Hey kids.  Just in case you were out having a social life instead of watching the Knicks in a early November regular season game against a one-win team, here's your recap.

The Thunder sounds like a WNBA team name.  I mean tell me where the Thunder are better suited: in a league that has team names like the Shock, Sun, Storm, Fever, Dream, and Mercury, or in a league that has team names like the Knicks, Celtics, Bulls, Hawks, Lakers, and Timberwolves?  That's what I thought. 

Anyways, I compiled a list of possible replacement names that all would've been better (I always thought "Disorders" would've been cool because then they could be the OCDs), and that's how I'll refer to the Thunder Barons in this post.  Side note: No, I won't be referring to them as the Oklahoma City Bombers (dude, not cool).

I was unable to watch the game on television, because I was at work, but I followed the gamecast online.  That being said, some of the content in this post may be a dramatization, and may not have actually occurred.

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Actual Editor's Note: Here's our friend Mase with an homage to Posting and Toasting's second favorite scrub of all time. As of now, Mase denies all allegations of drug use before said homage, though many are still skeptical. Enjoy. I sure did. Here's Mase:

Editor’s note: When thinking about Rick Brunson, I became curious as to how he became the Rick Burson that turned into P&T’s 2nd most beloved Knicks’ Scrub of All-Time.  After doing some reserach, I was able to write a semi-accurate biography on Rick Brunson, and how a rough childhood made him the scrub we all knew and loved on the 1999 Eastern Conference Champions.

RICK: Based on a true story

EARLY DAYS

Eric Daniel Brunson was born in Syracuse, NY on a warm June day in 1972.  Eric grew up playing youth league basketball and was a successful point guard in his childhood.  However, Eric’s basketball career took a major turn when he and his family moved to Salem, Massachusetts when he was eight.  Because of his uncanny passing abilities and his innate ability to grow a jew-fro even though he was of African-American decent, he was persecuted among the paranoid Salem residents.  Given the town’s history as a hotbed of witchcraft and black magic during the early settlement days, this was not a surprise.  Eric spent the rest of his pre-teen years regulated to the end of the bench for the Salem Witches in the 10-12 age division of the Salem Basketball League.  During a Salem town council meeting, the Brunson family was banned from having a basketball hoop in their driveway.  Despite this setback, Brunson used the broomsticks and other witch-related paraphernalia (including a witch hat with a cut off top turned upside-down to use as a hoop) that was thrown on his yard by angry Salem residents to build a basketball goal.  He continued to practice five hours a day. 

Brunson's early adolescent jew-fro (similar to Screech's)

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Editor's Note: Big thanks to Mase for writing up this fantastic Eric Gordon profile. If any of the rest of you are experts on one prospect or another and are interested in doing your own KTP, let me know.

When the two biggest loves of my sports life get together, it’s often a good thing.  Therefore I should be excited about the prospects of the Knicks landing Eric Gordon from my alma-mater and current state of residence, right?  Despite a long-standing tradition of IU players translating their superb collegiate careers into the pros with the Knicks, including Eric Anderson (pictured below left, 1992-93), Jared Jeffries (2006-present), and Roderick Wilmont (pictured below right, summer league 2007), I’m not as excited this time around.  

That being said, Seth entrusted me to write a Know the Prospect bit on Gordon, and in the interests of killing more time at work, I gladly ageed:

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I've never figured out why but after moving out to Indiana for school in 2001, I've stuck around.  I live in Indy now and don't often get to fit in a trip to the Garden even though I go back to CT to see my family for Christmas.  So, basically I get to see the Knicks two times a year...against the shitastic Pacers.

Here are some thoughts from the game last night:

Side note: The Pacers' crowds are so pathetic now that I drove downtown at 6:45, parked in a huge parking lot with maybe two dozen other cars for 3 bucks, met some friends in the Concourse and was in my seat by tip-off.  I've had more trouble getting to high school basketball games in this town.  

from ESPN.com's Page 2:

"Dear New York Knicks,

Please, please, please: do not fire Zeke. Do not get religion, discover common sense, have the wherewithal to turn things around. Just continue to flail, to crash and burn, night after humiliating night, like footage of the Hindenberg explosion in a TiVo pause-rewind-play loop.

