1 negative Bench was weak tonight

KVH is Da MAN last 15 games!

I was thinking the same thing hardcore. I think they need to find a way to get Sweetney minutes so that he can be that guy we talked about who comes in and blocks some shots with his long-ass arms and scores down low. I had completely lost faith in him this year but after what I saw from him tonight, he looked thinner, quicker, more confident and his teammates were pulling for him and they wouldn't unless they see potential in practice. Look for Lenny to start playing him more. Harrington is inconsistent on offense and can't block shots. Sweetney can be that presense we need of the bench.

Great promsie, but let's holdon to the promise of judging based on at least a 10 game bases. How about 17 dimes from Steph, who is sellfish now? Van Horn with some nasty facials? Are we still on planet earth? lol. If the pale rider keeps this up we'll be lookin at one deadly tandem of Horn and Steph, only this time the marraige will work thanks to some counseling by Zeke and Lenny. All in all nice gametime adjustmetns by Lenny, after it was 22 all, he called time and we blew them out of the water, our D improving greatly from that point on.

Yeah, KVH!! Now there's and even BIGGER chance we can make that KVH/Sheed trade happen!

I will give KVH props for the reverse dunk though. If he did more of that, he might get a little more respect from those of us who are still reluctant to the idea that he's more consistent (which aside from the softness issue and lack of D, is a reason his detractors are concerned about).

[Edited by - HARDCOREKNICKSFAN on 01/17/2004 01:46:51]

LOL Tell it, GoNY....

To answer your question,
No, Herb Williams and Mike Malone were both there; they were officially retained yesterday. Mark Aguirre and Dick Helm were also hired.

Lenny now has 4 assistants and Messiah Thomas to help guide the Knicks to greatness.

Oh yeah, don't forget about Starbury.... LOL

[Edited by - HARDCOREKNICKSFAN on 01/17/2004 02:23:42]

Check out this article:

http://www.tribnet.com/sports/basketball/sonics/story/4637643p-4595298c.html

It's written by a Sonics beat writer for Tacoma's News Tribune...

_________________________________________

Lenny's luck sinks Sonics
FRANK HUGHES; The News Tribune

NEW YORK - Lenny Wilkens never put on a uniform Friday night.

But apparently his humble presence was enough. The New York Knicks, Wilkens' new team, put an unencumbered beatdown on the Seattle SuperSonics at Madison Square Garden.

In Wilkens' first game as coach of the Knicks, the triple threat of Stephon Marbury, Keith Van Horn and Allan Houston was sufficient for the Knicks to cruise to a 108-88 victory over Seattle, the Sonics' third consecutive loss.

"I'm happy for Lenny, he got his first win (with the Knicks) in the Garden," Ray Allen said. "But I don't think he had an effect on the game tonight. He hasn't put his imprint on the team."

That didn't really matter, not when the Sonics (19-18) were as bad as they have been all season.

On Thursday afternoon, Sonics coach Nate McMillan admitted he had a soft spot for Wilkens. On Friday night, McMillan's players all showed they had soft spots, period.

So thoroughly beaten were the Sonics that with five minutes left in the third quarter the New York faithful began a "Lenny Wilkens" chant, a sharp contrast to the "Fire Chaney" refrain they were singing in recent home games.

But it was a strange night, because that was the extent, really, of any fanfare connected with the firing of Don Chaney as coach and the hiring of Wilkens, a Seattle resident who led the Sonics to their only championship in 1978-79.

It was expected that there would be a wild atmosphere at The Garden given the circumstances, but this was nothing like the return of Patrick Ewing a few years ago, which was filled with raw emotion.

Still, the Sonics were swept away more easily than a grain of sand in a swollen river. They quickly fell behind by eight points, tied the game at 22 and then collapsed without so much as a whimper.

"We don't have any fire," McMillan said. "We look fatigued, like we are running in quicksand. We just can't right now, for whatever reason, raise our level of play to what these teams are bringing to the floor."

Inserting Jerome James back into the starting lineup did little to help the Sonics. James played all of six minutes, was benched because he failed to rotate to help his teammates, and never got back on the court.

His replacement, Calvin Booth, did even less, struggling to figure out the Knicks' pick-and-roll sets, which invariably led to jumpers by Van Horn or Houston and an assist to Marbury.

