Kori Ellis
12-22-2005, 11:34 PM
The Links -- Week of December 19, 2005
By Lang Whitaker
http://slamonline.com/links/12192005/
I've been pretty positive about the Knicks this season. Sure, they've been getting drilled all season, but they looked like they were getting better, slowly but surely. At the beginning of the season, the Knicks were running around with their heads down, as if they had zero confidence or idea what they were doing. And I figured that was part of Larry Brown's madness -- he was going to beat them down until they were clueless, and then he would help them build themselves back up. Once broken, now whole, the Knicks would be a team to reckon with.
At least, that's what I thought.
Last night at Madison Square Garden, two hours before the Spurs tipped off against the Knicks, Robert Horry sat in his locker paying absolutely no attention to the tape of a recent Knicks game playing on a TV at the other end of the room. A writer from a local newspaper leaned over to Horry and whispered, "The Knicks gave up during this game anyway."
"Man, I don't ever watch the tapes," Horry said. "The tapes don't mean anything to me, because whenever we play anyone, they come out and play harder than they've played all season because everyone wants to beat us. So for me, the tapes are out the window."
I mentioned that my Hawks hadn't played hard to beat them, they just flat out beat them. To which Horry just rolled his eyes. Somehow we started talking about various Hawks players, and Horry announced that Josh Childress has the ugliest shot in the NBA. I nominated Desmond Mason, but agreed that Josh has the ugliest jumper in the NBA. I asked Horry why Childress doesn't get his shot blocked more often, since he basically shoots it from his chest. Horry said that Childress is smart enough to know when he can and can't get it off. Also, he said everyone on the floor is so shocked that they're not sure whether he's passing it off or shooting it.
Tim Duncan, meanwhile, was busy trying his best not to answer a reporter from the New York Times style magazine who was lobbing dress code questions at him.
Once he surly-ed her away, Duncan asked me if I'd brought an XBox 360 for him. No, I answered, I had not brought one for him. I don't even have one for myself. Duncan said he doesn't have one and doesn't really want one either. (Brent Barry piped up and said Duncan's an XBox hater because he prefers the PS2. I told Barry that I do, too. Barry muttered, "If you're a gamer it doesn't matter, you'll play anything.") I told Duncan and Barry that I'd heard that the entire Warriors team were given 360s earlier this year. Duncan and Barry had heard, too, and they weren't happy about it.
At this point, Horry revealed that he actually has a 360. Horry said Duncan doesn't have one because "he don't have connections like me!" Horry said the only game he has for the 360 is "a basketball game," and it seems a little slow to him. He's excited about the PS3 dropping next year, but isn't sure how much more gaming systems can improve. "What's next, tiny real people inside the games?" he wondered aloud.
Whenever I know I'm going to see the Spurs, I usually bring Duncan the latest video game magazines that I'm about to throw out, and yesterday morning before I left the crib I'd grabbed the latest issue of Electronic Gaming Monthly to bring him. Then during the day yesterday, I remembered that the magazine had been sitting around my bathroom for a few days and if he knew that, Duncan probably wouldn't want it. (I brought up my dilemma at work yesterday and SLAM contributing editor Ben Osborne suggested I wipe the book off a little bit. It's not like it was dirty or anything.)
I told Duncan that I had a magazine for him but explained its questionable past, and Duncan cracked up and agreed that he didn't want it. I mentioned that it was like that episode of "Seinfeld" where George goes to a bookstore, takes a book into the bathroom with him and ends up getting stuck with it, not even able to give it away. Duncan knew the episode and said my magazine "would be flagged." So apparently he watches Seinfeld, too. :lol
Tony Parker reports his rap album will drop in February.
Duncan's favorite current videogame: WWE Raw vs. Smackdown. He's yet to unlock the Hulk Hogan character. Duncan also has gotten back into Tekken because he plays online against Nick Van Exel.
Over in the Knicks locker room, Stephon Marbury was being asked about Kobe's 62 point game, and he didn't really know what to say. "Yeah, it was pretty good," he said. What was he supposed to say? Someone asked if Steph had seen Kobe's line from the game, and he said no. I asked him if he saw how many assists Kobe had. "Zero," he said immediately.
