Recap: Hawks 114 Knicks 101

I have been a knick fan for 25 years and its getting to the point that I can’t watch anymore. The coaching has been horrendous, we have greedy players like Harrington and the worst point guard in the NBA! Please start Darko at Center! And make Jordan Hill his backup splitting minutes. Gallo, Douglas, Chandler and Hill will keep me watching but its a disgrace what we have to watch every game.

The 6-foot-9, 250-pound Lee simply couldn’t guard Horford in the paint,

What else is new?? This team is a disgrace to the history of NYC basketball.

D’Antoni looks like he doesnt even care. Bad shots, bad shots bad shots no offense of defense. and Darko sits on the bench…

who even cares anymore. the players, coach, GM and owner dont.

(Important question/observation from previous thread)

Crawford with a low basketball IQ?.

Tommy, with all due respect, where do you come up with this stuff?

How in the world is he “basketball stupid?” which is the implication of saying someone has a low basketball IQ. He was one of the main reasons (if not the main one) that we had a chance of making the playoffs when he was here. First, the year he was hurt (and Starbury was brought to tears) and last year when he was traded at 6-3.

Sure as a shooter (and many a gunner) he has made poor decisions but you can attribute part of his basketball decision making as a shooter to being the main option on a bad teams — a bad habit fostered by his coaches. Clearly, his role and the help in ATL has improved that shooting percentage as well as his shot selection. But to blame that on Basketball IQ is wrong.

Crawford is not basketball dumb and I am surprised to hear that coming from you, someone who I assumed has spoken with JC.

Additionally, are you guys reserving this basketball dumb evaluation for the black players? I’m just asking not accusing? It seems that Black players are the only ones with low basketball IQ — a term that is used very cavlierly by people not able to compete (execute and make decisions on the fly) in the NBA on any level.

I’m just asking for now, becase I am tired of the misapplication of the label from people who know less B-Ball than the folks they’re talking about. Usually, that’s reserved for Hahn, but say not you too. You gentlemen need to be a little more careful with that term.

I like Crawford too but he was drafted as a PG and couldn’t figure the position out so they made him a combo guard in Chicago. He never developed into a leader and takes some awful shots. On defense he almost always looks lost despite being in the league ten years. As for white guys with low basketball IQs how about Robert Swift and another Knick favorite Marce Lampe.

As for the Knicks/Nets deabte from the last thread. The Knicks are a team with cap space but in terms of talent and team building are certainly going in the wrong direction. But, the Nets have not won a game and desptie their cap space play in swamps of NJ. They have a promising young core but so did the Clipppers for years. Until that young core starts winning some games I don’t see how you can say they are heading in the right direction. Would i want their future over the Knicks. Most def, because they have a legit PG and shotblocking Center, the foundations of a good team. But until it comes together how are they any different from the Kings, or Memphis, or Golden State or any of the other terrible teams around the league without a superstar on it.

yeah let’s be careful here. Especially from someone making accusations hiding behind a screen name.

“Low BBall IQ” is a far cry from “dumb” …..Period.

I always thought crawford could have been an all-star had he played longer under larry brown. “Low BBall IQ” means that he hasn’t been taught the nuances.

Greg Butler and Pat Cummings were two borderline”dumb” players that I remember scratching my head at, however I didn’t have a blog back then.

Butler when to stanford.

thanks

TD

I don’t believe Tommy is saying that black players have low IQ’S. He feels Jamal has a low IQ, and he is entitled to state his opinion on that. How could he say that, when the NBA is 90% BLACK, and the best players to ever play the game are BLACK. Please don’t turn anything into a racial situation, I can not stand people who do that. Im black myself, and i feel there are alot of players as well that dont have great basketball IQ’s and that has nothing to do with race! Your either STUPID or SMART thats all there is to it!!!!

