Does Nate Deserve a Tribute?

You are reading too much into “video tributes”. Nate was a part of this team for 4 1/2 years…played hard and was a fan favorite….wouldn’t it be classy just to have a one minute tribute on the screen? Wouldn’t it look good to other players around the league and potential free agent signees showing what a stand-up orgnaization the Knicks are? I think so….

Why not do it?

A two minute video “tribute” that fans at home probably won’t see is absolutely harmless and I wouldn’t have a problem either way.

He did have a lot of highlights and he did make the team half watchable for the time he was here. I wouldn’t be bothered either way. It’s not a big deal. I think if anything it would be nice gesture as a class organization (anything to put this management in that light is welcomed, especially entering an important free-agency period). If Nate doesn’t get one then _avi_ certainly should not get one.

I think people are confusing the word “tribute” with what Ewing got when he returned. A distinguished “Lineup Announcement” like the one he heard here every night and a moment for the fans to embrace him with a standing ovation etc. is a lot different than an untelevised “video tribute” between timeouts.

Great minds think alike.

This is the last thing I thought I was going to read about.

How low are we going to lower the bar here? How about JR Reed. How about Brad Louhaus?

I hope Nate gets a nice ovation from the crowd. I really liked Nate and didn’t want to see him go, but come on.

So if Nate made the team “half watchable” are you prepared to make the same statement about David Lee haS?

no shots.

n one is talking about raising a banner..

Do a video clip montage

what’s the issue? I mean If Jamal Crawford got one..

I totally understand your point of view, but considering we’re not talking about a full out TRIBUTE to Nate Robinson on the level of Patrick Ewing, you don’t think it would be a classy gesture by an organization that has been less than such for way too long?

The Knicks organization has failed at every opportunity to bring back significant Knick legends in some capacity.

Willis Reed, Oakley and Ewing deserved at the very least an interview that was just sad imo. Dolan might be the only person in this organization more stubborn and likely to hold a grudge than the “coach”.

_avi_’s defense at the center position imhp has done nothing to make the team watchable.

However, I wouldn’t be opposed to him getting a video “tribute” as a returning opposing player. Even if he showed a little disloyalty in trying to get a contract he turned a trade down to months earlier.

How about the Berman article where he talks about how Nate is fitting in up in Boston?

About how the coach in Boston is actually USING him in a productive manner.. Not giving him too much and giving him a quick hook when he makes a bone head play?

Boston writer: Nate fitting in well on Causeway Street
http://www.nypost.com/p/blogs/knicksblog/boston_writer_nate_fitting_in_well_znksLpwxjU3eF0D3fV7DdM

imho*

“…trying to get a contract from a team he turned a trade to down months earlier.”

HA! Fat chance that’s posted here!

BTW Big, where’s that link of Harrington saying the “coach” never talked to him about his poor defense or his lack of ball movement?

hmmmm…well, imho they both made the team half watchable equally.

How are the knicks less than classy in terms of honoring the past. i see Oak there all the time. I doubt he pays for those tickets.

I really liked the 1970 championship tribute. Starks works for the organization.

What does your comment about the reed, ewing, oakley interview mean?

in the Buckets article Tommy posted earlier

http://www.nypost.com/p/sports/knicks/al_be_seein_ya_NzQ1hz7clAuVxglIg9sqbK

at the bottom..

What is Boston’s record after the trade?

I watched the Boston- Cavs game and a couple of other Boston games after the trade. Nate didn’t look very productive.

Damn trying to rush is giving me twice the work here posting lol.

That should read Willis Reed and Oakley should have been at least looked at to be brought in at some capacity and EWING should have gotten at least an interview, that was just sad that he didn’t imo after he publicly campaigned for it.

Allan Houston is a nice guy and all, but we know he was Dolan’s lapdog and having John Starks is welcome, but Herb Williams? I hate to say it, but he just doesn’t seem cut out for head coaching or even lead assistant.

well, the blogs werent as high on him just a couple days ago:

http://celticshub.com/2010/03/11/nates-slow-start/

Its not a big knock against him, but at the same time… the best your link says is that he is not part of the problem.

I like nate, and this isnt to knock him… more to say that your super negative knick-tea-party clan is once again only looking at the down side of our situation.

