As for the foiled last possession, my initial reaction was “What’s Jeffries doing out there?!” And, really, maybe D’Antoni shouldn’t have had Jared on the floor coming out of a timeout with 13 seconds left, down one. But, what other options did he have? Amare was injured. Turiaf was clearly hobbled by some sort of leg or knee injury. Shelden Williams hadn’t played all game. Billy Walker was 0-11. Landry Fields did not look up to the task earlier in the game. Perhaps Shawne Williams should’ve been out there — and to me, he was the only real option — but, Jeffries had done a great job with tipping the ball out on rebounds, etc and had actually played a competent offensive game to that point. It’s unfortunate. I just think Jared was caught in a tough position with a great defender in KG bearing down on him.

Strangely enough, during the season, as early as January, I actually thought Lebron would end up in Miami.  Tip of the hat to me!  But, I must admit by the end of the season I finally started to believe New York might be the place if it wasn’t Cleveland. I probably changed my mind daily on what would happen.

Personally, I struggled all season with the idea that Lebron on my Knicks was a good thing.  Yeah, he’s an once in a generation player.  But the fame-whoring, self-marketing, sideline dancing, the nail-biting…  I just don’t think I’d have an easy time rooting for him with my heart.

Instead James, Wade and Bosh have created a team that fans will love to hate.  Almost like the Dallas Cowboys.  It’ll give people a rooting interest, even if it’s just to root against something.  It will give us the most hated team in the NBA since the Riley-era Knicks.  How ironic.

Fortunately, and I sincerely mean it, Lebron isn’t on my Knicks.  With the signing of Amar’e and unforeseen Randolph acquisition, Donnie Walsh was masterful in recreating this team and giving us a season to look forward to.  I rate the summer an A- instead of an A+ only because there wasn’t a PG on the market who is truly perfect for Seven Seconds or Less.

To start, Amar’e was the cream of the free agent, big man crop.  The only true max contract big man out there.  No available player (Lebron and Wade aside) puts fear into the minds of opposing defenses the way Amare does.  I know there are health concerns, but I truly think they are overblown since none of the injuries are recurring.  And, I know Amar’e will miss Steve Nash, but it can be said that Nash will miss Amar’e, too.  In Amar’e, the Knicks finally have one of the top ten players in the league.

Additionally, Amar’e is one of the few players out there confident enough to crave the New York spotlight and the responsibility of being a team leader.  After being considered the second best player on the Suns, he has a big chip on his shoulder and wants to prove he’s in the same class as Lebron or Wade.  He actually wants the challenge of New York and as a fan you have to love it.  Amar’e promises to be the most popular and spectacular Knick since Latrell Sprewell.

Or, maybe he won’t because it doesn’t get more exciting than Anthony Randolph.  When it was finally becoming clear the Knicks probably weren’t getting Lebron, Walsh pulled of the best Knicks trade since Charles Oakley for Marcus Camby.  Instead of losing Lee for nothing in free agency, he pulled of a coup and managed a sign and trade to land Anthony Randolph, Kelenna Azuibuke, and Ronny Turiaf (as well as two second round picks).

Physically, Randolph is like a longer version of Kevin Durant. He has the blocking ability of Marcus Camby and potentially the all around game of Scottie Pippen.  Or maybe Kevin Garnett with a handle.  He’s just freaky.  If he can manage to become a consistent outside threat and keep his head screwed on straight, he will be a perennial all-star.

Azuibuke and Turiaf are also welcome addtions.  Buke shoots an excellent percentage from three and plays excellent defense.  Turiaf bring a lot of spirit, defense, and blocking and is a legit center who can play alongside Amar’e.  All three ex-Warriors will give the Knicks much needed scrappiness and defense.

Then Walsh addressed the Knicks lack of point guard depth by signing Ray Felton.  I’m slightly dubious on this signing, worrying about the fit for this team as well as his ability to run D’Antoni’s offense, but I can’t deny that it was a necessary move and huge upgrade over Duhon.  Felton has a reputation for being a great team leader and used to push the ball at UNC.  Charlotte seemed to stifle his game, but he blossomed in his contract year, and was clearly the best free agent guard available.  He and Toney Douglas should be a more than capable point guard tandem, though I worry that neither will excel at the pick and roll with Amar’e.

