When: 7:30 P.M.

Where: South Beach

Watch: MSG

Starting Lineups:

Miami (30-27)

PG: Mario Chalmers

SG- D-Wade

SF- Yakhouba Diawara

PF- Udonis Haslem

C- Jermaine O’Neal

Rest of rotation: Michael Beasley, J. Moon, Daequan Cook

Knicks (24-33)

PG: Chris Duhon

SG: Wilson Chandler

SF: Al Harrington

PF: David Lee

C: Jared Jeffries

Rest of Rotation: Larry Hughes, Danilo Gallinari, Nate Robinson, Quentin Richardson, Chris Wilcox

Injuries:

Heat: N/A

Knicks: OUT: Eddy Curry

GAME NOTES

The Heat are coming off a loss in Atlanta last night, and fortunately for the Knicks they will be in South Beach off a game last night so they haven’t had a chance to oogle the most beautiful women in the world this time of year.

That said, the Knicks, who have seemed very lethargic over the past few games, need to come out with some bounce. Larry Hughes made a statement last night and the team could use some more of Nate Robinson’s energy to gear them up for this showdown.

The Heat have been solid and I’m curious why no one talks about Dwayne Wade in the same conversations as Lebron and Kobe. Wade as the best player on the Olympic team this summer, is healthy, and has led a young and rebuilding team into a playoff spot. The guy is just awesome and will send a message to the Knicks tonight, let’s hope the team can get contributions across the board.

EACH TEAM’S BEST 5-MAN UNIT

NYK: Duhon, Richardson, Jeffries, Lee, Harrington (+ 11)

MIA: Chalmers, Wade, Cook, Beasley, Anthony (+14)

The Other Blog’s Take: Peninsula is Mightier

“…THINGS TO CONSIDER

The Knicks are not afraid to shoot three pointers.  Especially if they are coming from behind, the Heat better be ready to guard the perimeter and go after long rebounds.  With both teams playing on the back end of a back-to-back, the Heat should control the pace.

Daequan Cook is shooting 31.8% (7-for-22) from 3 since the All-Star break.

As expected, Joel Anthony is the backup center, but he is only good for defense. No offense, no rebounds…just defense.  When you need a block, call Joel.

The Knicks should be tired.  They had to battle back from a 29-11 1st quarter deficit last night against Philly, but couldn’t get closer then 3.  It was a long, tolling game…and with the travel to Miami combined with the fatigue and frustration, the Knicks are ‘ripe for the picking…”

Leave the in-game banter in the comments section. Let’s go Knicks.

Chris Wilcox has played a combined 30 minutes in four games for the Knicks, and Larry Hughes played 34 alone last night, so the “we have to get the new guys acclimated” argument isn’t viable anymore.  I think the reason Mike D’Antoni isn’t playing Wilcox is because he won’t be resigned this summer, and it’s not worth interrupting whatever chemistry these guys have.  He clearly thinks Jared Jeffries is better which is baffling.  Jeffries is an unexceptional defender and an offensive liability.  At least Wilcox can finish.  Maybe it’s because Jeffries has the versatility to cover up Chris Duhon‘s flaws by guarding point guards.  I think if given the time, Wilcox has the ability to block some shots and I’d take that over Jeffries “shut-down defense on point guards.” We’ll see if Chris gets some more PT as the season progresses but I don’t expect it.  Quentin Richardson, who I’m not sure is even a Knick anymore, got more time last night.  Tommy touched on the combination of Wilcox and Lee, and I’m for atleast seeing it.  The two would rebound like crazy and Duhon would have the ability to run the pick and roll with two extraordinary finishers.  What’s the point of trading Rose for Wilcox when they have the same contract and you play Wilcox almost as little as you did Malik?

In Marc Stein’s weekly weekend dime, Nate Robinson is listed as the leading candidate for the prestigious Sixth Man Award two trimesters award, but only because of injuries to Manu Ginobli and Jason Terry.

“…Both of the best sixth men in the game — and the likely winner of this award — reside in the Southwest Division. But both Manu Ginobili (shin) and Jason Terry (hand) are injured, too.

So we’re adopting the same approach here that we used in the preceding MIP discussion, focusing more specifically on this chunk of 27 (or so) games so we can recognize little Nate’s monster February.

