22. Them's Breaks: The View from New York

The most disturbing aspect of the Oden injury — other than the fact that Greg was in a lot of pain, which isn't fun to watch — was that it happened without contact during the course of natural basketball activity. Erroneous reports of the Associated Press notwithstanding, it went like this: Greg Oden jumped up in the air and his left kneecap blew in half.

Bodies aren't supposed to do that.

When Kobe Bryant accidentally rolled up Andrew Bynum from the side on Jan. 31, 2009, cause and effect was instantaneously obvious. It was a freak accident, a fairly common football injury save in another sport. It looked like torn ligaments when it happened and it turned out to be a torn MCL. They fixed Drew up, he rehabbed it, and now he wears a brace, QED. From the moment the injury was identified, a well-established timeline for more or less total recovery came into view. A tough break, but stuff happens, so to speak.

But seeing a guy jump straight up in the air and have his left patella disintegrate on launch like one of Mr. Garrison's gonads in the leg of a surgically-enhanced Kyle Broflovski? What's the precedent for that?!?

The Oden injury seems to me to be akin to taking a newly acquired 3-year old Lexus out onto I-5, stomping on the accelerator to get up to freeway speed — and having the engine fly up through the hood. What the hell was THAT?!? Defective metal in a motor mount? Or is this Lexus actually an upscale Yugo with a changed nameplate?

The grim forebodings don't get any better when one belatedly checks out the CarFax™® on this particular unit.  So this makes the second time something very wrong has happened to the engine during the course of normal use? (What was the cause of that microfracture injury again? Laying down on the couch? Playing Dance Dance Revolution???)

It's easy enough to go back to driving the rugged old Ford pickup in the interim while the Lexus is in the shop... But there remain all sorts of unanswered questions about the basic soundness of the car. Is that sucker gonna break apart again as soon as it's fixed?

In short: is Greg Oden another Andrew Bynum or another Yao Ming? There is a big difference.

We can whistle in the dark all we want, but the fact of the matter is: we just don't know.

Well, the NBA's coordinated campaign of turd-polishing has begun, with a hagiographic Allen Iverson "documentary" running on NBA-TV on Sunday followed in short succession by the twerp's old college coach, John "The Big Apologist" Thompson, interviewing the poor, misunderstood little man before a highly-touted matchup of the Sixers with the Nuggs on NBA-TV on Monday. It's a touching family story for Christmas!

Philly, of course, is merely using him and losing him — they're wise to A.I.'s self-centered game but have made the crass business decision to roll him out for a few months in hopes of putting a few cheesesteak-enhanced buttockses in the empty seats. They're not as dumb as Memphis (which is saying nothing), booking the temporary guest appearance of The Franchise Player on the basis of a non-guaranteed one year deal.

After A.I. decides to throw his inevitable next hissy, they can dump his butt and sign Oprah for the rest of the year — I'll bet she could box out and I know that plenty of people would pay to see her play.

The NBA should have lost Iverson when they had the chance. But instead of ditching the rubbish and pushing the guys who they should be building the league around, the league office has bent over backwards to pave the way for the gangsta's return, going so far as to flack for him. It's quite ugly.

But such are the ways of multinational corporations — if there is money be made, they can be counted on to Do the Wrong Thing. Stern just hopes to squeeze a little more juice out of yesteryear's lemon. 

"Bigger equals Dumber" we like to say at our little shop — and the coordinated effort of the NBA to bolster the object lesson in megalomania and sketchy character that is Inkboy proves that David Stern heads one of the biggest and dumbest of them all.

Allen Iverson: The Difference Maker

by J. Sams, Liberty Ballers (SBN)  

I know a lot of Sixers fans believe Allen Iverson is the savior. They have a false hope that a 34-year old Iverson will come in, fix the defense, fix the rebounding, and fix the coach. I've seen arguments for Iverson, and I've seen arguments against Iverson, but this should give you a definitive answer on whether he'll fix the Sixers.

I could sit here and write why Iverson won't fix the team until I'm blue in the face. Instead I'll give you one stat — the only stat that matters — wins and losses.

In the past four seasons, here is the record of the Sixers, Nuggets, Pistons, and Grizzlies when Iverson plays.

107-109

Here is the record of those same teams without Iverson:

130-104

If that doesn't convince you, I don't know what will. Four different seasons, four different teams, four different coaches, four different systems. Iverson has been detrimental to all of them.

 

*reprinted in full with permission of the author *

Channel Surfing.

Sunday, Dec. 6.

