnnn happens.
The Knicks are holding that fifth spot in the lottery, with Miami, Minnesota, Memphis and Seattle each below. The Bobcats are only one game better.
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You would think a blowout would be ample opportunity to get struggling Eddy Curry some much-needed game "reps" on the low blocks, especially with Emeka Okafor and Nazr Mohammed out there to bang with. But Isiah Thomas only used Curry for the first 3:47 of the second half and Curry sat the rest of the way. Curry, who played a total of 15:47, was scoreless on three shot attempts and had three rebounds. But he did record two early blocks and looked active on defense.
"I just thought the way the game was going, we had a good group out there the way they were playing so I didn't see any reason to put him back out there," Thomas said.
I seriously give up.
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Anyone see the Page Six item about Stephon Marbury?
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Wilson Chandler made sure to make the most of his rare PT. The Thrill put up seven shots in his 6:11 of gar-bage time and made three of 'em for six points. And since a lot of you Fixers have asked about the kid's added ink on his skin, I brought it up. He said he got that one on his lower leg earlier in the year and another on his neck more recently. The one on his neck is cool. It's a flaming Ace of Spades.
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And check this out . . . since we've been discussing streetball recently:
Jamal says he intended to drive and dish to Curry, but "got stuck. So I had to improvise."
He missed the dunk, as you saw, but had a reason for that, too: "I should have dunked it with two hands."
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The Knicks, who were off on Monday, will not practice on Thursday, either. They'll fly directly to Atlanta, one of NBA players' favorite desintation cities, in the afternoon.
"It is definitely a group that is committed to working," Isiah said after the game. "Their work ethic is good."
Comments (23)
It was mentioned by the Pearl (Zeke gave up on the Curry/ZBo combo too early). Last night, it was mentioned again that ZBo is a really good passer from outside/top of the key.
If he wants to shoot jump shots anyway, why not give Curry early looks on the blocks and keep ZBo outside. Then, when EC gets a couple offensive fouls or misses some easy chippies, he comes out of the game and ZBo heads down low.
It may have worked given some time to develop, they start to double EC or back off ZBo and he buries the jumper!
In other words...Coach Zeke must go. It's obvious that his substitutions are also suspect...there's NO consistency.
The Bobcats were missing FIVE players that would start for the Knicks last night. Gerald Wallace; Jason Richardson; Adam Morrison; Sean May; and Derrik Anderson.........And people are excited the Knicks won? Now isiah says the season is not over by a long shot?
This nightmare of Isiah Thomas' creation can't end soon enough !
How does Isiah know that they have a good work ethic when his practices are shorter than most high school teams and he doesn't bother showing up to games until just prior to game time on most nights?
How fitting that the Steph item shows up in the paper of his Ride or Die beat writer who so recklessly and unprofessionally gave him unlimited space to tell us what a devoted husband and father he was since his "transformation". I'm sure the blonde was just sharing ideas on upcoming designs for the Starbury line.
Mr. Hahn,
If you have done your home work, you would not look silly in April!
Look at the Nets, ATL'S , Bulls, Pacers,Bucks and Phillys Schedule.
Then look at ours. You do the math Ace.
Till then!
While I want the best possible lotto pick and the canning of Isiah, it is enjoyable to watch a blowout where the Knicks aren't on the receiving end for a change.
Knicks will win enough games to finish with the 8th pick.
Isiah will be back, but as head coach only. Kiki will be GM. That is Dolan's "plan".
Marbury and Randolph will both be traded.
Isiah will be totally gone after next season.
@Allan
what have you been hearing about the rumors
(i heard this on PTI on espn) that kiki vandeweghe is in talks with the knicks about the GM job and that dolan will keep isiah as coach?
have you had any inside info about this?what do you think about this idea?
i think it sounds stupid but if they will remove isiah as gm maybe it can work.
Alan,
Sure winning will only worsen our position in the draft, but even if we "rise" up to the 7-9th spot there are some gems to be had not named Beasley or Rose.
Russell Westbrook has been impressive for the Bruins, completely locking down OJ Mayo to the tune of 4 pts and 10 TOs; his defense keys the UCLA offense. This kid's athleticism is incredible, there's a cool YouTube clip of him doing a foul line dunk, gets waaaay over the rim. He shoots 49% from the field.
With those qualities and upside, wouldn't he be a great fit alongside Jamal and Nate as the 3rd guard mentioned by Isiah?
you gotta be kidding me, if it's kiki and the false profit, i'm outta here.
i don't think Nikoloz Tskitishvili (5th pick 2005) and kenyon martin (3 #1's, max contract) make for much of a resume.
sec11rowH makes a damn good point.
sec11rowH,
I cosign your post emphatically!
Kiki is not the man for the job at this time. Colangelo is the one to get this team back on track and relevant again. I hope it happens and Dolan doesn't screw this up, though it's probbaly inevitable he will.
