Welcome to the NBA Hangover. We jot down NBA stuff mostly from last night that we want to talk about. Check it out.
The Knicks upset the Rockets on Monday and stopped Houston’s 6-game winning streak. But the biggest story out of the Garden last night was Spike Lee being told to use a different entrance.
(PHOTO CREDIT: Nathaniel S. Butler/Getty Images.)
The Knicks are a mess. They did manage to beat the Houston Rockets last night. But then they had an incident with Spike Lee where he was denied of his usual entrance (he would eventually settle in on his seat later in the game).
I’ll be the first to say I am NOT a fan of First Take. But Spike appeared on the show and made his explanation here:
(VIDEO CREDIT: ESPN.)
Here’s Part 2. And here’s Part 3.
Remember that James Dolan, the Knicks owner, also had Charles Oakley kicked out of Madison Square Garden. Last season, he had a fan kicked out. He’s just the… worst.
It’s hard to root for a team like this. They have the third longest current playoff drought at 6 seasons (which will be 7 after this year). Their front office has been incompetent. Kevin Durant didn’t pick the Knicks in free agency because they weren’t cool. I can’t say I keep up with all sports because I have no idea if there is any sports team run worse than the Knicks. But is there any NBA team that is run worse than the Knicks?
They alienated the heart and soul of the Knicks, Charles Oakley. They seem to be alienating top free agents like Kevin Durant. And now they’re alienating their most famous fan in Spike Lee (he did say that he’s going back next season BUT we’ll see what happens).
The funny thing is that Leon Rose, who was a longtime player agent that once represented LeBron James, Chris Paul, and Joel Embiid, started his term as the new Knicks President. Time will tell how he’ll do as we know how the rest of the regimes in the past have done but, man, his first game was already overshadowed by this Spike Lee incident.
I’m pretty much repeating whatever everyone else is saying about James Dolan. Obviously, he’s not going to sell the team. The vanity of having an NBA team and making so much money off of it is enough to keep it, no matter how badly the team is doing.
Sometimes, I wonder if Adam Silver can interfere and facilitate something to get Dolan to sell. Even though it was about 30 years too long, Silver managed to get the Clippers off Donald Sterling. A few years ago, the Sixers, uh, “hired” the Colangelos to stop the tanking stuff Sam Hinkie was doing. I mean, I’d be mad, too, if the Sixers went 19, 18, and 10 wins in a three-year run. That’s disgusting.
Anyway, it’s a long nightmare for the Knicks. And even if the Knicks turn it around next season, it won’t be long before Dolan interferes yet again.
Bullet Passes
The Heat handed the Bucks their 9th loss of the season. That REALLY has to give the Heat some momentum after going through a swoon the last few weeks.
Ja Morant and Trae Young got to face each other on Monday. Too bad, the Grizzlies romped all over the Hawks.
SHOUTOUT TO LONGTIME FRIEND, AMARA BAPTIST:
Amara is currently part of the Portland TrailBlazers social media team. I will always be proud of her. When we first became friends around 2011 or 2012, she told me about her dreams of working in sports. Since then, she’s worked for Fox Sports, the Los Angeles Dodgers baseball team, and the Memphis Grizzlies. Now she gets to act goofy on TV as part of the Blazers! But seriously, I am SO happy for her and wish her continued success.
UTA 126 (38-22) @ CLE 113 (17-44)
HOU 123 (39-21) @ NY 125 (19-42)
POR 130 (27-35) @ ORL 107 (27-34)
MEM 127 (30-31) @ ATL 88 (19-44)
MIL 89 (52-9) @ MIA 105 (39-22)
DAL 107 (37-25) @ CHI 109 (21-40)
IND 116 (37-24) @ SA 111 (25-34)
Watch This Play
Russell Westbrook continues to defy, well, everything. This was FIERCE.
(VIDEO CREDIT: NBA GameTime.)
He’ll probably still do this in like the 25th century. He’s an android.
GG.
Rey-Rey is on Twitter at @TheNoLookPass.
TNLP on FaceBook.
I sign off “GG” which means “good game” but also to honor Gianna “Gigi” Bryant.