Is Someone Trying To Start Drama With RJ's Comments about the Knicks?

[spurs10]

Looks like "Jefferson Disses the Knicks" articles are an attempt to get NY all fired up for the game tomorrow. He pretty much told it as it is....it's been a while since 1973.

[ohmwrecker]

Link?

[FromWayDowntown]

http://blog.mysanantonio.com/spursnation/2011/01/03/spurs-notebook-jefferson-bashes-talk-of-hoops-revival-in-n-y/

Fixed.

[ohmwrecker]

One that works?

[anonoftheinternets]

:rolleyestry adding the "h" in http ...:rolleyes

[Fpoonsie]

:lol @ RJ. I love that.

[tdunk21]

The New York Knicks’ return to the playoff chase after a decade of irrelevance has made for feel-good fodder for much of the national NBA media.

Spurs forward Richard Jefferson, whose team embarks today for a game Tuesday at venerable Madison Square Garden, doesn’t see what all the fuss is about.

“Even though they had a bunch of great teams for a bunch of years, they haven’t won a championship since the 1970s,” Jefferson, who spent the first seven seasons of his career playing across the Hudson in New Jersey, said Sunday. “This is not a Boston Celtics team or like the Lakers franchise. What year was the last time they won a championship? 1973?

“So to say basketball is back in New York, what does that even mean?”

Boosted by the offseason arrival of All-Star center Amare Stoudemire in free agency, the Knicks have opened the season 19-14, good for sixth in the Eastern Conference. They aren’t exactly threatening the 29-4 Spurs for the best record in the NBA, but for a team that hasn’t made the postseason since 2000-01, it’s a start.

Though several in the Spurs’ camp, including coach Gregg Popovich, agreed it is good for the NBA to have a winning team in New York, Jefferson deemed the topic “completely pointless.”

He isn’t buying the prevailing notion of New York as a basketball mecca.

“There are too many good players and teams,” Jefferson said. “You look at how great it was for Cleveland having LeBron (James) and what it did to that community and how important it was for them. You look at what is going on now in Miami or in Oklahoma City.

“It’s great for whatever city gets the benefit, but I don’t think one city is more important than another.”

ANDERSON SHOOTS: Injured rookie guard James Anderson ramped up his rehabilitation Sunday, engaging in light shooting drills after practice.

Initially diagnosed with a stress fracture in his right foot on Nov. 11, an injury that required surgery and eight weeks of recovery, Anderson remains on track to return to full contact later this month.

“He’s closer to wearing a uniform than he is to wearing civilian clothes,” Popovich said.

Anderson will not make the Spurs’ upcoming three-game road trip to New York, Boston and Indiana.

WEEK OF LOWS: After the Spurs set another new season best for field-goal percentage defense in Saturday’s 101-74 win over Oklahoma City, even Popovich had to recognize his team’s renewed focus on that end.

It marked the third time in a week the Spurs had turned in a new best, surpassing lockdown efforts against Washington and the Lakers.

The point total was the lowest of the season for the Thunder and for a Spurs opponent. The Spurs held NBA scoring leader Kevin Durant to 16 points, matching a season low, and held Russell Westbrook to season lows in points (eight) and assists (two).

Durant and Westbrook came into the game as the NBA’s highest-scoring duo at 50.5 points per game.

[ohmwrecker]

:rolleyestry adding the "h" in http ...:rolleyes

I'm just being an asshole. I saw the interview with Jefferson. I know what he said. I find it hard to believe that a) anyone in NYC is reporting on this b) anyone would think what Jefferson said was "controversial" c) the Knicks are using it as inspiration.

That link is just another Spurs fan website . . .

[FromWayDowntown]

That link is just another Spurs fan website . . .

It's actually the Spurs primary beat writer in a blog on the Spurs' hometown newspaper.

[ohmwrecker]

It's actually the Spurs primary beat writer in a blog on the Spurs' hometown newspaper.

tomato, tomahto . . . it's not anyone in NYC twas the point.

[spurs10]

tomato, tomahto . . . it's not anyone in NYC twas the point.
Yeah, I think you're right. It was on bleacherreport, which I don't know how credible or far reaching they are. I'm sure there is more important news coming out of the Big Apple.

[timaios]

http://www.newsday.com/sports/basketball/knicks/the-knicks-fix-1.812055/r-j-unimpressed-with-new-york-revival-1.2583523


R.J. unimpressed with New York revival

10:02 AM By Alan Hahn

The Spurs come to town with their blazing-hot 29-4 start, with Tony Parker admitting the Knicks were his first choice had the Spurs let him walk and Richard Jefferson unzipping his fly and relieving himself on the notion that basketball was back in New York.