Phoenix Suns (15-5) at Los Angeles Lakers (15-3).

This game was said to pit the top 2 teams in the Western Conference's Pacific Division — the 15 win Suns at the 15 win Lakers. And as the ultra-homer Suns announcers were happy to point out again and again and again during the broadcast, the Lakers have had the easier schedule to open the season.

Does this mean that the Suns are actually the better team, as the Suns' jabberjowl announcers clearly meant to imply?

Ha ha ha!  That's simply precious!!!  The real mystery is how this crap team has managed to win 15 of its first 18 games. I've seen at least half a dozen of their games so far this year and I can tell you this for sure: the Suns are getting slower and slower, less and less competent from the perimeter, worse and worse... My pre-season forecast of Phoenix for the 9th slot in the West, lottery bound, is finally starting to look like money.

Here's one of my best lines from this season, shaved of a couple obscene emphatics for publication on The Bedge: "No NBA team with Channing Frye as its so-called 'starting Center' is gonna be a serious contender in the playoffs." (It sounds so much better with F-words...) 

And that is totally true. Write it down.

Truth be told, as of the moment squeezably soft Charmin Frye doesn't even play the position for Phoenix, even though he's listed as a Center in the NBA.com box scores. Phoenix's actual starting Center is Amar'e Stoudamire —all 6-foot-8 of him, or whatever that guy stands in real life. And Amar'e has come to imagine himself quite the jumpshooter... 

As was the case in his Blazer days, Charmin floats around the 3-point arc like a delicate butterfly, hoping the other kids will pass him the ball so he can take a shot. Sometimes he even makes one! Yaaaay!!!

In this game, Frye had 5 points on 2-for-7 shooting and pulled down (sic.) 5 defensive rebounds. He played just over 34 minutes to amass those mighty numbers, all the while stopping virtually nobody defensively, unless you count an uncalled goaltend. He even scored 2 of those points in the paint on............ (wait for it) ............ a dunk!!!

The Suns got blown out. Torched. Scorched. They were under 1.0 points per possession all night long. They were 4-for-13 (30.8%) from distance. Amar'e finished with a team-high 18 points while Grandpa Nash and the Ghost of Grant Hill each had 12. That is sooooooooooo not gonna get it done against the Lakers. Or the Nuggets. Or the Mavs. Or the Spurs. Or the Blazers. Or the Thunder. Or the Rockets. Or the Clippers. Or the Grizzlies. Lakers 108, Suns 88.

Monday, Dec. 7.

Portland Trail Blazers (13-8) at New York Knicks (6-15).

I missed the telecast of the first 3 quarters of this game, stuck at work. Fortunately, I did have access to a radio, so I got to listen to Wheels — which proved to be more than enough.

I'm to the point now where I don't even want to hear Steve Blake's name on the radio. Seriously. Yet he starts and he plays max minutes and he stinks up every break and he does more than any other player to make the offense leaden and lifeless. By way of contrast, Rex sits and Rex gets mere scraps of leftover minutes and when he comes in and kicks butts and takes names. Jerryd Bayless' line for this game: 14 points in 17 minutes, shooting 4-for-5 from the field and 6-for-7 from the line, 2 assists, 1 offensive rebound, 1 TO, 2 fouls.

Have a seat, Rex. Time for Blake to come back in. Nine points for him in about 38 minutes, 3 of which came on one of his patented stat-puffing garbage time treys... Huzzah!

KP has GOT to make Blake go away — NOW. Clearly Nate and his protegé Dean Demopoulos aren't capable of putting the binkie away on their own. Somebody needs to do it for them...

Instead of spending any more of my time trying to analyze this first post-Oden mess of many, here's a chunk of absolutely perfect insight snagged from the post-game rant thread at BE...

Here's the story...

It’s not a mystery how we got here.

First, Roy was a huge part of the reason why the Blazers had a great season last year. And he took the summer off. He swam. He biked. He lost ten pounds. Clearly it wasn’t good. He dropped from about the 7th best player in the league to about the 47th. That’s going to smart a little bit.

Injuries. The Blazers have now lost four of their best six or seven most valuable players, arguably, depending on where you rank Nic and Travis. That too is going to smart a little bit.

When you combine those two things, you’ve got a team that is really no better than the 41-41 squad from two years ago…

If Bayless emerges or Rudy gets healthy, this team may start playing .500 ball again. But it’s not going to happen by magic. Brandon Roy of 08-09 ain’t walking through that door. This is just not a very talented basketball team right now.

by KP Corleone on Dec 7, 2009 7:28 PM PST 

Bingo!