The combination of Robinson’s five 30-point games this month, including a 41-pointer against Indiana, along with the Knicks’ pesky presence in the race for a playoff berth in the East make him the most legit choice for the season’s middle third. And we say so even when the sixth-man field has no shortage of recognizable names – Leandro Barbosa, Andrei Kirilenko, Corey Maggette and J.R. Smith — and when it would be even deeper if not for the injuries in Lakerland and Milwaukee that have forced Lamar Odom and Charlie Villanueva back into starting jobs.

Yet you can’t expect to see Robinson that high in April, provided that the two Texas supersubs are back reasonably soon. Ginobili ranks as one of the greatest game-changers off the bench in NBA history and will always be favored for this award. Terry, meanwhile, is having his best scoring season in a decade as a pro (19.9 ppg) coming off the bench for the Mavs. So the rim gets raised in a big way for Krypto-Nate when those two return.”

This got me thinking…Nate winning the award would be huge for his free agency this summer.  Some team will be willing to ignore his defensive flaws and recklessness and throw $8-10 million dollars a year at him.  If so, I hope Walsh doesn’t match the offer.  I love Nate Robinson, and this is purely hypothetical, but let’s not overrate him.  He can average 20 a game as a starter, and he’s better than Monta Ellis who pocketed $66 million last Summer, but he is by no means an all-star.  He’s built for New York, and he’s a fierce competitor and a consistent spark off the bench, but he should not interfere with our 2010 plans.

It is of this fan’s opinion that Chris Duhon has been nothing short of spectacular this year.  He’s proven himself to be a smart, team-oriented, “true” point gaurd – the type of player that fits perfectly with D’Antoni’s high octane style of offense. Not to mention one hell of a keeper in many fantasy leagues.

But can you really blame him for his recent, let’s say, lackluster play?

Entering this season, his previous season high for minutes-per-game was 29.1.  Going into last night, he is clocking in 38.5.

Entering this season, his previous season high for total minutes played was 2,177.  Going into last night, he had already punched in 2,158.

The numbers are hard to overcome.  The fact is, according to what the player has grown accustomed to over his 4-year career, he has essentially already played a full season.  So it is only natural that he would be hitting a wall at this point.

According to his coach: “He’s in a little bit of slump,. A lot of people in February go through that. He played a lot of minutes early. He’ll come out of it. It’s a normal thing.”

But the truth is, I don’t expect him to find his December legs and return to form for more than half a dozen of the teams final games.  Nor do I blame him.  

I look at Duhon and see a young starting pitcher in August.  Unaccustomed to throwing so many innings in college and the minors, these pitchers almost inevitably hit a wall come the summer months.  Rarely do they find a second wind come September.  Rather, they take their lumps, and come back the following spring with a better understanding of the type of conditioning it takes to play for an entire season.

So as I watch Duhon’s sloppy play continue (and it’s been about 2 full weeks now, in case you haven’t been watching closely) I am hard pressed to scold his HD image.  Rather, I am trusting that he will remember how he is feeling right now when August rolls around, and come this time next year he will have worked that much harder to be prepared for what I anticipate to be another playoff-hopeful stretch run.

So this passes for a blog post these days…

I apologize for anyone tired of the Steph stuff, but this was too infuriating not to post.

“…New York and Boston were linked again through the sports world tonight in what was a Tale of Two Cities and Two Gardens.

Stephon Marbury Stephon Marbury gets a standing ovation upon checking in for the first time as a Celtic late in the first quarter at the new Boston Garden. The Knicks New York Knicks get booed as they fall behind by 29-11 after one quarter at Madison Square Garden.

Marbury goes on to spur the Celtics to victory, remarkably, with a fourth-quarter splurge. He finished making 4 of 6 shots, jumpers and drives, after not playing a regular-season game in nearly 14 months. Even Marbury’s detractors have to tip their hat off to the Celtics’ new No. 8, doing what he did without a practice. He hasn’t even played pickup games in L.A. because of contract insurance concerns. It should work out as long as Marbury never forgets his role.

During his pregame gathering with the media, D’Antoni made an eyebrow-raising remark.
He was asked about what Marbury can bring to the Celtics. “A guy that talented coming off the bench, it’s not a bad chance to take,” D’Antoni replied.

