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| 37-23 | 18-40 | |
| Amway Arena | ||
| 7:00 PM | ||
| FSN Florida | ||
| Probable starters: | ||
| Jameer Nelson | PG | Nate Robinson |
| Maurice Evans | SG | Jamal Crawford |
| Hedo Turkoglu | SF | Q. Richardson |
| Rashard Lewis | PF | Zach Randolph |
| Dwight Howard | C | Eddy Curry |
The Knicks and Magic have played twice this year, and yet as they prepare to face-off again tonight, I still don't feel like I know enough about them to write an adequate preview. For more information to the Knicks, I contacted Seth of the Knicks blog Posting and Toasting. He took the time to answer my questions, and for that I'm grateful. Away we go...
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3QC: In the past week, we've seen two highly questionable plays by Knicks: in one, Zach Randolph tries to cross over Andrea Bargnani of the Raptors, loses his handle, gets it back, then airballs a three-pointer with 7 seconds on the shot clock. In another, Jamal Crawford tries to throw an alley-oop to himself off the backboard, but misses the dunk. How much, if at all, do these plays bother you?
Seth: Nothing really bothers me anymore. I'm a Knicks fan! Seriously, though, Crawford's move is forgivable. The dunk almost went down and he did that successfully twice in 2006. Randolph's is a little more embarrassing, if only because the potential benefits of that display weren't nearly worth the risk. In any event, the Knicks can't really do much worse in humiliating me.
3QC: The Knicks are certainly lottery-bound again this season. With that in mind, what goals should they set for themselves to accomplish over the final month-and-a-half of the season?
Seth: Get David Lee, Nate Robinson, Renaldo Balkman, and Randolph Morris minutes. They are the future. And while I can't bring myself to actually root against my favorite team, losing a whole lot of games would probably help.
3QC: You're fortunate enough to have David Lee on your team. What's it like to have a power forward who can rebound? It's been so long since Horace Grant last donned Magic blue-and-white that I've forgotten completely.
David Lee's rebounding is what makes me keep coming back. It's a thing of beauty and part of the reason we coined the term "basketboner" at P&T. Really, he's the only thing that allows diehard Knick fans to sleep at night. Once the guy is willing to even pretend to make an effort on defense, he'll be a player to build around.
3QC: So much negativity surrounds this team, in part because of the city but also because it has been mismanaged. To end this Q-and-A on a positive note, what have been the brightest spots of the season so far?
The aforementioned great white hope is a big bright spot. Nate Robinson's gradual maturation as a lead guard has been nice. Mostly, though, I'm finally getting into college basketball. I like to watch Beasley, Rose, Gordon, Bayless, et al. and know that one of them is gonna be ours.
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Thanks again to Seth for providing us with that insight into the Knicks. Head on over to Posting and Toasting to see what I had to say about the Magic.