Knicks Pull Within 2 Games Of The Playoffs With Victory Over The Warriors!!!

The Knicks continued their trend tonight doing what they do best, win one, lose one. Tonight it was their turn to win. They played host to a Golden State team that was without Baron Davis, Stephen Jackson and Matt Barnes. On the other side of the ball, the Knicks were without David Lee, Nate Robinson and of course Jamal Crawford. Steve Francis returned to the court tonight and miraculously he was semi effective putting up 7 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists and 1 steal in only 22 minutes. With Crawford out for the remainder of the season, you can look for Steve's minutes to increase as well as his productivity.

We had big games tonight from Marbury (34 points and 5 assists), Richardson (30 points and 12 rebounds) and Curry (22 points and 7 rebounds). The Warriors were paced by Al Harrington (26 points and 8 rebounds) as he completely destroyed Channing Frye. There were times when I was watching the game and I kept asking myself why Thomas would never run anybody at Harrington to get the ball out of his hands.....I guess that's why he's the coach and I'm the fan. Both teams refused to play any defense until the Knicks finally woke up a little on the defensive side of the ball.

Marbury was huge tonight. He pretty much controlled the game when he needed to. He took control when it was necessary, but at the same time he made sure Curry saw the ball almost every time down the floor. I really admire the job Marbury has done this year as far as becoming more of a leader on the floor and in the locker room. He is not the same kid that was playing for the T-Wolves or the Nets or the Suns. This is one of the best point guards to come out of New York City, playing for his home town team, under a hall of fame point guard that guided his team to back to back championships. I think Steph is finally starting to see the light.

Tomorrow we visit Atlanta on our sub 500 road trip. The Knicks have not had much luck this year in the 2nd game of back to backs. We're still only 2 games out of the playoffs with more than 20 games left. We still have a chance to get in and I think we will. Can we make it 2 in a row tomorrow night. I don't know but you can guarantee one thing, whether we win or lose I'll be right here to talk about it.

Notes: Mardy Collins & Steve Francis both played well off the bench tonight for the Knicks. I'm glad to see Francis contributing with Crawford out. He looked very healthy for a man that was considering shutting it down for the season earlier in the week. Orlando, Indiana and Toronto both loss tonight. Miami beat Detroit and New Jersey was off tonight.

The Last 2 Days Have Been Lose, Win, Lose, Lose, Lose !!!

It's been a minute since I've written in the World Famous DaVonn Jefferson NY Knicks Weblog. For the record, we are the third best Knicks blog online...behind Mike Dougherty of the New York Journal News (http://knicks.lohudblogs.com/) and Frank Isola of the New York Daily News (http://blogs.nydailynews.com/knicks/).

Let's start with Sunday night in New Jersey. This was a special game for me because I was actually at the game only a couple rows back from the Knicks bench. We had a chance to pull even with the team we have the biggest rivalry with. We have a good first half with Stephon taking Jason Kidd to school. We go into halftime leading comfortably, then we come out in the 2nd half with no effort. We blow a 9 point lead and we ended up trailing by double digits in the 4th. I was very confused with Isiah's substitution patterns that night. The big problem I had that night was Curry not playing enough in the 4th quarter. Later Isiah said he didn't like the match up so I can't argue with him. It was a call he made and we loss. When your the coach, you make some decisions you have to live with. If it would've worked, he would've been a genius. Who's to say he's not a genius? Bottom line, we ended up losing to the Nets and moving to 2 games behind them in the standings. Oh yeah did I mention we didn't have David Lee that night.

The very next night we hosted the World Champion Miami Heat. It was a good game from beginning to end. I was very interested in seeing Curry vs. Shaq....and I wasn't disappointed. Curry outplayed Shaq from beginning to end. Curry finished with 28 points and 10 rebounds however, he didn't score one point in the 4th quarter. Starbury took over in the 4th quarter and bought the win home. He looked like the old Marbury that other teams feared. His quickness and power going to the room made him almost unguardable. It was exceptionally pleasant to watch because it was the 2nd game of a back to back. We hung on and won the game 99-93. Crawford hit a big 3 pointer to put us up 4 with a little over 20 seconds remaining. With the win, we improved our record to 26-32. OK now listen to this....as of right now Tuesday night February 27th, the Knicks are only 2 games out of the 8th AND 7th seeds. What makes it even more exciting is the fact there are 24 games left.......WOW!! Why don't we hear more about this huge positive in the media? Oh yeah....we didn't have David Lee last night again.