Oh, and don't do it for you. Do it for the rest of us.

Do it for everyone that's ever had to endure your insufferable fan base, a standing army of basketball snobs, forever touting their superior knowledge of the game -- because it really takes a hoops savant to appreciate the pick-and-roll, something you can find on any playground in America -- and always blathering about the '70s Knicks, as if throwing the extra pass was akin to painting the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. Do it for everyone who's suffered NYC roundball haughtiness in general, the like-clockwork use of "Mecca" when referring to Madison Square Garden, the slavish overrating of the City Game and its ink-stained schoolboy prodigies (have any three players been more overhyped than Stephon Marbury, Sebastian Telfair and Felipe Lopez?)

Do it as penance, too, as public self-flagellation, our pound of flesh for your single-handed screwing up of the entire NBA in the 1990s. Don't remember? We'll remind you: "Force" basketball. Starks and Oak and Mase. Mugging and plodding and hand-checking your way to victory, because, hey, the refs can't call 'em all!

Nothing -- not the Brawl at the Palace, not Allen Iverson's oh-so-scary, hide-the-precious-white-babies cornrows -- has hurt the league more, made a beautiful game so ugly and unwatchable. Your franchise is to blame for an entire generation of control freak coaches turning Showtime into slop, into no-skill, floor-burn college ball, populated by can't-shoot musclemen, the hoops equivalent of the NHL-strangling neutral zone trap. Your franchise was directly responsible for the worst NBA Finals ever, New York vs. Houston, where the O.J. Bronco chase was a welcome diversion ... even though it was just a car driving down a road, about as visually thrilling as a hamster on a wheel. Your franchise killed the fast break; it went into one of Pat Riley's 4-hour, ?quien es mas macho? practice-cum-Aztec-sacrifice sessions and never came out.

Do it, Knicks. Keep sucking. Keep sucking for karma. For justice. For Bill Bradley being a loooong time ago, for the misnomer "Starbury" being foisted on an unsuspecting and undeserving populace, for Starks going 1-for-17 in a professional game.

Seriously, it's the least you can do.
-- Patrick Hruby"

im not sure who this hrbuy douche is and im not going to respond to a non-factual tirade spewed by someone who obviously hates the knicks and is jealous of their success from the 70's and 90's.  

but i do want to discuss one line: "Your franchise was directly responsible for the worst NBA Finals ever, New York vs. Houston, where the O.J. Bronco chase was a welcome diversion ... "

this is the part where you throw the column in the trash.  knicks/rockets worst finals ever?  im not saying it was all-time great, but are there really people out there that actually think the '94 Finals was worse than Cleveland/San Antonio?  New Jersey/LA Lakers?  New Jersey/San Antonio? Orlando/Houston?  

Jesus, at least it was competitive and went seven games.  those other Finals were pathetic.

i think we are all in agreement that isiah is out of time, out of money, and out of chances to turn this team around.  however, ive been having problems thinking of a possible candidate that would be willing/able to take over.  i believe that there still are coaches that would savor an opportunity to turn the knicks around.  if it worked out, new york would make him into a god.  plus, as bad and embarrassing as this franchise has been lately, it's still one of the NBA flagships.

that being said, there is no established head coach with pro experience that would put himself through the media circus (and restrictions), spotlight, and criticism which comes with being head coach of the knicks.  but, regardless the knicks need to make the coaching move now because there is no reason to continue this season with a lame duck coach.

