Through the 90s, the Knicks were my favourite team, and if you liked a tough, bruising team oozing with heart, then they were the team for you. When the Raptors and Knicks were battling in the playoffs, I was never more torn; ultimately I cheered the Raptors, but had the Knicks got through….

While they don’t have great talent to surround LeBron and Bosh (for sake of argument), the team does provide the lure of being a God in New York if someone can deliver a championship. For the record, regardless of what they offer, I’m against any deal with the Knicks since they are a division rival. The last time we did that, we got BURNED in the playoffs; not looking for a repeat.

I spoke to Dan L. from The Knicks Fan Blog about the state of the Knicks, and got some interesting tidbits from him:

Sam Holako: There isn’t much to talk about the Knicks during the regular season since the last couple years has all been about making a run at two max free-agents this summer. Where do you realistically put the Knicks chances of landing LeBron this summer? A sign and trade with the Cavs will prove difficult (what kind of deal do you put together for the MVP?). Also talk about the LeBrostimistic graph you have on your site, I love that thing.

Dan L.: I think it’s impossible to say what the Knicks’ chances are to get LeBron without being part of the “inner circle”. But I think the Knicks have a couple of things working in their favor. One is obviously that the Cavs got spanked so hard by the Celtics. They clearly aren’t a championship caliber team and they’re also ham-strung by salary commitments with the likes of Jamison, Gibson, Varejao, and Mo Williams. They won’t be signing any meaningful free agents.

It is hard to see the Knicks and Cavs pulling off a sign and trade, but it could happen if LeBron told them he’s going to the Knicks anyway and unless they deal they won’t get anything in return. For example the Knicks can offer the Cavs a massive salary cap exception and future picks for LeBron. With that exception the Cavs could hypothetically trade for Elton Brand and the second pick (Evan Turner). Maybe they could even convince the Knicks to part with Wilson Chandler. Mo Williams, Turner, Chandler, Jamison, Brand. I could think of worse teams.

Ha. The LeBroptimism meter right now is at 0 because honestly, I just don’t have any kind of bearing of what LeBron is going to do. He and his team have done a masterful job of keeping everyone in the dark, and there are a lot of teams that have positioned themselves to get LeBron. I think the only realistic options for LeBron if he leaves are the Knicks and Bulls because I’d be shocked if he went somewhere that didn’t have a major media presence. I’d add the Nets to the mix but I think their young talent is vastly overstated. The Knicks’ young talent was better than 12 wins. Also LeBron won’t want to play in Newark, I don’t think.

If I was being completely honest with my own gut, I’d put that LeBroptimism meter somewhat higher than 0.

SH: That would be Step 1; Step 2 would be find a running mate for him. Chris Bosh recently put the Knicks on his wishlist. Make me an offer for him.

DL: he only offer really is David Lee. Not sure what Raptors fans think about Lee but you could do much worse. He’s a terrific rebounder (though he doesn’t get the tough ones) and due to his terrific work ethic he transformed himself into one of the best shooting bigs in the league. He’s also an elite finisher. He can get his shot off in the paint and make it with such frequency that it never ceases to amaze me. You’ll be losing out by trading Bosh but maybe not by as much as you’d think.

The downside for the Raptors is that their biggest weakness is also Lee’s, in that he couldn’t guard a lamp post. A lot of that has to do with the fact that he’s a PF and the Knicks had him at center all year. Still, I’d think that the Raptors want to address their D this summer, and Lee isn’t going to do that.

Financially, Lee is going to make less than Bosh because under the collective bargaining agreement, his max is about $13.5 million. The Raptors would therefore get a trade exception in the deal of about $4 million.

Another option the Raptors could consider is adding Calderon or Turk to the mix and taking back Eddy Curry. This would get the Raptors out from under the cap predicament they put themselves in by next year.

It’s all dependent on what Lee wants though. If he just wants money and the Raptors offer him his max I think he would agree to go to Toronto because he would get bigger raises in a sign and trade. If other factors are more important to him, like staying in the New York area, and the money is similar, I could see him signing with the Nets.

SH: Not sure how Raptor fans would feel about paying Lee $13.5; even though double-double machines are hard to come by, I was thinking a 5yr/$50mill deal. A front court of Bargnani and Lee would be the worse defensive unit in the league, potentially, but Lee is one of the better players we could hope for in a sign-and-trade.

