This Date in PTU History: The Dunk

I had a lot of posters on my childhood bedroom's wall as I'm sure you all did. One was a free poster of Greg Anthony in Reebok pumps and jeans that was given out at MSG his rookie season, another was Barry Bonds hitting a home run pre-steroids (my father is inexplicably still a Giants fan even though they abandoned him when he was 5). I also strangely had 2 Barkley posters even though I never even really liked him that much (one is a play on Phoenix entitled Desert Storm, get it? and the other is the awesome Godzilla vs Barkley poster), and one was Raphael, but the very best poster I had was The Dunk. All Knicks fans know what dunk I'm talking about. The pinnacle of John Starks' life. The coronation of Starks as bag boy turned basketball hero. The Knicks were ahead by 3 at the time, looking to put a stranglehold on the hated Bulls. Starks held the ball above the three point line on the ride side and waited for Ewing to come out and set a screen on the ever annoying BJ Armstrong and his mouth guard. The Knicks ran this play 75% of the time (their other play was dumping it directly to Ewing in the post) so of course the Bulls knew it was coming. Armstrong braced himself for the pick, but Starks seeing BJ's shift went away from the screen (something Kobe and Wade do a lot today) and drove baseline. Horace Grant and ex Knick Bill Cartwright went to meet Starks at the rim, but he exploded over them and threw it down with his off hand. The dunk has taken on a mythical quality, with most fans remembering it as bigger than it was. If you took an informal poll at the Village Pourhouse tonight of people in their late 20s or 30s who identify as Knicks fans you'd hear a lot of things that are less than true, such as: the Knicks were down by 1 and the dunk won the game, the dunk came at the buzzer or with less than 10 seconds left, the dunk happened in game 7, and the biggest lie that has been associated with The Dunk, it happened over Jordan. In reality, Jordan was barely in the play, but he happened to make his way into that poster that hung on my bedroom door so why not throw him in the story. It also made it easy for hacks like Lupica to write how "this wasn't just Starks dunking on one player, but the entire Bulls team and the entire state of Illinois, lifting our spirits and hearts, etc". A lot of times people say it seems like just yesterday but, shit, this really does feel like a hundred years ago.

The date was May 25th (today's date) 1993. Wu Tang had just released their first album, Jurassic Park would come out in two months , M@d $cientist was still in high school and the Knicks were 2 games up on the world champion Bulls. There wasn't any Facebook or Twitter back then (most people didn't even have computers yet) so the reaction was limited to phone calls to your friends and high fives in the cafeteria the next day. Most Garden historians and people who have been covering the Knicks for decades say it was the loudest the arena has ever been, and the only close second would be L.J.'s 4 point play. The ground literally shakes when 20,000 people all jump up and down at the same time. It must have been ridiculous to be there. We know what happened from there. The Bulls would win the next two games, including a 52 point game by Jordan on Memorial Day rebounding from 3 sub par games, Charles Smith would miss 4 shots from close range and the Knicks would never beat Jordan's Bulls or win a championship. Starks now works for the Knicks in some made up title like community relations guru or something, the Bulls would win another 4 titles and Jurassic Park made a ton of money. My poster didn't last the trip from my dorm room but Knicks fans will always remember the one day when we got one up on Jordan and the Bulls, John Starks was a hero and we were primed to win the first championship in 20 years. What fools we all were.

Enjoy your Memorial Day, everyone!

Top 5 Spike Lee Joints

Happy belated to the Knicks' number one fan and maybe Brooklyn's most famous resident, Spike Lee. While perhaps most well known for his die hard through-thick and-thin love of the Knicks, few people ever bring up the fact that he's a huge frontrunner when it comes to every other sport. He roots for both the Jets and the Giants equally depending on who's winning, he grew up rooting for and rooted for the Mets in the 80s when they were good, but now is seen at Yankee games and wears that stupid cap with all the pennants on it all the time. He probably would be a huge Rangers fan now if they had any brothers on the team. But, despite that douchey quality, Spike has still made a few really good films (along with some not so good). I have some issues with his film making style, mostly with his heavy handed at times preachy style and his over use of musical score, but there's a lot to like about his movies too and you can't deny his impact. What were his top 5 best?

5) Inside Man


Spike's biggest box office hit by far thanks to the presence of white people and the fact that it's one of his only forays into the heist movie genre. While I think this one was a bit over rated, and they really lost me when they got into the weird neo Nazi subplot or whatever, Inside Man was probably Spike's most entertaining flick. Plus, he wasn't in it.

4) Jungle Fever

John Turturro is great in almost everything (Transformers sucked but a guy gotta pay the bills). This one also stars a young Michael Imperioli (Chris Moltisanti from the Sopranos) and Nick Turturro as Bensonhurst guidos hating on their little sister's choice of a boyfriend. And this wasn't just any old Moolinyan, but Wesley Snipes. The blackest brother in the world. Halle Berry also pops up as a crackhead and Sam Jackson is killed by his father. It's pretty great (although the last scene is kind of lame).

3) 25th Hour


I'm a little partial to this one since the main characters are a couple guys from Bay Ridge (there's even a scene at their father's bar where the patrons are drinking beer and chanting "Let's go Yankees") but it's also Spike's most consistent work to date, in my opinion, if not the best. It doesn't veer off into any weird subplots and features one of the best monologues in film history.

2) Malcolm X

A great flick, even if you're not black (like we aren't) or aren't big fans of brother Malcolm. Spike's one truly epic bio pic is without a doubt among the best of his movies. Many feel that Denzel was robbed by the Academy (and some think it was a racist conspiracy resulting in Denzel having to be crooked before he took it) and his performance is pretty good.

1) Do The Right Thing


This is a no brainer as the number one Spike Lee joint, and he never really reached these heights again. Deals with racial issues without being overly preachy, features great performances from Turturro, Danny Aiello and even Spike himself is pretty good. Also had a great soundtrack and Rosie Perez's tits (or a close facsimile). Tons of quotable lines in this one. Sums up the racial divide in the late 80s in the scene below. Great stuff, Spike.


Honorable Mentions: He Got Game, Clockers, Mo Better Blues, Crooklyn

What If Jeremy Lin Were Black?