Well, time to crack open the toolbox and plug in the Popcorn Machine GAME FLOW SUMMARY, if you would. (A click on that link will do the trick!)

Observation 1: The game went south with a 23-6 Knicks run in the 2nd Quarter, which started with Gallinari off the bench for the Knicks and Steve Blake on the bench for the Blazers. Just about every Portland player participated during the bloodbath, however.

Observation 2: The kill-shot came to close the 3rd Quarter, when the Knicks went on a 13-0 run. Larry Hughes was the key Knick during that interval.

Observation 3: Roy and Rex took the Blazers on a 14-0 run in the 4th Quarter, but once you're 23 points in the hole that late in the game, you might as well curl up in the fetal position and suck your thumb.

And now, please rise and join me in singing our national anthem while we watch the latest installment of THE GREATEST THING IN THE WORLD.

And just in case you missed it, here's Monday's episode...

Okay, time to take a jaunt through the New York media circus to hear the sound of nattering journalistas...

(1)

THREE-MENDOUS!

Knicks Win Again with Nate on Bench

by Marc Berman, New York Post

Dare we dream?

After a franchise-worst 1-9 start, the Knicks are back in the season — back to relevance, back to being considered in the running for a playoff berth, back to being hailed by the home crowd.

In the final seconds last night, the Garden crowd gave the Knicks a standing ovation as they beat the undermanned Blazers, 93-84, for their third straight win and fourth win in five games.

The fans didn't even bother to chant "We want Nate" in honor of Nate Robinson's banishment to the bench. * * *

(2)

Portland Trail Blazers Stricken with Bad Luck, New York Knicks' Win Only Makes It Worse

by Filip Bondy, New York Daily News

There will be a time to celebrate the Knicks' renaissance, their ascension in the standings and their fourth victory in five games. It just felt wrong to cheer their 93-84 win too loudly Monday night, because they were pounding a team reeling from a host of horrors. * * *

The Blazers were at the Garden Monday night, trying to hang in there, but there is only so much adversity a franchise can endure. There were six players out with injuries, four indefinitely. Only nine players were healthy and available. The Blazers faded badly in the third quarter, as the Knicks poured in 3-pointers whenever given too much room on the perimeter. * * *

It isn't often you feel more sorry for a 13-8 opponent than you do for the Knicks, but that was the case Monday night. Dean Demopoulos took over for Portland, said the Blazers would do their best.

"That's what we do," Demopoulos said. "That's what we're trained to do despite circumstances." * * *

(3)

Knicks Win Third in Row and are Thinking Playoffs

by Alan Hahn, NY Newsday

With a helpful schedule and some long-awaited continuity, the Knicks are starting to make this a December to remember. With a 93-84 win over the undermanned Portland Trail Blazers last night before a sellout crowd at the Garden, the Knicks improved to 4-1 in the month with their longest winning streak of the season now at a modest — though promising — three. * * *

(4)

Knicks 93, Trailblazers 84

by Ray Smuckles, Posting and Toasting (SBN)

Greetings children of America! Knicks looked good from start to finish in this one (minus the start of the 4th quarter when they gave up 14 straight, and had a 23 point lead trimmed to a modest 9). It looked for awhile that we might be on the plus side of garbage time, but alas, not tonight. That aside though, the effort was there, with help defense looking especially good, and the cock strutting his crunch-time stuff. * * *

Had Oden been present (our sympathies to Portland), it might have been a different story for the Knicks, as their greatest weakness as we know is defending the post game, but tonight they were able to "shoot 'em up and sleep in the streets," while holding Portland to mainly mid-range attempts. New York has won 4 of 5, and heads to New Orleans Friday.

Keep believing... We're one of the hotter teams in the East right now, and that eighth seed is only 2.0 games away...

Team basketball makes a welcome return to the Garden.

(5)

Knicks Continue Surge

by KR Hoops, Knicks of the Trade (Fanball)

I know I can be at times overly optimistic but the Knicks are on a roll.

They beat the Blazers 93-84 at the Garden tonight for their third consecutive win raising their December record to 4-1. * * *

The Knicks buried 13 of 26 from behind the three point arc with Hughes, Gallinari, Chandler and Harrington all adding two or more triples. * * *

(6)

New York 93, Portland 84

by Dan L., The Knicks FanBlog (independent)

The Garden felt different tonight as I settled into my seat. The arena was nearly full, and with the swelling mass came a familiar but long forgotten warmth, nay, heat, of a buzzing Garden crowd. It was the stifling air that I so have so rarely experienced in this lost decade. And when I realized that the buzz comes not from the crowd, but from the energy exerted on the hardwood, the remembrance of how this place could truly impact my spirit shattered through the melancholy cynicism that had glazed over me during those hard years.

