As a lifelong Knicks fan, I get very excited about games like these. See, it’s been a while since The Knicks have had a good closely matched opponent to spark up a rivalry. That is exactly what the Brooklyn Nets are, a tough match-up for the New York Knicks. Let me see if I can pull out a useful boxing analogy from somewhere here. See, it’s like those Pacquiao/Marquez fights(I think there’s been 14 of them now?). This Knicks/Nets match-up is like two prize fighters whose styles counter each other perfectly. Now that game number 4 between these cross town foes is in the books, the season series is tied at 2 a piece. Now let me just interject in the middle of my own objective recap by stating that The Knicks will be the fighter still standing when it’s all said and done. Hint hint; that means that the Knicks will be Juan Manuel Marquez. Did you see that knockout?!?!?! I think Manny Pacquiao still has a fear of going to sleep because he’s afraid he’ll relive that punch over and over and over again in his dreams. By the way, who is this guy sitting next to Wally Szczerbiak on the Knicks post-game show? And how can he sit there with a straight face and say that this isn’t a rivalry? He’s trying to tell us that because this game was a low scoring “”snoozefest” that the Knicks didn’t want to win and this game didn’t carry the playoff atmosphere it should have. Even Al Trautwig started looking at this guy like he had four heads. The Knicks versus the Nets is a rivalry, and it is here to stay. With that being said let’s talk about the game. The Nets did their best not to win this game, but the Knicks just couldn’t capitalize on their mistakes. The Nets played sloppy basketball, and the Knicks won the turnover battle 19 to 5. However, the Nets had a game plan and they followed it. They knew that Carmelo was going to get his points no matter what they did, so they were physical with him and made him work for his 29 points. Carmelo’s 29 points came on 11 of 29 shooting while expending a ton of energy on the offensive end. The grueling 45 minutes he played left his legs just a little bit too tired to rise up for a baseline jumper with seconds remaining; one he’s made a million times in his life. What we can take away from this game as a positive is the chemistry Stat and Melo showed in the 2nd half. Which begs the question, why wasn’t Stat on the court down the stretch? What I saw in the 2nd half was when Melo and Mini Melo(J.R. Smith) penetrated into the lane, Stat found himself wide open under the hoop. So I say lets build on that. And while Stat should help the Knicks improve with his high pick and roll skills and dunking abilities, the key to our success is Stat digging in, rebounding, and PLAYING DEFENSE!! It may not be the brand of basketball most fans want to watch, especially with an offensive talent on the floor like Melo, but it will be the key to the Knicks success come playoff time. DEFENSE!! It may be a little cliche, but defense certainly wins championships. That’s why I believe that if Amare gives his all to the team concept, Kidd continues to be an ageless wonder, and the rest of the squad can stay healthy; the Knicks will be true contenders.
Author: Dave Ettinger
Dave is a Trending News Sports Writer for Athlon Sports, covering breaking and trending news across major sports, including NFL, NBA, MLB, WNBA, college football and basketball. With over 10 years of experience in sports media, Dave’s versatility extends to television, radio, and journalism.
In addition to his role at Athlon Sports, Dave works in TV Production at ESPN, where he manages the production, editing, and processing of shows and events that re-air across ESPN's network of channels. Prior to joining ESPN, Dave served as an Executive Producer at WFAN and CBS Sports Radio, further solidifying his expertise in sports media.
Dave earned his bachelor’s degree in Media Communications from SUNY College at Old Westbury, bringing both his education and extensive industry experience to his roles across various platforms.
Welcome Post
Welcome Everybody! This is my first post here at my new blog. Here, I will be talking about all things sports on a daily basis. I will always stay honest and speak the truth about what’s going on in the sports world. Objectivity will always be my goal when analyzing or critiquing something or someone. I am here to tell it like it is! Enjoy!
NFC Championship Recap
Originally Posted on 1/20/13 @ 7:01 P.M.
