BOX SCORE
SHOT CHART

The Knicks slept walked through another first half in Denver allow for the Nuggets to shoot 70 percent from the field before, again, snapping out of it and making it a game.

Appropriate, isn’t it, that the team  forced itself to hike uphill in the Rocky Mountains only to suck wind and come up short for the second time in two nights.

Carmelo Anthony, who’s name has been mentioned in trade rumors, was brilliant tonight finishing with 29. Let’s face it, the guy is a special player. How on earth would the Nuggs want him to go elsewhere I have no idea. And how about that loon Chris “Birdman” Anderson off the bench? Talk about active. Throw in Big Shot Billups and this team can make a little noise come playoff time. But the guy I always liked is Klinas, whom apparently was offered to the Knicks for David Lee back in December. Straight up, I still don’t make that move.

Nate Robinson bounced back from a few spotty outings to pace the Knicks with 30, but the disturbing trend with this team is that opponents just feel that they can do whatever they want in the first and 4th quarters. It’s almost as if the teams relax and take 24 minutes off then just step on the Knicks throats.

There is no ball pressure or any energy whatsoever to start the game, yet all of a sudden the team has it’s hands in the passing lanes and they are contesting shots. Every loose ball is theirs as is every rebound.

Amazing.

The Knicks needed both the Pistons and Bulls to win so that they could be mathematically eliminated, but both teams lost tonight.

The team returns to action Saturday afternoon against the Raptors.

(AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

Via Alan Hahn:

“…Gallinari did not make the trip. He is expected to have surgery to correct his back issue sometime next week in New York. The procedure will involve shaving the bone around a nerve to relieve the pain of a bulging disc…”

When: 9pm
Where: Denver
TV: MSG

Starting Lineups

Knicks (29-45)
PG- Chris Duhon
SG- Larry Hughes
SF- Wilson Chandler
PF- Al Harrington
C- David Lee

Nuggets (48-26)

PG- Chauncey Billups
SG- Dahntay Jones
SF- Carmelo Anthony
PF- Keynon Martin
C- Nene

Preview

The Nuggets can clinch a playoff berth with a win tonight. They are also playing for a home court advantage during the opening round. The Knicks… well they are simply just playing. The Knicks, after playing last night, might be undermanned with Larry Hughes and Q Rich suffering from ankle injuries.

Look for Curry tonight. I am curious if D’Antoni will give him some burn tonight, or if he will use the “back to back” excuse for not playing him. I want to see what Wilcox can do. He looked good last night in extended action. Maybe Crawford and Sims can see some action tonight, on the road, in the second game of a back to back. What does D’Antoni have to lose?

Yeah… I couldn’t think of anything either. Let’s go Knicks.

By the way… Mucha this is another chance Anthony to showcase himself to Walsh and D’Antoni.  I know you want him.

Just an add on to that last Harrington post.

I feel Al wants star treatment, in fact, Al DEMANDS star treatment and I think that’s his problem. He’s frustrated the team is losing and he’s not a star in the eyes of the officials.

Think back to the post game interview Shaq had after the Suns squeaked past the Knicks in Phoenix. In case you missed it, Diesel said, “this team is better and Al Harrington is playing at an All-Star level.”

If Al can’t be an All-Star here, he won’t be anywhere. And he won’t be one unless they are winning.

I get that frustration. I can remember countless times when the Knicks were good and a good player on the other team (Rex Chapman anyone?) would make a play, think he got fouled and look for a foul call. All I remember saying is:

“You’re not good enough to get that call.”

And let’s be fair, Al went to the line 8 times and expected to get more calls in Salt Lake?

Come on…

I’ve always seen Al Harrington for what he is. He’s a solid player who is not a star. He’s made a nice living and has played on some bad teams. In essence, he’s a stopgap guy.In this situation, however, he’s trying to prove too much and that’s both a good thing and a bad thing.

When the Mets were bad before Piazza it was Todd Hundley and Carlos Baerga. The Rangers had Petr Nedved and even used Messier that way on his second go around. Pretty good players who keep fans interested and coming to games, but not ones who are going to win you any more games by themselves.

Harrington, again, is a guy who hopefully can keep the team decently competitive. Donnie Walsh loves him, but I’m not sure he’s sold on him being here after 2009, not when Wilson Chandler and Danilo Gallinari will be begging for 30-plus minutes. But when you ask yourself who you’d rather have Harrington or Jamal Crawford, it’s Al in a second mainly because of his contract. Crawford is in Nellie’s doghouse too and will have to take a serious pay cut if he opts out of the Bay Area. In fact, if the Warriors had it to do over again, maybe the wait to deal Al in the same way the Knicks waited to move Z-Bo.

