The Knicks are the butt of my jokes.
Hell, they’re the butt of almost every joke that’s ever existed.
But, losing to the Cleveland Cavaliers, by 21, at home, is no laughing matter.
Something needs to be done, ASAP (ahem, league intervention, ahem)!!!!
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IT’S CHRISTMAS IN JUNE!!!! ESPN’S Ramona Shelburne reported the New York Knicks and Phil Jackson are parting ways. YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!! This story (the best story of the year) broke at 2:59 A.M. Who needs sleep huh?? According to Shelburne, the Knicks and Phil Jackson will officially announce the break-up early Wednesday morning.
I haven’t been this happy since Christmas morning, 1995, when I finally got that basketball hoop I’d always wanted. I haven’t been this happy since McDonald’s announced they’d be serving breakfast all day. I haven’t been this happy since the Backstreet Boys got back together. I haven’t been….Dave, we get it, you’re happy. Now shut up, and tell the rest of the story. Okay….
Soooooo, Knicks’ owner James Dolan did a radio interview in February where he vehemently expressed that he would honor the entirety of Phil Jackson’s 5-year contract. Despite having an opt-out clause written into the deal, both Jackson and the Knicks, in April, picked up the option on the remaining 2 years of the contract. “This did not make the Ribosomes happy.” No Mr. Chloro-Phyll, this did not make anyone happy.
Phil proceeded to do everything possible to try to get fired. It reminds me of that Seinfeld episode where George Costanza is trying to get fired by the New York Yankees, so he can become the Head Scout for the New York Mets. No matter what Costanza did, the Yankees wouldn’t fire him. Body suit man!! Well it looks like Phil Jackson figured it out. Jackson’s actions over the past 3 years were egregious, but this past week was the straw that broke the camel’s back. In a ridiculous interview on MSG, the night before the NBA Draft, Phil Jackson spent 5 of the craziest minutes television has ever seen taking public shots at Carmelo Anthony and Kristaps Porzingis (the Knicks’ 2 best players).
This caused James Dolan, albeit 7 days too late, to put an end to the Phil Jackson era. In other words, it became Phil Jackson vs. Kristaps Porzingis. Hmmmmmm..71-year old, senile, arrogant General Manager, or 21-year old building block for the future???? Even James Dolan can see clearly enough through his piles of money to make the right choice there. Speaking of money, Jackson will now collect the remaining $24 million on his contract to sit at home and be smug in his empty mansion.
Phil Jackson got strong-armed out of a job by a player who has only been in the NBA for 2 years.
Which begs the question, was Phil Jackson the worst General Manager in NBA history??
Yes.
But more importantly, is James Dolan the worst owner in the NBA??
Yes.
Obviously I’m happy Dolan FINALLY grew some balls, but by not firing Jackson a week ago, he allowed Jackson to use the 2017 NBA Draft as his own personal litter box. Which leaves us here. Today is a great day for Knicks’ fans, but upon coming down from this high, they will realize the Knicks are still in disarray. Free Agency is just 3 days away (July 1st), and the Knicks remain the least desirable franchise to play for in the NBA. Knicks’ General Manager, Steve Mills, will be making personnel decisions going forward. Good luck Steve.
I’ll break down the Knicks’ salary cap and free agent options later in the week. For now, we celebrate!!
Are you happy Phil Jackson has been fired?? Please tell me everything you’ve ever wanted to say in the comment section.
Since you enjoy my writing, follow me on twitter @DaveEttinger2 or like my page on Facebook at http://www.Facebook.com/DaveTalksSports. Thanks for reading!! Now go tell all your friends about me!!
AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!
Phil Jackson is craz….AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!
Sorry. I’m having a hard time controlling myself after RE-watching Phil Jackson’s interview from last night with Al Trautwig. It is hard to sit through 4:59 of non-stop insanity. Try it..I dare you. You can click here to see the entire interview. I do not know where to start, but I’m going to try….
With any good story, you must establish the setting. Ya know, that word you learned back in elementary school. So it’s June, and we are leading up to the 2017 NBA Draft (which is tonight). Trades are happening, rumors are flying around, and teams are doing their final evaluations of the talent in the draft. We are in New York, and the Knicks are in complete rebuild mode. That means working toward the future. Which leads me to the craziest thing Phil Jackson said last night.