Well, I came about 12 yards short and a 4th and 4 away from hitting the score of this game right on the head. If you read my preview of the NFC Championship, I had the Falcons winning on a last second TD(31-24). So close but oh so far. The Falcons put forth a great effort, and I want to congratulate them on a wonderful season. First, I must ask, why in the world would you put Matt Ryan on the move for one of the most important plays of the game? 3rd and 4 when it’s touchdown or bust is not the time to try something new with a straight forward, very good, pocket passer. Anyway, if you had watched this football game without looking at the score, you would have thought the Falcons won by 2 touchdowns. However in the end, the 49ers defense and running attack along with some untimely Falcons mistakes was too much for Atlanta to handle in the 2nd half. Kaepernick did not make the mistakes I foresaw him making, on the other hand it was Matt Ryan making 2 very poor mistakes in the 2nd half that cost them the game. His interception was just a flat out poor decision. And the fumble was simple, he decided to look at the 49ers defense, that was coming for his head, half a second too early. The falcons really need to look into a game plan for stopping Tight Ends and Wide Receivers from getting into the middle of the field on crossing patterns next year. That is their teams biggest problem. At the same time, I must give credit to the 49ers defense who shut down the Falcons in the 2nd half, and to the running game of Frank Gore and Lamichael James. James is going to be something special next year , remember I said that. This was a hard fought game, and the 49ers should make the SuperBowl a well contested game no matter who they play. As for the Falcons, it’s better luck next year. I think they are here to stay with the combination of Julio Jones and Roddy White catching balls from Matt Ryan. And, it wouldn’t be the worst idea in the world to have Tony Gonzalez over for a nice dinner this offseason and try to entice him to stick around one more year. I personally think he should give it 1 more year to try to add a SuperBowl to his already stellar hall of fame career. With that said, lets watch Tom Brady do what Tom Brady does best. Win. Enjoy game 2 of this relaxing football Sunday!
Welcome Back NHL!
Originally Posted on 1/19/13 @ 2:19 P.M.
I just wanted to take some time out of my day to say a few words to all you hockey fans out there. I am very pleased that they were able to come to terms in time to salvage part of this NHL season. I’m sure all of you are just as excited as I am to watch the pucks drop once again at center ice. They didn’t waste anytime filling up the schedule as you’ll have 26 of the 30 teams in action this afternoon and tonight. Enjoy all the action that starts at 3:00 p.m. EST.
Conference Championships Part 2
Originally Posted on 1/19/13 @ 7:18 P.M.
Earlier I touched on what I thought would occur in the NFC Championship. Now it’s time to move on to the AFC Championship. Like I wrote earlier, I do believe that both games will be close, so if I were a betting man I would definitely take the 8 points the Ravens are getting. However, while I do enjoy Ray Lewis’ comeback and his energy on the field, I’m just not buying into the destiny the same way Mike Greenberg is. Big fan of Mike and Mike in the morning by the way(hey Mike…and uh Mike, please stop going on vacation, because besides Colin Cowherd or Scott Van Pelt, it gets difficult to watch the show when you guys aren’t there. Anyway, like I was saying, yes Flacco seems to find a way to play well against the Patriots, and yes Ray Lewis seems to be on a path of destiny. But, even with all that being said, it’s just not going to be enough. They are simply the second best team suiting up in Foxborough this coming Sunday. The offensive machine of Tom Brady even without TheSummerOfGronk is just too good. Did I say good? I meant spectacular. Tom Brady, as much as I don’t want to say it as a life long Jets fan, will be hoisting the trophy and having a ring fitted in 2 weeks. He might even get a call from A Mr. Montana asking him to stop playing so well. I think that seat atop the best QB of all time list is pretty comfy. I also doubt it has room for two. As usual I digress. Lets get Back to the task at hand. I think the best chance the Ravens have to control the game and the clock is one of my favorite players in the league under 6 feet tall, Ray Rice. For some reason they forget how good he is sometimes. In games they get away from the run guess what happens they lose. In games Rice has 15 or more rushes including the postseason, they are 12-2. In games they forget to hand Rice the ball 15 times, they are 2-4. Hmmmmm, what should Jim Caldwell do? I think we all know the answer to that. So, thanks to the media giving Joe Flacco a false sense of confidence that he will be better than Tom Brady on Sunday, the Ravens will air it out and forget to get Rice enough touches, and they will lose. For my final point I think New England’s front 7 has been overshadowed in these playoffs by their offense. Shane Vereen says sorry, but I don’t think he means it. I think their front 7 will add to the pressure that’s already on Joe Flacco and he will crumble in the clutch moment. Flacco throws a pick while trying to drive for the game winning score, and the ravens fall just short. 34-30(New England). Enjoy the games on Sunday!