The irony hung thick in the air. D’Antoni, guiding a moribund franchise, was not willing to take that chance at the beginning of the regular season. The defending champion Celtics were.

Marbury’s arrival onto the Celtic scene comes just as Chris Duhon, his successor, is hitting the wall because of all the minutes he had to play with Marbury banished. Duhon made it four straight lousy games in Friday night’s loss to the Sixers, who swept the season series handily. Duhon committed four turnovers in a short stretch of the first quarter – a sure sign of mental fatique.

The Knicks fell 10 games below .500 – tied for their season-worst – and 3½ games behind the eighth seed. If they don’t get it right soon, with a bunch of road games on tap this month, they could soon fall out of the playoff race…”

Still jaded Marc? Geez, I wonder if Steph has the juice to get you a job at the Boston Globe. Probably not.

I mean did anyone REALLY watch this game. The Celts were kind of sloppy, Rondo had 17 assists, Ray Allen went for 30 and, oh by the way, the combination of Marbury, Mikki Moore and Eddie “fire when ready” House were a -21. I know, no KG, but still…

A D’Antoni/Steph counter? Ugh…Can we move on?

I would offer this. Steph HAS to win a title in Boston. If the Celtics somehow lose with a healthy squad, many fans will point to Marbury’s losing rep and those cheers will turn to boos. Fair or unfair, it’s what’s going to happen.

That’ s a lotta pressure on Steph. Let’s see if he can handle it.

Nothing else to say about it. The Era is OVER.

Mike D’Antoni has tried several different combinations since the trades to try and get a handle on who may work best with who, but I’ve noticed that in the several games since the deals he has not  put Chris Wilcox and David Lee together.

And I have no idea why.

Maybe Mike thinks they are identical players whose styles don’t match, but I offer that they’d be a good fit that deserves a look. I would start:

PG: Duhon (short leash)
SG: Chandler
SF: Harrington
PF: Lee
C: Jefferies

and go with a second unit of

PG: Robinson (can you please pass to Dino)
SG: Hughes
SF: Gallinari
PF: Wilcox
C :Lee

There’s your nine man rotation.

Now Nate is not a pick and roll player, he doesn’t and never has, needed a pick to beat his man off the bounce. So this is where you like to see Wilcox sub in for Jefferies early so he can get minutes with Lee so Duhon can have his choice who to run the P&R with.

Both Lee and Wilcox attack the rim.

Last night, and over the past few games, D’Antoni has limited Wilcox’s effectiveness putting him with no other real rebounders, leaving him virtually alone on the glass. They were over matched on the glass and Wilcox only played 3 minutes.

I think Lee and Wilcox would be able to secure more boards on both ends and the coach should give it a look. We need to get more out of Wilcox.

BOX SCORE
SHOT CHART

“Stop blowing the whistle!!”

What a brutal performance by Jason Phillips , Dan Crawford , John Goble tonight.

Horrid.

But it’s easy to get on the refs. My second reaction relates to the Knicks for coming out ridiculously flat and allowing these three individuals, as well as the Sixers, to dictate the game.

The Knicks are not a defensive team. We know this. But, come on, 52 free throw attempts? On a Friday night in New York when the fans are trying to get behind the team? Inexcusable.

Equally inexcusable was Chris Duhon‘s start to this game. We’ve been light on Duhon over the past few weeks. No more. Yes, he was okay down the stretch in getting the team back in the game but you CAN’T start a game with the ball like he did. We know he is outside his comfort level and has played FAR too many minutes, but he needs to immediately snap out of it.

Getting back to the refs. They simply should have been ashamed of themselves. There was some real phantom stuff that made me really upset.

Nothing bothers me more than a ref who makes a call before the play happens. On several occations Danny Crawford had his mind made up a split second before anything happened. I’m sure you’ve seen “late” calls a million times where the player goes to the basket and the ref waits to see if he scores to call a foul. That bothers me, but not NEARLY as much as when a ref anticipates contact and then there turns out not to be.

But, as we said before, the Knicks just can’t come out down 20 in the first quarter. Then they can’t expect any help from the refs.

Still, 52 FTAs is a joke.

Larry Hughes (25 points) made a solid statement tonight, earning the second half start. The team hasn’t won a game since the deals and Hughes was strong on both ends of the court. That’s a good sign.

