LJ's Four-Point Play

With the Knicks off for a few days, I'm going to try and bring you some cool videos this week. Here's just about the best video out there of Larry Johnson's infamous four-point play in the 1999 Eastern Conference Finals, with the full NBC coverage of the possession and Tom Hammond's famous call. Enjoy.


Mmmm.

Anyway, the Knicks' next game is against Larry Brown and the Philadelphia 76ers. Grrr. Walt and Crispino wondered last night why people don't have cool nicknames anymore like "Downtown" Freddie Brown. Here's one: "Bitch Bastard Douchebag Jizz Jar" Larry Brown. Has a nice ring to it.

Peace. Enjoy the football.

Knicks 111, Sonics 93

The Knicks finished their road trip on a high note, swiftly and soundly decapitating the Sonics for a wire-to-wire win. Stephon Marbury and Jamal Crawford worked hard and shut down Ray "Jesus Shuttlesworth" Allen to cripple the Sonic offense. Eddy Curry (9 for 9) and the Knicks shot the lights out, rebounded well, and had their most complete win of the season against an injury-plagued team. Game notes:

- Mike Crispino subbed in for Mike Breen on the play-by-play. He was jovial and informative, but definitely suffers from a case of Gus Johnson syndrome. He yells WAY too much- about things as commonplace as tip-ins and 24 second violations. As I was semi-asleep for most of the second half, he startled the shit outta me a few times. Crispino's loud enough to wake up my neighbors. And by neighbors, I mean Pennsylvania, New York, and Delaware.

- Walt Frazier described Danny Fortson as "portly". Walt's kind-hearted. Anyone else might've called him "expecting".

Uh...yeah.
- Jerome James kicked off his Seattle return with 2 fouls in 2 minutes. Awesome.

- Who taught David Lee to pass? Suddenly, he's dropping some nifty dimes in the paint. Another good option to feed Curry. The ball.

- Clyde's take on Curry's continued dominance from Wednesday's game: "Different venue, same menu". It feels good to talk about feeding and menus with Eddy Curry and have it actually relate to basketball.

- I like those "Bobby Granger's Guide to the Rangers" commercials. The one where Brendan Shanahan hits a slapshot into his balls is hilarious. "What apple?". Hahaha. I guess you had to be there.

- Curry (22), Crawford (17) and Marbury (13) all had around their point averages by halftime.

- Every team has a big man whose job it is to block for the point guard when the ball is being brought up. This is typically done by just running into the opposing guard and thrusting your junk into his face so he backs off. Kurt Thomas used to have this job, and now it's Channing Frye's.

- More classic Frazier from this game...He called Crawford a "kleptomaniac" in reference to his numerous steals in the last few games. I love Clyde.

- The Sonics have the full word "SEATTLE" on the waistband of their shorts. It looks kinda dumb.

- Balkman had three pass deflections on one Seattle possession. Good stuff.

- Mickael Gelabale is listed at 215 lbs. I'd guess that about 55 of those pounds are from his head.

"C'mon Mickael, just try the hat on!"
"Coach, you're embarassing me."
- Ryan McNeill and I talked about Knick tattoos a few weeks ago on his Raptors Podcast, and I mentioned that David Lee hadn't gone with that trend. Now that I look at it, he appears to have some sort of tat on his right shoulder, usually hidden by his jersey. I could be seeing things.

- Great moment...Late in garbage time, the Seattle crowd started a "We Want Jerome" chant. MSG had a shot of the entire Knick bench joining in the chant, with Isiah inviting James to sub in, and Jerome declining with a laugh. That was pretty funny. I wish he at least did the Patrick Ewing stand-and-wave for the crowd. He mighta gotten a sarcastic standing ovation.

Anyway, it was an easy and complete win on both ends for the Knicks. Now they have a long rest before they start a three game home stand on Wednesday against the Sixers. What the shit am I gonna do with myself between now and then? Well, until tomorrow, Goodnight, and Peace to all.

Knicks-Sonics Tonight

The Knicks end their road trip in Seattle tonight...and Penny Hardaway might be involved. Great for Penny that he's getting back into basketball, but if he suddenly lights up the Knicks, I'm gonna have a canary.

Anyway, the Sonics are missing Rashard Lewis, which is nice, because Jeffries and friends would have a tough time containing him. Ray Allen is in, and he'll certainly get his. The Sonics' best big men are Johan Petro and Mouhamed Sene. For himself, for the Knicks, and for the U.S. of A, Eddy Curry's gotta have a big game against those guys. If all goes well, this should look exactly like the Portland game.

