Unlike the coiled masses, I choose not to crack excessively on the Knicks for their continued road relapse in Dallas and San Antonio since my last communiqué. Teams a lot better than them get windswept blowing through Texas.
Besides, how can anyone honestly expect coach Mike D’Antoni’s frazzled flock to prevail against Ian Mahinmi and Tiago Splitter when the frontcourt’s top offensive deterrents, Tyson Chandler and Jared Jeffries, were either injured or inactive?
What’s more, the Mavericks and Spurs have Dirk Nowitzki and Tim Duncan and the Knicks don’t.
Not that Amar’e Stoudemire is a slouch. At least he didn’t remotely fit that description before the apostrophe. Let me mull over this a moment. OK, well, definitely not until the new kid in town became the talk on the street and the Knicks’ foremost force field.
I seem to vividly recall Stoudemire running those two slowpokes ragged when he played for the Suns and hardly ever missing a shot regardless of whether Steve Nash (and later Raymond Felton) set him up or not.
But Amar’e is older than that now — and admittedly 15 pounds tubbier than his normal kick-ass playing weight.
Say, what! Why even in this warped world would Stoudemire divulge such negative news? As Vinny ‘The Chin’ Gigante once exclaimed to a friend of mine who impulsively had confessed to his wife he had been cheating for years, “You mean, you ratted on yourself!”
Did Stoudemire actually imagine we would be more understanding of his descent from dominance if given an excellent explanation?
You mean, it’s not all Carmelo Anthony’s fault.
Did Stoudemire actually believe we would be more tolerant of his substandard production if we knew the truth?
Then again, did he think at all before volunteering such information?
That’s enough of that. As mentioned, I don’t want to make too big a deal about the Knicks’ three-game losing streak nor overreact any more than I have already to Stoudemire, whose brother’s death is obviously grounds for letting himself go physically and emotionally.
At the same time, it’s hypocritical to spank Stoudemire and not come close to going after Dirk Nowitzki, who owned up to showing up this season apathetic and unfit, and needed time off to get his body and head together.
Many are convinced — well, D’Antoni, anyway — the return of Anthony meant Jeremy Lin had to change his game. In the view of many others, Melo needed to modify his game and Amar’e had to amend his.
In my opinion, there should have been no adjustments, whatsoever. Lin should have been instructed to continue what he was doing — attempt it, in any case, against exceedingly more determined and organized coverage — when Melo was hurt. As long as egos and attitudes were checked with security, everybody’s game would have fallen into place — maybe.
Instead, D’Antoni caved to Anthony’s grumbling. Hence, the lame duck coach is now openly catering to the Incredible Sulk’s demand for more shots when he only should be touching the ball after moving without it to free himself in prime position.
Rather than stick with a lineup already greatly weakened by the loss of Chandler (you need to zone-up, coach), a lineup that probably saved his job, albeit, temporarily, D’Antoni removed Landry Fields.
Not only does that weaken the starters but the bench as well. Iman Shumpert plays better with Baron Davis, and the Knicks were winning with a Lin-Fields backcourt. Why give up on it so quickly?
Particularly after three days of practice. I could have sworn I heard D’Antoni (supported by his Madison Square Garden TV army of defense lawyers) complaining for weeks and weeks about not having any time to get everyone on the same grid.
Seems to me, other than Stoudemire losing 10 pounds, it was time ill spent.
Seems to me, the players are better off left to their own devices. Given one practice, D’Antoni failed to figure out Lin and Steve Novak had anything of consequence to offer (Andy Rautins should feel good about not getting any daylight).
Off three days under his influence, the Knicks have lost three straight going into tonight’s matchup in Milwaukee.
Allen Iverson’s perception on practice was ahead of its time. Hope I’m not being excessively unconstructive.
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Restricted free agent Wilson Chandler is hereby disqualified from signing an offer sheet. The deadline was March 1. Therefore, he’s the Nuggets exclusively to have or to fold.
While Denver is totally expected to reenlist Chandler, should he decide their proposition is unreasonable, word has it Italy is a legit option. Problem is, by doing so he would forfeit the ability to do a sign-and-trade come summer — one of the CBA’s multitude of new rules. The good news is, loads of teams will be under the cap so he figures to have an abundance of serious suitors.
Toronto is not shopping Leandro Barbosa, who has fired agent Sam Goldfeder and hired Dan Fegan. But teams certainly are calling about him and Jose Calderon. … Reports that the Timberwolves are in talks with the Blazers regarding a Luke Ridnour-Jamal Crawford swap is bogus. While the eighth best team in the West definitely can use a starting scoring guard, Ridnour is going nowhere.
At the same time, do not believe word one of what you might have heard or read regarding Josh Smith possibly being dealt to the Celtics for Kevin Garnett or anyone, for that matter. Same goes for Joe Johnson, reputedly on the lips of the Warriors in trade talk.
Just so you know, Joe, it ain’t so. Legit playoff teams wait until after the season to radically revamp. Often-debilitated Kirk Hinrich, on the other hand, is on the end of his contract and thus might be moved. … But only if the return will help the Hawks this season.
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“Interesting to hear Tracy McGrady complaining about playing time,” column chondriac Richie Kalikow allows. “While it’s not as topical as his views on the effects of Globalization as it relates to Developing Political Economies, it’s still pretty pertinent.”
This just in from column contributor Jay Negron: “ The Knicks offiically are in Lin-Bo.”