I know that Reed and the knicks had a feud for a long time. Reed wouldn’t even come to the garden (much like Yogi and the yanks).
I think Reed was fired as GM or something.

Maybe you can clarify Tommy.

I don’t think ex-players should be given jobs for any other reasons than their ability to do those jobs. Reed is the greatest Knick, but was not successful in NJ as GM.

I didn’t want the knicks to try any rookie coach, be it Ewing or Jackson.

N8 gave people a positive thing to say about the Knicks out of NY. 3 time dunk contest winner yea a gimmick but was one of the few times our team was not being made fun of nationally!! Give the guy a min of Knick glory for pete’s sake!! =)

LOL at the tea party comment..

All I take from the article is the coach in Boston — who is not known as the brightest bulb on Broadway — has figured out very quickly how to use Nate and get productive (albeit limited) minutes from him..

I dont think by any stretch Nate went to boston to be anything more than a complimentary piece. And that is exactly what he SHOULD have been here.. Rather than try to make him a 30 plus minute a game scorer/point guard/do everything player..

the author of the piece you link to admits freely that he was NEVER a Nate fan (an understatement in his own words) .. I think from what IVe read in teh Boston media the fandom is more pissed that Walker never got a good look up there.

Yo, I loved Nate,but when he needed 50 tries to make that dunk, we were made fun of nationally.

I couldn’t care less about Nate Robinson and Al Harrington. Honestly.

A short video-clip wouldn’t hurt but he hasn’t done anything to deserve it. I would show the Spudd Webb and the Kryptonate dunks because they had no impact on the Knicks record but game-highlights shouldn’t even be considered IMO.

What would a tribute to Nate that’s not dunk contest related even entail? How about him shooting at the wrong hoop, just for shits and giggles? Maybe a cut of him nailing a three to cut the deficit to 11, while he beats his chest and jumps up and down. Or perhaps, the Will Ferrell sideshow from last year. If Nate was such a “fan favorite,” then let the fans embrace him when he checks into the game. I don’t see any reason why there should be some sort of video montage praising Nate for his on-court play here. The team averaged 50 L’s a season during his Knick tenure.

Sonny Werblin fired him after a year and 14 games to bring back red Holzman. in the late 70′s

Werblin didnt hire Reed.. it was a big stink.. But in Fairness to Dolan it was a Gulf and Western thing.. But Dolan never mended that fence

What do you mean this fence was never mended?

Reed was never rehired as GM (nor should he have been) But Reed shows up at the garden and is part of ceremonies and the whatnot.

exactly!

Crawford shouldn’t have gotten a video tribute either.

We are celebrating losers now?

If Al said that, Berman certainly did not quote him, Berman simply stated it as fact. I guess one needs to decide if Berman is a credible source…personally, I think not.

As for Nate, really, who give flying crap?. Video tribute…no tribute… class… no class…it makes no difference…seems to me all this stuff is about bruising and/or massaging the “oh so very frail egos” of priveledged multi-millionaire athletes.

FFS Knicks, get your heads outta your asses and focus on a road map to rebuild this team. Spare me the meaningless theatrics…and start winning some friggin’ games.

Did Crawford really get one? That’s embarrassing.

eh.. Dolan should have done more..

i think De Busshere was the one who got him back

Oh come on. That’s the thing about less talented teams, complimentary players are forced to take bigger roles. Boston is flat out deeper than the Knicks. I blame D’antoni for sitting Nate for a month, but it’s absurd to blame D’antoni for giving Robinson minutes. The Knicks needed Nates production, period. Especially when Hughes and Harrington went sour.

why does it have to be a direct quote?

its pretty clear from the paragraph who said what.

Crawford imo shouldn’t even have got one. If you can’t do a video tribute with playoff clips then you wasn’t worth a tribute in the first place . Lee,Nate,Crawford, and all those from the Zeke pack are apart of the losing culture we want to forget. Why pay homage espacially since players who did more for the team did’t get one .

Right and Toney Douglas was sitting on the bench getting zero minutes… And hughes was getting sporadic minutes..

Its not like the guy with the mustache standing on the sideline had only 8 players suiting up..

