Toney Douglas ain't no point guard, he's an enabler

How was it possible to give up 30 points in the paint in the first half and allow the Lakers to shoot 72% from the floor with the "best front court" in the NBA and a newly hired defensive coach? Unfuckingbelievable.

I won't even get into how the play from the point and two guard positions ain't worth a box of grits. Well, I guess I just did didn't I?!? Since I'm there Toney Douglas simply doesn't have the balls to take command of this offensive, pass the ball to the open man whomever that might be and demand that Carmelo and Amare rotate the ball and cut to the basket if they want shots. Until that happens he ain't no point guard he's an enabler.

ENABLER: One who enables another to persist in self-destructive behavior by providing excuses or making it possible to avoid the consequences of such behavior.

When Amare and Melo simply go about freelancing and jacking up wild shots that is self-destructive behavior Douglas is allowing.

I wish D'Antoni had allowed Amare and Melo to stay on the bench in the second quarter and ride out the hustling defensive and excellent ball movement from the "second unit". Maybe their example would have sparked something. But hey I ain't the coach and from the looks of this team, neither is Mike D'Antoni.

The Knicks lose again. Lakers 99 - Knicks 82

Mi prendi in giro?

It is time to make drastic changes

The Knicks attempted to fight back and win this game but they got nothing out of Chandler and Fields, both of whom may have checked out mentally because of their names mentioned in trade rumors earlier in the day for Carmelo, and the rest of the team missed a lot of open shots.

It is time for this franchise to make drastic changes with or without Carmelo Anthony. Well, it was fun while it lasted.

The Knicks Lose Again Spurs 101 - Knicks 92

Let's make it happen Donnie

From what I understand the Knicks showed up at an arena in Houston tonight but decided not to play so the Rockets ran circles around them and got a victory.

I also heard that the Russian has broken off talks with the Nuggets so I am sure Donnie Walsh knows that Denver will be open to taking a bag of bagels for Carmelo Anthony right now. But Donnie is a nice man and will probably offer Fields, Gallinari, Curry and one of the two 1st round draft picks he acquires for trading Randolph to a third team. Personally I wouldn't even go after Carmelo.

I would work on getting Marc Gasol and Iguadala which would make the Knicks contenders for the East today. Unfortunately my opinion doesn't matter, except to you nice folks.

Whatever deal you can make Donnie let's make it happen immediately and move forward, I can't watch much more of this.

The Knicks Lose Again Houston 104 - Knicks 89

The wheels have officially fallen off

I have to admit, I didn't watch today's game. I figured that since the Knicks couldn't beat the Kings at MSG they certainly can't beat the Suns at home either. And I was right.

Donnie, make your trades now since the wheels have officially fallen off. Get as much value out of the current roster on the trading block that you can while the getting is good.

The Knicks Lose Again Suns 129 - Knicks 121

No guts and no pride

No guts and no pride
The Knicks Lose Again Kings 93 - Knicks 83

The players should donate tonight's wages to charity since they certainly didn't earn it.

This is what happens when you don't develop your bench

The Knicks Lose Again, Jazz 131 - Knicks 125

Everyone is going to chalk this loss up to the Knicks being tired and several players banged up. But when you witnessed the Jazz coach not afraid to go 10 players deep to get the most out of his teams effort it is abundantly clear why the Knicks lost.

When D'Antoni attempted to go beyond his normal group of players and they gave him nothing he too could find nothing on his bench. Why is that? Because he hasn't played and developed the bench so there was nothing there to call upon when he needed it the most.


Will he learn from this? Of course not. And the Knicks will keep on losing to teams that they have no business failing against even on back to back road trip games.

Thanks for giving up before the game began coach

You can tell when D'Antoni concedes a loss even before the game starts by the starting lineup.

Tonight against the Lakers everyone knew that the Knicks were going to face a steady diet of Bynum and Gasol down low so it only made sense to start Turiaf at the center position so that Amare wouldn't have to wrestle with two beasts in the first half. But D'Antoni had already made up his mind that his team had very little chance of winning and thought (wrongly of course ) that his only chance was to play Shawne Williams and hoped that he could hit some three pointers and pull one of those guys out of the paint. We all know by now that with this coach the three point shot is the answer for all that ails you. Well it didn't work tonight.

Amare only had 5 points in the first half because he and no answer for Bynum's bulk on either end of the court. And Shawne Williams finished the game 8 points. Great move Mike.

Now, I am not saying that starting Turiaf and having Mozgov backing him up at the center position would have gotten the Knicks a victory at all. However it would have done more to neutralize the advantage the Lakers had in the front court and allowed Amare to open his game up offensively thereby giving the Knicks a decent shot at defeating the Lakers.

Thanks for giving up before the game began Mike. Nice job.

The Knicks lose again Lakers 109 - Knicks 87

This Isn't Rocket Science Got Dammit!

