"For me, I'm a winner, I just want to win. "I have yet to play for a team that doesn't like defense in my career. It's not about the team, it's about individuals. Individuals have to take the responsibility to guard the guy in front of them." -- LeBron James

This morning "The New York Beats" are taking swipes at each other, as usual, because one reporter, who shall not be named here, dared to ask LeKing about the summer of free agency.  LeChosen One's response was dismissive of the reporter and the issue. "I stopped answering ... I don't know if you've been around. I don't know what you've been doing. I stopped answering free-agent questions a long time ago. So, move on to the next (question), please," advised LeBron.  We know that the absolute answer is coming soon.  It's getting frighteningly closer by the day, but we still want to know and I think he really wants to tell us.

His reference to defense was a direct swipe at the Knicks, who offered so little resistance that it became a Cav bench joke during the game. Even more telling is that LeBron believes defense begins with individuals being committed to guarding the man in front of them.   "But it's not about team. It's individuals first. Individuals have to take and want the responsibility to guard the guy in front of him," he said.  Since defense is not as simple as one man standing in front of another, he leaves a bit open for interpretation regarding how he feels about the Knicks as a team and as individual players.  During this last audition by the Knicks, he saw no defensive commitment from the team or the individuals on the team.

It is clear that his coach, Mike Brown, as one would expect, is reminding LeBron that teams that the present-day Knicks are modeled after have not been successful because they have been virtually defenseless.  Coach Brown opined, "I'm not a fan of those old Sacramento, old Dallas and old Phoenix teams. The success of that formula in the playoffs is not very high."

Certainly, we'll stay tuned to the next episode of "As The Knicks Turn" but the more LeBron says, the more he chips away at any reasonable hope that he will come to the Knicks, no matter what others say about him needing New York to become more than King of the NBA but Master of the Universe. What do you think?

Knicks 93, Cavaliers 124

"For me, I'm a winner, I just want to win. "I have yet to play for a team that doesn't like defense in my career. It's not about the team, it's about individuals. Individuals have to take the responsibility to guard the guy in front of them." -- LeBron James

"We kind of gave up.Obviously, they are a little bit better team than we are. . . .We just can't guard them, they're just a little too big, too fast. LeBron is the best." -- Mike D'Antoni

"God just said I'm going to make you the perfect basketball player, perfect body and everything. He ought to be on his knees every night thanking the Lord because he has a gift. Seriously, no bull." -- Tracy McGrady

GAME OBSERVATIONS

There is really not a heckuva lot one can say about a blowout where nothing can be seen outside the warped perspective of a Class-A ass whuppin'.  Even the positive revelations from Bill Walker's 25 point, 5 rebound, 1 block, 1 assist game can't be judged in the context of a real professional basketball game.  We can say he looked athletic which is more than we could say for most of the Knicks being washed away by waves of Cavaliers as they beat them down the court time and time again. Besides a total absence of collective mental toughness, the Knicks weaknesses are exactly the same as they were at the beginning of the season -- transition and interior defense.

''I had a chance to work with Donnie Walsh. He's a terrific guy. I love Donnie Walsh and whatever he does is probably great for whoever he is with.''-- Coach Mike Brown on Knicks creating enough cap space to lure LeBron.

Tonight just may be our final witness of LeBron, in a CAVS uniform, against the Knicks. (Knicks-Cavs Preview). Recent rumors have him desirous of donning a Lakers uniform whether Kobe is there or not.  Supposedly LeBron is interested in playing with a winning coach, organization and team according to this vicious rumor.

We all know about the 2010 plan, but somehow we forgot what the details were supposed to look like -- at least those few details revealed to us outside of the general plan to create a cap space reservoir.  At this point in the year, the Knicks were supposed to demonstrate to LeBron why we are worthy because we can make him a bigger winner on a bigger stage.  At this point, the plan was to showcase two new young rising stars, Danilo Gallinari and Wilson Chandler. We were supposed to show him how we had changed from disrespected patsies of the last few years to playoff contending warriors.  Epic Fail, unless, he comes to New York despite the fact we are on our way to another 50-loss season and our showcase comprises of an all-star without a defensive bone in his body and a former-all-star trying to recover from the damaged, aching bones in his body.