Haha for the most part I agree but it would be a sin to have a Nate highlight reel without the Yao Ming block.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kt5pOPn_0Ik&feature=related

Hey Tommy Dee,

When D’Antoni gets fired….or conveniently relocated, you and DVJ gonna be quite misty eyed when the garden give tribute to his service with a theme “MAN NOT AT WORK!”

I’ll make sure I show up to give 7SOL salute of god riddance! I sure hope I don’t get nervous and pass!

BTW Who cares what tribute they give because anything other than watching the game featuring this dumb coach is good creative marketing.

Oh so now you want to call us losers! hahahahahahaha

What do you think we have been saying all along about the captain of the Titanic? Some like you keep make making excuses that he’s on vacation or it’s the cruise ship!

I have some concerns about D’Antoni, but I’m curious what you have to say about this, as an avid D’Antoni basher and hater:

“I learned a lot from playing, sitting on the bench and watching and working out all the time. Learning the pick and roll and reading the defense when I’m on the bench. Watching film. I feel like I’m going to continue to keep getting better as I go along.” – Douglas

So, if Douglas himself admitted that sitting on the bench helped his development as a player, doesn’t D’A deserve some credit for handling TD the way he did?

What a great post. Really brought a lot to the table there. Thanks for your infinite wisdom.

“Or perhaps, the Will Ferrell sideshow from last year.”

I think that would actually be a good one. Do you remember that game? Nate won the game single-handed. Straight up.

I think Nate is an absolute knucklehead, but you can’t deny he had a few great moments.

All guys who play on the team for 2 or more years and who don’t embarrass the organization should get a tribute in my opinion. Its just a classy thing to do. Now Im sure we can argue back and forth whether Nate embarrassed the organization, I kind of think he did but not enough to take away from his play so he deserves a tribute. But players should get tributes..its a nice thing to do. As for the blog articles, as someone who has watched a decent amount of Celtics games lately I don’t really see what the big deal is…Nate has had a minimal impact at best there…no impact at worse. He barely plays, as he shouldn’t with a team that has Rondo, Allen, and Pierce which leaves like only 16 minutes for him because he has to be guarding other pgs. Nate is who he always was there, just asked to do less as he should have in the beginning.

I didn’t want the Knicks to hire Ewing as head coach either, but he deserved an interview especially when they gave one to Mark Jackson and actually considered him as a strong candidate when he hasn’t even been an assistant anywhere. Ewing has been an assistant with 3 organizations and yet he couldn’t even get a sit-down with the franchise he holds countless team records? Sad.

No one is saying Reed should be hired as a GM here, once again Donnie, _’antoni and Dolan apologists try to paint critics into a corner with a nonsensical suggestion.

There is a lot of gray area between bringing HOF Knicks back into the fold of the organization and hiring them to run the team.

The same gray area exists between starting Jordan Hill at center from the 1st game and playing him 35 mins a night and expecting him to carry us to a playoff berth and a rookie lottery pick getting spot duty on a horrible team or between Toney Douglas becoming the point guard of the future in training camp, averaging 40 mins a night, reviving _’antoni’s 7SOL offense singlehandedly, earning ROY honors, leading the team to home court in the 1st round of the postseason and getting his feet wet playing consistent minutes on a bad defensive team. You guys kill me.

Yikes! What is TD suppose to say? “I sat on that bench watching this dumba-s-s coach put in Duhon each night and I thought to himself ‘What a wonderful Woooorld”"?

TD is just being nice and politically correct now. There’s no need to burn any bridges when he’s auditioning and other coaches/GMs are looking to see how he handles things on and off the court.

If you gave truth serum to TD, he was be plotting a Sprewell-Carlismo until a week ago.

But in the end, real journalism is about facts backed up by quotes. As journalist you may deduce, but unless you’re able to prove it from top sources, it ain’t worth jack, imo.

+1 So True!

“So, if Douglas himself admitted that sitting on the bench helped his development as a player, doesn’t D’A deserve some credit for handling TD the way he did?”

Did you expect him to bash the coach who was reluctant to play him to being with? He’s witnessed _’antoni’s doghouse up close and personal with Nate and Hughes, he’s not going there.

In that case let’s not stunt his growth and learning , let’s home he puts him back on the bench. Where he can learn from Duhon, the best that ever did it.