This morning I wake up excited to read the newspaper articles about the game last night. I check out the papers getting much joy from reading about us beating the chumps...I mean the champs. I get to work on some of my other projects, then around 2 this afternoon my co worker comes up to me and asks if I heard what happened. I told him no and that's when he broke the news on me. My stomach dropped as soon as he told me, Jamal Crawford is out for the remainder of the regular season with an high ankle sprain. He'll need surgery to repair it and he will return only if the Knicks make the playoffs. Then I thought to myself, this isn't all that bad. It could actually be a blessing in disguise. This could be the beginning of something special with Marbury and Francis. With Crawford's injury, Francis can be the ONLY 2 guard on the team and get all the minutes he needs for his ego to heal. Also remember, Marbury is not the same player he was in the beginning of the season. He has no problems passing the ball to Stevie and collecting more assists. All Marbury wants to do is win games. If Francis can come back and start for us that would be huge. That would also be the highest paid back court in the history of the NBA. Don’t hold me to that because I could be wrong. If Francis does not come back, we can still make the playoffs. If Francis does come back and starts for us, the playoffs are definite. Think about it, Francis can actually play 40 minutes a night now AND represent the Mecca of basketball. HOW COULD YOU NOT WANT TO BE THE STARTING SHOOTING GUARD ON THE NY KNICKS? If Francis can play even like he did in Orlando…he does not have to take it back to the Rockets days, I think we will be ok.

FRYE YOU BETTER NOT GO TO SLEEP NOW…WAKE UP AND START PLAYING. YOU BETTER ACT LIKE YOUR ASS IN ON THE LINE, BECAUSE IT IS. YOU WERE ONE PUBIC HAIR AWAY FROM BEING TRADED MORE THAN ONCE. EITHER PERFECT THAT JUMP SHOT OR GROW SOME BALLS AND GET A LOW POST GAME. I'M SURE ISIAH HAS NO PROBLEM GETTING BALKMAN IN THERE FOR MORE PLAYING TIME. THIS SHOULD BE VERY INTERESTING. IMAGINE WE PUT TOGETHER A WINNING STREAK AND REEL OFF LIKE 8-9 IN A ROW. THAT WOULD BE GREAT!!DID YOU GUYS THINK TO YOURSELF…WHAT IF CRAWFORD ISN’T REALLY HURT. WHAT IF ISIAH IS JUST SHUTTING HIM DOWN FOR SOME TIME SO HE CAN BE READY FOR THE PLAYOFFS. MAYBE ISIAH THINKS WITH THE INJURY TO WADE AND ORLANDO NOT BEING AS GOOD A TEAM AS PEOPLE THINK….HE DOESN’T NEED CRAWFORD TO MAKE THE PLAYOFFS. WE WILL BE A MUCH BETTER DEFENSIVE TEAM WITHOUT CRAWFORD IF BALKMAN AND COLLINS PLAY MORE…THIS MEANS WE’LL RISE IN THE OPPONENTS FIELD GOAL PERCENTAGE AND OPPONENTS POINTS PER GAME RANKINGS. THINK ABOUT THIS ALSO…WHEN WAS CRAWFORD ACTUALLY HURT AND WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME A ATHLETE HAD A SEASON ENDING INJURY THE DAY AFTER EVERYBODY JUST SAW HIM PLAYING…GOING UP AND DOWN THE COURT FULL SPEED AND JUMPING VERY HIGH IN THE AIR TO CELEBRATE THAT 3 POINT SHOT IN THE 4TH QUARTER? THAT DOESN’T HAPPEN. I DON’T THINK IT’S AGAINST THE RULES TO FAKE AN INJURY. WE CAN PUT MARDY COLLINS, JEROME JAMES AND WHOEVER WE WANT ON THE INJURED LIST….THAT’S WHY SOMETIMES YOU SEE THEM IN STREET CLOTHES. I WOULD LOVE TO FIND OUT CRAWFORD WAS FAKING HIS INJURY FOR ISIAH AS SOME PART OF MASTER PLAN.

