By now you’ve read what I thought about tonight’s game. To me this is not an 11-16 team, but at the end of the day they are what they are.
You can’t lay an egg against the Bucks then let the Celtics undress and expose you as a team with defensive flaws.
The Celtics are a juggernaut. They are off to one of the best starts in NBA history. After 28 games they’ve matched two teams to have gone out to this hot a start, the 1970 Knicks and the 1966 76ers, both of whom went on to win championships.
But this is about our team.
If Al Harrington wants to be around here in 2010, he need to prove he can do it night in and night out. And after a sizzling start, Chris Duhon‘s 6 turnovers are his body’s way of saying “Get me a freekin backup!” despite 20 points and 10 assists. He allowed Rajon Rondo to abuse him.
Defensively they were putrid, allowing the Celtics’ FG% to climb to 70% in the second half.
More importantly this team is on the cusp of a spiral, and Donnie Walsh needs to pull the trigger on the impending moves so that he can inject some life into this group.
Yes, they are building and will slip along the way as well as have ups and downs, but his players have busted their asses and are asking for help.
I think he needs to listen, if he wants fans to believe that the playoffs are a realistic possibility.
(AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)
What about the Nate’s put back? That was sick! Just to have anything to be excited about with the Knicks is enough (especially since the Jets blew it). We make the playoffs, have a shot to maybe win a round, good enough for me.
The Knicks kept me interested in the NBA for a little bit but as the season progresses it’s really looking like a 3 team race. At least the Cav’s got there with legit trades.
The C’s got two big time players with basically nothing and the L’s got Gasol with an equal amount of junk is amazing.
Then again at least Stephon Marbury wasn’t at the game and Big Baby wasn’t crying on the bench.
Tommy, you put it best. Donnie has to realize that this team has the potential to make a run in a weak conference. He has to get some new blood.
Think about the games the Knicks let slip away because they were under-manned. We would be in a much better position right now if that was not the case.
TD and Chris,
I love the blog and I love what your doing here. I understand what your writing here about the Knicks and how their record isn’t really and good indicator of how good or bad this team really is. Granted there were a few losses that probably would have resulted in wins if we had a few more players but you know it’s part of the game.
What I don’t agree with is that you think Al Harrington actually has a shot at coming back in 2010. While I do agree with you that he would be a nice fit, he will never do it. This is a guy in the prime of his career who not only wants money but wants the ball. Come 2010 this guy is going to bolt out of New York so quickly to get as much money as he could which people will be throwing around like Pacman Jones at a night club. Truthfully I don’t blame him either, it’s the man’s living. This is the perfect situation for Harrington he is going to put up bloated numbers in the system and then get paid like an All-Star come 2010. Thats just half of it though, Al Harrington doesen’t seem like he is interested in winning as much as he is in leading. Harrington wants the ball because he believes he is that good. Granted he is a nice player and by far the best on our team right now but thats not going to be the case in 2011. Can you imagine how much complaining will be going on about not getting the ball like he did in Golden State if he is with the likes of Wade, Lebron or Bosh. Really I think Wade is going to be the one ending up here and Wade who shoots 30 shots a night and lets just say will not be in Al Harrington’s ” Fave 5″
I think the player Tommy that will be here in 2010 to be a complement player is Tim Thomas someone who is winding down his career realizes his role does it well and seems to want to win. I think he’ll be a nice player to have around because he knows what he is capable of doing and has finally left the mentality that he is a star player. While I hope Harrington comes to this notion in 2010 as well I think it’s wishful thinking, and truthfully I don’t blame him I would take the money and run as well.
Quick note to TD – I didnt see what you thought about the game and dont really know what you are talking about when you start like that. Links are always nice on blogs!
I am really starting to get frustrated by the fact we still havnt picked someone up. Isnt this what Donnie does? Can there be that many options? Find someone, and put him on the bench to spell duhon! And can we plese drop roberson? Why is he here?
GBaked- Earlier in the day Tommy wrote a piece about what he thought about the game. Good point on the links to different posts. We will work on that for future posts.
Why is it that we cannot sign a player to a ten day contract? Then we can simply let him go after those ten days. This lack of depth is getting ridiculous.
To me, our biggest weakness this year and over the Isiah era was exposed yesterday: no interior defense. We will never go anywhere without interior defense, even if we do sign a superstar perimeter player.
Players like Rajon Rondo are going to beat their man off the dribble no matter what. The key is to not let them get an easy layup at the hoop. We need an intimidator in the middle who can block shots and grab rebounds. Someone out of the Dalambert mold. Even if we got a cheap player like Sean Williams from the Nets(who gets no minutes there now), I think that would go a long way.