we know this is not just isiah's fault and that scott layden played a big part laying the foundation of ineptitude.  but we also know that isiah is never going to make this team into a winner.  it's time to cut the losses and rebuild, and not on the fly.  if it takes 2-3 (including this one) years of horrible seasons to fully turn this around, i'm willing to wait.  i mean it can't get any worse than it already is, right?  really, what's the difference between winning 20 games and winning 30 games?  this team and this franchise is already the laughing stock of the League.  the knicks are past the point of just "saving face."  i've been waiting six years as it is and have only seen payroll increases, horrible contracts, bad trades (mcdyess, marbury, tim thomas, curry, francis) and zero playoff wins.  

i compare watching the current state of the knicks to notre dame.  yeah being the joke of college football and being 2-9 sucks (that's the understatement of the century).  however ND is playing a ton of freshman and sophomores and has the #1 recruiting class waiting in the wings.  translation = at least there is hope.  that's the difference between ND football and knicks basketball - there is no hope with isiah and this current team.  i like what i've seen from lee, nate, collins and humpty and i like chandler and morris' upside.  but those players arent dynamic and haven't shown flashes of MVP or even all-star talent.  they have the chances to be very good...very good role players and very good sixth-mans.  what the knicks need is a young franchise talent that they can build around.  first off, they can really cash in with a top five pick, especially with this year's freshman one-and-done class being unbelievably and ridiculously talented (love, rose, gordon, beasley, mayo). all five of those players are dynamic talents that can develop into franchise players.  z-bo is still young (26) and is worth keeping around.  but, as for everyone else?  curry is horrible.  he brings nothing to the table.  he can't defend, he can't rebound and he's slow.  he is never going to come close to being the franchise player that the bulls (originally) or isiah thought.  randolph is basically the same player, yet he is 100X better.  crawford is a one-trick pony (aka he's a gunner), Q is always hurt and plays more like a 37 year-old than a 27-year old, marbury's is nothing but a nuisance and the only value he has is his albatross contract, which will expire someday (in two years).  jeffries, freddie jones, jerome james and rose are dead-weight and should be bought out, cut, or nailed to the bench until their contracts expire.

hopefully dolan has finally woken up and realizes that it is time to clean house and salvage what's left.  play through the season and let some of the younger guys that actually play like they give a shit (lee, humpty) develop. if they make the move soon, i'm willing to be patient.  but ive given up on isiah on marbury on curry and on these knicks.  it's time to move on.  this franchise is currently shooting for 7-8 seeds and 35-40 wins and they aren't even able to accomplish those pathetic "goals".  

i want to hope because their is hope, not because i'm blindly optimistic of the knicks just because i'm a die-hard fan.  i want a reason to believe that 2009, 2010, 2011 will be different than 2004, 2005, and 2006.

please knicks blow it up, fire isiah, and give me hope, give me optimism - fuck, just give me SOMETHING.  

and i'll keep giving you my patience.

April 29, 2001 - the date of the last knicks playoff win.  

how much longer are we going to have to wait?

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/columns/story?columnist=stein_marc&id=2967624&lpos=spotlight&lid=tab3pos1

A flurry of former Knicks are mentioned in this article including: Allan Houston, Latrell Sprewell, Keith Van Horn, Qyntel Woods (a 26 year-old making a comeback?), Antonio Davis and Charles Oakley (no joke).  Even Shawn Kemp wants to make a comeback, possibly so he can better-afford child support on his 67 illegitimate kids.

Notable omissions: Kenny "Sky" Walker, Xavier McDaniel, Dick McGuire.

Editor's Note: Anthony Mason's Haircut rocks the shit with this post on his namesake. Arichmix is up next with Charlie Ward.

Similar to John Starks, Anthony George Douglas Mason was an unknown coming out of college and languished in Europe and the CBA before getting a break in the NBA.  After being cut by Portland, he spent some time in Jersey as well as a 3-game stint in Denver.  But it wasn't until he signed with the Knicks before the '91-92 season (btw, one of the most underrated Knicks teams ever...took a vastly superior Bulls squad to the brink that year in the 2nd round) that the world was introduced to Anthony Mason.