Phil was asked why he would consider trading Kristaps Porzingis. His response was a 1-word answer; FUTURE. As in, trading Porzingis (who is 21 years old) would somehow help us build toward the future. PORZINGIS IS THE DEFINITION OF FUTURE!! What else could you possibly want in building toward the future than a 21-year old with so much potential they need to raise the ceiling in Madison Square Garden?? Now let’s rewind to Al Trautwig’s first Porzingis question. Trautwig asked if the trade rumors were true surrounding Porzingis. Phil took that as an opportunity to stress how upset he was over Porzingis skipping an exit meeting last season. Phil continued by misremembering his own history as a coach. Phil said, “I’ve never had a player skip an exit meeting in my 30 years of coaching. Nope. It’s never happened to me. It happens to other people but not me.”
Enter Shaquille O’ Neal, ummm, twice PHIL!! Shaq skipped not 1, but 2 exit meetings with Phil Jackson (in 2003 and 2004) when he was with the Lakers. I love the part where he says it happens to others but not me. As if he’s special. Oh he’s special alright.
Maybe Phil is legitimately going senile.
Phil was also asked if he planned to re-sign Derrick Rose. His answer should have been a knee-jerk reaction NO. Instead, he hit Trautwig with an “it depends”. It depends on what Phil?! If you are wearing depends by the time Rose blows out his knee for the 14th time?! Give me a freakin’ break!!
And this last one takes the cake….
Al Trautwig appropriately pointed out that Knicks fans are “uneasy” with what’s going on with the Knicks. There’s the understatement of the century. He then asked Phil what he would say to fans who feel this way?? His unbelievably smug response was, “I think we know what we’re doing.”
YOU KNOW WHAT YOU’RE DOING?!?!
Did you know what you were doing when you gave Joakim Noah the worst contract in NBA history? Did you know what you were doing when you hired and fired Derek Fisher after YOU put the team in tank-mode? Did you know what you were doing when you ripped Carmelo Anthony publicly and THEN tried to trade him?
So why the hell should we think you know what you’re doing as you try to trade the Knicks’ best draft pick since Patrick Ewing???? It only took 30 years by the way, of occasionally drafting in the 1st round, to find Porzingis. Yeah, we should trade him for a bag of peanuts.
Hey Phil, stop trying to get fired, and just quit already. You have enough money, and you’re driving me insane.
What did you think of Phil Jackson?? Is he the worst General Manager of all-time??
Since you enjoy my writing, follow me on twitter @DaveEttinger2 or like my page on Facebook at http://www.Facebook.com/DaveTalksSports. Thanks for reading!! Now go tell all your friends about me!!
New York is home to the best show on TV, The Carmelo Show. Carmelo Anthony has been on fire as of late and he stayed lit Sunday afternoon. Carmelo Anthony scored 36 efficient points in Oklahoma City against the Thunder. Thanks to Melo’s offensive onslaught (and a little help from his friends) the Knicks pulled out a 125-120 victory. This win brings the first 50 win season to New York in 13 seasons. This also brings Carmelo’s astonishing scoring average to a blistering 41.75 points per game over his last 4 games. There is only word that can truly explain Carmelo Anthony right now; unconscious. He is now the leading scorer in the NBA, but more importantly the Knicks have now won 12 games in a row. As I’ve stated before, the Knicks are a streaky team who rely on the three ball. Right now they are shooting the ball well, and everything seems to be going in no matter where they shoot it from. The positive to be taken away is the types of threes that are being taken. When the Knicks were playing poorly they were jacking up a lot of contested three-pointers (ahem, JR). Now that they are winning again they are taking good open shots. These open shots aren’t created on their own, they are created from good ball movement and penetration. All of these things can be attributed to Carmelo Anthony, JR Smith, and Raymond Felton’s ability to drive into the lane and kick the ball out to the open man. At the same time, when they decide not to pass the ball it’s because they have an open driving lane to the basket. This is a recipe for success for now and the future.