Jamal Crawford was sitting in his locker strapping on his ankle braces. We started talking about his recent $100,000 donation to his former high school, Ranier Beach out in Seattle. "I started thinking about doing something during my freshman year of college," he said, "but I didn't get it all worked out until last year." Crawford's cash paid for a new basketball court and a complete overhaul of the entire gym. The school then surprised him by naming it "Crawford Court." Jamal said, "The crazy part is now when I see box scores from the games and it says 'at Crawford Court.' Never thought I'd see anything like that."
The Knicks seemed to be in a relatively good mood, and even the weird chicken and rice dish they served in the press room couldn't dampen my excitement for the game.
And then the game started.
The Spurs came out on fire, running their offense, playing tough defense, and before I knew it the Spurs led 18-8. The Knicks quickly slipped into their usual funk, and the Spurs stepped on their throats. By halftime the Spurs were ahead 54-35. After three the Spurs were up 89-58, and when Larry Brown subbed out Steph late in the quarter, a chorus of boos drowned the court. The Knicks poured in 38 points in the fourth against a team of Spurs subs trying hard not to foul anyone, and they ended up losing by just 13, 109-96, although it was never nearly that close.
What happened last night at MSG wasn't so much a good team meeting a bad team, it was a great team meeting a horrible team. The Spurs had lost two straight on the road coming in and they were without injured all-star guard Manu Ginobili, but they played like champions last night. Every time down they'd spread the floor, methodically work the ball around the outside and inside, then find the open man for an open jumper. And the Knicks were playing defense as though they all were wearing concrete shoes and unable to move their legs. Spurs guys were not only getting open shots on the ball rotations, there were two and three open guys on every play, which explains how they shot 56 percent from the floor for the game.
Duncan didn't play much simply because the Spurs didn't need to play him. The player of the game was Tony Parker, who just killed Marbury and Crawford all night. There was one play where Crawford came down, slapped a nasty crossover dribble on Barry, making him stumble away, and then passed the ball right into the front row of photographers along the baseline. If that play wasn't emblematic of Jamal's tenure with the Knicks, I don't know what was.
According to my main man Pascal Giberne, French journalist extroidanaire, Greg Popovich had "forbidden" TP from shooting any three pointers. (I hadn't read that anywhere, but later last night I looked at Tony's game log and realized that he's only shot 13 threes all season long.) I asked Pascal what they expected Tony to do if they didn't want him to stretch the defense, and Pascal said they told Tony to keep driving to the basket.
Which he appears to be doing rather easily. He's not only averaging a career high in points per game, but his shooting percentage this year is five points higher than it's ever been, and seven points higher than his career average. In the past, Steph always outplayed Tony, but Tony kept getting to the rim and finished the game with 18 points (on 7-of-10 shooting), 10 assists and just 1 turnover.
After the game, Pascal asked Pop if it was true that he'd forbidden TP from shooting threes, and Pop -- with a sly grin -- said "forbid is a strong word," then went along with it and said yes, Tony was forbidden from shooting any threes and he would be fined $10,000 for each three he attempted.
And about five minutes after I wrote the previous two paragraphs, I came across this by my main man Marty Burns, which spells out Tony's improvement in even more detail.
(The highlight of the night for me came late in the third quarter when a couple of people approached the press box, asked if I was Lang, then identified themselves as loyal Linkstigators. That's what I'm talking about. Don't know how they recognized me, though it could have been the coat I was wearing that said "I WRITE THE LINKS" across the back in huge neon letters. Kidding.)
The Spurs looked like the same Spurs that won the title last season: methodical, surgical, precise killers. They've had a flew slip-ups against teams like the Hawks and Hornets (and Milwaukee two nights back), but I still think they're the team to beat in the West.
And the Knicks, well...they just looked like the same stumbling Knicks that finished fourth in the Atlantis Division last year.