“Even though they had a bunch of great teams for a bunch of years, they haven’t won a championship since the 1970s,” Jefferson told the San Antonio Express-News on Sunday. “This is not a Boston Celtics team or like the Lakers franchise. What year was the last time they won a championship? 1973?

“So to say basketball is back in New York, what does that even mean?”

Jefferson knows the New York area well. He called the area home for the first seven years of his career when he played for the Nets and even chose to live in Manhattan. But he wasn't buying into the idea that a winning Knicks franchise is any better for the NBA than, say, a winning team in Cleveland.

"You look at how great it was for Cleveland having LeBron and what it did to that community and how important it was for them. You look at what is going on now in Miami or in Oklahoma City," he said. “It’s great for whatever city gets the benefit, but I don’t think one city is more important than another.”

So is he right?

Television ratings, of course, factor into this debate. When LeBron and the Cavs met the Spurs in the championship round in 2007, it produced a 6.2 rating, which was a record low for an NBA Finals. It drew on average 9 million viewers per game.

When the Knicks hosted the Heat on Christmas Day 2010 was the most watched ESPN game of the 2009-10 season with 2.65 million viewers, which is impressive for a noon tip-off, which is when most families who celebrate Christmas are still clearing the wrapping paper off the family room floor. And this year's Christmas game between the Knicks and Bulls brought in even more at 4.02 million viewers.

Gregg Popovich has a different opinion than of his player.

“You have to be realistic,” Popovich said. “It’s a huge market. Having good basketball teams in huge markets like New York would be a no-brainder. It’s good for the sport. It’s good for everybody.”

It was also good for Pop, who celebrated his first championship with the Spurs in the Big Apple in 1999.

“Madison Square Garden, that’s the place,” Popovich said. “You think about playing basketball in the Garden is like the pinnacle of the sport.”

* * *

* - The Knicks are practicing later this morning. Danilo Gallinari is expected to undergo an MRI to get a better idea of the condition of his left knee after it gave out in the fourth quarter when Brandon Rush fell into him. At this point it's being diagnosed as a Grade 1 sprain, but nothing has been determined regarding his ability for Tuesday's game against Jefferson and the Spurs.

[timaios]

http://www.prosportsdaily.com/forums/showthread.php?t=569095#post16152381


:lmao :lmao butthurt Knicks fans !



RJ deserves an ill will facial.. or better yet, a tooth to the bicep..


I say - F* YOU RJ


I hope Ronny clobbers him.


Can someone please put RJ on his *** for this?



Jefferson needs to smacked across the face with an iron even though his face looks like it has been already.


I hope the whole crowd boos him and throws beer in his ears even though nothing will go in there since they are the size of pennies.


can we at least throw a few dunks down on him, or a few embarrassing blocks. An elbow or 2 would work also...

:lol:lol:lol

[TampaDude]

Heh...we better win this fucking game, though. :lol

[ohmwrecker]

It never ceases to amaze how stupid people are . . .

[BanditHiro]

i hope RJ scores 30 in a win against the knicks tomorrow.

do you think he will get booed

[alchemist]

RJ should've kept it P.C. until after the results were in our favor. Small shit like this gives your opponent that extra boost.

[ohmwrecker]

RJ should've kept it P.C. until after the results were in our favor. Small shit like this gives your opponent that extra boost.

I doubt any players on the Knicks really give a shit what RJ said . . . of course, I've been wrong before.:D

[spurs10]

You gotta love the New Yorkers though..funny stuff. Think we need to win!:flag:

[spurs10]

I doubt any players on the Knicks really give a shit what RJ said . . . of course, I've been wrong before.:D
Not the players I was thinking about..:lol

[ohmwrecker]

Not the players I was thinking about..:lol


Fans?! Who cares?

[cube1980]

So it is fun to tease knicks fans ah. Reggie Miller was definitely having fun doing that. lol

[crc21209]

:lol RJ stirring the pot....gotta love it. :tu

[DMC]

RJ didnt' say anything that wasn't true. The Knicks aren't doing anything "oooooooh". They started off strong but since then they've been rather mediocre. Sure, compared to last year they are better, but they aren't Boston. Even Paul Pierce said "what rivalry?".

It's all media bullshit.

[urunobili]

thanks RJ for sealing the Loss :tu

[YoMamaIsCallin]

Pop can outcoach D'Antonio any day of the week. He's been doing it for years. It will be a win.