Al has been tee’d up too much lately, we know this. And he has been begging for respect from officials. But the refs are human and aren’t going to respect a guy who’s been a losing player for the better part of their careers. They have more respect for a guy like Joe Smith, who has lost his share of games and doesn’t get frustrated and constantly bark.

I like Al, but I agree that he has to tone it down with the refs. He may be a veteran in this league but, again, refs are human and it’s easy for them not to give that respect to a guy who thinks he’s earned it but has a reputation of being a malcontent in Golden State and didn’t lead the Hawks anywhere. Al has played hard here. Sure he’s settled for too many threes, and takes some possessions off. But for the most part, he brings it every night.

He’s been pretty good here and my bet is that he’s here next year. But he needs to reel himself in and just continue to play hard.

An interesting nugget taken from a recent article published in the NY Times earlier this week:

“At the Knicks’ current pace, D’Antoni would become the 10th coach since 1965 to go from50 wins to 50 losses in a year, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. (The last coach to suffer that fate was Larry Brown, who lost 59 games with the Knicks in 2005-6, a year after winning 54 games with Detroit.)”

I rarely consider how frustrating going from a winning program to a losing one can be on a head coach as I am normally more self absorbed with how I feel as a fan (although I’m not sure I fully remember what a “winning program” looks or feels like at this point).

We always hear about players being more motivated when they reach the playoffs simply to get bounced out in the first round, or reach the Finals and miss out on hoisting that oh-so elusive trophy (shiny stuff, Steph).

I have always bought into this notion that getting an abbreviated taste of the good life truly makes players hungrier the next time around, but I rarely attach similar logic when it comes to a coaching staff.

D’Antoni has done a solid job in his first year, but I hope he lets the sting of 50 (or 47, 48, no matter) losses sink in nice and deep so as to make sure it never happens again.

Stay hungry, Mike…

We talked about this months ago, and it appears Donnie Walsh is trying to land the pick in 2010 that Isiah Thomas gave away in the Stephon Marbury trade.

“…Isiah Thomas’ signature trade, acquiring Stephon Marbury from the Phoenix Suns six years ago – continues to be the trade that keeps on giving … for everyone other than the Knicks.

Included in the Marbury deal was a lottery-protected first-round pick that the Suns eventually traded to the Utah Jazz as part of the Tom Gugliotta deal. Next year, however, the pick is unprotected, so if the Knicks fail to reach the playoffs they will be handing over a lottery pick to Utah.

“I found out about that as I was going through the process (of being hired last year),” says Knicks president Donnie Walsh. “We don’t have a pick. But I’d like to have one.”

The Knicks do own a first-round pick in this year’s draft and barring a miracle turnaround they will be drafting in the lottery. Walsh, according to sources, will try to acquire another first-round pick either this year or next season – and he may be able to land one in a sign-and-trade for either David Lee or Nate Robinson…”

Interesting exchange as told to Marc Berman.

“…Denver’s Renaldo Balkman told former Rocky Mountain News reporter Chris Thomasson the club “regrets” trading him last summer. D’Antoni’s response?

“Who’s that?”

Knicks play in Denver tomorrow. I wouldn’t want to be the guy trying to stop Balkman going to the rim. D’Antoni went on to say Renaldo, the Knicks’ former first-rounder, is a good player but his presence would have stopped the growth of Wilson Chandler.,,”

So there you have it, Balkman was traded so that Wilson Chandler could get minutes. Exactly what we thought.

BOX SCORE
SHOT CHART

Execute: to perform properly or skillfully the fundamentals of a sport or of a particular play.

“I’ve never had a team execute better” — Bobby Knight

Once again, the Knicks proved down the stretch that they don’t have the wherewithal to execute down the stretch when games are won and lost and it cost them yet another chance to win a ballgame.

I’ve been on Coach D’Antoni a bit to involve more post plays in late game sets, even if it’s the high post, but the team continues to force the pick and roll and in a critical time of the game, Wilson Chandler forced a pass, leading to a Ronnie Brewer dunk.

The team went through 5 or 6 poor possessions before going to Al Harrington in the post with just over 3 minutes to play but by then it was too late.

I’m just a big proponent in the half court,  when outcomes (and big games) are decided, of starting the ball inside and letting it move outside. Of course, if you have a point guard who can orchestrate like Deron Williams, it doesn’t really matter. Williams, however, made sure Paul Milsap and Carlos Boozer got touches on the block late and that started some pretty inside/out action that led to open shots.