By the way: Christmas Day, Spurs at Pistons. Don't miss it.
By Lang Whitaker
http://slamonline.com/links/12192005/
I've been pretty positive about the Knicks this season. Sure, they've been getting drilled all season, but they looked like they were getting better, slowly but surely. At the beginning of the season, the Knicks were running around with their heads down, as if they had zero confidence or idea what they were doing. And I figured that was part of Larry Brown's madness -- he was going to beat them down until they were clueless, and then he would help them build themselves back up. Once broken, now whole, the Knicks would be a team to reckon with.
At least, that's what I thought.
Last night at Madison Square Garden, two hours before the Spurs tipped off against the Knicks, Robert Horry sat in his locker paying absolutely no attention to the tape of a recent Knicks game playing on a TV at the other end of the room. A writer from a local newspaper leaned over to Horry and whispered, "The Knicks gave up during this game anyway."
"Man, I don't ever watch the tapes," Horry said. "The tapes don't mean anything to me, because whenever we play anyone, they come out and play harder than they've played all season because everyone wants to beat us. So for me, the tapes are out the window."
I mentioned that my Hawks hadn't played hard to beat them, they just flat out beat them. To which Horry just rolled his eyes. Somehow we started talking about various Hawks players, and Horry announced that Josh Childress has the ugliest shot in the NBA. I nominated Desmond Mason, but agreed that Josh has the ugliest jumper in the NBA. I asked Horry why Childress doesn't get his shot blocked more often, since he basically shoots it from his chest. Horry said that Childress is smart enough to know when he can and can't get it off. Also, he said everyone on the floor is so shocked that they're not sure whether he's passing it off or shooting it.
Tim Duncan, meanwhile, was busy trying his best not to answer a reporter from the New York Times style magazine who was lobbing dress code questions at him.
Once he surly-ed her away, Duncan asked me if I'd brought an XBox 360 for him. No, I answered, I had not brought one for him. I don't even have one for myself. Duncan said he doesn't have one and doesn't really want one either. (Brent Barry piped up and said Duncan's an XBox hater because he prefers the PS2. I told Barry that I do, too. Barry muttered, "If you're a gamer it doesn't matter, you'll play anything.") I told Duncan and Barry that I'd heard that the entire Warriors team were given 360s earlier this year. Duncan and Barry had heard, too, and they weren't happy about it.
At this point, Horry revealed that he actually has a 360. Horry said Duncan doesn't have one because "he don't have connections like me!" Horry said the only game he has for the 360 is "a basketball game," and it seems a little slow to him. He's excited about the PS3 dropping next year, but isn't sure how much more gaming systems can improve. "What's next, tiny real people inside the games?" he wondered aloud.
Whenever I know I'm going to see the Spurs, I usually bring Duncan the latest video game magazines that I'm about to throw out, and yesterday morning before I left the crib I'd grabbed the latest issue of Electronic Gaming Monthly to bring him. Then during the day yesterday, I remembered that the magazine had been sitting around my bathroom for a few days and if he knew that, Duncan probably wouldn't want it. (I brought up my dilemma at work yesterday and SLAM contributing editor Ben Osborne suggested I wipe the book off a little bit. It's not like it was dirty or anything.)
I told Duncan that I had a magazine for him but explained its questionable past, and Duncan cracked up and agreed that he didn't want it. I mentioned that it was like that episode of "Seinfeld" where George goes to a bookstore, takes a book into the bathroom with him and ends up getting stuck with it, not even able to give it away. Duncan knew the episode and said my magazine "would be flagged." So apparently he watches Seinfeld, too. :lol
Tony Parker reports his rap album will drop in February.
Duncan's favorite current videogame: WWE Raw vs. Smackdown. He's yet to unlock the Hulk Hogan character. Duncan also has gotten back into Tekken because he plays online against Nick Van Exel.
Over in the Knicks locker room, Stephon Marbury was being asked about Kobe's 62 point game, and he didn't really know what to say. "Yeah, it was pretty good," he said. What was he supposed to say? Someone asked if Steph had seen Kobe's line from the game, and he said no. I asked him if he saw how many assists Kobe had. "Zero," he said immediately.