Special Prologue by Snoot: Johnny Bagels and Hater J have had some intense email exchanges debating whether the fact Jeremy Lin is Asian is impacting his rapid rise to fame. The vicious email wars wore down on Bagels and he decided not to finish this post. I thought it was a shame for this work to go unpublished, so below you will find the mostly finished thesis of Johnny Bagels. Also, I spent time photo-shopping World Peace's head onto Lin's body and wanted an excuse to post it...ENJOY!
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Noted scholar Floyd Mayweather made a somewhat controversial statement yesterday that has caused a bit of an uproar. In typical idiotic Money Mayweather fashion, he took to Twitter to give his view of the recent Linsanity craze that has been sweeping the nation:

"Jeremy Lin is a good player but all the hype is because he's Asian. Black players do what he does every night and don't get the same praise".

This is characteristically stupid and racist and Floyd is just doing his usual race baiting clown act but- I can't believe I'm going to write this- there's an element of truth to what Floyd Mayweather said.

It's patently ridiculous to say that black players do what Lin is doing every day. Sure, it's true that black, white, European or whatever players score in the realm of 25 points and dish out 8 assists every day, but what makes Lin's week and a half so special is exactly that: it's been done in a week and a half. No player ever in the history of mankind has ever scored this many points in his first 6 starts (all wins of course). Not to mention he came out of seemingly nowhere to do this, literally hopping off the couch to rescue a sinking ship. But the truthy part (to quote Stephen Colbert who dedicated part of his show recently to Lin) of what Floyd tweeted is also found in the short time span. The hype machine has been working in overdrive for Jeremy, so much so that he's already made the leap to non sports media star, something that takes most athletes at least their full rookie season to accomplish. How different would the Linsanity craze if he were not the first ever Asian American player in the league, but a run of the mill black dude?

Without a doubt, a black J Lin- for our purposes let's refer to him as Jamaal Jones- would still be a huge star and bring about a great deal of hype if he shared the rest of Lin's story. Jamaal Jones grew up in Palo Alto California to middle class parents, eventually worked his way to Harvard despite attracting barely any offers to play college ball, found a spot on a couple different NBA teams without being drafted and then was chosen to be the Knick's last resort at point guard to unbelievable results. That would be a big deal in the sports world, especially since it happened in the largest market in America for the Knicks. But Jamaal Jones having a great week for the Knicks would not have entire Sportscenter episodes dedicated to him, never mind the CBS nightly news and the aforementioned Colbert Report or the countless other newspapers and tv shows he's been discussed on in the past 11 days. None other than Sarah Palin would not be toteing a bootleg Linsanity tshirt. President Obama had to throw in his two cents. It's deeper than sports. To say that the underdog Ivy Leaguer who slept on his brothers couch last week is enough to cause this level of hype is severely understimating how big Linsanity is right now. It's a bona fide phenomenon, one that is helped in great part by the fact that Jeremy Lin is the first ever Asian American to play in the league, and he's dominating. People don't like to believe that they are affected by stereotypes, but the fact of the matter is, Asians are looked at in America as at best meek and subservient and at worst, weaker than other people physically. An Asian who's not a giant like Yao Ming excelling against African Americans stands out. Just like a black golfer or hockey player stands out. This is nothing against black athletes. It's more a human nature thing to have your attention drawn to what is different. Looking at this phenomenon from a human interest perspective -and not anything else- casual sports fans and those strange souls who have no interest at all in bats and balls are not going to care about some guy playing well for a week in the NBA in February. They just won't. The NBA barely draws any attention anyway, but if Jamaal Jones averaged 25 and 8 and led the team to a 6 game winning streak, it wouldn't matter if he was living in a dumpster 2 minutes before that Nets game tipped off, and he graduated with honors from every Ivy League school on the East coast, a great percentage of Americans would not so much as bat an eyelash. Without the cache of being the Jackie Robinson of ABC's, the story goes from inspiring story of the year to merely inspiring sports story of the year that might get a profile on Nightline or something, but not complete and utter mass Linsanity. There's been a handful of sports stars who have transcended their sport through out history (Fernando Mania, etc). None of them did it by leading an 8 and 15 team to a great week in February. Yes, everything moves faster now and there is of course Twitter and Facebook and ESPN news and even people like us can have blogs examining race in sports. But that doesn't change the fact that a yellow dot stands out in a sea of black and white.

I should stress once more that I am not trying to denigrate black or Asian people in any way. This isn't anything against black or Asian people nor am I saying Asians are any better than other types of people, and I'm not even saying that the majority of Lin's new fans are consciously rooting for him because he's Asian (except for maybe the Asian ones). I'm also not implying that the hypothetical America I'm describing wouldn't root for the hypothetical Jamaal Jones because they were racist or that Jamaal Jones deserved it. What I am saying (and I can't stress this enough) is that him being a minority in his sport (the only God Damn one as a matter of fact) helps Jeremy stand out in a way a member of the majority race in the NBA would not. But it's also true that you can't deny race being the part of any story in America (at least that's what I believe). We don't like to admit it but it informs everything. Presidential elections, what tv shows movies and music we choose to watch and who we choose to hang out with and date. And it affects how we root for athletes. If Tim Tebow were black, regardless of how outspoken he was about his faith, the fanaticism for him would be greatly diminished. He's a broad shouldered, blue eyed, blond haired person who loves Jesus. The ideal athlete for much of America. Take that away and you take away some of his appeal. Eminem is a terrific rapper, (maybe the best ever) but there's a reason he's sold more albums than the entire Wu-Tang clan combined, and it's not his funny lyrics.

But all that is besides the point. Race isn't the only factor in Lin's jaw dropping popularity, not by far. It's not even the biggest factor. It's one of the many factors that have made this the perfect storm of hype. The Harvard and undrafted thing, the New York thing (which is right up there with any other reason), the prevalence of social media and the race thing. Take away one element and the perfect hurricane that is Linsanity is severely downgraded. Not that the hype is undeserved. It's more like Lin deserves the attention that most Americans would not give NBA basketball in February. People always look at the discussion of race as taking away from a person's worth since you're focusing on something they can't control. Race is a dirty word in most circles, particularly in sports, where even acknowledging an athlete's color is grounds for a public crucifixion. But it's naive to think that race doesn't play a part in how everyone is perceived for good or bad. People might first take notice of Lin because he's the small Asian guy dominating a mostly African American sport but they'll stay for the insane passes, clutch shots and finishes at the rim. Even in the current age where that "15 minutes of fame" is seemingly given out to anyone with a Twitter account and a the ability to let cameras follow them around, there has to be a catch to hook people beyond a sweet story and a nice crossover dribble. His race is the gimmick that has to be part of his story, just like if he were 5 feet or 7" feet 8' tall. He would be the ridiculously tall or dwarf like basketball player who's tearing up the league instead of the first ever Asian player who's tearing up the league. It's so much deeper than sports. The fictional Jamaal Jones (if he actually existed) would be another ultra talented black guy in shorts with a charming back story. Sarah Palin wouldn't even give him a second look.

