Regular Season Form
Knicks/Celtics wasn’t looking good for the home team at first. Kevin Garnett got a bigger ovation from the MSG crowd than any of the Knicks or Isiah; then the tip-off was between KG and Eddy Curry (try to guess who won that); and in the first few minutes of the game, Boston’s starters were all getting wide open looks as New York was playing ZERO defense. It was beginning to look like another 40-piecing, but the Knicks fought back, got some stops, looked like an actual team of guys who like playing with each other, and eventually got the W … It didn’t feel like a meaningless preseason game, either. The Celtics didn’t rest anyone aside from Kendrick Perkins — KG, Pierce and Ray played about 40 minutes apiece, and Doc Rivers was like Mike D’Antoni with his rotations. This was pretty much Boston’s full squad, playing like they wanted to win, and the Knicks just beat them. Is it possible Dime’s biggest Knicks fan was right after all? … Garnett (17 pts, 10 rebs, 5 blks) was a demon on D, hounding Zach Randolph all night, but Z-Bo still managed to shake free long enough to put up 23 points. He also notched five steals. That’s unlike Zach … Nate Robinson (20 pts, 9 rebs, 4 asts) seriously looked as good as we’ve ever seen him. His handle was tight, and when he got into the lane he was looking to pass rather than trying to dunk on all of Massachusetts. Nate hit his outside shots and he made smart decisions (except for when he managed to get from midcourt all the way to the rim for a finger roll without taking a dribble — but the refs didn’t call anything). Play-by-play guy Mike Breen kept marveling at how under-control Nate was playing, and mentioned that he’d been watching tapes of Steve Nash, Baron Davis and Chauncey Billups all summer … Nate has already been carving out a niche as a Earl Boykins-type of scorer who can come off the bench and play the two despite being under 6-foot. If he continues to hone this pure point guard element of his game, he’ll always have a job in the League … And after one play where Nate inbounded at midcourt, took a hand-off and stuck a three, Clyde Frazier dropped the “That was a provocative play” line … Paul Pierce (29 pts, 8 rebs, 3 stls) got provocative when he dropped Fred Jones to his knees with a spin move/jump shot that just wasn’t fair … Frazier on Eddy Curry‘s lack of shot-blocking ability: “He must improve his hostility.” … We hadn’t noticed James Posey‘s “Po-Z” tat on his left shoulder before … There was no debate when we ran Allen Iverson through yesterday’s “Hall of Fame Watch.” And there shouldn’t have been. Today’s candidate (come back to DimeMag.com around lunch time to see who it is) is more of a question mark … What do Brandan Wright and Lil’ Jon have in common? Click here and see. And yes, that really is Lil’ Jon in the photo … Marvin Williams (24 pts, 6 rebs), Josh Childress (22 pts, 5 asts) and Josh Smith (24 pts, 11 rebs, 6 asts, 4 blks) all had big games in Atlanta’s win over Washington. That’s why our Fantasy Doctor has all three ranked in his Top 40 Small Forwards. Who’s #1? Take a guess … Caron Butler, who cracked the Doctor’s Top 10, had a weird stat line. He didn’t make a field goal, but hit all 11 of his free throws … We’re out like Eddy’s hostility …
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October 23rd, 2007 at 9:03 am
bliz289 says:
How does Pierce get no love in Smack. He was ridiculous last night! He had something like 18 in the 3rd quarter. They lost, but he was in mid-season form and deserves at least a Smack mention. C’mon fellas!
October 23rd, 2007 at 9:09 am
Austin Burton says:
“Paul Pierce (29 pts, 8 rebs, 3 stls) got provocative when he dropped Fred Jones to his knees with a spin move/jump shot that just wasn’t fair.”
Smack mention.
How many did Pierce have in the 4th quarter?
October 23rd, 2007 at 9:41 am
Bron42 says:
you say nate can be a earl boykins type and will alwyas have a job in the nba if he works on it BUT isnt earl boykins unemployed at the moment? And you dropped some love for paul pierce but wheres the hate for brian scal? The guy hits one jumper and then goes 0-the centuary after that. HOW IS HE STILL IN THE LEAGUE? I’ve met him a few times in his early years as a net and hes a nice guy but come on. Your tellin me theres NO on at some park better than him? Call up mike harris fromly of the rockets NOW!