The Knicks' effort was there, and the atmosphere was electric. The players fed it, and it fed the players, and it reminded me of why I love basketball, and the Knicks, and why I never stopped coming to games, and why I've never given up hope, and why I won't.

Yes, the shots were falling tonight, but to me it was the defense that won the game against the Trailblazers. Hell, David Lee blocked a shot in the fourth quarter to help stifle a Portland run. But the shining example of sacrifice on the D manifested itself by way Jared Jeffries, who drew several charg es, blocked two shots, had two steals. Of late, Jeffries has been playing all league defense. * * *

(7)

The Fix Is (Still) In

by Robert Silverman, KnickerBlogger (TrueHoop)

* * *
Does anyone on this forum really think games are officiated fairly? Does anyone doubt that since the dawn of time, superstars (whether it's Kobe, or Magic or Michael, or Larry or Dr. J or Hakeem or Shaq or LeBron or any of the pantheon of individuals who can be readily identified by their first name only) have gotten and will continue to get the calls. Now, the majority of my NBA-gazing is occupied by Nix games, but over the last 25 (gulp) years, I can say that our boys have always gotten hosed by the refs... * * *

So this afternoon on the teevee, when Donaghy said that he was able to predict/bet on games with 75-80% accuracy simply because he knew who favored/loathed which players, my first thought was, "Duh! Of course you can. If you're in the locker room, chewing the fat with the other refs, of course you're going to hear who hates Rasheed Wallace or who loves Mike Fratello's teams. (What that's about I'll never know. Possibly there's a rogue ref who just loves the movie, "Hoosiers," or something and pines for a return to those days of yore.) When you combine that with the unstated (or secretly stated) mandate to build up/market individual talents that Stern instituted to promote the league during the financially problematic years pre-Bird/Magic/Jordan, it's clear how one could make a crapload of cash betting on the NBA." * * *

(8)

New York Knicks President Donnie Walsh is Fine with Mike D'Antoni's Benching of Nate Robinson

by Mitch Lawrence, New York Daily News

[Dec. 6] Donnie Walsh didn't give Nate Robinson a $2 million raise to have him turn into a non-playing reserve, but the Knicks' president has no problem with Robinson being demoted six weeks into the NBA season.

"Mike is in charge of that," Walsh said Saturday, referring to coach Mike D'Antoni. "I'm supportive of whatever he does. I think it's been difficult with this team to come up with a rotation. I think he's given everybody time, so at some point he's got to come up with a rotation to win with. If a guy's not in it, he's not in it."

With Robinson losing his minutes to rookie Toney Douglas, largely because of his showboating and other on-court antics, the Knicks have split their last two games. * * *

(9)

Knicks' Nate Robinson Benched for Pregame Yuks

by Marc Berman, New York Post

According to a source, the final straw in Nate Robinson's banishment came in the hour before last Wednesday's game in Orlando, when Mike D'Antoni caught Robinson yukking it up during the pregame with his slam-dunk contest foil, superstar center Dwight Howard.

That night, Robinson received his first DNP — the first of four straight after receiving another one last night in a 93-84 win over Portland.

According to the source, D'Antoni felt Robinson was not being serious enough during pregame preparations, fraternizing too often with opponents. The Howard incident was the backbreaker, the source said. * * *

(10)

Absolute Credit to Mike D'Antoni

posted by "KnicksGod" to Real GM Knicks message board

Absolute credit to Mike. He's got them playing with confidence and moving the ball.

I really think he's slowed down the pace of the games, a lot. They're playing his offense but in slow motion and I think it's working, so far.

(11)

There Was No Need to Panic

posted by "Kosmovitelli" to Real GM Knicks message board

1-9 and then 6-6 over the last 12 games. We're playing much better.

As I said when we were 1-9 there was no need for a trade or a savior and no need to panic, improvement had to come from within and it happened. I give credit to Mike D. but also to Donnie for not panicking and making a stupid trade or acquisition (cough...Allen Iverson...cough).

The Bottom Line:

1. Don't feel so bad, Blazer fans — your team is reeling and our team is hot.

2. Your Nate wasn't on the bench and ours was.

3. In Donnie and Mike we trust.

4. Yoo hoo, LBJ!!! We're gonna make the plaaaaay-offs!!! Wouldn't you like to be a part of all the fun???