Are the Knicks the New Mets?

A couple of days ago, our own Hater J admitted that his favorite basketball team, the New York Knicks, are now basically the same as that other orange and blue team from New York, Snoot and M@d $cientist's beloved New York Mets. This sent me into a rage that only 5 or 6 glasses of expensive Scotch could snap me out of. Why would a comparison like this rub me the wrong way to that extent? Aren't the Knicks an insult to Dr. Naismith's creation and don't I spend 90% of my precious time on Earth complaining about how shitty they are? Of course. But are they on par with the Mets? Not even close.

In order to put this idea to rest, let's do a quick comparison of the two down on their luck franchises:

History

Both teams have had 2 championships, at least one other championship series, winning seasons and loads of horrible seasons. The Knicks, however, are one of the original NBA teams and the Mets were a fill in squad for the baseball team that abandoned New York. The Knicks are widely recognized as a flagship franchise of their sport (even though they've been a joke of a team for 10 years), while the Mets are widely ridiculed by everyone in the world.

Advantage: Knicks


Legendary Players

Madison Square Garden's upper level seats are a pretty lousy place to watch a basketball game, but as your mind drifts off to a happy place there's at least one pleasant diversion in the numerous jerseys hanging near the ceiling. The Knicks have retired the jerseys of some of the greatest who ever played such as Willis Reed, Clyde Frazier, Patrick Ewing, Dave Debusschere and Lee Nailon (just kidding). The Mets' legends are coke heads, Tom Seaver and Sam Champion's boyfriend.

Advantage: Knicks



Home Stadium

Even with the Knicks being perennial losers, and the overall mood of their home arena being similar to that of an angry town hall meeting rather than a premiere sporting event, Madison Square Garden is still one of the more prestigious sports venues in the world. While it might no longer live up to it's nickname of "The world's most famous arena",there's still something special about the Garden. The lighting is a little different than any other NBA arena besides Staples Center for Lakers game which adds to the drama, and despite the Knicks' woes opposing players still get up for playing there. Kobe and Jordan made MSG their number one arena for putting up huge ,historic nights simply because it was the "mecca" of basketball. Shea and now Citi Field ,on the other hand, inspire opposing players to do nothing but plan their nights out at Scores the evening before the game. Citi's a little less terrible, but Shea might have had the worst atmosphere in all of sports, from the constant airplanes flying overhead, the ugly orange seats and the crappy over priced food to that stupid God damned apple that pops out of that hat. Citi has upgraded the food but unfortunately the rest of what I just mentioned still remains.

Advantage: Knicks




Fan Base

The two teams fan bases possess a few of the same characteristics: an almost laughable loyalty, ability to routinely get punched in the gut yet come back for more, a sometimes ridiculously optimistic outlook before every season. There are some glaring differences between Knicks and Mets fans though. Go to a Knicks game and you are guaranteed to see three types of people: hot girls, rich people and celebrities. At a Mets game you are guaranteed to see none of those things. The Mets don't even have an iconic bleacher section to call their own like that section of die-hard Yankee fans at the stadium. They have a "picnic area". Lame. The Knicks routinely draw a number of A, B and C list celebs who probably know nothing about basketball along with the actual basketball fans like Spike Lee, Matthew Modine and Leon (ok forget I mentioned Leon). The Mets draw Jerry Seinfeld a few times a year and once a year Lady Gaga terrorizes people in the stands. Most importantly, the mindset of the Knicks and Mets fan (with the exception of the occasional overlapping Mets/Knicks fans) are drastically different. The Mets fan expects to lose, while the Knicks fan usually has the obnoxious ability to always see the bright side just like Yankees and Giants fans. Also, the Knicks are no one's little brother.

Advantage: Knicks


Recent History

We know both teams have histories as losers but this category may be the only one that the Mets have over the Knicks (just ask any Mets fan they'll no doubt tell you). The Knicks have been an embarrassment to the city ever since Patrick Ewing was traded while the Mets have had their ups this century (a world series appearance, a couple of stellar seasons) and downs (blowing seemingly insurmountable division leads, the Madoff scandals) but overall have been a much more successful franchise in the past 10 years, which isn't saying much in comparison to the Knicks but still it's something.

Advantage: Mets


Team Mascots

This one automatically goes to the Knicks since, well, they don't have a mascot (unless you count African American film directors) and the Mets have a guy with a big baseball head. The Knicks also have a dance troupe of super hot girls who come out about once a quarter to shake their asses to Chris Brown songs.

Advantage: Knicks

Front Office

Hoo boy, this is a tough one. It's kind of like comparing syphilis and chlamydia. The Wilpons were the victim of the most famous Ponzi schemer in history, and prior to that made numerous moves to run the franchise into the ground. Our own Snoot has shunned his beloved Mets until these assholes sell the team or die (in no particular order). Jimmy Dolan, on the other hand, not only makes unbelievably awful moves year after year (the list goes on and on) but also has the stench of a spoiled rich kid who was undeservedly gifted reign of the Cablevision empire - and the sports teams that go along with it - and has been rightfully blamed for the Knicks' downfall. Which putrid owner is worse though? What with the Mets mired in debt and Dolan's love affair with Isiah Thomas and his signature move now beginning to look like a mistake, I'll call this one a push. A very, very sad push for New York city.


Prospects for the Future

It looks pretty ugly for both teams looking into the near future. The Mets didn't bother giving their best player a solid offer and have been unloading many of their more promising pieces in a desperate move to get out from under the Madoff curse. The Knicks were looking like they were on an upswing until they started playing basketball games. Now, the Carmelo trade looks like it might have undid any good that was done in the first half of the Amare era. Still, with two superstar players the Knicks are in a slightly better place than the Mets are at this point (but not by very much).

Advantage: Knicks (barely)


As you can see, the Knicks - while undoubtedly a miserable excuse for a basketball franchise of late - dominate their orange and blue counterparts in most categories. The fact of the matter is, though, both fan bases have been like battered spouses for much of the past 50 years. Always promised change, only to be kicked in the stomach every year, but we keep coming back for more. Whichever franchise is shittier, we can all agree on one thing: our team sucks.

