Good thing the Knicks didn’t wait, in a few weeks it would’ve cost 41 cents
Posted March 23rd, 2007 by Brian Windhorst
This was a bad game, so bad that it was entertaining because all I was watching was other stuff. The Knicks pretended like they wanted to play for awhile but Isiah Thomas decided to throw in the towel in the third quarter and the Cavs won 90-68. But surprisingly, I am really looking forward to the rematch next week at the Garden.
Why? Well…
–I think Malik Rose was seconds away from hauling off and hitting Andy Varejao. He’d simply had enough of him and his feisty antics in the third quarter. He got his fifth foul and Isiah left him in, which apparently didn’t make him too happy, because after Varejao missed a free throw, Rose went over and slammed him. This accomplished two things: He didn’t have to play any more and he got a shot in on Varejao. So Jerome James came in for a minute, committed a turnover and got his own slam in at Andy. By the way, Jerome once hit me with a ball (old blog link alert). After the game, Mike Brown told me Andy gets on people’s nerves because he "breathes on them and his hair gets in their mouth." That’s pretty nasty, but true I believe.
–The Cavs go on a 13-2 run to open the second half and Isiah benches everybody but Eddy Curry, sits down and apparently orders the team jet to warm up the engines. I know they were banged up and tired, but it still seemed a little early.
–The Cavs made some shots tonight, but their offense still wasn’t great. Still way too many bad jumpers out of the flow. Zydrunas Ilgauskas got some more touches and had 16 points. He’s going to have ugly moments, OK, but right now he’s actually playing pretty well so the Cavs might do well to use him more like this. Then, again, his shorts fell off when he set a pick in the fourth quarter. Which was pretty funny.
–Larry Hughes hadn’t made a 3-pointer since the Sacramento game and tonight made 4-of-6. Is the slump over? We’ll see.
–Brown’s rotations were still wacky tonight. He didn’t use Daniel Gibson, who’s out of it, until mop up minutes but used Ira Newble in the first quarter. The most interesting thing I saw was he removed Sasha Pavlovic in the first quarter early with Larry Hughes and then inserted them both back in when LeBron James sat down in the second quarter. It is an interesting way of having more offensive punch in the second quarter and giving Sasha more of an opportunity. We’ll see if it lasts.
–LeBron James Jr. threw one of those freebie balls out on the court during play again and then went over and sat in front of the Cavs bench for awhile. I joked in my game story that if it had been a tomato, it would’ve been understandable with the quality of the game. Also, if the little guy had gone down to the Knicks bench instead, Isiah might’ve tried to put him in the game. He’s a cute little guy, but I wouldn’t be surprised if the NBA made a little call to the Cavs and asked he stay off the bench area because it was all over TV. But it was more entertaining than the game at that moment, for sure.
–So before the game, Brown was talking about LeBron’s head injury from the other night and he said: "I know he’s a football player, I’ll have to ask him if it was a football hit." Then I mumbled underneath my breath, at least I thought, that LeBron wouldn’t know because he always ran out of bounds. Well that drew quite a reaction from the assembled media mass and the coos only grew louder when I said, not quietly this time, that my memories of LeBron’s wide receiver days included few cross-the-middle routes and more than a few alligator arm moments. Not that I blamed him, the last thing he wanted to do was risk injury. Well, all thought this was pretty funny since LeBron loves to talk about his football days in such glorious terms. But, he was 6-6, 225 pounds at the time and he was usually going up against 5-11, 175 pound defensive backs. C’mon, run a few flag routes and fades, catch a few alley-oops 12 feet off the ground and call it a Friday night. That was his career, I know, I was covering the games back then. So anyway, my fellow reporters go running to LeBron and one of them who I won’t name — OK, it was the Plain Dealer’s Branson Wright — sold me out. And what did LeBron say? "Yeah, I ran out of bounds if I could." No respect I get, none!