Andre Miller led the Sixers with 25.

The Knicks bounce back to action tomorrow against the Heat.

(AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

With the news officially coming down from league headquarters that Stephon Marbury is indeed headed to the Boston Celtics – and may suit up and see minutes as early as tonight against the Pacers – I ask all of you: what does this do to your feelings toward the Celtics?  

I detest every sports franchise in Boston, so for me, this only adds fuel to the fire, but what about those of you who enjoyed seeing KG bring a title to the C’s last year?  Or those of you who always loved Ray Allen or Paul Pierce?  Or those who root for Boston because you think if the Cavs keep falling to them it will increase the Knicks’ chances of landing the King in ’10? 

Do you now root against seeing them in the finals because you don’t want to see Steph get a ring?

Assuming you generally lend your support to them once the Knicks are no longer a factor, I ask you: How does the fact that Steph might be a piece to their championship puzzle change your opinion of the Boston Celtics?

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When: 7:30 P.M.

Where: MSG

Watch: MSG

Starting Lineups:

Sixers (28-28)

PG: Andre Miller 

SG- Willie Green

SF- Andre Iguodala

PF- Thaddeus Young

C- Samuel Dalembert

Rest of rotation: Reggie Evans, Royal Ivey, Marreese Speights, Louis Williams

Knicks (24-33)

PG: Chris Duhon

SG: Wilson Chandler

SF: Al Harrington

PF: David Lee

C: Jared Jeffries

Rest of Rotation: Larry Hughes, Danilo Gallinari, Nate Robinson, Quentin Richardson, Chris Wilcox

Injuries:

Sixers: OUT: Elton Brand (shoulder); Jason Smith (knee)

Knicks: OUT: Eddy Curry

GAME NOTES

Philly is looking for a 4-0 series sweep, it would be their first of the Knicks in 23 seasons. The Sixers have actually played better since the loss of Elton Brand, but they have lost 4 out of their last 5. Even still, they have passed the fading Pistons into the 6th spot in the Eastern Conference. Home games against beatable teams are absolute must-wins at this point in the season. To me, the key tonight will be neutralizing Louis Williams. He is averaging 13 ppg in just 23 minutes a night. He’s going to come in and shoot every time he touches the ball and the Knicks can’t let him pull a Nate-esque performance off the bench and score 25+ in limited minutes. 

Also, let’s see if Larry Hughes can do something productive tonight. Hopefully he’s settled in and starting to understand the system a little bit more. D’Antoni hinted at giving him minutes at the 1 tonight with Nate at the 2 in order to rest the banged-up Duhon.

EACH TEAM’S BEST 5-MAN UNIT

NYK: Duhon, Richardson, Jeffries, Lee, Harrington (+ 5)

PHI: Miller, Green, Young, Iguodala, Dalembert (+9)

The Other Blog’s Take: Sixers4Guidos

After 48 minutes of poor basketball, several embarassing turnovers, a ton of layups missed and a couple of highlights, Sixers escaped from Washington with a 98-106 W, one of those victories you really can’t be proud of (28-28, .500).

The (only ?) good thing is that we avoided the fifth consecutive loss, and that we snapped that losing streak. Another loss, particularly against THIS Wizards team, would have been a memorable disaster.

But I saw only slight improvements from the last games, and a team that is still struggling.

I won’t even bother recapping the whole stuff, Sixers won in the third quarter when they played some decent basketball, and went on a 12-0 run sparked by Iguodala, who played an excellent overall game, as his stat line should suggest (but yes, he had also seven turns).

We extended the lead to 18 early in the fourth (67-85) and pretty much controlled the game until the end, despite some sloppy play and more really stupid mistakes that allowed Wizards to come within eight with 1.20 to play (89-97).

Leave the in-game banter in the comments section. Let’s go Knicks.

Barbara Barker wrote an intriguing article for Newsday this week.  With Knicks legend Pat Ewing in the building, and Stephon Marbury having just let the door hit him on the way out one final time, the issue over what it takes to succeed (see: Mr. Ewing) or fail (see: Mr. Clownfish)  in the world’s most famous arena seemed particularly appropriate.  Both men had talent, and both were expected to bring glory back to a franchise in need of a lift, but that’s where the similarities begin and end.  