M@D Gamble

"I make the bets so you don't have." "Nor should you"

I hope to make this a weekly segment until I either run out of money or you guys tell me this segment sucks and I won't write about it any more. So the bet I made tonight was I took the Knicks plus ten and the over of 195. Basketball Expert Johnny Bagels thinks I am insane and I am better off just throwing money out the window, but I think the Knicks will play the Heat tough have a close game and just put up a lot of points in the process. So in order to win my wager I need

Knicks +10 &

Over 195

Happy Gambling to me, next week I bet on the Super Bowl MVP and I won't be picking a QB

Knicks Vs Lakers Preview

The NBA pre season is almost over and we can finally get to some real hardwood action...what's that you say? This is the season? Yikes. Well, sloppy, low scoring basketball is better than no basketball at all I guess. Even if it does feel like you're watching the best pick up game at McKinley park ever at times. So tonight, I'm still a little excited for the first matchup of the abbreviated season between my first and second favorite teams. And that's not the only first you'll see tonight; it's also the first matchup between Kobe and Carmelo since the trade last February as well as the first time these two teams have matched up where the Knicks might actually be a better team (or at the least have a brighter future) since Nick Van Exel was running the point at the old Forum. What to expect tonight?

Both teams are off to uneven starts albeit in a very small sample size (3 games for the Lakers and 2 for the Knicks). As expected, play has been pretty ragged thus far as the result of the lack of practice and training camps and the compressed schedule, so there's always a chance that these two teams are simply going through what the rest of the league is, but there are big holes in each team's roster. The Knicks were thin to begin with, and since the injuries to the rookie Shumpert and (Thank GOD) Jared Jeffries, they've become even thinner (Chinese fans shouldn't get their hopes up to see Jeremy Lin get off the bench any time soon though, sorry). Meanwhile, the Lakers got nothing in return for their most versatile bench player, Odom, and everyone else is a year older. They've sorely missed the big bully in the middle, Bynum, who will be finishing his suspension tonight, but even when he returns they're still a barely above average team. After melting down against a Chicago team that was shooting 15% at one point in the second half on Christmas, they then proceeded to get blown out by the Sacramento Kings of all teams. Narrowly avoiding disaster by blowing out a truly awful Utah Jazz team on Tuesday in their third game of a back to back to back, the Lakers still have a similar look to the 06-07 Lakers pre Pau that resulted in ridiculous Kobe numbers but not much else. This team is of course more talented than anything that involves Kwame Brown and Smush Parker could be, but Kobe isn't that guy anymore either. I expect a Lakers team that hovers a few games over 500 this season as they struggle to find their identity post Phil Jackson and Kobe struggles to not punch Mike "Al Roker" Brown.

The Knicks, on the other hand, are being touted as some kind of a title contending juggernaut with the acquisition of an injury prone guy who's had one good season as a pro, and that season he averaged 10 points and 10 rebounds. They escaped X-mas with a skin of their teeth win against an elderly, injured Celtics team prompting annoying "KNICKS BACK!" Facebook statuses and tweets. Truthfully, as excited as I am to see the Knicks even in the discussion with the top teams in the East again, their lack of a real backcourt and team chemistry is enough to cause me some concern. Last night's debacle against Golden State was an example of how far they still have to go, as well as how unsightly much of the gameplay will be in this shortened season. As Hater J pointed out during the travesty that was the Jazz and Lakers on Tuesday, amidst a game in which the Jazz missed 20 out of 22 shots in the second quarter yet were only down by 5 points, we were spared a lot of this crappy play in 99, but now thanks to the immense media coverage and league pass, etc., the ugly play is forced down our throats all day and night.

I expect more of the same tonight. An unevenly played game with both teams going through droughts and showing occasional flashes of real basketball interspersed between turnovers and clanked shots. Also, expect to see Kobe curse a lot and make faces at the official and Landry Fields and expec Tyson Chandler to be in foul trouble again. I think these two teams are fairly evenly matched this season, with the Knicks being slightly better than the Lakers sans Bynum, but L.A. being at home coming off a days rest should trump the Knicks who played last night and are obviously still feeling things out.

Lakers by 7.

A History Of Washed Up Stars Who Played for The Knicks

The Knicks have officially signed Baron Davis, who will be bringing (along with his ambiguously injured back) some excitement for nostalgic fair weather basketball fans. Everyone loves a big name, and whether or not Baron will be the focused, supremely talented player he was with Golden State and the Hornets, or the overweight malcontent that forced his way out of LA and Cleveland remains to be seen. Logic would lead you to believe that the former would be true, since he's now playing for one of the league's flagship franchises along side some real talent for a change but we won't know for at least a month. However things end up with the player formerly known as B Diddy, one thing is for sure: the Knicks have had tons of washed up former stars suiting up in the orange and blue in recent history. And with the arrival of Baron and possibly gun enthusiast and washed up Agent Zero Gilbert Arenas, there's a chance this list could get much longer in the near future. I've attached their best season stats to prove that they were at one point stars along with the numbers they put up in New York. When reading the Knicks stats, I'd advise you to think of this sound.

Glen Rice Career High PPG: 26.8 2000-01 with NYK: PPG:12.0


Holding the dubious distinction of being the player who Patrick Ewing was traded for may have been the sharp shooting Rice's claim to fame. That is until this summer's revelations that he had carried on an affair with a young Sarah Palin. Glen struggled in New York for a season before being shipped off to never be heard from again. He not only took Patrick's spot on the roster, but apparently his knees as well, creaking up and down the court.

Vin Baker Career High PPG: 21.1 RPG: 10.3 2004-05 with NYK: PPG:7 RPG: 3


Vin is an iffy one to put on this list since he had already fallen off long before he came here, and he played for the Knicks right before booze and laziness derailed his career. By the time he was with the Celtics, he was already getting booed every time he stepped on the court. So when he came to the Knicks he wasn't expected to be a returning local kid done good, or a conquering hero but was just supposed to be a solid enough veteran to grab some boards and provide a bit of an inside presence. He failed on both accounts and is now mostly forgotten.

