SB Nation User Blog: Seth

I've had this tab open in Firefox for a few days now. This is positively gorgeous, and opposing GMs...

Seth — Thu, 24 Dec 2009 00:13:17 -0000

I've had this tab open in Firefox for a few days now. This is positively gorgeous, and opposing GMs should be on the phone in no time.

Wojnarowski: D'Antoni Regrets Joining the Knicks

Seth — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 15:39:21 -0000

The Knicks beat the Bulls last night, but any game stories were soon eclipsed by this article from Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo!, via TKB. A snippet:

In the lowest of the losing, Mike D’Antoni delivered history lessons to the New York Knicks. Only the Knicks coach wasn’t pitching the past of Madison Square Garden, Red Holzman and Clyde Frazier and Willis Reed, but a self-proclaimed genius born of the desert sun. Before his players, sources say, D’Antoni had started down the don’t-you-know-who-I-am route and recited his résumé of 60-victory seasons and scoring records and revolutionary basketball.

He let it be known, too, that the non-believers among them should feel free to march into Donnie Walsh’s office and demand his dismissal. More than one Knick privately laughed that they didn’t know there was an "I" in coach.

D’Antoni can call the bluff of his boss today, but he’d better be careful tomorrow. The Knicks are a mess, and league friends of D’Antoni believe he has deep regret for passing on Chicago for New York. He let his ego and agent push him out of Phoenix, and let his desire for money over winning pass on Chicago. Make no mistake, though: That was two months ago and this is now. New York has a Garden winning streak of six games, and New York isn’t on his case for the holidays.

Wojnarowski is one of the best in the game, but my problem with his piece lies right in that last paragraph: "That was two months ago and this is now." There you go! Then why write the article now? I have no doubt that in the throes of losing, D'Antoni chewed out his players and made things personal. Nobody looks pretty at 1-8, or whatever the Knicks were in that moment. That said, the Knicks are in the midst of an 8-3 December and D'Antoni has them competing for a playoff spot. New York's doing things right, if just momentarily, for the first time in a while. Can't we be spared the forced D'Antoni-Del Negro parallels and the stale locker room horror stories for the time being?

Click through for the rest of the article and let me know what you think. There are plenty of jabs in there about the draft and then 2010, and it just doesn't seem fair. Not now. In an article that was ostensibly about the Bulls, this felt like an untimely avalanche to dump on D'Antoni and the Knicks.

Update: More reading: Leitch's take.

Knicks 88, Bulls 81

Seth — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 05:15:20 -0000

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We've seen plenty of Jekyll and Hyde games from the Knicks this season. They've been known to race ahead in the first half only to lose their grasp in the second or, more commonly, follow a tepid first half with a spirited late-game comeback. Rarely, though, have the Knicks held on/come back to actually win one of those tales of two halves. In that sense, I guess the Knicks showed some signs of progress tonight. It sure didn't feel that way at some points, but New York came out on top, and that's what matters.

It started with a bang. Chicago was 24 hours removed from that epic comeback loss against Sacramento, and looked in no mood to play basketball. The Knicks, meanwhile, were passing and finishing like champs and cleaning the glass on both ends. They went into the half up 22, needing only a modest effort to sail to their third straight win. They couldn't manage modest, though. After almost two quarters of sub-modest basketball, it took a couple long-distance makes from Jared Jeffries (!), some late-game gaffes by Chicago, and one huge rim-rolling jumper from David Lee.

Take the jump for a few notes and thangs...

- Danilo Gallinari kept missing from the field, but made his presence felt in other ways. He shot just 2-13, but got to the line a little (6-6), rebounded (7), and played some nice man defense for stretches (3 blocks, including one spectacular swat of a Luol Deng drive). As ugly as his line was, I was pleased with Gallo tonight. He took the right shots and stayed active without forcing. They just don't fall on some nights. It was nice to see D'Antoni let Danilo work through his misses and find other ways to contribute.