So we are going to take Hughes’, Curry’s, and Nate’s word as the bible in terms of D’Antoni being a bad coach, but when a player gives any sort of credit or praise to D’Antoni, he’s being politically correct? Got it.

I don’t see how your posts are any better than DVJ’s. You are just the opposite.

edit:

let’s hope*

Oh so now Douglas should have been taking Nates minutes instead of Duhons.

And Hughes was good, followed by terrible, followed by injured, followed by terrible followed by skipping out on practice. He wasn’t getting minutes because not only did he suck, but he was a malcotent rent-a-player. But it’s ok, Hughes gets a pass because apparently there is some unwritten rule about not losing your starting spot after an injury.

And weren’t you the cheerleader when Nate came back from exile and kicked ass for 40 minutes? You seemed happy with him playing those minutes then.

+2
Pat deserved not only a sit down, but to be here. He’s gained respect, it’s about time he saw the same from this franchise. It’s my POV that every cornertone player should be part, in whatever way possible, of this organization.

See my reply to x-man. You are willing to take a bunch of malcontents’ word and using that against D’Antoni, but when a rookie basically says that he learned during his time on the bench and that it was helpful to the way he is currently playing, he’s just expected to say that. Doesn’t seem like fair analysis, imho.

I cant believe anyone actually voted Yes for this. What did Nate do that requires a Tribute? He played for the team and was a favorite. Great. Did that translate to wins? Did he put the team on his back and make us a playoff contender? I know some have issue with his minutes and benching. I liked Nate. He did play hard and with passion. Too bad that same passion lead him to many bonehead plays. I just dont think he took much seriously. I can sum this up with a radio interview with Nate on the Max Kellerman show a couple of years ago. He was a horrible interview, cause the entire time he was on the phone, he was playing someone in Madden. Not kidding. Max actually got pretty pissed. Now, Im not saying thats the reason why I think he doesn’t deserve any special treatment. I just think thats a microcosm of his whole MO. Clap for him when he comes off the bench to show you liked him while he was hear. Leave the video stuff for go to players. Nate was never one while he was here. Period.

No, I don’t really take ANY of their words literally. Many of us have played this game at a decent level and we know the political b.s. that has to be done.

I watched how this coach coaches and how he hold players accountable and compare that to what he says or focus on in his press conferences.

Truly, there’s a lot of Isiah in this coach! Neither had answers and both were exposed. the only difference is Isiah won a ring as a player and D’Antoni had lots of good talent in PHX but he never got out of the West.

Both were/are given a lot of leeway based on their respective prior history or circumstance.

When you’re benched, the pro thing to do is just stay cool and calm and wait for your time, if you bitch and go to the press, like other moronic former Knick player did this season you’d probably have it backfire on you. When asked, just be diplomatic, period.
It seems likely he learned watching, too bad it had to be from Duhon, not really the mentor you’d want for the kid; but it’s way more likely he would’ve learned more playing anyway.

Yes man the same “unwritten rule” that just happened with Michael Finley. You know, he came back from injury, played 6 games, was ineffective, and then benched. But he didn’t cry to the press. Its called being a professional, something that Crybaby Hughes never was. Nate is 2x the pro that Hughes is. Whatever that crybaby has to say is worthless imo, he just keeps on crying if he’s not the star of the team. A lesson LBJ learned well when he had to watch as Crybaby took so many shots that fans created a famous website for it. What a bum and a joke of a pro..Him and Eddy should start a club or something.

There’s no reason to not believe that statement. Nevertheless, the professional attitude is to stay calm and quiet and do your best in practice. Period.

Yes, I did see that game, which kind of sums up my whole point on Nate. He played great and helped us win that game, yet he made that game memorable b/c he insisted on giving Will Ferrell a high five every time down the court.

Duhon sat on the bench in Chicago, said the right things and what did he learn? Well, he learned that another GM wanted to make him a starting pt guard!

Douglas can watch film and still play in the games.. getting 10-12 minutes a night.

One of my main problems with the guy with the mustache standing on the sidelines is he is awful at managing the rotation. He gives 30 plus minutes to players while others get zero.

There is absolutely NO reason why FOUR guards could not split time.. Douglas isnt going to say anything that would be construed as bashing the coach.. he is a rookie looking fo rhis place. you’re smarter than that and so is Toney,

That has always been my point.

