NY KNICKS vs. BUCKS @ MSG - 7:30 PM - 02-05-10

KING~POETIQ

The One and Only
From ESPN.COM:

Nate Robinson's energy and production off the bench made him a fan favorite at Madison Square Garden. The diminutive guard now appears to be regaining coach Mike D'Antoni's favor -- at the expense of Chris Duhon.

Robinson is expected to make his first start in almost a year Friday night when the Knicks host the Milwaukee Bucks.
The 5-foot-9 Robinson had his best season in 2008-09, averaging 17.2 points and 4.1 assists in D'Antoni's first season coaching the Knicks (19-29).
That production hasn't carried over into 2009-10, as he's posted 12.9 points and 3.5 assists per game while being used as a reserve in all 27 contests. He started 11 times last season.
Robinson has also developed a tepid relationship with D'Antoni, who yelled at him for lofting a 3-pointer at the wrong basket at the end of the first quarter of a win over New Jersey on Nov. 21. The shot went in just after the buzzer.
D'Antoni didn't use Robinson at all for 14 games in December, and the guard was fined $25,000 by the league after his agent publicly demanded a trade.
He's appeared in 15 of 16 games since returning, averaging 14.4 points and 3.8 assists. Robinson came up especially big Wednesday, scoring 23 points with eight assists and six rebounds to help New York end a three-game skid with a 107-85 victory over Washington.
He provided a spark after starting the second half in place of the struggling Duhon, who had two points on 1-of-6 shooting.
"In the first half we were dead in the water and I didn't feel like there was any life," D'Antoni said. "We weren't giving anyone in the building anything to cheer about. I just thought we needed Nate to show some energy and he did, and the rest of the guys responded really well."
After injecting that needed energy, Robinson is expected to replace Duhon at the start of Friday's game.
Duhon leads the Knicks with 6.3 assists per game, but is averaging just 8.0 points. His shooting has become a major problem of late, as he's shooting 24.6 percent from the field and averaging 3.5 points over his last 11 games.
"Nate's playing well, I'm not playing well. I'm not getting it done, so it's his job to make this team win," said Duhon, who averaged career highs of 11.1 points and 7.2 assists last season -- his first with New York. "Nate is obviously capable of doing that."
A sprained ankle forced Robinson to miss the Knicks' 102-87 loss at Milwaukee (21-26) on Nov. 7, while Duhon mustered one point and four assists in 20:13 of play.
Robinson had 32 points and eight assists off the bench to lead the Knicks to a 120-112 win over the Bucks on March 10, also at Milwaukee. That was New York's only victory over the Bucks in the last six meetings between the teams, two of which have come at Madison Square Garden.
Milwaukee is looking to conclude a three-game road trip above .500 after falling 99-82 at Orlando on Tuesday.
A two-day layoff might be what Brandon Jennings needs to rebound from perhaps his worst performance of the season. The rookie guard had a season-low two points on 1-for-7 shooting Tuesday after scoring nine in a 97-81 victory at Miami the previous night.
"It was one of them," Skiles told the NBA's official Web site after the loss to the Magic. "He's had some difficulty in the second games of back-to-backs and it's understandable, too. It's something he hasn't done before."
Jennings, who leads the Bucks with 17.2 points and 6.2 assists per game, had 17 points against the Knicks in November.





MATCH-UP OF THE GAME:



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VS.



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STARTING LINE-UPS:


KNICKS-

PG N. Robinson 12.9 ppg
SF W. Chandler 15.2 ppg
PF J. Jeffries 5.2 ppg
F D. Gallinari 14.6 ppg
C D. Lee 19.7 ppg


BUCKS-

SG C. Bell 7.8 ppg
PG B. Jennings 17.2 ppg
SF C. Delfino 10.0 ppg
SF L. Mbah a Moute 5.8 ppg
C A. Bogut 15.9 C ppg
 
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TheChosen1

Benchwarmer
Did anyone see the Knicks Pregame show? D'Antoni said if you play bad then you won't play. Did it really take him this long to get that ideology? Duhon should have been benched a long time ago. Nate and Hughes could have split the minutes while Douglas got a few. Who knows what our record would have looked like if he changed it to this a long time ago. Well that's that. A little worried about Jennings tonight. He expressed how pissed he was when we passed on him. So I'm expecting him to take majority of MIL's shots. Just hope Jefferies does what he does best and we should be alright.
 

nyk_nyk

All Star
I like what Nate brings as the starter. He's already been to the ft line 8 times and he's breaking down the defense with this penetration. There's just way more movement with Nate in the game.

So far I give him a "B+"
 

iSaYughh

Starter
Man. I really hope we can re-sign Lee and have him play PF alongside Bron. Loved his comments @ halftime responding to Jennings' smack.

Also, love CC's halftime talk. Bring us LBJ, CC, make it so.

Hopefully Gallo can work on defining his role and presence as the game/season plays out.

