Link:This trial has been quite embarrassing for the Knicks organization and for the Garden, and rightly so. It will be quite interesting to see what the jury comes up with. Either way, the case should have a huge impact on the Knicks' franchise and Madison Square Garden.
I have to admit, though, that I am excited for the start of the NBA season despite the messy offseason (remember that major betting scandal, too?). And the story in today's paper helped get me prepared for that.
Granted, the story was not full of good news. The headline "Ankle hurting Renaldo Balkman, Knicks" certainly didn't make me feel great. But the piece did get me a little more juiced up for the coming season than reading about the testimony of Isiah Thomas and James Dolan and the alleged sexual exploits of Stephon Marbury in a limo.
The Knicks will have a completely new look come Nov. 2, and while their chemistry may be suspect, I am looking forward to see how - or if - the different elements mesh.
The Knicks picked up stud forward Zach Randolph from the Blazers, and drafted gifted athlete Wilson Chandler out of DePaul. They have Eddy Curry, Jamal Crawford, David Lee, Marbury and some other talented players returning from last season's team. As I have said before, this group would be an NBA playoff team on paper if you were creating a fantasy hoops team. How will they perform in real life? Who knows.
Lee is by far my favorite Knick and I am glad they didn't trade him. He is, by far, their best rebounder. Even though it will be tough for him to get minutes at times, especially with the addition of Randolph, he needs to play a lot.
The Knicks will give up a lot of points. However, if they can figure out a good offensive game plan, they may not only win some games, they may actually bring some life back to the Garden.
Regardless, I am pumped to see the court that has hoops, not a judge. And even if he pours in 60 points, I will be happy to see LeBron take the court against the Knicks in early November. As long as he loses.
