BIG NEWS: Movin' On Up!

I've been hinting at a big change for a little while now and, well, the day has come. I'm permanently leaving Your NYK to join SB Nation's basketball wing. The new site is up and it's called Posting and Toasting after the classic Walt Frazier phrase.

Nothing about my actual body of work is going to change, except for the location, so don't worry about that (or do worry about that, you asshole). All that's different is that I'm part of a network, I'll have advertisements, and YOU readers get to create accounts, comment with ease, and write your own mini-posts called diaries.

I urge you to go check it out, and create an account. Help Posting and Toasting blossom into the most badassest community of Knicks fans out there! Boo-yah!

If you have any questions, email me at postingandtoasting@earthlink.net

NOW GO CHECK IT OUT.

Thursday Crumbs

Hey guys. Not much doin' today, as the Knicks don't play again until Saturday. Here's what's floating around the internet for today...

- Howard Beck gives evidence to prove that Mittens needs Jamal Crawford.

- It's TNT NBA Thursday. Chicago-Orlando (Go Bulls!) followed by San Antonio-Sacto.

- From the Fanhouse, Stephon Marbury's TV show, "Stars on Stars" debuts this Friday. Kobe Bryant will be the first guest.

- Finally, a sweet video for y'all. Here's footage of the end of the game 5 victory that featured Allan Houston's game winning runner against Miami in 1999. Great stuff. The highlight might be Chris Dudley celebrating like "Yay! Yay! Yay!" as he jumps up and down.

By the way, what the hell is Van Gundy so pissed about?

That's it for today kids. Back tomorrow. Peace.

Knicks-Sonics Crumbs

Here's what's floating around the internet the night after we got THISCLOSE...

- Stop Mike Lupica on the game. By the way, I wasn't completely pleased with Marbury's jacking up a three when the Knicks were up 1, but now that I look at it, Steph had 39 points, he was a red hot 8-10 from downtown, and absolutely no one else had any offense going. It's hard to argue that. I wouldn't have minded a drive to the hole instead. Just saying.

- The Father Knickerbocker breakdown. I'm happy to see that most thinking Knick fans aren't blaming Marbury for the loss. As I was leaving the Garden last night, someone said "Why does Marbury have to SUCK so much!?" That just ain't fair to a guy who dropped 40 points, and single-handedly carried the lifeless Knicks to the brink of victory. Needless to say, I stabbed that guy. Anyone know a good spot to dump a body in Northern Jersey?

- I mentioned it only in passing last night, but I don't think we're gonna see a very dominant Eddy Curry for quite some time. Reasons:
1. Crawford is without question the best on the team at finding Curry in the right spot. Collins and Marbury get their lobs into the big man picked off with regularity. Crawford is also the only one who can work the alley-oop with Curry.
2. With no Crawford, no Lee (for now) and a struggling Quentin Richardson, Curry is very easily doubled. I said it last night, but teams are perfectly willing to leave guys like Jeffries, Collins, and Rose wide open.
3. He just looks sad and tired.

- Rashard Lewis is gonna be a free agent this summer, and wouldn't rule out coming to the Big Apple. I'm not sure how I feel about that at the moment. Your thoughts?

Anyway, that's it for today. It's a real bummer that we have to wait till Saturday to make up ground after that painful loss. And even then, we have to play the very difficult Wizards on their home court. Here's hoping the Nets and Magic suck the big one between now and then. Backatcha tomorrow, kids. Peace.

EDIT: Forgot to mention, the new NBA Carnival is up over at the Hype. It's a good'un. Go check it out.

Sonics 100, Knicks 99

Ow. In one of the more painful losses in recent memory, the Knicks comeback fell short against the Supersonics, 100-99. Stephon Marbury played his heart out for 47 minutes and 59.1 seconds, but missed the second of two free throws that would have sent the game into overtime. I brought my notepad with me for some game notes, but ended up abandoning that as I got into the game. If you must know my only note was something about how comfortable my Under Armour socks are. So, yeah. Since I didn't write anything down, I'll give you the best I've got in my head. It's not really gonna be game notes. It's more like Assorted Somewhat Silly Randomly Arranged Postgame Emotions. Long title. If only there were an acronym for that. Anyway, here you go:

- I mentioned that Steph played a superhuman 47:59.1. In truth, he played 46 minutes, but he was unbelievable. He got absolutely no help on offense, but completely took over. The Knicks as a team were miserable in the first half, but his hot shooting (he was 8-11 from downtown on the game) kept them in contention. Steph finished with 40 points on 13-22 shooting. The man needs a good hug.