Got Dammit Amare will you please stop watching the fucking ball and box out?

The Knicks came back from being down more than twenty points had the momentum and were on the verge of breaking Orlando's will. Only down by two points Dwight Howard tossed up a shot out of frustration which missed of course. So what does Amare do when Howard let's the ball go? He completely disregarded his man, Howard, and followed the complete path of the ball in the air. Howard, knowing he can't shoot for crap, followed his shot, got the rebound and kicked it out for a wide open three pointer swinging the momentum right back to the Magic and that was the game.

What does it matter if the Knicks get Carmelo Anthony or any other big name free agent if the biggest star and center doesn't even have the fundamentals ingrained in his muscle memory. For all the points he can score Amare doesn't have a clue what to do when he his defending his basket.

Listen, when the Knicks are playing dominant centers D'Antoni has to wake the fuck up and use the fouls from his back ups especially on the likes of Dwight Howard, Bosh and Shaq. I don't want to hear shit about Mozgov not being ready. If he isn't ready then send his fucking ass down to the D-League where he can play every night and learn the NBA game. As far as I know he is not hurt, he gets a paycheck and starts each game with six fouls in his pocket. If you use Mozgov and Turiaf during the beginning of games it will at least keep Amare out of foul trouble and prevent teams from jumping ahead of the Knicks by twenty points at the half. Move Wilson Chandler and Gallinari down a position and have Landry coming of the bench. This isn't rocket science Got dammit.

D'Antoni, wake the fuck up and when you do take Amare into the gym with Herb Williams and every time he doesn't box Herb out shoot him with a taser. His shouts of "Don't taze me bro!" should be loud and often enough to reach Brooklyn.

Landry, if you're not going to shoot the ball with confidence then don't fucking shoot. You see Allan Houston and Walt Frazier every fucking day you can't ask these men for some got damn pointers? There is no excuse for your shot to not be pure and confident at this point of the season.

Fucking pathetic Knicks lose again Orlando 112 - Knicks 103

It's nothing to be ashamed of losing to the Miami Heat

The Knicks just aren't good enough to beat the Miami Heats of the world, it's nothing to be ashamed of.

They needn't fear the Magic either. If Felton stays in front of Nelson and Wilson forces Turkoglu to his left they can whoop dat ass on Thursday night. We will see.

The Knicks Lose Again, Heat 106 - Knicks 98

Lazy Coaching + Lazy Playing = Loss

There is a saying that bad habits die hard and the Knicks are living proof.

After playing so well and within themselves they decide to resort to their old ways and play to the level of the competition. 

The immature play from the Knicks included going for pump fakes and getting cheap fouls called on them, Amare forcing the issue by attempting to beat his defender off the dribble, not boxing out on defense and settling for low percentage shots instead of passing the ball around for the best shot made for a very sloppy and lazy effort against the Cavaliers. The result of course was a loss to the lowly Cleveland Cavaliers who had lost 10 games in a row before tonight's gift.

It is time for D'Antoni to open up his lineup and get Mozgov on the floor late in games even if just to play the scarecrow and make the opponents think twice about penetrating for easy baskets, also to get Amare off centers on the defensive end. But as I said in the beginning, old habits die hard.

The Knicks lose again, Cavaliers 109 - Knicks 102

The Knicks Are Not Ready

The Knicks lost for no other reason than not having a two guard who could force Wade to expend energy on defense and penetrate well enough to pull the Heat off double teams on Amare.

Not having such a player allowed Wade to possess lots of energy in the second half to prance and cross up for jump shots and display spin moves which got him easy dunks and layups against Landry Fields.

Bosh was not forced to bailout Wade and defend the paint so he was able to do pretty much what he wanted and stay both fresh and out of foul trouble. In tonight's game Bosh was double teaming Amare and getting easy shots around the basket

Notice I didn't mention Lebron James because honestly when he is shooting like the way he was tonight he was going to get his points no matter what.

The way to beat the Heat is by forcing Wade and Bosh to defend which draws fouls and makes them expend energy. The Knicks have no players whose games could command enough respect to pull the double and triple teams off Amare Stoudemire and take it to Wade and Bosh making losing inevitable. Miami is just better than them.

Now the Knicks need to regroup and remember that other than Boston, the Lakers and the Heat they should whoop everyone else and get after it tomorrow against the Bulls.

The Knicks Lose Again, Miami 113 - Knick 91

The Knicks are good but not elite

The Knicks lose again but let me say that this was one helluva basketball game. The margin of losing was still a simple fundamental that is lost in today's game.

Amare played good defense several times on Garnett late in the fourth quarter that resulted in bad shots but because of poor fundamentals Amare lost track of Garnett who was able to get his own rebounds and make put back baskets.