Let's take these punks down. I think N8 is going to really turn it on 2nd half. Like what he's done so far.
 

Crazy⑧s

Evacuee
Lee continues to play exceptionally well.

Is the man not a great player?

Is he not a keeper?

If we add a decent center, he's definitely a keeper.
 

iSaYughh

Starter
I like what Nate brings as the starter. He's already been to the ft line 8 times and he's breaking down the defense with this penetration. There's just way more movement with Nate in the game.

So far I give him a "B+"

Exactly. What the N8 haters need to realize -- since they never did -- is that it isn't even a question as to whether N8 100% *would* perform well, and perform as he has been.

It is that it has been *entirely* in the realm of N8's skill set and potential *to* perform well -- and, perhaps most importantly, perform better than Christopher DuDonkey as a starter.

Simply, N8's obv potential and DuDonkey's obv disgrace *mandated* N8 be given the reigns and given a legit shot.
 

nyk_nyk

All Star
I still think Lee benefits from the team not having any other rebounders or anyone else requiring space in the paint. I'd still like to keep him though. He's a baller and with a good defensive and rebounding bigman alongside him would make a great tandem.
 

TheChosen1

Benchwarmer
DLee is definitely a keeper. Sign LeBron and DLee. That will be our 2 superstars right there. Get a decent defensive minded C and a PG. Fill our rosters with young and experienced players and we should be good to go.
 

nyk_nyk

All Star
I don't know about Gallo sometimes. This guy has trouble beating anyone off the dribble and usually just hangs out at the 3pt line. SF should be more dynamic than that.
 

iSaYughh

Starter
Gallo has had games were he showed excellent slashing prowess. It's def in him. He's also made some brilliant defensive-minded plays this season.

It's basically his rook year, and he isn't playing on a well defined team...I think/hope once the team has a bit more stability, and he has had a bit more time to grow, he will begin pulling things together and be a great player for us.

C Hill
PF Lee
SF Gallo
SG Chandler
PG Lebron

My favorite lineup for the future. Relatively easy to put together since we abandon the need for bringing in a guard by trade.

How filthy is that starting 5? The sheer size and versatility alone is mind-boggling.
 

Kiyaman

Legend
I still think Lee benefits from the team not having any other rebounders or anyone else requiring space in the paint. I'd still like to keep him though. He's a baller and with a good defensive and rebounding bigman alongside him would make a great tandem.

Lee, Nate, and Chandler are the Knicks....

Coach Dantoni is a BUM! the knicks starting lineup is tired after playing 10 straight minutes in the 3rd quarter, when are the substitutions coming in

Someone tell Dantoni the Knicks are 9-Man rotation team, not a 6 or 7 man rotation team
 

johnstarky

Rotation player
If I knew that the Bucks were this good I would have ordered NBA League pass just to watch them every night.They look like a team that might make noise in the playoffs this season.
 

nyk_nyk

All Star
Looks like Dantoni has lost Hughes's respect. Larry is a more disciplined player than he's showing. He obviously doesn't give a damn about the coach and he's making sure he gets his shot attempts no matter how bad they are. Hughes doesn't get a pass for this but its also Dantoni's fault because of the way he handles players.
 

Kiyaman

Legend
I don't know about Gallo sometimes. This guy has trouble beating anyone off the dribble and usually just hangs out at the 3pt line. SF should be more dynamic than that.

Gallo is not a 30 minute player....give him 12 to 18 minutes a game and he will light it up. The same 12 to 18 minutes for Hill and Douglas and they will add on both side of the court.

Jefferies is not a 30 minute player....give him 12 to 24 minutes a game and he will add some strong team-defense

Duhon is not a 30 minute player....give him 18 to 24 minutes and he will lead the point well.

Chandler is not a 30 minute player....give him 24 to 28 minutes and he will give u wins
 

nyk_nyk

All Star
Lee, Nate, and Chandler are the Knicks....

Coach Dantoni is a BUM! the knicks starting lineup is tired after playing 10 straight minutes in the 3rd quarter, when are the substitutions coming in

Someone tell Dantoni the Knicks are 9-Man rotation team, not a 6 or 7 man rotation team

I've always said that Dantoni isn't a good game manager. Its like he has trouble thinking while coaching. Nate should be out there right now at the very least for his ability to make the defense play honest.
 

Kiyaman

Legend
If I knew that the Bucks were this good I would have ordered NBA League pass just to watch them every night.They look like a team that might make noise in the playoffs this season.


Player-coach Kurt Thomas has alot to do with the Bucks acting and performing like a team this season.

I wanted us to make a trade for Kurt Thomas this offseason but I doubt if Kurt will ever play for Dantoni again, after the way Kurt Thomas man handle all the Phoenix Players in a sweeping series in the first round (Spurs vs Phoenix), a 5 game series is also a sweep.
 
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