Frank:
Call me crazy, but am I the only one who is glad we don’t have to play Toronto again?Their record isn’t great but they have 4 wins in the March against probable playoff teams (Knicks, Memphis, Houston, Denver) and were one lucky bounce to Deng from beating the Bulls.They have a lot of games coming up in April that could help us – 2 against Philly, 2 against Atlanta, and 1 each against Boston and Atlanta. I may just become a Raptors fan.

I still think we have an outside shot at the 4 seed since Philly has a tough road. Will be tough to pass Atlanta as they have a 3 game lead in the loss column – but ATL could easily go 0-4 to end the season with BOS, NYK, LAC, and Dallas to end the season.

Yes, They’ve been especially tough the last two weeks. The more I think of the recent Toronto loss, the more I think it’s because Toronto played good, more than the knicks played bad.

Frank:
Call me crazy, but am I the only one who is glad we don’t have to play Toronto again?Their record isn’t great but they have 4 wins in the March against probable playoff teams (Knicks, Memphis, Houston, Denver) and were one lucky bounce to Deng from beating the Bulls.They have a lot of games coming up in April that could help us – 2 against Philly, 2 against Atlanta, and 1 each against Boston and Atlanta. I may just become a Raptors fan.

I still think we have an outside shot at the 4 seed since Philly has a tough road. Will be tough to pass Atlanta as they have a 3 game lead in the loss column – but ATL could easily go 0-4 to end the season with BOS, NYK, LAC, and Dallas to end the season.

Assuming those teams need to play hard at the end…

In his first years, there was a culture clash between Woody and the young guys – the team was very young, and Woodson is a curmudgeon, and he was always having this or that argument with Josh Smith. Or Acie Law.

On the plus side, you have to give props to a coach who improves the team’s record six years running (NBA record!) All in all I think they achieved about what you’d hope for, given the talent. They never overachieved or broke through, but they never really fell apart int he playoffs, except the final year flop when they just rolled over. There was that one Boston series where they clawed back and almost pulled the upset, despite being totally overmatched. (It was 3-3, and they were like -50 on the point differential).

Management here is just brutal, and weird. They signed Joe Johnson to a crazy deal, to play PG. Eventually gave up on that, and then they re-signed him to that crazy $120 million – that turned the fans against Joe, more than anything I’ve seen here. Wasn’t helped by his grumbling about the crowd. The guy who really takes heat is Marvin Williams. If he were in NY there’d be nothing left but the bones.

funny Hawks trivia: about a month ago, they started running “Insani-Teague” TV ads…

Having said that, I think it is now incontestable that the change from MDA to Woodson was a catalyst for a marked improvement in the Knicks performance. Maybe quitting was the best contribution that MDA made to this team this year.

I think we can wait and see on the coach. I’d be inclined to keep Woodson, for sake of continuity. As I always say, coaches’ impact is limited. Woody was the beneficiary of a bit of luck – the Knicks were starting to play better under MDA (the last couple of games) and he sort of caught the momentum. At the same time, the coaching change also injected a jolt of urgency and soul-searching which has helped, at least in the short-term.

The Ewing comments are interesting – I wonder if bringing home Patrick would bump our odds of swinging a Dwight Howard deal. Impossible to say from here, but the agents should be talking..

d-mar: I really think catching the Hawks is our best shot, as much as winning the division would obviously be preferable. I think Philly will figure out a way to win enough road games to keep Boston and NY at bay, but Atlanta’s schedule is not easy, and they’ve had so many last second victories it’s bound to catch up with them.That being said, if we lost to them tomorrow, it’s division or bust.

I agree…I don´t think Philly´s remaining schedule doesn´t strike me as all that difficult in the least bit.