Speaking with Ewing and Alan Houston, two guys who flourished as the leaders of a New York City franchise, Barker astutely points out that talent alone cannot be the only issue the Knicks need to consider as they look toward 2010 for their next “savior:”

Ewing: ”[The Knicks] need a great player. A great player with thick skin. You need thick skin to play in New York. When fans think you stink, they’re going to tell you that you stink. When they think you’re great, they’re going to tell you you’re great. Not a lot of people can take the criticism.”

Starbury certainly failed in this respect.  He did nothing but point the finger at others, agitate his coaches and the media alike whenever the opportunity presented itself, and in all reality was the antithesis of a “team player.”

Houston: “Sometimes, New York will bring the best out of someone. You may think they won’t be able to handle it, and they do. You need to know the person off the court, what they’re like, how professional they are, how they treat people. These are all things the team has to look for.”

Barker does a great job here.  We all know that it takes a certain type of player to play in New York, let alone to win in New York, let alone to be the face of a franchise in – say it with me now – New York.  I only wish she could have included an interview with Marbury here too to get his asnwer to the questions. (I’m guessing something along the lines of: “I am what I is, and that’s the thing I was when I was born.  No type of shiny stuff is gonna make my soul cry.”)

But it is Houston’s point – that it is hard to know ahead of time how somebody will react to being in the NY spotlight – that gives me reason for pause. How do you test something like “response to being blasted on the back page Tuesday morning” or “ability to burden the blame when a teammate made a costly, game changing play.”

These are intangibles that I don’t think can ever truly be evaluated prior to handing over a $200 million contract, and that’s downright scary. Lebron has personality, but he is seemingly above the type of scrutiny he would undoubtedly get slapped with here and there if he were to call NYC his home in ’10.  

Is there a way that after meeting with D’Antoni and Walsh, he can go into a series of drills with the Knicks’ PR department and local beat writers that will truly test the types of intangibles Barker claims are vital for a player to thrive in the City? 

Or will we just watch him – be it Lebron, Amare, Wade, Bosh, whoever –  lace threes and throw down thunderous dunks as we write him a check to save the city once and for all, no questions asked…

Yesterday, a New York Appellate Court rejected a lawsuit brought by a number of activist groups in Brooklyn in a decision that appears to have cleared the final legal hurdle for the Atlantic Yards project. The lawsuit claimed that Nets owner Bruce Ratner and his Forest City real estate group didn’t adequately judge the environmental impact and terrorism threat that the proposed project would have on the city. Construction will begin for the entire project including the state-of-the-art Barclays’ Arena within the next 3-4 months and is scheduled to be completed for the start of the 2011-12 season.

Now, this begins the snowball effect. Prior to yesterday’s controversial decision I put the odds of LeBron being in a Knicks uniform at 99.9%. Put simply, the Commish would not let him sign elsewhere. The Nets’ moving to Brooklyn was the only wrench that could be thrown into the inevitable.

So, what would draw LeBron to the Nets? His relationship with Jay-Z, the idea of playing with a core of Devin Harris (if he re-signs), Brook Lopez, Vince Carter, and Yi Jianlian, not to mention the fact that their 2010-11 payroll situation is much more flexible than ours, especially with the threat of a hard cap being enacted.

The appeal of the Knicks is his relationship with D’Antoni, an offensive system that every player dreams about, and you hope the attraction of playing in the Garden. Unfortunately the factor that separated the Knicks (the earning potential from advertising in New York) is now neutralized by the Nets’ move.

At the very least, the activist groups were successful in delaying the construction of Atlantic Yards by two years, and the Nets’ lease with the Meadowlands runs out after next season. So, if LeBron does sign with the Nets his arrival in Brooklyn would be delayed one season and it leaves the team with very little options. The state will hold all the leverage in a negotiation process for a lease of the new arena in Newark. Does the state’s sports and exposition authority allow the Nets to sign a 1-year lease in Newark? The Meadowlands? Will they be forced to accept a one-year banishment to Nassau Coliseum? It’s hard to imagine LeBron willing to sacrifice one year playing in Uniondale. (Nothing personal, Long Islanders)

So, this is an incredibly premature question because it all depends on the Cavs’ winning a championship in the next two seasons, but let’s get a gauge of this. Put yourself in LeBron’s shoes and make his decision.

