This is the point of desperation the Knicks have reached at 1-6, as they make an artform of losing and a shambles of Mike D'Antoni's once vaunted offense and a mockery of the defensive principles that this franchise was built upon.
This is where you look at the remaining 75 games and wonder if you have the stomach to endure or do you buckle at the knees and look toward Memphis.
Yes, Memphis. Where a certain fading star guard has just been given an indefinite leave of absence from the team for "personal reasons."
There remains a great deal of speculation about what will come of this situation. ESPN's Chad Ford has creeped out on the source limb that indicated this player is likely done in Memphis after three games. He doesn't want to come off the bench. He doesn't believe he should.
In New York, for one season, perhaps he won't have to.
Pleased to meet you, hope you guess my name....
The way Chris Duhon has played early on has ripped any confidence in him out by the root. Duhon's game against the Bucks tonight was so alarmingly poor, I actually wondered if he had something going on in his personal life that may have distracted his performance.
But no, after the game, which saw D'Antoni yank him off the court early in the third quarter when Duhon blew two defensive assignments, Duhon -- a team captain, mind you, who ripped the team for poor preparation after the second game of the season -- spoke in general tones about his own struggles on the court. He said D'Antoni had every right to pull him from the game after he completely missed a backdoor on the first possession of the half and then failed to close out on a Charlie Bell, who drilled an open three.
"Those are effort plays," Duhon said. "And I didn't make the effort."
So much for setting an example.
But, no, there are greater issues at hand here. Though David Lee insisted the team does have good chemistry among the players -- read that to mean there aren't any clashing personalities -- you can sense a philosophical divide among the veterans. Al Harrington and Larry Hughes were the ones who spoke up in that players-only meeting after Thursday's practice.
But rhetoric only carries into the next day's newspaper. Most of it was lost by the time Friday's game tipped off. And by tonight in Milwaukee? They were completely run over by a team that just tried harder than they did.
Consider this: the Bucks scored 58 of their 102 points in the paint.
The Knicks attempted just 15 three-pointers, which is odd, considering they were behind by as many as 36 points in the game. But there were so many odd things about the game, mainly from an effort standpoint.
Bottom line is, they have plenty of veterans who want to speak up. But none who have the ability to actually step up.
That guy who just left Memphis can.
But is that really the move to make? For you masochistic Fixers who stayed tuned through the fourth quarter, perhaps you noticed D'Antoni went with the post-2010 lineup. Toney Douglas, Wilson Chandler, Danilo Gallinari, Jordan Hill and Marcus Landry saw significant time. And despite the large deficit, there was D'Antoni, Herb Williams and the rest of the coaching staff barking orders and encouragement to the kids, who were doing the opposite of what Duhon admitted to doing above.
If you're going to lose, you might as well lose and learn.
But it doesn't sound like D'Antoni is ready to go there . . . yet.
"I don't know, that's hard to answer," D'Antoni said about playing the young guys. "But I think they are earning more time. We're early yet, so we're going to go like we're going and try to get it better. That's an option, but I do like what I'm seeing out of Toney Douglas, he seems to get better all the time and Jordan did some stuff. There will be some bad moments with rookies, but they are bringing energy and they have some skills. So we'll try to develop that and, hopefully, keep getting them time. Not give them time because we're down 30, but because they earned it."
Well if you're gonna go vet and stay going vet, then perhaps Donnie Walsh should make that call to Chris Wallace. Be greedy at first. Offer up Jared Jeffries ($6.4M, $6.8M) for Iverson ($3.09M) and, say, Steven Hunter ($3.6M), just to see if he'll bite. When he hangs up, call back and say you'd give him Chris Duhon ($6.03M), who would be a perfect backup for Mike Conley.
While you have Wallace on the horn, see what it would take to pry pending restricted free agent Rudy Gay ($3.2M) from their grasp. Remind them you have loads of cap space next summer and, well, no one is really sure LeBron is leaving Cleveland . . .
Then hang up and sing the backup vocals, as Mick Jagger screaches, "Tell me what's my name?"