With the Knicks latest success, all the “experts” who wrote them off are all slowly making their way back on the bandwagon. As I see each of these flip-floppers try to sneak their way on to my wagon, I sound an alarm that has their seat eject them back to wherever they came from. I understand that this is New York and the media attention that teams receive here is unbelievable, but we need to avoid the knee-jerk reaction. Everyone should have realized that the Knicks were decimated by injury and had a ridiculously tough schedule in the beginning of March (which included that tough 5 game road trip). This coupled with the lack of chemistry between Amar’e Stoudemire, Carmelo Anthony, and Tyson Chandler contributed to the teams struggles. Also, I shouldn’t forget to mention that Iman Shumpert wasn’t 100% healthy until just recently, and Jason Kidd and Steve Novak went ice cold at precisely the same time. So, I’m glad I’m the only one out there that didn’t serve them with the death penalty. Anyway, the Knicks are playing great basketball, and we can only hope that this style of play and intensity continues throughout the playoffs. The Knicks still shouldn’t overlook anyone they face in the playoffs, but it looks like they can give the Heat a run for the money if it should come to that. Tune in to MSG network Tuesday night at 7:30 p.m. to watch the Knicks take on the Washington Wizards at home. They will look to keep the good times rolling and attempt to extend their winning streak to 13 games.
If you enjoy my writing, follow me over to intheneutralzone.com where I am a contributing author there as well. Also you can follow me on twitter @DaveEttinger2 or like me on Facebook at http://www.Facebook.com/DaveTalksSports. Thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoyed it!
Well apparently the Knicks didn’t get the memo about Kevin Durant. He is a beast in the 4th quarter! Durant scored 12 of the Thunder’s 20 points in the 4th quarter and they won the game 95-94. J.R. Smith and the Meloless Knicks gave it their all against one of the best teams in the league, but it just wasn’t enough. J.R. Smith did his best Carmelo impression last night scoring 36 points on 29 shots. He played a good game off the “bench”, but he couldn’t beat the Thunder by himself. Raymond Felton and Amar’e Stoudemire both added 16 points, but the offense was pretty inefficient as a whole (they shot 40% from the field and 32% from 3 point range). Believe it or not, the Knicks actually had a 6 point lead heading to 4th quarter, so it makes sense that they got outscored by 7 points in the 4th quarter (haha, figures). That leads me back to my original point. Kevin Durant is the best player in the NBA that is not named Lebron James. The Knicks obviously didn’t realize that. They should have been double teaming Durant in the 4th quarter and forced someone else to beat them. Outside of Durant and Westbrook, no one else on the Thunder took more than 7 shots. If you had doubled them and forced Serge Ibaka or Kevin Martin to beat you, I bet you would have had some success. Unfortunately, the Knicks decided to go one on one with Kevin Durant, and he killed them when it mattered most. I have to put most of the blame on Coach Woodson. Mike Woodson keeps preaching that it doesn’t matter who starts games, it only matters who finishes games. Well Mike, you continue to screw up the lineups at the end of games so what exactly are you talking about?!?! How you don’t have Amar’e Stoudemire in against the Heat down the stretch is beyond me. Plus last night he did the same thing with Tyson Chandler sitting him for 5 and a half of the most crucial minutes of the 4th quarter. How many times do I have to hear about the questionable moves and substitutions from Woodson before someone questions him as a great coach? People think because the Knicks have a good record that he must be doing a great job, but I’m here to tell you that their record could and should be even better. Woodson needs to pull his head out of the sand and start managing his roster properly. For starters, I like Kurt Thomas, but send him off to the nursing home already. Secondly, James White should be a star in the D-League, not A STARTER on an NBA roster (let alone on a good NBA roster). The next step for Woodson is to get Melo 100% and bring he and Amar’e back to the starting lineup together. This will infuse some instant offense into the starting lineup and will keep them from getting down early in games. It will also bring some size into the starting lineup, and while Amar’e is not a great rebounder, he’ll certainly grab more boards than James White or Kurt Thomas. Everyone questions Amar’e’s defense, but everyone’s defense on this team is questionable besides Tyson Chandler. At least Amar’e is trying on the defensive end, which is more than you can say about Steve Novak. Is he not the worst defender in the NBA? I defy you to find a worse defender in the entire NBA than Steve Novak. Woodson should leave J.R. in his role as the 6th man, because it would make no sense to have 2 “Carmelo’s” on the floor at the same time. If Woodson continues to bring Jason Kidd in as the backup point guard, Kidd can manage Smith’s personality and mold him in to a well-rounded basketball player. As for size, defense, and toughness the Knicks have Chandler and need to hope and pray that the combination of Kenyon Martin and Marcus Camby can help in those departments.
