http://msn.foxsports.com/nba/story/6123052

I grew up as one of the few New Jersey Nets fans in New Jersey. That sounds strange, but it's true.

As a kid in the ‘90's, liking the Nets over the Knicks was like spending time after school reading Where's Waldo books instead of playing Sega Genesis. It wasn't cool, it wasn't sensible, and it certainly wasn't stylish. Back then, everyone in Jersey loved the Knicks. They had the shaved heads, the black sneakers, the slick coach, and that Go New York Go New York Go theme song. Most importantly, they had the wins. People forget this now, but from 1992-1997 the Knicks won 50 or more games five times in six seasons. They were on NBC every weekend, playing behind the backdrop of John Tesh's music and the rays of the early summer sun well into the depths of June.

The Nets weren't so lucky. Sam Bowie, Benoit Benjamin, Tate George, Purvis Short, Lester Conner — these were the guys on those early 90's Nets rosters. While the Knicks sported an empowering blend of orange, black, and blue — the Nets went with a questionable baby blue and scarlet red. New York had a gunner who seemed to make every shot he took in John Starks. New Jersey had a gunner who just never met a shot he didn't like in Chris Morris.

And yet, I fell for those guys in those hideous baby blues. Drazen "Draz" Petrovic, Kenny "The Kid" Anderson, Derrick "D.C." Coleman — I can still hear Spencer Ross and Bill Rafterty screaming about them on Sportschannel in my head. It was never cool to like the Nets, but I managed to watch every one of their games during that era. I wore No. 43 in my rec basketball leagues in honor of Armon Gilliam, saw the movie "Eddie" because Dwayne Schintzius was in it, and always liked Pearl Jam more than Nirvana or STP because of the Mookie Blaylock connection.

Somewhere along the line, over the course of the next decade, the Nets got good and the Knicks got bad. Things changed. Rooting on Jason Kidd, Kenyon Martin, and the high flying Swamp Dragons became a lot more fun than cheering for Clarence Weatherspoon and Shandon Anderson. Corporations starting buying Nets tickets for their clients instead of Knicks ones. Jay-Z sat courtside in East Rutherford.

Kids wore Richard Jefferson jerseys to school and mimicked the way Vince Carter took his free throws. Nobody would be caught dead wearing a Howard Eisley Knicks top.

Things were supposed to go back to "normal" last year. Larry Brown was brought into town to right the ship, the Knicks had three stud rookies on board, and the Turtle dude from Entourage was doing ads on MSG. You, of course, know what happened. The Nets won the Atlantic Division with ease, and the Knicks went on to finish with the second worst record in the NBA.

Isiah became the laughingstock of the league. Rookie Nate Robinson — arguably the most hyped first year player in New York since Keyshawn Johnson — argued with his coach, brawled with Malik Rose in the team shower over gambling debts, and got in trouble for throwing spit balls on a team bus ride. Yes, spit balls.

Steve Francis and Jalen Rose came to town despite great displeasure from the fan base. Both were terrible.

Stephon Marbury got injured, as did Channing Frye, and Eddy Curry forgot how to rebound. Jackie Butler — yes, Jackie Butler — ended up being the team's lone bright spot.

On a team filled with stars and bloated egos, there was nothing for Knicks fans to hang their hats on. Nothing to like. Nothing to root for. The Knicks had the highest payroll in the entire league in 2005-06. They were also the most difficult to watch.

This time around, no one's been buying any preseason stock in New York's basketball franchise. It's been a "Fool me once ..." kind of deal. The experts all jumped on board last year, and ended up wiping the egg off their faces come December.

Every NBA preview you read this week has New York finishing in the bottom of the Eastern Conference. Experts on this very site have already deemed Jerome James the league's least valuable player, and Isiah Thomas as its worst executive. Steve Francis and Stephon Marbury aren't supposed to gel, and Eddy Curry's supposed to stink.

So why do I have a weird feeling that the Knicks are going to be the surprise team of 2006? An absolute joy to watch, and more importantly — a pleasure to root for?

Well, because I followed them throughout the summer and the entire preseason, and that's exactly what they've been.

And no, I'm not currently sitting in a fogged up room, listening to the band Phish.