- Quick, hazy recap of the end of the game (after the comeback, which was basically many trips to the line with some Marbury threes mixed in): A ridiculous Marbury three-point play puts the Knicks up by 1. The Knicks get a stop at the other end. Marbury misses a three, and the long rebound gets away from Curry. Rashard Lewis buries a transition three with 5 seconds left. The Knicks call time. The final play is Marbury cutting to the basket and getting fouled. Marbury calmly sinks the first. The second rims out. Game over.

- The Garden is the absolute best basketball arena on the entire planet. I fuckin love the place. We as an audience dserved a win so badly.

- I think I might dedicate a whole post to this in the next few days, but Mittens is pretty much a black hole without Lee and Crawford. JC is great at feeding the big guy and his jump shot has to be respected, while Lee makes similarly nifty passes, and is relatively competent around the rim. Without those two guys on the floor, opposing teams can easily double Curry. If by doubling, you're leaving Jared Jeffries and Malik Rose open, you can double your little heart out.


- Marbury's one missed free throw is what people are gonna remember about this game (I can't emphasize enough that aside from that one in-and-out miss, Steph was absolutely godly), but the Knicks as a team shot only 24 of 38 from the line. That just can't happen.

- Ray Allen was absolutely indefensible in the fourth quarter. He was making shots over double and triple teams, including several huge momentum-killers. The guy sitting next to me said it best: "That's just not fair."


- The Sonics as a team, really, kept up their pace in the second half. It was a different kind of comeback for the Knicks. It's hard to describe, but it just didn't really seem like a flurry of energy to get back in it, followed by emptiness. It felt like they chipped away at the lead, and were legimately in it at the end.

- No Lee, no Nate.

- The Nets lost.

- Last, but certainly not least, big ups to you guys for loading up the comments section. Thanks to Zack for taking the initiative to start the game thread banter. Thanks to Barnesgasm for telling me of the Q-Tip interview and Kenny Smith blunder I missed, as well as comparing Luke Ridnour to a " limbless, yet quadraplegic, midget orphan". Thanks to Bonafied for, well, the Nets loss. SPerez, welcome to the comment section, and Willy, good look luck on your paper. I think that's everybody. I really appreciate your comments, guys. They make this blog worthwhile for me. Keep it up.

I don't even know what else to say right now. I'm tired. We'll talk again tomorrow. Peace.

Game Thread: Knicks vs. Sonics

The Knicks, winners of two straight, are back home this evening to take on the Sonics. For the last time this season (unless they make the playoffs, maybe), I will be in attendance. What we will be watching is surely a trap game, as was noted by Knickerblogger. Even though the Sonics are a poor team, we can't possibly expect more superhuman performances from the aching Marbury and Francis. (It would be nice, though). The good news is that Q Rich should be back, and Lee and Nate are possibilities. I'm looking for Mittens to rebound from his quiet performance on Saturday. He hasn't been making a lot of noise lately, but Johan Petro and Mouhammed Sene are two bonafide scrubs just asking to be beasted upon. I'm super excited for a potential Lee-Collison White Hustlerz Showdown tonight, as well.

Anyway, back to my original point. It's a potential letdown game, given that we're coming off two straight and playing a shitty team at home. I will do everything in my power to make sure the Knicks start off well, even if it means dodging security guards to get out there and start playing D. I don't wanna jinx anything but, assuming the Nets will lose tonight in Dallas, this game has some significance. That's all I'll say for now.

This is a game thread, so post any comments about the game, watermelons, magnesium, sun dials, and "Tombstone" as the night goes on. Remember more commentz=more winz. Recap later. Peace.

Know the Opponent- Seattle Supersonics

Meet the Sonics!

#34 Ray Allen- Though most famous for his performance in He Got Game, Ray developed his acting chops playing lead roles in off-Broadway productions of Cats and Les Miserables.