Woo-woo
Woo-woo
Woo-woo
* * *
OldKnickFan
It may be hard to believe but after only seven games into the season, the knicks are even more pathetic than they were under Isiah Thomas. At the rate of 1 win in every 7 games, the #Knicks will be lucky to win 12 this season. The team and management need to develop heart soon or they should change their day jobs from basketball! Yes bring in Iverson, a trained jackass and anybody who can help make the Knicks watchable -- or the Garden will turn into a ghost town like this PPV blog!
> This is the point of desperation the Knicks have reached at 1-6, > as they make an artform of losing and a shambles of Mike D'Antoni's > once vaunted offense and a mockery of the defensive principles that > this franchise was built upon.
> This is where you look at the remaining 75 games and wonder if > you have the stomach to endure or do you buckle at the knees and look > toward Memphis.
> Yes, Memphis. Where a certain fading star guard has just been > given an indefinite leave of absence from the team for "personal > reasons."
> There remains a great deal of speculation about what will come > of this situation. ESPN's Chad Ford has creeped out on the source limb > that indicated this player is likely done in Memphis after three > games. He doesn't want to come off the bench. He doesn't believe he > should.
> In New York, for one season, perhaps he won't have to.
> Pleased to meet you, hope you guess my name....
> The way Chris Duhon has played early on has ripped any > confidence in him out by the root. Duhon's game against the Bucks > tonight was so alarmingly poor, I actually wondered if he had > something going on in his personal life that may have distracted his > performance.
> But no, after the game, which saw D'Antoni yank him off the > court early in the third quarter when Duhon blew two defensive > assignments, Duhon -- a team captain, mind you, who ripped the team > for poor preparation after the second game of the season -- spoke in > general tones about his own struggles on the court. He said D'Antoni > had every right to pull him from the game after he completely missed a > backdoor on the first possession of the half and then failed to close > out on a Charlie Bell, who drilled an open three.
> "Those are effort plays," Duhon said. "And I didn't make the > effort."
> So much for setting an example.
> But, no, there are greater issues at hand here. Though David Lee > insisted the team does have good chemistry among the players -- read > that to mean there aren't any clashing personalities -- you can sense > a philosophical divide among the veterans. Al Harrington and Larry > Hughes were the ones who spoke up in that players-only meeting after > Thursday's practice.
> But rhetoric only carries into the next day's newspaper. Most of > it was lost by the time Friday's game tipped off. And by tonight in > Milwaukee? They were completely run over by a team that just tried > harder than they did.
> Consider this: the Bucks scored 58 of their 102 points in the > paint.
> The Knicks attempted just 15 three-pointers, which is odd, > considering they were behind by as many as 36 points in the game. But > there were so many odd things about the game, mainly from an effort > standpoint.
> Bottom line is, they have plenty of veterans who want to speak > up. But none who have the ability to actually step up.
> That guy who just left Memphis can.
> But is that really the move to make? For you masochistic Fixers > who stayed tuned through the fourth quarter, perhaps you noticed > D'Antoni went with the post-2010 lineup. Toney Douglas, Wilson > Chandler, Danilo Gallinari, Jordan Hill and Marcus Landry saw > significant time. And despite the large deficit, there was D'Antoni, > Herb Williams and the rest of the coaching staff barking orders and > encouragement to the kids, who were doing the opposite of what Duhon > admitted to doing above.
> If you're going to lose, you might as well lose and learn.
> But it doesn't sound like D'Antoni is ready to go there . . . > yet.
> "I don't know, that's hard to answer," D'Antoni said about > playing the young guys. "But I think they are earning more time. We're > early yet, so we're going to go like we're going and try to get it > better. That's an option, but I do like what I'm seeing out of Toney > Douglas, he seems to get better all the time and Jordan did some > stuff. There will be some bad moments with rookies, but they are > bringing energy and they have some skills. So we'll try to develop > that and, hopefully, keep getting them time. Not give them time > because we're down 30, but because they earned it."