It's all on Isiah now. It's his team, with his players, and his style of play. The Knicks look like an intramural team out there these days. That's a good thing. They're running, they're passing, and they're actually having fun. Isiah seems to be enjoying himself too. In a preseason game against the Sixers last week, Thomas, dressed in a three piece suit, sat Indian style on the sidelines and chatted with Eddy Curry. Who knows about what — but the guy was sitting Indian style on the sidelines. That's fun. That's good entertainment.

Anytime there's a report on the local New York TV stations from Knicks camp, Isiah's out on the court, running with the team, having a good time. The players are smiling, and Thomas is too. It's like he's Jim Jones and they've all begun drinking the Kool-Aid. Sure, the media hasn't. But who needs the media? Certainly not Thomas.

He's shown some real bite on that very issue. Thomas knows that now is the time to produce, and he's taking on full responsibility. In the process, he's calling shots and taking names. It's a real "Me Against the World" mentality — and it's pretty fun to follow. Just last week, he called out ESPN's Greg Anthony. Talking with reporters, Thomas addressed Anthony, considered by many to be an authoritative voice on the sport, "This so-called former Knick, who on draft night with millions of people watching had the audacity to take me to task on a player that I'm pretty sure he had never seen before in his life," Thomas said. "But he stands on national television and he talks about a kid that he has absolutely no idea about. I'm glad that all of New York doesn't think like Greg Anthony."

Which leads us to Balkman, the man, himself. I, like so many wiseasses on the Internet, wrote some quip about the pick being a foolish one back on draft night. Shame on me. Looking back on it now, criticizing the Balkman pick was a layup, an easy one for quick laughs. I took the money and ran. It was too tempting not to.

In hindsight, I realize now that the same people that knocked the pick watch Everybody Loves Raymond reruns and laugh out loud. They recite whatever was said on "Mike and Mike" at the water cooler three hours later to their colleagues at work. They mispronounce the words Su Doku, but claim to play every morning on their commute to work. They refer to the players on their fantasy football team by just their first names. What's that all mean? I'm not sure, but I think it somehow makes sense.

I've probably watched Balkman in ten NBA games between the Vegas Summer League and the preseason, and can't lie — I've fallen in love. I love watching the dude play basketball, and find his style of play infectious. Balkman's everywhere on the court and plays the game exactly the way you'd hope your 5-year-old son or daughter someday would. Critics killed the draft pick, using the fact that Balkman averaged under 10 points per game in college as their main point of contention.

As we'll all discover in the next few months, Balkman changes games in ways that don't necessarily show up in box scores.

Quentin Richardson has already given him the nickname "Taz" — a reference to his Tasmanian Devil-like qualities on the court. Though the nickname works and should be fine for the time being, my buddy Schub and I have begun referring to Balkman as "The Osprey." We're not exactly sure how we came up with the nickname, but it's a far more accurate way to describe the South Carolina grad's game. Balkman is not an out-of-control whirling dervish of dust and debris. His game's graceful; a thing of beauty. He'll swoop in, deflect a pass, and hit the open man for an outlet pass in one great motion. "The Osprey" — it's just an incredible alias. I can see it now — a poster in a 12-year-old kid from Long Island's bedroom with Balkman and a bird flying over Madison Square Garden with the words "THE OSPREY" on it. Of course, my ultimate dream is to have Walt Frazier be doing a Knick game and utter one of his rhymes using the nickname. Something like, "The Osprey knifing through the lane — swishing and dishing." In due time, folks. In due time.

I truly regret cracking wise on the Balkman pick back in June. I should have known better. After watching just how much of a spark he'll be off the bench for New York this year, it's silly to think he'll be anything but an absolutely positive force on the team. Sure, Marcus Williams — who the Nets took immediately after Balkman — will be an excellent pro. But did the Knicks need another undersized point guard? Five months after the fact, I can confidently say no. Though the Knicks may not have necessarily taken Balkman at the right position in the draft (he very well could have been available in the second round) — I think they got the right guy nevertheless.