This is not to knock Mike D’Antoni’s system. Not yet anyway. Once the team started to play a shred of defense they scored very easily. But the coach and the GM I’m sure know that a post player is a desperate need for this group and you can bet they’ll secure one sooner than later.

The Knicks did a great job of getting to the line, but it’s the lack of defensive effort that has to be most troubling. It’s inexcusable across the board that they were that ineffective in the first half and part of the 3rd when they found themselves down 24.

If they are going to be that lacksidasical, the coach would be better off playing Courtney Sims and Joe Crawford.

Harrington, who we’ve begged to take it to the rack all season instead of settling for 3s, finally did in the 2nd half and paced the Knicks with 24. Williams had 24 points and 13 assists for the Jazz, who executed well down the stretch proving why they are a perennial playoff team.

The Knicks return to action tomorrow night against the Nuggets.

(AP Photo/Steve C. Wilson)

When: 9pm
Where: Salt Lake City
TV: MSG

Starting Lineups

Knicks (29-44)
PG- Chris Duhon
SG- Larry Hughes
SF- Wilson Chandler
PF- Al Harrington
C- David Lee

Jazz (45-27)

PG- Deron Williams
SG- Ronnie Brewer
SF- C.J. Miles
PF- Carlos Boozer
C- M. Okur

Preview

The Jazz especially can’t afford many more losses if they hope to emerge from the regular season at the top of a six-team cluster in the West. Just two games in the loss column separate second-place San Antonio and Utah, which is tied with New Orleans for sixth.

Sloan’s team will also likely need to take advantage of its home games. The Jazz’s 31-6 home record is the second best in the conference behind only the Los Angeles Lakers, and they haven’t lost at home since a 106-100 defeat to San Antonio on Jan. 27.New York (29-44) doesn’t seem like an especially likely candidate to end that run, although it plays a similar run-and-gun style to the Suns under former Phoenix coach Mike D’Antoni, and it already boasts a win over Utah this season.With departed stars Jamal Crawford and Zach Randolph making the main contributions, the Knicks won 107-99 at home Nov. 9, when the Jazz were without Williams. Overall, New York has won seven of nine against Utah, although it has lost its last two in Salt Lake City.The Knicks have dropped seven of their last eight games overall to fall out of contention for the playoffs in the East, and they have just one road win over a winning team all season.They shot just 37.6 percent in a 96-85 loss at Charlotte on Saturday night, their lowest point total since a 96-76 defeat at Houston on Jan. 10.The most interesting development for the Knicks may have been the return of troubled center Eddy Curry, who had played three minutes all season before Saturday’s game. He only played two more against the Bobcats as he works his way back from knee problems and personal issues.”I’m going (to Utah) to win the game,” D’Antoni told the Knicks’ official Web site. “I’ll try to get (Curry) out there as much as I can and hopefully he can improve as we go along. I want to win so I’ll make some decisions good or bad trying to win.”

Other Blog’s Take: Utah Jazz blogspot

“…Quick Quick who leads the league in Double Doubles. I Know I Know it’s Dwight Howard. You are absolutely wrong, it’s David Lee(who I would love to sign) from the New York Knickerbockers. One of the reasons for this is because of the fast paced game the Knicks play.

The Jazz have struggled with fast-paced high-possession teams this year and more recently our two games against the Suns showed a lot of our weaknesses.

Transition Defense, Scoring on the Zone, and Uptempo play.
The Knicks will exploit these weaknesses even more than the suns did the Knicks just don’t have as much talent as the Suns so the probably won’t win. Everything that the suns do was the brain child of now Knick Coach Mike D’Antoni. You can assume that he watched the film from the past two games and will use our weaknesses against us…”

Accuscore Projection: Jazz 115 Knicks 100

According to the In Denver Times Renaldo Balkman, who has played alright for the Nuggets once he received consistent minutes, feels the Knicks regret trading him.

“…When talking about how New York gave him away last summer for next to nothing, the mild-mannered, long-haired Nuggets forward mostly has been tight-lipped. But he did offer at least one growl as he prepares Tuesday to go against his old team for the second time.

“They already do,’’ said Balkman when asked if he believes the Knicks regret trading him last summer.

The Knicks in July dealt Balkman to the Nuggets for pair of players with nonguaranteed contracts, Taurean Green and Bobby Jones and a 2010 second-round pick. The Knicks, who also threw about $500,000 Denver’s way, then waived Green and Jones.

Balkman, taken No. 20 by the Knicks in the first round of the 2006 draft and with a contract paying him $1.37 million this season, didn’t factor in their future. And with the Knicks deep into the dollar-for-dollar luxury tax, it was a cost-cutting move as they work toward having loads of salary-cap money in 2010…”

I’m happy for Taz that he is getting minutes, and there may be some truth to the Knicks jumping the gun before realizing the Gallinari situation was what it was, but this also sounds like some sour grapes.