Frye's Clutch Free Throws Improves Knicks To 25-31 !!!

Guess what, it looks like Isiah was right all along. This team does have the talent to make it to the playoffs. The Knicks are actually only 2 games out of the 8th AND 7th spots!! I don't know about you guys but I'm really excited about our chances, especially with Dwayne Wade going down to possible season ending surgery. I really feel if the Knicks make the playoffs, we have just as good a chance at going to the eastern conference finals as any other team. Look at the Knicks M-O this year. They ALWAYS beat the good teams (Washington, Cleveland, Miami), our problems are with the mediocre teams in the league. I think if we get in at the 7th seed and play say Washington, I think we can easily beat Washington and advance.

Last night the Knicks played another turnover filled game. I thought I was going to end up disappointed when Mo Williams hit that big three pointer to almost send the game into overtime. It was a controversial call but anybody that has eyes can see Bogut clearly grabbing Channing Frye and preventing him from getting the rebound on Stephon's miss. Frye then calmly went to the free throw line and drained both shots with ease. He showed maturity and he stayed poised under pressure.

The Knicks were led by Jamal Crawford and Stephon Marbury with 22 points each, Marbury also added 8 assists. Eddie Curry who leads the Knicks in scoring this year only had 10 points but he made up for his lack of points with 11 rebounds and 2 big blocks. Curry only attempted 4 field goals in the game making all of them. Milwaukee was led by Mo Williams with 28 points, 10 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 steals....he also had 8 turnovers to lead all players.

The Knicks will play New Jersey Sunday in Jersey where they will try to tie the Nets in the standings and move even closer to Orlando and Miami for the 7th and 8th seeds respectively. This might actually be the year when the Knicks get some playoff experience under their belt. 25 wins so far this year and that doesn't include the 7 games collectively we lost to Atlanta, Philly, Milwaukee and Memphis. If we would've won those games the way we are supposed to....we would be 31-24. The Knicks are right there and I think we'll be fine come playoff time.

Isiah Has Alot To Think About After Loss To Philly !!

If you are a fan of Channing Frye, I suggest you not read this post. If you are a fan of Frye and you continue to read this, please try to remember that everything I say is TRUE. I will not fabricate anything and I will be fair and not one sided.

First of all, the Knicks loss tonight to the Sixers in Philly for the second time this year. Any other year you would say to yourself, what's so strange about that? Guess what...the Sixers have blown the Knicks out by an average of 20 in both games.....and they didn't have Allen Iverson either game. To be fair to the Knicks, both of the losses were the 2nd game of a back to back. BUT, we hold these Knicks to a much higher standard than past Knicks teams because they have showed they can beat any elite team. So when we lose to teams like Philly TWICE, it really hurts. Especially when you think what our record could be if we beat Miami without Shaq & Wade or Milwaukee, Charlotte, Atlanta and Philly TWICE. That's a 6-7 game difference.

What can the Knicks do?

Well the first thing they can do is trade Channing Frye for another big such as Rashard Lewis, Tyson Chandler or Ron Artest. I'm sure there's a package we can put together that includes Frye where we can get one of those 3 players. I would rather have Chandler out of any of them. I just don't see what Frye brings to the team besides a jump shot. If his shot is not falling from the outside, he becomes a liability because he cannot play any defense. He is a 6 foot 11 PF/C that has no post up game. Besides Marcus Camby, I don't know a player that size that doesn't have a game with his back to the basket. I know a lot of Knick fans that say he should have time to develop. However, I say he is not going to develop anymore. He doesn't have the kind of game that develops.

Frye is better suited to play in a half court offense similar to the one Larry Brown ran last year with us. That's why Frye's numbers were so good last year. He was making a living off the pick and roll with Stephon. This year we are a up tempo team and he just doesn't go along with what we're trying to do. I say we trade him for one of the above 3 players. However, we have to look forward to Friday and not cry over spilt milk.

Knicks Pull Together To Close Out Magic !!!

Tonight was another sexy victory for the Knicks. Not only did they beat a playoff team, but this is the 2nd time they beat this team in the last 2 weeks. Whether you like the Knicks or not, you have to admit they are playing good basketball this year. Tonight the Knicks pulled it together when they needed to and they converted on their free throws down the stretch to close out a Magic team that is slowly but surely falling out of the playoff picture. I personally think, this is the team the Knicks will replace in the playoffs. Dwight Howard had a great game tonight. He scored 27 points, grabbed 14 rebounds, had 3 steals and 3 blocks. However, he didn't have that much help. The Knicks were led by Curry and Crawford with 20 points each. David Lee finished the game with 14 points and 16 rebounds.