Okay, now we have to look at how D’Antoni is using his players and his substitution pattern. First, Douglas should be starting over Duhon, not Hughes. Second, D’Antoni has a bad habit of yanking players who are playing well and have a good rhythm and then for no apparent reason, takes them out. This is simply due to his stubbornness in playing his personal favorites. When a player like Gallo or Hughes has a hot hand, keep him in and ride him and go to him often, not bench him. And another thing, MD has to get in Gallo’s face and tell him to demand the ball on offense and not stand around waiting for someone to pass him the ball. As you can see, he rarely gets it.

I would not say Mike D’Antoni does not care. Even though I’m not sold on his coaching style, he’s a fiery competitor. He just knows he does not have enough talent to win. The mistake he is making however is not giving Hill enough minutes. Let’s be serious this team is not going anywhere and most of the games have been in blowout fashion. Why not throw Hill and Landry out there?

David Lee will never and should never ask for 12 mill a year. He’s no where near worth that money, and should never see it. Last night, he made Al Hoford look like Shaq. Did you see the play where he muscled him in the paint? David is extremely overrated, plays no D, can’t shoot consistently, and has no low post game.Last night he got exposed to what he really is. He’s a garbage man, a better version of Dennis Rodman, or maybe not atleast Dennis played Defense. Im so glad Donnie is running the show and not past management, because if that were the case David lee would be the new Allan Houston.

I would love to trade the whole entire Nets roster for what we have. They are just missing a few pieces. Keep in mind they have more cap space than the Knicks. Add LeBron and Bosh or Amare to that team and you have an instant tittle contender. PG Harris SG Lee SF LeBron PF Bosh/Amare C Lopez. Bench PG Dooling/Alston SG Douglas-Roberts SF T-Will PF Yi C Shawn Williams. They are way better off than our Knickerbockers…

Dantoni cares but he’s really doing a terrible job of coaching. He has to tell these guys to stop freezing out Gallo, he has to stop taking out guys who are hot let them shoot till they miss a few and he needs to get Lee out of the 5 hole. He’s brutal. Horford is a good player but he looked like a hall of famer against Lee. We can’t keep doing this start Darko and Hill has to play at least 20 minutes a night. I never thought I would be anxious waiting for Eddy Curry. Who btw looks fantastic hopefully he will get to play when he comes back because Dantoni is a stubborn coach who has to change or he should be fired.

People need to seriously get off the David Lee juice. As I mentioned the other day he’s not a starter. I’m not surprised in what I saw in him defensively. He’s always been too weak to guard 4′s and 5′s and too slow and not athletic enough to guard 3′s.

Its not his coaching style that you’re watching. He’s adjusted his style according to the players he has. If you watched the Phoenix suns, this is not the way they play. They push the rock and cause havoc, they find the open man, and get easy baskets. They run the pick and roll with nash and amare, but not as often and as predicatable as david and duhon. You dont see dribble hand offs on the perimeter like you do with the knicks.
What you are seeing is a dummy version of his system. This is an example of a coach who doesnt have the right floor general to run it correctly. I mean come on, Duhon is a major step down from Nash. Thats like dating Beyonce, and then leaving her for Wendy Williams…..yuuckk. Give the guy some credit, he’s not as stupid as his players. Thats why he only wants players on his team with high bball IQ’S, but he’s only the coach, not the GM.

If one is determined to SEE RACE then ye shall see race. there’s nothing to suggest anything in this post or the myriad of other posts that TD has a racial bias. It’s a loooooong road from “low Bball IQ” to racial bias…consider this, you may be projecting a bit.

–Mike G
“3 point specialist”

What color am I?

Amen!! I’ll say it again he is not worth 10 or 12 mil a year. He plays no D, can’t shoot consistently, and has no low post game. He’s gotten a fan base for many years because he hustled and thats all he does. Or did i should say, this david lee no longer dives for balls or runs back on d, or offense for that matter. He’s officially a LOSER! His years of losing have infected him. Lets just pray Gallo doesn’t get infected!!!!

Gallo needs to learn how to be more assertive. Guys can’t just give him the ball then stand around and watch. Gallo will learn in time though how to fit in more with the team. He gets a ton of touches early in games but he gets too passive. Let’s not forget the guys that are “freezing him out” won’t be here next year. If the Knicks can some how find a way to get a play making PG we will see a more effective Gallo.