–Before I went to bed last night, I read New York Daily News Knicks bear writer Frank Isola’s blog (ignore the cheesy name) about questions he’d like to ask owner James Dolan. It is his little rebuttal for the exclusive interview Dolan gave the New York Post last week. Pretty funny stuff for an NY media outsider. Anyway, so I go to sleep and I have a dream that I’m playing craps with Jim Dolan at the Borgata in Atlantic City. By the way, I’ve never met the man or been to A.C. But I think I won $300. Weird.
March 24th, 2007 at 12:12 am
hey, hey, hey, MR POTATO HEAD has got to go bw, u r right that man just do not know what he is doing, why in the heck shannon brown is not playing, he play very well last week in the spot time he was getting, he was bringing in energy and athleticism and now he has been relegated back to the bench, what the heck is up? I think this team need to get into a steady rotation to get themself ready for the playoffs, and i think some way some how shannon should be apart of that rotation.
March 24th, 2007 at 5:24 am
Maybe it will come to me in a few hours, but I don’t get the headline.
Rose got sick of Varejao’s antics because unlike Rose’s stuff, Varejao’s extra garbage is pansy-girl. Rose is a clever and semi-dirty player himself, and caused many a sprained ankle with jump shooters when he intentionally (clearly) puts his feet underneath the shooter’s legs after the shot, waiting for the legs to come back down to the floor. It’s stuff like that that is Rose’s rep, not flowing hair and flopping. Rose would undoubtedly respect Varejao a lot more if Varejao played like a man, even if it’s like a dirty man. That’s why he got jacked. Contrary to Coach Brown’s silliness about Varejao’s hair and breath.
I do wish the NBA would do something about James’ kid, who obviously is there as part of the LeBron image campaign. If the NBA allowed all players to bring their babies to courtside and to the bench, there wouldn’t be one seat left for the fans, let alone for the players themselves. There’d be about 600,000 toddlers out there, and nobody to change the diapers. That’s not even counting Sean Kemp’s toddlers if he ever comes out of retirement.
March 24th, 2007 at 8:02 am
Uh Tucker the Knicks mailed it in. Whats
the deal with hired assasin Isiah. He sits
over there while his thugs intend to maim
anything that dares to dance in their way.
I mean Wild Thing is a great dancer but
the hits Rose and James put on him would
put Thomas Hearns in the AAU.
And Tucker, Varejao is all hustle. He gets
to countless balls that the other nappers
can only wet dream about. Did you see when
Hughes clanked those free throws and he was
right there to put it in whilst the rest
stood around like they were at a funeral.
Also did BW banish Williams and Tractor
for making fun of the welt on his melon?
March 24th, 2007 at 8:07 am
Billy, is English your second language? Alan, I think the headline is referring to the price increase in the cost of a stamp, as in “mailing it in.” ha and heaven help us all if kemp ever does make good on his “comeback.” So let’s see, two years ago antonio bryant loses his pants on a reception, then this year it’s Z while setting a pick. I guess that means next year it’s the Indians’ turn…I hope CC starts wearing a belt.
March 24th, 2007 at 8:55 am
FOXOH broadcast your remark and Mike Brown’s reaction about LeBron’s football days. I wasn’t surprised. Maybe you brought it up a long time ago in an old column?
This was a solid win over the Knicks. For once their backcourt didn’t kill us. You really need to take notice of the defensive job Hughes, Pavs, and Bron are doing. Even our frontcourt players are improving. Statistically those 3 are perhaps best in the league. Consider what little guys who usually kill us like Marbury, Robinson, and Francis did last night and ponder that.
March 24th, 2007 at 9:11 am
just for the record, Malik Rose was angry because his team wasn’t hustling or playing hard. he and verajao are similar players. he never lets the younger players get on his nerves, but when his teammates clearly aren’t playing hard he starts to lose his composure, and throwing Verajao to the floor was sending a message to his teammates, not to the Cavs.
March 24th, 2007 at 9:31 am
So Chad have him send the following message
to one of the Knicks instead of Varejao.
BAM BIFF BLAP ?&*^%$%#$#
March 24th, 2007 at 9:41 am
Let it be known: the mark of a true player is one who breaks other people’s ankles. Those that move their feet, hustle, and give up their body through charges and lose balls have no business in this league.
