I always liked Felton. I always thought he was a tough SOB, a floor general. A guy who can lead a team on the court. Never in a thousand years did I think this guy could exhibit the leadership, intestinal fortitude, and toughness he has. His value seems to go so much beyond what he does on the floor. He seems to be the heart of this team. Is it any coincidence that once he took off this team was lifted? Derek Harper 2.0.

Landry is up there with Felton as my favorite Knicks. Kid just gets it. He has a toughness and never say die attitude that is so rare in the league these days. He worked his ass off for everything he has gotten. He reminds me if Mason in that he seems to be playing so far above his expected talent level by working his butt off.

I wanted Amare. As a secondary piece. I never thought I would be putting Amare in 3rd place as my favorite current Knicks. His leadership is so unexpected and his toughness was so underrated. I know he wasn't on those 93-94 teams but we have not seen a leader like this since LJ in the late 90's. I don't compare him to Ewing because Patrick was a guy that would just pull you with him. Pat was a loner who just figured he would do it himself. LJ was infectious. He lifted up everybody. He was a more vocal Ewing in that his sheer will made you follow him. Amare is infectious he is taking guys an leading them. His aura and attitude and confidence seem to just be absorbed by the whole team. He wasn't like this before. It took an eye injury that required him to keep his eyes closed for hours on end for him to see that warrior, that leader inside him.

Gallo has so much upside and has that swagger and is tougher then most Euros that come over. This kid wants to be a leader. He has that drive. If he could just stop deferring he could be the second best player on this team.

Turiaf is the motor. I liked him since he was in college. An Oakley type throwback. It takes determination, perseverance, and major sack to come back from open heart surgery. This man did it.

Wilson has that good soldier aura where he wants to be led. Douglas is Starks.

This is the first time in years I felt a true connection to this team. It has been 10 years since I could honestly say this team has ne feeling like I have orange and blue blood. I haven't truly had a favorite Knick since Allan left.

Watching this team, I realized it is not the winning I missed. It is the toughness, the heart, and the grit the Knicks have always signified. We lost that. We lost the warrior spirit that was always so important not just to the team but to the fans. All the talent that Marbury, Francis, Randolph, Curry had...they never had the true NY spirit. The warrior spirit of the Knicks. 10 years. 10 years to get that back.

Amare said, "The Knicks are back." Yes Amare. The Knicks are back. More importantly the spirit of the Knicks is back. The spirit of New York is back. The Warrior Spirit is back.

We need the coach to play more than 5 guys now

knicks1248 wrote:I'm encourage by the team, but it's mind boggling how a .500 record can get so many people excited. Have you looked at the standings lately, the east is as weak as it's ever been. Were not even the biggest story in the east, the pacers (just beat the lakers at home) are clearly the cinderlla story so far.

We only beat 1 team above 500(GSW) and we play like crackheads at home..It's good to win road games, but yoy start to get your kudos when you dominate at home, not losing to under 500 teams.

They say our schedule gets tough after Dec 12th, well to me, those are the games that detemines how far we have come, beating good teams at home and perhaps stealing a few on the road, thats something to get excited and pump about.

Miami is having team meetings ( to talk about how they just don't complement each other..idiots)and were clapping like seals over a .500 record.

didnt we start 3-14 last year?

izybx wrote:

knicks1248 wrote:I'm encourage by the team, but it's mind boggling how a .500 record can get so many people excited. Have you looked at the standings lately, the east is as weak as it's ever been. Were not even the biggest story in the east, the pacers (just beat the lakers at home) are clearly the cinderlla story so far.

We only beat 1 team above 500(GSW) and we play like crackheads at home..It's good to win road games, but yoy start to get your kudos when you dominate at home, not losing to under 500 teams.

They say our schedule gets tough after Dec 12th, well to me, those are the games that detemines how far we have come, beating good teams at home and perhaps stealing a few on the road, thats something to get excited and pump about.

Miami is having team meetings ( to talk about how they just don't complement each other..idiots)and were clapping like seals over a .500 record.

didnt we start 3-14 last year?