To round out free agency, the Knicks signed Russian international Timofey Mozgov, a hulking 7 foot center.  Not much is known about him, but there was some considerable buzz about him from overseas scouts.  Most didn’t realize Mozgov wanted to come to the states, and the Knicks seemingly swept in to sign him before anyone else had a chance.  Kudos to Walsh for keeping an eye on the overseas players.  I’m not expecting much from Mozgov except for some put backs and fouls, but if he can do that for 12 minutes a night and play some tough defense, he’ll prove to be a worthy signing.

Finally, the Knicks draft can’t be ignored.  Andy Rautins and Landry Fields were universally panned as draft picks.  But, the Knicks sensibly got guys who fit this team, instead of reaching for fools gold.  The Fields pick in particular got killed, but Fields excelled in summer league and is already making Walsh look smart.  Rautins didn’t find his shot during summer league, but promises to be a three point threat once he gets in the flow of the NBA game and used to the three point line.  Additionally, Walsh picked up Jerome Jordan, a solid if underwhelming 7-footer who should give the Knicks additional presence in the paint moving forward.  It has to be said that Walsh picked up three guys in the second round who could be limited contributors this season.

Baring injuries, here’s how I see the Knicks depth chart this season (with average minutes in parenthesis):

PG: Felton (34) / Douglas (14) / Rautins (-)
SG: Azuibuke (24) / Chandler (14) / Douglas (10) / Walker (-)
SF: Gallo (32) / Chandler (10) / Randolph (6) / Fields (-)
PF: Amare (38) / Randolph (10)
C: Turiaf (24) / Randolph (16) / Mozgov (8) / Jordan (-) / Curry (-)

Lebron has been expected to be a one man show.  And despite all the cliched calls from fans and media that “it’s all about team”, clearly that doesn’t apply to Lebron.  Everyone wanted Lebron to prove he could do it all by himself.  Jordan was long considered a one man show who had to learn how to play team ball.  But, in reality, Lebron has never had 2 teammates half as good as Pippen and Rodman.  Or a coach as good as the often ridiculed Phil Jackson.  Lebron’s teams have simply leaned on him too much and taken all their cues from him.

Fans expected Lebron to simply be able to will his team to a championship.  Just like Jordan did.  Just like Isiah.  Just like Magic or Larry.  But it’s ridiculous.  Basketball has proven time and again to be a team game.  You can say that Hakeem has probably won it all with the least.  But, even he had a team that rose to the occasion.  A team perfectly built to complement Hakeem with are barrage of 3 pointers and great defense.  And, just think how preposterously clutch and nasty Sam Cassell was.  That team had verve.

This Cavs team, Verajao aside, had nothing of the sort.  Shaq was simply old and slow, not to mention withdrawn and distant.  Jamison was destroyed by KG and never gelled with teammates.  Mo Williams had some offensive moments but was destroyed by Rondo.  What was Lebron supposed to do with this cast of characters?

Plain and simple: No one-man-show can do it against what has to be considered the best defensive team in the league for three years running.  Jordan, Kobe, Magic, Larry… none of these guys with this Cavs cast would’ve got by this Celtics team.  It reminds me of a young Jordan being unable to get by the Pistons.

And, it’s not just about this season.  For seven years Lebron hasn’t had a strong enough cast of characters around him.  Nor has he had a cast properly built around him.

So why should he NOT leave Cleveland?!

I’m finally coming around to the fact that Lebron to NY has a real chance of happening.  Forget the latest hot talk about Chicago being the new front runner to land Lebron.  The Jordan shadow is way too strong.  And, really, Chicago just isn’t as exciting as NY from a lifestyle, celebrity and potential money making perspective. And, about all of this Callipari talk, give me a break.

If the Knicks can get Bosh with Lebron, they’d be looking pretty nasty.  Here is your 2010 super-optimistic Knicks depth chart:

PG: LeBron James / Toney Douglas / Sergio Rodriguez (??)
SG: Wilson Chandler / Billy Walker
SF: Danilo Gallinari /
PF: Chris Bosh / Jarvis Varnado (with the 38th pick)
C: Eddy Curry (who magically gets healthy since he’s playing for a contract, the Knicks won’t suck and Lebron is here) / Earl Barron / Artsiom Parakhouski (with the 39th pick)

That’s 11 dudes, with my draft selections, and including Sergio Rodriguez who I’m not too high on keeping.  So here are some potential low cost free agents to round it out:

SF, PF, C:  Tim Thomas – I know that’s weird, but he’s versatile, smart, played well for D’antoni and can probably be had for the minimum.
C, PF: Louis Amundson – Phoenix is going to break the bank to keep Amare, and they have Robin Lopez who starts.  He’d be a nice Verajao-like piece and I have a hard time imagining him get anything more than mid-level money.
PG: Luke Ridnour – Can shoot, and push the pace.  Alongside LBJ his small size and lack of athleticism wouldn’t be exploited.
SG: Kyle Korver – For one obvious reason.  3pt % this year .536.