When the Knicks are playing the way they played tonight, it is very difficult to beat them. Orlando didn't have any excuse tonight as they had Nelson, Dooling and Hill back in uniform. They still didn't have Ariza but he wouldn't have decided the outcome of the game. The Magic were 95% healthy tonight and we still beat them. We grabbed a 10 point lead in the 4th quarter and sure we blew it but the point is we were able to hold on this time.

I really love the way Francis and Marbury played together tonight. Did you notice how Isiah had them in the game together towards the end of each half? If they can continue to grow chemistry together, I really think they can be a dangerous combination. Francis is starting to look like his old self. Sure he has times where he will drive into the lane and not really know where he is going, but that's just him trying to get his timing back. Remember how many games he missed this year. It takes some time to get back to 100% playing shape. Once he does, he will be a very valuable asset coming off the bench. You have Frye, Francis, Lee, Balkman and Robinson coming off the bench.....you really can't go wrong with that bench.

I like how Isiah used the line up tonight. He's doing a great job distributing minutes among his players as none of them seem to have a problem. Isiah should've got a standing ovation tonight when he walked off the court. It's about time for NY to give him one...I think he deserves it.

Knicks Match Win Total Of Last Year With Win Over Kobe & Lakers !!

Sorry for my little absence as I was under the weather the last several days. Great time to return as the Knicks get their 23rd win of the season.

Last year it took the Knicks 82 games for them to win their 23rd. This year it took them all of 52 games to get to 23 wins. The Knicks have 30 games left this season. There was a report on ESPN.com that James Dolan has made Isiah aware that his job is safe for next season. I knew it was only a matter of time before this happened. If you look at one of my first posts...you'll see I called this weeks ago.

The Knicks played a good game tonight. The only thing I worry about is their defense. We really have no interior presence when it comes to defense. A few Knicks stepped up tonight and made some big defensive plays. Frye drawing the charge on Odom was big down the stretch. Kobe got one of those Jordan type calls that almost cost us the game. Marbury is lucky he didn't get called for a technical for arguing the call. Thomas had to get his attention for Marbury to snap back to reality.

I don't know if the last play was designed for Odom but with Phil coaching the team...you just never know.

Now the Knicks move on to Golden State tomorrow night where they have a chance to go 24-29. The Warriors will be without their top point guard Baron Davis due to knee surgery. I'm interested to see how Stephon is...it looked like he was walking with a significant limp in the 4th quarter tonight. Q Rich had the quietest 19 points and 12 rebounds I've seen in a long time. Let's see if the Knicks can continue the winning and try to carry some momentum into the all star break.

Starbury Shines As Knicks Snip Clips !!!

The first half was just what the Knicks have been all season...inconsistent. They started out the game missing from the field from all over the court. The Clippers jumped on them right out the gate. We didn't have anybody hitting shots and our defense was lazy. The starting line up of James and Curry didn't fly too well tonight. One bright spot we had going all night was the fact we held Cuttino Mobely to no points. (0-5 from the field)
The second half was just what the Knicks have been all season...inconsistent. They started the 3rd quarter on a 24-4 run sparked by Starbury. It seemed as if he flipped a switch and instantly went into attack mode. Slashing to the basket with ease or pulling up for contested 3 pointers..he was on fire.
The Knicks are now 22-28 with 3 games left before the all star break. We have a few days off before we play Utah on Saturday in Utah. Then we play the Lakers, and this time Kobe will be on the court. The last game before the break is against Golden State. All 3 of these games are winnable and I'm not afraid to predict us going into the break on a 5 game win streak. That would make us 25-28 going into the break. Toronto and New Jersey have much harder schedules coming up than we do. We'll be first place in no time.
The question I have is this...Have the Knicks actually turned the corner?

Curry Dominates All Star Howard In Knicks Victory !!!

