DAVID FRICKIN LEE!

THE RUNDOWN:

With 0.1 seconds left in double overtime against the Charlotte Bobcats last night, Jamal Crawford inbounded the ball right over the top of the cylinder, where David Lee curled off his defender to come open for a tip in that would win the game. It was the Knicks second buzzer beater in a row, and New York is now 2-0 since their brawl with the Nuggets.

The Knicks were down by almost 20 points in the first half, with the Garden crowd booing constantly. It looked as if the team was giving up, when they began to come back in the final minutes of the first half. Led by Channing Frye (30 pts. in the game), the Knicks charged back into a second half that they controlled the whole way. Lee had 10 points to go along with his 19 rebounds. Eddy "The Monster" Curry put up 29 points to continue his all-star caliber play that has come to be expected night in and night out.

At 11-17, the Knicks are only 1.5 games out of first in the underachieving Atlantic Division. As I said in a previous post, this three game stretch will be important. Tomorrow night the Knicks take on the Chicago Bulls, where a win would make a statement for this team, considering they have been playing without Steve Francis, Quentin Richardson, aand their three suspended players: Jared Jefferies, Nate Robinson, and Mardy Collins.

It seems as if the brawl has brought the team a bit closer together. They know they are going through this mess as a family, and seeing the team embrace each other after Lee's tip was a good sign. With wins aganst the Bulls and Sixers, this team could be on track.

NEWS AND NOTES:

- Michael Jordan was in attendance last night, as well as former Knicks Patrick Ewing, Charles Oakley, and John Starks. All players received a standing ovation, even Jordan...

- Also of note was that Spike Lee was NOT in attendance for one of the best games in the past couple years...sorry Spike.

- Stephon Marbury eclipsed the 15,000 point mark...congrats to Starbury.

Knicks beat the Jazz

THE RUNDOWN:

The Knicks beat one of the best teams in the NBA last night, the Utah Jazz. The win came thanks to Stephon Marbury, scoring with a layup in the final second of overtime to seal the win. The Knicks were without Nate Robinson and Jared Jefferies, two somewhat key players suspended after Saturday's brawl in the Garden with the Nuggets.

Marbury had 29 pts. and 8 assists, and David Lee added a career high 20 rebounds. Yes, I said 20. This was Steph's second quality game in a row, after dropping 31 against the Nuggets on Saturday. Having Starbury rolling on all cylinders is exactly what the Knicks will need over the next stretch of games. Without Steve Francis and Quentin Richardson, Steph will need to pick his spots wiseley - knowing when to dish, and when to swish.

The team is now 10-17, looking at two home games in the next 3 days. The Charlotte Bobcats come to town tomorrow night, followed by Chicago on Friday. Both of these teams have hit some road bumps this year, so the Knicks should look to exploit them. The Knicks go into Philly on Saturday, a game that is a must win simply because it would be embarassing to lose to the Iverson-less Sixers, who have a double digit losing streak.

Who knows, with STARBURY back in full force, it may be time. "Coney Island's Finest" might have just decided to start the season. Maybe that brawl was exactly what the Knicks needed. A littlw wakeup call of sorts. If they take the next three very winnable games, the Knicks will be looking at a manageable 13-17. Let's face it, any team that goes on a winning streak of 4+ in the Atlantic division will probably end up winning it.

NEWS AND NOTES:

- Allen Iverson is now a Nugget. This is important only because he is now out of the Atlantic, and was NOT traded to the Celtics.

- Due to Marbury's recent revival, Jamal Crawford has now been the recipient of boos and cat calls from the garden faithful. Let's wait and see if this treatment has the same effect on him as it did on Steph: STEP IT UP!

GARDEN FIASCO!!!

Well, I just wrote an entire goddamn F*****g post about 3 pages long about the brawl tonight, but dumbass blogspot deleted it somehow. I'll write more about it in the next couple days.

For now I put the video up there, so enjoy. What are my thoughts? Quickly I'll say there's pros and cons:

Pros: The players defended each other, and wouldn't let any crap go down on their home court.

Cons: This team still sucks.