JASONHAYES I’m 100% with you. What the hell happened with the David Lee that used to dive on the floor for loose balls and dive into the stands? Now all he wants to do is shoot jumpers.

6’9″ 250 vs. 6’10″ 245, what’s the excuse tonight _avi_ Lee fans?

The guy has become a Diva, becuase us fans juiced him up into believeing he’s worth more than he really is. On a good team where most of the players bring hustle everynight, David is just another guy. In reality David on a good team, is a back up pf.
I think with the season heading in the direction its going, Donnie’s main focus should be trying to acquire a first round pick in the upcoming draft. Trade anyone except Gallo. It hurts that we’re really going to stink and have nothing to show for it, in june.

I remember reading somewhere that Jamal started playing organized basketball late and then 1 year of college. So saying he has a low basketball IQ could be accurate. And you’re right Tommy he did seem to be ready to turn the corner when he played under Larry Brown. He was the one player who benefited from Brown being here.

“What color am I?” who cares?! No shots.

when exactly did Lee dive on the floor or in the stands? I missed that

Rod Thorn.

So if Pat Riley calls Donnie and says we’ll give you Jermaine ONeil and a fuure number one for Eddy Curry, Jared Jeffries and Gallo you say no?

LMAO…i’ve been wanting to bring that up for a while! There are no true centers in the leaugue anymore. Theres only three to four true centers, Shaq, Howard, Yao, and Bynum. And David sees them like once or twice a season! David is just a poor defender all across the board. NO MORE EXCUSES FOR HIM!! Al Horford=Man, David Lee=Boy.

If that happens, I’ll drive Gallo to the airport as well!

You got a look back in 05′ 06′, David wasn’t just a rebounder then, he hustled! Hustled hard! Thats where his fan base came from, he didn’t always average double doulbles.

what about Brook Lopez?

Duck!!!

LOL good one Big. Hey Big do you think Galinari is being “frozen out”?
My opinion is that he is on a team that’s not very good at passing the ball. Nate is probably their best passer outside of Galinari himself (Maybe Darko, but he isn’t playing, don’t get me started with that one) and when Galinari has the ball no one is slashing or moving without the ball (neither does Galinari btw) does _’antoni go over this stuff in practice?

I’ve never seen a coach given so much kudos, unable to get anything out of his players or find a way to win. Pat Riley reinvented himself to coach the Knicks who were incapable of playing “showtime” (Laker) basketball. Difference is the “showtime” Lakers played defense.

You clearly have no sense of irony or humor.

David Lee is not the same player he used to be, don’t be misled. David lee used to win dunk contest. He actually be James “Flight” White, back in 01, at the high school all american dunk contest. He’s more athletic than he portrays that he is. What im saying is, he has or had the potential to be alot better than what he is. He’s just not putting in that much effort. You can’t tell me that David doesn’t look like he’s going on the chunky side a bit.

Not only does no one on this team pass the ball but Gallo just stands in a corner or behind the arc.. No movement at all.

And when a shot goes up everyone is out past the free throw line and there are 4 opposing players in the key to get the rebound.

And this idiot coach sits Gallo for long stretches then puts him in with 20 seconds to go and expects him to hit a game winning three.

just a comedy of ridiculousness.

Ive seen that dunk contest on Youtube,., Lee did nothing spectacular,.. He won a dunk competition in high school. so what.

Knick fans love to eat their own. Did Lee self proclaim he is a defensive juggernaut? It’s a significant weakness in his game, yeah, we get it. I’m not aware of ANYONE who doesn’t see this. Who are you shouting at beyond the wind?

On balance, Lee is a very good player. Do you deny this?

05-06 he was a rookie who hardly played.

06-07 was the year he hurt his shin and played in like 50 something games.

Can’t be a very good player if you cant play defense! He’s a good rebounder, thats it. Thats where he gets a majority of his scoring from, nothing more nothing less.

he is not “on balance a very good player” . He is a decent role player with an inflated sense of self worth and a delusional fan base that thinks he is the second coming of Darryl Dawkins.

