Posting and Toasting - Knicks at Suns~https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/community_logos/29802/posting_fave.png2014-03-29T01:37:02-04:00http://www.postingandtoasting.com/rss/stream/35702192014-03-29T01:37:02-04:002014-03-29T01:37:02-04:00Recap: Suns 112, Knicks 88
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<figcaption>Christian Petersen</figcaption>
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<p>Not even a little effort.</p> <p>I guess some tiny part of me hoped the Knicks would seize an opportunity to pull close to the sinking Hawks. I have since excised that tiny part of me with a rusty bayonet because noooooooo sir, the Knicks played this one like it was an exhibition. Worse, even, because even though there wasn't a shred of competition to be found after about the second quarter, Carmelo Anthony played 40 minutes.</p>
<p>I have no things to say about this game. J.R. Smith played some attractive offense early, Amar'e Stoudemire got his buckets in his old home, and Melo shot okay considering how much he isolated against a defense very focused against him. The Knicks offense as a whole still managed to flounder on a night when they would have needed like 70% shooting to outpace the things FARTDOG let the Suns do. Goran Dragic did not encounter a defender. Eric Bledsoe did not encounter a defender. If they missed, it was purely by accident, and another Sun tip-dunked it home anyway.</p>
<p>Some notes, almost none of which will actually pertain to the game:</p>
<p>- Clyde tried to say "ringleader," but it came out as "ling leader" one time and "ling reader" the other time. Or maybe "ring reader." Definitely not "ringleader."</p>
<p>- Dragic had 18 points on 7-8 shooting in the first quarter, so 14 on 4-9 the rest of the way is...kinda not that bad? Way to set the bar high for your opponent, Knicks!</p>
<p>- Knicks radio guy Brendan Brown had a baby. The baby looks like a good baby. Clyde: "I know all about babies."</p>
<p>- Clyde kept referring to an imaginary third Morris brother named Marquis. And by Morris I mean "Mars." Marquis Mars.</p>
<p>- Tyson Chandler's elbow into Dragic's eye probably wasn't intentional, but still looked dumb. Chandler getting tied up with one of those Mars brothers, then getting in his face and giving him a shove looked even more dumb. The Knicks were already down huge at that point. You can play hard and get rowdy or play soft and stay quiet. You can't mix and match. It's a bad look.</p>
<p>- Chandler also got stuffed by Eric Bledsoe at the rim after Raymond Felton hit him with a pass way too late. The Knicks suck, man.</p>
<p>- Iman Shumpert hit a couple jumpers off the catch, which is as positive a thing as you'll find in this Knicks performance.</p>
<p>- I really didn't pay attention in the second half. I zoned out and attended to other things-- working,<a href="https://twitter.com/celebrityhottub/status/449752197442854912" target="_blank"> imagining if whales could vote</a>, looking up the etymology of the surname "Kneebone" (Cornish, apparently) because one of the ladies in that commercial with the Paper Cottage is named that, watching my dog bark and run in her sleep, opening and reopening my cabinet hoping snacks would suddenly appear, eventually flipping over to the college games...so if anything interesting happened at the end there, I missed it.</p>
<p>- I did catch when MSG came back from commercial break by displaying a stats chyron over a shot of the Phoenix dancers doing some dancing. Mike Breen mentioned some numbers and Clyde replied "what numbers, MIke!?", that dog.</p>
<p>On one hand, the Knicks didn't even show up for an opportunity to draw really close to a playoff spot. On the other hand, they reminded us in the process that watching them face a top team in the playoffs would probably be miserable anyhow. Like foiegrastyle said, these Knicks have no heart and no confidence. No business in the postseason, either.</p>
<p>Nine more games. Happy birthday, Clyde.</p>
https://www.postingandtoasting.com/2014/3/29/5559872/suns-112-knicks-88-this-team-has-no-heart-or-confidenceSeth2014-03-28T21:34:11-04:002014-03-28T21:34:11-04:00Knicks at Suns
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<figcaption>Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption>