Dwight Howard is a great center with nothing but huge things waiting for him in the future. He has incredible jumping ability........and that's about it. Eddie "E-City" Curry totally destroyed Howard tonight. It just so happens that this man handling of Howard, comes just days after Curry was snubbed from the eastern conference all star team. Howard was named a reserve for that same team. Howard finished the game with 15 points and 11 rebounds with 3 baskets coming late in the game when the outcome was pretty much decided. Curry finished the game with 27 points and 6 rebounds. Curry shot an amazing 10-13 from the field. Does anybody talk about Curry's field goal percentage?

I think Isiah should be safe for next year. The development of Curry under him being the coach is clear. It makes you ask yourself, what was Larry Brown doing last year? How is it Larry Brown (considered a hall of fame coach) could only squeeze 23 wins out of this team last year and Isiah already has 21 before the all star break? If the Knicks can find a way to win 3 of their next 4 games, they can go into the all star break with a 24-29 record. Then they can sprint to the finish and hopefully pass the Raptors in the division race.

I refuse to believe these Knicks will not make the playoffs. Better yet, I refuse to believe when the Knicks make the playoffs....we will shock whoever we play in the first round and possibly the second. You can call me crazy all you want, but when it happens I'll have this post to prove how much of a profit I am.

5 Games Left Before All Star Break..Can We Do It ???

OK...a couple weeks ago, I made a bold prediction that the Knicks are going to win 40-45 games this year. Right now our record is 20-28 with 34 games left. That would mean we would have to win 20 games out of that 34 game span. Now, here is how I'm going to try to break this down. First of all, I made this prediction before the Knicks played the Heat without Shaq and Wade, the Bucks without Redd and Charlotte. I thought we would win those 3 games. Our record would be 23-25 instead of 20-28. However, I still feel like the 40 win goal is possible. Listen closely, we have 5 games before the all star break. The games are against Orlando, Clippers, Jazz, Lakers and Warriors. We can beat the Magic, Clippers, and Warriors. We can also beat the Jazz so we might be able to go 4-1 to improve to 24-29. I know better than that so I'm going to say we'll be 23-30. Once we get to the 2nd half of the season....we have 29 games left. If I was Isiah, I would treat the 2nd part of the season as a mini season and I would try to sprint to the end. I would try to win 17 out of the 29 games. That means we would go 17-12 to close the season out...that would put our record at 40-42. I feel as if the Knicks haven't been playing up to their potential, and even though I hate to admit it I have to blame it on Isiah Thomas. He has to learn how to have his team ready to play clubs like Charlotte and any team without their stars. So I guess the question I have is this: Do you really think the Knicks can win 40 games this year?

Knicks Get 20th Win Against Kobe-Less Lakers 99-94 !!

20 wins might not be a big deal to any other NBA team...but for the Knicks and their fans, it is a major mile stone !! Last year they only won 23 games out of an 82 game season. This year they have won 20 in 47 games !! That is a major accomplishment whether you are a Knicks fan or not. I can realistically say, I can see the Knicks winning anywhere between 40-45 games this year. We will have at least 23 wins before the all star break. Tonight we played without Francis and Q. It was a major positive that Jeffries had a good game tonight. He was in the right places at the right time. David Lee was his usual great self on the boards and Steph made some big shots when he needed to. Jamal Crawford continues to show why he's one of the most inconsistent players maybe in NBA history. The way he can get hot, then turn right around and go ICE cold is ridiculous. The Lakers were in this game all the way to the end. This shows why Phil Jackson may be the best coach in NBA history. The way he gets his team to buy into his triangle offense is amazing. I was very nervous at the end of the game because I had the privilege to grow up with Odom and I know he can take over a game anytime he wants to. It just so happens he plays on the same team as the best player in the league, so he doesn't have to. A few things before I get out of here....1) I hope Stephon is OK...it didn't look good when he went to the bench at the end of the game.... 2) Those were some big free throws by Curry at the end....3)Crawford was wrong to think they would foul him. He showed more of his basketball illiteracy when he just dribbled the ball out of bounds....4) Jeffries might have had the biggest play of the game with his block on Cook at the end. The question I am posing is this: Is there anyone out there that thinks the Knicks can realistically win 40-45 games this year? I would love to hear your thoughts on this....post away!! Oh yeah by the way....Is there anybody else that thinks Jamal Crawford should only play in the 3rd and 4th quarters?