Mase was an integral part of the punch-you-in-the-mouth defensive Knicks teams that defined the Pat Riley era.  He was a beast of a player, listed at just 6'7 (yeah right, maybe with his shoes on) and 250 pounds.  He had a hideous jump shot, though it occasionally fell, and also was one of the pioneers of the one-handed free throw - something Shaq no doubt adapted from him.  But his baby-hook from 3-5 feet was straight butter, and it helped Mase score over taller defenders as well as pick up garbage points down low.  Mase always took other teams by surprise by pretending like he was a dumb thug, then throwing a perfect backdoor pass to a cutting John Starks or Derek Harper for an easy layup.  That was an aspect of his game that was seriously underrated - he was like a big point guard.  Mase would then run down to the other end of the floor, punch you in the balls on defense, take the ball from you, run down to the other end, grab an offensive rebound and either a) dunk, or b) baby hook your ass, then he would bob his head or scream (I also credit Mase as one of the earlier innovators of the chest pound).  Rinse and repeat.  There's Anthony Mason in a nutshell.  

Mase reacting after baby hooking someone's ass

Mase was never flashy on the court.  He was around a 8.5 ppg/7.5 rpg guy in his time in NY.  But, if Mase got starter minutes, his numbers would've generated to an average of almost 14 rebounds per game according to my calculations.  Most importantly for Mase, he played every game, was never hurt and had the fire that many of the current Knicks (cough, Eddy Curry, cough) lack.  And Mase did earn Sixth Man of the Year honors in his final season as a Knick, so he did get some recognition.

Mason played for three other teams after leaving (along with Brad Lohaus, it's pathetic that I know that) the Knicks in the Larry Johnson trade back in '96. He enjoyed a career season in Charlotte that year, in which he was selected to the All-NBA Third Team.  Mason averaged a double-double (16-11) and an uncanny 5.7 dimes a game that season!  But Mase wasn't even an All-Star, and only appeared in one All-Star game in his lone season with Miami when he was reunited with Riley.  It did pain me to see him with the Heat in '01 but that team was a non-factor.  The only time the Knicks and Mase met in the playoffs was in '97 when New York easily dispatched of the Hornets in a first-round sweep before being screwed out of the Eastern Conference Finals by David Stern and PJ Brown.  His career averages are a solid 10.8 ppg and 8.3 rpg.  Mase also averaged 2.3 elbows-in-your-mother-fucking-eye-socket per game.

Mason in Pop Culture

As a white pre-teen in suburban Connecticut, it wasn't exactly socially acceptable to have messages shaved in my head like Mase.  But regardless, I begged my parents to no avail.  After ignoring their orders and a failed attempt to shave "Muggsy" (my nickname at the time since I was like 4 feet tall) into my head during 5th grade summer camp in 1994, I decided the haircut artistry was best left to Mason.  I tried all week to recall some of the specific messages he had in his head.  His trademark was the "Mase" in cursive, which he apparently still rocks today.  He may have at one time had "Chosen" or something similar.  You could basically fit a whole paragraph on that dude's head.  

Besides the haircut, Mason also had a big influence on New York based rappers.  

Mase slammed his way through Bronx rapper Diamond D's "Best Kept Secret" from '92:

The song title is fitting because Mason was certainly one of the NBA's best kept secrets in the 90's.  It is perhaps the best concept for a Music Video ever with Mason dunking on a playground the entire time.  

Mase is also famously referenced in the Brooklyn-born Beastie Boys track "B Boys Makin' With the Freak Freak" from Ill Communication (my personal favorite album ever) which was released in 1994:

"Got fat bass lines like Russel Simmons steals money, got
Clientele you know I rock well,
And then you're on my dick because I'm D.F.L.
Yeah Mike cause playing the bass is my favorite shit,
I might be a hack on the stand up but I'm working at it
I got my hair cut correct like Anthony Mason
Then I ride the I.R.T. right up to Penn Station..."