Im just saying he had the potential to be much better than what he’s showing!

@ Big, David Lee got his blue collar tag and fan base in his 1st few seasons because of his hustle plays. Believe it or not there was a time when Lee would dive for loose balls. He’s not that guy anymore. He’s more concerned now with his personal stats and getting a big pay day. I’m so glad Walsh is here now…

When he did play he hustled, and as far as his injury goes I wonder what he was doing to get injured, maybe more hustling?

lol yea clearly. I was saying who cares because it doesn’t matter. Everyone should be blue and orange in here!

Somehow in sports there is a divide on certain issues. I guess it’s hard to escape the history of sports and its resistance to integration in this country.

Or maybe it’s the polar opposite (percentage-wise) of the ethnic makeup of the players vs. the fans? I think fans have a hard time relating to the players and therefore don’t view them as people with feelings, families and lives outside of sports.

There is a resentment amongst fans as to how much players are being paid, but someone PAYS THEM, how much is he making if he can afford to sign those checks? No one questions their effort or work ethic, we all know in business the more money you make and the higher the position, the less you work.

I got your humor and irony, my point was none of us should care. I’ve read some things in blogs (not so much here thankfully) that are questionable and at the very least insensitive to race.

Ok this post is getting too deep lol and it isn’t the place for this. I don’t feel Tommy’s comment wasn’t racially motivated, that is all.

Edit:

I don’t feel Tommy’s comment was racially motivated

if David Lee were black,he’d be run outta town on a rail

He’s had 4 years to work on his defense. Malik Rose was undersized all the time (much smaller than Lee), but he found a way to compete. Pulling the chair from under the player he was guarding taking charges etc. Lee doesn’t put in the effort to get better. Period. He’s working on that jumper though.

yellow

Thank you IGMKNICKS … I’m glad that someone called Tommy on the low “basketball IQ” diss of Crawford. While he was here, he was the best feeder into the post of all the guards … Curry played his most effective streches with Craw. He also was the only guy who wanted to take (and many time make) last second shots. He has defensive flaws & a thin frame but I would’nt say that makes him weak ! Check out Rubio whenever NBA TV shows the Euroleague games & tell me if he’s “weak” or not. Of course, he’ll be touted as having an Einstein Basketball IQ !!! But let’s see what happens when the hype meets reality once Rubio decides to come into this league !

Also, great description of Gallo’s flaws by LJohnson2k8. Everyone who wants to blame every other player for what Gallo DOSEN”T do right now needs to really watch & see how quickly Gallo gets bottled up (pun intended) when a defender gets in his grill. Gallo’s own limitations & D’Ant’ pulling him out of the line-up play more of a major role in his getting less shots than anyone “freezing” him out. Check the “Hype” (best shooter D’ant’s ever seen) vs. the reality (currently shooting 43%) … PS, right now Crawford’s shooting 49% in the ATL …

PPS, can BJ#’s exploits be added to the “Rookie Report” just to make us all “McFurious” ?!?!

Biggie and I have been saying this for a year now, David Lee is NOT a hustle player. His “blue collar” reputation has been a mirage since 2008 but most Knicks fans were too delusional to understand that (“David Lee will be a HOF!”, “Lee’s a blue collar!”, “Lee’s the new DeBusschere!”). Obviously they understand now.

I think he’s a really good player but he’s just not a hustle player! He doesn’t play defense, he NEVER takes charges and obviously he doesn’t dive for loose balls anymore. I woke up last year, I don’t even want to talk about it anymore – it’s old news from my POV.

Gracias Mucha, gracias.

what do you think of the comment::Steve Nash was much more important to the Phoenix Suns than Mike Dantoni was

Agreed. David Lee plays NO defense. He’s a limited player that should NOT be getting anything more than what he’s getting in the open market. This team needs to be blown up.