By the way...Stephon Marbury: 31 points, 8 assists. Too bad his best game of the year so far will be overshadowed by this fight that is for sure going to be blown out of proportion all over ESPN for the rest of the NBA season.

Also, Carmelo: I love you, but you were a little bitch tonight. You sucker punched Mardy Collins and ran away like a girl. Terrible. That's not the Melo I know and love from Syracuse.

More on this fiasco later. It's the weekend so I'll be back probably Monday.

Clyde's Quotes

Thought I'd take this off-day opportunity to post a collection of my favorite Walt "Clyde" Frazier quotes from his time, past and present, as a Knicks' broadcaster. Some Knicks fans may not realize how lucky we are to have a legend like Clyde calling the games. He erupts with charisma, and knows his stuff too. Here are a few Clyde gems:

"Good NBA action from the Knicks now, swishing and dishing on the offensive end."

"There he is, posting and toasting on the low block."

"Stephon Marbury, stopping and popping for three."

"Joe Johnson - a common name with an uncommon game..."

"Q-Rich, draining and paining them from downtown."

"Eddy Curry, mauling and appaling them down low."

"Eddy, agile and hostile on the low block."

As you noticed, I've been collecting just the rhymes that Clyde is so famous for. If you have more, feel free to send them to me or comment on them after this post.

WOAH... Knicks win a game they should!

RECAP:

The Knicks defeated the Joe Johnson-less Atlanta Hawks this evening, a convincing 94-82. The Knicks were up as many as 30, but the lead began to drop after Isiah Thomas cleared the bench towards the end of the game. This one never seemed in doubt, as NY looked confident disposing of a depleted squad that shouldn't have posed any problems to begin with.

Common as of late, Eddy Curry, the main event in New York right now, finished with 20 pts and 9 rebs before earning a well deserved long rest late in the game. The performance made it "Easy Eddy's" 11th straight 20 pt. game, the longest streak since...wait for it...Patrick Ewing did it in 1994! Eddy has a little ways to go, however, as King Patrick's streak ended at 17 games.

Jared Jefferies got his first start of this season for the Knicks, producing a solid 15 pts. and 7 rebs. Jefferies' presence was felt on the defensive end as well, including three steals. Such play may be exactly what the team is looking for, with a solid defender in a starting role. David Lee was sent to the bench, but provided a much needed spark for the second unit, much like he brought early in the season.

NEWS AND NOTES:

- Some hilarity ensued as Jerome James entered the game, chugging down the floor like the cookie monster we know and love, somehow converting two field goals much to the Knick bench's amusement.

- Isiah Thomas announced today that Channing Frye will likely come off the bench when he returns, reuniting the triple team of Frye, David Lee, and Nate Robinson as the young guns in the second unit.

- The Allen Iverson sweepstakes continues...with his stock falling every day that passes. Yo Philly! Steve Francis is here for the taking. You can have Channing Frye as well...I don't care...

- Big three game swing coming up: Indiana, Denver, and Utah. Is this team for real? We'll find out. No stretch will tell more than this one. Pray on, Knicks fans...

Knicks drop to 8-15

GAME REVIEW:

After trailing by as much as 30 points, the Knicks almost managed to beat the Celtics late in the game, cutting the lead to as little as 3. However, Paul Pierce and company were too much to handle and the Knicks fell 97-90, despite Eddy Curry's 30 pts and 12 rebs. Paul Pierce dropped 31, and Al Jefferson managed 14/12.

To me, this game was lost early on, obviously. For some reason this team loves going down by 20+ and attempting to come back from the deficit. Curry was weak to start the game, and every possession was going through him. The shooters were cold to start the game, wait, I mean nonexistant to start the game. As the Garden booed, Isiah stared at his players, dumbfounded. Jared Jeffries had 7/5 in his Knicks debut, and looked mostly average to not impressive at all. His defensive presence was felt at some points, but mostly he looked like a big tree out there, not doing much of anything. Who knows, maybe I'm just pissed about the loss, but this guy is overhyped for sure.

