I woke up this morning feeling pretty distraught about the state of the planet and the state of the Knicks (to roughly equivalent degrees, because I am a sick, sick individual). The world's ills are beyond the scope of this blog, but I consider it a personal failure if I'm not enjoying the Knicks. They're a basketball team, after all. In any 82-game season, they're prone to periods of dysfunction, especially as a relatively unfamiliar bunch. Beyond all that, though, basketball is fun, the Knicks are a decent club, and life is wonderful. Today, we celebrate two things:
1. It is the birthday of our very own Toney Douglas. We've gone through some serious growing pains with TD this year, but I'm very happy to report that on the day Toney turns 25, I'm more confident in his skills and role with the team than ever before. He's struggled at times, but his improved scoring and ball-handling are of unquestionable value to our beloved Knicks. Moreover, he's a decent, likable guy who does exactly what's asked of him and works hard to improve.
Toney will undoubtedly do what Toney Douglas do in celebration of his twenty-fifth, and I suggest we all do the same.
2. Due in some part to the grace of young Toney, the Knicks are going to the playoffs. Barring a total collapse AND a surge from one of the lower-seeded teams (which, as rough as things have been recently, is highly unlikely), we're going to be treated to a spectacle on the league's biggest stage. It's been seven years since that was the case. It's a little scary, but it's mostly amazing, not to mention exactly the step we've been waiting for for quite some time. There are still three weeks or so for the gravity of a playoff push to dawn on these guys and motivate them to gel and work toward a common goal. Even if that harmony doesn't arrive in time for playoff success, it's a move in the right direction. Even if it's NOT a move in the right direction, we're invested in it together and that's pretty cool.
Basically, I'm upset that you guys are upset. There's no need to be. Not when you're talking about a basketball team, and especially not when you're talking about a likely playoff basketball team that includes the eminent Toney Douglas. Let's enjoy this and hope for the best.
Update: Per Osborn's request, here's last year's TD B-Day Post.