Here are the other prospective free agents: http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?page=FreeAgents-10-11

Pretty impressive.  It all starts to feel possible.

I think the scariest scenario is still the Nets winning the draft and getting John Wall.  With the new Russian billionaire owner (who’d love to open up the Russian market to Lebron and teach him the ways of a billionaire), actually being in the NY market, a ton of cap space, a studly young center, and a tradeable asset in Devin Harris, New Jersey is potentially more attractive than anywhere else.  But, here’s hoping the Nets don’t land the top pick.

But, still I can’t help but think it’s the players inability to execute more than it’s D’Antoni.  There’s NO way D’Antoni drew up those above mentioned plays.  The plays breakdown too easily because D’Antoni doesn’t have a guy out there who commands a double-team, and actually in this case had 2 players on the court (JJ and Du) who are so offensively inept that defenses can’t just sag off them and dare them to beat them.  But, really who else is Mike going to put on the court?  Hill played poorly in the 1st half.  Gallo injured his arm.  Yes, the Knicks should have found Chandler somehow on those plays, and I think those plays were designed to eventually get the ball in his hands, but Chandler was a marked man and didn’t get himself open. Coach has to work with what he’s got and that ain’t much.

I guess the toughest indictments I can make about D’Antoni is: 1) He treats his players like adults who can choose to self-motivate or not.  I actually think this is a good thing and like this about coach, but it isn’t the best approach for this team.  But, that’s just the way it is.  He isn’t an emotional galvanizer like Pat Riley, whose players I’m sure were convinced he’d strike them down with a thunderbolt if they didn’t give it 110%. And, 2) The short rotation bites him in the ass when his team isn’t playing well.  He runs himself out of options.

Anyway the discussion led to some thoughts I’ve been having about David Lee, whose emergence as a team leader (mostly in his own eyes it seems) has coincided with the Knicks’ downward spiral.  Despite his gaudy offensive numbers, Lee’s defensive effort has been abysmal.  He’s getting killed on the defensive glass.  He absolutely refuses to take a hard foul to prevent a basket.  He doesn’t make life the least bit difficult for his man, being unable or unwilling to stay in front of his man or play physical defense.  And, I have to think it’s ‘unwillingness’ considering his ability to attack the offensive glass.  Basically, Lee saves his effort for the offensive end of the floor, and doesn’t want to take fouls because he doesn’t want to risk being taken off the court.

His constant bitching and moaning clearly doesn’t do him any favors either with the refs or his teammates.  Lee’s constantly complaining to refs after every miss, after ever foul called on him, just everything.  Half the time he gets beat down court because of his incessant whining.  It just reeks of a player who thinks he’s better than he is and is more entitled than he is.  And, additionally, for a dude who bitches, he never bitches on behalf of his teammates.  For example, say Jared Jeffries steps in front of someone for a charge (something Lee would never do), and gets called for a defensive foul instead.  Lee never advocates for his teammates or challenges the refs for decisions if he isn’t directly involved in the play.  Think Rasheed Wallace (complainer-in-chief) is going to keep his mouth shut when that happens.  No way.  He’s going to let the ref know it.  But, he’s also letting his teammates know it, too. When a guy only complains for his own plays it makes you think he’s only looking out for himself.  And, Lee really seems to be playing with an attitude that says, “I’m getting my numbers so it isn’t my fault if we lose.”