Finally, the truth has been revealed…

Jamal Crawford didn’t get it even when he was at Michigan. He played there for a year before he violated NCAA regulations and didn’t learn how to play organized basketball at the next level. He might be a nice guy but the truth is that he’s a highly skilled player with extremely low basketball IQ. More importantly, his decision making is HIGHLY suspect. We witnessed that time and time again when he was a Knick.

is that even a question. al horford is 245 of pure MUSCLE. david lee, i love him but he has different genetics than al clearly. please dont compare the two, very different players.

The SUNS are running HIS system for chrissakes! It’s not like they’re running something different. This is his legacy system that they’re running. I guarantee that if we swapped players with the SUNS no one would have a problem with D’Antoni or how he doesn’t coach D.

Face it KNICK fans, we don’t have the talent. This rebuilding should have been done after Layden got released. Unfortunately, we had to wait until Isiah got canned before we finally decided to do it. It hurts but so does this economy. I’d rather b*tch about that to be honest…

Dino in da house! Marvin, you just got knocked the (ahem) out!

So now Galinari “The greatest shooter I’ve ever seen”, the player he begged and convinced Walsh to draft over needed holes isn’t a _’antoni favorite?

I think you guys are reaching now.

I think _’antoni is embarrassed at the team’s poor showing on the defensive end, he’s too stubborn to hire a defensive assistant coach and he has no answer. He never devised devised a defensive scheme and he can’t figure out how to keep Lee and Galinari, both liabilities on that end on the floor at the same time. Lee rebounds well so he sees time, but Danilo hasn’t found a way to get his shot off now that the scouting report is out on him, so if he’s not scoring there is no other reason for him to be out there.

No shots.

No one is saying they have the same DNA, but the gym is the equalizer, build your body, work on your craft. Lee has had 4 years to get in the gym. He can get stronger if that’s the problem. He doesn’t need to get stronger to take a charge or learn the nuances of defending or the little tricks he can use to his advantage. He should have learned while Rose was here.

Any player can play defense no matter how limited. Actually the less gifted athletes often turn out to be the greatest defenders, because they figure out early that’s the only way they’ll stay on the floor.

Whoa, I hate to admit it Bob, but you’re probably right. Sadly.

There running D’Antoni’s system. Nash was horrible when they were playing a different style after running Mike outta town. Everyone was miserable about it. Everyone’s game got worse. Now they’re running his offense again and I’m supposed to believe it’s because of Nash? Come on now.

I’ve said for a while that I don’t think Lee should be in our plans 2010 and beyond unless he wants to play for peanuts, which ain’t happening. He plays no D, does not have the size for the 5, nor the range needed for a D’antoni 4. There’s a reason why Walsh took his sweet time and let Lee sweat the summer.

It’s easy to evoke populist outrage by endlessly complaining about his D. You guys are preaching to the choir. I’ve never seen anyone come here and stand up for Lee’s defense. However, whether we like it or not Lee is integral to our offense. Lee is the only player who can score in the paint on this team and thus the only entity sitting on the other end of the see-saw balancing our attack. Substituting Darko for Lee in our starting lineup and you substitute all those points in the paint for more ill-advised 3 attempts. Darko is a better defender and shot blocker, hands down. But Lee is better in virtually every other category. Scoring, speed, passing, ball handling, transition, etc.

His lack of defense is a necessary evil right now because it comes with his offensive production. Should Darko play more? I think so and I’m disappointed D’antoni isn’t giving him more minutes, but he has his hands tied when it comes to starting Lee.

Nash wasn’t running _’anoni’s system in Dallas and I remember him being pretty damn good offensively then.

Also, Nash and Amar’e were acting like babies whenasked to play some defense. They never bought into the philosophy change, rebelled against the coach and it showed.

Lee was never a blue collar player or a hustler. His rebounding ability is undeniable, but he’s not a hustle player.

Charles Oakley was a hustle player.

Damn the Hornets just fired Byron Scott, could Dantoni be next?
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=4648162

Maybe he’s just a low basketball IQ player that can’t figure out what to do or where to be on defense.

Could this mean Chris Paul wants out? Maybe demand a trade, to get him here? Wishful thinking?