Penny Hardaway Career High PPG: 21 APG:7 06-07 with NYK: PPG: 6 APG: 2.5


As I've discussed many times on this here blog, Penny Hardaway was a childhood hero of mine as well as the spokesperson for some of the greatest perp shoes ever. He had everything: scoring ability, ridiculous hops, slick passing, a puppet named after him. Of course, when he came to the Knicks he had none of those things. It was as hard to watch him limp around the court shooting stand still jumpers as it was to watch the Knicks get swept off the court by the Nets (ugh) in 04. By the way, that team was led by none other than......

Stephon Marbury: Numbers don't tell the story


We should have saw this coming. Starbury's first game as a Knick was as hyped as any game this side of MJ's 55 pt. return in 95. In front of a national TV audience, the Knicks fell behind by 20 in the first quarter and lost by 30 to Jeff Van Gundy's Rockets. A sign of things to come as there would be much, MUCH more losing as the Marbury era progressed. Bottle's favorite player of all time and son of Coney Island could have been one of the most popular players to ever suit up in the orange and blue. Past homegrown players such as Mark Jackson, Bernard King and Anthony Mason were all popular players with the 'bockers but what should have been a homecoming for Steph, playing in the same building where he won a city championship, so heartwarming that it would have had Lupica jerking off from press row, was instead the ugliest era in Knicks basketball. One that ended with Marbury unable to get off the bench under D'Antoni and is probably best remembered for sexual harassment accusations rather than playoff wins.


Steve Francis: Career High PPG: 21 APG: 7 With NYK: PPG: 10.5 APG: 3


Oh God, Steve Francis. What a colossal fuck up by one of the biggest fuck ups in sports management history. Everyone and their mother (really, my mother was a big Francis fan and she knew he was a bum at this point) could tell you that this was a bad move. But ol' Zeke never met a big name whose legacy he didn't want to ruin.




Dikembe Mutombo: Career High PPG: 16.6 (in his rookie season!) BPG: 4.5 03-04 with NYK: PPG: 5.6 BPG:1.9


You may be noticing a trend in the years listed. 04-07 were especially dark days. Dikembe was never a big time scorer, even in his best seasons with Denver, Atlanta and Philly, but one thing he could always do was block shots and wave his big ol' E.T. finger in the face of his victims (and then later in the direction of the crowd when the league ruled that it was taunting). NO MAN FLY IN THE HOUSE OF MUTOMBO! Unfortunately, the house of Mutombo was more of a split level condo on Bleeker Street by the time he got here.

Antonio McDyess: Career High PPG: 21.2 RPG: 12.1 2003-04 with NYK: PPG: 8.4 RPG: 6.6


The recently retired McDyess is another controversial choice. On the one hand, he was way past his prime and riddled with injuries his entire stay in New York. On the other, he had some very solid years in San Antonio and Detroit as a role player on those elite teams after his tenure in New York. Nevertheless, McDyess's Knick career was so nonexistent (and expectations for him so high after the Knicks traded Marcus Camby for him) that he belongs on this list of big name wash outs. Despite his face up there, he didn't do much laughing and smiling in his Knicks career.


Jalen Rose: Career High PPG: 21.2 APG: 6.2 2005-06 with NYK: PPG: 12.7 APG: 2.6


Yeah, he played for the Knicks too. PTU Keeping it Real Hero and drunk driver Rose was one of the many terrible moves during Isiah's reign of terror. Jalen came into the league as the Point Guard for the Fab 5. A swaggering tall PG in the Magic mold, and was a very solid player for a number of years with Denver and the Pacers team that made the Finals in 2000. Unfortunately, by the time he made it to New York he was yet another faded star to add to the list.



Tracy McGrady: Career High PPG: 32.1 APG; 6.5 2009-10 with NYK: PPG: 9.4 APG:3.9



Most knowledgable basketball fans (as Knicks fans pride themselves on being) were not overly excited at the idea of the hobbling T Mac coming over in a trading deadline move a couple seasons back. Alas, even the most intelligent fan base in professional basketball is no match for nostalgia. Not to mention Knicks fans were starving for anything positive at the Garden like Johnny Bagels is starving for sweet and sour chicken on most weekends. So, Knicks fans got all goofy and cheered McGrady on in his one good game at the Garden after the trade. He broke 20 points and almost led them to a win if not for a Durant game tying 3 in the 4th quarter, but soon after that it was clear that this wasn't the same guy who scored 60 in a game with the Magic, or scored 15 points in 45 seconds or whatever it was with the Rockets, but was just another injured former star winding down his career at the World's most famous arena.

And there's many more crappy players who may have had good years elsewhere but stunk it up for the Knicks through out the years.Here's hoping that Davis (and maybe Arenas) can keep themselves off the next list. Add up those names up there, though, and you have a veritable dream team. That is, when they were in their prime, healthy and dynamic athletes who had no idea they'd one day be relegated to the scrap heap of fallen stars at Madison Square Garden.

Worst Knicks Draft Misses

Last night saw another controversial (to say the least) draft pick by our Knickerbockers that will surely be second guessed and ridiculed for years to come, depending on how this mysterious Iman Shumpert character turns out. The funny thing about drafts (particularly NBA drafts) is that it's so easy to look back at picks in hindsight as horrible moves. It's a total crap shoot but some picks (like arguably Shumpert) are indefensible no matter how you look at them, especially when compared to who could have been picked in their place. Let's start second guessing some professional picks that went horribly, horribly wrong.

2009- Jordan Hill over Brandon Jennings, Dejaun Blair (8th pick)
Donnie Walsh's one huge blunder (before last night's pick) was picking LLoyd Banks impersonator and all around useless Arizona Forward Hill with the 8th pick. This misguided decision will always be remembered for the guy who was picked next: Brandon Jennings. The pick would look even worse after Jennings scored 50 in his first month in the league while Jordan averaged 4 points and 2 rebounds in hardly any minutes for the hapless Knicks. Sigh. To be fair, many teams had doubts about Jennings, who spent the previous season overseas instead of college, and no one but the always sneaky Spurs knew Dejuan Blair would be as good as he was. Hill was eventually shipped out alongside fellow talentless waste of life Jared Jeffries. Curse you, Jordan Hill. Personal note: I was lucky enough to go to a draft party that season where I got to meet future legends Jordan Hill and Hasheem Thabeet. I'll tell my grandchildren that one day. They will laugh at me and then have me committed.

