That Knicks Game Was AWESOME

Blazers 120 Knicks 114 (boxscore)

I heard I've been pretty negative around here lately. Too sarcastic. Probably. I mean, the game went to OT and the Knicks were without Crawford, Curry, Randolph, and as always, Starbury. All to remind us once again that the post-winning bonanza Blazer team is in fact good enough to barely beat bad teams (sometimes).

But let me say that last night's game was AWESOME (thats right, all caps!). Down the stretch, the teams looked as tired as any I can remember. Roy looked hobbled and depleted, but somehow kept making plays when he really needed to. Aldrdige had a nice game. The Port of Miami Steve Blake had another better than expected night. Outlaw's mini-slump continued, probably because I just picked him up in fantasy league.

The real fun of this game was that for the most part it felt like Nathaniel Cornelius Robinson versus the Blazers. The absence of the usual shoot-always guys from the Knicks lineup gave this shoot-always guy the green light, and it was, to quote Walt Frazier, "asd;fjsd;lkfjsad;fj." He scored 45, I can't blame Walt for coming up with some creative vocabulary to describe what was going on (listen to his analysis in the video below). Enjoy:

Goonerluke Gives Thanks

In an ongoing indulgence of my laziness, another fine member of the DeceptivelyQuick extended family has stepped up with an entry. He is the infamous Goonerluke, who you likely know if you frequent our manifest-destiny friends over at BlazersEdge. Now he's giving thanks those who have played an underrated role in the resurgence of the young Blazers:

Today we take a look at those often overlooked individuals who made our current Blazers team possible and to who we all owe a debt of gratitude.

Isaiah Thomas, New York Knicks, GM

Never shy of tying another huge anchor around the neck of his ever-sinking Knicks franchise, Isaiah made the move that he thought would put his ESPN fantasy team over the top, he acquired Zach Randolph from the Blazers. A move that, if not putting the Blazers “over the top,” at least got them over a hump. (I call the other hump “D Miles”) To my friends I often describe Zeke’s skills as a general manager as the double inverse of his skills as a player. (Exception: Unless Zeke’s skills as a general manager are considered in the context of ESPN fantasy league basketball, in which case he is a borderline genius) The Blazers have overachieved this year, while the Knickerbockers are hopelessly bad, with or without Zach. How some Knicks fan hasn’t lit himself on fire in the middle of Times Square, I’ll never know. But it looks like that is what it’s going to take. Brutal, brutal legacy to leave, Zeke. Big ups for helping us with Z-Bo though, I promise I’ll never boo you. (Except for when ESPN classic shows the ’90 Finals, then I have to boo.)

Microsoft Corp.

While not really an individual, Microsoft is a corporation, which is a business that gets the same rights as an individual, or something like that. Regardless, the success of this Washington company has been very good to us Oregonians as well, as Paul Allen’s $18 billion (thank you MSFT!) makes the NBA salary cap and over the cap penalty more of an annoyance than anything else for Portland GMs.

Phoenix Suns ownership

Is majority owner Robert Sarver eating Shrimp Flavor Cup o’ Noodles for lunch? I hope so. I think the Suns post Nash/Hill era would look a lot brighter with Sergio Rodriguez, Rudy Fernandez, and the new Jim Jones. Sarver’s personal fortune is only 2.22% of Paul Allen’s, which means that his GM has to worry about the salary cap. Lucky for us, Phoenix’s strategy for fiscal responsibility involves jettisoning young talent to the Rose City. I toast my Sangria to you, Mr. Sarver. Ole!

Jim Paxson, Chicago Bulls, GM

In the 2006 NBA Draft, aka “The Kevin Pritchard coming out Party,” Jimmy P. gambled on upside and completely ignored fundamentals and polish when he traded LMA for TT and The Wolverine (Viktor Khryapa). I knew there had to be a good reason why we retired Paxson’s number – so that one day we could use it as a psychological edge and make him bend to our will.

Danny Ainge/Kevin McHale, Boston Celtics/Minnesota Timberwolves, GM/GM

Grouped together because they both passed on BR7 and I’m lazy. In reality, Danny Ainge deserves a way bigger shellacking on this because he basically traded the #7 pick for Telfair and a bit of cap relief = Theo’s contract

Damon Stoudamire not happy with aging, Grizzlies agree

I'm feeling a little restless tonight. Last time, this resulted in the infamously wasteful "Consistent Stat." Tonight, there is a morsel of Blazer-related news to protect you all from a thousand-word post about statistics. Damon Stoudamire isn't getting playing time in Memphis, and he wants out.

The 34 year old Portland native and ex-Blazer has had it with having his playing time cut in the name of a youth movement, and is seeking a release or trade. Damon has defied odds for much of his career, at every level his height (generously 5'10) has fed skeptics. But at this stage, will any team be interested in his services? I've listed the age and the height, but there was also that whole season ending knee injury thing during in 2005-06. His contract has another year and 4.65 million after this one, so he's not yet quite entered the "expiring contract zone of hotness" recently occupied by luminaries like Theo Ratliff.

These elements would seem to make a trade relatively unlikely, at least for this season. If he can gut it out for the remainder of the year, it would likely be open season on that delicious expiring contract. Of course, then teams would be interested in his contract, not his skills, which would mean any opportunities to contribute on the court would be incidental.

So in the short term, Stoudamire needs to pray for a buy out. But there's a slight snag here. The Grizzlies lose 10.9 million a year, more than every other team except the Blazers and the Knicks. Due to the extreme wealth of the owners, the Blazers and the Knicks can deal. With the Grizz? Kind of an issue. That owner has a billion, not 16 billion. I want you to know I threw up a little typing that.

They'll do a buy out all right, as long as it means they don't have to pay nearly as much as the contract promises. Is the situation bad enough that Damon will walk away from millions? Is he ready to face the possibility that even if he does leave, teams may not exactly be lining up to offer him the role he wants? Expiring contract can be a tough role to adjust to, as can "former NBA player." But you never know, things could work out. Best of luck.

How bad off are the Knicks?

We've heard about the poor condition of the Knicks organization framed in what seems like thousands of perspectives. Here's an ex-Blazer related one from J.A. Adande's column at ESPN today. J.A. runs through the most recent Marbury act, and, after noting Marbury explaining that he was tired after his poor return performance, turns to Zach:

"If anyone had a legitimate excuse to be tired it was Zach Randolph, who had missed the previous two games to be with his family in Indiana after his grandmother passed away on Friday. Randolph scored 16 points on 5-for-18 shooting from the field and pulled down 19 rebounds.

'I wanted to help the guys out, any possible way I can,' Randolph said. 'I know that's what my grandma wanted me to do, is play.'

Those are the stories we love in sport, guys making commitments to their teammates in the most trying of circumstances. It's too bad it had to be overshadowed by the Marbury circus."

Another potential "you know the Knicks are a mess when...." anecdote to add to the heap: Z-Bo is becoming their character guy.