[jag]

As far as the Spurs are concerned, the press isn't the place to go to speak your mind.

[EricB]

thanks RJ for sealing the Loss :tu

Oh give me a fucking break...

[FromWayDowntown]

It would be better if Richard would think twice before saying things like this.

Apparently, next summer Pop will be spending his time working with RJ on media relations.

[rayray2k8]

This is gonna be a pretty good game then. :)

[ohmwrecker]

It would be better if Richard would think twice before saying things like this.

Apparently, next summer Pop will be spending his time working with RJ on media relations.

Really?!

[PBEEZY]

Lol @ overreaction...whats he suppose to say yes the New York Knicks are the best team to ever play the game of basketball, theres a fine line between respect for your opponent and jumping on their ball sack, I'd rather RJ stat whats real than flatter them.

Also Lol @ Knick fans for getting butthurt so easily, imagine how easily those guys could be trolled from some of the specialist on this board.

[NRHector]

Dick grew some balls this season, nothing wrong with that :toast

[KaiRMD1]

Seriously from the near fights to this, Dick's got some balls, man

[ClingingMars]

Nothing wrong with this, we're just used to our players not saying a word outta line is all. It's not like he's firing up the Mavs or the Lakers here, it's the freaking Knicks, Pop knows all of D'Antoni's tricks.

[timtonymanu]

Lol @ overreaction...whats he suppose to say yes the New York Knicks are the best team to ever play the game of basketball, theres a fine line between respect for your opponent and jumping on their ball sack, I'd rather RJ stat whats real than flatter them.

Also Lol @ Knick fans for getting butthurt so easily, imagine how easily those guys could be trolled from some of the specialist on this board.

Exactly. What was he suppose to say? "You know. This team was the laughing stock of the NBA for a while. You know. But they. You know. You know. They got Amare and Felton. Oh and that number 18 guy that was my teammate last year. I forgot his name. You know. They're up there with the elite. We may be 29-4 but you know the Knicks are a team we have to respect. They allow 106.3 points a game. You know. You have to respect that."

[TE]

Sigh, Knicks fans are so easy to troll..

[100%duncan]

rj said the truth but wow talking trash before the game just added heat to it. I hope it doesn't come back to haunt us

[Juanobili]

anyone else kinda glad he said this? haha

should be a good game!

[Xylus]

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_42w5-R0zz2g/S4unMPWnlLI/AAAAAAAALRY/fn9Wv27n_nA/s400/Amare+Stoudemire+Dunks+On+Richard+Jefferson.jpg

This is such a sick photo. Channing Frye is in the background like he can't believe what he's seeing.

[itzsoweezee]

Love it. RJ was completely on point in his comments. You know your franchise is irrelevant when the fanbase goes crazy over mediocrity. F*ck the Knicks and Madison Square Garden.

Boston Garden is the only arena that's ever been worthy of the name "garden" haha.

[007nites]

RJ is da truth

[tuncaboylu]

RJ is totally and absolutely right about his comment. New York Knicks are the most underachieved but most overrated franchise in NBA. They have not been in post season for 10 years! But everybody talking about them, when a free-agent decides to choose his new team New York Knicks is always there because of located in New York. They're a losing franchise which couldn't be in NBA finals last 15 years and won anytinh in last 35 years.

[DJB]

No way we lose to NY. Chump ass yankee homos.

[Crickets]

RJ is trash get ready to get killed RJ and the spurts Knickbockers by 10

[BG_Spurs_Fan]

RJ is trash get ready to get killed RJ and the spurts Knickbockers by 10

Did you bet on it Louis? :lol

[jimo2305]

Dick grew some balls this season, nothing wrong with that :toast

:lol:lol

[maddnezz]

RJ is trash get ready to get killed RJ and the spurts Knickbockers by 10Bandwagon nba 2k11 heat fan, I bet your controllers are sticky..................!:eyebrows

[Texas_Ranger]

Did he say something wrong??

[Leetonidas]

but for a team that hasn’t made the postseason since 2000-01, it’s a start.


Pretty sure Marbury took the Knicks to the playoffs in 2005? Or was it 2004?

[Leetonidas]

Also, :lmao @ RJ. I was just thinking this the other day. It's hilarious that the biggest market in the USA hasn't had an NBA title in 37 years. :lmao :lmao

[KuntryDude]

Not a damn thing wrong w/ having total confidence. Now what will bother me if he (RJ) after taking throwing these jabs, gives a piss poor performance. I hope he goes the phuck off tonight!