2002-Nene Hilario (traded along with Marcus Camby for Antonio McDyess) over Amare Stoudemire and Caron Butler (9th pick)
This is just one giant clusterfuck of awful draft day shenanigans on the Knicks' parts. Firstly, the Knicks overlooked the guy who turned their season around 8 years later (who knows how things would have turned out if Amare started his career here instead of finishing it) as well as Caron "Tough Juice" Butler (who's 10 times better and tougher than anyone on their roster for the next 8 years) and then in an equally terrible move, they turn around and trade the player formerly known as Hilario (before the Brazilian got all soccer starish) who would turn out to be a serviceable center for years to come along with their other best center not named Patrick in Camby, for (get this) Antonio McDyess and his one good knee. Predictably, McDyess would injure himself in his very first preseason game (I had the pleasure of witnessing this first hand) and then continued to limp around the Knicks for a couple more years before thankfully being shipped off to fulfill his rightful role as old wily vet on championship teams like the Spurs and Pistons. Kind of sums up the Knicks in the 2000s; draft a guy who could have helped them ahead of guys who could have helped them more and then immediately trade him and your fan favorite center for a washed up old cripple. Go New York Go!

1978-Michael Ray Richardson over Larry Bird (5th pick)
Sam Bowie and Portland get a lot of grief from everyone but Bottle for committing the ultimate draft day screw-up (Jay-z even had a memorable line referencing this) but almost everyone (including me) forget that Jordan wasn't the only 80s NBA savior who was overlooked by a couple of teams. None other than Larry Legend himself was passed over by no less than 5 NBA teams in '78 including (of course) our Knicks who decided to go with Sugar Ray ahead of the Hick from French Lick (Phil Ford and Rick Robey, you weren't so hot either). We all know what happened once Bird finally joined the Celtics after finishing his senior year at Indiana State: he would go on to become one of the greatest and most clutch players who ever touched a basketball, win championships, and 3 point contests, and make the entire planet fall in love with professional basketball again along side Magic Johnson and Jordan. Michael Ray Richardson got himself banned for life from the NBA because of a severe cocaine addiction and is most famous for saying of the Knicks collapsing season: "The ship be sinkin'". Yes, it be sinkin' indeed.

1999- Frederic Weis over Ron Artest (15th pick)
If this were one of Blacky's favorite lists, then it would be real tight between this choice and the Bird choice. Of course Bird was better than Ron-Ron by a million miles, but in '99, the Knicks took one of the easiest no-brainer lay-ups of a pick, and totally botched it. Queensbridge's own Ron Artest was somehow still available when the Knicks picked at 15 (they weren't always in the lottery back in the '90s). Everyone knew what was coming next: The Knicks would take the St. John's product and homeboy Artest; the perfect type of NY player that the fans would love post Oakley and Mason, who was a hard nosed and defensive minded beast. It's all coming together for these Knicks. And then David Stern announced the words that will forever haunt Knicks fans and would basically signal the beginning of the darkest period in New York basketball history: "With the 15th pick in the 1999 NBA draft, the New York Knicks select Frederic Weis from somewhere in France". After the dust settled from that atomic bomb of stupidity, insult was added to injury as our boy Weis became the victim of the most humiliating dunk in basketball history. What's French for "this negro's scrotum is in my mouth?". After that emasculating moment, he was never to be seen or heard from again and Metta would become a champion and complex genius (or insane person, but still a champion). Sacre Bleu!

2006 and 2007- Nobody
That's right. Nobody was drafted for 2 years by the Knicks because we traded our draft picks for such superstars as Jamal Crawford and Eddy Curry. Not only were draft picks thrown around like candy for unproven and out of shape losers, but they weren't (most importantly) lottery protected. This was because the scumbag in charge, Isiah Thomas, (who actually was not bad at drafting when he didn't trade the picks) assumed that the Knicks would be such a power house of a team with these new players now dominating the games, that those picks would be worth next to nothing and probably be in the late second round if anything. Except the Knicks would be instead be unbelievably (and predictably) putrid, and end up with the 2nd pick in 2006 and the 6th in 2007 (which would both end up in Chicago). Although he was no longer with the team, his reign of terror extended all the way to last season when the Knicks were denied another lottery pick (ultimately ending up in Utah) thanks to the genius of Zeke. Thank you, Isiah Thomas, for teaching us that even worse than a draft pick misused is one that you never had to begin with. You miserable snake.

Where will last night's pick end up in the pantheon of Knicks idiocy? Only time will tell. If Shumpert doesn't pan out, like we all expect, rest assured that we will be here to ridicule him.

Iman Shumpert Welcome to the New York Knicks

Welcome to NY! I am sure you enjoyed your time at Georgia Tech. I would like to let you know that we as a basketball city are hungry for a championship, but worry not, we're not expecting that from you. You are merely a piece of the puzzle. What we expect from you is dishing, swishing, and defense. Now that we got that out of the way; We at PTU want to be one of the many media outlets to offer you a chance to reach out to your new fans. Please have your press agent reach us at blogptu@gmail.com to set up an interview.

Thank you

Say It Ain't So!

In typical Knicks fashion, the Donnie Walsh era has come to an unceremonious close and he didn't even get that lousy t-shirt up there. The company line is that both sides agreed to amicably split, but the writing was on the wall at the Garden for a while. He was pretty much forced out by James Dolan's stubborn, pig-headed ways much like Jeff Van Gundy before him.

Donnie (being the patient, wise person he is) didn't want to sign off on the Carmelo trade as it eventually went down, trading half of the team for Melo and a couple other parts. But, Dolan stepped in at the last minute and made sure it happened. I have to admit, I was all for the trade at the time, and those impatient feelings were shared by a lot of Knicks fans. Who cares if we have to give up our mothers, get Melo in New York! Of course, that is why you don't have fans running the team, and you leave it up to a professional to make sound decisions regarding the franchise's future. Dolan is about as short sighted as you can get though, and only saw and heard what most fans were clamoring for; whether it cost him an entire roster that was already a playoff team or not. This power move (essentially minimizing Walsh's power as an executive) is what led to the split. So, ironically, the move that was only made possible because of the shrewd decisions of Donnie Walsh is what eventually did him in. It's kind of like if you somehow got your family out of debt after years of foolish spending and living beyond your means, only to have your brother swoop in and buy a Porsche at the last minute. I'm not saying the deal is a disaster (we still have a chance to scoop up a top notch point guard thanks to Walsh) but the sticking point of keeping one of the Knicks' perimeter players sure made sense in hindsight. He would have come in handy against the Celtics in the Playoffs.