Wilt Chamberlain could have started for Seattle on this night, though, and it would not have made a shred of difference. The Knicks (17-24) were that good and the Sonics were that bad, which led to Seattle's sixth consecutive loss at the Mecca.

Wilkens has been called a molder of point guards, and he chatted with Marbury on Thursday about making his teammates better. Marbury responded with 17 assists, three shy of his career high. Van Horn had a season-high 30 points and Houston had 18.

"We had a hard time guarding everything," McMillan said.

Understanding how dangerous Allen is, teams are beginning to double-team him whenever he touches the ball and daring his teammates to beat them. Of late, they are not able to. While Allen scored 23 points, Rashard Lewis was 3-for-13 and scored seven points and Vladimir Radmanovic was 3-for-9 and had eight.

"What we have is sufficient," Allen said. "I keep saying that. But in saying that, they have to step up and play."

Feeling consternated that his team had attempted 72 3-pointers in the previous two games, including 37 in a loss to Cleveland Tuesday night, McMillan seemed to urge his team to penetrate the basketball.

The problem with that was that Dikembe Mutombo, one of the best shot blockers in league history, stood in the paint and altered every Seattle player's intention.

The result was 13 turnovers in the first half, 18 overall, and little chance for any success. By the end, Seattle was outscored 50-30 in the paint.

"We were hesitating, and their paint was really tight," Radmanovic said. "Because we took all those 3s in the last two games, we tried to make some things happen. Unfortunately, we made bad things happen."

In past blowouts, McMillan played the Sonics' reserves and they were able to cut into a lead with simple aggression. But on a night when every Knicks player wanted to make a favorable impression on their new leader, no comeback was forthcoming.

"I don't see in our bodies or in our faces that we can find a way to get back in the game when things aren't going well," McMillan said.

"Is that due to fatigue or teams just knowing how to play us? We'll find out the rest of this road trip."

Knicks 108, Sonics 88

[Edited by - HARDCOREKNICKSFAN on 01/17/2004 06:41:54]

Posted by playa2:

Gony, Ny played just like they did on that 4 game winning streak, funny thing is you and hardcore are not saying lets wait and see if they keep it up. You guys are sooooooooo funny. Don't EVER talk about me doing the same because I took ya picture , you have been EXPOSED!

The difference is now they have a REAL coach again. The difference is what he is teaching them and how he is coaching the game. Calling TIMEOUTS when the D is suffering, telling Marbury to do something a bit different and all of a sudden he has 17 assists!

You want to talk about being EXPOSED? Let's lookat our history together, since we met on the Daily News Forum a few years back.

You hated JVG.
I liked JVg and said when he left NY would be in trouble.

When Toronto beat NY, you said Wilkens outcoached JVG.
I said it was due to Camby's absence.
Since Wilkens was hired you changed you tune. You put an *by the Toronto win! I always had it there.

You supported Chaney and Layden. You gave excuse after excuse for Chaney. his record 72-112. Since he left, 2-0. You liked Layden.
I said after Chaney's first month, that he was useless and Layden has never been a favorite of mine. Since Layden has left, we trade d SPOON, Eisley and Ward for A SUPERSTAR PG!!

You said at the beginning of this year, that the young players had to earn their time.
I said, if you are oging to lose, you might as well play Sweets and FWill ahead of Eisley and Spoon because they suck anyway.
Who did Isiah get rid of right away?

You did not like the Isiah hiring, even though last year, you said he was a grat coach in December after beating SA. You claimed as an x-great player, he knew today's NBA and today's player. I never thjought Isiah was a good coach. You know have nothing nice to say about Isiah. I think he has TURNED this team around. He is a good GM and proved that in Toronto.

You did not like the Marbury deal! I LOVED the Marbury DEAL.

You did not like the Wilkens hiring! I like it and think Wilkens will do well here. Is he the best fit? maybe not, but a size 1 shoe on a size 21 foot would be a better fit than Chaney was.

You blamed JVG, Ewing, Spree for the Knicks not being better when they were winning and praised Chaney and Layden when the Knicks were losing. I like JG, Ewing and Spree.

You now seem to dislike Marbury and Wilkens. With your past history as my guide, this can only mean that the Knicks will be winning again!

I will give you one though. You like the KVH trade. I did not. Spree is playing great for Minnesota and KVH is playing great for NY. The trade was fair and right now KVH is a better fit than Spree.
But Spree wasn't the problem here, the pathetic leadership was. Now that is back with Stephon, IT and Wilkens!