> Well if you're gonna go vet and stay going vet, then perhaps > Donnie Walsh should make that call to Chris Wallace. Be greedy at > first. Offer up Jared Jeffries ($6.4M, $6.8M) for Iverson ($3.09M) > and, say, Steven Hunter ($3.6M), just to see if he'll bite. When he > hangs up, call back and say you'd give him Chris Duhon ($6.03M), who > would be a perfect backup for Mike Conley.
> While you have Wallace on the horn, see what it would take to > pry pending restricted free agent Rudy Gay ($3.2M) from their grasp. > Remind them you have loads of cap space next summer and, well, no one > is really sure LeBron is leaving Cleveland . . .
> Then hang up and sing the backup vocals, as Mick Jagger > screaches, "Tell me what's my name?"
> Woo-woo
> Woo-woo
> Woo-woo
> * * *
> OldKnickFan
> It may be hard to believe but after only seven games into > the season, the knicks are even more pathetic than they were under > Isiah Thomas. At the rate of 1 win in every 7 games, the #Knicks will > be lucky to win 12 this season. The team and management need to > develop heart soon or they should change their day jobs from > basketball! Yes bring in Iverson, a trained jackass and anybody who > can help make the Knicks watchable -- or the Garden will turn into a > ghost town like this PPV blog!
> o 2:54 AM
Like I said in another post, Walsh better bring in someone that is going to make a positive impact on this team. I actually would rather have Wade than James at this point because he actually can do so much that will help things here. That said, I doubt Wade will leave Miami. He owns that city with his biggest competitor in sports being Ronnie Brown who plays on a football team that is nearly as bad as the Knicks are at basketball.
On Nov 8, 7:11 am, Syfo-Dyas <Syfo-D...@nomail.com> wrote:
> It may be hard to believe but after only seven games into > the season, the knicks are even more pathetic than they were under > Isiah Thomas. At the rate of 1 win in every 7 games, the #Knicks will
Are there still people out there under the delusion that the current state of the Knicks is NOT directly the fault of Isiah Thomas? (Note: just take as a given that the true root of the evil, a constant, is James Dolan)
<joseph_blo...@yahoo.com> wrote: >On Nov 8, 7:11 am, Syfo-Dyas <Syfo-D...@nomail.com> wrote: >> It may be hard to believe but after only seven games into >> the season, the knicks are even more pathetic than they were under >> Isiah Thomas. At the rate of 1 win in every 7 games, the #Knicks will
>Are there still people out there under the delusion that the current >state of the Knicks is NOT directly the fault of Isiah Thomas? (Note: >just take as a given that the true root of the evil, a constant, is >James Dolan)
The answer to your first question is a resounding YES!!!! As I have read all over the internet and as far as dolan is concerned ... that is a very big ROOT!!!!
On Nov 8, 9:51 pm, Joe Blow <joseph_blo...@yahoo.com> wrote:
> On Nov 8, 7:11 am, Syfo-Dyas <Syfo-D...@nomail.com> wrote:
> > It may be hard to believe but after only seven games into > > the season, the knicks are even more pathetic than they were under > > Isiah Thomas. At the rate of 1 win in every 7 games, the #Knicks will
> Are there still people out there under the delusion that the current > state of the Knicks is NOT directly the fault of Isiah Thomas? (Note: > just take as a given that the true root of the evil, a constant, is > James Dolan)
I have seen teams rebuild in basketball as well as other sports and never saw teams do it this way over a two year period. Nornally there is one year you totally suck but there is an effort during that year by players on the team. Where is the effort here. This team is sleep walking through games.
> On Nov 8, 9:51 pm, Joe Blow <joseph_blo...@yahoo.com> wrote:
> > On Nov 8, 7:11 am, Syfo-Dyas <Syfo-D...@nomail.com> wrote:
> > > It may be hard to believe but after only seven games into > > > the season, the knicks are even more pathetic than they were under > > > Isiah Thomas. At the rate of 1 win in every 7 games, the #Knicks will
> > Are there still people out there under the delusion that the current > > state of the Knicks is NOT directly the fault of Isiah Thomas? (Note: > > just take as a given that the true root of the evil, a constant, is > > James Dolan)
> I have seen teams rebuild in basketball as well as other sports and > never saw teams do it this way over a two year period. Nornally there > is one year you totally suck but there is an effort during that year > by players on the team. Where is the effort here. This team is sleep > walking through games.
