Photo. Tim TadderIt wasn’t that bad the last time the Dime crew went to MSG for a Knicks game. No one was happy about Dwight Howard’s 20-20 stat line and a double-digit loss, but no need to fold up the tent just yet. Then a six-game losing streak and Stephon Marbury’s walk-out happened. So last night at the Garden, the Knicks fans were out for blood. When the PA announcer said “Your New York Knicks!” during intros, the boos were loud. When Isiah was introduced they were louder. And when Steph was introduced they were super-loud: It was quite possibly the loudest we’ve ever heard an athlete booed on his home court … For most of the first quarter the venom was all falling on Steph — he was booed whenever he touched the ball — but as the Warriors kept turning the screws in, the crowd became disgusted with everyone; they even booed a guy playing that “make a layup/tic-tac-toe” game during a timeout. By the end of the night it was a Golden State 26-piecing, plenty of unprintable comments from the fans (”Pull your skirt up, Steph!”), and the arena drowning in “Fire Isiah!” and “Sell our team!” chants. Isiah’s blank/stoic stare-straight-ahead reaction to the clearly audible chants was almost hard to watch … The Warriors looked like a playoff team again, running on the Knicks relentlessly and playing inspired defense. They were really good at slapping the ball away even after you’ve gone past their man; Steph, Jamal Crawford, Zach, Nate and Mardy Collins all got caught multiple times. From those turnovers (27 total) it was a fast-break clinic, conducted by Professor Baron Davis, who put up 31 points and 7 dimes … Meanwhile, Stephen Jackson (23 pts) was gunning. Early on, every time he sniffed the ball he was chucking — and missing. The only time he’d pass is if he definitely didn’t have a half-decent look at a shot. In the third quarter S-Jack heated up and started serving Q-Rich an early Thanksgiving hot plate … In the locker room pre-game, Steph only granted one interview, a TV spot with Clyde Frazier. We listened in, though. Marbury said his return to the starting lineup was “something that had to happen,” and said he hadn’t talked to Isiah about taking on any different kind of role. Asked about playing against Baron, Steph noted, “It’s a contract year for him, so he’s going all out.” … In the locker room post-game, you could tell everyone on the Knicks just wanted to get dressed and get the hell to Detroit for tonight’s game. So reporters were left asking the Warriors to diagnose New York’s problems. Don Nelson wasn’t having it: “I’m not going to talk about that, so don’t go there,” he told one reporter. S-Jack compared it to when he was getting booed in Indiana. “You just gotta take it like a man,” he said … We had a D.J. Mbenga sighting. There was a play in the second half where he was the trailer on a break with Monta Ellis and Kelenna Azubuike. Monta could have hit Azubuike for a lob, but opted to reward the big man for running the floor. Somehow Mbenga went up for a dunk and ended up missing the rim … Spotted in the crowd: Chris Mullin, Charles Oakley, Mitch Richmond, Darryl Dawkins and Irv Gotti … At halftime we saw a guy walking around in a Ron Artest Bulls jersey. It wasn’t a throwback — just an old jersey. But that wasn’t as crazy as the guy wearing two jerseys: a David Lee he was rocking over a hockey jersey … Kobe was cracking Danny Granger in the first half of Lakers/Pacers, dropping 5 treys and 26 points, seemingly on his way to 60 if he wanted. He put it on chill-mode in the second half, though, and ended up with 32 in a Lakers rout … With the Lakers’ hot start, a lot of people are wondering if they’re playing well enough to cool Kobe’s jets as far as wanting to be traded. The team didn’t do much for him in the offseason aside from adding Derek Fisher, but yesterday they made a move: trading Mo Evans and Brian Cook to Orlando for Trevor Ariza. Does this really help the Lakers, though? Ariza has talent, but is he any better as a raw athlete than Evans was? And Cook did some OK things for L.A. They just don’t seem to be in the position to be making 2-for-1 deals … Two games we thought were finito until some big comebacks: Mavs/Raptors and Suns/Kings. Toronto went up by 20-plus in the first half, blowing Dallas out of the water and forcing Avery Johnson to bench the starters in the first quarter. Then Dirk (32 