With JJ and David Lee playing center, duhon as our starting PG...thats not a surprising record

knicks1248 wrote:I'm encourage by the team, but it's mind boggling how a .500 record can get so many people excited. Have you looked at the standings lately, the east is as weak as it's ever been. Were not even the biggest story in the east, the pacers (just beat the lakers at home) are clearly the cinderlla story so far.

We only beat 1 team above 500(GSW) and we play like crackheads at home..It's good to win road games, but yoy start to get your kudos when you dominate at home, not losing to under 500 teams.

They say our schedule gets tough after Dec 12th, well to me, those are the games that detemines how far we have come, beating good teams at home and perhaps stealing a few on the road, thats something to get excited and pump about.

Miami is having team meetings ( to talk about how they just don't complement each other..idiots)and were clapping like seals over a .500 record.

You just gave a very good definition of a fan. Which is what we are. This is after all UltimateKnicks.com

misterearl wrote:joec32033 - great post and thoughtful breakdown of the playing personality.

People who get hung up on numbers are missing the first signs of developing a cohesive style of play. No, it will not always be pretty. These new Knicks are far from perfect, but there is a certain warrior mojo that is as apparent as Felton playing despite illness, Stoudemire playing on a fragile ankle or Turiaf giving a knee brace a shot.

Instead of going west and caving in after losing six in a row, they toughen up, surprise everyone, and return home battle tough.

Forget the record. How do you measure the size of a team's heart and soul?

Felton playing 53 minutes with the flu, 28 minutes straight is heart.
Amare playing 50+ minutes on a sprained ankle is heart.
Fields, a rookie, getting 2 clutch rebounds and cutbacks is soul.

In the bigger picture...

Amare and Felton carrying the kids shows heart and soul.
A rookie SG averaging 7 boards a game is heart.
Gallo coming through in the clutch regardless of bad games is heart.
Amare getting clutch blocks is heart.
Turiaf playing on bad knees because he knows the team needs him is soul.
Toney's defense is heart and soul.

NYKBocker wrote:

knicks1248 wrote:I'm encourage by the team, but it's mind boggling how a .500 record can get so many people excited. Have you looked at the standings lately, the east is as weak as it's ever been. Were not even the biggest story in the east, the pacers (just beat the lakers at home) are clearly the cinderlla story so far.

We only beat 1 team above 500(GSW) and we play like crackheads at home..It's good to win road games, but yoy start to get your kudos when you dominate at home, not losing to under 500 teams.

They say our schedule gets tough after Dec 12th, well to me, those are the games that detemines how far we have come, beating good teams at home and perhaps stealing a few on the road, thats something to get excited and pump about.

Miami is having team meetings ( to talk about how they just don't complement each other..idiots)and were clapping like seals over a .500 record.

You just gave a very good definition of a fan. Which is what we are. This is after all UltimateKnicks.com

And here I am thinking that I'm some kind of uber-objective "basketball" fan and not partial to a particular team and/or player.

You learn something new every day.

We have a lot of holes still but we seem to bring it everynight and that leadership has been provided nicely by Felton and Amare. Then guys like Chandler, Fields and Gallo have stepped right in there.

knicks1248 wrote:I think the last 3/4 years has drop the bar pretty damn low.

Most of us predicted this record, and all though #s don't tell the whole story, at the end of the day, thats what matters most.

We just won a 2nd game of a back to back without Turiaf and TD! Man that just hasn't happened in so long. This team is showing gumption and toughness. Yeah the Pacers are much sharper and showing a high level of skill. We don't have that right now, but i'll match our fight and determination up against any of the non elite teams right now. Case in point, how many blowouts have we suffered this year? See even when we play poorly we're still in games this year.

.500 this early is a GREAT sign, cuz most of us assumed this team would get off to a slow start and pick it up as the season went along. This team has a small chance to be above .500 at the 20 game mark. It's not a lock given the comp, but it could happen. IF we beat the Nets at home and catch a break in New Orleans, we could be in great shape. It's not unthinkable. We've had some really close losses against better teams.