Interesting you bring up a Calderon/Turkoglu swap for Curry. What is Curry’s status? Can he be looked too to play 20minutes a night? He’s still pretty young, and has great size/athleticism (well he did). I’m assuming with the financial problems he’s said to be having, that he will at least be motivated to play harder for the next contract.

DL: I’d think that Lee is going to get more than $10 million on the market this summer. But I guess that remains to be seen.

You’re right about the raptors defense. They’d have to slide Bargs over to the 3 and find a way to get a defensive 5.

That’s not Eddy Curry, even if healthy. The potential Curry deal would be solely a salary dump for the Raptors. Knicks fans have been waiting for the old Curry to come back for over 2 years. The fact is that he’s played only a handful of games in each of the last two seasons and just doesn’t seem interested in playing basketball.

You’re right that Curry SHOULD be motivated in a contract year. But I’d be shocked if he had the desire to. And even if he did, I’d be doubly shocked if he stayed healthy.

SH: I want to examine something you said about Calderon or Turkoglu for Curry. Even if the Knicks somehow manage to get LeBron and Bosh, they would still need to have people around them to you know, play basketball at an NBA level. In the worse case scenario that they don’t land anyone in the summer to line up beside those two, what will this team look like?

DL: Honestly I think that’s an issue that the national media has drummed up in their echo chamber because they are biased against New York (true New York perspective here, huh?).

The team WILL have players on it. Obviously Turkoglu or Calderon could be one of those other players. If not, the Knicks should try to move Curry for another team’s expensive mistake, like Ben Gordon, Rip Hamilton or Corey Maggette.

But let’s look at who is on the team right now. Danilo Gallinari played essentially his rookie year last year since he missed most of his first season with a back injury. He only finished second in the NBA in three pointers made. Folks in the national media have called him a “one-trick pony” but those of us who watch the Knicks every game know that he’s much more than that. Even the most negative tabloid beat writers like the New York Post’s Marc Berman jumped on the Gallinari bandwagon by the end of the year. He’s a terrific passer, and has a great basketball IQ, and most surprisingly, was probably the Knicks best defender last year other than Jarred Jeffries, both on the ball and in help.

Wilson Chandler is another player that most people who don’t follow the Knicks tend to ignore. It’s because he’s very quiet and unassuming. My opinion is that he doesn’t have star potential like Gallinari does, but there are observers who disagree. At the very least though he plays D, has a great mid-range game, and is a superb finisher.

Toney Douglas inexplicably failed to get off of Mike D’Antoni’s bench for most of the year but when D’Antoni finally let him play the Knicks what I like to say resembled a young Gary Payton. Douglas is very disruptive on the defensive end, is a very good shooter from distance, and LOVES the ball at the end of games. He’s very clutch.

These were 3 very young and/or inexperienced players but all of them have a world of potential. Importantly, they’re all very good fits with LeBron. Gallinari will can countless open jumpers off LeBron drives, and Wilson will get plenty of open looks slashing off of those same drives. Douglas will also knock down open shots and defend the perimeter, but more importantly, both he and Gallinari will take the pressure off LeBron at the end of games, which seems to be an issue for the King. It’s a good starting 5.

Aside from those 3 the Knicks have Bill Walker, who, after the trade deadline really came into his own for the Knicks. He has great range and shoots a high percentage. He’s also extremely athletic and can jump out of the gym. Finally, where Chandler doesn’t really read the defense, instead focusing on just making one on one moves to get open, Walker knows where to be on the court to space the floor and get open looks for himself both inside and out.

The Knicks also have 2 second round draft picks.

Finally, if the Knicks are able to land the big stars, look for some veteran players to sign on for cheap for a chance at the title. For example, PJ Brown signed with Boston for the minimum to win a ring. Same with Michael Finley.

I expect the Knicks to be able to round out their roster in a similar way.

SH: I’m actually pretty high on Chandler. I’ve seen quite a few Knicks games, and the kid is nice (Gallinari too). If LeBosh doesn’t pan out for the Knicks, would a Joe Johnson/Boozer/Stoudemire combination satisfy Knicks fans? The team obviously wouldn’t be a championship contender (the best they could hope for is the Hawks), but they would be in the high 40s in terms of wins and MAYBE a second round appearance.

DL: hose guys obviously represent the second tier of free agents. They’d improve the Knicks vastly but I wouldn’t be too thrilled about it. That’s particularly true because I assume those guys would be getting the max (or something close) and I don’t think they’re worth it.