But, despite all of this, yes, Lee’s the best player on the team.  And if Lee is the best player on your team, how good can your team really be?  I asked my buddy, “On what other team in the league would David Lee be the best player on the team?”  It’s pretty grim, but let’s go down the list for sub-.500 teams:

• Nets (4-48) – best player who has played (not including injured players) – Is Lee better than Brook Lopez?  It’s close, but Yes (1 vote).
• Minny (13-40) – Al Jefferson or Kevin Love.  Is Lee better?  No.
• GS (14-37) – Is Lee better than Monta Ellis?  No.
• Sacramento (18-34) – Is Lee better than Tyreke Evans?  No.
• Washington (17-33) – Is Lee better than Antoine Jamison? No.
• Indiana (18-34) – Is Lee better than Danny Granger? No.
• Detroit (18-33) – Is Lee better than Ben Gorden? Yes (2 votes)
• Knicks (19-32)
• Philly (20-32) – Is Lee better than Andre Iguadala? No.
• Clips (21-31) – Is Lee better than Chris Kaman? No.
• Milwaukee (24-27) – Is Lee better than Andrew Bogut? No.
• Chicago (25-26) – Is Lee better than Derek Rose? Nope.
• Miami (26-27) – Is Lee better than DWade?  Nuh uh.

So, basically, there are 2 other teams that Lee would be the best player on.  ONLY 2!  Considering that in the NBA success is largely driven by the talent you have on the floor, the Knicks are probably overperforming with the 8th worst record in the league.  So let’s give coach D’Antoni a break, because he’s has the Knicks playing a lot better than we should’ve expected.

UPDATE: Howard Beck at the Times has a similar take on the Knicks lack of talent: Knicks Find That Talent Is Hard to Beat [ NY Times ].  Good read, as always.

Another spirited loss for the Knicks last night against the Raptors.  I actual felt my excitement and anxiety levels budge while watching the second half.  What did I take away from it all?

• The Knicks need a true floor general or leader.  I’ve said it before, but there needs to be someone asserting his will on the game and team.  Coach D didn’t even bother with a lifeless Duhon in the 4th, and instead went with Nate, and let Nate be Nate.  Which meant some great one on one play by Nate and even a few good passes, but a gradual deteriation in the offensive flow.  Like last season, what other options does Mike have but to let his players be themselves?
• Speaking of deteriorating offensive flow…  Al Harrington.  Kudos on trying to tough it out, especially with Jared Jeffries injured, but Al also managed to pour a vat of glue into the Knick offensive machine.  And having him as the fall back option on the last play was not what I’d have drawn up.  Why not get the ball to Lee as the fall back on that play?
• We missed Jared Jeffries in the second half defensively.  JJ would’ve been able to double down more effectively on Bosh and also would’ve defended the 3 at the top of the circle.  If he’s out for long, that’ll be the final nail in the playoff coffin.
• As for Bosh, his battle with Lee was great.  That was some old school, nasty basketball going on.  It was almost like Bosh had had enough of Lee besting him in previous games and decided he was going to show Lee what a real max player is all about.  Lee more than held his own, though Bosh made some great blocks and defensive plays in the fourth to win the battle.  Last night might have been one of the first games where I thought, “wow, maybe Chris Bosh is on ‘that’ level.”

The very different implications for the Knicks if the Nets or Twolves win the John Wall Sweepstakes

As of last night, the Knicks hold the 9th worst record in the league.  Or, we could say the Jazz are holders of the 9th pick in the 2010 draft.  Knicks fans can feel pretty comfortable that our squandered pick, the last remnant of the Isiah/Marbury era (Jeffries and Curry contracts aside), will not turn into John Wall.  Unfortunately, there is a real good chance (25% of the pingpong balls) that the Nets may win the Wall lottery.  And, if that happens, the Knicks may be truly screwed.

Imagine this absolute horror scenerio (for Knicks fans).  The Nets concede they are going nowhere fast and decide they are sellers leading up to the trade deadline.  The obvious bait is Devon Harris, who amazingly has a somewhat untarnished reputation despite how terrible the Nets are.  At 9 mil per thru 2013, Harris might be enticing enough to a team that realizes they aren’t getting in on any game-changing free agents this summer.  Somehow the Nets pull a “Suns trading the Knicks Marbury” and trade Harris for expiring contracts.  By doing this the Nets will have roughly $34 mil in cap space this summer (whereas the Knicks will have about $24 mil).   They’ll be the only team that can lock up 2 completely maxed out players.

