Daily Rant: 3/29/2011

What did people think was going to happen when Carmelo arrived in NYC via trade during the last quarter of the season? Did people think the Knicks were going to spontaneously mesh as a team and play fluid basketball? Did people think they would have solid defensive schemes and offensive plays ready to use each game? When the "big 3" of Lebron, Wade and Bosh began this season in Miami, they struggled to figure out what was going on during a game, who was getting the ball when and where each guy was supposed to be on the court during certain situations. That confusion, miscommunication and questioning happened to the Heat, with a pre-season and a training camp attended by the current roster. The Knicks however, are having the same problems that the Heat are having, except that it's happening during the end of the season and during a playoff push. This is not to say that the Knicks are as good or as talented as the Heat, but it is too similar of a situation that needs to be identified before the media and fans trash the heck out of the team and the coaching staff for the losses. It has to be very frustrating for players that have never played together on a team, to go out night after night and try to have some sort of comfort level with each other on the court. Unfortunately, the Knicks might not find that this season. As for next season, there is a very good possibility that with a full summer league, training camp and pre-season under their belts, this team can install defensive plays and be ready with an offense that will be more controlled and ready. If the Knicks do make the playoffs this year and can win some games, then they should be pretty proud of it, seeing as though their roster was shuffled mid-season and the new players involved were big names whom took on the pressure of winning right now here in NYC.

Daily Rant: 3/22/11

$18 million, that's what it cost to release Oliver Perez and Luis Castillo, 12 to Ollie and 6 to Louie. They now join Bobby Bonilla as the highest paid Mets, not wearing a Mets uniform. Without a doubt, the mistakes that Omar Minaya made with these contracts were hard to ignore and needed to be addressed immediately. And like the big contract flubs that Isaiah Thomas made with the Knicks, this was a no-brainer fixer-upper. Donnie Walsh and Sandy Alderson both have had to deal with their predecessor's errors. And so far, the purging has been mildly successful. The Mets, unlike the Knicks, are still a few years away from having enough financial freedom to make some moves to strengthen their roster. Even though right now things look a little bleak for the Knicks, in the long run, the Carmelo Anthony trade is a great thing for the team.  It takes a whole season for teammates to be comfortable with each other on and off the court, not 20 games. As for the Mets, well they have some youth, some unknowns, some veterans and some experiments on their roster this season, which in most fans' opinions, is better then having overpaid, underachieving players occupying roster spots.

Daily Rant: 3/21/11

Some food for thought for Knicks and Mets fans...

Who got the better of the Nuggets/Knicks trade? Present and future? Things are looking bleak for the Knicks lately...

Will the Knicks make the playoffs? And if they do, when will the "big 3" begin to mesh as a team?

How many games will the Knicks win in total?

Reaction to Luis Castillo and Oliver Perez being released this morning by the Mets. Anyone going to miss Luis Castillo? Maybe... How about Ollie Perez? Doubtful...

Luis Castillo signed a short term invitation deal with the Phillies, do any Mets fans care?

Carlos Beltran is rehabbing again, is he ever going to be healthy for a long period of time?

The Chris's (Young and Capuano) are making a good impact so far this Spring, do they keep their spots in the rotation?

Johan Santana not coming back until June...how bad will the Mets be before he pitches again?

Daily Rant: 3/16/11

Let the Madness begin! Two of what the NCAA call, "The First Four" were decided last night. Clemson pounded UAB and UNC-Asheville defeated Arkansas-Little Rock in overtime to make up half of the early entries into the main pool of teams in the tournament. The NCAA expanded the field to 68 teams this year and even though they were exciting games last night (most college basketball games are), it has created more confusion and has added more chaos. The Tournament is by far the best way for college teams to whittle themselves down to a champion, most experts and fans believe that college football should conduct their playoffs the same way, but increasing the numbers like they did this season has taken a little bit away from the glory a team receives from punching a ticket to the "big dance". It almost seems like any team can make it into the tournament now and the NCAA is talking about expanding it even further. When they added the "65th", play-in team last year, it was only one extra team and it actually made attaining that last spot fun to watch teams battle it out for. Now, that excitement has been has been dulled a little and the top of everyone's bracket is crowded with teams that have hyphens in their names, which no one has ever heard of. It was fun to see teams like Gonzaga, Butler, Ball State, George Mason, etc., make runs during the previous tournaments, because those one teams had to fight and never stop fighting to get anywhere past the first round. This new system gives these unknown schools an easy in and will inevitably sway next years seeding because they made the tournament through the new expansion. No one knows how this will all play out this year and fans will probably end up getting used to it being close to 70 teams playing in the tournament, but as of now, things are still jumbled. Until the games begin on Thursday, these first games just feel like regular season ones that don't matter. The real ones will start and everyone will sigh in relief that this is actually March Madness.

Daily Rant: 3/9/11

Why would Erik Spoelstra tell the press that his players were crying in the locker room? Is he trying to bring back Pat Riley to the bench? Does he want to humiliate his players and burn his bridges? It doesn't help that the Heat are on a 5-game losing streak. Apparently, Lebron James isn't bothered by this losing streak either, he was quoted as saying, "This isn't rock bottom for us. Crazy thing is, we could lose every game and still make the playoffs in the Eastern Conference." 