Conference Championships Part 1
Originally Posted on : 1/19/13 @ 9:52 A.M.
Are you ready for some football? Personally, I can’t wait for kickoff on Sunday! I expect these games to be just as exciting as the games we had the privilege to watch last weekend. I think both of these games are going to come down to the final drives and could be decided by a field goal or last second touchdown. Everyone out there as you know pretty much has the same 2 picks: New England and San Francisco. At the same time, I know some are trying to kinda sorda jump on the Ravens/Ray Lewis/Destiny bandwagon and say they have a shot, but I think the other game is going to be the nailbiter. On the heels of this Michael Crabtree distraction I think that there is just going to be just too much pressure on Mr. Kaepernick. Crabtree has turned into a nice little receiver and clearly is the 49ers best option no matter where he is on the field. I have always been a Randy Moss fan, but let’s be real, he’s 35 going on 75, and he looks like he’s jogging through his routes and breaks. But with Crabtree’s mind preoccupied with his newly found investigation, I think Kaepernick will have to keep this game on the ground. Yes, I know everyone who is reading this is saying hey buddy Kaepernick only broke a rushing record last week for a qb, why can’t he do it again? And yes, the 49ers do have a great running game even without Kaepernick running wild, but I just like the home team to at least carry a lead into the 4th quarter. The combination of Julio Jones and Roddy White is going to be too much even for this stellar 49ers’ defense. My only reservation is that their defense might fade down the strech like last week. I foresee Kaepernick finally looking like a quarterback in his first year and throwing not 1 but 2 untimely picks. I think the Falcons will employ a well designed game plan and bend but not break when it comes to Kaepernick running. Now, I don’t mean any disrespect to Colin Kaepernick because he does have mountains of potential and clearly has the arm strength to be a pocket passer in the NFL. I mean heck he could have been making millions in the MLB years ago. I digress. I just see him looking like a “rookie” this weekend at inoppurtune times. Final score in Atlanta: 31-28 (Atlanta). Check back later on today for my New England vs. Baltimore prediction. Enjoy the games on Sunday!
Kobe and Lebron
Originally posted on : 1/18/13 @ 3:10 P.M.
So, I was listening to 98.7 FM this morning on my way to work, and they were talking about Kobe Bryant and Lebron James. This inspired me to chime in on this debate. Kobe Vs Lebron. Who is better? Now, they were asking two different questions. Who is better now, and who was better at the time they reached the 20,000 point milestone. Now the first question is a simple fact. Lebron is clearly better now. NO disrespect meant to Kobe, because he is a first ballot hall of famer and top 10 player of all time no questions asked. However, Lebron James is clearly the best basketball player on the planet right now. Kobe had his prime and his time, but Lebron is clearly #1. This is coming from someone who personally doesn’t care all that much for Lebron by the way. Now, on to question number 2. Kobe in his prime was something special. No matter what generation you are from, you can count on 1 hand how many guys could take over a game like Kobe while at the same time lock down the other teams best offensive player. By now I would think that anyone who knows sports knows that Kobe’s heart, killer instinct, and closing abilities are unquestioned. Especially in a conversation against Lebron James, a guy who runs away from the ball when the clock is running toward all 0’s. Lebron, yes, as we all know is a “freak” of nature. No one compares to him as a physical specimen because let’s face it you’re not supposed to be able to jump that high and run that fast at his size. Most of us I would think would have a hard time walking and dribbling at the same time at 6’8″, 255 lbs. But, I don’t live in the world of the knee-jerk reaction to everything. Lebron’s greatness hasn’t been instantaneous. Just because he hit 20,000 points it doesn’t mean he magically became better than Kobe overnight or should be put in the same sentence as MJ, yet. He’s been a special talent since anyone who matters first heard his name, and he’ll be one of the best of all time when it’s all said and done. But, let’s give Kobe credit where credit’s due. Lebron can guard 4 positions at any time but isn’t the defender Kobe was, yet. Lebron is a better passer and rebounder as well, but all of these things don’t change the most important part of the discussion. WINS. I’ll take Kobe’s heart and rings over Lebron’s five tools, for now. Call me in 5 years and you want to compare them at the 30,000 points, and I’m sure my answer will be very different.
Dave Talks Sports 