Remember when the Knicks were given a punchers shot at stealing a series from the sluggish and seemingly disinterested Celtics? Remember last Sunday, when the Knicks showed a defensive effort, and played like they belonged there....for 47:23?
Well, as is usual with the Knicks, an opportunity for total disappointment is never missed. One of the ugliest 37 second stretches I've seen in a while was followed by another inspired effort. Without Stat, Melo carried the team and Jared Jeffries added to his legacy by providing a Charles Smith-like memory in what would be another painful loss. Then there was Good Friday. The Celtics where left more open than they were in their own shoot around. The C's hit 14 of 24 three pointers with Ray Allen going 8/11. Sometimes, great shooters will beat you regardless of what you do. However, leaving the most prolific three point shooter in the league's history about 6 feet open isn't ever going to help the cause. The defense was pathetic. The lack of energy was total disrespect to all Knicks fans who've waited so long for a playoff game.
The Knicks can't possibly be as bad as they were Friday night (at least I hope so), but it doesn't matter. I'm disappointed with this team. A loss tonight makes this entire season a failure. Losing this series is something all Knicks fans somewhat expected. No one expected them to provide us reminders of how awful things got throughout the season. We were provided with numerous frustrating examples of how solid this team can be defensively, and then seemingly forget how to play defense on other nights. How they just sort of show up on nights they need wins, and just sit around playing with a "so what" attitude.
This team obviously needs some pieces to compete. Pieces like a center who can rebound or a point guard who can play point guard (Toney Douglas is painful to watch). This team also needs a new coach. I've called for D'Antoni's head a few weeks ago and again a few days ago. There is no excuse for a lack of intensity, a lack of consistency, or a lack of urgency. It's not totally his fault, but he has a lot of blame in the matter. If you can't get your team to show up every night, if you can't get them to focus every night, and if you can't inspire them to get out of a mid game funk...you have to go.
The Knicks may sneak a win tonight, they probably won't...but does any of it matter? I'll be watching, but I'll have a quick remote control trigger finger.
Happy Easter PTU readers.
Well, as is usual with the Knicks, an opportunity for total disappointment is never missed. One of the ugliest 37 second stretches I've seen in a while was followed by another inspired effort. Without Stat, Melo carried the team and Jared Jeffries added to his legacy by providing a Charles Smith-like memory in what would be another painful loss. Then there was Good Friday. The Celtics where left more open than they were in their own shoot around. The C's hit 14 of 24 three pointers with Ray Allen going 8/11. Sometimes, great shooters will beat you regardless of what you do. However, leaving the most prolific three point shooter in the league's history about 6 feet open isn't ever going to help the cause. The defense was pathetic. The lack of energy was total disrespect to all Knicks fans who've waited so long for a playoff game.
The Knicks can't possibly be as bad as they were Friday night (at least I hope so), but it doesn't matter. I'm disappointed with this team. A loss tonight makes this entire season a failure. Losing this series is something all Knicks fans somewhat expected. No one expected them to provide us reminders of how awful things got throughout the season. We were provided with numerous frustrating examples of how solid this team can be defensively, and then seemingly forget how to play defense on other nights. How they just sort of show up on nights they need wins, and just sit around playing with a "so what" attitude.
This team obviously needs some pieces to compete. Pieces like a center who can rebound or a point guard who can play point guard (Toney Douglas is painful to watch). This team also needs a new coach. I've called for D'Antoni's head a few weeks ago and again a few days ago. There is no excuse for a lack of intensity, a lack of consistency, or a lack of urgency. It's not totally his fault, but he has a lot of blame in the matter. If you can't get your team to show up every night, if you can't get them to focus every night, and if you can't inspire them to get out of a mid game funk...you have to go.
The Knicks may sneak a win tonight, they probably won't...but does any of it matter? I'll be watching, but I'll have a quick remote control trigger finger.
Happy Easter PTU readers.
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