Its been awhile folks and I apologize for that. I do hope you forgive me though as protecting the country is a full-time job....as is torturing terrorists and sending their asses back to where they came from.
Well, a new NBA season is underway and after how baseball went this season, it is a welcome change. The past NBA offseason was a memorable one. For example, we found out that referee Tim Donaghy bet on games he officiated. The sad part is this didn't really surprise as many people as it should have because the officiating was that bad in several games (e.g. The 2006 NBA Finals). Hell, that explains why the cast of the Sopranos is always seen at Knicks games. Another big story was obviously the Boston Celtics becoming relevant again with the Kevin Garnett trade. As if winning the World Series wasn't enough, Boston fans will also have the luxury of watching two other contending teams in football and basketball this year (deep breaths Jack....deep breaths).
For the Knicks, this offseason is certainly one they can afford to forget. Enough has been said about the sexual harassment case, so I'm not going to go into that at all. With that said, if any ladies want to make a quick $11.6 million, go meet Isiah Thomas. Sorry, had to get that one out. On a related note, I think the anthem to this season's Knicks team should be "Under Pressure" by Queen and David Bowie...
Anyway, the Knicks are in Cleveland tonight to play LeBron James.....err.... I mean the Cavs. While it would be easy to just say that this will be an interesting matchup (this WILL be an interesting matchup by the way), this should be a fun game to watch as the Knicks and Cavs usually get up for these games. Of course, this also happens to be the first Knicks game of the season, which seems to have some significance.
The good news for the Knicks is that Anderson Varejao, the energetic PF/C who comes off the bench for the Cavs, is still holding out (which means he won't be playing tonight). Varejao often does a good job guarding Eddy Curry so Eddy McNuggets should be able to get some good looks tonight.
With the good, comes the bad though. The bad news is that LeBron James only scored 10 points his first game, which happened to be on national television. You think LeBron has some motivation to improve on his .182 FG % and 10 ppg? Not to mention, the Cavs (because I just remembered that LeBron is on a team) just got completely outplayed on their homecourt by a very good Dallas Mavericks team. What I'm getting at is the Cavs will definitely be up for tonight's game. If the Knicks don't bring any game tonight, this will be a blowout.
So with that said, here are the keys to tonight's game for the Knicks:
1. E-ZPass (aka Eddy Curry and Zach Randolph) MUST be productive on the offensive end. If these guys don't give you offense, they certainly aren't going to give you any defense, making them useless. Hence, the Knicks need production from their top two options on offense? Make enough sense? Good.
2. Don't let LeBron score 50. Yes, I know this sounds foolish but here's the thing, LeBron is going to get his tonight. Players like LeBron James and Kobe Bryant don't follow up bad games with even shittier games. LeBron is going to look to dominate tonight so it would be foolish to say that the Knicks can hold him under 20. What you have to do though, is make sure he doesn't win the game by himself. If he is going to score 35 points, fine, there won't be much you can do to stop him from doing that if his shot is on. What you can do though, is make sure guys like Daniel Gibson and Larry Hughes don't also go off.
3. Give David Lee minutes. No, I'm not just saying this because I happen to be wearing a David Lee jersey right now (sue me), but its a fact, Lee was the team's most efficient player last year by far. He's a good rebounder, passer, and is very good at scoring off of offensive rebounds (alliteration anyone?). Plus, he is a God among men, he can turn water into wine, and part the Red Sea at the same time.....
4. Stephon Marbury has to play aggressive. By aggressive, I don't mean telling a Knicks intern to get in a truck and have sex with him, but I mean going to the hoop strong with the ball and finishing or dumping it off to E-ZPass (yes, I will make this name stick). Steph can't be on the floor just standing around and swinging the ball around the perimeter. If you ask Steph to do that, you are better off just playing Mardy Collins at PG. Its about time both the Knicks and Steph realize that the team is much better when he is a weapon on this team.
5. Use depth as an advantage. One of the major advantages the Knicks have going up against any team in the league, is the ridiculous amount of depth this team has. While the Knicks may still be the laughingstock of the league, their bench certainly isn't. David Lee is one of the top 6th men in the league, Nate Robinson is a good uptempo guard who seems to be getting it as he enters his 3rd pro season, Jeffries and Balkman are both guys that can defend multiple positions, and Fred Jones is a good defender who can also knock down an open 3 (a skill that is very much in demand on this Knicks roster).
So kick back tonight, grab a beer, and if the Knicks are losing, go get another cold one out of the fridge. Enjoy.
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