Here's the issue: these players are, and have never been, terribly good. In order to win or even be competitive they have to really overachieve.
Now, the message being sent from management, which anyone can read loud and clear, is: you're all gone. No more of this paying you all $5-6M to underwhelm, scramble for the 8th seed in the playoffs and not even get that. This coming summer we are going to try to spend all of our money on hopefully two, but maybe one, free agent. Whatever we have left over is what you're going to get, but let's not make any bones about it -- it's going to mean a pay cut for each and every one of you.
So you really expect all of these guys to come out and overachieve under those clear terms?
Now, we all understand why, and some of us who've suffered through losing mediocre season after losing mediocre season means that you don't motivate underperforming players by writing them bigger checks (the lesson learned from the previous two GMs), because you bury your franchise for further years at a time in the process.
This whole idea of acquiring Iverson is amusing, but pointless. The Knicks don't get a lottery pick this year so you might as well get as many wins as possible just for shits and giggles, rather than purposefully tank. There is absolutely zero chance of contending with this bunch so there's no harm done, either, considering Iverson's one year contract as an expiring. But why bother? Now, if you could get rid of Jeffries or Curry in the process, yeah, okay, now you're talking. But there's no chance in hell that Memphis -- even Memphis, who was stupid enough (or paid off behind the scenes) to give away Gasol for Kwame Brown -- would think that it would be wise to take on Jeffries for two years to absorb the blow of not having Iverson at all for one, and that Jeffries would make up for that somehow. As Dr. Seuss once said, come now, come now, don't be dumb now.
So my advice to all of you complainers out there -- take a flyer on this year. It isn't going to be good. Do something else this year. Watch football, or hockey, or pick a surrogate team for one season to root for. Find a hobby. Take a long vacation on a beach somewhere. Give up on Knicks basketball for one season. Don't sit around in front of the TV beating yourself up every time they inevitably lose to the Bucks by 20. We have to lose this battle to win the war. The Knicks will suck this year, perhaps worse than they have sucked in any of the previous nine terrible seasons. But at the end of it, with or without LeBron or Wade, there is hope. There is the opportunity to restructure a team with sound principals and with people (unlike our previous two GMs) who have been successful in the past at building and coaching teams. It doesn't mean that next year it will all be aces, even if we get LeBron. The Cavaliers aren't exactly tearing up the standings, and they've had four or five years to build. But it does mean there will be hope, and there will be significance, that in due time there can be something great in the Garden again. If winning 30 games instead of 15 now is more important than having the opportunity to win 60 games in a future season, then keep on complaining.
This year is a write off. Let it go. If you watch and get disappointed because these Knicks -- most all gone next year -- aren't contending, you're wasting your own damn time. This is the medicine we have to take for all those IT and SL years. This is the medicine we have to take for a course plotted since back to Dave Checketts. This goes back to Ewing traded in 2000 and even before. Understand this year is going to suck, but there is a place to build from here. Stop getting disappointed that this year is not going to be the year.
<dontsendmeyers...@yahoo.com> wrote: >On Nov 9, 8:49 am, Glenn Greenstein <lexa...@hotmail.com> wrote: >> On Nov 8, 9:51 pm, Joe Blow <joseph_blo...@yahoo.com> wrote:
>> > On Nov 8, 7:11 am, Syfo-Dyas <Syfo-D...@nomail.com> wrote:
>> > > It may be hard to believe but after only seven games into >> > > the season, the knicks are even more pathetic than they were under >> > > Isiah Thomas. At the rate of 1 win in every 7 games, the #Knicks will
>> > Are there still people out there under the delusion that the current >> > state of the Knicks is NOT directly the fault of Isiah Thomas? (Note: >> > just take as a given that the true root of the evil, a constant, is >> > James Dolan)
>> I have seen teams rebuild in basketball as well as other sports and >> never saw teams do it this way over a two year period. Nornally there >> is one year you totally suck but there is an effort during that year >> by players on the team. Where is the effort here. This team is sleep >> walking through games.