- I'm not gonna rag on D'Antoni after a win, but with Jonathan Bender sitting the second half after straining his hip, the Knick rotation was actually only seven guys. I'm not saying that was the reason for the second half collapse, but I'm not saying it wasn't.

- I'm not entirely sure how the topic came up (presumably something to do with Chicago's mascot), but Clyde and Breen spent a good chunk of the second quarter discussing bullfighting.

- Jared Jeffries was whistled for a foul in the second quarter and D'Antoni responded by immediately yanking Al Harrington off the bench. Jeffries looked confused, then glanced up at the scoreboard, saw that he'd just committed his third foul, and visibly uttered "Oh, fuck". Props to MSG for catching that.

- Al Harrington hit the halftime buzzer-beater to put the Knicks up 22, and turned to run down court with his arm still bent in a gooseneck. This meant that the guy sitting courtside who wanted a high five had to slap his elbow. It sucks to get left hanging.

- Jill Martin and Hugh Jackman conducted a halftime interview so fraught with sexual tension and intrigue, it might as well have been Swordfish 2: Gimme a Minute.

- I mentioned Bender's sore hip before, but it didn't sound like it was a big deal. They're just taking every possible precaution with Legs, which makes sense. By the way, there currently exists an extremely fly "Legs" t-shirt ready for production. I know it's far too soon for that, but are people interested?

- Derrick Rose is exceedingly good at basketball when he chooses to be. I harp on David Lee's poor help defense, but Rose would've made Dikembe Mutombo look wimpy with some of these drives. The former first pick single-handedly outscored the Knicks 16-15 in the third quarter, which is a testament both to Rose's majesty and to how messily the Knicks shat themselves in the second half.

- Walt Frazier cannot whistle, which is a late entry but likely front-runner for "Most Surprising Thing I Learned in 2009".

- Hey Wilson Chandler (16 points on 8-18, 3 rebounds, 4 assists, and 2 steals), I see you. Keep attacking.

- I mentioned it briefly in the intro, but I'll reiterate that two of the huge shots that ended up stifling the Chicago comeback were long bombs by Jared Jeffries. Jared canned a three from the right corner with about 10 minutes left, then took a step in for a long two around the 6 minute mark. Thankfully, he rimmed out a three that would've iced it in the final minute, or the world's bear population would've awoken from hibernation, vacated their caves, headed to the nearest ocean, and plunged headfirst into extinction.

- The Bulls also found every possible way to cough up the ball when the game was in the balance. There were bad passes, awful shots, violations, and all other manner of wasted possession. I think Luol Deng dribbled off his gouche at one point.

- David Lee's in-out-and-in-again jumper put the Knicks up 5 and in the clear with 6 seconds left, and it was a well-deserved flourish on a brilliant night by Lee. Joakim Noah is a damn tough cover, but Lee grit his teeth, held his breath to withstand the smell, and went toe-to-toe with Noah in a battle for the paint. Dave finished with a masterful 18 points, 21 boards, and 5 assists (including one gorgeous no-look dish to Chris Duhon. I've been waiting for Clyde to yell "Skip to my Lee!"), while Noah came up with 10 points and 21 bounds of his own. It was fun to watch the two former Gatorbros go at it. By the way, I'd bet that Noah is actually far cleaner than the average basketball player and smells like fresh flowers on the court. You know, just to mess with people's heads. Anyway, not to get all spoiler alert on Willy's stickers, but Lee was the man of the night.

- Last point: Don't mock Bulls fans. Isn't blowing a 35-point lead, then falling just short of a 22-point comeback exactly the kind of thing the Knicks have been known to do as recently as like a month ago? Our friends at Blog-a-Bull deserve your sympathy. Show some love, and remember that we're not that far removed from stretches like that. It could very well happen again.

And on that note, I'll leave y'all to your other activities. Next game is Christmas!