(you can also check "Get it Together" on the same album for a John Starks reference...)

Sick.  

Anyways, one could argue that Anthony Mason was the biggest pop culture icon in Knicks history.  He's certainly in the top three.  Walt Frazier had his fashion, John Starks had "the Dunk" and his middle-finger incident in Miami, and Pat had his Angel of Death cameo in the Exorcist.  Mase had his haircut, a music video, rap song references, a fugly baby hook and his right and left elbows.  He may not have been a statistical monster and he may not have a place for his jersey to be hung at the Garden.  But, Anthony Mason <pause for emotional ending> certainly has cemented a place in all of our hearts (9th place to be exact).

some strange comments from starbury on 'miked up' (heres the full YouTube clip: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_yTjebH2fLU)-

predictions for the season: "10 ppg, like 12-13 dimes, like 2-3 assists, and about 4-5 reb"

um, im not a basketall expert but aren't "dime" and "assist" the same thing?

on unique bond with sister: "so many people were praying for me...my sister has been praying, my name sake...thats what she is to me.  stephanie, stephon, stephanie, that my daughter's name, i kept it in the family.  my sister has been praying for this day forever and it finally happened yesterday when i kissed her.  and i felt her body and felt her soul, i was delighted to be kissing her.  i couldnt even cry."

pretty weird to say that shit about your sister.  

also midway through steph goes on a rant about how he doesnt want the championship trophy and only wants to win.  ??

he then calls his wife his "better ho".  and finishes by yelling stuff at the end during a subway read.

so yeah, just thought id share those.  sweet peach-colored blazer though.

From Chris Sheridan over at ESPN.com:

"New York: If Chicago is one of the logical places for Bryant to end up, that raises the question of which team could make a competing offer. That's where Knicks coach and president Isiah Thomas would come in.

I've known Isiah a long time, so trust me when I tell you he would go to the end of the earth and do whatever it takes to get a deal like this done. He wants his legacy to be something special in New York, and Kobe Bryant could help assure that. Furthermore, Bryant has previously expressed interest in lighting up Gotham.

As a trade partner, what the Knicks lack in quality, they have in quantity. In terms of volume, Isiah could overwhelm almost any other offer out there, starting with combo guard Jamal Crawford, rebounding machine David Lee, Knicks starting power forward Channing Frye, a pair of unprotected No. 1 picks (let's say 2008 and 2010) and sundry throw-ins, including Nate Robinson, Randolph Morris, Renaldo Balkman, et al.

Crawford can score 20 points a night, and he'll go prolific for you at least twice a month. Lee is a double-double man, and the most popular player on the Knicks, an energy guy who will easily play in the league for 10 more years if he stays healthy. He's far from a bum, and the same goes for Frye, who could start for the Lakers for the next seven seasons.

No, there's no superstar in here, but it's a lot of lumber. And if you're rebuilding, you need a cache of young talent. Lee, Frye and Robinson are still on their rookie contracts. Crawford has a reasonable long-term deal ($7.9 next season, with a contract that ends after he makes $10.08 million in 2010-11). The Lakers would actually have cap space, lots of it, after Lamar Odom's contract ends in the summer of '09.

Nothing, however, will happen unless Kobe forces Buss' hand. That hasn't happened yet, and it still might not happen if the Lakers can make a major deal to put some new talent around Kobe and placate him. Certainly we've all heard about the possibility of Jermaine O'Neal and/or other players joining Bryant in L.A.

But if that doesn't happen, I wouldn't be surprised if Kobe pipes up publicly again, this time demanding -- not requesting -- a trade."

That's some high praise for some on those list (Frye = a 7-year starter?  Did Dolan write that?), still an interesting thought.

I really don't know how I feel about it.  I've never been a big Kobe fan but anyone would be stupid to deny his talent.  I still think he's the best player in the NBA not named Tim Duncan (boring as TD is).

Thoughts?