Recap coming your way late tonight (early tomorrow). Go Knicks. Peace.

It's TNT NBA Thursday

Ernie, Kenny, and Charles are back on your television this evening. Things kick off with the Pistons at Hornets, FOLLOWED by a can't-miss game: Lakers at Kings with Professor Barkley doing color commentary in Steve Kerr's place. Yes, that means Kobe Bryant, Ron Artest, Charles Barkley, and Vitaly Potapenko will all be in the same building. Shit will get crazy.

Anyway, who loves an NBA fight? I do! Here's a 5 minute video of some good ones over the last few seasons. My favorite is the last one, footage of that unforgettable moment when Chris Childs gave Kobe a nice 1-2 to the jaw. Awesome.


So hit up some TNT tonight, I'll get backatcha tomorrow for Knicks-Sonics. Peace.

Knicks 99, Blazers 81

For the first time in a little while, the Knicks won, and did so without any drama or sweat on my part. A balanced attack from Curry, Crawford, and Marbury, with some great rebounding and interior defense led the Knicks to victory. Game notes:

- Clyde donned a red and green plaid jacket this evening. The man can pull off just about anything.

- In the first quarter, Jeffries air-balled a free throw by the worst margin I've ever seen. He must've missed by about a foot. Yikes. Jared's range can only be seen with a microscope.

- I think the Blazers have my favorite jerseys in the league. They're slick, simple, and still show the same basic template as the uniforms of old.

You stay classy, Portland.
- LaMarcus Aldridge is sporting one of those outline beards that seems to be all the rage amongst rookie power forwards. Craig Smith and Leon Powe have rocked the jawline fuzz as well.

- Finally, the alley-oop! Both Marbury and Crawford had an oop-tossing bonanza, with Curry being the primary recipient. Curry converted at least 5 easy dunks off of high passes. There's good chemistry on those plays, and I'd like to see the lob thrown much more often.

- Speaking of Curry, young Eddy eats double teams like you for breakfast. He did a much better job of passing out of, and even maneuvering around double and triple coverage in the paint.

- The Knicks really made the Blazers look like...the Knicks. Portland was held at arm's length for most of the game, and every time they made a little run, the Knicks produced a good O-bound or a defensive stop to kill the momentum. It was a taste of opponents' own medicine for the Knicks.

- Crawford did a great job of playing passing lanes, picking off a lot of lazy ones and even converting a sick one-handed fast break flush over Brandon Roy.

Atta boy!
- The Blazers have a "Hustle Board" up in the Rose Garden, which posts stats like steals, blocks, and fast break points. That board does not belong in Portland.

- "Codename: The Cleaner" looks like it might very well be the worst movie ever made. I love bad movies, but come on.

- Sergio Rodriguez runs funny. He kinda steps with his heels. I'm not sure. I liked what I saw from him though, even if his name makes him sound like a professional poker player.

- Jamaal Magloire threw down a Harold Miner eyes-covered dunk on Balkman. That, or Magloire was lamenting the Blazers' poor play AND rocking the rim simultaneously, which would be some very talented multi-tasking on his part.

Baby Jordan?
- Martell Webster caught an alley-oop pass from S-Rod and stuffed it right into the crotch of the rim. (The side part where the ball always gets stuck. Is there a better name for that?) It was that kinda night for Webster.

- No one besides Jeffries forced a lot of shots tonight, which indicates good ball movement and patience. Some stat lines: Curry had an efficient 27 and 10, Marbury had 17, 7, and 7. Crawford had 25 and 6 assists. Lee had 9 points, 14 bounds, and 4 very pretty assists.

Anyway, it was a good, relaxing win for the Knicks. Let's hope the momentum carries over to Seattle, where the Knicks can almost wash the previous losses of this road trip. Goodnight.

Knicks-Blazers Tonight

The Knicks take on the Trailblazers tonight up in the mecca of basketball, Portland. This is the first meeting between the two, but Zach Randolph has had a history of burning the Knicks. He's a tricky-ass lefty, so why not put another lefty, David Lee, on him? Just might work.

Speaking of Z-Bo here's a video of Randolph visiting the home of a Blazers-obsessed little kid with a Randolph-themed room. Turns out they have a lot in common. They're both named Zack, both love basketball and video games, and both have very pinchable cheeks! Enjoy. (The video isn't available to embed).