Instead of watching the path of the shot Amare should have pivoted to place his back into Garnett's chest to box out first while turning his head to the basket to locate the ball. At the very least he would have drawn an over the back foul on Garnett at best he would have snatched the rebounds preventing the second shots.

So, although they played well it is a matter of poor fundamentals like this when it counts that will keep the Knicks from being an elite team.

Celtics 118 - Knicks 116

They'll be soft until they die

The Knicks are just a bunch of scared boys with only a handful of real men on this team. When this group of guards and small forwards face a group of skilled basketball players they bitch up and there is no other way to describe it.

So afraid of being beaten off the dribble or getting contact the guards don't play tight defense or fight through screens. The small forwards are so afraid of playing against athletic bigs they force jump shots because they don't want any part of going mano a mano.

The only chance the Knicks had to be competitive today against the Hawks was to do exactly what got them the five game winning streak they enjoyed against lesser opponents. By slashing to the hoop for easy baskets and fouls, moving the ball around until the best shot became available and playing the passing lanes to get easy steals or place themselves in position where they could contest the next pass or the shot.

Other than Turiaf, Stoudemire and Landry this team gets intimidated very easily and only see themselves capable of nothing more than hoisting desperate three point attempts. When you are bitch made like the majority of these guys there is no amount of practice or experience to that can overcome it. They'll be soft until they die.
The Knicks Lose Again, Hawks 99 - Knicks 90 and it wasn't nearly that close

At Least They Tried

The Knicks lose again, Denver 120 - 118 Knicks  however, there were some promising signs.

The Knicks attacked the rim with gusto which led to lots of easy baskets and drew enough fouls to force the Nuggets to respect them.

They still didn't shoot particularly well from beyond the three point line, got out hustled a bit on the boards at times and were way to cavalier from the free throw line which was the cause of them losing tonight. However, I think that collectively they now understand the style of play that will make them competitive against the better teams and able to easily beat the mediocre teams of the league.

When Gallinari grows up a bit and learns how to contribute in other ways when his shot isn't falling the Knicks will be a .500 team. But not until then.

Landry Fields was impressive again.

This is a dumb team

The Knicks lead after the first quarter by attacking the basket on offense and crashing the boards. It was a surefire formula for victory over the Rockets that couldn't miss. Which is probably why the didn't stick with it for the remaining three quarters of the game.

Let's face it. This is a dumb team. Any excuse to toss up a three point shot and not box out on defense this team will take.

It's not a matter of this team not knowing how to win, they clear did in the first quarter. The problem is they don't want to win if they can't show off their skills shooting from the perimeter and Amare' can't show off his ball handling skills and ability to create his own shot off the dribble.

At some point a player with a high basketball IQ would understand that when his shot wasn't falling and the other team's big men were scoring that it was his job to penetrate and attempt to draw fouls to get the opponent's best players in foul trouble. Unfortunately there are no such players on the Knicks and D'Antoni seems completely unable to teach.

The Knicks will be back in the lottery after this season because they will not be in the playoffs. On the bright side, Landry Fields is doing his best to contend for rookie of the year.

The Knicks Lose Again, Rockets 104 - Knicks 96

The Knicks Must Love Getting Their Asses Kicked

Even when playing teams with worse records if the New York Knicks can't hit greater than 40% from the three point line they simply will not win. But pretty soon no one will have a record worse than the Knicks.

The Knicks guards will not take the ball to the basket and draw fouls on other teams big men. The Knicks big men will not put a back in the chest of the man they are guarding to box out and control the backboard. The Knicks as a team refuse to punish players who come near the basket they are defending.

The Knicks have poor fundamentals, no hustle, no pride and are a bunch of softees. This city deserves players who have some fight in them but unfortunately it looks as if this current group of Knicks love getting their asses kicked.

The Knicks lose again, Timberwolves 112 - Knicks 103

Not An Ounce of Toughness

When this season is over and the Knicks haven't made the playoffs again hopefully D'Antoni will beg out of his contract and Dolan will grant him his release.

This team needs a coach with spirit and not just a jump shot philosophy.  A coach that will demand that defense is a priority. A coach that will understand how beating the Knicks in their own building is a running joke amongst players, coaches and general managers in this league. A coach understands that its the Knicks against everyone in the world and the team must play with the mindset to destroy its opponent not simply win.

Except for the occasional night or quarter when the Knicks are on fire from the three point line this is one sorry basketball team. It is now apparent the there isn't an ounce of toughness or grit on this basketball team. There is no pride or fight. Not a scrap of shame or anger and not the brightest group of players.

The Knicks Lose Again
Golden State 122 - Knicks 117

What a gutless performance

The Bucks came into the game with the plan to play Bogut one on one with Stoudemire with little help and take away the three point shot. Since the D'Antoni system has no backup when three point shots aren't being made or attempted the Bucks were able to put a beatin' on the Knicks that you can best believe will be the formula for every opponent of theirs for the rest of the season.