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<p>This is a big one. They're all big ones, but so is this one. </p> <p>Good evening! The Knicks are in Phoenix tonight for game three of their Western road trip. They've beaten the Suns before, weirdly enough (in overtime during one of the Suns' worst stretches of the year) so...maybe they can do it again? In Phoenix? Winning would be very good for the Knicks. They'd be just ONE game behind the Hawks if they did that. It would probably require something other than the usual backcourt defense against Eric Bledsoe (who missed the last meeting) and Goran Dragic, so I'm not exactly optimistic, but you never know.</p>
<p>One little sub-plot: Amar'e Stoudemire will return to Phoenix, and despite this being Amar'e's fourth year as a Knick, it's <a target="_blank" href="https://go.redirectingat.com?id=66960X1516590&xs=1&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.azcentral.com%2Fstory%2Fcoro-blog%2F2014%2F03%2F28%2Fgame-day-preview-suns-knicks%2F7021385%2F&referrer=sbnation.com&sref=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.postingandtoasting.com%2F2014%2F3%2F28%2F5559758%2Fgame-thread-knicks-at-suns-3-28-14" rel="sponsored nofollow noopener">only his second time</a> playing at US Airways Center as a non-Sun. He played well last time!</p>
<p>Tip-off tonight is at 10. This is your game thread. This is <a target="_blank" href="http://brightsideofthesun.com">Bright Side of the Sun</a>. Please don't post large photos, GIFs, or links to illegal streams in the thread. Get that W, Knicks.</p>
https://www.postingandtoasting.com/2014/3/28/5559758/game-thread-knicks-at-suns-3-28-14Seth2012-12-27T02:59:56-05:002012-12-27T02:59:56-05:00Recap: Knicks 99, Suns 97
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<figcaption>USA TODAY Sports</figcaption>
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<p>J.R. Smith's second buzzer-beater of the season helped the Knicks overcome a Suns comeback in Phoenix.</p> <p>Okay. I got distracted by the Raymond Felton injury news, then got so overwhelmed that I needed to take a shower, but here I am to recap the wild game that just took place. The build-up to J.R. Smith's heroic finish wasn't anything particularly special or unfamiliar: The <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.postingandtoasting.com/">Knicks</a> and <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.brightsideofthesun.com/">Suns</a> agreed to play pretty much zero defense to start the game. A motley bunch of Knicks kept pace with the hot-shooting Suns through the first quarter, then bolted ahead by double-digits in the second by defending the interior better and forcing turnovers (the Suns scored just 15 in the second), then sprinting for an uncharacteristic bunch of buckets in transition.</p>
<p>What followed in the second half surprised nobody. Before the Knicks could run away with the game, the Suns grabbed them by the ankles and pantsed them. <span>Shannon Brown</span> and Jared Dudley torched the screen-ducking Knick guards to key the grossest 17-4 run ever toward the end of the third, actually pushing Phoenix ahead momentarily before the Knicks tied it. Kidd's marvelous point guarding built the Knicks a small lead in the fourth, but that came crashing down when Phoenix ran off a 7-0 run within the final two minutes. New York got the ball back down 2 with over 30 seconds remaining, botched the opportunity for a two-for-one by letting the clock wind down to ten seconds before they called a timeout. Solid Phoenix defense wrecked <span>Mike Woodson's</span> set out of the timeout, but the Knicks thankfully employ a man who feels right at home in a busted possession. J.R. drained a difficult, fading jumper over <span>P.J. Tucker</span> to tie the game, then after <span>Sebastian Telfair</span> botched Phoenix's game-winning possession by stepping on the sideline, J.R. struck again. Here are his last two shots, arranged chronologically and by ascending lateral cant:</p>
<p align="center"><iframe src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/jOyRPgOHPC4" width="560" frameborder="0" height="315"></iframe> <br id="1356590392182"></p>
<p>The first shot was tough, but we've all seen J.R. sink turning fade-aways before. The winner was something else entirely. First, let us applaud Kidd for serving Smith with a perfectly placed pass that-- even after Smith slipped momentarily while cutting-- arrived right on time and past J.R. in such a way that he had few degrees left to turn. Smith caught the ball facing the sideline, propelled himself upward, outward, backward, and clockwise, then hung in mid-air just long enough to calibrate a clean look at the rim. Tucker may have even touched Smith's elbow, just to add another layer of difficulty. From pass to splash, that's about as much remarkable athleticism as you can pack into a split second.</p>