By the way, here's a weird little tidbit from the Blazers' current homepage:

Here’s a some trivia for all the fantasy basketball team owners out there: If you had chance at any player on a Knicks starting lineup that includes Stephon “Starbury” Marbury, Steve “Franchise” Francis, Quentin “Q” Richardson, sharp-shooting Channing Frye and NBA cast-off Eddy Curry, who would’ve been the smartest choice to anchor your fantasy team?

The answer? Eddy Curry, who despite starting on a roster filled with backcourt talent, averages a team-high 18.2 points per game and leads all starters with 7.2 rebounds...

Backhanded compliment much?

Game's at 10:00. Go Knicks. Later.

EDIT: On page 22 of this week's New Yorker Magazine, a cartoon by Danny Shanahan that shows a family sitting at a dinner table with the father saying, "And if you don't finish your vegetables Daddy will take you to a Knicks game." Oh I get it, because the Knicks are bad. Ha. They just had 3 straight overtime wins at the Garden, so the New Yorker can shove it. Because I'm very mature, I bit a big chunk out of the page. So there.

Kings 112, Knicks 100

The Knicks got completely outplayed tonight in Sacto. Congratulations to the Kings and Ron Artest, who threw down a career high 39 points. The Knicks were turnover-prone (18), inaccurate at the line (17-28), and overall slow-footed on defense in their defeat. Credit the Kings for hitting the tough, momentous shots to keep New York perpetually at arm's length. As I've said before, its the teams that don't sink those key shots when the Knicks cut it close (i.e. Cleveland, Utah, and Detroit) that end up squandering leads. Some game notes:

- Former Knicks announcer Jim Karvellas passed away at the age of 71. I honestly didn't know much about the guy beforehand, but fine stories from Clyde and Breen, as well as some audio footage and interviews of Karvellas revealed what a likable and Knick-crazy individual he was. Also, his trademark line was "BULLS-eye!", which is pretty cool.

- I've always wondered if Shareef Abdur-Rahim was always known as such, or if he assumed the name latter in life, like Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Mahmoud Abdul-Raouf, or Tariq Abdul-Wahad. Well, according to Wikipedia the name is, in fact, his birth name. He is a devout Muslim and his father is an Imam, a leader within the faith.

- There were a few bizarre plays in this game. One occured when David Lee intercepted a pass late in the Kings shot clock. As he got his hands on it and started to throw an outlet, the 24 second buzzer sounded from the previous possession. Lee freaked out and blatantly shuffled his feet, getting called for the travel. They have a loud-ass buzzer in Sacramento.

- Maybe David Lee should be posting up a little more? He is ambidextrous, shoots a good percentage, and rarely wastes a good mismatch. It could definitely take some pressure off of Curry.

- Clyde used the phrase "Hurryin' and worryin" at one point to describe the Knicks' D on Francisco Garcia. Just like "draining and paining" from a few games ago, that's the first time I've heard that rhyme. Who are the 5 best rappers in the world? Clyde, Clyde, Clyde, Clyde, Clyde. Because he spits hot fire.

- Numerous filthy dunks in this game by the Kings. Kevin Martin blew by Crawford and threw down a two-hand 180 whilest sitting on Jeffries' face. Later, Shareef Abdur-Rahim neé Shareef Abdur-Rahim crossed up Mittens and flushed one on his head.

- Bizzare play number 2: With time winding down in the first half, Mike Bibby thought he felt contact (there was minimal, if any) from Mardy Collins, and jacked up an awkward three-pointer to draw the foul. He buried the weird three but the foul wasn't called. Asshole.

Yup, that went in.
- There's a different guy now speaking in that quick "express written consent of the NBA" bit during every game. I didn't just plagiarize by saying that, did I?

- Brad Miller wanted a whistle on one play, and let the ref know with a hearty "Gaw Dang! Hur durr da foul on ma!" He got T'd up for his tirade, responded by spitting a wad of tobacco at the ref's feet, and then got ejected. I don't have Tivo, but I'm pretty sure that's how it went down.

- Malik had a righteous smother chicken on Shareef, and it was completely clean. It was one of those blocks that lasted nearly a full second, with the ball never actually being dislodged. He blocked Shareef's whole body through the ball. It was cool.

- On a night when Ron Artest was unbelievably hot from every region of the court, Renaldo Balkman registered a big fat DNP-CD, or as I like to call it, a DiNoPlaCoDe. I don't actually like to call it that. Well, I didn't before. I do now. Dinoplacode.