October 23rd, 2007 at 9:51 am
Hassan says:
Pierce in midseason form!!! C’Mon. Dude is getting round. Lucky for him, he has on the ball skills, but is that what Boston really needs. Is he going to be able to work off the ball now that he has help? No more pounding the ball because he is the lone star in boston, now Allen , and Garnet would want the ball.
October 23rd, 2007 at 10:13 am
Tom from Cleveland says:
Celtics play the big 3 around 40 minutes each and lose to the Knicks? Maybe they’re not as good as everybody says they’re going to be.
October 23rd, 2007 at 10:23 am
buckets says:
…or maybe the knicks are better than every1 thinks ther guna be???DUN-NUN-NAAAAAAAAAAAA
October 23rd, 2007 at 10:34 am
sans says:
Yet somehow not as good as everyone in NYC says they’ll be.
October 23rd, 2007 at 10:38 am
OJ from the Freeway says:
I gotta say Zach Randolph and Eddy Curry make up the fattest front court in the NBA.
October 23rd, 2007 at 10:47 am
seth says:
Or maybe it was a preseason game and the Big Three has now played together a total of 5 times….Come on Knick fans, don’t start licking each others lollipops just yet.
October 23rd, 2007 at 10:58 am
Smity says:
thats funny seth, we don’t do that on the southside of the chi.
October 23rd, 2007 at 11:17 am
2 Easy says:
Im just wonderin how come no one has commented on the anger that was goin on. KG was ice grillin everyone in sight and Nate Robinson aka David was beefin wit everyone wearin green lol. I cant wait till next week when it matters. I wanna see how good a coach Doc is. Ive always pulled for him but now I get to see wat hes made of. The big 3 are already meshin and that should scare everyone, they brought out the midseason in the Knicks who then in turn brought out their intensity. I dont think it was their midseason but shit was intense
October 23rd, 2007 at 11:26 am
djKianoosh says:
new york is a funny place. I used to live there, I know. when you’re there, everything revolves around “the city” and people who live outside the city might as well cease to exist.
it’s preseason. they might even start out with a nice little record, but how many wins do non-new yorkers see these guys get realistically? 35? 40?
October 23rd, 2007 at 11:53 am
Eric says:
Gotta agree with “2 Easy.” Game had serious playoff intensity. Crawford fouled Ray Allen who fell, then Paul Pierce and KG got in Crawfords grill, Pierce even put his hand on Crawford’s chinny chin chin. Then Nate and Tony Allen got into it. Then “Po-Z” had a hard foul on David Lee’s dunk attempt then, again, KG was mouthin off. And KG and Z-BO were seriously battling down low.
Great game for preseason
October 23rd, 2007 at 12:41 pm
For Real? says:
Pierce is always actin’ tough with that little sneer and now he’s trying to punk Crawford? Get over yourself fat boy. Shave that loose taco meat off your face and hit up a treadmill once in a while. I hate the Celtics.
October 23rd, 2007 at 12:46 pm
Bxballer says:
Hey Bron42 I agree with you, how the hell does Scalibrine still have a job. The guy is plain terrible. Oh yeah, did any one know that the Big 3 went scoreless in the 4th qtr. I’m telling ya the Knicks have one of the deepest teams in the league, and that is will get us into the playoffs
October 23rd, 2007 at 12:48 pm
heavy d says:
Isn’t the line about Eddy Curry that he doesn’t need to block shots because he can get shot clock violations when they try to drive around him?
October 23rd, 2007 at 2:00 pm
nick says:
knicks maybe deep but they have no interrior defense. both z-bo and curry play no defense and that’s not gonna be a good look when games start to actually matter.
October 23rd, 2007 at 5:35 pm
doc says:
It’s funny how people get hype about the Knicks in preseason.
October 23rd, 2007 at 9:56 pm
srb says:
I could do everything Scalabrine does. Miss open shots? Make bad fouls? Upfakes? Bad passes? You bet.