<p>And it fits that the fine work of Kidd and J.R. sealed New York's victory. Those two took turns playing both creator and finisher on a night when the absences of Raymond Felton and <span>Carmelo Anthony</span> left those roles up for grabs. Kidd threw all ilk of pinpoint feeds-- some homing in from the perimeter, some kicking out off the dribble-- and snapped out of a recent slump to bury five of eight three-point attempts, several of them on the move and early in the clock. J.R. missed a whole slew of ugly shots, but also hit a whole slew of ugly shots and did every other basketball thing imaginable. He (and Kidd) battled relentlessly around the defensive glass, turned five steals into transition buckets, hit <span>Tyson Chandler</span> with some outstanding feeds in the side pick-and-roll, played several of New York's few useful one-on-one defensive possessions, and even knocked <span>Goran Dragic</span> out of the game with an undercutting flagrant foul. That's hitting for the NBA cycle, I think. Injuring a Slovenian is the last thing, no? (Jokes. I hope Dragic, <a target="_blank" href="http://news.rotowire.com/Goran-Dragic-googid168230-spnba.htm">who was pretty banged up after the play</a>, is alright). J.R. worked his ass off and-- this is key-- seemed to channel the frustration from any errors he made into increasingly dogged defense and ever-sharpening focus.</p>
<p>Anyway, Kidd and Smith played like superstars in this one and they both deserve all the hugs and free lasagnas headed their way tonight. Some notes on the rest of the odd, short-handed Knick conglomerate:</p>
<p>- Tyson Chandler had himself a nice bounce-back game following the rough afternoon in Los Angeles. He opened the evening with an astounding array of makes outside the immediate vicinity of the rim-- first a whirling ten-footer, then a <span>Kurt Thomas</span> special from the intermediate baseline, then a turning righty hook from a few feet out. I thought we might get to see Tyson The Offensive Juggernaut all game long, but he reverted to Tyson The Restricted Area Juggernaut after the first quarter. Even then, Tyson crammed a few dunks, finished and drew some fouls on the roll, got his hands on a couple o-bounds, and, on defense, did a terrific job helping without leaving <span>Marcin Gortat</span> wide open beneath the rim. He also had that extremely satisfying block of a Gortat last-second three-point attempt, but I didn't hear whether or not that counted. The shot clock buzzer sounded right as it went down, depriving of us of a <span>James White</span> transition dunk the other way.</p>
<p>- White played just 18 minutes and, save for a nice baseline dunk off the signature hurried Kidd dish to a backdoor cut, didn't do much in his first start as a Knick.</p>
<p>- <span>Ronnie Brewer</span> finished one nice lefty coast-to-coast lay-in but otherwise did mostly bad things. Kurt Thomas banked in a long two and drained a pick-and-roll J from Kidd in the first quarter. Neither really did anything at all after the first quarter.</p>
<p>- <span>Chris Copeland</span> has now hit 63 percent of his field goals and 62 percent of his three-pointers in the month of December. His 6-12 shooting tonight actually hurt those numbers. As usual, he microwaved a bunch of lovely jumpers off the catch, struggling only when he hesitated or passed up good looks. Most of Cope's work came in the second quarter, but he drilled a huge jumper to cut Phoenix's run in the third, then added a big recovery block and a bigger weak-side jumper <a target="_blank" href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oBoLjOJTops">out of a cool set</a> and a tremendous cross-court feed from Kidd. Lots of neat-o action in 4-5 pick-and-rolls with Chandler (and maybe Camby) as well.</p>
<p>- <span>Pablo Prigioni</span> had his moments, but this was not the most encouraging performance as Pablo approaches a spike in minutes. As usual, Pablo eschewed his own attempts (he did hit a three over a pick and, according to the box score, another shot that I do not recall) for pick-and-roll feeds, but mixed some excellent ones shuffle passes in with a few forced, ill-fated lobs and precarious bounce passes.</p>
<p>- How about nine rebounds (four offensive, though a lot of those came on one possession, which also explains the 2-7 shooting line) in 13 minutes for <span>Marcus Camby</span>? Spanked a Telfair layup attempt out of bounds, too. That's exactly what we had in mind, Marcus.</p>