Anybody see how well a rookie point guard on the bucks is playing?? Looking like A.I. in his prime!!! Geez is it just me or is our GM not very good with drafting? Since we are doing this young player report card my question is how much better would we be if we would of had someone else heading up the last 2 drafts or better yet how about we grade our old guy GM!! Right now we could be set at PG and the year before we could have been set at center (Lopez) do we just pretend this is not a fact? The line up could be…

PG) Jennings
SG) Chandler
SF) Harrington
PF) Lee
C) Lopez

Now you guys tell me if you would rather see that and how you would grade our GM now???

Real Knick fans would be expecting some defense. The Suns teams even in their heyday lost some games they should have won, because the other team would get hot and shoot their way back in it or the Suns would just shoot themselves out of it from behind the arc.

I guarantee you there would be some die-hard Knick fans who’s stomachs would churn watching the team lose 120-110 or even winning 120-119. Myself included. Especially if they never made it to Finals as coaches like _’antoni and Don Nelson never have.

JASONHAYES…..you read my mind!! lol

Tony scores 23 and has 1 assist the previous games scored but again he had less than 3 assists. He is a shooting guard in a pg body ala nate the only difference is defense and maturity but that will hopefully come with time when we could have had Jennings who could really infuse the team with much needed energy and excitement. TD brings a tempo to the game but he doesnt help the offense, he goes 1 on 5 and he is strictly looking for his shot first and pass second if he has no choice, not good. Now I may get killed but I am not impressed with Gallo. No D, really no handle or move to the basket and he seems to be chained to the 3 pt line. One fast break dunk doesnt make me go crazy when he didnt do anything else for the past couple of games. One move he jab steps and then pulls back for a 3 albeit he missed it but at first teams backed off and let him shoot. When they saw he can bury the open 3 they sent defenders on him tight at the 3pt line but he chooses to stay up top rather then drive to the hole to make the defense back off so he can get the ball and score at will. IMO he is at this present time a 6′10″ Jason Kapono and no I dont believe all the Knicks maybe some are freezing Gallo out. He gets the ball but does nothing with it beside shoot 3′s. No D Lee I did not like him before and even moreso now. Did I see another 4 not 5 which some people likes to give as an excuse abuse Lee down low and took him out of the game all the way around? Its Al Horford did look like Shaq in his prime on the Knicks. How do you let a player feel so comfortable to back you down and dunk on you? Lee I know is mr double double but his doubles dont impact the game whatsoever while I would take a Al Horford for Lee anyday becuase he plays defense and has an inside game with a little jumpshot to boot. I am so fed up with this team it dont make sense. And where is this Gallo and Chandler are the key to the teams future? Gallo maybe but Chandler doesnt inspire me to even change the channel when the Knicks are getting blown out. He brings nothing for whatever reason he sleep walks through a game and has the same expression. Maybe someone can tell me why?

Wow, that’s pretty early to fire the guy. Not like they’re working with much beyond Paul and an undersized West (love his work ethic though).

The Knicks would never fire _’antoni this season, they could go 1-15 and he’s not going anywhere. 5-30 they’d start thinking about it. The problem is, he’s their only bargaining chip to convince LeBron or anyone else to sign here!

Wow…Look at Lebron’s Yankee shoes….http://tweetphoto.com/bgmnauan

Either way, I would start a campaign to get CP3 here, just like we’ve campaigned for Lebron.

Curry and Duhon for CP3? Curry is an expiring contract for 2011, and Duhon is from New Orleans so maybe he plays better for them.

WHO CARE ANYMORE? NOT ME. I just want to see Eddy Curry showcased. He looks so skinny now. I have been waiting for a low post threat all year. Curry will be the only player on our team who can demand a double team. He just has to learn how to pass out of the double teams. If hughes and Douglas starts and ends games we will win a lot more games. They both can score and play defense which is very rare on this team.

