nicos:
I thought Andrew Nicholson played pretty well in both games against the Knicks- glad he only played 14 minutes (+14) tonight. He gave Camby a real headache.

yeah, I thought a bunch of Vaughn’s moves were kind of dubious, also Harkless should have played more and McRoberts less.

ephus:
One last distinction between Bernard and ‘Melo.Bernard played nasty and with a scowl.He always seemed furious on the court.He was the epitome of a “bad MF”.Everything that Spike Lee said about Michael Jordan in the Air Jordan commercials, he first said (as Mars Blackmon) about Bernard in She’s Gotta Have It.

‘Melo appears well . . . mellow.He has a grin (or grimace) plastered on his face.He seems to be more easy going (although he is clearly a hell of a competitor).

This observation about his mellowness makes me wonder why Melo is so short-tempered with the officials. It’s like… instead of thinking the other team’s players are the enemy, it’s the refs who are out to get him.

I know this will lead credence to those who say the Knicks can play great D whenever they want but to me that makes it even more frustrating and annoying. Melo had to play 45 minutes tonight to squeak out this win. Playing such casual defense early is forcing the Knicks best players to play some major minutes and have to exert some crazy effort in the 2nd half to try to win these games.

I liked it in the beginning when they played good D from the beginning which lead to the occasional blowouts and not needing to extend major minutes to the better players lol.

‘Melo appears well . . . mellow. He has a grin (or grimace) plastered on his face. He seems to be more easy going (although he is clearly a hell of a competitor).

jon abbey: not to mention the legendary showdown between him and Isiah in that five game first round series. that and Bird/Dominique are the best one on one playoff duels I remember as a kid.

Amen.

ephus:
For everyone who did not get a chance to see it, here is the magic about Bernard.During the 1984 playoffs against the Boston Celtics, Bernard was far and away the best player on the court, eclipsing Hall of Famers Larry Bird (at his apex), Kevin McHale, Robert Parrish and Dennis Johnson.By the end of the series, McHale, who had bragged he was going to shut Bernard down, admitted that he was unstoppable.If Bernard had any sort of supporting cast beyond Bill Cartwright, the Knicks would have defeated the Celtics that year.

not to mention the legendary showdown between him and Isiah in that five game first round series. that and Bird/Dominique are the best one on one playoff duels I remember as a kid.