Game Thread: Knicks vs. Bulls- 12/22/09

Seth — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 23:10:31 -0000

Evening, parakeets. It's the Knicks and the Bulls tonight in New York. D'Antoni's li'l scouts were able to get some measure of revenge against the Bobcats on Sunday. Can they take one back from the only other team to beat them in the last two weeks? The Bulls are coming off a titanic meltdown last night, which could either mean they're too downtrodden to compete, or they're pissed and ready to rumble. I've heard some say Vinny Del Negro's job is on the line tonight, so it'll be interesting to see how the players respond to yesterday's events.

Comment along if you're watching and don't forget to check out Blog-a-Bull. GET 'EM.

Knicks 98, Bobcats 94

Seth — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 15:10:32 -0000

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Top of the morning, buddies. I'm fresh off a visit to the Garden that was all kinds of exciting, and included a stretch of basketball so incompetent and precarious that I left shaking like a leaf. 8 Knicks got minutes, and each of them played an important role in an atypically even, close win over the Bobcats. After a miserable offensive first quarter for both squads, the game turned into a bit of a shootout, with the Knicks canning threes and the Cats attacking the rim pretty much at will. In the fourth, the Knicks' three-point shooting bought them a modest lead that would all but disappear in the last minute.

Some game and Garden notes, after the jump...

- There was a kid sitting in front of me with his family to whom I'd like to dedicate this recap. He was probably about 10, looked a great deal like The Goo, and was clad in a full-body brown sweatsuit. I can't really do it justice, but the kid's energy (I've never seen somebody want a shirt from the t-shirt gun so badly) and terrific insight ("Daddy, they needa get a rebound!") may have won the Knicks this game. You just didn't do it. This one's for you, brown sweatsuit Goo.

- There's a documentary out about Wat Misaka, the Japanese point guard who became the first Knick draft pick and the NBA's first non-white player in 1947. During a timeout, the Knicks brought Misaka out to center court and presented him with an honorary #15 jersey. The ensuing standing ovation was nothing short of chilling. Misaka, who turns 86 today, is maybe the coolest person I've ever seen.

- At the very end of the first half, Danilo Gallinari was set to check in, but Mike D'Antoni changed his mind and sent him back to the bench, which prompted Jared Jeffries to lean back in his chair and gesture like he was reeling in a fishing line. Danilo was not impressed.

- My girlfriend quickly fell in love with Jonathan Bender and took to calling him "Legs", which is a nickname so simple and fitting, it might warrant a shirt someday. I can already picture it. Anyway, "Legs" did little to dispel the myth of his majesty, going a perfect 3-3 from behind the arc in 15 minutes. His drives to the rim were all ill-fated, as he got stripped, blocked, or whistled for steps on each of three or four moves. No sweat, though. Jonathan's getting his feel back and finding his mojo again, but still managing to be very effective on both ends. It's really a joy to watch.

- Speaking of Bender, my girlfriend also noticed that "Legs" switched from black to white knee braces at halftime, which led me to tell her he actually has prosthetic legs and had switched those at the half. She believed me for like half a second. Don't tell her I told you that.

- Danilo Gallinari's three-point shooting (2-7) was a fraction off until late, but he made up for it by driving and getting to the line (7-10), which is exactly what he needs to do. Gallo's combination of quickness, size, and awkward gait makes him an easy foul target, and good things are bound to happen when he puts the ball on the floor.

- Same goes for Wilson Chandler, who shot a modest but excellent 2-3 from downtown. Wil got most of his looks on mid-range catch-and-shoots or in transition, and made the most of it. He finished with a marvelous 26 and 5 on 9-17 shooting, and hit a huge three down the stretch.

- At one point in the second half, an entire section of people up in the 300's did a simultaneous and very intricately choreographed dance to the Black Eyed Peas' "I've Got a Feeling". No word on what the hell it was (though I've got a guess), but it was awesome.