pts) went ballistic in the third quarter, bringing the Mavs all the way back to steal a win … In Sacto, the Suns were up big in the second half before the Kings rallied back. Ron Artest (33 pts, 12 rebs) was the spark in this one, but Amare (26 pts, 13 rebs, 4 blks) got some big buckets down the stretch, allowing Phoenix to pull it out … At the end the Kings had a chance to tie in the final 10 seconds but Artest missed a jumper. Steve Nash threw it ahead to Barbosa for what would have been a dagger dunk/layup, but Barbosa lost the ball out of bounds. So the Kings had another chance, but couldn’t get a good shot. BTW, Kevin Martin never touched the ball in either of those last two possessions … With three of their four point guards hurt (Speedy Claxton, Acie Law, Tyronn Lue), the Hawks got eviscerated by Tony Parker for 31 points and 9 dimes … Great college game between UCLA and Michigan State. After cruising through its first few games, UCLA was finally feeling the absence of Darren Collison last night up against MSU’s backcourt — especially Drew Neitzel. The Spartans were up double-digits in the first half and had a sizable lead for most of the second before Kevin Love (21 pts, 11 rebs) led a last-minute comeback and kept the Bruins undefeated … Eric Gordon had another 30-point game against UNC-Wilmington … Tennessee’s JaJuan Smith almost scored as many points by himself (32) as the Volunteers’ Tuesday-night victims, Middle Tennessee State (40). Needless to say, it was ugly … We’re out like Steph the Sixth Man …
November 21st, 2007 at 6:07 am
Fish says:
Love the Steph “contract year” remark. He frequently describes playing in the NBA as a business and doesn’t seem to acknowledge anything past that. You watch Baron play and you know that guy is passionate about winning. You watch Steph and you know he is passionate about getting his.
November 21st, 2007 at 7:05 am
Flying-Dutchman says:
In the last few years, has there been a bigger mess then NY? I’d be scared to buy a NY jersey cause the player probably be traded the following week.
November 21st, 2007 at 7:47 am
OGN says:
It is a business, big business high stakes (period)
November 21st, 2007 at 8:04 am
d1n says:
Great move for the lakers as they have a very similar player to cook in radmanovic and ariza is 3 inches taller than evans and gives they athleticism/defense at the three as opposed to walton yes he is a weaker shooter than evans but they have fisher,farmar,vujacic,crittenton and coby as shooters….not to mention a certain #24
November 21st, 2007 at 8:08 am
ftm says:
Dime-
In regards to a comment somebody made yesterday about the HOF Watch segment running out of steam, i say (and many others probably think the same) that it is not running out of steam and there are still a number of players whos cases you all can touch upon (no homophobe). So keep it going. The bulls are now babies again? is that whats going on? even without deng they shoud be playing better than how they did last night…
November 21st, 2007 at 8:27 am
Fish says:
The NBA is a business, basketball is not. As soon as a player blurs the lines it’s almost immediately apparent in their game (or lack thereof). (err, period)
November 21st, 2007 at 8:35 am
Ben says:
The Knicks booing their own team, coach, and star players?? No way…
I loved the S-Jack comment “They gotta take it like a man!!”
November 21st, 2007 at 8:38 am
FK in Toronto says:
Interesting sub-plot with the Raptors - Bargnani was HOT in the 1st half, outsroring Dirk 16-4 in their 1-on-1 matchup. Inexplicably, Sam Mitchell doesn’t look to get him a single touch in the 2nd half until they were stuck 8 with 55 seconds to go.
Collangelo’s GM’ing easily led to Mitchell’s Coach of the Year award…
November 21st, 2007 at 8:50 am
sans says:
Steph cannot wait to get to Italy. I thought he was crazy when he first made that noise, but with every passing week, it sounds like the best move that he can make.
November 21st, 2007 at 9:41 am
evan says:
No thanks to Otis for getting those two from the Lakers. Neither does anything specifically well and I think that Cook was an attitude dump as much as it was just shoring up a week position on the Lakers.
Cook = Hedo without all of the veteran maturity or competency.
Evans = Another guy to keep our back court damn small. He better be able to play defense off the bench and stay out of the way of the shooters.