If Wilson Chandler starts complaning I’ll REALLY pay attention to what he has to say.

But Hughes is a bum.

Curry’s a bum.

Marbury’s a bum.

And Harrington – even though he doesn’t look like a bad guy – is a stupid and self-centered ninja turtle.

I think Mike D’Antoni’s communicaton skills are questionable but I do NOT trust knuckleheads like Hughes and Curry – and I don’t think Tommy should.

Agreed. He plays for the knicks mortal enemies ,the celtcs and he was never a winner. He could of vetoed the trade but instead he did that with the one that could have brought the knicks a 1st round pick and you guys want to pay him a tribute. A real knicks fan would never want that for a player in a celtics uniform unless he was a winner like WCF, Ewing or a player like them. I guess dudes on this blog are fans of players instead of the team.

No.. again.. there SHOULD be plenty of minutes to get 4 guys involved in the back court rotation every night.

No reason that Duhon should be getting 38 a night and burning out.. No reason that Nate should be getting 40 (especially after coming off a 30 day exile) and NO reason why Hughes should be grand fathered into the rotation so he can get a contract NEXT year.. and NO reason why he should immediately lose his spot because he was hurt..

Its not one way or another .. there is a well defined middle ground.

They’ve decided to mark them in the collective memory instead of letting him just pass by as “just one more player”. In any case, a little clip doesn’t hurt, but we’ll just have to wait until we get another great player who leads this team for many years and then leaves unfairly the give him the proper tribute.

lol Stop listening to tehirs words literally and using that to make an argument one way or the other. Watch the games closely and see for yourself. Did you watch how the Suns play under this coach and why they came up short in the playoffs?

Its also funny HaS calls Lee a traitor yet Nate who plays for the celtics and turned down the trade that would of got the knicks a first he thinks should be given a video tribute. I really think that dude is a Celtics fan.lol Maybe he should root for them tonight when Nate and the Celtics play the knicks tonight.

I hear ya but even if the players aren’t Knuckleheads, that doesn’t make the coach wrong or right.

We all can see this coach doesn’t hold players accountable and he does things that makes very little sense. But it doesn’t have to always make sense to us. Yet the coach should be able tot tell his players what he expects of them and hold them accountable to that expectations.

Isiah had the same problem as this coach! Both were over their heads and resorted to b.s and confusion just to relocate the blame away from them.

Lawrence Frank showed how a coach should hold himself accountable for the state of play on the court first and foremost. A coach can’t shot and make plays for players BUt he can make sure players play hard with a focus on detail otherwise he sits their a-s-s-e-s on the bench!

That just make toooooo much sense. I can’t possibly endorse this kind of rationale thinking! Who do you think your are?

-1 LOL

Hughes didn’t lose his spot because he was hurt.

He was absolutely unwatchable.

HaS like many of us get on Lee because we know he could be so much better if he gave an effort on defense.

When a person is doing their best and come up short, if one thing to criticize that limitation but when they don’t even try, they should be taken to task. We have seen Lee play better defense especially at FL.

Watch Lee now and you will see that he is a total DUD on the defense while playing CENTER. Imagine playing Hockey where your goalie don’t bother guarding the net but would rather sprint down and score goals. Maybe that goalie shouldn’t be your goalie!

I agree… Seems many people root for the name on the back of the jersey instead of the front. I dont care who plays for the Knicks, as long as they help the team win. Be it a home grown draft pick, free agent, kid off the street with a 10 day contract. Larry Brown had Nate’s number years ago… “he’s a highlight reel, not a point guard”. I never saw any development or maturity from Nate over the years. Yes, he was exciting. Yes, I rooted for him. But if he was so vital to this team… He’d still be here.

I can agree with that and I really dislike Mike D’Antoni’s double-standards. Harrington should have been benched LOONG ago.

But I think it is 50/50 and it is NOT FAIR to put all the blame on D’Antoni.

His communication skills are questionable and where there’s smoke there’s fire (I’m talking about the Marc Berman-fabricated Larry Hughes/Eddy Curry scandals) – which means that Mike D’Antoni deserves to be criticized.

