Collins & Balkman Reminiscent of 90's Knicks?

After watching the Knicks play in last night's incredibly exciting game in Dallas against the Mavs I could not help but think of how the play of their two drafted rookies who, along with Isiah, have received all kinds of criticism from NBA experts and fans since draft day for being selected in the first round, reminded me of the way the 1990's Knicks teams used to play.

I think one of the keys about Collins and Balkman is that they play with a lot of confidence. They don't seem at all intimidated by stars and more experienced players, so that when they make mistakes, particularly on offense, they come back to put a lot of effort on the defensive end of the floor.

I also think many have been underestimating Collins offensive capabilities. If you watch him handle the ball he looks like he can be very aggressive and not afraid to go to the hole at all. The one play late in the fourth quarter where he tried to dunk it on Dampier (I think) was great to see. People have compared Collins to Charlie Ward, but I think Collins seems like he has more potential to score more than one of the former 'Bible Bros.", especially if Mardy can improve his jump shot. I'm not saying he's going to average 15-20ppg, but I can see him averaging 10-13 ppg.

The thing I was thinking last night as watching the team's play against the Mavs, especially Mardy & Renaldo was how their play reminded me of the 90's Knicks. I happened to watch highlights of game 3 in the 1992 Eastern Conference Semi-Finals between the Knicks and Bulls:

Part 1:


Part 2:

and I could not help but feel that last night's game had eerie similarities, in terms of the kind of hustle the Knicks displayed, and how a team that was not supposed to compete used heart and toughness to force a close game against a more talented team.

I think these two players' approach to the game is a very good sign for this team's future. This is not to say the Knicks will win a title (which is often the measure of "success" for many New York sports fans), but I see reason to believe that this team will be more competitiv

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Jaq,

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Folks,

I need the coolest graphic header on the planet for this site. Light animation if possible maybe of player cameo head pix or something like that. You'll have to experiment with the google custom template widgets on a test blog.

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Nuff said...

Alright NYT Refugees

I finally figured out how this works.

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