#44 Andre Brown- Andre's rookie cards are used as currency in several war-torn African nations.

#4 Nick Collison- In his past life, Nick was a Ram. Not a sheep ram, a Dodge Ram.

#21 Danny Fortson- Danny has adapted to his cold Northwestern habitat by developing a protective layer of blubber to keep himself warm.

#15 Mickael Gelabale- Mickael wears the same hat size as Mr. Met.

#7 Rashard Lewis- Rashard opted to skip college, but has been spending his summers getting a degree in the Way of the Samurai.

#27 Johan Petro- Johan is quite pleased with his NBA lifestyle, but remains mildly disappointed with this country's selection of discotheques.

#8 Luke Ridnour- For one reason or another, most autograph hounds that Luke encounters are LOTR fanatics.

#18 Mouhammed Sene- Mouhammed's first paying job was as a periscope.

#31 Robert Swift- During the offseason, Robert can be found loitering outside of various malls in the Seattle area.

#25 Earl Watson- Earl's vehicle of choice is a Razor scooter.

#54 Chris Wilcox- In the NCAA, the "Chris Wilcox Rule" prohibits players from rebounding with their teeth.

#12 Damien Wilkins- At Wilkins family reunions, Damien is the valet.

#29 Mike Wilks- Mike is widely considered to be the league's "giggliest" player.

Those are you Seattle Sonics. Game thread and notes cominatcha tomorrow. (I will be in attendance).

Monday Crumbs

Here's what's floating around the internet on this frigid-ass Monday...

- We've all been wondering how the hell Steve Francis suddenly got better and returned. Stop Mike Lupica knows what's up.

- Chan will be starting at the 4 for the rest of the season.

- Had a look at some mock drafts today. Possibilities:Rudy Fernandez...Daequan Cook...Brandon Rush...

Yeah. That's all I've got for today. Things are gonna slow down a little around here. The Knicks had 5 games last week alone, and have only 4 in the next two weeks. Be prepared for some short posts, some stupid videos, and some polar bears. Sonics KTO cominatcha later. Peace.

Sunday Lookalikes

Dirk Nowitzki vs. Barry Pepper


See you tomorrow. Peace.

Knicks 104, Hawks 100- OT

Aw yeah. For the first time in nearly a month, the Knicks pulled out two wins in a row, including a hard fought one tonight in Atlanta. Despite falling down early, the Knicks battled back to send the game into overtime and eventually take over. Stephon Marbury and Steve Francis (!?) were fucking heroic, hitting ridiculous threes and crazy layups to elevate the Bockers. Marbury had 38 (including 11 in OT), and 9 assists. Francis had 26. The bad news was that Q-Rich's bad back finally caught up to him, and caused him to sit most of the game. It's always been a problem for him, and hopefully he'll be back before long. Eddy Curry had a silent night, shooting only 3-12 for 9 points. These things happen.

Either way, good times. The gutsy play of the guards (as well as useful performances by Balkman, Collins, and Jeffries) was delightful to watch. Marbury in particular has to get some kind of recognition for the way he's stepped up his play as of late. Well played, Knicks. Good night everybody, and thanks for the birthday salutations. Back tomorrow with some lookalikes. Peace.

Game Thread- Knicks at Hawks

I'll make this quick. The Knicks follow their win at home with a trip to Atlanta to take on the Hawks. New York has not won back-to-back games (or lost back-to-back games, while we're at it) since February 6th. Though the Hawks are a poor team record-wise, they handily defeated the Knicks the last time these two teams met in Atlanta on November 3rd. Granted, circumstances were different in November, and the Knicks beat them at the Garden later, but the point is this game is not to be taken lightly. The Bockers regularly come out flat every other game, so pay attention to their body language and overall effort this evening. I'm sick and tired of them shitting away easy games.

Anyway, I'm gonna be oot and aboot to celebrate my birthday tonight, so it'll be another weekend without game notes. I do hope to catch at least some of the game, though. Sorry. If anyone wants to hook them up, I'd obviously be accomodating.

Little housekeeping note: Due to some unsatistfactory use of the comments section (if you read the comments, you know what I'm talking about), I'm turning off anonymous comments. Shouldn't really be an issue. Yeah.