Fast forward.  The Nets (with 25% of the ping pong balls) win the lottery.  John Wall is the clear pick.  Maybe the most obvious number one pick since… Lebron James.  Oh boy.  Is John Wall enough of a foundation for Lebron and a BFF to come to the Nets.  I think it just might.   Here is the Nets potential starting line-up in 2010:  Wall / James / Yi / Bosh / Lopez.  That’s pretty frightening.

And what if the Timberwolves win the John Wall lottery?  This could be a dream for the Knicks.  Since they’d HAVE to pick Wall, they’d be forced to trade Flynn, Rubio, or Sessions — Rubio being the most likely candidate.  I imagine the Knicks chances of landing Rubio improves greatly if Wall lands on the Twolves.  And, effectively, landing Rubio may make it easier to attract the free agents we are making space for.

It was a strangely satisfying loss. I even thought about writing a post entitled “If ever there were a moral victory…”

And then the Dallas loss happened. And, yes, it felt like a punch in the face.

But, really, should it have? The aberration was the fact that the Knicks were able to stick to the Lakers as well as they did with the same lineup, and with the kind of PG play the Knicks have been getting out of Chris Duhon.  Somehow it feels like the moral victory against the Lakers blew up in their faces.  The Knicks came out chemistry-less, passive and overconfident and it resulted in the most embarrassing loss of the season.

The most remarkable part of the Dallas game was that Jared Jeffries had 14 points in the first half. But, even that makes some sense if you think about it because no team in their right mind actually D’s up JJ. It just so happened that yesterday, Jeffries, in some Bizarro World vortex, knocked down his first half chances. While Dallas gave non-threats Jeffries and Duhon space, they intelligently suffocated Lee, Chandler, and Gallo who were all taken out of their games.

After the first half, it seemed a gift to be down only 16.  I figured the Knicks would come out with spark after an embarrassing first half and make it a game.  Nope.  Duhon once again looked like he was playing a pick up game after being awake for 72 straight hours, clumsily turning the ball over and missing shots.  Barea effortlessly drove around him time and again on the pick and roll, while it never occured to Lee and Chandler come over and help, and maybe knock him on his ass to at least make life a little bit difficult for Dallas.  Drew Gooden played as if he had a vendetta against David Lee, blocking his shot and dominating him as if he were Pau Gasol. And symmetry in the universe was restored when Jeffries missed layups and had rebounds bouncing of the back of his head.

Anyway, it’s easy to blow this loss out of proportion.  But what is absolutely crystal clear, and what can’t be exaggerated is just how desperately Mike D’Antoni needs to bench Chris Duhon — NOW.  I don’t care if Nate is injured.  I don’t care if we need to make a D-league call up.  Duhon is crippling this team in a way that puts the rest of the season in jeopardy.  Every fan in the Knicks’ universe sees this.  Literally, every fan.   It’s simply too much for the Knicks (who start Jeffries and Duhon) to begin every half of basketball 3 on 5 on the offensive end.  And, I can actually live with JJ out there.  He’s our defensive stalwart and he manages to deflect enough balls and keep things fluid on the offensive end.  But, Duhon may single-handedly be sinking the Knicks hopes of competitiveness all by himself.

Which leads us to Marc Berman teasing us with this: Knicks president Walsh still has eyes on Rubio.  Really, teasing us with any hope of landing Ricky Rubio, especially now, is downright cruel.  But, if there is ANY way for the Knicks to pull this off without trading Gallo, I still maintain that if must be done.

Why, oh why, couldn’t we have had Marv Albert calling it: “OHHH, And Gallinari… with… the facial!!”

Continuing with the Marvisms: Have the Knicks ever, and I mean EVER, reached Extensive Garbage Time so early in a game?! Last night’s decimation of the Pacers was so spectacular, so ferocious, so complete that Jordan Hill, Toney Douglas, and Marcus Landry all got on the court at the beginning of the fourth quarter. D’Antoni literally could’ve pulled five random fans out of the stands to play the entire fourth quarter and the Knicks still would’ve won the game.

Quite simply, this is one of those games that gets coaches fired. Last year, the Knicks had a game in Sacramento where we steamrolled a listless Kings so embarassingly that Clyde remarked during the game, “Yeahhh, this is one of those games that gets coaches fired.” A few days later, Reggie Theus was axed.  I know Larry Legend went on the record before the game to support O’Brien, stating that it’s the players not the coach who will be the first to go, but ‘yikes’…

Meanwhile, the Knicks’ team chemistry is at real high point.  Lee, who I’ve always been weary of overrating, has been all-star calliber.  He’s stepping into his 18 foot jump shot so confidently now, hitting at such a respectable clip, that he’s adding a nasty dribble-driving dimension to his game that I didn’t know he was capable of.  Last night, he hit a turnaround J over Hibbert, where Hibbert shook his head in exasperation.