November 21st, 2007 at 9:42 am
calvin brodus says:
Yo Dime, WTF!?!? First you the snub the nuggies on your power list yesterday by putting the mediocre lakers ahaead of them, and now, they don’t even get a mention in smack!?!? They won their sixth straight last night, are having the best start they’ve had in the past couple decades, they own a six game winning streak, and they’re serving up 20 piece McNuggets left and right. But what do I hear about constantly from you guys? The SORRY ASS KNICKS. Steph is the god damn Britney Spears of the league. Constant press for fucking up. Isiah is the Paris Hilton. Constant press for being an idiot. I get it, the Knicks blow goat. Is that really surprising to anyone? I certainly don’t consider it shocking news. Quit the tabloid bullshit and give me news on hoops. Dime is going to become the National Enquirer of hoops mags.
November 21st, 2007 at 9:59 am
Kobeef says:
At some point this season doesn’t Sam M. have to try starting Jose Calderon? He plays a better team game than TJ who seems to be the team leader in FGA for the season…which is not right for a PG who does not shoot that well.
Am very interested to see how Ariza works out with the Lakers. He had some strong games witht he Knicks and could be a great “dirty work guy” for the Lakers..who don’t really have many guys who like to do the dirty work.
November 21st, 2007 at 10:08 am
giacomo says:
not a huge thing, but i played high school ball against this cat in australia called pat mills. dude is only 19 but was chopping up for australia over the summer and now he is playing college ball..
so how bout mills leading unranked St. Marys over the ducks(12)? dude went ballistic-
37 points, 3 rebs, 5 assists, 2steals a block and 13-14 from the foul line…
remember that was only his 4th college game out of the AIS. way to early to be talking about getting drafted or anything, but dude has potential to be a tony parker-esque point.
November 21st, 2007 at 10:26 am
Myrie in NY says:
I was a Knick fan yesterday, I am a Knick fan today, and I will be a Knick tomorrow.
Gotta ride with my boys thru thick-n-thin. But please everybody, have a little mercy.
November 21st, 2007 at 10:29 am
wat_helmet says:
giacomo….
this “cat”
“chopping up”
“dude went ballistic”
does anybody in australia really talk like that… i know the nba has got quite a few aussie fans (especially because our league is so shit) but seriously… who talks like that here?
i guess your soooooooooo baller…
…
haha
November 21st, 2007 at 10:37 am
Kevin says:
Wow, giacomo drops some interesting info on a kid I wasn’t aware of, and an upste that I missed, and all you can do is degrade his writing style? Total class.
November 21st, 2007 at 10:46 am
Myrie in NY says:
Lakers traded Maurice Evans and Brian Cook to Orlando for Trevor Ariza?
Hmmm. How many 3pt shooters do the Magic really need? Also, were Ariza and Jordan Farmar teammates at UCLA a few yrs back?
November 21st, 2007 at 10:57 am
wat_helmet says:
interesting info on a kid, but it just seems his giving his props to a friend of his… trying to build up some attention for more college potential…
but you’re right, i guess i’m being too cynical… i just dislike the vocabulary of that hip hop / rap slang thats associated with basketball… freedom and speech is good and all, but i think it degrades what is an excellent sport…
and especially in australia, where nobody ever talks like that….
November 21st, 2007 at 10:59 am
wat_helmet says:
in fact reading over what he said it’s not so bad…
id just hate to see australia turn more like the united states
November 21st, 2007 at 11:01 am
DOC says:
The Knicks stink we dont care about them. Holla at us when Marbury kill hiself.
November 21st, 2007 at 11:16 am
dre in o town says:
Not a bad trade for Orlando. They need a big body since Battie is out for the season. And they no have a journey man wing player. I don’t know what advantage it adds to the Lakers except for maybe a fan favorite in Ariza, oh and some mentioned here that Ariza and Farmar are former teamates, so i guess it’s all good.
November 21st, 2007 at 11:36 am
MD says:
hating on sam mitchell seems to be the ‘in’ thing nowadays…do any of you guys watch what goes on the court beyond the offense side of things for the raptors?…bargnani got pulled in that brutal 3rd quarter because he just wasn’t bringing it defensively…and tj ford- for all the complaining people do about him not being a shooter- he’s shooting over 47% from the field this year in addition to averaging 8 assists and 15 points per…i really like calderon’s game- don’t get me wrong, but TJ deserves to be the starting point guard…PERIOD.