This is a game thread, so post any comments about the game, Greek salad, monster trucks, cottage cheese, and "Blade Runner" as the day goes on. I'll recap later. Go Knicks. Peace.

Know the Opponent- Atlanta Hawks

(I was about to do one for the Sonics. Glad I checked the schedule.)

Meet the Hawks!

#11 Esteban Batista- At any given Hawks game, about 9% of the audience is made up of Esteban's groupies. On the road, the number drops to about 6%.

#1 Josh Childress- Unbeknownst to most scientists, Josh's bountiful afro is a multi-faceted ecosystem the provides the habitat for various bizarre and undiscovered species, including a mushroom that cures herpes and a fire-breathing seahorse.

#12 Speedy Claxton- Craig Claxton was morbidly obese as a child, and his nickname was derived facetiously. Though he has worked himself into peak physical form, the bitterness of the name still sticks with him.

#36 Royal Ivey- Royal is currently trying to become the first NBA player to clone himself. If he proves succesful, he will immediately become the first active NBA player to come out of the closet.

#8 Anthony Johnson- Anthony's first actions upon returning to Atlanta were to burst into the locker room before a game, holler "I'm back, bitches!", and cut the entire buffet line.

#2 Joe Johnson- In several radical religious sects of the Deep South, Joe is considered a living deity, and his every word is immediately transcribed into scripture.

#44 Solomon Jones- Solomon has spent his whole adult life training to prove those haters who said he couldn't make it in the NBA Shooting Stars Competition wrong.

#10 Tyronn Lue- Tyronn was the league's first ever WNBA call-up.

#3 Slava Medvedenko- Slava prefers the leather ball because it is "more delicious. Taste like bull."

#27 Zaza Pachulia- Zaza leads the league in Cologne Applied per 48 Minutes.

#5 Josh Smith- After a loss, Josh gets out his frustration by swatting seagulls out of the sky.

#20 Salim Stoudamire- When Salim walks into the room, all the women present simultaneously go into labor.

#24 Marvin Williams- Marvin recently purchased a yacht entitled the S.S. Potential.

#33 Shelden Williams- Shelden patterns his game after David Stern.

#42 Lorenzen Wright- Lorenzen plays basketball only because he is 7 feet tall. His real passion is for the accordion.

Those are your Atlanta Hawks. Game thread coming a little later. Peace.

Knicks 106, Warriors 97

Continuing their win-one, lose-one pattern, the Knicks put away the Golden State Warriors to win their seventh straight at the Garden. Marbury and Richardson got hot from downtown, getting 34 and 30, respectively. I missed the whole damn thing, but that's a good lookin' win for the 'Bockers. I don't know where Zack's at with our game notes, but whatever. I'm ass tired right now, so I'll hit you with the Sonics KTO some time tomorrow. Peace.

UPDATE-IZZLE: Our boy Barnesgasm got some game notes in lieu of Zack's M.I.A. notes. (We still love you, Zack.)