Coulda used the Humpty Hump...
- Final thought: Both of the Knicks big men are very slow-footed on Defense. I suppose Mittens has an excuse because he weighs 280 pounds, but what's Channing Frye's excuse?

Anyway, it was a tough loss in a raucous arena, but there was enough excitement to keep the basketball fan in me intrigued while the Knicks fan in me pouted. The Knicks continue their trip in Portland tomorrow night. See you then. Peace.

Knicks-Kings Tonight

The Knicks play the third game of their West Coast bogus journey this evening, taking on the Sacramento Kings at 10 EST. Pay close attention the Brad Miller- Eddy Curry matchup down low. Miller's a good passer and jump-shooter, a type of center that Curry has had trouble defending. Hopefully, Mittens can muscle him around and get him in foul trouble on the other end. Let's get that Mean Streak started again. This is a decent opportunity for a win on the road trip, so the Knicks best get their shit together.

What's that you ask? You'd like to see a tear-jerking video montage of the Kings' recent glory days? Well looky here, young fella. I've got just the thing, but be warned that it has a very sad ending.


Ahhh, those were the days.

Anyway, in other news, Steve Francis is giving the Knicks the Penny Hardaway treatment and peacing out for an undetermined amount of time. Stevie will be heading home to Houston, where trainers can give more personal attention to his crappity-ass knees. Obviously, I hope he feels better, but the Knicks have already proven to be in decent shape without him. With Nate returning soon and Mardy Collins starting to show some signs, it's an insignificant loss. So why am I even talking about it. I don't know. Shut up.

Francis may miss the rest of the season, and may even be done as a Knick, but nothing's certain. Meanwhile, I'm sure most Knicks fans have no problem with Steve spending his time rehabilitating, resting, and inappropriately looking at the camera when having his picture taken.

No, Steve! This is supposed to be the warm-hearted and charitable picture!
Well, tonight's game should go pretty late, but expect a recap on your computer screen immediately afterwards or tomorrow afternoon. Go Knicks. Peace.

It's 2007...

...and things are getting back to the way their they're (NICE!) supposed to be.

- The leather ball is back.

- Yay Sports! is back.

- The Knicks are back to losing.

- Bulleted lists are all the rage.

By the way, is it just me, or is every single decent player in the NBA injured? Off the top of my head, readysetgo: Yao, Pierce, Chris Paul, Shaq, Wade, Peja, David West, QRich, Bosh, Rashard Lewis, Billups, Odom, Krstic...alright, time to cheat... Josh Smith, Gerald Wallace, Marcus Camby, Jason Richardson, Bonzi Wells, Sam Cassell, and Bobby Simmons.

What...
...the...
...shit...
...is...
...up!?
That's 20 important players right there...and that's excluding all the day-to-day and sick guys. Just about every team has been hit hard by the injuries. I blame that new ball.

Anyway, let's hope this 2007 is a good one for the New York Knicks. May the guys be healthy and wise in the new year. Kings tomorrow night. Peace and Happy New Year.

Knicks-Clippers Today?

Uh...apparently the Knicks are playing in LA this afternoon (3:30 EST). They play games on New Years Eve...Day?

Anyway, the Clippers own the Knicks in Los Angeles, having won their last 7 meetings at home. This is a good test for the Knicks. It's a decent, healthy, streaking Clippers team that's 11-6 at home, and the guys are coming off a thorough beatdown from the Suns. One thing to look for is the matchup on Elton Brand. Expect to see Frye, Lee, and even Jeffries trying to slown down the beast. Keep an eye on the Clips three-point shooting as well, as Mobley, Maggette, and Sam Cassell (took me a few tries to spell that right) can all heat up from the perimeter. Sam-I-Am in particular has always been a Knick-killer, and loves to hit those dagger shots down the stretch. Sam Cassell is not my friend.

If this is among the top results in a Google search of your name, well...I'm very sorry.
Oh, and the lollygagging enigma of a swingman they call Tim Thomas is wearing an LA uniform these days, so I suppose there's an added motivational factor of "Fuck You" for Isiah and the kids.


So let's do this, everyone. This game and this road trip are key to getting closer to .500 and moving to the top of the Atlantic Division. Go Knicks.

Sunday Lookalikes

We're trying something a little different this time. Tell me what you think...

William Hurt...
+Donuts
= George Karl!

Happy New Year, everyone. Backatcha in 2007.