<p>- I sometimes feel like Steve Novak's defense was put on Earth to make me appreciate Amar'e Stoudemire's modest contributions on that end once he returns. Novak isn't a physically unqualified defensive player but, like Amar'e(!), he chooses to help-- ball-chase, really-- in the most desultory fashion at the most inopportune moments. Steve's worse than Amar'e in that regard, really. He's quite bad. At least he hit his three.</p>
<p>- Before I got preoccupied with the fracture in his pinky, I was fascinated by <span>Raymond Felton's</span> gray suit/eggplant shirt combo with no tie and zipper lapels on the jacket. I concluded that Raymond plays through injury so often because he's got some weird-ass street clothes.</p>
<p>- I'll just say it: Ruining <span>Jared Dudley's</span> career night made the win that much tastier. I didn't fully know this about myself before tonight, but I really loathe Jared Dudley.</p>
<p>- <a target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/TheKnicksWall/statuses/284166653854490625">This was the moment</a> at which I became convinced J.R. would take us home.</p>
<p>That's all I've got. The Knicks, for the most part, keep finding ways to thrive against the odds. The Suns aren't good, but they've played well at home and taken down some very good teams. Not a bad win at all. To echo what BJabs said after the game: Thanks, J.R. Thanks to Jason and the rest of 'em, as well. Cool effort.</p>
<p>Sacramento on Friday, then it's time to rest. More on Felton's finger and Melo's hyper-extended knee (please please please be just that) as updates arrive. <3</p>
https://www.postingandtoasting.com/2012/12/27/3806602/knicks-99-suns-97-thank-you-j-rSeth2012-12-26T23:33:29-05:002012-12-26T23:33:29-05:00Video: J.R. Smith beats the Suns at the buzzer.
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<figcaption>USA TODAY Sports</figcaption>
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<p>AAAAHAHAHAHAHA</p> <p><span>J.R. Smith</span>, you magnificent madman. The <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.brightsideofthesun.com/">Suns</a>, as they do, slashed New York's double-digit lead, but the brilliance of <span>Jason Kidd</span> and Smith-- right down to a pair of impossible jumpers to tie and win the game-- stole the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.postingandtoasting.com/">Knicks</a> back their victory. Bananas. Recap later or maybe in the morning. Whenever I'm done LOLing.</p>
<p><b>Update</b>: <a target="_blank" href="http://cjzero.com/gifs/JRWinnerSuns.gif">J.R., the .gif.</a></p>
<p><b>Update:</b> The video:</p>
<p align="center"><iframe src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/T1swX9PtuD8" width="560" frameborder="0" height="315"></iframe> <br id="1356583035730"></p>
https://www.postingandtoasting.com/2012/12/26/3807002/final-score-knicks-99-suns-97Seth2012-12-26T18:57:00-05:002012-12-26T18:57:00-05:00Pre-Game: Knicks at Suns
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<figcaption>US PRESSWIRE</figcaption>
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<p>The Knicks play the second of a back-to-back and second of a three-game road trip in Phoenix tonight.</p> <p>Oo-wee, we got a late game. The <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.postingandtoasting.com/">Knicks</a> play game two of their three-game road trip in Phoenix tonight. It is, of course, a SEGABABA as well. The Knicks got to Phoenix last night after losing to the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.silverscreenandroll.com/">Lakers</a> in L.A.</p>
<p>The <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.brightsideofthesun.com/">Suns</a> aren't especially good, but they're not quite bad, either. They're a decent offensive team that, as you may remember, heated up and nearly came back to beat the Knicks a few weeks ago. They can do that. Since then, Phoenix has been up and down. They lost two straight over the weekend after winning four in a row (including one over the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.grizzlybearblues.com/">Grizzlies</a>) prior. The Knicks can totally beat the Suns, but I worry they'll falter if they go into the game thinking "we can totally beat the Suns".</p>
<p><span>Raymond Felton's</span> availability for tonight remains questionable, so there's obviously no word yet on who'll start if he sits. I hope he sits.</p>
<p>Tonight's game isn't until 9, so the game thread won't be up for a couple hours. I guess we just sit here and chat until then? Did you guys eat any good dinners?</p>
<p><a target="_blank" href="http://www.tiqiq.com/nba/new-york-knicks-tickets?pubid=1011027">New York Knicks Tickets</a></p>
https://www.postingandtoasting.com/2012/12/26/3806140/pre-game-knicks-at-sunsSeth