Let's remember Donnie for the job that he did: achieving the impossible miracle of getting the Knicks under the salary cap, landing two superstar players and somehow resurrecting a dead franchise and making them relevant again. Now, if Isiah Thomas returns to run all the good that Walsh has done into the ground, I may just wait for the Brooklyn Nets to come to town to root for an NBA team.

This Day In Painful Knicks History

I wrote in pretty graphic detail, the levels of pain that Knicks fans have experienced through out the years and no moment was as mind numbingly agonizing as what took place on this date 16 years ago: Reggie Miller scored 8 points in 9 seconds. This day is etched in the brain of all Knicks fans as probably the lowest point of the 90s (up until that finger roll a couple weeks later). The craziest part about the end to this particular game isn't even the blowing a 6 point lead in the final 18 seconds vs. your hated rival (a team hits a 3, forces another turnover or you miss free throws and they hit another 3 is not so crazy) it's the unbelievable combination of things that had to happen to get there.

Let's relive the trauma since that's the only way that we can truly conquer it:

Knicks by 6 with 18 seconds left and some of the Sunday afternoon crowd is happily filing for the exits to beat the traffic or go see Braveheart for the second time, or whatever it is people did on a Sunday afternoon in 1995. Mark Jackson (Ex-Knick New Yorker turned annoying Indiana jiggler) inbounds to Reggie for what seems like a stat padding 3 right in front of a standing Spike Lee. No big deal. Then, things get stupid: Mason drops back to inbound to Greg Anthony, but the Young Republican is either pushed or slips on his own (depending on who you ask) and is not able to pick himself up by his boot straps in the allotted 5 seconds. In normal circumstances like this, Mase could turn to the ref and call a time-out but by some dumb luck, the Knicks were fresh out. Riley (like his protege Van Gundy would turn out to be) was a notorious control freak who, unlike a Phil Jackson, used more time-outs than a yuppie parent. Combine this with the fact that the Knicks twice did the old "jumping out of bounds mid-air time-out to save possession" this afternoon (an Oakley specialty) and Mason had no choice but to throw it in much to everyone's horror right into Reggie's hands. Reggie may have many punk tendencies, but on the court you have to admit he has onions; instead of setting up a shot or going for a quick deuce, he dribbles out to the 3 point line and hits a game tying 3, to the dismay of all of New York and the enjoyment of Bill Walton ("TIE GAME!").

Now, if the Knicks had scored here or held for the last shot and missed or any combination of events not involving O.J. Simpson admitting his guilt on the court, this would still be one of the strangest endings in sports playoffs history. But it gets stupider: for some reason only known to him, future Raptors coach turned NBA tv analyst Sam Mitchell fouls John Starks on the other side of the court (we'll assume here that he was so shocked by what just happened that he thought the Knicks still had a lead). An 80 percent shooter known for his heart and grocery bagging skills, Starks stepped to the line and coolly butchered both shots. Can it get any worse? It sure can. Franchise savior Patrick Ewing gets the rebound and has a relatively open 10 footer. Off the back rim. Ouch. Then, to add to the once in a blue and orange moon idiocy of the afternoon, Mason (him again) fouls Reggie on the rebound of Ewing's miss. I suppose two foul shots are easier to take than another dagger 3, which Reggie would have undoubtedly nailed at the buzzer. Knicks have one more chance(still of course with no timeouts). Greg Anthony slips again (the hell was wrong with this guy?) and Reggie curses at the crowd, yelling "chokers" at who ever will listen leaving the rest of us to throw objects at our mother's televisions.

The planets aligned to beat the Knicks that day in ways that could never possibly repeat themselves. Firstly, the Knicks lack of time-outs could not happen again, since a rule was put in place soon after this season ended requiring both feet to be on the ground for a time-out to be granted. Mason still has a t.o. in his pocket and none of that ever happens (at least not in that order or crazy fashion). Secondly, this was the one season that the NBA (as it is apt to do) experimented with a shorter 3 point line in an effort to increase scoring. Jordan had just retired and the league had just seen the lowest scoring (as well as rated at that time) Finals in history and the Riley Knicks had converted the rest of the copy-cat league to defensive minded thug tactics resulting in games in the 70s and 80s. David Stern would sell his grandmother for t.v. ratings so the 3 line was moved in a few feet (you can clearly see the old line still there much like you see at college games at the Garden now). Reggie had practically limitless range so he almost definitely would have hit a 3 anyway, but who knows what that extra step would have meant (I'm reaching here but still). Lastly, Derrick McKey (remember him?) hit a first half shot that, upon replay, was clearly after the shot clock buzzer and should not have counted. Unfortunately, the NBA didn't implement the instant replay rule for another decade so those are 2 points Derrick McKey gets to keep as part of his illustrious career, but the Knicks can never get back.

This ending was so ridiculous that "pulling a Reggie Miller" has almost become part of the NBA vernacular as in "Don't leave just yet, the Bucks could still pull a Reggie".If you're a Knicks fans who sometimes feels like the basketball Gods are against you, and Murphy's law (everything that could possibly go wrong can and will) only applies to you; you're right.

May 7th, 1995: a day that will truly live in New York sports infamy.

It Was All Good Just A Week Ago

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.

Is A Day Enough To Get It Together?

Thank you, David Stern. Somehow thinking it’s appropriate and necessary to have playoff games span over multiple nights, even though the games will be played in the same gym may help my New York Knicks tonight.

After Sunday’s depressing loss, a day off in Boston may actually help the Knicks in game 2 in a series I refuse to accept is over. Playing back to back nights after allowing an alley-oop inbound score, committing a bullcrap offensive foul, allowing a great three point shot, and missing a miserable 3 point attempt (all in about 37 seconds of hoops), a night off may actually help the Knicks.

The extra day off may allow just enough time for the Knicks to get over mourning the loss and focus on doing what built that lead on Sunday. It will also give Mike D'Antoni time to fix some of the holes that lead to Sunday's collapse.

The defense was fantastic. Blocked shots, hard fouls, and hands up defense were all things I doubted this team would ever do under D’Antoni. The problem was the offense. Melo shot like crap, but I’ll let Jalen Rose give you his insightful, “For the New York Knicks to win tonight, Carmelo Anthony needs to have a better offensive game,” sometime before the game. The offense was at its worse when they went into isolation basketball with someone (namely Melo and Billups) holding the ball for 6 seconds and heaving up a bad looking or difficult shot while everyone else just stood around and looking at each other. It looked like the times Kobe goes into “number 8” mode and makes amazing shots at times but the offense as a whole does not seem cohesive. The offense seemed to be its best when Stat was movin' and groovin' (thanks Clyde) and was drawing defenders and getting him the ball.