Fortunately for the Knicks, they will face LeBron without Big Shaq Daddy who promised to be the ring-bearer that would give LeKing all the reason he needed to stay in Akron, I mean Cleveland.  Unfortunately for the Cavs,Shaquille O'Neal could miss rest of season for Cleveland Cavaliers with thumb injury. Shaq is expected to be out six to nine weeks after  he has surgery on his injured thumb .  But tonight we should see a much faster and more athletic Cavs team pounding the ball into the paint against the soft underbelly of the Knicks interior defense.  Without Shaq in the lineup we can also expect them to be quick on transition another weakness of the Knicks.

Knicks 118, Wizards 116

"Three minutes left, obviously I'd been sitting out since two minutes in the third, we have a back-to back.  I sat out too long and it stiffened up and he realized that and the team was rolling. I was even going to tell him, let the guys play because they're playing so well." -- Tracy McGrady

"We were going well. This was an opportunity to close without him. He'll get there. And he'll be closing a lot of games." -- Mike D'Antoni

"It feels great. It's been a long time." -- Al Harrington

Pump Fakes:

Orange and Blue's Game Analysis Coming Soon.  Check Back In Later. . . .We made the cut for the 10-Man Rotation at Ball Don't Lie. Cool stuff,  I guess we'll be hearing from D'Antoni's people soon. Tell 'em, I'm not in. I'm on another "Gullible Hunt." Seriously, you should check out some of the links they cited. Good reads. . . . Are the Knicks really calling an early purchase of next season's tickets "LeBron Insurance?"  If so, the next time Mr. Walsh says that the Knicks have not been focused on LeBron, I'm throwing tomatoes . . . into my chili and writing a snarky post. Can't waste tomatoes on a sure thing. .

PLAYERS OF THE GAME

NEW YORK KNICKS (20-37)
FIELD GOALSREBOUNDS
	POS	MIN	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	+/-	OFF	DEF	TOT	AST	PF	ST	TO	BS	BA	PTS
W. Chandler	G-F	47:16	5-14	0-1	1-2	+4	0	4	4	4	3	1	3	2	5	11
D. Gallinari	F	41:31	4-5	0-1	1-2	-5	1	3	4	0	3	0	1	4	0	9
D. Lee	C	42:49	10-18	0-0	5-6	+3	5	11	16	5	5	1	5	1	4	25
T. McGrady	G-F	25:33	8-17	0-1	7-9	-2	1	2	3	3	2	0	0	1	2	23
S. Rodriguez	G	30:14	2-4	1-1	0-0	-5	0	1	1	7	2	2	2	0	0	5
E. House		22:41	2-10	0-5	0-0	+13	1	6	7	4	2	2	0	0	0	4
A. Harrington		33:56	12-21	5-8	8-12	+3	1	6	7	4	3	2	3	0	1	37
B. Walker		13:28	1-2	0-0	0-0	+3	2	0	2	0	2	1	3	0	1	2
T. Douglas		07:32	0-0	0-0	2-2	-4	0	1	1	0	1	0	1	0	0	2
J. Bender		00:00	0-0	0-0	0-0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
C. Duhon		00:00	0-0	0-0	0-0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
J. Giddens		00:00	0-0	0-0	0-0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Total		265	44-91	6-17	24-33		11	34	45	27	23	8	18	8	13	118
			48.4%	35.3%	72.7%		TEAM REBS: 11			TOTAL TO: 18

