Mavs Full Court Press

Free points, come and get 'em!

It's a well-known fact that the Knicks stink at defense (they rank 22nd), but this just looks absurd. Every time down the floor, the Mavericks essentially have free rein to do whatever they like. In the lane, mid-range, on the fast break. You name it, the Knicks are gifting it to them. The Mavs have 32 points, but that doesn't show the sheer ineptitude that the Knicks are displaying.

Zach Randolph is giving away the lane. He averages a block every five games, and this isn't looking like that game. He isn't even challenging when guys come into the lane and seems satisfied watching the Mavs dribble around.

On the fast break, Knicks players aren't getting back at all. A lob up the floor to ason Terry happened twice and there was little resistance.

Basically, if the Mavs want to keep running away with this, they need to attack, attack, attack. The Knicks obviously aren't feeling the need to muster a defense to it, so why not exploit it?

-Scooter Hendon

Catching up with...the New York Knicks

The Mavericks continue their Eastern Conference home stand tonight against the New York Knicks. The Mavs had no problem with the Knicks in their meeting in Madison Square Garden in mid-December and have now won four straight against them. It is the second of four straight home games against the East, and it will finish up with Charlotte and Indiana later this week.

Getting to know...the New York Knicks

After an attitude-changing win against the Utah Jazz Saturday, the Mavs take their show on the road for two games. Their first stop is in New York, and it's the perfect place to start on another winning streak as the Knicks are about as bad as they get. The Mavs have won 3 straight against the Knicks and have won 10 of their last 11 against them.

Over/under on how long Isiah has left?
Some guys have job security, but the Knick's loyalty to coach Isiah Thomas is getting a bit ridiculous. You would have thought compiling one of the most overpaid, hapless team on the planet over a four-year span might have earned him a ticket out. You'd think coaching that same band of hucksters to a 33-49 record last season might have put him on his way out. When a judge ordered Madison Square Garden to pay $11.6 million in a sexual harassment suit against Thomas, you'd think that was the last straw. Nope. He's still coaching a team that's even more bloated and ill-constructed than it was last year. Off to a wonderful 6-13 start (second worst in the East), the Knicks don't even look like they want to play most of the time.

Speaking of not wanting to play...
As an extension of Thomas' lackluster coaching and the Knicks' lackluster players, the Knicks aren't winning much (gasp!). They just suffered back-to-back double-digit losses to the 76ers and lost both games by a combined 39 points. To the 7-13 Sixers. In the second game of the two, the Knicks' starting five combined for 25 points. That's how many points little Nate Robinson scored off the Knicks' bench by himself. Strangely enough, those two games aren't even the low point of their season. A week and a half ago, the Knicks lost 104-59 to the Boston Celtics. Given, the Celtics are one of the top teams in the NBA, but a 45-point loss in the NBA? It would have been a 48-point loss if not for a miracle heave at the end of the game. It takes a special kind of quit to lose that badly to anyone.

Feel free to take the lane, it's yours
A few of the Mavs like to make their impact from slashing into the lane. Devin Harris, Josh Howard and Brandon Bass are usually pretty comfortable driving to the hoop and making plays. They shouldn't have much problem getting those high-percentage buckets at the hoop since the Knicks' starting power forward and center combination of Zach Randolph and Eddy Curry have combined for 14 blocks in the Knicks 19 games this season. And Curry is holding down the majority of that fort with 12. Here's a funny list of players who have at least as many blocks than Zach Randolph. Jason Terry has twice as many blocks as Randolph. The tragedy in all of this is that David Lee, probably the Knicks best player, only gets about 25 minutes per game.

Video evidence

• I wonder if Stephon still feels the same way about Z-Bo?
• Back when Isiah kind of cared.
• You can't help but feel sorry for these people.

Random useless fact
Jamal Crawford is the first Knick to wear number 11 on his jersey since Derek Harper did in 1995-96.

-Scooter Hendon, Hoops Nerd

Mourning Marbury might sit

Knicks point guard Stephon Marbury has had a crazy offseason that's bled right into the season, but you can't help but feel compassion for the guy after his father, Donald Marbury Sr., passed away recently while watching his son play at Madison Square Garden.

Marbury's father was taken to the hospital during the game and Marbury didn't know that his father had died until after the game. Marbury's been ineffective in the last two games and he didn't practice yesterday. He's leaning toward not playing tonight.

Marbury lit up the Mavs for 43 points last March in a game the Mavs squeaked out.

Be thankful for Brad Davis

As I watched the Knicks and the Nuggets duke it out on NBATV tonight (sorry, no punches thrown this time), I couldn't help but cover my ears. Knicks color commentator Walt "Clyde" Frazier was at it again with another ghastly broadcast. I usually catch at least a few local Knicks broadcasts per season, and every game it's the same deal.

Never mind Frazier's willowy voice or odd speech patterns, it's the vocabulary. Tonight alone, Jamal Crawford's game was referred to as "ubiquitous," and his free-throw shooting was "exquisite." And when defenses and offenses start to succeed, they "percolate." The unnecessary alliteration is another bothersome aspect of his broadcasts. Tonight, the Knicks were "resilient and resourceful." I say Clyde's broadcast was ridiculous and repetitive, but that's just my opinion. Pair all of that with the unabashed homerism that inhibits proper analysis and I'm muting the TV and cranking up some music.

So, the next time you hear a homer call on a Mavs radio or television broadcast, just know that you have it good. Bob Ortegel breaks games down nicely despite being a bit boisterous. And the Mavs' ex-player with the microphone is much easier on the ears than old Clyde. The Mavs travel to Madison Square Garden on Dec. 10, and you can be sure that he'll be referred to as a vigorous virtuoso by at least one person in the building.

-Scooter Hendon, Hoops Nerd