Of course, Eddy Curry continued his Shaq-like play. So when are we going to hear the All-Star talk? It's unbelieveable how much progress "Easy Eddy" has made to become a monster down low. Add him to our bright future, he's still only 24. This team should be set in a few years with Frye, Lee, Robinson, Balkman, and Curry. All the team needs is a scoring force to play the two, which is Q-Rich curently playing out of position. Of course there is always the chance one or more of those players gets traded, and I'd say the only ones that are safe are Eddy and Lee. Frye looks like a prime time trading piece, especially with the progress David Lee has made in his absence (14/13 last night by the way).

NEWS AND NOTES:

- Isiah Thomas says the Knicks have "no interest" in Allen Iverson. However, I have heard many rumors regarding a Knicks/Sixers trade including Iverson/Kyle Korver for Steve Francis/Jamal Crawford. Seems unrealistic the sixers would accept, but you never know with Isiah and this team. Maybe he's playing dumb right now, because he must know as well as anyone that AI could be the man to save his job.

- The NBA will abandon the new ball to return to the old leather ball starting January 1st. Players, rejoice.

- The Knicks woes from the foul line continue, going an INEXCUSABLE 17 for 32 last night. Why the hell doesn't a coach have these guys at the line after practice every day? I'm sorry, but I just don't understand how NBA players can do that to their team. F****** pathetic...

- On "Knicks' Game Night," Al Trautwig stated that Channing Frye is close to returning. I'm not sure if this is good or bad, as David Lee may return to the bench. Speaking of the bench, Renaldo Balkman saw ZERO minutes last night thanks to Jared Jefferies coming in to the lineup. With Frye also coming back, don't expect to see much more of the "tasmanian devil" this year. That pisses me off.

Basically, I'm pissed....LET'S START WINNING!

Celtics @ Knicks, 7:30 pm

THE LOWDOWN:

The Knicks (8-14) look to make it two in a row tonight, facing off against the equally terrible Boston Celtics(6-13). Jared Jeffries will make his NY regular season debut tonight after missing the first part of the season being injured. Steve Francis will be out for this game, and his futures status is still unknown. Channing Frye is also on the bench, of course.

The two coaches on possibly the hottest seats in all of the NBA, Doc Rivers of Boston and Isiah Thomas of NY, face off tonight it what could be another chapter in their final stretch as coach. Isiah's job is probably still safe for now, thanks to Eddy Curry (more later). Rivers, however, is hoping that a trade for Allen Iverson goes through to save his job.

The last time the two teams faced off, the Knicks lost 122-118 and Paul Pierce dropped 39 on them. Don't be surprised if this trend continues tonight, as Marbury and Crawford will most likely continue their poor defense against opposing guards. Hopefully Isiah decides to put Q-Rich on Pierce, which would even the score somewhat.

Another intriguing matchup to watch is always the two cousins, the Coney Island boys, facing off in the same arena in which they used to play the city championships in: Stephon Marbury vs. Sebastian Telfair. They haven't been on the best of terms in recent years, which should make for a good confrontation.

THINGS TO WATCH FOR:

- Eddy Curry is coming off a career high 36 points at the hands of the Bucks Saturday night. When the Knicks give him the ball in the low post, he has been unstoppable as of late. In my opinion, he deserves all star consideration.

- How will David Lee handle Al Jefferson on the defensive end? The Knicks didn't get a look at him the last time the two teams met, so it should be interesting this time around.

- It doesn't get any bigger than this. The next two weeks will make or break the Knicks' season. This home stretch has went so-so, but the team could make it 3 of their last 4 tonight with a win. With Atlanta coming up on Wednesday, the Knicks could be 10-14 by Thursday morning, possessing (believe it or not) FIRST PLACE in the Atlantic Division.

KEY MATCHUP:

PG Stephon Marbury vs. PG Sebastian Telfair:

This may not be the matchup that decides the game, but it is the one the Garden fans care the most about. Starbury needs to distribute the ball well tonight to get a win. Lots of feeds to Curry and some alley-oops should do it. Hopefully Crawford can move without the ball and open up some opportunities for Steph to dish it to. Also, Telfair loves coming back to the Garden, so this should be a good one.

PREDICTION:

I truly believe the Knicks will win this one, as long as Curry gets his touches. After the last game though, it should be clear to this team that he is the key to a W in the column.
Knicks 113, Celtics 101

Look for another game with no defense from either team.