Blazers 92, Knicks 86

AP Photo/Seth Wenig

That was infuriating. In one of their most important games of the season, the Knicks went through the motions against an energized Blazers team. They resorted to jacking up threes on offense, and couldn't be bothered to make an effort on defense. Awful. Brief game notes:

• The Knicks opponents from tonight and tomorrow (Trailblazers, Cavaliers) are both Chevy models.
• During the MSG starting lineup graphic, Mike Breen mentioned that Ime Udoka was a "familiar face" for Knick fans. Not at all. I don't think anyone on the team even recognized him. I'd be surprised if one guy on the Knicks remembered his name.
  

  Umm...Trevor Ariza? Jamison Brewer? Gimme the first letter...

• I bet Channing Frye is the league leader in goaltending shots that are taken after a dead ball whistle. Chan was rocking some "sports glasses" for the beginning of the game, but shed them later on.
• Bobbito Garcia's halftime interview was Charles Grodin and it was fucking bizarre. I've never heard of the guy (too young I guess), but he was apparently a comedian and an actor. Bobbito was trying to ask him questions about his own career and about the Knicks, but the guy just kept staring off into space and rambling about Dave DeBusschere. Then he showed us the kid he was sitting with (his nephew, I think), an acne-ridden teenage boxer who looked completely serious when he stared into the camera and threw some air-jabs. I dunno. Maybe this is Charles Grodin's type of comedy and he wasn't serious. Either way it scared the living shit out of me.
• Curry had zero points in the first half.
• Much of Curry's futility (8 points on 4-11 shooting) was due to Jamaal Magloire. Listen, I try not to be a homer, so correct me if I'm biased, but Magloire did absolutely nothing legal to stop Curry. It's just impossible that a talentless scrub like Magloire could feasibly shut down Curry like that. I am not a Jamaal Magloire fan. First of all, who the fuck made him too cool for the standard "Jamal"? Secondly, since when is it legal to piggyback Curry up and down the court, undercut him every time he takes a step, and pull him to the floor when he has the ball? Magloire finished with only 3 fouls, which is impossible. He should've gotten at least one foul for that extra "a" in his name, and probably could've been whistled for at least 6 more. I'm probably just reeling from the loss but, for now, that's a load of bullshit. If this weren't such a critical juncture in the season, I'd be calling for Eddy to sock Magloire in his face.
• MSG showed footage of Clyde's appearance in a fashion show at the NBA store last night. He rocked a white cowboy hat and some shades.
• Brandon Roy is good.
• How come whenever Mike Breen does the daily plug for Budweiser, saluting designated drivers, they always show a shot of a little kid? Since when do little kids need designated drivers? Or are they implying that kid should be doing the designated driving for his plastered guardians? This puzzles me.
• Forgot this, but Nate and Brandon Roy were teammates at Washington.
• Speaking of Nate, he was just about the only offense on the team. He hit 8 of 9 threes and finished with 31 points.
• The Knicks as a team shot 12-27 from downtown. That's way too many threes. I don't care how Nate's shooting. There was no flow to the offense, no transition game, and only 14 trips to the foul line. Inexcusable.
• David Lee returned but did pretty much nothing in 9 minutes. He looked a little gimpy.
• A conversation that I would like to see happen this evening:

  Team doctor: Hey Steve, we just got your MRI results.

  Francis: MRI? I didn't have an MRI...

  Team doctor: Yeah. Well, anyway, the MRI says you've got the ol' tendinitis again and you should probably hit the injured list.

  Francis: What are you talking about? I didn't have an MRI and my knee feels fine!

  Team doctor: Mmhmm. Anyway, this tendinitis isn't gonna heal itself, so you're probably gonna have to shut it down for the rest of the year. Terribly sorry.

  Francis: This is ridiculous! I'm not injured and I'm not gonna sit!

  Team doctor: Alright, if you're gonna play it that way...(brandishes hatchet and swiftly chops off Steve's right leg)

  Francis: (spraying blood) AAAAGGH! YOU CUT OFF MY FUCKING LEG! YOU BASTARD!

  Team doctor: Anyway, like I said, you're gonna need to shut it down for the rest of the season. Tough break, kid.

  That was kinda therapeutic. This needs to happen.

Whatever. I probably shoulda waited a few hours before I wrote this, but I just had to get out the anger. This game further exposed the flaws that were somewhat excusable in the Dallas game. As much as I'd like to see the Knicks in the postseason, I don't know if I can emotionally stomach this kind of spotty, now-and-then effort in the playoffs. This sucks. I'll have your Cavs KTO up later tonight, I think. Peace.