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A little off topic, but I did a ton of research on the Atlantic Yards project for a paper and this was a very disappointing decision. We’re obviously not a political blog here but it was just evidence that if you’re wealthy and have friends in high places you can get away with anything. In fact, one judge wrote in his concurring decision that “his hands were tied.” The bottom line is that justice did not prevail.

I took a long break to study for the bar exam but I’m done and it’s good to be back and posting on TKB, I look forward to some banter with the gym rats in the comments section.

According to Newsday during the All-Star break Mike D’Antoni said 40 wins is the goal if the team wants to make the playoffs.

“…You can call it Knicks Formula 40. It’s not so much a magic elixir as it is a heady goal, one that coach Mike D’Antoni revealed yesterday that he has set for his team.

During the All-Star break, D’Antoni sat down and decided that 40 wins — what it would take to earn a trip to the playoffs — should be a realistic goal. So he started preaching about the power of 40.

“I just thought that 40 is pretty good,” D’Antoni said yesterday. “There’s no reason why we can’t win close to 40.

“It’s tough. We got some hard teams, but we just have to try to play better and win some when we can…”

As we told you the winning percentage of teams that the Knicks play down the stretch is slightly over .500, so 40 wins seems accurate.

You can do your own math with the remaining games, the team needs to go 16-9 to get to 40.

Is that possible with 3 more games left with the Magic?

Thanks to Mark Malusis and his producer Russ Mafes for setting up the interview.

Click here to listen to the Podcast.

Aside from another encouraging loss (sorry JVG, they do in fact exist), last night’s game against the Magic marked the first time that Mike D’Antoni let his pet project Danilo play down the stretch of a competitive game. And the kid succeeded, more or less, in showing off the type of player he may very well (please oh please oh please) soon become.

As has been hammered for months on this site and elsewhere, the kid can shoot. We’ve heard it, we’ve seen it, we know it. He was 3-3, two splashing down from long range, in the final 1:45 (of a tight game). His last three, that brought the game back from the dead with under a minute left, looked like it came out of the hands of a veteran who knows he can score when he needs to when it counts; a trait that one rarely sees in such a young player.

He had energy pouring out of him, but at the same time he looked cool, calm and collected on the offensive end of the floor. Maybe this is where all that “he may be 19, but he’s got game experience” talk that we heard so often last June fits in.

Via the NY Post, as he put it after the game:

“In my career, I was always the one to take those shots, so I’m not scared about taking them. But I’m just thinking about being ready when the ball comes to my hands: That’s my only thought.”

His coach agreed, adding:

“Gallinari I thought was really good going down the stretch…He shows the ability to be unfazed by anything. A couple of shots that he had at the end of the game were sweet.”

But nobody ever argued that Dino couldn’t become a scorer in this league. It was his defense, hustle and rebounding, particularly down the stretch, that was truly encouraging. Continuing, D’Antoni added:

“He’s a better defensive player than most give him credit for…He took a charge, he knows when to foul. He’s a very smart basketball player. He’ll make good plays. The more he plays, the better he’ll get. He’s good.”

A lot of his minutes came at the expense of David “Double Double” Lee uncharacteristically riding the pine late, but regardless it panned out to be his first legit chance to show off why he was a lottery talent.  He’s still undeniably – at times incredibly – raw, but as a particularly young kid, it’s hard to complain with his effort tonight.

Of the handful of times he has seen real minutes this year, I have found myself shaking my head at the rookie more often than not, the same way I do when I watch Nate run roughshod on the floor. He is still a boy in a man’s game, and has looked the part during the bulk of his time thus far.

But the fact of the matter is, the kid has got serious potential, as we saw albeit briefly) tonight, and if he can bulk up a bit, he could be a real outside threat when this team gets a player who can drive to the hoop and consistently command double teams…

For you nocturnal Gym Rats, those who hang out long after the gym floor is swept and after the lights go out, yours truly will be a guest on Mark “Moose” Malusis’ overnight show tonight on WFAN.

From someone who spent many a night calling “Captain Midnight” Steve Somers , to appear as a guest on WFAN is pretty special.

I will post the podcast, but it sounds as if I will be on following the 2:20 update.