March 24th, 2007 at 10:59 am
Dammit. I didn’t get to post before Alan Tucker and one of his dumba$$ novels. I was really hoping he would go away, but looks like the guy has no life and will continue to contaminate this blog. And I bet Lebrons kid could whoop Tuckers sorry butt.
March 24th, 2007 at 1:05 pm
Varejao “gives up his body” through charges? Oh, please. Tom. If the waiter at Applebee’s happens to accidentally brush his shoulder, Varejao would flail like he was hit by Pacman Jones’ taser. The guy is Vlade Divac without the three-packs-a day cigarette habit.
It’s just embarrassing to watch guys like Varejao, Ginobili and sissy soccer-loving Europeans repeatedly flop sideways and then flat on their backs like Paris Hilton at a penis party. They’ve made it into an art form, and something has to be done about it. If they’re going to act like girls anyway, then the penalty for flopping should be a technical foul shot and painful neuter surgery performed at the Hollywood Hills Veterinary Clinic by Dr. Bob Barker, DVM. Give Bob something to do between “The Price is Right” tapings.
And Geddy, thanks, NOW I get it. It’s been so long since I mailed a letter, it didn’t even occur to me. O.K., it’s kind of windy, but still has some cleverness attached to it. Not New York Post headline quality, though. That’s the benchmark.
March 24th, 2007 at 1:58 pm
Oh, I neglected to mention that the readership (O.K., maybe just me) is still waiting for a response to my query regarding Damon Jones. Even during a blowout, he didn’t get a second of playing time. Obviously, the three-point loser’s “strep throat” and “back spasms” was a work of fiction. He’s been reduced from 21-minutes a game to being a Ira Newble’s luggage caddy. Even the pathetic David Wesley is getting time before Jones. I mean, Jones is lousy, but even Jones is better than Wesley. What’s really going on here?
March 24th, 2007 at 2:01 pm
…not only a blowout, but a blowout against a bad injury-riddled squad, and the game is at home. And Jones still isn’t given a single minute? Something’s up.
March 24th, 2007 at 3:36 pm
Yeah Damona hasn’t performed the following
tasks:
1) Washed Coach Browns car
2) Shined Coach Browns shoes
3) Taken out Coach Browns garbage
4) Cleaned out that disgusting spitoon
that Coach Brown spits tobacco
juice into
Therefore he must sit and whine on the
proverbial pine.
March 24th, 2007 at 4:46 pm
Do you guys think Hughes’ play of late has hurt the stock of panty hose? i mean we all know that if he was racking up points every game, Leggs would be flying off the shelves faster than Z’s shorts falling down when he sets a pick.
March 24th, 2007 at 5:11 pm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PTidgKFsdl0&NR
March 24th, 2007 at 7:06 pm
Beating the Knicks is like winning against a WNBA team.
March 24th, 2007 at 9:11 pm
The Knicks are good when Jamal Crawford is on.
March 25th, 2007 at 10:29 am
Crawford, when healthy, is Gooden without the pubic hairdo. Inconsistent, there today, gone tomorrow. Yes, Crawford can be a helluva more clutch in one game than Gooden will ever be in his lifetime, but what good is a guy if you can’t depend on him to show up?
And when I’m talking of wanting superior headlines from our blog host, I know he has it in him if he puts forth the effort. I know he can do it. There are countless New York Post examples, but here is an indication of what I’m talking about from today’s issue, this the result of a sleazy gynecologist known as the “Dyno Gyno” getting caught with his pants down: SLIME-O GYNO
Tell me that’s not more dynamic than a 41 cent stamp.
March 25th, 2007 at 3:27 pm
^^^^^^^^^ MORON ^^^^^^^^^^
March 25th, 2007 at 4:14 pm
But JoeHoops, that’s not a witty headline. Just because it’s one word does not make it witty. When the Cavs beat the Nuggets, do you really think it will be clever or imaginative if he headlines his post by simply typing MORON?