It’s not the first choice and there are some fans who go by the mantra “LeBron or bust”. Not me though. I think Donnie Walsh had to take his best shot at building a dynasty. It might not work out that way but the idea was the right idea. Either way the Knicks will be much improved, even if they don’t get LeBron.

Since I have nothing better to do than think up scenarios, I’ve previously written that there are other options available besides just free agents. The Knicks could look at Tony Parker, for example. A trade of Chandler, Curry and Douglas for Parker, RJ and McDyess would make some sense if the Knicks also landed Amare. Parker, RJ (who plays better in an open system), Gallinari, McDyess, Amare, with enough flexibility to sign Melo in ’11.

Another example is a trade of Curry for Biedrins or Maggette and Anthony Randolph, while re-signing Lee and signing Joe Johnson. You’d have Tony Douglas, Johnson, Gallinari, Lee and Randolph/Biedrins. Not too shabby in my opinion, and a team that can grow better over the next few years. Not a title contender though, and you’d lose your ’11 flexibility, which I’d like to see the Knicks keep if they lose out on the big names.

You really can’t expect much when you role into the Spurs house, and they are healthy. The road to championship in the West still leads through them, and the House that Popovich designed and Duncan built is still the standard of excellence in the NBA. Forgive me if my expectations are low non-existent. Actually, I expect my Bacon n Egg McMuffin to slow down the Spurs more then the Raptors (clog their arteries).

True to form, the Raptors came out, and played a pretty solid 1st quarter, holding on to a 5 point lead after 12 minutes. This was done on a combination of things, but mostly the Spurs poor perimeter shooting – 2/12 from behind the arc in the frame. Parker got into the lane whenever he wanted, and kicked to an open wing, who just couldn’t make them stick. You knew, I did anyways, that this wouldn’t last. Giving guys like Finley, Mason and Bonner open looks will end bad, as the Raptors found out int he 2nd quarter, when those shots began to fall.

Beating the Raptors is nothing more then a recipe at this point of the season:

1. Add one part dribble penetration
2. Add two parts double team
3. Add a zest of kick out to the open shooter
4. Let simmer at medium intensity
5. And you get an easy basket that no one in the organization can do anything about

“It’s tough to beat a team like that,” Raptors coach Jay Triano said. “We forced the ball to the perimeter and they made the shots. Pretty awesome display of shooting.”

Seriously? That was the strategy tonight? Make the Spurs hit shots from the perimeter? Have you not been watching what the Spurs having been doing for the last decade? You really want guys like Finley/Bonner/Mason/Ginobli getting open looks at the rim? Although he may be old, Bowen can still knock a fair number of looks down, especially if they aren’t contested. Would it not been better to try to get the ball out of Parker’s hands, and make Duncan score 50? OR, if you want to make them beat you with shooting, why not leave only certain people open…say….Tolliver, rather then leaving guys like Roger Mason Jr., who was specifically targeted and signed by the Spurs for this very reason.

I must be taking crazy pills, because O’Neal seemed surprised by the Spurs ability to make shots too:

“Those guys just really seemed to make a lot of 3s.” O’Neal said. “Every time we would stop them it seemed like they would come back on the next possession with a 3. When we didn’t score, they did, and it mostly was 3s.”

This is the result of a well made team, the balance they have is incredible:

• You have guys who can knock down jumpers/3s
• You have guys who can create their own shots
• You have guys who can penetrate at will
• and You have Duncan, who hasn’t made a mistake in 10 years

It’s actually beautiful watching them play, Parker penetrates then either takes it to the rack, or kicks it out for an open jumper after everyone collapses The Raptors force perimeter plays, when their franchise player has a mismatch on the offensive end with almost every team/player in the league. It upsets me when Bosh has a player on his hip, is battling in the paint, calling for the ball, only to see Moon launch a three after hesitating with whether to shoot it or not. And you guys are wondering why Bosh doesn’t look very happy recently.

‘Dribble-Penetrations’ ugly sister reared her head too – the slut ‘rebounding’ was again another issue. I don’t have much to say about it really, other then to question why Humphries doesn’t get more burn. Actually, in general, why doesn’t Humphries get more burn? He is an energy guy, hustles, battles on the boards, sure he forces it on offense a few times too many, but he competes. Which is more you can say for this team that seemingly isn’t playing for Triano is in a funk at the moment.

