Wednesday Northern Flickers

Evening, moms. I made you some links.

- You know how Alabama is known as the "Yellowhammer State"? Me neither, but that's because the Northern Flicker-- also known as the yellowhammer-- is the Alabama state bird.

- Meet-up tomorrow!

- Jonah Ballow's interview with Iman Shumpert is so, so great. Shump talks about his rehab, the ways he's been able to improve during his recovery, his hair...everything. It's entertaining and encouraging.

- Here's our friend Jim expertly articulating the fascinating discord between Jason Kidd's on-court majesty and his off-court history.

- Via terps3030, Shump explains that no, he will not be wearing Derrick Rose's new sneaker because no, he does not like Derrick Rose (on the court).

- Howard Megdal:

What we also learned is that putting Stoudemire and Anthony on the floor, minus a Chandler or Camby, is a horrific defensive idea. It is theoretically possible that group could outscore an opponent; the defensive limitations of those two in the front court, alone, might not make it actually possible. It is worth waiting to see what Stoudemire can be, offensively, since he was dominant as recently as last March, and for most of his career prior to that. But he’s never been a good defensive player, lacking more in skill than in effort on that end.

- On that note, Amar'e made a few waves today by suggesting that he'd never been taught defense before Mike Woodson took over as Knicks head coach. That's kind of a silly thing to say, but WHAT IF Amar'e starts playing elite defense all of a sudden and he's like "no, seriously, I wish somebody had told me all this stuff about staying in front of your man and contesting shots and rebounding before. This is easy"? WHAT IF???

- Amar'e did say some of the right things: I thought his perspective on starting versus coming off the bench was pretty much ideal.

- Also terrific to read that his knee felt fine and ready for practice after 17 minutes against Portland.

- Chris Herring predicts that the Knicks-- especially in Amar'e Stoudemire-anchored lineups-- might start attempting fewer three-pointers.

- People watched the Knicks lose last night. A lot of 'em.

Those are your flickers! Have a pleasant evening, all.