Knicks Night

I attended my first Knicks game of the season last night. I was planing on a chill night at home, makin food and catchin up on my DVR when my boy Rambizzle called. He said he came across two tickets to the Knicks game and wanted to know if I would join him. Besides the fact that Lebron was in town, I will rarely pass up a chance to watch my team play. I met my boy, got a beer at a bar around the Garden and went in. It was his first time at the Garden so I was excited for him to see the inside. He is a Celtic fan, so I was not sure what he would think of it. He seemed very impressed and we both were pumped to see old time (yea right) NBA basketball.

The seats were pretty good, but the game was very choppy and slow. There was minimal rhythm and no fast breaks. Lebron looked like he could care less, and the fans are all out of it. Going to Knicks games as a youngster the crowd was into it from the intros until the jumbotron was bein takin down from the roof. During free throws now you can almost hear a pin drop. The highlight of the first half was our first glimpse for the season of the Knick City Dancers. Early in the third quarter the boo birds started to come out at the Knicks fell behind. Marbury was by far the main target of the crowd. Isiah was cleverly mocked by fans, but not with the viciousness of the Marbury attackers. I have to be honest with you. At this point in the game I began to hope the Cavs would continue to build a large lead so there would be some real verbal attacks on the Knicks and their sorry operation.

This did not happen though. Midway through the 4th Quarter Isiah put in his high energy group including David Lee, Nate Robinson and Jamal Crawford. Through aggressive play they cut the lead to one with about three minutes to play. The crowd was into it, but not how they used to be. In the 1990's there was a ferociousness to the crowd. The "de-fence" chants were directed toward the opposition in a way thay told them we would collectively not let them score. Now these cheers are said with smiles and laughs because we can't believe we are cheering for such a pitiful group. In any event, the Knick proceeded to fall apart down the stretch. It was the usual scene of defensive breakdowns, poor shot selection off of one-on-one dribble drives. After basically sleeping through much of the game Lebron still ended up with 29 points and 6 assists. Marbury went 0-6, Nasty Nate Robinson energized the crowd for a bit, but the end result was another loss for the now 2-6 Knicks.

I left the arena without any disappointment from the loss. I am filled with such frustration from this team on a daily basis that individual games can not effect me. Rambizzle and I stayed until the very end and slowly made our way out of the arena and over to our respective trains on Sixth Ave. We both had a good time and hope to get more free tickets later in the season. Judging by the throngs of empty seats throughout the Garden, I am confident that this will not be difficult.

Knick Play and ish

• It does not look like Isiah called a play all night. Every time-out they would come out and either Crawford, Marbury, or Robinson would create one-on-one. There is no fluidity to the offense. The guards dribble the air out of the ball and the big guys stand still.
• How can Eddy Curry be so large yet be so invisible through out a game?
• I enjoyed showing Rambizzle how the Knicks will stay in any game through lucky shots and poor fundamental ball. They have shot makers, but no defense and even less team players. He knows his basketball so it was fun for me to hear his thoughts on the Knicks play in person.
• Great to see Willie Randolph and David Wright at the game. My boys!!! Willie gave a very inspiring fist pump to the camera. Not sure whether it was for the Knicks, or just to get the crowd to cheer, but it definitely riled me up. When does spring training start again??
• Looks like the Mets will go hard after Zito. Five years 75mm is the minimum that we will prolly get. I do not think I would go over 17mm per year. I know its more than he is worth, but in this market every player is gunna get more than what he normally would.
• http://www.tonyhomo.com/
• Anyone know what famous non-football playing alums went to Mich/OSU? I am just trying to prepare myself for the randoms that the camera will consistently pan to and interview through out the big game on Saturday.

STKAFI