FanPost

View From the Seats: Knicks at Lakers

I had the displeasure of watching tonight's debacle from L.A.'s Staples Center and wanted to share my thoughts, both good (read: not so much) and bad (read: awful). Enjoy. Or don't, because let's be honest, there's nothing worth enjoying coming out of that game.

First off, it was my first game at Staples up in the third level, and I have to say, I was very impressed with the view. Section 333 game me clear court vision. Probably clearer than when I sat behind the one of the baskets at last year's Clippers-Knicks game and almost as good as the time I caught a Lakers game from the Pepsi box (thanks to my buddy that works at Pepsi).

That's all the positive things I've got. Now onto the negative. There's quite a bit...

- SO much ISO-Melo in the first quarter, and it was just so much worse to watch in-person. Considering we didn't really run a single offensive play in that opening stanza and missed a ton of gimme looks, it's puzzling how the Knicks ever led in this game.

- I hate when Ray Felton starts games hot. I don't even remember the exact games, but every time he starts a game hot it sets this terrible tone that tells him he can shoot from anywhere on the floor for the rest of the night. He obviously can't, and as a result, the Penguin becomes an offensive liability whenever he touches the ball.

- Remember when we used to call Shump a solid defender? Yeah, that's dead now, if it hadn't been already. I just needed to see it up close. Shump wasn't the only Knick to FARTDOG it up, but I'd say he was the most egregious offender, possession-to-possession. Watch various instances in that GAWDAWFUL third quarter and you'll find Iman repeatedly wandering around aimlessly while his man jacks up shots without a defender within 10 feet of him.

- Melo may have had the worst 29-point game of any player in NBA history (unconfirmed).

- My wife (Lakers fan) could name more Knicks than Lakers before the game started, yet her team is the one that put up 51 fucking points in a quarter (SMH).

- This was the sloppiest game I have ever witnessed live, and I pray I never have to go through anything like that again. Those first six or so minutes were excruciating, regardless of which team you rooted for.

And now onto those "fantastic" Lakers fans...

- Random goon #1 in front of me spent much of the contest screaming like every shot was the game-winner of Game 7 in the NBA Finals, yelling at Knicks fans (there were quite a few of us in attendance) and telling us to "go home."

- Related: Never mind the fact that this was a battle of two hapless lottery teams basically dry-humping one another up and down the floor for the first 12 minutes of the game. This individual still felt the need to gloat. "Sure."

- Various Los Angeles denizens took to deriding Carmelo Anthony's early play, and rightfully so. He had a horrible start to the game and never really recovered, despite ending up with 29 points. I told my wife that these "fans" would be making snide comments toward Knicks fans about Melo being a "future Laker" by the fourth quarter. On cue, they were, about two minutes into the final period.

- I've never seen a group of basketball "fans" have less of a sense of what's going on in front of them than I did tonight. Between screaming for fouls on every play, screaming and taunting New York fans while the Lakers were already up 27 in the fourth or a clueless haze that is only broken when the JumboTron focuses in on them, it was tough to be around so much awful. Maybe I'm spoiled conversing with Knicks fans so much.

- At one point, I went from having an empty seat on my left side to having a man who was 6'5" and no less than 400 pounds plop down next to me and virtually squeeze me in my own seat. This isn't to deride obese people. But just to say that I did not enjoy having one-half of the seat room typically allotted to a paying customer at the Staples Center, nor did I like his scent of bacon, meat sweats and Sprite. I guess watching this team tonight was about the same level of torture.

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And that's it. Were you also in this hell dungeon with me tonight? Or even if you weren't, share your own "fun" experience watching this miserable excuse for a basketball game...