There are probably some folks out there that are gloating about this, but let's just say that yesterday's game outcomes warmed the cockles of my heart. ESPN carried the double header of the Magic visiting the Knicks and the Spurs visiting the Nuggets, and watching both games was great fun. The early game saw the Magic and Knicks stay neck-and-neck until crunch time, and the Knicks folded while Dwight Howard continued to shine. Chauncey showed his age, and neither Melo or Stoudemire could hit anything. Magic 111, Knicks 99. In the second game, the Tim-Duncan-less Spurs shot the lights out for three quarters and led by as many as 14. However the Nuggets pulled it back to even in the fourth quarter, and when crunch time came, the Nuggets kept hustling and working together and the Spurs shots started to miss the mark. Lawson and Felton continued to fly down the court, and Al Harrington was numb - 27 points with 5 three-pointers. Nuggets 115, Spurs 112.
The Knicks are now below .500 at 35 and 36, which amazingly keeps them in 7th place in the East. That record would put them in 12th place in the West. Denver's record of 42 and 29 places them in 5th in the West. The Knicks have lost 7 of their last 8, and are not doing so great after the trade whilst the Nuggets are 11 and 4. Among the many interesting things about the big trade and the ensuing success of the Nuggets are the perspectives of the New York press and ESPN commentators. Last night, one of the ESPN guys went out of his way to put a positive spin on what's going on, and there is much talk back east about how it takes quite a bit of time for new players to adjust to each other, blah, blah, blah. Well, that is indeed true when the new players are selfish me-ballers. Just look at the Nuggets - it took them exactly one game to "adjust to each other."
I realize that it is still just a short time post-trade and that things could change dramatically. However, at them moment, it is fun to do exactly what one Newsday sports writer said would be happening given the current results - "I can hear the voices in the Rocky Mountains saying 'I told you so'." Indeed we did.
2 comments:
The Knicks’ President of Basketball Operations, Donnie Walsh, must be close to a nervous breakdown. He was with the Indiana Pacers for years and years and got them to the finals way back when. Pacers were beat out by the, at the time, invincible Los Angeles Lakers. If memory serves me correctly, it was a 4 and 2 series. Even though the Lakers emerged as champs, the Pacers actually scored more points in the six game series. Now Donnie is languishing in New York, his original home, with a doofus owner who pays more attention to organization wrecker Isiah Thomas than organization builder and winner, Donnie Walsh. BTW, Walsh was head coach of the Nuggets back in 1979.
Bizzy B - thanks for the reminder about Donnie and Denver - rings a bell. Also, they had a couple of shots of Donnie during the game, and the poor fellow looks like he is 100.
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