WASHINGTON WIZARDS (20-36)
FIELD GOALSREBOUNDS
	POS	MIN	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	+/-	OFF	DEF	TOT	AST	PF	ST	TO	BS	BA	PTS
A. Thornton	F	30:12	5-11	1-2	0-2	+11	2	2	4	5	6	0	1	1	1	11
J. Singleton	F	10:06	2-3	0-0	0-0	-1	1	1	2	1	1	1	0	3	0	4
A. Blatche	F-C	51:02	11-21	1-2	3-5	+3	3	15	18	6	3	1	8	3	6	26
M. Miller	G-F	37:59	5-10	2-4	0-0	+15	0	6	6	5	6	0	2	1	0	12
R. Foye	G	40:49	8-11	3-4	3-5	-1	0	1	1	10	1	0	3	0	0	22
E. Boykins		12:17	3-6	1-1	0-0	+2	0	0	0	3	0	0	0	0	0	7
J. McGee		27:23	7-12	0-0	4-6	-8	4	6	10	2	4	0	3	5	0	18
N. Young		17:56	2-7	2-4	1-2	-14	0	1	1	1	2	0	1	0	0	7
Q. Ross		27:33	3-6	0-1	1-1	+3	0	0	0	0	6	0	1	0	0	7
S. Livingston		02:01	0-1	0-0	0-0	-9	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
M. Harris		03:06	0-0	0-0	0-0	-10	0	1	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	0
F. Oberto		04:34	1-1	0-0	0-0	-1	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	2
Total		265	47-89	10-18	12-21		10	33	43	34	30	2	19	13	8	116
			52.8%	55.6%	57.1%		TEAM REBS: 8			TOTAL TO: 20

In what could be deemed a Friday Night Block Party by the Wizards, (Washington tallied a total of 13 blocks), David Lee's Heroics with 1.6 seconds remaining in overtime preserved a Knicks victory which ended an 8 game losing streak that dates back to the 5th of February and lasted 23 days.  Lee's driving lefty layup against the Wizards 7' footer Javalee McGee also preserved the heroic antics of fellow Knicks Al Harrington. Harrington was reportedly excited about his visit to the White House where he met the Comander and Chief, President Obama and it showed in his on court performance in the Nation's Capital. Harrington dropped in 37 points from the 2nd quarter on with 17 points coming in the 4th quarter. However, Harrington could have easily become the scape goat in another Knicks loss. Buckets found himself in the position of being a scapegoat when he missed critical freethrow shots with about a minute and then 30 seconds remaining in regulation. Harrington's missed free throw shots resulted in the Wizards tying the game on Randy Foye's jumper to force overtime.Sadly, Foye's successful jumper to force the game into overtime, again pointed to the Knicks defender's failure to utilize the foul to give when they had it available.

The Knicks succeeded in out-rebounding the Wizards by a 45 to 43 and also outpaced the Wizards with points in the paint at a 54 to 48 clip. Yet, the Knicks again appeared powerless to allow opposing front line big men to do damage inside as the Wizards, Andray Blatche, tallied 26 points, 18 rebounds and 3 blocks against the Knicks with the assistance of sophmore Javale MaGee's 18 points, 10 rebounds and 5 blocked shot performance.

The Game was competitive and contested at times throughout the game. Although both teams had defensive lapses, the Knicks did a better job of getting to and cashing in on free throw opportunities as the Knicks  shot 72.7% (on 24-33 attempts) to the Wizards 57.1% (on 12-21 attempts). Tracy McGrady in particular was very crafty in drawing fouls against his defenders which helped him pace the  Knicks in the 1st and 3rd quarters by tallying 19 of his 23 points in those quarters. McGrady sat out the 4th and overtime to rest the veteran in the Knicks version of the Jabba Rules. Despite a mum 1st half in which David Lee. tallied only 6 points and 4 rebounds, Lee's contribution on the boards and offensively was felt in the 2nd half and overtime as he finished with 25 points and 16 rebounds with 4 of those points coming in overtime, especially the points that ended the Knicks losing drought. Sergio Rodriguez tallied 7 assist against the Wizards in a relatively mum game. Chandler's faded offensively in the 2nd half despite tallying 9 of his 11 points in the 1st half of the game. Danillo Gallinari, continued to struggle despite having an enjoyable two hand stuff. He finished with 9 points for the game.

After being traded by the Knicks in that big McGrady-Cap Space deal, Larry Hughes has been waived by the Kings.  I liked Vinnie's (of Le Basketball) take on Hughes' releases from the Cavs, Bulls, Knicks and Kings:Larry "The PUD" Hughes Goes Out With A Whimper Not A Bang! You never want to wish a man ill, but man he can't shoot. My fave memory of Larry Hughes, "The Brickmason," will be the following pic:

Can't say I'll miss you Larry, but thanks for the memories or lack thereof. (He's still better than Duhon.)