Balk was a good player who grabbed the fan’s attention and became a favorite because everyone likes people who hustle when a team is losing by 25.  I was always curious why Balk, who was drafted by Isiah Thomas was benched by him a year later. I mean Zeke took so much heat for drafting him, watched him have some success thus justifing his selection and then he benched him. Can someone explain that to me?

It appears to be a bad trade on the surface, and I was sure that they would use the roster space on Ewing Jr. so that didn’t soften the blow in many fan’s eyes.

The fact that Donnie Walsh made it a top priority to trade Balk leads me to believe there was more than meets the eye to that situation. Did Balkman really have a future on this team?

Here are Balkman’s stats to date.

So the other night I made my way into the media room, where I have to say I’ve been treated quite well despite having made a few not-so-nice posts, and I ran into Marc Berman among other beat writers, some who I know better than others.

Now, I’ve been critical of Marc, mostly because of countless Steph articles, but I’ve read him for a long time. My daily routine, as some of yours was at some point I’d imagine was to read the Post and the News every morning. In fact, I would read the Post in the morning on the way into NYC on the train and the News on the way back.

I had never met Marc before and I have to say he is a really nice guy. I think beat writers draw the ire of frustrated fans and take the brunt of plenty of comments, especially now that they have their own blog.

Personal shots at beat writers are lame, however valid arguments are essential. They have always been the direct link between fan and team. That is a special relationship and one that fans seem to forget.

If you want to disagree, go for it. Just do it the right way and they’ll be okay with it as I found out with Marc.

We had a good chat and he asked me if I had saw the “note” that he put on his blog.  I didn’t until yesterday:

“…Recently learned that MSG Network’s Tina Cervasio is doing a blog on the road with the Knicks for the team’s website. With MSG Network and SNY always competing, Cervasio must be MSG’s answer to the prolific SNY Knick blogger Tommy Dee…”

I don’t know about prolific, but I have to say that I really enjoy the people who visit this site daily. I wish Tina the best of luck because I really think she does a good job.

Click here to read her blog.

In an article for the NY Post, Marc Berman caught up with Chris Duhon regarding the season.  In the interview, Chris Duhon talked about this team’s need for stability.

According to Berman:

“Duhon’s implication was that this season was sacrificed in the name of clearing cap space for 2010, when the Knicks will have room to sign at least one maximum free agent. Now that they have cap space, Duhon said he hopes Knicks team president Donnie Walsh doesn’t have another trading frenzy next season.

When Duhon chose the Knicks over Orlando last July, he didn’t realize the team was more concerned about 2010. Duhon accepted the Knicks’ offer because he was promised a starting job. In retrospect, he would have been much better off in Orlando, which is competing for a championship. Duhon could have moved into a starting role there after Jameer Nelson went down.”

I am not sure if Berman is making these implications himself or if Duhon actually meant this.  After all, there are no incriminating quotes from the guard.

The only two players that the Knicks will try to unload are Eddy Curry and Jared Jeffries.  Curry, who for all intents and purposes has not played this year, should not create a problem for Duhon.  I doubt that Duhon has tried to adjust to the big center.  Jeffries has zero offensive sets running through him, so losing him offensively should not be a problem either.

The bottom line is that there appears to be an excuse for Duhon’s late season collapse.  As far as I am concerned, an overturned roster was not the sole problem for him.  He has looked tired, both mentally and physically, down the stretch.  Donnie Walsh never found an adequate backup point guard for Duhon.  Duhon was forced to not only lead this team in minutes, but also lead this team into battle against the stars of other teams.  Duhon was forced to take on a “star” role on this team for a long time, when in reality, he is not much more than a role player.

If for nothing else, Duhon proved this year that he is a starter in this league.  He appears to be the type of glue point guard that I can envision playing on a championship team.

Duhon’s defense, as Myles wrote a couple of days ago, is overrated a bit, but he has a pretty sound knowledge of the game.  As he has gotten tired and banged up, he has started to lose his decision making abilities.  Recently Duhon has been prone to throwing the ball away carelessly.  But when I think of Duhon, I think of the player from the first half.

Would I be open to trading Duhon this summer?  Can an Al Harrington and Chris Duhon package net us a Steve Nash if the Suns decide to start blowing up their team?  Yes I would be in for something like that.  But if Chris Duhon is our starting point guard next year, I will be fine with that, so long as Walsh finds a good backup through FA, the draft, or through a trade.