When two Knicks fans can dominate an entire section on the road it is a beautiful thing. It does not get any better than a Wilson Chandler drive for a dunk and responding loudly, (in my best "Coming To America" impression..."YES, IN DEE FACE!!"

Darko does not participate in pre game warmups. He simply stands in the paint and dares a ball to bounce his way. When it does, he promptly disposes of it. His body language clearly says, "I dare you to trade me".

No Gallo? You mean I'm sitting here with a $125 ticket and no Gallo?

RE-BATE!

Al Harrington goes Kobe. he only forces two shots late. The more I watch Larry Hughes without the ball, the more I understand what the Cavs were thinking when they acquired him to run with Lebron. Mike Bibby is rendered useless and even Joe Johnson starts out forcing bad shots. Larry Hughes gets into the paint at will and has a beautiful mid range shot. His body control is effortless. If he fell out of love with three pointers he could easily abuse many guards in the spot. D'Antoni must know this and that is one reason the offense has slowed down.

But seriously folks, Chris Duhon does NOT push the ball and probably never will. For whatever reason, probably The Answer Man's Birthday Week, he looked better than serviceable for one night. He looked very good. The pace was deliberate and effective. Three's were raining from the skies like manna from heaven and all the Hawks could do was stand around and watch.

Jared Jeffries is weird to watch.

Hold UP, is that, nah it couldn't be, Marcus Landry? Marcus Landry? What? He just busts a three? Okayfine.

Harry Douglas Sr is all smiles at halftime. He and his wife have matching personalized New York road unis and NYK baseball hats. He is absolutely thrilled that Toney is getting some burn and claims that Nate or no Nate, Toney will prove his value. Mr Douglas also notes the quality of women in hot pursuit (wearing even hotter outfits) of his son is amazing. Nowhere is it more evident than in New York City. That is why he and his wife are living close to White Plains and considering putting the house in Jonesboro GA up for sale. They have supported and followed both sons through high school and college and ain't about to let them go out of control now over a bunch of sexpots. The Douglas family is seated in the front row. Cousins and aunts in row B.

Nice offensive rebound Toney. Oh, and nice putback. Game changer in the middle of Hawks late run.

The Knicks hold off the Hawks inevitable fourth quarter run, after a 15 point comeback to tie the game. Who are these guys? Where are the late game breakdowns and errors?

The scoreboard Knicks box score is lit like a Christmas tree and Chris Duhon has 25 and 10. Two Knicks fans who were strangers at the start of the game smile, slap hands and cheer the guys as they walk to the locker room.

Mr Douglas waits for his son to get dressed.

During a timeout the Hawks marketers run the silly "Kiss Cam" promotion. Usually, as the finale, the camera man attempts to catch two unsuspecting visiting players sitting too close together on the bench. The announcer plays into the act that is usually Nate but Nate ain't playing along. In an unusual, but frustrated burst, the PA announcer shouts "Nate" into the microphone, trying to get a reaction. Nate does not budge.

I wonder, as the announcer puts Nate on Front Street during his benching, if the message that he is perceived is a clown is finally starting to sink in. I wonder how Nate is feeling about himself these days. Not at the game.

When he is alone.

nixluva - one final observation. David Lee may be earthbound, not the quickest laterally, and he sometimes gets his shot slapped away at the worst possible moments - but he is absolutely fearless and tough inside. He battles for rebounds and takes savage hits without flinching. He can finish with either hand and is accurate with the shot. When he complained to the refs last night he brought some needed attention to the punishment he absorbed for his 17 rebounds.

Has David Lee ever been called for a technical foul?

If the demeanor that Darko put on public display last night is the norm, he is - at best, distant. At worst, it might be extrapolated that he is surly, arrogant and a spoiled brat. But who am I to extrapolate a total personality from such a small sample?

I watch how players interact during warmups. Are the engaged, talking or working to get ready? I remember how Willis Reed and Patrick would go one on one with their practice partners in pre game and perfect the same boring moves. I even remember how Walt Frazier didn't participate in the casual shoot around after the layup line because he already KNEW what the hell he was doing. He was aloof but totally focused. Walt sat out the casual moves and got his mind prepared.

Last night, as another poster pointed out last week, Darko just stood on the floor, near the foul line, motionless. He didn't make a move. He never lifetd his arms. The other players kept their distance. That tells me that whatever role of (cough) so-called "captain" is not worth a damn because a captain would get in his grill and tell his passive azz to either get involved or go take a seat. Why keep such negative energy around?

If the Nate benching is just the tip of a larger discipline problem, the trade rumors are not rumors.

Expect a move soon.

But who on the Knicks is telling a moody, 7 foot hulk to either do something or move his lazy azz out of the way?

Certainly not Chris Duhon.

The best thing about Larry Hughes is that when he plays the point as he did last night, the Knicks offense is less predictable and more difficult to defend. He likes the feel of the basketball in his hands and made excellent decisions down the stretch. Hughes found the open man when the Hawks got out of position.

If only we could implant Nate's competitive fire and conditioning into Darko's body...

martin wrote:good stuff Earl!

ditto

nixluva - you bring up an interesting point. Perhaps "quicks" should be divided into two categories: (1) defensive quicks and (2) offensive quicks.

Wali Jones, Nate Archibald and Dean Meminger had offensive quicks. Meminger should have gotten out of the house quicker.

KC Jones, Gary Payton had defensive quicks. Walter Payton was quick AND strong. They didn't call him Sweetness for nothing.

We should all be less quick to judge