>Here's the issue: these players are, and have never been, terribly >good. In order to win or even be competitive they have to really >overachieve.
>Now, the message being sent from management, which anyone can read >loud and clear, is: you're all gone. No more of this paying you all >$5-6M to underwhelm, scramble for the 8th seed in the playoffs and not >even get that. This coming summer we are going to try to spend all of >our money on hopefully two, but maybe one, free agent. Whatever we >have left over is what you're going to get, but let's not make any >bones about it -- it's going to mean a pay cut for each and every one >of you.
>So you really expect all of these guys to come out and overachieve >under those clear terms?
>Now, we all understand why, and some of us who've suffered through >losing mediocre season after losing mediocre season means that you >don't motivate underperforming players by writing them bigger checks >(the lesson learned from the previous two GMs), because you bury your >franchise for further years at a time in the process.
>This whole idea of acquiring Iverson is amusing, but pointless. The >Knicks don't get a lottery pick this year so you might as well get as >many wins as possible just for shits and giggles, rather than >purposefully tank. There is absolutely zero chance of contending with >this bunch so there's no harm done, either, considering Iverson's one >year contract as an expiring. But why bother? Now, if you could get >rid of Jeffries or Curry in the process, yeah, okay, now you're >talking. But there's no chance in hell that Memphis -- even Memphis, >who was stupid enough (or paid off behind the scenes) to give away >Gasol for Kwame Brown -- would think that it would be wise to take on >Jeffries for two years to absorb the blow of not having Iverson at all >for one, and that Jeffries would make up for that somehow. As Dr. >Seuss once said, come now, come now, don't be dumb now.
Hahahaha LOL!!! Noah as usual you are on point and the voice of reason. Even if some here dont like to hear the truth!!!
>So my advice to all of you complainers out there -- take a flyer on >this year. It isn't going to be good. Do something else this year. >Watch football, or hockey, or pick a surrogate team for one season to >root for. Find a hobby. Take a long vacation on a beach somewhere. >Give up on Knicks basketball for one season. Don't sit around in >front of the TV beating yourself up every time they inevitably lose to >the Bucks by 20. We have to lose this battle to win the war. The >Knicks will suck this year, perhaps worse than they have sucked in any >of the previous nine terrible seasons. But at the end of it, with or >without LeBron or Wade, there is hope. There is the opportunity to >restructure a team with sound principals and with people (unlike our >previous two GMs) who have been successful in the past at building and >coaching teams. It doesn't mean that next year it will all be aces, >even if we get LeBron. The Cavaliers aren't exactly tearing up the >standings, and they've had four or five years to build. But it does >mean there will be hope, and there will be significance, that in due >time there can be something great in the Garden again. If winning 30 >games instead of 15 now is more important than having the opportunity >to win 60 games in a future season, then keep on complaining.
>This year is a write off. Let it go. If you watch and get >disappointed because these Knicks -- most all gone next year -- aren't >contending, you're wasting your own damn time. This is the medicine >we have to take for all those IT and SL years. This is the medicine >we have to take for a course plotted since back to Dave Checketts. >This goes back to Ewing traded in 2000 and even before. Understand >this year is going to suck, but there is a place to build from here. >Stop getting disappointed that this year is not going to be the year.
> <dontsendmeyers...@yahoo.com> wrote: > >On Nov 9, 8:49 am, Glenn Greenstein <lexa...@hotmail.com> wrote: > >> On Nov 8, 9:51 pm, Joe Blow <joseph_blo...@yahoo.com> wrote:
> >> > On Nov 8, 7:11 am, Syfo-Dyas <Syfo-D...@nomail.com> wrote:
> >> > > It may be hard to believe but after only seven games into > >> > > the season, the knicks are even more pathetic than they were under > >> > > Isiah Thomas. At the rate of 1 win in every 7 games, the #Knicks will
> >> > Are there still people out there under the delusion that the current > >> > state of the Knicks is NOT directly the fault of Isiah Thomas? (Note: > >> > just take as a given that the true root of the evil, a constant, is > >> > James Dolan)
> >> I have seen teams rebuild in basketball as well as other sports and > >> never saw teams do it this way over a two year period. Nornally there > >> is one year you totally suck but there is an effort during that year > >> by players on the team. Where is the effort here. This team is sleep > >> walking through games.
