Monday Verdins

Good day! We'll get to Knicks-Cavs things in a little while. For now, a few quick links:

- The verdin is a species of penduline tit, which-- I discovered after giggling for fourteen hours-- is a kind of bird that makes a hanging, bag-like nest woven from fibers and affixed to the end of a tree branch. Verdins are actually one of the few species in this group that don't make nests like that. Theirs are more dome-like.

- Jared Dubin does a terrific job of breaking down one of the more complex sets the Knicks have been using recently to get Amar'e Stoudemire open. The more off-ball movement, the better, so this is pretty cool to see, especially since it creates plenty of other scoring options.

- The impressive lockdown LeBron James put on Carmelo Anthony yesterday, summarized both in tweet and blog post form.

- So, maybe fewer than 14 threes next time, J.R. Smith?

- An updated look at the Knicks' rebounding ranks over time, via Ed Kupfer. They're even inching toward average on the offensive glass.

- Tommy Beer's excellent piece on our friend Clyde.

- There is going to be an Amar'e documentary of some sort? It's going to air on EPIX, which is a real channel? Here's the trailer.

- This was recorded before the Heat game, but here's a podcast I did with Bryan Gibberman of The Knicks Wall.

Those are the links. Hope you're having a splendid afternoon. Cleveland stuff coming later.