A Standing O: Knicks and Links

Greetings from down in The Big Easy. I'm down here for the week for work so I haven't gotten much blogging done this week. But Alex O is back with another great guest post, talking about Timofey Mozgov, the Russian center who I personally saw electrify Madison Square Garden on Sunday night (and thank you to Doug for those tickets). But enough about me, let's get to Alex O with his update on the Knickerbockers:

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Link #1 and Link #2

I saw this tweet which gives some metrics to the quality of D that Toney Douglas provides for the Knicks. @kevinarnovitz NBA's Top 5 unadj Defensive +/- : Toney Douglas (former ACC Def POY), Shaun Livingston, D. Arthur, KG, Ronnie Brewejavascript:void(0)r. about 2 hours ago

This is just a statistical reaffirmation of my belief that the Knicks do not need a back-up point guard. I would rather get a wide body if they add anyone to the roster…..

Which leads me to the play of Timofey Mozgov Sunday night. 23 pts, 14 boards, 40 minutes and a garden crowd chanting his name at the end of the game vs. the Pistons. I know, I know, big freakin deal it was vs. the Pistons. It is a positive especially when every game matters and the Knicks were without Shawne Williams (suspension for throwin’ hands in Hotlanta), and Will Chandler (out with a calf), Turiaf in foul trouble, and Amare with a tweaked knee. It is also a positive because it shows he is capable, and has been working hard even though he had not played as much as 10 minutes in 26 games (12/5).

It was nice for the Knicks to get the win Sunday following through on the mojo left by St. John’s who “shellacked” Duke on the same court a few hours earlier. It helps them and their fans forget the bad loss at Atlanta, and get them back on track after a great win vs. the Heat last week. A game where Knicks fans booed LeBron regularly and he responded by putting on a shooting performance reminiscent of the John Starks 1994 Game 7 NBA finals debacle. That game always makes me wonder if at least some coaches will tell guys not to shoot? If any one were to do it, you would think Pat Riley would do it. I would have thought that Pat Ewing would do it. Maybe they just kept hoping the next one would go in?

Knicks host the Mavs Wednesday, winners of 5 in a row. The Mavs are the prototype for the Knicks to follow as they no longer are just an offensive team any more. The addition of Tyson Chandler in the middle has helped them immensely as they are a legitimate title contender. One has to wonder how many more years does Kidd have in him. Dirk is playing as good as ever, and this could be their year. With 2 wins vs. Chicago so far, a W against San Antonio and one vs. the Heat, this would be a big win for the Knicks on the long road of building confidence that they can beat the best. This is especially important for the young guys like Gallo and Fields and Chandler, and even Felton since they have basically no playoff experience. After the Mavericks, the Knicks have a big home and home against the Sixers this weekend. If they can get a sweep it would help them put big time distance between them and the surging Sixers.

Here is another interesting link that shows you the NBA players with the most points in one quarter. Of course Wilt is on the list but is not #1. One of the guys who is tied for #1 (33 points in a quarter) has a former GM who is about to sign with the Knicks as a consultant.

Finally, here is a link to the Sports Guy’s article about the upcoming (Feb. 20) All-Star game:

Amare Stoudemire gets the start, and is the first Knick starter since Ewing in 1997. The article is a good read as Simmons gives some historical perspective as to the depth of talent in the NBA right now. It’s pretty amazing that it is fairly likely that Steve Nash may get left off the team, and maybe Blake Griffin as well. The reserves get named pretty soon, and then we will see if their any late additions due to injury.

So far the MVP is probably Derrick Rose since the Bulls are 33-14 despite injuries to Noah and Boozer. They are considered in the top 3 in the East with Miami and Boston. Out West the big surprise has been the 40-7 Spurs who are only the eighth team to start that strong. History tells us that 6 of the 7 others won the title. The next level out West is no surprise: Dallas, OK City (young and strong but not surprising any one), Lakers (underperforming thus far), and New Orleans (who has been either hot or cold and is now owned by the NBA).

For the first time in a long time I am interested to watch both the All-Star game (Feb. 20 in LA) and the dunk contest. I think many people will be interested to see what Blake Griffin comes up with. Other participants will be Washington Wizards center JaVale McGee and Oklahoma City Thunder big man Serge Ibaka. My pick to steal the crown is DeMar DeRozan from the Raptors who is a hometown favorite straight outta Compton.