What a gutless performance by the Knicks.

Except for a monster dunk by my favorite Knick Landry Fields, who mark my words is the second coming of Scottie Pipen, I would have been better off watching American Dad and Family Guy which have been in my Hulu queue for the past few days.

Oh and I wish I hadn't started this blog because I have a feeling that I am going to be forced to write a whole lot of these stupid posts this year.

Bucks 107 - Knicks 80

Pump Fakes? Really?

With no Andre Iguodala you would think that the Knicks would have had this game in the bag but no. They found away to lose which was utterly ridiculous.

Despite what some fools in this city may think this loss had nothing to do with Amare Stoudemire not "taking over the game". Amare had a solid game. Solid enough for the Knicks to have won without last minute heroics which he has shown early this season he is incapable of right now as he finds his way in this system and around this current group of players. The Knicks lost simply because they are stupid and have poor fundamentals.

The Sixers aren't good and have no real three point shooters except for Nocioni who struggled yesterday so why the Knicks thought it was a good idea to be suckered time and time again into going for pump fakes was unbelievable.

The farther a player is from the basket the more difficult his shot becomes. The Sixers did nothing to prove from the guard position yesterday that they were capable of beating the Knicks with jump shots but they knew how to employ pump fakes and the Trickerbockers couldn't contain themselves. If anyone of the Knicks are reading this let me offer a definition that I found on Wikipedia for you in case you guys never saw this before.

"A pump fake is a feigned attempt at a jump shot, restrained before the feet leave the ground. The pump fake is a fundamental move in basketball, used to cause defenders to jump (known in basketball slang as "lifting" the defender), or be shifted off-balance. Its main applications are in the low post area, where a player is much more likely to have his or her shot blocked. On the perimeter, it is useful in creating open lanes to the basket by "showing" the ball enough to entice a defender to attempt to block or steal it, allowing the dribbler to penetrate easily." -Wikipedia

Got it now guys? Now hopefully you won't allow lesser opponents to whoop you in your own house with such fundamental tomfoolery. There is time for the Knicks to get smart and improve their fundamentals, but only if they want to. Good game Amare.

Oh, my bad. Philly over the Knicks 106-96

Al Harrington's Disease Strikes Stoudemire

The Knicks had awakened from the early game jitters that were easily attributed to opening night in Madison Square Garden and were poised to make a statement to themselves, the city of New York and to the league. They were well on their way to beating the Portland Trailblazers when a deadly virus struck the newest Knick.

Amare' Stoudemire who had a history playing in the vaunted Mike D'Antoni system knows full well to rotate the basketball, not get caught in double teams along the baseline and definitely not to force one on one play, but it happened.

Stoudemire became a one man wrecking crew in the second half hell bent to put on a show and score his points without a single care of winning. This was completely contrary to the rhetoric Amare' fed the media when he was courted by the Knicks and before the season began. He was full of declarations of team basketball, bringing a winner to NYC and raising the game of all the young talent on the team which had so much potential, so what went wrong tonight? Why did Stoudemire destroy any hopes of a win with his selfish, erratic and out of control brand of basketball?

It was only when I replayed the game did I see the signs. Dilated pupils when you catch a basketball, uncontrollable twitching of the leg on your non-pivot foot, tunnel vision and bull in a china closet moves to the basket. I gasped, clutched my heart and noticed a tear rolling down my face. It was another case of Al Harrington's Disease.

For those who don't know Al Harrington's Disease, which will be referred to as AHD from now on, is a neurological disease that affects unsuspecting men over six feet eight inches tall when exposed to the D'Antoni System. Common symptoms are uncontrollable leg movements, running wild in the paint, disregard for your teammates, thinking you are open when you are clearly not, false confidence in your shooting ability and an inability to pass the ball to the open man.

There is no known cure for AHD but with time players have learned to control their issues with herbal tea, slow ninja breathing techniques and trips to the massage parlor, happy endings a must, before each game is played. Al Harrington himself was able to settle in after a few months and be productive after being exposed to the D'Antoni System. But I am worried about Amare' Stoudemire's prognosis.

You see Stoudemire had been exposed to the D'Antoni System years ago and should have built up antibodies to protect him from being overcome by AHD but I think this new strand of AHD might have mutated making Stoudemire no match for its potency which leads to the obvious question. Why sign Stoudemire and lock the team into 100 million dollars when Al Harrington himself would have been cheaper and had learned to overcome this new version of AHD?

Hopefully the Knicks' doctors quickly diagnose Amare''s case of AHD and begin vigorous treatment before the season is completely lost but I fear the worse. I think this case might be terminal and lingering for the next six years.

Tonight AHD attacked and the Knicks lost to the Portland Trailblazers 100-95