Mike D’Antoni is considered to be an offensive genius. He’s had an extra day to look at tape and an extra day to get his team in line. I have to think he saw all of that. Now the question lies in whether he can convince his team to listen and start moving, especially with that extra day to prepare. I have some faith he can and say the Knicks win it tonight by 5. If not, Mike D has to go.

Jimmer in New York?

In the upcoming 2011 draft, the Knicks have the #16 pick - precisely where most draft experts believe Jimmer Fredette will fall. The Knick's current plan is to wait until Billups comes off contract (at the end of next year) and look towards signing an all-star PG like Paul or D Williams, with the hope that they can somehow afford a third big free agent signing. Don't worry Knicks fans, I have an alternative plan to this delusional pipe dream.

Consider this: instead of pursuing another all-star player that they can't afford, the Knicks could draft Jimmer and have Billups mentor him during the final year of his contract. Then, the Knicks could use the extra Billups money to fill their needs - depth and defense. They could sign a better center and bring in some decent role players.

Here's what the starting 5 could look like, with a few good role players behind them:

Jimmer
Fields
Carmelo
Amare
*Decent center

What do you think?

Perpmelo finally does something

Congratulations Knicks fans, Stephon Marbury's back in town, so is Jared Jeffries, and soon we'll have Isiah Thomas coaching the team again (once D'Antoni is unfairly run out of town). We can relive the last 15 years of toture, hurray! What a great trade!

Stephon Marbury... oh wait, I meant... Carmelo Anthony finally contributed down the stretch of a close game after whining and complaining like a prima donna for the last 2 weeks. After hitting a game-winner his first week with the team, Knicks fans were likely thinking that this was a sign of good things to come. Not quite. Primarily due to the crappy Perpmelo trade, the Knicks have fallen to 7th in the East, behind the Sixers (ugh), and are now in place to face the Celtics in the first round of the playoffs. They've got a good chance.... NOT.

I heard Jerome James had a good game at the park the other day. Hey Knicks, why not bring him back too? Thanks a lot Perpmelo.

PTU Dog House

Jared Jeffries

A long, long time ago Dr. James Naismith nailed two peach baskets up about 10 feet from the floor and created the game of basket ball which would eventually evolve over the years into the sport we all know and love so much. About 90 years later, Jared Jeffries (seen above making his trademark face) was born and Dr. Naismith has been rolling over in his grave ever since, as a talentless waste of life would pervert his creation for years to come.

Jared is to basketball what Malaria is to Africa. When Jared shoots the ball, statues of the virgin Mary cry tears of blood. Jared has the game of an autistic dwarf and the looks of a gay giraffe with Down Syndrome. To call him a bum is offensive to homeless people.

To make matters even worse, coaches inexplicably love this poor excuse for an athlete. He's always said to be a great locker room guy, which I assume means he's really good at picking up towels and jockstraps since he surely is not anyone's idea of a good basketball player. Now in his second go-round ruining the Knicks, JJ has proven that he has not picked up a single skill in his 9 year reign of terror called an NBA career, besides standing in front of more talented athletes to draw charges and generally looking like a cross between Swizz Beatz and mushmouth. How he ever won Mr. Basketball as an Indiana high-schooler is beyond me, unless it was meant to be sarcastic. Averaging 1 point and 3 rebounds per game as a Knick this season, the perpetually slack-jawed Jeffries is well on his way to another kick in the groin of a season.

We might as well name the PTU Dog House after Jared Jeffries. Just take a look at the video evidence below.

Jared, go to hell.

Mike D'Antoni Has To Go

I like Mike D’Antoni. In a dark time of Knicks’ basketball, he brought his mustache along with an entertaining style of basketball to the Garden. It all made a very bad Knicks team at least a little fun to watch…but Mike’s time is up. As Mikey D’s track record has proven, entertainment usually translates to a bunch of points and a bunch of disappointing losses.

With the recent losses, the Knicks have shown a lack of offensive continuity. They have also continued their futility on the defensive end of the ball and seem to forget all things intangible (rebound anyone). The result has been a string of bad losses (much like the beginning of the season). If the Knicks want to compete for more than a playoff spot, there needs to be a change in the offense and a change in the "offense comes second to nothing".

The addition of Melo means you have to create an offense where both he and Amare can coexist. Melo’s strength isn’t in playing the move and spacing game D’Antoni preaches. His game can be likened to Kobe and the role Kobe plays in the Triangle. He can be on the ball, dish when the defense collapses or shoot when he’s alone in the post or has space to shoot facing the basket. With that considered, there also needs to be at least a basic commitment to some defense. Every team/player goes through stretches where baskets are hard to come by. What keeps great teams in those games is their ability to play some defense and keep things a little close (all things the Knicks have struggled to do recently making these loses look so bad). D’Antoni seems either incapable or unwilling of making those offensive/defensive adjustments, meaning he has to go. Maybe this Melo move was a secret sneaky move to get him out of his job by The Snake (Isaiah Thomas) and James Dolan.

I suggested Ewing as a possibility in a recent post. Another option mentioned by Bill Simmons is have Phil come back to where it started and try and win a ring like his old coach/idol Red (a move I would endorse but seems unlikely). Anyone have any other names to throw in the hat?

The New Stephon Marbury?

After trading half their team away to Denver for Carmelo Anthony, the Knicks are reeling, having lost 7 of their last 8 and fallen behind the 76ers (REALLY?) in the playoff chase, while the Nuggets have been on fire, having gone 9-2 post-trade. Just recently, Carmelo failed to score a field goal in the 4th quarter against the Celtics, a team the Knicks might see in the first round of the playoffs.

Carmelo has always had problems with authority. In the Olympics he refused to enter the game because he felt he wasn't getting enough touches. Under George Karl he acted like a real perp, causing Karl to become distant from the team and eventually develop a life-threatening disease (maybe that's not on Carmelo).

Rumors were swirling that Carmelo hid on the bus after the Celtics game like a bratty 8 year old kid who struck out in tee-ball. Is Carmelo really a punk, prima donna athlete who will never live up to potential (like my man Stephon) or will he live up to the hype and be successful in New York? I predict that he fails. Expect to see him playing in China in a couple years and looking something like this: