Nets 89, Knicks 93

The Knicks looked much better offensively and played decent defense as they beat down the win-less and, basically pointless, New Jersey Nets 93-89 in their fourth pre-season game.  With Nate Robinson in the starting line-up the Knicks immediately looked to be more aggressive offensively.  Early on a clearly motivated David Lee (20pts & 14 ribbies) showed he was not going to hesitate to shoot, rebound and initiate the fast break.  Early on Lee initiated the fast break on an out-of-bounds change of possession by lobbing the ball to a basket-sprinting, cherry picking Robinson; a sharp contrast to running the offense solely through Duhon strolling the ball over the half-court line in 7 seconds or more.

Although Robinson was replacing an injured Al Harrington in the starting line-up, D'Antoni may find that the Knicks will begin the games better with Robinson and Lee on the floor together.  Robinson (15pts, 3 assts, 2 steals) set the tone as he attacked the basket as part of his shooting array.

Wilson Chandler (16pts, 8rbds, 3 stls & 2assts in 30 minutes) also looked more aggressive offensively.  One highlight saw the Knicks bust the Net's press by getting the ball to Chandler who drove three-quarters of the court to the basket for a layup while an opponent leaned on him and seemed to be grabbing his jock strap as he got the And1 (foul shot).  Still, Wilson is in danger of becoming an old Vince Carter clone early in his career as he tends to settle for jump-shots.  It is a total waste of his size, strength and speed to have Chandler simply roaming the perimeter waiting for a kick out from a driving  guard.  No aggression = absolute waste of talent.

It has been a long time since Isiah Thomas has recieved fair treatment by the press.  In New York, Thomas not only was a magnet for over-the-top hatred by the fans but he was unmercilessly villified by the press as he was disgraced from cover to cover.  The press used his horrid coaching and his "Brown(e)" encounters to go overboard -- one paper was so unprofessional that it waged a "fire Isiah" campaign and included posters or banners in editions before games.  In blogs and in articles beat reporters focused, almost jealously, as much on his natty wardrobe as they did on that elusive smile.  While the beats who interacted with Anucha Browne suggested that it was unlikely that Isiah harassed the public relations exec, columnists opined that Isiah was an evil adulterer who held  secret Rasputin-like powers over young impressionable men (his players) who thought he was intelligent and supportive.

There are times in New York (and it has been like this for a long time) when the flailing press will try to unite New Yorkers against a demonized figure to sell papers.  They would hone in on an individual (like Alex Rodriguez or David Dinkins) with a laser and sink their teeth in like a ferocious pitbull all the time breaching every edict of so-called objective journalism.  One reporter made no bones about the bias and judgemental opinions in his work; he reminded a critical reader that he didn't work for the New York Times, he worked for a "tabloid."

Well, Mr. Thomas is attempting to regain his life after a series of missteps, some a result of his own  actions and others just because he was in the hottest media spotlight in the world with the most storied (if not successful) professional basketball franchise ever. He got a significant boost with a friendly and evenhanded feature which graced the front page of today's USA Today.

What was impressive was how fairly the author, Marlen Garcia, attempted to reported Mr. Thomas' recent troubles including the result of the Browne sexual harassment trial.  Regarding the trial, he reporter wrote the following:

While he was with the Knicks in September 2007, a federal jury determined that he sexually harassed former Knicks executive Anucha Browne Sanders, though Thomas was not held liable for any of the $11.6 million in punitive damages awarded her. Madison Square Garden, which owns the Knicks, was held financially responsible for creating a hostile work environment and firing her unfairly. Thomas still vehemently denies wrongdoing.

More often than not the New York media portrays the result as though Mr. Thomas as found liable and therefore actually held to have harassed the Knicks employee when the truth was that the case fell apart for Dolan because of the environment he allowed to exist, his unfortunate arrogance and wrongful firing of Ms. Browne. Please Click "Read More" To Continue

Regarding, the near tragic incident which the New York press gleefully reported as a suicide attempt (before certain reporters decided that even that was over the top and called for a moratorium on the hate reporting), Garcia reports it as Thomas framed it:

In October 2008, he was hospitalized for several hours after accidentally overdosing on sleeping pills. Thomas says a year of sleepless nights over the lawsuit combined with the Knicks' struggles led him to turn to sleep medicine. When one pill didn't suffice, he took more. He doesn't say how many.

The article goes on to point out that many in the profession still hold Mr. Thomas in high regard including the late Chuck Daly, Bob Knight, Greg Pingatore and Mike Krzyzewski, all mentors of his.  As evidenced by John Stockton's decision to select Isiah Thomas to introduce him to the Hall of Fame, contrary to the New York press, Mr. Thomas is not the reviled, hated man they want to portray him to be.  The article suggests that FIU evaluated the sexual harassment case against Thomas and found that it did not outweigh what he would bring to FIU.  The new president of FIU, Mark Rosenberg said,

"I understand that we did the due diligence" researching the lawsuit, he says. "We did the assessments and we didn't pause once we did the assessments. I'm satisfied my predecessors did the right thing for FIU. Now that I have met Mr. Thomas and understand what his passions and commitments are, I understand the fit and I feel very good."

As for the recent flap which the press tried to characterize as Isiah Thomas backing out of an agreement to play North Caroline, Garcia fully puts the responsibility on Isiah's boss, Pete Garcia, a long-time friend of Isiahs.

The article also goes on to compare the managerial success Isiah had as opposed to Michael Jordan and Kevin McHale in contrast to the reputation they all have as success or failures.

While I am certainly not a fan of how Isiah coached the Knicks once he became the coach, I am less a fan of the New York press which delights in selecting cover demons to galvanize the public to buy their rags.  In the final analysis history will find a more favorable take on Isiah's tenure as an executive.  Certainly not a persepctive that makes him a great President, but his error was not philosophical but in the character of the individuals he relied upon to make his team a winner.  As a coach he was dogmatic and horrible the year he tried to force feed the ball to Eddie Curry and stuck with Crawford, Curry, Marbury, Randolph as the core of the starting unit.  However, the coach that followed him as yet to prove that he is any better for New York.  At least Thomas talked about developing a defensive mindset where D'Antoni seems to have just discovered the letter "D" is essential to spelling Championship.  D'Antoni supporters point toward the increased wins over the previous years and the semi-flowing offense as proof of progress, but they ignore the reality that the Thomas year was an aberration with outside influences that would have harmed any team. Any team is better without such distractions and influences.  Last year's Knicks won the exact number of games won the year before the debacle.  In that case the progress is negligible.

The bottom line is that Thomas was bad but never as horrible as the press crafted his image and never as demonic as their refusal to be fair in reporting his demise.

 

 

 

[As the Knicks draw ever so closer to the Sanctified date indicated by the 2010 Plan Cult Holy Trinity, resident blogger Orange and Blue throws some lime in that 2010 koolaid and dares to question the logic of the Holy Trinity Franchise Orthodoxy!]

Hang Ten at the Tides Crest . . . or a Wipe Out at the Tsunami on the Horizon?

Three is the Magic Number and Good Things Come in Threes, heck if you use numerology to size up what number the sacred day 2010 produces, … ta da it produces the number 3! Hey if you spell out the names of the three members of the Knicks 2010 Plan Cult Holy Trilogy: Donnie Walsh (11); Lebron James (11); and Alan Hahn (8) you get 11+11+8=30 but in numerology is actually 3. Whoa! This ain’t coincidence people, … there are magical forces at work in the universe beyond our control fating the fortunes of Walsh, Hahn and James together in a cosmological equation beyond our understanding. No Doubt about it! The 2010 date as day of jubilee is indeed on its way!

“THE PLAN,” getting ready to Hang Ten at the Tides Crest…?

OBTW “The Plan” = 7 + “Tatoo” = 5… 7+5 = 12 = a numerological … 3!

Ain’t the Plan Lovely?...

Back to reality and some spiking of that 2010 Koolaid with a dose of questions and some unheeded reality. As noted previously, the 2010 Plan Cult Holy Trinity represents a shifting of the tide for the Knicks organization. However, does that tide in and of itself usher in a whole different set of imbalances detrimental to the building of a contending NBA Franchise. Currently the Franchise’s actions, or lack thereof, indicate that management may have key free agents expire when their contracts are up without possibly obtaining anything in return. Additionally, the Franchise option not to secure an up and coming buck to address the team’s need at point guard, where such a move may have provided the organization with an additional value added asset when exposed to the current system of play. Lastly, the current head coach’s, failure to address the need for adequate coaching on the defensive side of the ball, while insisting on a style of play that devolves into an overreliance on three point shooting and long jumpers is a model that has consistently failed to succeed against more defensively oriented coaching models. More importantly is the understated nature of the gamble at play in 2010 and the great stakes for the Franchise should 2010 not materialize as ideally expected. At stake in the latest “Win Now” gamble, and make no mistake 2010 is “Win Now” on a studder step, may very well be the slow but steadily replenished cupboard of talent nursed to fruition over the span of time after the Scott Layden regime. What may be deduced from assessing the possible flaws, actual miscues and high stakes gamble at play resulting from management’s dogged stated fixation with “the plan,” suggest that the organization might just as easily Wipe Out as it just may Hang Ten when the 2010 Tsunami of inflated expectations comes to the shores of Knicks Fate.

Maybe NOT!...

Maybe NOT!!!

Squandering Assets and opportunities?

CLICK PIC FOR WELCOME MESSAGE

Yep, we're at it again.  The Knicks Fanatics are on the move. In our constant search for the perfect resting spot for our brand of  "wacky" communal blogging, the Knicks Fantics family, that group of rabid nomads, has moved around the blogosphere yet again.   This time we join forces, by invitation and acclamation, with the wonderful team at Bloguin.com, one of the fastest growing sports networks in the blogosphere.

Bloguin.com started about a year ago. In fact their anniversary is October 28, 2009.  The concept behind the venture was to provide assistance and support to sports and entertainment bloggers to enhance their resources, aesthetics and financial viability while offering greater distribution to advertisers.  On their one year anniversary the Bloguin community will be about 100 blogs strong including 21 professional basketball blogs. We're excited about working with and checking out some of the other professional basketball blogs in the neighborhood -- several of them, such as faves Bust A Bucket, Barkley's Mouth and Beyond the Beat are already on our blog roll.

I hope you like the new digs.  I do, and special credit must go to Stephen Slesinski and Derek Hanson.  Stephen is basically the resident art director who, based upon my specs, designed the new, original logo and banner for Knicks Fanatics.  He is the one who brings the consistent professional look to the blog themes and his work is the bomb, IMHO.  Check out a couple of my favorites -- Pensblog and Barkley's Mouth, mentioned above.  Derek is simply THE guy who took my specs and designed a cool site theme.  And for him, like me, this is his side gig. Thanks guys.

Gents (and I hope we finally get some lady Fanatics to stick around), when you get a chance, please register with Bloguin.com.  You will see that the comment section, which returns us to the simple linear numbered comments, as opposed to comments three levels deep, allows for Avatars/Gravatars.  I'm not a fan of the default Gravatar so I am willing to create simple Gravatars for all of the "Old Heads" and some newbies who have earned their stripes ( a vague concept regarding whether a commenter has the chops and resilience to hang with this discerning crowd).  Just give me a shout out and we can make your graphic representation happen -- for free.

Of course, feel free to roam around and make yourself comfortable. Find a chair, hop a squat and get comfortable.  You'll see we are a one-stop shop and a hub for the Knicks blogosphere.  I will write a post describing how to maximize your use of the bells and whistles on this site later, but suffice it to say that you maximize the use of this new home by being part of the community.  You will find that not only do we serve a mean dark jo in the morning we also provide news, music, videos, scores and other goodies to keep you engaged and informed about our favorite team.  Look around, enjoy, comment and engage.  This is how we scroll, Fanatics@Bloguin style.

Welcome.

[In keeping with Knicks’ spirit week resident blogger Orange and Blue offers his take on the divine nature of fandom and offers a positive take on the first year's work of the new regime. Stay tuned for Part Two in which O&B questions the trajectory and moves, or lack thereof, of the new regimes. So join in and get ready to receive and in Part 2 question the Spirit,... the Holy Spirit and Sacred Trinity of Knicks Sports Fandom!]

Fandom as Religion and Knicks Fans Messianic Dreams

Fandom is a quasi religious phenomena because of what it often entails- e.g., adoration, faith and loyalty, and zealous commitment throughout the team’s rising and waning fortunes. Examples of the quasi religious nature of fandom in general can be found in the shrines that adorn many a fanatics home, the idolization (and demonization) of players and personalities linked/associated with the team’s fortunes, and the shared and general belief amongst fans that their team, (despite their objective plight), will defy odds in any particular game, season or undertaking to carry the fanbase to the miraculous and euphoric. In the electronic age the religious experience of fandom has blossomed into different denominations as a result of the proliferation of team oriented weblogs-both corporate or private, sponsored or independent.

For the legions of Knick fans, fandom has not been an easy endeavor. With the Franchise's last championship occurring over 35 years ago and the last championship run occurring during the 1998-99 season, the term "long suffering" has become an ever more apropos term for a fanbase whose arid plight can be likened to the Israelites march through the desert. In the doldrums of a long championship drought, Knick fans, (and the organization as well), have searched for and sought out a Savior to lead the franchise to a championship resurrection. From the mid 1980s through the end of the century the drafting of center Patrick Ewing was supposed to usher in a return to glory but the teams at Ewing's disposal at best came within a game of that much hoped upon return. The turn of the century then saw the Franchise pin it's hopes, (and extend or acquire disproportionate contract offers), on the deteriorating Knees of Shooting Guard Allan Houston, and later upon the questionable character of Point Guard Stephon Marbury. Also, throughout the 1980's into and through the turn of the century the Names of Knick adversaries such as Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant also figured prominently in conversations about a potential Knick messiah.

"The Knicks Holy Trinity" and Revivalist Mythology for Popular Consumption