- David Lee! The midrange J just wasn't falling, but Dave made up for it with 15 points, 15 boards, and 7 assists(!) in 38 minutes. He also did his darndest against the much taller Tyson Chandler and Nazr Mohammed, and signaled for D'Antoni to sub him out for Jared Jeffries when he felt he was getting exploited. Great game from D-Lee.

- You know how Chris Duhon has a propensity to miss pull-up threes early in the shot clock that help swing the momentum towards the opposition? Well, he hit those last night. Du went 3-5 from downtown as part of a very solid 13, 6, and 4 game. His 3 turnovers were all careless unforced errors, but we'll let it slide in a win.

- Jared Jeffries and Toney Douglas didn't do much statistically, but both played a key role in disrupting Charlotte's passing with determined off-the-ball defense. Toney, for his part, looked ever-so-slightly more comfortable running the offense, though his sense of timing still needs some fine tuning.

- Danilo Gallinari (2) and Wilson Chandler hit three massive threes to keep the Knicks ahead in the last six minutes. Then, with 54 seconds remaining, Gallo rimmed out a three that would've put New York up 8 and pretty much iced the game. From that point forward, the Knicks did absolutely everything the could to hand over the game. They didn't contest threes. They didn't rebound. They fumbled an inbounds pass. They missed free throws. Gallinari went 2-4 at the line in the final minute, and would've been the goat if he didn't swat Acie Law's game-tying layup attempt as time expired. It was a magical night that very nearly went awry. Here's the video of the game-saving Cock Block.

- Suck it, demon-coach.

Thanks to those of you that commented in the game thread in my absence. The Knicks play again tomorrow, when they can hopefully recover from another recent loss against the Bulls.

Postgame: Knicks 98, Bobcats 94

Seth — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 08:09:03 -0000

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The Knicks did damn near everything they could to lose this one down the stretch, but Danilo Gallinari made up for a couple missed free throws with a tremendous cock block on Acie Law as time expired. I was at the Garden and have plenty of share. It'll wait until tomorrow, though. I'm going to bed.

By the way, I'm in that picture.

Game Thread: Knicks vs. Bobcats- 12/20/09

Seth — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 20:29:43 -0000

Evening, snowpeople. The Knicks will get a chance to make up lost ground tonight and Tuesday, when they rematch each of the two teams that beat them over the last few weeks. Tonight, the Bobcats, who made fools of the Knicks in Charlotte, will pay a visit to the Garden. The ladyfriend and I will be in attendance tonight, which marks my first trip to MSG in a long, long time. It'll also be the first time I'm in the same room as the demon-coach since his evil reign in New York came to an end. Has anybody out there been to a Bobcats game recently? What precautions do I need to take? Gas mask? Trident? Wooden stake? I've only studied the beast from afar. Get at me.

Comment along in this here thread and don't forget to check out Rufus on Fire.

Look for me in the crowd putting hexes on demon-coach and waving to Jonathan Bender. I may or may not be wearing a cape.

Go Knicks!

Agent: Let my Nate Robinson go!

Seth — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 02:31:31 -0000

Nate Robinson's stay in the doghouse has been a troublesome issue for a few weeks now. The Knicks' 5-3 record in his absence is worth something, but some of us have questioned Mike D'Antoni's intentions during stretches when Nate's presence was clearly missed. The benching has some wondering if D'Antoni might have some personal beef with Robinson, and if the benching will ever be lifted. One of those people is Nate's agent, Aaron Goodwin. From Howard Beck of the New York Times:

"I want to do what I can to get Nate out of New York," Goodwin said in a telephone interview Saturday afternoon. "There’s no reason to allow this kid’s career to get rotted by what’s going on here in New York."

If you click through and read the rest of Goodwin's words, I think you'll find that he's being pretty reasonable. Robinson is in a crucial contract year, and if he's willing and able, it's best for the Knicks to either make use of his services or facilitate his departure. Donnie Walsh, for his part, seems to get it:

"I understand the situation that Nate is in the last year and he has to play," Walsh said in a telephone interview, "so if that’s the option that he wants to pursue, I told him I’ll talk about it."