Back to backs are hardest on the blogger, my friend. I'm feeling one of your late night boredom thingies right about now, so here's some abridged game notes to pick up Zack's slack.
Old PA guy is back. Sweet.
I get into more detail on my site, but I watched Matt Barnes warm up for like 20 minutes, and semi-interacted with Adonal Foyle and Jerome James, but fuck them.
Lots of French for Mickael Pietrus. Weird.
The warriors are missing Stephen Jackson's firepower (get it? firepower?) and Baron Davis' charity work (He loves helping kids. No humor there.) so the injuries cancel out.
Harrington is wet against the Knicks, this is like his fourth game against us this season.
What is this early lead you speak of? Don't worry, we blow it by halftime.
Unit of death sighting: Collins, Francis, Balkman, Malik, Frye. Yeech.
Curry kills Foyle and Biedrinis early. This is a theme.
Q is hitting every open shot.
At the end of the first half, Mardy Collins has played 8 minutes, touched the ball twice, and gotten called for traveling twice, as far as I can tell.
Marbury and Q are on fire. On every fast break, Jamal/Marbury pulls up at an 18 footer for no apparant reason with nobody who can possibly, and drains it.
Marbury is shitting. Watch out, and supply your own toilet paper.
All year, the Knicks give up a shitload of threes, and all year, we continue to play the 2-3 zone, which has the premise of forcingthe opponent pass along the perimeter and hit open jumpers. Zeke is merciless.
Key play of the game: Down two with 4 minutes left, Mardy Collins steals a pass at about the three point line, evades two defenders with a half court dribble, and finishes with a finger roll to tie the game. He then grabs a key rebound at the other end, and the Knicks score 10 straight to take the lead for good. The only other time "Mardy Collins" and "key" will ever appear in the same sentence will occur in 2023, when Collins, now a successful real estate agent, locks his keys inside the car out of spite after they savage him 11-5 in a game of pickup basketball, allowing him to keep his pride but not the respect of his family, and he totally busts a coathanger trying to get back in the car.
Matt Barnes: DNP. Oh well.
Huge games from Marbury (34 - ridiculous jumper tonight) Q (30, 12 - all over, knocked down at least 4 threes) 20 plus from Eddy, who needs to learn how to pass badly if we want to win more games, and an acceptable 7 and 7 from Steve Francis, which I'll take any day from a backup guard.
Knicks are 3 back of Miami, 3.5 back of Indy, 2 back of NJ, and 1 back of Orlando. Must beat the Hawks tomorrow/tonight.
I'm done, and still not tired. Matt Barnes's crack residue must have rubbed off on me.

Appreciate it, 'Gasm. I hope your encounter with Mr. Barnes was magical. Goodnight, everybody.

UPDATE AGAIN: Zack is, thankfully, alive, and hit us with some belated game notes. Thanks for the notes, homie.

ah im very very sorry. i had to catch the 1120 train back which didnt get into my stop till 1230 about and i didnt get home till close to 1. i had to go to bed when i got home because i had a SAT course this morning at 8. anyways i am extremely sorry for no notes. anyways here are just some.
Balkman had a nasty ass dunk in the pregame warmups(1 hand thomahawk with authority), he took off just as the "take me home" song started.
a knicks city dancer performed our national anthem, wasnt expecting that for some reason.
the knicks city kids are actually more talented then the knicks city dancers, but still annoy greatly, just their size and looks i guess.
collins had a mean behind the back cross-over going down the court, he looked so out of control but converted anyways.
Harrington was money early on but then really cooled down later.
frye hesited on far too many of his jumpers tonight, and thus missed.
lee was out yet again, all of the knicks bounds came from Q who had 12. he also could shoot the three all night.
marbury had a couple of nice dribble stop jump shots that you could tell were going to go in before he even stopped dribbling.
i got very nervous when the knicks went down three, i said here we go again, but they proved me wrong and went crazy in the last 3 minutes.
curry had a very quite yet effective game. still too many turnovers for my liking. he dropped 3 good passes in scoring positions for seamlessly no reason. one was from balkman under the hoop.
the guy sitting behind kept screaming cmon marbury cmon marbury pop the j pop the j over and over again and everytime jefferson came in the game he would say no dont put him back in hes not ready hes not ready hes not ready. i guess it was from his usual facial expression.
a constestant for the continental shooting game got booed. he missed about 15 shots from mid-right wing the same way each and every time- short, barely hitting the rim with no ark.
a good game for the knicks nonetheless with some very timely hooping down the stretch. sorry i couldnt give you better game notes and earlier. i apologize. next game im going to is in 2 weeks, ill try and do better. go knicks.

Forgiven, buddy. Hope you enjoyed the win!

Game Thread: Knicks vs. Warriors

The Knicks are back home tonight to take on the Warriors. Fact: The Knicks have alternated wins and losses since February 6th. Fact: they just lost...badly. Prediction: the Knicks is gonna win tonight. They better not prove me wrong.

Sounds like at least one of the incapacitated squad- Lee, Robinson, and Francis- will be ready to go tonight. Or all three. Or none. Who the fuck knows? (I give the best analysis.)

I'm most likely gonna be out of the house, so I won't be providing you with any game notes this evening. If truth be told in the comments section, however, our boy Zack will be at the Garden, and will provide us with some game notes later tonight. Everyone enjoy the game, and hide the women and crack rocks, because Matt Barnes is in town! Recap coming later. Go Knicks. Peace.