StreetDreams21
I got Soul
Mike D'Antoni's man crush on Chris Duhon is over.
In the summer of 2008, D'Antoni convinced Donnie Walsh that Duhon was the bridge to 2010 -- the point guard who would bring a winning attitude to a losing culture. Duhon possessed a high basketball IQ, leadership, defense and intangibles Stephon Marbury did not bring.
The two-year deal has turned into an Isiah Thomas-like blunder. The bridge has collapsed. Duhon, newly named captain, is going down with the Knicks' ship.
The Knicks are in chaos as they take their 1-6 record into tonight's game vs. the Jazz to begin a four-game homestand. Duhon's role as starting point guard is under intense scrutiny again.
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With backup Nate Robinson still out with an ankle sprain, Duhon's starting job is safe until Robinson returns. D'Antoni yanked Duhon 2:32 into the third quarter Saturday for good. Duhon scored one point, committed three turnovers, and was 0 for 4 from the field. Duhon is shooting 25 percent, has played sloppy and looks like what everyone in the league figured he was in the summer of 2008 -- a good backup.
"I thought he [was] struggling and took him out," D'Antoni said. "He's not the only guy, but he's struggling right now. Hopefully, we can get him out of it."
D'Antoni said after the Bucks' blowout it's "soul-searching" time. The Knicks have fallen behind by 20-plus points in five of their six losses and the players are rattled, confused and sick of hearing about the summer's cap space. Who would've thought the Knicks would anxiously await center Eddy Curry's potential return to practice tomorrow?
The Knicks could equal the franchise's worst nine-game start (1-8) with two more losses. Compare that to last season's 6-3 start after which Walsh made his two cap-clearing trades and shot to death the next two seasons.
After the Jazz, the Knicks host the rising Hawks, who boast Jamal Crawford, sacrificed in last November's bloody cap-clearing massacre.
It must have killed D'Antoni to see rookie Bucks point guard Brandon Jennings look so much quicker, and so much more fluid than Duhon on Saturday. It must kill D'Antoni to read Jennings say how badly he wanted to be drafted by the Knicks, how badly he wanted to play for D'Antoni, how he and LeBron James would make the perfect tandem one day.
D'Antoni does not run the draft -- he is one voice among many. D'Antoni won't give his true assessment on whether he had Jennings higher than Jordan Hill on his personal list.
But know this: The Knicks scouts didn't have Jennings close to Hill on their board. The club's European scout Kevin Wilson liked Jennings, but did not push Walsh hard enough. The Barcelona-based Wilson, close to the Ricky Rubio family, probably thinks Rubio will land in New York eventually. Jennings played limitedly last season in Italy.
Walsh and D'Antoni had flown to Treviso, Italy, for a draft camp to investigate selecting Jennings, who never showed. Walsh felt he didn't have enough information to make Jennings the eighth pick. Not good.
And now they're stuck with Duhon for the year -- without a point guard of the present or future. D'Antoni wanted Ramon Sessions. Walsh balked. Yes, rookie Toney Douglas is impressing D'Antoni lately, but he's not a bona fide starter.
"I do like what I'm seeing out of Toney, he's getting better all the time," D'Antoni said.
Duhon tried to be a leader nine days ago when he told MSG Network in Charlotte players were "joking around" too much on the layup line. But the remarks ticked off some players, including Al Harrington. D'Antoni wished he said it to the guys and not MSG's post-game show.
"One of those stretches it seems like everything's going wrong," Duhon said. "I'm caught in a downward spiral. The only way I can get out of it is fight my way out of it."
For all the recent bad times, this was one of the worst weekends in recent Knicks history . James thrashed the Knicks Friday night, the Bucks thrashed them Saturday night. Worse, James ominously said: "When that day comes next summer, I want to win. If I feel like the team is capable of winning, then I will make my decision based on that."
In the summer of 2008, D'Antoni convinced Donnie Walsh that Duhon was the bridge to 2010 -- the point guard who would bring a winning attitude to a losing culture. Duhon possessed a high basketball IQ, leadership, defense and intangibles Stephon Marbury did not bring.
The two-year deal has turned into an Isiah Thomas-like blunder. The bridge has collapsed. Duhon, newly named captain, is going down with the Knicks' ship.
The Knicks are in chaos as they take their 1-6 record into tonight's game vs. the Jazz to begin a four-game homestand. Duhon's role as starting point guard is under intense scrutiny again.
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With backup Nate Robinson still out with an ankle sprain, Duhon's starting job is safe until Robinson returns. D'Antoni yanked Duhon 2:32 into the third quarter Saturday for good. Duhon scored one point, committed three turnovers, and was 0 for 4 from the field. Duhon is shooting 25 percent, has played sloppy and looks like what everyone in the league figured he was in the summer of 2008 -- a good backup.
"I thought he [was] struggling and took him out," D'Antoni said. "He's not the only guy, but he's struggling right now. Hopefully, we can get him out of it."
D'Antoni said after the Bucks' blowout it's "soul-searching" time. The Knicks have fallen behind by 20-plus points in five of their six losses and the players are rattled, confused and sick of hearing about the summer's cap space. Who would've thought the Knicks would anxiously await center Eddy Curry's potential return to practice tomorrow?
The Knicks could equal the franchise's worst nine-game start (1-8) with two more losses. Compare that to last season's 6-3 start after which Walsh made his two cap-clearing trades and shot to death the next two seasons.
After the Jazz, the Knicks host the rising Hawks, who boast Jamal Crawford, sacrificed in last November's bloody cap-clearing massacre.
It must have killed D'Antoni to see rookie Bucks point guard Brandon Jennings look so much quicker, and so much more fluid than Duhon on Saturday. It must kill D'Antoni to read Jennings say how badly he wanted to be drafted by the Knicks, how badly he wanted to play for D'Antoni, how he and LeBron James would make the perfect tandem one day.
D'Antoni does not run the draft -- he is one voice among many. D'Antoni won't give his true assessment on whether he had Jennings higher than Jordan Hill on his personal list.
But know this: The Knicks scouts didn't have Jennings close to Hill on their board. The club's European scout Kevin Wilson liked Jennings, but did not push Walsh hard enough. The Barcelona-based Wilson, close to the Ricky Rubio family, probably thinks Rubio will land in New York eventually. Jennings played limitedly last season in Italy.
Walsh and D'Antoni had flown to Treviso, Italy, for a draft camp to investigate selecting Jennings, who never showed. Walsh felt he didn't have enough information to make Jennings the eighth pick. Not good.
And now they're stuck with Duhon for the year -- without a point guard of the present or future. D'Antoni wanted Ramon Sessions. Walsh balked. Yes, rookie Toney Douglas is impressing D'Antoni lately, but he's not a bona fide starter.
"I do like what I'm seeing out of Toney, he's getting better all the time," D'Antoni said.
Duhon tried to be a leader nine days ago when he told MSG Network in Charlotte players were "joking around" too much on the layup line. But the remarks ticked off some players, including Al Harrington. D'Antoni wished he said it to the guys and not MSG's post-game show.
"One of those stretches it seems like everything's going wrong," Duhon said. "I'm caught in a downward spiral. The only way I can get out of it is fight my way out of it."
For all the recent bad times, this was one of the worst weekends in recent Knicks history . James thrashed the Knicks Friday night, the Bucks thrashed them Saturday night. Worse, James ominously said: "When that day comes next summer, I want to win. If I feel like the team is capable of winning, then I will make my decision based on that."