November 21st, 2007 at 12:03 pm
Lee says:
How about Camby’s performace last night. 20 Rebs, 5 Blocks, ZERO FOULS.
November 21st, 2007 at 12:46 pm
Kevin says:
>>>in fact reading over what he said it’s not so bad…
id just hate to see australia turn more like the united states
No worries, dude. I lived in Perth (and plan on going back permanently) a few years back and completely understand your desire that the country stay insulated from American culture. It’s got a good thing going.
November 21st, 2007 at 12:49 pm
Kevin says:
Camby was unreal. But how about Andray Blatche going 12 of 14 and putting up an all around good line? Anyone think there is a chance that the Wiz will move Caron Butler to SG, Jamison to SF and insert Blatche at PF full time? Seems like a better starting five than the current one with Deshawn.
November 21st, 2007 at 1:13 pm
2 Easy says:
Alright lemme try and touch on everythin a lil. I love that comparison between steph and brittany its surprisingly accurate. The warriors D was terrible cause Jacko wasnt there bullyin people into turnovers. Um the Nuggets are for real as I said preseason but to be fair they are beatin some ok teams like their supposed to. Um wat else, how could the Kings not give K Mart 2 the ball? Ron Ron’s more of a spot up shooter and everyone else on that team isnt as good as he is… odd. And being a T.O naitive I save this comment for last. The reason Calderon doesnt start is because the 2nd unit needs him more. I found myself askin the same question last nite as I watched the Raps give that game away and the 2nd unit consists of many dudes who cannot create their own shots. He can not only create for them but himself. I personally think he’s better than TJ ford only because TJ’s a little too unconscious when it comes to shootin, sometimes he does not even look at Bosh. To end the 1st half he took a horrible lookin fadeaway over trent hassel rather than doing well anything else. Mitchell pulled Il Mago cause Dirk was torchin him defensively which is wat he’s supposed to do but I think he’s slightly biased towards Bargnarni cause Dirk was mirkin any and everyone and he pulled Andrea within seconds and everyone else got more opportunities. He beat Andrea & bosh usin the same move from different sides of the court and yet Andrea comes out first. That was the game for Jorge Garbojsa to come in cause they needed rebounding and shootin which they cant get from Andrea nor Moon. If u could combine those 2 then that would be nice be till then the Raps will be inconsistent
November 21st, 2007 at 1:54 pm
nick says:
2 easy I agree with what you mostly said however saying that moon doesn’t rebound is not true. He had over 10 yesterday and most games he has around 6-7 rebs so i would say andrea needs to reb alot more. he is a 7footer who gets like 5rebs that don’t cut it. i do agree that garbo would have helped alot with his experience considering on the spanish national team he guards their best player and has matched up with dirk plenty of times.
November 21st, 2007 at 2:08 pm
2 Easy says:
Nick i think u misread me, cause i kno moon can rebound, its the whole reason hes gettin so much burn, i said he’s a liabilty offensively while andrea is one on defense. i didnt even think of that whole international aspect of garbo & dirk, good point
November 21st, 2007 at 5:50 pm
Russ says:
WHAT? All the talk about ariza and farmar and no one is excited about the reunion of james augustine and brian cook?
I’m just playin.
November 21st, 2007 at 8:16 pm
Bron42 says:
hey russ, i’m sure they can sign dee brown off waivers too…get a whole illini 3rd string.
November 21st, 2007 at 9:54 pm
Austin Burton says:
What’s Robert Powell up to?
November 21st, 2007 at 10:17 pm
Russ says:
i wonder how ol’ dee is doing over there in turkey?
Austin: You mean Roger Powell or am I missing something?
November 22nd, 2007 at 12:04 am
Bron42 says:
i always things it funny when stacked college teams like that, go pro and only one of the guys is actually any good. and its usually not even the main guy.
November 22nd, 2007 at 12:50 am
Austin Burton says:
Roger Powell, my bad. Shout-out to Frank Williams, too.