Hey Tim Thomas, My Bad

by Chris Alvino on November 30th, 2008 at 1:53 am

First of all, I hope that the Knicks are getting their rest right now because they looked exhausted at the end of last night’s game. What a gutsy performance by our hometown Knicks and what a huge victory.

Clearly, David Lee, Al Harrington, and Chris Duhon stole the show, with all of them filling up the boxscore in an absolutely gaudy fashion. But I do not want to let another player go unnoticed for his strong performance. Tim Thomas, I think you showed plenty of Knick fans last night why Walsh and D’Antoni would want you here. I am not going to lie, I have been extremely critical of you in the past, dating back to your first stint with the Knicks. Twice in your career you have been traded to the Knicks for one of my favorite Knick players, so you have to excuse me for any unwarranted criticisms that I have made in the past.

But last night against the Warriors you opened up my eyes to a part of your game that I never knew existed. Previously I viewed you as a soft player, a player with beastly physical attributes but with a soft mentality, a player that could dominate on the block but always resorted to camping out beyond the arc. Last night you showed that you can be a force in the paint. Off the bench, you grabbed 9 rebounds, 3 of which on the offensive glass. You used your height and length to your advantage as you exploited smaller players attempting to guard you. Of the 15 shots you attempted, only 3 were from the 3-point line. And when you facialized the rookie Anthony Randolph, my jaw dropped. Again, I did not think that you had it in you.

So when you read the papers tomorrow, you probably won’t find much on Tim Thomas. But I recognized the strong game that you had. The Knicks have been in dire need of a player with some length for the entire season. Until Jeffries is back, Tim Thomas must provide the Knicks with that length. Last night he played like a forward, and not an oversized shooting guard. He mixed it up in the paint and made his presence felt with some thunderous slams.

Also, while I have been critical of Q Rich’s game in the past, I also want to take this opportunity to recognize his strong play thus far this season. You wear the Knick jersey with pride, and I appreciate that. Keep up the good work.

About Chris Alvino

Chris Alvino grew up in Crestwood, NY. He graduated from Regis High School in 2005. There he played both basketball and baseball. Chris is currently a student at Boston College, where he practices with the varsity Women's Basketball Team (... seriously). Chris has been a Knicks' fan for years and can literally talk about them all day long, every day of the week. Chris enjoys writing on this blog and seeing what everyone out there has to say about it. View all posts by Chris Alvino →
  • Arputter

    Great Point! Thomas hustled, was aggressive and even showed a nice drop step move in the post, none of which I remember from the first time he was here…The Knicks have no interior presence, so anything Thomas can add would be a huge plus…

  • http://www.thiswebsiteissoawesome.com/ The Frankman

    Really? Tiny Tim Thomas? The only reason he didn’t jack up up 3s was because the Warriors played no D at all. My 60-year old mom could get in the paint yesterday.

    Tim hasn’t changed since his Knicks days. Actually he has, he gained about 15-20 pounds. He still plays no D, looks lethargic (if you saw his scintillating first 10 minutes on the court), and the next time he’ll go after a rebound will be his first. Let’s calm down a bit now.

  • harlemsdiplomat

    Good stuff man!! Deffently is time to praise the knicks yesterdays game was beautiful not once did I think we would loose the game.
    When we play like this it makes me proud to b a new yorker.
    But I really think its time we goive q rich the unofficial knicks cap.his props!
    He’s being very vocal and we saw a little bit of this last year when him and (I think randolph) got into it. kinda makes it seem like Mr.thomas shut it down
    Idk I would like to see some props for Q

  • Chris Alvino

    Harlem- I tried to give Q a shout at the end of my post. He has played well this year. Even when his shot has been off he has stepped up his defense and his rebounding. I have no problem with Q’s play so far.

    Frankman- Trust me, I hear everything you are saying. But even with the poor defensive effort from GS, you cannot take away the fact that TT was aggressive in the paint. He did go after rebounds yesterday, so I cannot agree with your assessment that “the next time he’ll go after a rebound will be his first.” I am not a TT fan. Not by any stretch. But his play yesterday was refreshing to see. The Knicks have a dearth of bigs, and Thomas’ added weight, along with his length, can be an asset to this team. Let’s hope at least.