> >Here's the issue: these players are, and have never been, terribly > >good. In order to win or even be competitive they have to really > >overachieve.
> >Now, the message being sent from management, which anyone can read > >loud and clear, is: you're all gone. No more of this paying you all > >$5-6M to underwhelm, scramble for the 8th seed in the playoffs and not > >even get that. This coming summer we are going to try to spend all of > >our money on hopefully two, but maybe one, free agent. Whatever we > >have left over is what you're going to get, but let's not make any > >bones about it -- it's going to mean a pay cut for each and every one > >of you.
> >So you really expect all of these guys to come out and overachieve > >under those clear terms?
> >Now, we all understand why, and some of us who've suffered through > >losing mediocre season after losing mediocre season means that you > >don't motivate underperforming players by writing them bigger checks > >(the lesson learned from the previous two GMs), because you bury your > >franchise for further years at a time in the process.
> >This whole idea of acquiring Iverson is amusing, but pointless. The > >Knicks don't get a lottery pick this year so you might as well get as > >many wins as possible just for shits and giggles, rather than > >purposefully tank. There is absolutely zero chance of contending with > >this bunch so there's no harm done, either, considering Iverson's one > >year contract as an expiring. But why bother? Now, if you could get > >rid of Jeffries or Curry in the process, yeah, okay, now you're > >talking. But there's no chance in hell that Memphis -- even Memphis, > >who was stupid enough (or paid off behind the scenes) to give away > >Gasol for Kwame Brown -- would think that it would be wise to take on > >Jeffries for two years to absorb the blow of not having Iverson at all > >for one, and that Jeffries would make up for that somehow. As Dr. > >Seuss once said, come now, come now, don't be dumb now.
> Hahahaha LOL!!! Noah as usual you are on point and the voice of > reason. Even if some here dont like to hear the truth!!!
> >So my advice to all of you complainers out there -- take a flyer on > >this year. It isn't going to be good. Do something else this year. > >Watch football, or hockey, or pick a surrogate team for one season to > >root for. Find a hobby. Take a long vacation on a beach somewhere. > >Give up on Knicks basketball for one season. Don't sit around in > >front of the TV beating yourself up every time they inevitably lose to > >the Bucks by 20. We have to lose this battle to win the war. The > >Knicks will suck this year, perhaps worse than they have sucked in any > >of the previous nine terrible seasons. But at the end of it, with or > >without LeBron or Wade, there is hope. There is the opportunity to > >restructure a team with sound principals and with people (unlike our > >previous two GMs) who have been successful in the past at building and > >coaching teams. It doesn't mean that next year it will all be aces, > >even if we get LeBron. The Cavaliers aren't exactly tearing up the > >standings, and they've had four or five years to build. But it does > >mean there will be hope, and there will be significance, that in due > >time there can be something great in the Garden again. If winning 30 > >games instead of 15 now is more important than having the opportunity > >to win 60 games in a future season, then keep on complaining.
> >This year is a write off. Let it go. If you watch and get > >disappointed because these Knicks -- most all gone next year -- aren't > >contending, you're wasting your own damn time. This is the medicine > >we have to take for all those IT and SL years. This is the medicine > >we have to take for a course plotted since back to Dave Checketts. > >This goes back to Ewing traded in 2000 and even before. Understand > >this year is going to suck, but there is a place to build from here. > >Stop getting disappointed that this year is not going to be the year.
Funny, I really didn't see the humor in that post even though it is obvious he has a fine point in what he wrote. The thing is Harrington, Lee, Nate, Hughes, etc, etc, are not giving up on NBA careers so they shouldn't be mailing it in, they should be trying to showcase themselves to a new team. Lee at least looks like that is what he is trying to do. The way Duhon is playing, I would bet his next stop is and overseas league.
|
