It began in the summer of 2007. With the tradings of Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett, the Boston Celtics formed a three-headed monster that would take the Atlantic Division 5 straight years. Let's all harken back to that era for just a moment. I remember it like it was yesterday... 104-59. They beat us 104-59. It was the worst loss I'd ever witnessed as a Knicks fan. I sat there alone in my dorm room, distraught, troubled, shaken...
cru77jones wrote:Most pathetic, disgusting, putrid disgrace to a storied franchise I've ever seen.
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I emplore you all to visit http://forums.nykfp.com/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=23682 and http://scores.espn.go.com/nba/recap?gameId=271129002 and take a moment to reflect on how close to the bottom we began, and just how far we've come....
Because tonight, the New York Knicks statistically eliminated the Boston Celtics from winning the Atlantic Division...and it wasn't even close. Not with Earl Joseph going to the lane and getting 10 free throw attempts. Not with Ray Felton scoring 18 points on 60% shooting. Not with Carmelo delivering 24 and 10. Not when our 3rd string rookie drops 22 points on them. Oh no, Celtics nation. Your rule of tyranny is over. You have been dethroned. There is only one "Garden" in the NBA and it's the heart of Manhattan.
Today, we celebrate not just another win vs a rival, but the end of their sadistic rule over our hopes and dreams. There is nothing left to fear. The New York Knicks are just better.
SlingBlade wrote:Longest winning streak since early in the 2011 season:) Better than Linsanity.
big_j_NY wrote: Swishsanity?
Earl Joseph's 30 point streak came to an end tonight... but that's because he was too busy gobbling up boards to. TWELVE rebounds. Yes, JR Smith led the Knicks in rebounding tonight. He also worked his way to 10 free throw attempts and only took 4 shots outside of the paint. The guy finally gets it.
With Swishanity in full effect, the Knicks are going places.
Ray Felton continued to score the ball well, delivering 18 points on only 10 shots. He took a bit more jumpers than you'd care to see with someone with his penetration ability, but if you're gonna make em? Then by all means young fella, TAKE EM.
Carmelo Anthony continues to put up a suspect FG%, but the guy is working tremendously hard down low. At halftime, Melo was 6-15, going 4-8 outside the paint. Going only 2-7 in the lane, the guy couldn't buy any love from the refs... so he did what Melo does and just decided to rain jumpers in the second half. Going 3-4, all from outside, to finish 9-19 for 24 points and 10 rebounds (3 offensive), and 3 dimes. He's the franchise player and no matter how much he looks to be struggling, he sneakily shoves tons of points into the box score. No team in our division has a guy so dominant.
CHRIS COPELAND is a guy that I'm always skeptical of... He doesn't usually bring it on the defensive end and he doesnt crash the boards... But he threw two stone cold middle fingers up at me tonight with a solid all around game. 5 rebounds in 20 minutes isn't a bad effort at all, but more importantly, it didn't come at the expense of the one thing he does very well: Score the damn ball. Chris came into the game and immediately buried 2 3s as part of that big 2nd quarter run. He just continued to make shot after shot. Deep, midrange, inside? It didn't matter. Cope brought his A game tonight, and may be earning his way into the playoff rotation. 22 points on 60% shooting? The advocation of Chris Copeland is the lone bright spot on KnicksRUS's record.
Steve Novakane had no rebounds, no steals, no blocks, and no assists. He's a one trick pony. But no Knicks run is complete without Novak banging off 3s and he hit the big ones tonight. Finishing
4-7 from the floor, hitting 2 3s in the 2nd quarter to break the game open, and throwing in 2 in the 4th to finish em off.
Kenyon Martin...
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Wire to Wire
Just when you thought the Knicks were going to start to let their lead disappear, they ripped it right back open. There would be no nailbiters tonight. For once, the Knicks showed they can beat a team for two straight halves. It's so much sweeter this way
Team Defense. Team Rebounding. Team Offense
If the three key elements are defense, rebounding, and offense, the Knicks brought the right stuff to work tonight. They spaced the floor well to create open shots, which they knocked down at a high percentage. They used isolation as a means to get to the basket and draw fouls (well, try to draw fouls). They helped each other out defensively (with the exception of some lapses that ended in jeff green dunks. But we'll leave that out for now). They outrebounded the Celtics without ever succumbing to using Camby. The Knicks looked at brandon bass and chris wilcox and laughed. There was no need to deviate from our best weapons for those chumps.
The refs still love Boston
Yeah, it wasn't as lopsided as it normally is, as indicated by doc rivers incessant whining and paul pierces crybaby face being in full effect over some calls that didn't go the celtics way. But there's no way in hell that Carmelo Anthony goes 2-7 from the paint and JR Smith takes only 4 outside shots and still finishes 3-12 without shitty officiating in the paint. The Knicks two best scorers got wacked over and over and over again and the refs swallowed their whistle. I don't know how Melo didn't get a tech tonight. It was ridiculous. I fear playing boston in the playoffs not because they're better or more talented, but merely because if it's a close game, we will probably lose because of the refs. It's that awful
Defensive Lapses
The Knicks get dunked on a lot by cutters. Part of it has to be semi-unfamiliarity with help situations in this uber small-ball lineup. Nearly everyone is playing outside of their normal positions and Martin's rust and newness to the squad likely inhibits him from calling out rotations in the way that Chandler has done for us this season. This will get better soon, I hope... because I dont ever want to see Jeff Green on our rims that much again
The Boston Celtics
They're old and fragile, and unlike the Knicks, they don't have loaded weapons to bring into use when a key guy goes down. They're not as good as we are. It's a fact.
The Knicks did it. They won 8 straight. They surpassed the Linsanity streak. They eliminated Boston from Atlantic contention. They blew their lead on the Nets to a nearly insurmountable 4 whole games. They re-tied Indiana for the 2nd seed. They won the season series vs a team that has had their number for the last 5 years... Tonight, we celebrate.
I don't even have to say it. Away at Miami Tuesday night. It won't be their streak that will be at stake like we predicted, it will be our own. But more importantly, it's the chance to win the season series over Miami and put an evil seed in their fragile minds. Go into their house and take their hearts from them. And if that day comes where we see them at the Eastern Conference Finals, they will look at their opponents with a subconscious feeling of fear.