What the Raptors do a terrible job of, IMHO, is getting Bosh the ball at the right time. How often have we watched him with with a mismatch on his hip, only to watch the ball get swung to someone say…Moon, who clanks a J off the back of the rim. Recently, I have been noticing the Raptors get the ball to Bosh late int he shot clock, and while he is out of position. Khandor always says this is a game of matchups, well, part of any matchup is timing. And if your timing is off, then you’re in big trouble.

Is it safe to say the Bosh/O’Neal experiment has failed? We are a third of the way into the season and…nothing, I got nothing. I wont get too dramatic, it’s not like teaming Randolph and Curry together, but it’s not much better. One excels while the other is stuck in pergatory. In fact, aside from interior defense, this O’Neal thing hasn’t quite worked out how BC planned. The Raptors are still need of a legit second scorer (sorry, but Kapono isn’t the answer, really, he isn’t; rebounding hasn’t improve dramatically, in fact, it hasn’t improved very much at all. Going from 37rebs a game, to 39rebs a game, and winning less games isn’t an improvement.

I’m just putting it out there, but do you think Bosh likes this new system? It seems as though he was much happier under Smitch. Before, Bosh was the centerpiece of the offense, he was charged with help defense, and was leading the fight on the boards. Now, seems like Kapono and Graham are getting a chunk of his shots. At least he isn’t being played for 42 minutes a game, thats good right?

Am I alone when I think the Raptors were better off with Smitch on the bench?

Anyways, sorry for the late post, I planned to do it this morning, but fate conspired. Follow us on Twitter, and grab our Feed. Free Ukic!!

Update: First Ever Podcast

“The First One, It Kinda Sucks” – Download It! (Size: 6.8 MB, Length: 7:07)

Or you can play it by staying on this very page:
[audio http://kashmir.ca/podcasts/TheFirstOne-ItKindaSucks.mp3]

Warning! It’s so bad that I couldn’t bear listening to it once I had recorded it. I had to get the first one out of the way. It’ll get better.

Chuck Swirsky is taking a lot of the fun out of watching Raptors basketball for me, from berating the other team on every opportunity to ignoring every mistake made by the Raps, it’s all getting a little ridiculous. It’s funny how Randolph being benched is brought up every 2 minutes but when Bargnani is exiled to the bench it’s rarely mentioned. I’m embarrassed for the Raptors because some of these games are broadcast on NBA League Pass and our crew comes out looking like the biggest homers short of Tommy Heinsohn. The Salami and Cheese thing really has reached it’s saturation point and needs to be shelved for good. It’s insulting to the other team even though he’ll claim it’s all in good fun. Plus, it actually ends up jinxing the Raptors because every time he calls it the other team goes on a run and he’s left trying to save face with asinine comments like, “it’s a little too late for a Knick run with 4 minutes left” – the Knicks were down by 10!

Anyway, that didn’t stop me from enjoying this game from all angles: Knick fans, Isiah, Randolph, Curry and even good ‘ol Gren Grunwald and his broken right foot. While enjoying their suffering (Schadenfreude I believe) I kept thinking to myself that Bosh might’ve had a 60 point game if he didn’t bother taking 20 footers for half the game, clearly he can get to the rim anytime he wants, so why bother with the springer. Oh wait, I had answered my own question in a previous post. Chris was looking for his points tonight but was wise enough to pass quickly out of double teams setting the Raptors wheels in motion as the Knick defense (missing entirely until the 4th) self-destructed. We did have some help from Isiah who chose to send a message to Zach Randolph by benching him early because of a verbal argument. Eddy Curry looked to be of a similar fate in the first half although his crime was much less apparent. Surprisingly Renaldo Balkman was the only Knick big to administer any discomfort as the rest were either ineffective or benched. Thanks Isiah!

As for the Raptors, they did nothing special either. Chris Bosh dominated the game by looking to score every time and on a night when the Knicks were having trouble putting anything together, he could afford to miss a lot of jumpers. Calderon didn’t shoot the ball well but increased his AST to TO ratio going 8/1 which will ensure a good night’s sleep for Swirsky. Let’s give Jamario Moon some credit today because over the last couple games he’s been really disciplined about not taking bad shots and has stepped up his defense to the point where he’s not gambling, contesting shots and positioning himself for every reasonable rebound. Another hustle player, Kris Humphries bounced back from a Sam benching to hit a couple nice fadeaways and grab 7 important rebounds, a couple late in the fourth. The Raptors bench isn’t close to being as productive as it was earlier in the year with Delfino, Kapono and Dixon struggling but it’s shown a couple signs in the last two games. Of course having Jose start decimates the second team so maybe it’s wiser to wait until TJ comes back and then reevaluate the second unit.