Outside of Balkman, the rest of the team seems to be on the same page, too. Marbury's now selling his shoes for $15 apiece, so that every one of his fans can wear his kicks. Francis is doing and saying all the right things as well. Call me naïve, but maybe this Starbury and Franchise thing could work out if they're not just thrown together in the middle of a season. With a summer to work alongside one another, maybe they develop a chemistry. If they do, we could be looking at a pretty lethal backcourt duo.

Right down the list — Frye, Robinson, Curry, Collins, David Lee, even Jerome James — everyone on the Knicks roster seems happy and eager to shock the world in '06-07.

I'm on board the bandwagon. It's absolutely empty now. Just me and a conductor. You can actually hear empty Snapple bottles rolling around the floor three cars ahead.

Sure, the Nets will always be my number one NBA team. And yes, the Knicks are still the big, bad enemy from across the Hudson. But I'm eager to follow the Tri-State area's other squad too this year. If you want in, there are still plenty of seats left on the train. But I refuse to accept any vouchers come next week. Seriously. Join now, or don't join at all.

Call me crazy — but I think the Knicks are going to be a playoff team this year. If not, they'll at the very least be one of the more delightful teams to watch in the Eastern Conference.

Then again, what do I know?

I'm the same guy who voluntarily chose looking for Waldo over playing Sega Genesis.

Reverse Pyschology.

this article brought tears of joy to my eyes. finally someone actually WATCHED the team play before writing an article or mouthing an opinion. tears of joy.

You guys really think this team is any good?

For what reason? There was not an inkling of defense on the preseason. None of the needs were addressed. We needed shooters, defenders, shotblocking, and leadership.

All we got is Jeffries who sucks, and now he is hurt. Oh and yeah, we got Cato. Who apparantly is teaching Curry how to postup. Considering how great of a post player Cato is, Curry will actually get worse this year in the post.

I mean cmon, there is nothing good happening.

Posted by simrud:

You guys really think this team is any good?

For what reason? There was not an inkling of defense on the preseason. None of the needs were addressed. We needed shooters, defenders, shotblocking, and leadership.

All we got is Jeffries who sucks, and now he is hurt. Oh and yeah, we got Cato. Who apparantly is teaching Curry how to postup. Considering how great of a post player Cato is, Curry will actually get worse this year in the post.

I mean cmon, there is nothing good happening.

You seem to be reacting a bit extreme, as if they went 2-4 and not 4-2. The difference in the record is they won the games they should have.

Defense was there, maybe not so much in plays, but in the play book and players. Jeffries, Q and Balkman bring it pretty good. That's 2 new defensive players to add to team defense. It will make a difference.

It appears that Isiah is trying to get the offense down though. It makes sense to build team confidence by scoring some points. Yeah, you can do it with defense too, but we don't have enough of those players, so we are playing to our strengths.

Nothing good happening? What do you want? We are playing better, the Balkman pick is at least no longer being laughed at. Jeffries is a noticeable improvement to the team defense (we have enough offense), Stevey turned his game around from last year and is playing with heart, Lee looked great, Channing might be in a bit of a funk (just like last pre season fould trouble), Nate is looking greater than last year, and it goes on.

That isn't my perspective, it's observable. But, I feel your pain regarding passing on Bynum, Williams and trading for Curry. We play the hand we are dealt at this point.
EMS

ITS GAME DAY!!! THE ORANGE AND HE BLUE BABY!! WOOHOOO

Posted by simrud:

You guys really think this team is any good?

For what reason? There was not an inkling of defense on the preseason. None of the needs were addressed. We needed shooters, defenders, shotblocking, and leadership.

All we got is Jeffries who sucks, and now he is hurt. Oh and yeah, we got Cato. Who apparantly is teaching Curry how to postup. Considering how great of a post player Cato is, Curry will actually get worse this year in the post.

I mean cmon, there is nothing good happening.

Well, first of all pessimist Knicks fan, the team is no longer in prison. Secondly, once a team has hit rock bottom -- as the Knicks did last year under Warden Brown, there's but one way to go ...

Frye getting quality minutes along bodes well for the morality of the team. Francis and Marbury are veterans. Lee, Balkman and Jeffries improves the frontcourt help defense tremendously.

Before anything happens, as you put it, a person must first believe ... and there's no question in my mind the 2006 New York Knicks BELIEVE they are a much better team.

this was a really good artical, very well written