I've got like two pages of notes, but it's pretty much the same nonsense we've been going over. The Knicks spend most of their time playing like they don't care, and tonight they didn't even bother to make a run. Donté Greene, bless his little heart, had the game of his career against a Knick defense that didn't contest shots on the perimeter, or under the basket, or anywhere in between.
Only adding insult to injury was the fact that some of our beloved youngsters actually got some burn...and didn't look so hot. Danilo Gallinari was terribly apprehensive. More capon than cock. On one end, his touches were punctuated by either missed off-balance threes or drives that ended with a kick-out. The moves were more or less there; he just wouldn't pull the trigger on the right shots. On defense, Gallo drifted far too much and repeatedly left his man (usually Andres Nocioni) open on the perimeter or free to cut backdoor. Toney Douglas, meanwhile, wasn't hitting his shots (1-6), and kept getting hung out to dry on defense. Toney plays D the right way- up close and personal- but does so with the expectation that his teammates will help out. On the Knicks, that's an ill-fated assumption. The other guys don't exactly DWTDD. Jordan Hill, for his part, was pretty active in 9 minutes. Jordan missed both his shots, but his four rebounds and two blocked shots didn't go unnoticed.
The rest of the guys did their own little things. Larry Hughes, Al Harrington, Wilson Chandler, and Chris Duhon shot 10-38 collectively. Duhon bricked one fourth quarter attempt so badly that they needed a pole to get it out from behind the shot clock. I kid you not. Nate Robinson shot well, but spent too much time preening for the friends and family in attendance to play any defense. David Lee recorded a triple-double with 25 points, 12 rebounds, and 10 assists on Sacramento baskets.
If there is anything positive to be taken from tonight's spectacle, it's that Danilo Gallinari's new spiky hairstyle looks like a cockscomb, which is most definitely intentional.
Oh, and folk hero Marcus Landry managed to post a +8 in his three minutes of garbage time. That's worthy of a starting spot, and I'm only half kidding.
The Knicks' next game is on Friday in Denver. If they can't find some semblance of teamwork and commitment between now and then, we're in for a long night. Thanks to everybody who came out for the game thread. Y'all are troopers. Keep commenting along and your participation will one day be rewarded with wins. We'll talk tomorrow. Goodnight.