There’s not much negative to write about Bargnani either who showed a pulse on offense by making a nifty pass to Bosh after posting up Nate Robinson and hit a couple jumpers which reminded me a little of how important he can be when he’s playing well. David Lee getting the better of him on a FT rebound was really sad to watch but I’m happy with Bargnani’s 7 points, 2-2 FG and 2 rebound performance. I’m not even being sarcastic, I’m happy. Remember folks, with this man, we need to take small, baby steps. That or start Bargnani Sucks Ass threads on Real GM. Take your pick. Mitchell weighs his words carefully but does call out Andrea’s rebounding:

“I think people are on Andrea, rightfully so, because he hasn’t had games on a consistent basis where he’s got double-digit rebounds. Until he starts doing that, that’s going to be a fair criticism of him and that’s understandable. If he’s going to play the position, he’s got to do it.”

I remember the days I used to circle the four Knick games on my calendar when the schedule came out in anticipation of all the little individual and team rivalries that we had going. Sprewell, Carter, Childs, Oakley, Jackson, Camby, Butch, Lenny, JVG, oh man. Those were really some great games. The garden used to be rocking and there wasn’t a dull moment from the first quarter on. I’m one of the few Raptors fans that actually wants the Knicks to be a good team just so we can recreate that rivalry that was as good as any in the league. I guess I’ll have to wait another three years according to Glen Grunwald who still says a lot without actually answering a question. The thing I remember most about Grunwald was that speech at Maple Leaf Gardens where he literally brought me to tears at the end of the season. It was the same game Allen Iverson dunked over four Raptors incluing Marcus Camby.

This paragraph belongs to Anthony Parker who even when struggles doesn’t lose confidence in his game. He’s had some miserable games during the season but has never let up his offensive, defensive and rebounding efforts. He hit a key three in the fourth quarter which restored the lead to 14 and kept the Knicks in check. There was some talk that he has a high trade value and should be traded since we’re not winning an NBA championship this year anyway. I completely disagree with this line of thinking, the Raptors have been a team that always loses its good players for the sake of the “future”. Well, the future is now and even though we’re not going to win the EC this year, it’s still good to make it to the second or third round of the playoffs and get some post-season experience under our belt. No team has ever won a title without losing in the middle rounds for a few seasons in a row, I say we start that losing streak.

Check the boxscore, it tells you all about how the Knicks shot 51% in this game and still managed to lose. For once the rebounding numbers were in our favor (43-33, 11 offensive) which created a ton of second chance points and ticked off valuable minutes late in the game. Isiah must be perplexed at how well the Knicks ended this game but failed to show the least bit of desire, ability or even interest for the better part of the game. The three guys that played well (and by well I mean hard) were Nate Robinson, Rolando Blackman and Jamal Crawford, aside from those three nobody cared. Well, maybe Randolph did but he was riding the pine from first quarter on.

Up next is a revenge mission against Portland. We blew the game on the west coast and need to earn a requital against Brandon Roy and Co. who have won 46 of their past 47 games – or so it seems like.

One-Liners:

* The ESPN game menu is better than the NBA.com one.

* If Nate Robinson had finished that putback jam, it would’ve been the end of Bargnani’s career.

* Anybody notice the hot black chick next to the Raptors fans they showed in the end?

* Rod Black thinks Sam’s temper is inversely proportional to the size of the Raptors lead.

* We missed about 10 WIDE OPEN shots today. Even the dead-eye Calderon missed about four he usually drains.

* I’m not talking about it much but aside from Bosh, we were exclusively a perimeter team. I would hate to see what would’ve happened if Curry and Randolph had their minds right for this game.

* Carlos Delfino needs to play better and smarter for us, he’s too good to just side-step and take a jumper. As for Kapono, I’m waiting for Sam to do something to get him some shots. He’s being wasted right now.

* Somebody please explain to me what Joey Graham did wrong to get the yank after 4 minutes.

* Darrick Martin played a halfway effective backup PG today. I guess he’s ahead of Dixon in the depth chart again.

Later.