But Knicks fans should NEVER EVER trust Larry Hughes, Eddy Curry or Stephon Marbury’s gospel – and I’ll judge the coach based on what these BUMS have to say.

*I’ll never judge the coach based on what these bums have to say.

While I agree that Lee is awful (putting it lightly) on defense… the thing I like about Lee is I can see his development on the floor. He was pretty raw when he got here. Now he’s pretty much our go to player. I know, not saying much for a bad team. But says alot for his dedication to improving. Now, if he could learn to stand in-front of the basket on defense and not give the “matador D” like Clyde says, we’d have a true all star. But compared to Robinson, who has incredible talent but completely relies on it, I’d take Lee. Once again, Im not advocating his horrible defense. But he has become a pretty good offensive player. Meaning, he may just improve. I just dont see that in Nate. Maybe he does in in Boston. But then again, now that he’s in Boston, I hope he doesn’t.

Yup, I’m with you on this one. This guy has shown many things during this season, and one has benn his knack for not being able to have steady rotarions.
Besides, Hughes and Duhon’s display on the court really talked for themselves, this kid should’ve been playing long before, regardless of the results.

I hear ya buddy! I NEVER EVER put all the blame on this coach.

I’m just holding this coach accountable for what a coach SHOULD do!

A coach can’t shoot for players, can’t box out for players, can’t do get a rebound for them and etc.

But the coach can make sure he drills his team on those details on boxing out, finding the key shooters on the team, playing with effort and etc.

The players can demand this from each other too but it is the coach’s job to get the best out of his players. The coach has the key role of doling out PT and this should be done wisely to get his pt across that it’s his way or bench way!

Not a great argument IMO.

Amare Stoudemire was injuried and they still competed against the Mavs in the Conference Finals (2006 I believe) and the suspensions killed them the following year.

Incredibly bad circumstances.

Mucha, looks like the spin machine is getting to you! How can you defend this Isiah-like coach?! You sound like DVJ! This coach is just an a-s-s, no other arguments needed!

I hear ya but that’s just it. Lee is not making the TEAM better if he don’t stop opposing players from dominating the paint. So Lee offensive growth comes at the expense of the TEAM’s demise.

You cannot hide playing the Center position. More importantly, Lee give very little effort on defense which is the MOST troubling and should get the coach’s attention. The coach has to address this first and foremost.

But this is common with this coach. Amare for example could jump out of the Gym but he plays little defense too in PHX under this coach.

SO in essence we are helping Lee get a bigger payday demand while he is less effective for us! That makes very little sense!

You missed the point. If Lee is a trader for excploring freeagency then why is Nate not a trader since accepted the trade to the KNICKS mortal enemies. Thats a bias! BTW I didn’t know you was a spokesman for HaS.

Those who wanna clap for Nate tonight do so if not then don’t and that should be as far as it goes.

LOL Dude, we had many bad break here in NY. The fight in the playoffs, Ewing being suspended. CHARLES f##cking SMITH, Don’t get X-MAN started and excited over that one!

Yet, our Knicks still played tough defense!

Amare didn’t help or stop the PHX Suns from playing defense.

Btw I didn’t try to criticize your opinion – I just think it’s unfair to mention only one side of the story.

It’s the players job to play hard IMO. I mean they get paid to do it – I don’t think it is a legitimate way to criticize him (md).

I think Mike D’Antoni’s biggest shortcomings are the young players development and the permanent double-standard. Al Harrington should’ve been benched long ago. The same goes for Chris Duhon – I understand that he was the captain but his PT should have been significantly reduced. And Nate Robinson’s 14-game banishment was ridiculously severe considering Harrington’s diplomatic immunity.

MD hasn’t done a great job this season – but the fact that some players didn’t play hard isn’t his fault.

They were not that bad -the Suns were not a GOOD defensive team but they weren’t “horrible” either.

I think the Suns could’ve won at least one championship under better circumstances. Like the Knicks – maybe!

Championship teams win under good circumstances – you can’t win a ring without one of your key players. And the Suns lost a couple of key players 2 years in a row.

Pure speculation – just like the notion that Mike D’Antoni will never win a championship because he couldn’t do it in PHX.

