Oh, What a Night

by Ben Chayon on October 28th, 2009 at 4:51 pm

As I’m writing this article I have a smile on my face. For what you might ask? Due to the fact that we are mere hours away from the New York Knicks starting another one of their always interesting seasons. Tonight they head down to Miami to play the always-hated Miami Heat. First lets take a look at the starting lineups:

New York: Chris Duhon (PG), Wilson Chandler (SG), Jared Jeffries (SF), Al Harrington (PF), David Lee (C).

This is the best starting lineup that coach D’Antoni could throw out there. In previous seasons the thought of Jeffries in the starting lineup would make me cringe. However, due to his limited success in the pre-season combined with our need to showcase him for a possible trade it was a great move. Now to the Miami Heat…

Miami: Mario Chalmers (PG), Dwayne Wade (SG), Quentin Richardson (SF), Michael Beasley (PF), Jermaine O’Neal (C).

First off let me give a worthy congratulations to Quentin on winning the starting job. That was no easy task on a competitive Heat team and he deserves a pat on the back. I felt terrible how the offseason treated him and am happy that he ended up in a place he will enjoy. Moving on… The last second decision by coach Spoelstra to replace Beasley for Haslem caught me by surprise. What would be the reason for killing the confidence of your veteran big man before the season even starts? It was extremely unprofessional in the manner in which the situation was handled. You don’t tell a veteran they are yanked from the starting lineup just hours before the season starts. I’m going to keep an eye on the situation down there in Miami because this team could become fragmented over this decision (although it is way to early to tell).

If the Knicks can give the Heat a run for their money tonight maybe Wade will think twice about coming to New York next season. As the Knicks take their team on the road all season long each game must be thought of as an audition for the plethora of talented players that will be available next summer. If they believe the Knicks are just one or two players away from being a contender it will certainly increase our chances of landing a game-changing player. Jason Kidd, Andre Miller and Grant Hill all passed on the New York Knicks because they simply weren’t convinced that the team would be able to compete even with their additions. If next season is going to be a success we must increase our win total THIS YEAR. A majority of the fans and sports writers are simply overlooking this season as insignificant and as I wrote in my previous article this couldn’t be a bigger mistake. The entire league and all of the free agents for next season undoubtedly are keeping track of which direction the Knicks season will go compared to last. For this we are lucky to have a coach with such a competitive spirit. We could be 0-81 and D’Antoni would still be clawing and scratching for that last win. That is why he is one of the best coaches in the league and for that I am grateful.

The keys to winning tonight’s game include playing the defense that all the players have been bragging about throughout the pre-season. We know Wade will get his but as long as the Knicks remain composed and play lock down defense it should be a tight one. They must force Beasley into the 18-20 foot jumper range because this part of his game is simply unproven. If he has the ability to get into the lane and draw fouls it could open up the court for Wade to go crazy and will most likely be a long night for our beloved Knicks. Al Harrington MUST be the vocal leader of this team for the duration of the season (He has stated this himself in several interviews). Therefore from the opening tip it will be his role to exude confidence and composure no matter how tough things get on the floor. Pay close attention the first few minutes of the game… If Harrington is being vocal and the Knicks are playing good help defense they have a great chance to steal one in South Beach. As always I look forward to your comments and LETS GO KNICKS!!
  • DaGawD_KnowLedge

    can’t wait to see
    what danni boy has them runnin..

  • Ben Chayon

    Going to be an interesting game… Pay close attention to the first 10 games of the season. With 7 of the first 10 at home if the Knicks can protect the homecourt it could translate into a pretty nice start of the season.

  • HaS

    “It was extremely unprofessional in the manner in which the situation was handled. You don’t tell a veteran they are yanked from the starting lineup just hours before the season starts.”

    Sound familiar?

    How about not even telling the “veteran player” what his role is until after the 1st game of the season and he doesn’t get a minute of PT?

    I agree, very unprofessional.

    I also agree the Knicks need to improve their record to make potential star FA’s take notice. That is why I felt it was imperative for Walsh to make at least 1 significant upgrade and I’m sorry, Darko and Douglas ain’t it.

    Al wants to be a vocal leader, but I wonder how long it takes for him to realize that he is not going to be option 1A in the future lineup of this team. How will that affect his game? Will he be the same team player talking on defense once his agent makes him realize there won’t be enough money left in the cookie jar for him + 2 max FA’s or that the Knicks don’t want him to be Robin to LeBron’s Batman?