Walsh said he wanted to see "if this can be straightened out" before deciding whether to pursue a trade. But it appears that D’Antoni has no intention of playing Robinson again. He left him on the bench Thursday and Friday, despite the absence of Larry Hughes, who was resting a strained groin muscle.

I'm a Robinson fan and would love to see D'Antoni give him another shot after this extended absence. So does my mom, who just read the news somewhere, then scurried upstairs and yelled "but he's my favorite!". If the various parties can't align themselves, though, Nate Robinson should be dealt. Then again, Goodwin's making these feelings so public doesn't exactly help the Knicks' chances of trading Robinson at a fair price. Oh well. Any takers?

How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Jonathan Bender

Seth — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 19:03:47 -0000

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First, I should recap last night's game. It was rather the opposite of Thursday's loss, with the Knicks going cold and falling behind early, then storming back in the third to draw even and eventually win. David Lee led the way with masterful finishes and boards (25 and 11), while Chris Duhon set the table effectively, looked for his own shot late, and even did some rebounding of his own (17 points, 10 assists, and 8 boards!). Danilo Gallinari continued to undercook his shot attempts, but was more aggressive later on, and finished with 14 points to go with 6 nice rebounds and 3 steals. The Knicks won. It was neat.

Most of all, though, I found myself captivated by Jonathan Bender's unexpected return to basketball. Disgusted with a double-digit deficit, Mike D'Antoni spat Bender out onto the court with about minutes left in the first quarter. It didn't take long for my little heart to flutter.

I should rewind. As I've mentioned, I have little love for comebacks. Injuries are second only to this fellow on the list of things I despise about basketball, and a player with any visible signs of hindrance or hesitance is tainted in my sick little brain. (I have very small organs.) It could be residual uneasiness from the Allan Houston and Patrick Ewing injuries that haunted my childhood, or I might just be evil. Anyway, all that being the case, my immediate response to the Bender signing was somewhere around the intersection of indifference and displeasure. Why bother with a crumbly-kneed veteran when a stable of young, unsigned talents is close at hand?

This was my mindset going in, but I was hyperventilating in no time. I failed to appreciate this during his stint with the Pacers, but Jonathan Bender is a spectacular creature. He's every bit of 7-feet, with limbs that branch in all directions and the gait of a caffeinated praying mantis. His head is small and bony, with elfin ears and a face far too crotchety for a 28 year-old. In my eyes, that's the basketball equivalent of 36-24-36. The minute he stepped on the floor, Bender had my attention.

Experience told me to expect the typical constellation of jitters, rust, and pussyfooting on those fickle bones. Houston, Ewing, Antonio McDyess, Penny Hardaway...they all taught me well. Jonathan cared not for my expectations. The guy is rough. Bender put two playoff fouls on Clipper guards, one of which was a called a flagrant. He also rejected a Baron Davis layup attempt with more gusto than all Knick big men in the last ten years have managed combined. Bender's offense did not lag behind. His very first touch was a loping lefty drive with an offhand finish at the rim. He also canned an open three from the corner, threw an assist, and went 4-4 from the foul line. Bender's appearance was an exciting, productive 14 minutes, and he may very well have inspired a Knick win with his unforeseen excellence.

And that, friends, is how my tendency to overreact to small sample sizes from exotic players trumped my distaste for the comeback story. Jonathan Bender is a monster. He is part Anthony Randolph, part Ent. It's very, very early, but my first impression of this second chance is a good one. Yes, I'm that easy.

I wouldn't expect everyone to be as easily impressed as I am, but a smattering of "DWJBD"s in the comments tells me I'm not alone. Share your first-glance thoughts in the comments.

After the jump, Big C's video of the performance.

Post-Game Thread: Knicks 95, Clippers 91

Seth — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 03:32:35 -0000

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Well, that was some unforeseen grit. Jonathan Bender is the light of my life.

Recap will likely be up tomorrow.