I agree. His defense is terrible. My only point was he’s grown offensively, maybe he can continue to grow defensively. Based on what we’ve seen this year, thats a tough call. I know. But I understand your point. I guess the only question I really have is… Did you think Robinson played D? I personally saw him shoot under many of a pick and give a very lack luster effort. I remember during the first training camp with Dantoni where they mic’d him up. Dantoni said, with your talent, you should lead the league in steals. Yet, I saw Nate not giving all on D either. So, not sure what that gets us. I just see alot of love to Nate that I think is alittle unwarranted. Dude was a Conerback. How do you get burned by people off the dribble and not fit over screens. Just saying.

So true, and people should stop making excuses for the guy playing out of position. A guy either tries to defend or doesn’t try to defend, period. Lee’s hustle (or lack thereof) would be exposed either as a PF or as a C.

Yeah. what silent Jay said. I agree, Berman’s intent was clear…what is not clear is whether or not that is Berman’s speculation or that was told to him directly by Harrington. if you’re going to keep bashing D’antoni for non communication with players it seems fair that you have actual quotes from actual players…not inferences or implication by a sports opinion writer who, IMO, tends to be an major league asshole.

However, let’s game this bit of criticism out…

Do you really believe that during practices D’Antoni is NOT coaching teamwork, defense and passing. As a coach, do I really have to continually have one-on-ones with players about my expectations when my expectations are likely communicated pretty clearly in practice and film sessions?

How would that exclusive one-on-one conversation play out…

D’Antoni; “Hey Al, you know in practice when I say pass the ball, rotate on D and don’t jack up stupid shots…well, now that we’re alone…I really mean it!

Harrington: “Oooooooooooh! I assumed you meant everyone else! Thanks for the one-on-one coach…expectations sure are clearer now!

Or something like that.

haha. +1 Furious. The coach may have communication problems, but it seems pretty ridiculous that a 10 year “veteran” wouldn’t be aware that ball movement and defense are something that a coach expects from you. Imagine that conversation:

Dantoni: You know, defense and passing helps to win a game Al?

Al: Hmm. I always thought it was just about me getting Buckets. Whats this winning thing you are talking about?

To be honest this is much to do about nothing because weather or not there is a min of clips for N8 the real truth is he was on a TEAM that lost 50 games a year! Being so called COACHED by a guy who must play NBA live to get his play calling! So lets not pin losing on N8 as if it is his fault the team was losing while he was here! If he don’t get one fine but Lee better never get one!!

Mr. All Star has been losing the whole time along with N8 so he should not get any more fan fair then n8 or anyone else on this current roster including the coach!

“You missed the point. If Lee is a trader for excploring freeagency then why is Nate not a trader since accepted the trade to the KNICKS mortal enemies. Thats a bias! BTW I didn’t know you was a spokesman for HaS.”

You missed MY point.

Nate turned down a trade to Memphis during the season, yes; and accepted a trade to a winning team. _avi_ balked at a trade to Memphis during last season AND THEN in the offseason looked to get a contract from THE SAME TEAM! Therein lies the difference.

That’s why I said Lee wasn’t loyal.

Nate wanted to be here by all accounts at all costs, but he and _’antoni were not going to work well together once the “coach” had made up his mind. So, why not go to a winning situation? Maybe he’ll win them a playoff game or two, good experience.

I despise the Celtics btw.

Big is right on the Reed situation…gulf and western owned the knicks back then… it was a major reason why reed took the nets job.

So fans would have given Ewing a pass with this group? rookie coach managing a roster that didn’t even remember him?

ok i get it.

I totally agree about N8, He should be a better defensive player than he is. It really shows in Boston too. He’s is tying harder in Boston but he doesn’t fit thru picks hard enough and he still plays off his man too much at times.

But if he misses many assignment in Boston, doc will have him on the bench! that’s the difference

To answer your question about if Starks got a trubute:

From what I remember, and correct me if I’m not 100% accurate, they didn’t do a video tribute before the game like they didn’t for Ewing. Instead, when the PA announcer was introducing the starting lineups, he said something like “At 6’5″ from OK State, number 3(or whatever number he wore after NY), please give a warm welcome back…John Starks!”

** like they did for Ewing.

“he read” is pretty clear

I disagree.. You don’t need a direct quote in every statement