Welcome to New York

With my first ever post here on P&T, I figured I would do a post-trade deadline blog, giving my own personal assessment of the many trades of Mr. Donnie Walsh. Although I was definitely very intrigued and relatively excited at the last second wheeling and dealing at the 11th hour, I felt it would be more suitable to save that enthusiasm for after the first game that we would be able to catch a glimpse of how well those new assets would fit in with D'Antoni's offense and with their new teammates. Especially with TMac's rusty legs, I was on the edge of my seat even during the pregame interview clips they showed on LeaguePass., probably amplified by that sly, knowing grin on Clyde's face. Now, I normally don't salivate after a loss, but I am pretty sure every Knick fan who watched or witnessed this game can attest that it was a very fun game, at the very least. If I had to choose one word to describe how it felt to watch our Knicks play with that kind of intensity for the first time in a long time, it would be tantric. As excited as I was to watch this game, I am not under the false impression that this will be the future of the Knicks. On the contrary, after tonight, there will be only 28 games left until we bear witness to the Madness of July. But for a short period of time, I felt proud of the energy, effort and intensity of my New York Knickerbockers. Let's get into my individual notes at the jump:

- First and foremost, Tracy McGrady, welcome to New York! While he did show signs that he may have been a step slow, what else could you expect from a guy coming off of microfracture surgery, who only played 6 games for the Rockets at 7.7 minutes per game. With the exception of many tears shed after a grueling game 7 of the 94 Finals, I have not had too many other reasons to think negatively of the Houston Rockets. But this game should, hopefully, let everybody know that the Rockets simply mishandled their situation with Tracy McGrady. Add that to the fact that their robotic GM Daryl Morey did his best job to try to extort the Knicks. I am surprised he didn't ask for LeBron or any future free agent the Knicks might sign along with the 2013-19 1st round draft picks. He really seemed to want, want and want, especially for a "washed out" former MVP candidate that they seemed desperate to end the career of. I'd like to say welcome to New York, Tracy, and by the sounds of Madison Square Garden chanting "We want TMac" everytime he was not in the game, I think it is fair to say that the Knick faithful would agree with me. Thanks for the 26 points, 5 assists and 4 rebounds. 

- How about Eddie House? Now, I know we probably shouldn't expect him to drop 24 points off the bench every night, but it was great to see him ON our team now, instead of against us. You can almost tell he has previously played for D'Antoni, with that quick release shot of his. His form may not be the prettiest, but he gets that ball out of his hands practically before it even touches them. I also noticed that he was the best at finding David Lee off the pick and rolls for the game. I look forward to his energy off the bench.

- Sergio Rodgriguez. That dude is quick and has tons of energy. I absolutely LOVED watching him hustle after and diving for loose balls. How many times have we seen that happen this season? Not enough. I don't think the stat sheet can accurately show how positively he affected the game. That said, I can see that he needs some improvement on his shot, but he is more of a pass first playmaker anyway. I love his court vision, and some of his passes were beautiful. On the other side, I could tell he may have forced a few situations and besides the lack of a consistent shot, may be prone to some erratic play. Oh well, anything is an improvement from Duhon.

- I have not been quite as ruthless and anti-Duhon and Harrington as most, but I have to admit, they have been nothing but a detriment to the team all season. Duhon simply doesn't have the confidence or leadership to run a team, nor does he have the accurate and consistent shot to justify all those ugly 3 pointers he hoists up to try to shoot out of a slump. Harrington's negative qualities seemed to be amplified now that we have playmakers on the team. It seemed like any pass that came his way, he managed to either mess it up, or at least mess up the flow (except that amazing bounce pass TMac fed him full court, through traffic). Wilson Chandler had a rough game as well, with the exception of some good baseline moves and acrobatics, he missed some of the easiest baskets of his season, but we all know he is capable of great games at any time, he just needs to have a bit more consistency, which I believe he will.

- David Lee has his prototypical game, with 30 points and 10 rebounds(and wow, he blocked shots, too!). He seemed to benefit from the focus of the defense shifting more towards TMac and the other guards. But I also feel Lee was not fed the ball enough, especially for somebody as accurate as he is from both his left and right hand. One of the detriments to Sergio's game was he did not find Lee off of any of his pick and rolls, but would instead throw the ball somewhere around the 3 point line. In the hands of the wrong person (i.e. Harrington, Duhon, or, at times, Chandler) that could be a bad invitation for shooting perimeter shots. He needs to find Gallo out there more often.

- Something about playing with the new guys seemed to have sparked Jonathan Bender. He was hitting shots, he had a spring in his legs, and he was making beautiful passes. I always like to see Legs get a chance to further his comeback to the NBA. Maybe seeing McGrady come back from bad knees was encouraging for him as well.

- Clyde was definitely on top of his game, with this game helping reinforce the reason why i think he is the best commentator in the NBA, period. I am pretty sure it was the first time I had ever heard the word "sagacity" used in a sentence when he said something like, "You have to love his sagacity and tenacity". Cyde is such a wordsmith. You have to believe that he spent a good portion of the late 70's hanging out with Parliament Funkadelic leadman George Clinton, Al Sharpton, Bill Cosby, and Jerry Garcia, sitting around just reading the dictionary together, eating cups of sorbet. He also refered to Danilo Gallinari's defense, one time when Durant went under his arm, as Gallo's "Matador Defense" and referred to the Knick defense as a whole, during one of Oklahoma City's comebacks, as their "momentus hoop giving momentum". I am also pretty sure everybody watching got a good laugh when David Lee stumbled a bit in the lane while driving to the basket, and Clyde proclaimed, "Lee hit a wet spot while penetrating".

I know we lost the game in overtime (although, some questionable playcalling led them to overtime in the first place), but all in all, I feel encouraged. I feel that, sure we may not make the playoffs (although, in the Eastern Conference, you never know), but we can at least have fun watching the remainder of this season, and the way the Garden sounded in this game, maybe we can showcase to all those free agents why MSG and NY are the best places for them to resume their career.

Since this was my first post, I decided to get a little long winded, but I promise to be a bit more "space efficient".

-Tony