A Knicks fan celebrates after a Game 4 win against the Miami Heat.
Mike Woodson had only been coach of the New York Knicks for exactly five games. But the team that couldn’t win in the waning days of his predecessor, Mike D’Antoni, suddenly couldn’t lose.
They had stopped playing defense under D’Antoni, but under Woodson they were now stifling opponents. The offense, a collection of talented but seemingly mismatched parts that finally caused D’Antoni to throw up his hands and walk away, had finally found cohesion.
What was Woodson’s secret?
If the current roster was built around Anthony alone, and if we put aside the principle of the thing, this might make some sense. Anthony is signed to a long-term deal, D’Antoni is only signed through the end of the season, and adding a coach is a lot easier than adding a scorer of Anthony’s caliber.
How I felt about Sunday’s game, in one photo.
Yes, but the Celtics taught the Knicks (and Jeremy Lin) a specific lesson that may come in handy
(via rubenfeld)
Lin is one of the 5 percent of the American population that identifies itself as having Asian ancestry; he is from from here and so he is disposed to the American way of things while remaining a part of an overlooked minority. And that, perhaps, is the signature sentiment of the Jeremy Lin phenomenon that’s drawn people in, particularly Asian Americans. We’re all too used to the feeling we’ve somehow been passed over.
So of everyone who claims him, it is perhaps the Asian Americans, and more particularly Young Asian American Christians of Certain Education, who claim him hardest. As the New York Times’ Michael Luo wrote, “It boils down to a welter of emotions from finally having someone I can relate to enter the public consciousness.”
The connection Luo describes is real and it’s one I feel too, but I also can’t help but feel it’s a reaction to the reaction as much as anything else. We Asian Americans are pointing to the TV screens and the Twitter streams and saying, “See, see, as long as you see what I know, then we’ve won.” Meanwhile, really, I know that Jeremy Lin is as distinct from me as anyone else on the court.
These are Carmelo’s Knicks now. Not Amar’e’s Knicks. Not Isiah’s. The fans who kept coming through all the losing years will come early Friday night. And when the Knicks take the court Friday night a little after 7, the place will sound the way it used to sound on these nights, feel the way it used to feel. - Mike Lupica, NYDailyNews
(via rubenfeld)
New Video: Swizz Beatz Ft. Carmelo Anthony x Ama’re Stoudemire “Go New York Go (Remix)”
A jock jam for your late-morning slump.
(via knickschicks)
St. John’s joins forces with the Knicks
St. Johns is partnering with the New York Knicks to give scholarships to high school poets. We all know that the Knicks have their Poetry Slam every year, so St. John’s joining them seems to be a great opportunity. As a St. John’s student I’m happy with the convergence.
Poetic justice.
“For the first time in several decades—with all due respect to Charles Oakley, John Starks and Anthony Mason—the Knicks have two of the best players in the NBA. The basic building blocks are in place. But whether the Knicks’ owner has it in him to let Donnie Walsh finish the job is anyone’s guess.” - Howard Megdal for Capital New York