So what does Lebron mean by that? Would Phil Jackson put up with Kobe saying that it didn't matter if the Lakers were losing every game because mathematically they are in the playoffs? Probably not. Can Erik Spoelstra control his big stars mouths, now that he was betrayed their trust with leaking the news of tears of sorrow flowing after the game? No one ever thought he could control the "big 3" to begin with, now with all of the controversy and losing going on in South Beach, how is it any different? The Heat have lost to every one of the other top 8 Eastern Conference teams except Philly, at least once. What is the proof that they are that good? They beat up on the weaker teams and compile winning streaks against all of them, which is only a mask of what they really are. They are superbly talented but, with no coaching direction, no flow as a team and no confidence in their bench. But who lost out on this whole situation? The city of Cleveland, that's who. A small market team like the Cavaliers was flourishing with their hometown hero playing for them, winning an average of 45-50 games a season. Now it's a slap in the face to that city and its fans, especially that the South Beach Experiment isn't working out very well. Lebron James should have never left Cleveland, he was selfish and poorly mentored when he decided to do so and the only thing that keeps those fans going is seeing the Miami Heat suffer. 

Daily Rant: 3/8/11

Everything clicked for the Knicks last night against the Jazz, their two superstars went for 65 points and only missed 7 of 31 shots combined. Toney Douglas, filling in for the injured Chauncey Billups scored 20 points and was hitting 3-pointers at will. But, even with the Knicks blowing out the Jazz from beginning to end, one problem seems to still remain. Defending an opposing teams big man. Utah's center, Al Jeffferson scored a season high 36 points and had 12 rebounds in a losing effort. The Knicks started Jared Jeffries alongside Melo and Stoudemire, at center. Which is a good move, since he is the best defender on the team. At 230 pounds and barely 6-11, his slender frame isn't the long term answer for the Knicks at the center position, but for now, due to injuries, he is the only option. The Knicks will not outscore everyone like they did last night, so having good defenders out there will only help them communicate and give them a better chance in closer games. Amare can block some shots and grab rebounds and Melo is a decent rebounder, so with Jeffries calling out the defensive plays, maybe they can put pressure on other teams as a trio. For example, last night, the Knicks went to the zone defense early. Jeffries was active, at the top of the zone a lot and it confused the Jazz, so that could work to their strengths going forward with this starting lineup. The Knicks have won two in a row, in one of the games they allowed only 79 points and in the other, they scored 131 points. Those two wins are at either ends of the spectrum, but they are wins and that's all the matters.

Daily Rant: 3/2/11

Another big test for the Knicks yesterday against the Orlando Magic and it proved once again that talented big men in the NBA are few and far between and are priceless. Dwight Howard dominated every defender that the Knicks threw at him and poured in 30 points and grabbed 16 rebounds.  The Knicks held a 12 point lead at half time after they were down by 12 early, but the Knicks "big 3" lack size and have not shown that they can defend the paint against the league's top centers. Which begs the question, can the Knicks go far against teams with dominant centers?? There is no doubt that acquiring Carmelo Anthony and Chauncey Billups was the right move for the organization, but in the four games that they have played, Melo has under performed compared to Billups and Melo was the main target of the three team deal. It will take some getting used to for Amare Stoudemire to play alongside his two new teammates, but one thing that will not work itself out is the absence of a true center on the roster. The Knicks did not address their needs for a center when they traded for Melo and Billups. They even gave away the only player they had that could actually play the position, Timofey Mozgov. Not that Mozgov is Dwight Howard, but he is 7-1 and 250 pounds. Which does throw something at opposing centers by way of defense. It wasn't surprising to see the Knicks beat the Miami Heat on Sunday night because they match up well against them. The Heat also lack size and their defense is suspect as well. So for most fans, the big EAST test for the Knicks was really to beat the Magic. Could the Knicks contain the explosive Howard in the paint?? Obviously not. For this year going forward, the Knicks do have a very good chance of making the playoffs and winning some games in the first and second rounds. The Knicks can score as fast and as much as anyone in the Eastern Conference, they don't play a lot of defense, but that won't affect their scoring more then the other team. The problem will be when they face teams like the Magic, who have good, solid centers and a talented supporting cast around them. The Knicks are far from being a complete, balanced team and until they make it a priority to get bigger at the 5-spot, they won't achieve as much as they had hoped for after the Melo trade. The funny thing is, one year ago, the Knicks weren't even relevant in the NBA regular season discussions, let alone playoff talks. So cheers to Donnie Walsh for resurrecting the Garden once again!

Daily Rant: 3/1/11

As the month of March takes it's first steps in 2011, sports fans have begun to show symptoms of baseball fever. This is the beginning; of daily check-ups of the back sports pages covering spring training games and  of fans are watching closely as their favorite teams play split squad scrimmages. They now are also starting to share their NBA attention with baseball and if you watch closely, you might see an episode of Baseball Tonight on at 3pm in the afternoon at bars and in fans' homes. The fun part for all is that the start of baseball always coincides with the start of nice weather and the abandonment of winter funk and clothes. Even if fans know that their baseball team doesn't have much of a chance, the excitement surrounding this time of the year is hard to contain if you like baseball. It's a long, long season and watching spring training scrimmages and games can make it even longer, but as the circle of life continues to spin, inside every baseball fan is a bug that comes back to sicken them with fever, longing and hope that their team will rule the coming summer. Enjoy this time of the year baseball fans, for it might not be long before you are cursing the very same team that gave you this bug.