Windmill Dunks:

Jonathon Bender will not be with the team tonight in D.C.. He has left the team for personal reasons for an undetermined period of time. . . . Mike D'Antoni finally criticizes the effort of his prize forward Danilo Gallinari and suggests that Danilo is not emotionally invested in the team.  We tried to tell you in Leadership Class Discussion: Mike D'Antoni Ain't No Pat Riley that D'Antoni and Walsh provided no reason to be emotionally invested in this Cap Space "team". . . .While I am perpetually criticizing the 2010 plan, one writer suggests that the Knicks have financially positioned themselves for an even bigger move beyond attracting Lebron and Wade. See A Spending Spree For Three, then LOL . . . . In A New Shade of Awesome,at FreeDarko.com, it is recommended that the Knicks leave the NBA and become a bank holding company. Brilliant.  That would solve all their current problems. . . .Did anyone notice how much of a class act Doc Rivers and the Boston fans were when it came to Nate Robinson? This is how winners should act.   As for the fans, it was top of the line-A1 class for them to give Nate Robinson a standing ovation for his first appearance as a Celtic immediately after giving Eddie House, now a Knick, a standing ovation as thank you contribution their recent championship contention years.  Impressive. . . .Then Doc Rivers did what he said he would do. What a concept for a coach.   He just told Nate to go out and play.  And despite what may have been considered erratic play in New York (and the cause for being benched) , Doc put Nate in in the final critical minutes of the game.   Doc thinks ahead as he knows  that Nate had to get acclimated to his teammates and to learn to close situations like the one at the end of the Knicks game.  No wonder Nate speaks so highly of Doc.   I am so glad Nate is outta here.  It may not happen in Boston, but his skills will be appreciated a lot more outside of NY although the Garden fans loved Nate.    It's the NY press and coaching staff with little love for Nate. . . .After his first practice, Nate told the press that the biggest difference from his last environment (hint, hint) is that the Celtics talk on defense as opposed to the Knicks who are basically mute. . .

A Fanatic Shoutout To JRSportBrief who almost learned some Knicks City Dancer moves before he wisely stepped aside from the action.

Forget for a moment that we were disrespectfully divorced by fax from one of the most successful coaches in NBA history.  When Knicks fans put their anger aside and remember that Pat Riley left the Knicks in decent shape when he skipped out of his contract for a better deal with the Heat, they will also remember that this man is a leader and winner (and a New Yorker). He always has been.  He has been a champion as a coach, player and team president.  For this reason, I featured, as part of our ongoing exploration into the makings of good leadership, Riles' view on how a winning coach handles his bench players. In Fanatics Leadership Series: Pat Riley , Riley's explanation informs us, in part, how and why D'Antoni did such a poor job pulling this team together the past two years.

Far too many fans and bloggers use the weak excuse that "coach D'Antoni doesn't have the horses" for creating a winner.  Such reasoning ignores the truth regarding the inconsistency and listlessness of the Knicks' play.  During D'Antoni's tenure, at times the Knicks have shown they could play together at a competitive level.  At other times, the thoroughness of their losing can be attributed to a lack of collective desire and focus as well as a defensive philosophy and match-up decisions that surrender games from the jump ball on.  These problems start with management, not the employees.

When Walsh and D'Antoni came aboard, the Knicks broke the very first rule stated in the Riley excerpt.   The organization started and never stopped coveting players on other teams. From the very beginning, the team on the floor was no longer the Knicks.  They were simply fodder for creating the Knicks of the future. This theme ran through just about every team personnel action as Walsh and D'Antoni did little to quell the very public focus on their "2010 Plan" based on success with the 2010 free agency class, most notably and namely LeBron James.

The organizational message was clear to the current players regardless of Walsh's verbal insistence to the contrary -- "as a collective, you are not as important to us as a team of players as you are a collection of expiring contracts, players on extended tryouts, and practice dummies for our young stars."