Additionally, Lee’s D has been really impressive, as has the whole team’s defensive effort galvanized by Jared Jeffries.  I don’t think it can be understated how important JJ has been to the Knicks improved play this season.  He’s going to get killed by guys like Hollinger for having a low PER, and by fans who can’t get over his awkward offensive game, but all I know is this: If I had the ball at the top of the key, the last thing I’d want to see is Jared Jeffries swinging his long ass arms wildly in my face.  Yeah, Jared had one point last night, but it was a glorious one point along with some serious disruptive defensive effort, and smart offensive play.

Chandler has also turned around his season.  Maybe his offseason surgery really set him back more than I’d recognized.  All of the sudden, he’s taking it to the hoop, posting up, shooting more foul shots than three pointers.  He deserves a lot of credit for the recent Knicks success, too.  He and Jeffries have become quite a swat team tandem, too, double-up players in the post and making opposing teams miserable.

Is there tape of Gus Johnson calling Nate Robinson’s spectacular Atlanta game?

This has to be put on YouTube.  Please.  Someone.  For now, this video sums it up pretty well.  Favorite part of the vid — at the 1:10 mark, a shot of D’Antoni screaming for Robinson to run the offense, and Nate steps up and drains a three point dagger.  Love it.

On the bell curve of NBA athleticism, Nate is clearly in the 100th percentile with Lebron James.  It’s just shocking what he can do.  But, just as rare is Nate’s ability to just go off — even after a 14 game layoff.  I do like what Mike D had to say about Nate being ready,

“We pay these guys a lot of money to stay ready,” D’Antoni said. “It’s not like, ‘Oh boy, he stayed ready.’ ”He added, “I’m glad he did it, and he should’ve done it.”

Amen.  (and, note to self, Eddy Curry).  But, this was more than being ready.  This was superhuman.

Will the Wizards void Arenas’ contract?

We all knew Gilbert was more than a little bit off, but this gun thing puts him into the Artest-a-sphere.  WTF.  Talk has it that Grunfeld is looking at ways to void Gilbert’s huge contract and I think he might be successful.  Lord knows, NO ONE is trading for Gil’s 4 years and 80 mil.   Really, I think this might have Sprewell choking Carlisimo ramifications.  The image-conscious Stern is not likely to take this lightly.

Either way, the Bullets, er Wizards, have been such a massive disappointment this year that this had to be the final nail in the “time to blow up this team” coffin.  Does Jamison land on the Cavs?  Are the Heat interested in Caron Butler?  There is some talent to be had on this team.  All we need is for one trade before the trade dominos start to fall.

Will the Sixers waive Iverson, and official enter the John Wall sweepstakes?

Speaking of waiving players contracts, apparently the Sixers can waive Iverson soon so as not to have to pay him for the remainder of the season.  Are the Sixers going to pull the plug on their season?  Will they try to get rid of massive contract holding Elton Brand, at the expense of one of their better young players?

Cavs + Knicks = Rival schools, united by fate

Finally, if the Knicks manage to keep up their good play, take advantage of a weak January schedule playing 10 of 14 games against sub-.500 teams, and sneak into the playoffs, they’d potentially have a first round clash with… drumroll… The Cavs in the first round of the playoffs.  Lebron has been laying some serious ass-wuppings on the Knicks the last few years.  But, the prospect of Lebron playing playoff basketball at MSG leads to a LOT of interesting thoughts.  Does Lebron get seduced by the awesomeness of MSG-playoff basketball?  Does Lebron decimate the Knicks so badly that Lebron asks himself, “Why would I join this sorry squad?”  Do the Knicks pull off an upset of major proportions against the Cavs, leading to Lebron thinking “If you can’t beat em, join em.”  Lets hope the Knicks make it competitive and give Lebron something to yearn for.

Not to be overlooked. Wilson Chandler had 17 rebounds. 17!! On top of a great defensive effort. Gallo hit two huge threes in the fourth that brought the Knicks back within striking distance. And most enjoyably, watching the enthusiasm of the Knicks bench for Nate’s heroics.