Let me get back to last night’s game. The Knicks should take only positive notes away from this loss to the Thunder. Think about it this way, did anyone in the world besides a completely biased Knicks fan think they were going to win that game last night? No chance in hell. I personally thought they were going to lose by 10 points. The fact that they had a lead heading into the 4th quarter and only lost by 1 point without their top scorer is an impressive feat if you ask me. It would have been a nice game to steal since they have an insane schedule in March, but they should feel good about themselves moving forward. The Knicks have a much needed day off on Friday, but will be right back in action Saturday night at home against the Utah Jazz. Maybe we’ll see Carmelo Anthony back in uniform by then. Either way, tune in to MSG @ 7:30 P.M. to watch the Knicks beat the Utah Jazz.
If you enjoy my writing, follow me over to intheneutralzone.com where I am a contributing author there as well. Also you can follow me on twitter @DaveEttinger2 or like me on Facebook at http://www.Facebook.com/DaveTalksSports. Thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoyed it!
The Knicks got exactly what they needed. A win. It wasn’t all pretty but it got the job done. I liked the style of basketball Carmelo Anthony played last night. He looked like he kinda sort of cared on the defensive end and on offensive he was aggressive in taking the ball to the hoop. Melo took a season high 18 free throw attempts last night (making 16 of them). This goes to show you that his mentality was to attack the basket off the dribble, rather than jack up three pointers all night. He had a team high 29 points, but he shot a measly 33% from the field. On the other hand, Amar’e Stoudemire was clearly the player of the game. He had a season high 22 points on 9 of 10 shooting from the field. His field goal percentage this season (56.9%) is well above his career average (53.4%), and he is dominating inside the paint offensively in his role off the bench. If the Knicks want to contend in the Eastern Conference this year, they need Amar’e to continue to his efficiency on the offensive end. As far as the Knicks defense goes, they looked like they played with more energy and intensity than we’ve seen in the recent past. However, this team lacks that killer instinct that say a Kobe Bryant has. They found themselves sitting on a 20 point lead early in the 3rd quarter, and they simply didn’t go for the jugular. I would have loved to see them blow the 76ers out last night. It would have sent a statement to the rest of the league, and would have built their confidence beyond belief. The Knicks let off the gas pedal and let the 76ers back in the game. This game shouldn’t have been nearly as close as the final score would indicate. Now, the Knicks did win 99-93, but I would have liked to see them hold the 76ers to under 90 points. The Knicks also continue to lack any type of consistency from their “shooting” guards. Shumpert’s intensity was up on the defensive end last night, which was great to see. However, he is clearly still out of rhythm on the offensive side of the ball. He is not 100%, and he has no lift on his jumper. I was watching the game last night and thought to myself, man it would be nice to see Iman Shumpert throw down a ferocious dunk and get the fans up out of their seats. He does have amazing hops and is extremely athletic, and I look forward to seeing him get back to form and contributing on both sides of the ball. As for Jason Kidd, have you ever seen a veteran player in his 19th season look more uncomfortable shooting a basketball? I mean when he is WIDE OPEN he doesn’t even want to shoot it. However when he does decide to jack up an occasional shot, his legs flail out like Michael Flatley’s Lord of the Dance. Kidd did grab 9 rebounds last night and play decent defense, but if he is going to be the Knicks starting 2-guard for the foreseeable future he needs to start hitting some shots. The problem the Knicks had last night in closing this game out was their inability to guard quick point guards (nothing new there). Jrue Holliday carved up the Knicks, scoring at will. He ended up with a game high 30 points. The Knicks won the ball game, but they are lucky the game ended when it did. If the game were just 3 minutes longer, I guarantee you they would have lost. They need to carry some momentum from this win into their next game. They will remain at home, but have a tough match-up against the Golden State Warriors Wednesday night. Tune in to MSG @ 8:00 P.M. this Wednesday night to watch the Knicks continue their winning ways, hopefully.