LJohnson2k8…I could not agree with you more on Gallo! While its true he could get better you can see the line up we should have rather then the one we do from my last post! Who would not trade Gallo for Lopez right freaking now??? We had nothing to lose rolling the dice on Jennings when we where ready to bend over backwards to get Rubio who is not even in the league!! Now Jennings is looking like a young A.I. with way better vision of the floor and play making instinct & we lost out on a legit young center who could be holding down the middle allowing the other guys we have to maximize there talent!!

I think clearing some money to try and sign a guy we may not even be able to get is cool but building the team in the process is what a great GM does!

@blackwood & LJJohnson – Who were your favorite prospects before the 2008 and the 2009 draft? I mean HONESTLY who did you want to see the Knicks pick one hour before the selection?

Obviously the Knicks should have picked Jennings but I didn’t like him before the draft (stupid interviews, underwhelming season in Italy) so I won’t kill Donnie Walsh because he passed on him.

2008 : I wanted Eric Gordon or Anthony Randolph, but I was REALLY happy with Gallinari who was the best euro prospect since Dirk Nowitzki. I did NOT like Lopez and Alexander.

2009 : I wanted Jrue Holiday at 8 and then Blair at 29.

We’ll see if Jordan Hill pans out.

I wanted Gordon I did not like the relationship between coach and Gallo father, it felt like a favor and still does. in 09 I wanted to trade down all together and get more lower first rd picks I wanted Sam Young, Daye and Dajuan Summers but if we stayed at 8 I wanted Jennings if we could not get ether of the 2 we targeted.

no way they go for that!! you will need to throw in tony and chandler at least to go with it. To be honest I would want to throw jeffries in as well and take back hilton Armstrong

Tommy,

I thought I was fairly polite in raising a very important issue. I intend to remain so.

I must admit I am not sure why you changed the issue to my screenname as though the use of one diminished my point. However, if the fact that I don’t use the name my mother gave me, and that I am behind a computer or that I am nowhere near you when I raise a sensitive issue is important to you, feel free to use the e-mail address which comes with my comments and I will talk to you by phone or the next time I see you. I have no problem raising this issue to your face, while rejecting any notion that use of a screenname on this blog diminishes the point.

And the point is really this, and I repeat, people in positions of establishing images need to be very careful of the perpetuation of stereotypes and how they describe people. In case you are too young or you forgot, it was not too long ago that the description of smart athletes was largely reserved for whites while black athletes were spoken of as getting by on physical attributes. It is still a stereotype that persists today. Members of the New York media are still very quick to describe a black basketball player as having a low IQ, while describing a white one as smart instead of physically gifted.

Anybody that knows about the use of the word IQ and IQ tests to diminish the humanity and intelligence of blacks knows that the negative use persists today in schools across the nation. For you to suggest that Low Basketball IQ is not the same as basketball dumb is disingenuous and just made up on the fly. What is “Low Basketball IQ?” How is it measured? How is it defined? Does it mean basketball smart? Of course not, the implication is that person with low basketball IQ lacks intelligence of some sort. One who lacks intelligence is usually considered dumb.

The first thing I hear about Danilo Gallinari or David Lee is how smart they are? It is suggested that they are smart because they maximize their perceived physical attributes despite their major flaws in on-court decision-making. On the other hand, Chandler, Crawford and Balkman have low IQs. I just want to know where you people get this from.

I didn’t call anyone racist. I called a matter with racial implications to your attention. I can appreciate one’s sensitivity when he or she is linked to a racial issue, but just as much care is warranted when using references historically racially loaded in association with athletes as when reporters are called to account for the use of such references.

throw Lee in to that deal if you like!!! rather keep Tony and give up lee

WOW!! I have to respect that and im glad you replied as you did because it returns it to an intellectual discussion rather then a heated name calling pointless shouting match. No reason to men who see things differently should have to lower the level of civility or inject emotion.

yea agree trade 4 Bosh and D Wade… leave james alone in clevland

yea we need Curry team him with D Wade and knick bench hire a good defense coach .. Walsh we need this to happen …the 70′s rooster Dave D, Earl the Pearl ,, Walt Clyde and good inside Willis -Oak, Patrick, where the D now !!