I've been critical of Kiki before and will be again. He is not the answer here. And based on little things like team defense, substitution patterns and x's and o's, the Weasel is a terrible coach. How will this pairing help the Knicks?
I like Colangelo, if not as a long-term fixture (due to his age), then as a interim/consultant, like Wayne Embry was in Toronto, to manage the transition and make the major initial moves (ie. cleaning house).
Keeping IT as head coach with Kiki as GM is a typically stupid Dolan move. Kiki doesn't have, nor deserve the rep of a Colangelo or Walsh both of whom would come in as independent GM's. Kiki will come in as a Dolan yes man and IT will continue to show his "HOF" coaching powers and the Knicks will suck! God, this team is so hard to root for when the owner is as much of an idiot as Dolan.
The lottery or the playoffs? Which would be more valuable to the Knicks in the long-run? I say it’s a no-brainer. The Knicks need talent. Desperately. We need practically an entire starting unit. That’s the highest priority and making the playoffs doesn’t start that process. Also, the LAME DUCK Knicks GM supposedly has an "eye for talent." (Of course, you have to worry when that so-called "talent" can't even get off his bench, on one of the least talented in the league. But that’s for another post.) Ergo: The Knicks will be a better team 3-5 years from now if they're in the lottery, not the playoffs.
If there is even a remote possibility that Isiah comes back next year, at least let him do the ONLY thing he does even marginally well . . . find a great player with a high lottery pick. That would be a LOT more valuable than getting swept in the devalued, watered-down eastern playoffs. But this is all academic because it’s going to happen naturally. Nobody advocates tanking games to make it happen. Can’t do that. But we won’t have to. I have no doubt that Isiah’s warriors will wind up in the lottery with no outside influence. All on their own. I doubt seriously they'll surprise us and start winning consistently. (And when you read bloggers who claim they will, remember, they’ve been predicting the Knicks will win every game since Thanksgiving. So take it with a truck-load of salt.)
Whether or not Isiah comes back isn’t about whether he’s a good GM. He’s terrible. And it isn’t about whether he’s even a decent coach. He’s not even close. It’s only about what Dolan decides . . . and this is a man who shouldn't have the responsibility of feeding the cat, let alone running a major family asset. Dolan’s the wild card. We can hope Isiah will be gone. We can anticipate how a genuinely savvy GM might start to build a franchise out of the rubble Isiah leaves behind. But we'd be gambling on Dolan making the smart move. Never a good bet . . .
Re: Kiki – he’s disappointed me. I’ve wanted him to be better and he’s certainly made his share of big blunders. I also agree that he probably wouldn’t be able to stand up to Dolan like a Colangelo would. At the same time, make no mistake about it. You can only count Kiki’s blunders on ONE hand. He’d still be a huge up-grade over Isiah. Yet, I agree – we can do better.
Trane ,
The good thing about opinions...is everybody's got one,
just like everybody has an azzhole!
NYK shouldn't give up on the Eddy/Zach duo -- a decent coach and GM could make this work.
First, the GM gets a PG who will move the ball.
Then, the coach runs a 3-big rotation with Zach, Eddy, and David each getting 32 minutes. Zach and Eddy only have to be on the floor together for 8 minutes in the 1st half, and 8 minutes in the 2nd half.
When they're together, Zach and 3 perimeter players hang around the 3-point line, while Eddy works against single coverage in the paint. Double Eddy, and someone's getting an open 3. (Remember how Hakeem punished NYK in the '94 Finals, with Horry, Cassell, Elie, and KSmith spread around the perimeter drilling huge threes? Man, I hated Clutch City. But I sure respected them.)
This is what SVG is doing in Orlando, with success.
When Eddy hits the bench, Zach goes to the post. The Knicks could be the only team in the league that you'd have to double-team the post all 48 minutes.
dennis rodman should coach these dudes
In American Buffalo, Donny makes a similar point about opinions. When he tells Teach a certain comment is according to him . . . Teach replies, “It’s always accordin’ to me when I’m talkin’.”
flybanjo - that could work. That's the problem with Isiah - it's hard to tell if a problem comes up because of bad coaching or bad GMing. Are Zach and Eddy an impossible combo, or they just used stupidly? Same with the point that gets made here a lot about his draft picks not being able to start - is it that they really aren't that good, or is it that Isiah is inept at using his personnel effectively?
Many of our bench players are supposed to be talented, but giving them the right opportunities is HUGE.
SOOOOOO...IT IS that Isiah is inept at using his personnel effectively.
It's as simple as Lee and Balkman are basically the same player, SOOOO maybe they shouldn't play at the same time. Put someone in with a jumper instead maybe?
IZzziah puts me to sleep w/ his coaching and ridiculous quotes in his press conferences