Overall, the best win of the year against a quality opponent on the road.

My favorite quote from the postgame press conference last night:

“David, he had a big block at the end,” D’Antoni said, adding with a chuckle, “I don’t think I’ve ever said that since I’ve been here.”

Amen, Mike D.

Even ESPN is jumping back on the Knicks bandwagon.  There is this untold story on TrueHoop about the Knicks players bonding on the road during an unplanned search for a decent Thanksgiving dinner.  Chris Duhon recounts that in his two years the team never did anything like this.  Never?!  Geesh.

And, this from Chris Sheridan, who sees the 8th playoff spot well within the realm of possibility with the rest of the East sputtering.

Finally, the Milwaukee Brandon Jennings have lost 7 of 8.  The savior-that-wasn’t is coming back down to earth a bit, shooting dreadfully (under 35%) in 7 of his last 8 games.  Seems opponents are figuring Jennings out a little bit.

Additionally, props to Joakim Noah for having the cajones to let shimmy shaking Lebron know that he’s being a bitch (according to Ric Bucher) for his lame antics.  Seriously.  Does it seem like Lebron’s head is swelling beyond repair?  Does he really need to be doing these Al Harrington / Mark Jackson antics?  Just seems like he’s all about putting on a show these days, and for me, his likability has been tanking.

Thanks to Andrew, I was in attendance for the Knicks win vs. the Suns — truly a bizarro world experience, as Steve Nash was turning the ball over left and right, and the Knicks were making their threes.  The only thing that kept the game close in the first quarter were a number of missed free throws, but fortunately these didn’t come back to haunt the Knicks.  Here’s what I took away from the game.

• Larry Hughes’ 10 first quarter assist made him look like the best PG on the team.  He pushed the ball, made the easy pass, and kept his options open.  He also made sure to look for Gallinari who got off to a quick start.  All this in contrast to Duhon who shuts down the first option (to run), and only seems to look for David Lee in the post.
• D’Antoni (and Hughes) exploited Amare’s terrible defense, perfectly.  Throughout the first quarter, the Knicks were running plays to get the ball inside, with Hughes often finding players in the paint for WIDE open layups.  Amare looks incredibly lost on the defensive end.  As bad as Eddy Curry.  Worse than Zach Randolph.  No amount of athleticism can make up for his lack of awareness.  Basically, I don’t think you can have Amare be a franchise player (or 2010 free agent target) because his D is just THAT bad.
• Jared Jeffries had a great game.  Blocks.  Deflections.  Defense.  Ball movement.  He made a real difference.  And fans still booed him when he missed a contested layup in the third quarter.  Come on, fans, are you even watching?  Boo Jared when he’s playing terribly if you’re going to boo at all.
• Wilson Chandler D’ed up Nash at the top of the key in a zone like defense worked really well.
• Darko is done.  Clearly his heart isn’t in it.  I’m sure this story didn’t help his cause. But, no PT in this season’s first extensive garbage time seems to spell the end.  Fans were even chanting for Darko at the end.  Really depressing.
• Finally, Gallo’s great game has to be mentioned.  He did everything. His two best plays were probably the ferocious block in the third quarter, and the straight on 3 point bomb from about 5 feet behind the line.  Good to see Gallo blow the game open for the Knicks.

In other news:

Good read from Ian Thomson (SI) about how D’Antoni is still Walsh’s most valuable asset moving forward.  Most interesting in the article, though, is Walsh addressing the perception that some holdovers in the scouting department may not have been willing to stick their necks out for fear that they aren’t part of Walsh’s plans moving forward.  Seems that it’s not just the players suffering from the 2010 cloud.

And finally:

Nate was benched last night in the loss against Orlando.  Alan Hahn has the best take on it, asserting that Nate’s clowning around and showmanship are a disruptive and destabilizing force on a team that clearly doesn’t have much sense of ‘team’ or understanding of how to win.  Hahn goes on to say that Nate could help a team with a strong veteran, winning culture, and though Nate would have to approve any trade due to his one year contract, it’s hard to imagine him blocking any trade to a winner.

Frank Isola has another worthwhile take on the Nate situation.

And, finally an article from Hoopsworld where Nate and Al talk about the frustration of losing this season.