Jamal Crawford was sitting in his locker strapping on his ankle braces. We started talking about his recent $100,000 donation to his former high school, Ranier Beach out in Seattle. "I started thinking about doing something during my freshman year of college," he said, "but I didn't get it all worked out until last year." Crawford's cash paid for a new basketball court and a complete overhaul of the entire gym. The school then surprised him by naming it "Crawford Court." Jamal said, "The crazy part is now when I see box scores from the games and it says 'at Crawford Court.' Never thought I'd see anything like that."
The Knicks seemed to be in a relatively good mood, and even the weird chicken and rice dish they served in the press room couldn't dampen my excitement for the game.
And then the game started.
The Spurs came out on fire, running their offense, playing tough defense, and before I knew it the Spurs led 18-8. The Knicks quickly slipped into their usual funk, and the Spurs stepped on their throats. By halftime the Spurs were ahead 54-35. After three the Spurs were up 89-58, and when Larry Brown subbed out Steph late in the quarter, a chorus of boos drowned the court. The Knicks poured in 38 points in the fourth against a team of Spurs subs trying hard not to foul anyone, and they ended up losing by just 13, 109-96, although it was never nearly that close.
What happened last night at MSG wasn't so much a good team meeting a bad team, it was a great team meeting a horrible team. The Spurs had lost two straight on the road coming in and they were without injured all-star guard Manu Ginobili, but they played like champions last night. Every time down they'd spread the floor, methodically work the ball around the outside and inside, then find the open man for an open jumper. And the Knicks were playing defense as though they all were wearing concrete shoes and unable to move their legs. Spurs guys were not only getting open shots on the ball rotations, there were two and three open guys on every play, which explains how they shot 56 percent from the floor for the game.
Duncan didn't play much simply because the Spurs didn't need to play him. The player of the game was Tony Parker, who just killed Marbury and Crawford all night. There was one play where Crawford came down, slapped a nasty crossover dribble on Barry, making him stumble away, and then passed the ball right into the front row of photographers along the baseline. If that play wasn't emblematic of Jamal's tenure with the Knicks, I don't know what was.
According to my main man Pascal Giberne, French journalist extroidanaire, Greg Popovich had "forbidden" TP from shooting any three pointers. (I hadn't read that anywhere, but later last night I looked at Tony's game log and realized that he's only shot 13 threes all season long.) I asked Pascal what they expected Tony to do if they didn't want him to stretch the defense, and Pascal said they told Tony to keep driving to the basket.
Which he appears to be doing rather easily. He's not only averaging a career high in points per game, but his shooting percentage this year is five points higher than it's ever been, and seven points higher than his career average. In the past, Steph always outplayed Tony, but Tony kept getting to the rim and finished the game with 18 points (on 7-of-10 shooting), 10 assists and just 1 turnover.
After the game, Pascal asked Pop if it was true that he'd forbidden TP from shooting threes, and Pop -- with a sly grin -- said "forbid is a strong word," then went along with it and said yes, Tony was forbidden from shooting any threes and he would be fined $10,000 for each three he attempted.
And about five minutes after I wrote the previous two paragraphs, I came across this by my main man Marty Burns, which spells out Tony's improvement in even more detail.
(The highlight of the night for me came late in the third quarter when a couple of people approached the press box, asked if I was Lang, then identified themselves as loyal Linkstigators. That's what I'm talking about. Don't know how they recognized me, though it could have been the coat I was wearing that said "I WRITE THE LINKS" across the back in huge neon letters. Kidding.)
The Spurs looked like the same Spurs that won the title last season: methodical, surgical, precise killers. They've had a flew slip-ups against teams like the Hawks and Hornets (and Milwaukee two nights back), but I still think they're the team to beat in the West.
And the Knicks, well...they just looked like the same stumbling Knicks that finished fourth in the Atlantis Division last year.
By the way: Christmas Day, Spurs at Pistons. Don't miss it.