Snowed in this weekend?? No problem. Here’s what’s on TV to keep you company:
(MSG)Friday @ 8:00 P.M – Knicks @ Timberwolves
Being a big Knicks fan, I will definitely be watching this game. As I highlighted in my previous post, I believe the Knicks are going to blow out the Timberwolves coming off a bad loss. I’d look for something else to watch by 9:30. This game should help the Knicks get back to their winning ways and carry some momentum into their tough match-up with the Clippers this Sunday.
(ESPN)Friday @ 8:00 P.M. – Clippers @ Heat
Here you have a battle of East vs. West. Two of the premier teams in the NBA meet in a mid-season showdown. Even though the Heat sit atop the East and the Clippers are currently in 3rd in the West, they actually have a better record than the Heat by 2.5 games. This game should come down to the wire, so you might want to switch over from MSG once the Knicks game gets out of hand. I like the Heat in a close game, but they don’t win because Lebron hits a last second shot(as usual). They win because Lebron puts his team in front by about 5 early in the 4th, and they sustain the lead throughout the rest of the game.
(ESPN)Saturday @ 6:00 P.M. – Pittsburgh(23) @ Cincinnati(17)
This is the first of of 3 match-ups between college basketball’s top 25 teams this weekend. A Big East match-up between two solid teams. Pittsburgh is currently tied for 5th in the Big East with a 7-4 record in conference and 19-5 overall. Cincinnati is currently tied for 6th in the Big East with a record of 6-4 in conference and 18-5 overall. Cincinnati won their last meeting(70-61) in Pittsburgh on New Years Eve, so Pittsburgh will be looking for revenge tomorrow night. Shovel Snow or watch college basketball?? Hmmmmmm. Enjoy!
(ESPN)Saturday @ 9:00 P.M. – Louisville(11) @ Notre Dame(25)
Here you have your second of the 3 top 25 match-ups this weekend. Louisville is currently in 2nd place in the Big East with a record of 7-3 in conference and 19-4 overall. Notre Dame is currently tied for 6th in the Big east with a record of 6-4 and 18-5 overall. Big East battles are always tough to predict, but I like Louisville on the road in this one.
(CBS)Sunday @ 1:00 P.M. – Indiana(1) @ Ohio State(10)
Finally, you have the third of 3 top 25 match-ups this weekend. Indiana is currently tied for 1st in the Big Ten with a record of 8-2 in conference and 20-3 overall. Ohio State is currently tied for 2nd in the Big Ten and 17-5 overall. This should be a tough conference battle. You’ll have Indiana looking to bounce back from a buzzer beating loss to Illinois last night. What a tough way to lose! In case you didn’t watch it, Indiana had the ball tied at 72 looking to take the last shot. If they make it they win if not no big deal, they’ll go to overtime. What happens? They turn the ball over with about 4 seconds to go. Illinois drives down for a last second shot that gets blocked out of bounds wit 0.9 seconds on the clock. Then what happens??? Illinois makes a game winning buzzer beating layup to win 74-72. Now that is a heartbreaking loss. Ohio State is also coming off a tough overtime loss to Michigan this past Tuesday. Look for a closely contested ballgame. I do like Indiana in this one in a down to the wire 3 point victory.
Enjoy the snow!! It’s the weekend, and if you have kids take them out in the snow once the storm passes and have fun with them. If you don’t have kids go outside and act like one. Most importantly, everyone stay safe out there!! And for the love of god please stop lining up down the block for gas 2 days before a little snow is coming to town. I get that it’s better to be safe than sorry, but if you happen to get 2 feet of snow this weekend you’re not going anywhere anyway!! Just make sure you have a little bit of food and water in the house. A flashlight or candle wouldn’t be a bad idea either just in case we lose power, since it should be pretty windy. Have a nice weekend everyone!!
Dave Talks Sports 