A Little Bit of Everything

This is a busy time in the world of sports. The Superbowl is less than 2 weeks away, the NHL and NBA are midway through the season, and baseball season is right around the corner. There's a few things that I want to bring up. The first being the World Baseball Classic.



I didn't really get into the 2006 WBC but I am excited for this one. The rosters aren't fully set, but I already feel that the Dominican Republic is going to be the team to beat. Their lineup is going to be unstoppable. Players who have already agreed to play for Dominican are Alfonso Soriano, Albert Pujols, Alex Rodriguez, Vlad Guerrero, David Ortiz, and Robinson Cano. I don't think any pitcher on the planet wants to see those guys all in a row. I could care less about their pitching, which I'm sure is great too, but this lineup alone is enough for them to dominate.

With the NHL's All Star break this weekend, theres many things to discuss about the first half of the season. The Sharks and Bruins lead their Conferences but I feel the best team in the league is the Detroit Red Wings. They're keeping pace with San Jose and are only 3 points behind. This team has a great chance to win back to back Stanley Cups. In the East Boston has been ahead of everyone the whole season but look out for the Washington Capitals and the New Jersey Devils. Alexander Ovechkin is flat out the best player in the league and he can take this team deep into the playoffs. The Devils are almost fully healthy and can jump into first place in the Atlantic Division with a game at hand with a win Wednesday before the break. When Marty Brodeur comes back, this team is going to be dangerous.

There have been many surprises so far in the NBA. Although the Celtics are still an elite team, they came back down to Earth and other teams are now finding out how to beat them. I still think the Cavs will be champions after the season and as long as they are healthy I feel like the Spurs can make a run through the West. LeBron is the favorite for MVP but in last night's matchup between the Cavs and Lakers, Kobe Bryant showed me he should not be forgotten about. Kobe played great defense on LeBron and got the job done offensively, all while playing with a dislocated finger in his shooting hand. This is what I like to see in players and it's nice to see a NBA player not cry like they all do. The Knicks have clearly made improvements and Mike D' Antoni is doing a great job. David Lee is a beast, and if this team can go on a run in the near future, the Knicks could possibly be in position for a playoff spot in the weak Eastern Conference.

I just wanted to get some stuff out there because there is a lot going on and needed to be talked about. I'm pretty pumped for the next couple of weeks in sports. It's a big time of the year.

Mike D'Antoni Proving System Over PG

Let's rewind back one year.  The Knicks were off to another horrendous start under then head coach and President of Basketball Operations Isiah Thomas.  The starting lineup on opening night was Eddy Curry, Zach Randolph, Quentin Richardson, Jamal Crawford, and Stephon Marbury.  After countless lineup changes, sexual assault scandals, and quarter pounders consumed by Eddy Curry, New York Knicks owner James Dolan finally came to his senses and dismissed Isiah Thomas as head coach and President of Basketball Operations.  In came former Phoenix Suns top man, Mike D'Antoni.  

Renowned for his offensive genius and "Seven Seconds or Less" attack, he brought the run and gun mentality to MSG.  In Phoenix, he was supplied with an MVP and an All-Star cast which helped him average 58 wins a season in his four full seasons as coach.  Running the show was MVP Steve Nash, who many considered to be the engine behind the offense, not the system itself.

One year later with essentially the same roster from the 2007-2008 season which managed to win a pathetic 23 games, here is D'Antoni again working his magic. Through the first nine games of the season, the Knicks are 6-3, tied for the fifth seed if the playoffs started today, and are three games over .500 for the first time since December 29, 2004.  Some of you may remember this date as the day Stephon Marbury boldly declared himself the "best point guard in the NBA."  The biggest offseason import was career backup point guard Chris Duhon.  With career averages of 6.9 ppg and 4.5 apg, hardly the engine and floor general he had with Steve Nash in Phoenix.  However, D'Antoni is proving his critics wrong and winning over the MSG crowd with his great basketball mind.  A look at the numbers shows this record isn't just a fluke and that his players in Phoenix did not make the system.  The Knicks are averaging a league leading 104.8 ppg and are fourth in the league at 23.2 apg.  Both numbers up from last years putrid offense which averaged only 96.9 ppg and 18.7 apg.  An enormous change from this group who were labeled as selfish last year.  

The starting lineup for this years squad is Zach Randolph, Wilson Chandler, Quentin Richardson, Jamal Crawford, and Chris Duhon.  Crawford is proving to the NBA he can be a winning player and is averaging a career best 21 ppg.  Zach Randolph has rejuvenated his career and playing team basketball for the first time in his life. Within the flow of the offense he is averaging 20.1 ppg and is third in the league in rebounding at 12.3 a game.  The man has bought in so much to what D'Antoni is preaching, he even dishes out an assist every game.  

After an offseason where D'Antoni was essentially kicked out the door by the Suns and was mocked for passing on the Chicago Bulls job, (a team who would eventually land number one pick Derrick Rose and was seen by many as the perfect point guard for his system) the Knicks were happy to embrace D'Antoni as its savior.  He is changing the culture, winning the crowd, and showing the fans of New York the changing times literally by benching Eddy Curry and Stephon Marbury for the entire season.  The season is still a long way from being over and there's a chance either of the two could still play, but the early returns show that D'Antoni's mind and basketball sense matter more than the players on his roster which is a welcomed attitude after the prior regime.