    Lee plays defense like one of the most selfish players I have ever watched. If no one has noticed he’s being depended on to protect the paint again, a recipe for disaster. I’m not so sure that is the best lineup he can put out there, even though I must admit there aren’t many options, because the team as I’ve said several times there is no Center and no Off Guard.

    I’m going to watch, like the zombies that return to the mall in “Dawn of the Dead” out of habit.

  • MiamiMoe

    Great post Ben…you are absolutely right…to the basketball people outside of NY, The Knicks are like the cute thick girl that you would love to bang but you can’t explain why, but definitely wouldn’t wife out…MEANING…even though people hate the Knicks or have an allegiance to another team they always check the box score to see how the Knicks did!!!! Whether you hate us or love us you wanna know whats goin on w/ the NYK…AND NEXT YEAR WE GOT $$$MONEY$$$ and w/ D’antoni @ the helm someone is gonna wanna be KING OF NY ;) (thats a wink by the way)…AND as far as tonight’s game goes people are giving Miami WAY TOO MUCH props…if we can relegate Wade to 25 points we win and IMHO we win big…the rest of that squad is terrible (besides Beasely who is still unproven)
    Chalmers -not a starting pg in the nba…good D but makes too many TOs and compromises team D when he tries to go for steals
    J.O’NEAL- He’s done nothin more to say
    QRICH- He’s done, we all know that…he was ”down to great weight” last yr and he showed nothin
    HASLEM-Solid player but on the decline.
    COOK- Unproven
    WADE- OUR ONLY THREAT…SHUT HIM DOWN=WE WIN!!

    IT’S ALMOST TIME PEOPLE…
    LET’S GO KNICKS!!!

  • DaGawD_KnowLedge

    well if they win all there home games that’s sittin pretty good rite
    7-3..
    let’s see how it plays out..

  • DaGawD_KnowLedge

    well everything falls on the coach
    so F danni boy..

  • Mucha

    No disrespect (this is a great post and obviously a GREAT blog) but I think the blog lacks A LITTLE BIT of “structure”. I think we shouldn’t have more than one game thread/per game, one prediction thread etc. And I think the other threads are more interesting when they are based on multiple sources (regarding one topic).

    Some discussions are really interesting but they tend to “disappear” too quickly in my opinion.

  • DaGawD_KnowLedge

    correct let the other players beat us not WADE..

  • DaGawD_KnowLedge

    there is 4 5 writers they all need to get paid…
    that’s why there is like 4 5 threads almost everyday

  • jho

    Superstar players are going to get theirs no matter what. The Knicks could try triple teaming Dwade and I think he’ll still score 30. But I have a good feeling about tonight, we’ll see.

  • Ben Kopelman

    dagawd — i dont get paid nada…i post for yall, and nothing else

    mucha — thanks for the note…i think i can speak for the entire staff when i say constructive feedback is always appreciated

    its game time baby…lets see what this team can do,

  • Ben Chayon

    Thanks guys for all the great comments so far… As I am the newest writer on theknicksblog.com I hope you all enjoy my style of writing and will follow my entries throughout the season…. The most important game out of the first 10 would have to be Nov 6th at MSG when Lebron comes to town… It will be his only visit to the NYC the entire season and it will be very interesting to see the crowd reaction. I would expect a rock star welcome by the Knick fans… I will be in the house throughout the season to provide you guys with an in person account of all the games.

  • Bob

    GETTING SOOOOO PUMPED!GOOOOOOOO KNICKERBOCKERS!!!!!! GALLO FROM DOWNTOWN!

  • DaGawD_KnowLedge

    ok BEN
    thanks for the info
    an thanks for your free work on this blog
    an to all the blog writers..

  • jho

    Let the games begin!!!

  • DaGawD_KnowLedge

    take it easy BOB u don’t wonna pull anything an be out for the season.lol..

    enjoy it’s almost game time

  • Ben Kopelman

    no worries – aim to please
    that said, always always always voice any constructive feedback…its what helps us work better and make sure all of you are happy and keep coming back for more…

    lets go knicks baby!

  • HaS

    The beers are already flowin’ aren’t they? LOL

  • HaS

    “i dont get paid nada…:” is a double negative, so are you getting paid or are you not? lol

  • Mucha

    No prob Ben, keep up the good work