[timtonymanu]

If RJ goes off tonight, then we'll really know how much his mentality has changed. I can't wait.

[Rummpd]

19 and 14 with all the hype in the weak East playing a soft schedule - bring it tonight and back it up RJ!

[Mr. Body]

I love how people get butt-hurt when their own team is dissed, but act like it's the stupidest thing in the world when other fans do it for theirs.

[elec99]

Man, I was hoping for a cruise game so we could rest our starters for the next game. But the extra motivation might mean the starters play full minutes. I'm all for a competitive game but trying to focus on max wins at the same time. Pop usually keeps his guys on a leash verbally, so the statement from rj, albeit true, i would rather not have happened. But who the hell am i....

[xmas1997]

What extra motivation???????????
He didn't say anything out of the ordinary!
What is all this overblown hype everyone is referring to all about?
I don't get it.
I didn't read anything he said that could be considered negative.
So what is up with that???????????????

[KenziE]

Man, I was hoping for a cruise game so we could rest our starters for the next game. But the extra motivation might mean the starters play full minutes. I'm all for a competitive game but trying to focus on max wins at the same time. Pop usually keeps his guys on a leash verbally, so the statement from rj, albeit true, i would rather not have happened. But who the hell am i....

you WORRY too much ... relax and have a good time watching the game brah

[Rummpd]

I thought it was near impossible for the Spurs to go 5-0 during this tough stretch but I will take any type of victory tonight and that mark is certainly now very plausible. Spurs are so deep especially in the guards right now with Neal and Hill both playing so well, that if Pop can get by tonight with Duncan and Manu both around 30 minutes I am not too worried about the rest of Spurs getting overly fatigued and believe they will rise to the challenge and give a great effort in both games. This is not a crazy travel situation with both games geographically closer to each other than the last strange back to back. I would love to see Blair in particular go off with a big rebounding game tonight and Jefferson also really bring it.

[hater]

Isn't RJ from NY so that would make him a life knicks fan?

kinda like jewish jokes, if you're jewish, it's ok

I kinda agree with him. When was NY the basketball mecca everyone is talking about?

[boutons_deux]

"When was NY the basketball mecca everyone is talking about?"

Not mecca, but whom did the Spurs beat in NBA Finals in 1999?

RJ skips that era of strong Knicks teams, eg, Knicks vs Miami rivalry.

btw, "cagers" as a journalistic term for bballers is from decades ago when NYC bballers would play basketball on the roofs of buildings that had high fences "caging" in the players and balls.

Anybody know where bowlers as "keglers" comes from? :)

[TheSullyMonster]

RJ is totally and absolutely right about his comment. New York Knicks are the most underachieved but most overrated franchise in NBA. They have not been in post season for 10 years! But everybody talking about them, when a free-agent decides to choose his new team New York Knicks is always there because of located in New York. They're a losing franchise which couldn't be in NBA finals last 15 years and won anytinh in last 35 years.

I hate to break it to you, but 1999 wasn't 15+ years ago.

Also, fucking NY'ers. "We deserve to win, we're NYC!":downspin:

[hater]

"When was NY the basketball mecca everyone is talking about?"

Not mecca, but whom did the Spurs beat in NBA Finals in 1999?

RJ skips that era of strong Knicks teams, eg, Knicks vs Miami rivalry.

btw, "cagers" as a journalistic term for bballers is from decades ago when NYC bballers would play basketball on the roofs of buildings that had high fences "caging" in the players and balls.

Anybody know where bowlers as "keglers" comes from? :)

getting dickwhipped by Jordan every single year is good times? and 99 is an asterisk year, everyone knows that.

Knicks have reached Suns "success" status at best in the last 25 years.

[GrandeDavid]

RJ must been feelin' it for tonight to be running schmakk.

[tuncaboylu]

I hate to break it to you, but 1999 wasn't 15+ years ago.

Also, fucking NY'ers. "We deserve to win, we're NYC!":downspin:

Yeah you're right, it's 11 years:)

[LoneStarState'sPride]

Fuck nyk and fuck new york. Most overhyped 19-14 team I've ever seen in my life. You think SA going 19-14 after a decade of irrelevance would have people talking about a hoops revival? Nope.

I hope RJ brings it tonight, but win or lose, seriously, fuck new york.

[Crickets]

I cant wait until the Knicks beat the crap out your horrendous team so you motherfuckers can shutup already!

[boutons_deux]

Because the MSG fans are so bball-knowledgeable (according to MJ), I'd really like the Spurs hicks to put on a great display.