Posts by Ben Detrick
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![Carmelo Anthony]()
Carmelo Anthony’s Legacy Is on the Line
At the Knicks’ anticlimactic last game of the season Wednesday night, a ⅓-filled Madison Square Garden was treated to a meaningless victory over the Hawks, which featured a 1-for-11 shooting night from recent signee Quentin Richardson. The night’s most substantial cheer came when it was announced that Carmelo Anthony had been named the Eastern Conference’s […]
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![Thomas Robinson]()
Will Daryl Morey’s Trade-Deadline Long Con Keep This Year’s Rockets From the Playoffs?
For basketball dweebs, the last few weeks have been Morey-palooza. Eat Morey. Sleep Morey. Listen to Morey-house Morey-wave Morey-trap. Find a remote island, call it New Mauritania, and govern by conch-shell possession and small-sample-size offensive rebounding rates. Of course, we’re talking about Daryl Morey, the general manager of the Houston Rockets and the patron saint […]
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Put Me In, Coach: Why More Minutes Won’t Mean Less Success for the NBA’s Underused
When the Houston Rockets pried Omer Asik away from the Bulls with an aggressive offer sheet, the most pressing question (after “Who?” and “Him?”) was if he could maintain his effectiveness with greater playing time. As a backup center in Chicago, the towering Turk had spent only 15 minutes on the floor per game. But […]
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![Carmelo Anthony]()
We Went There: Knicks-Heat in Miami
For most of the year, Miami is for Lamborghini-driving Argentines and frat bros with barbed-wire tats at Wet Willie’s. But for a brief, fragile window, during the annual Art Basel, the city is Little Downtown New York. Whether by happy accident or cunning scheduling, the Knicks just happened to play the Heat right in the […]
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![Tyson Chandler]()
We Went There: The Battle for New York
Going into last night’s mondo-hyped inter-borough showdown, the Brooklyn Nets boasted an 8-4 record — an admirable start for any team, but especially impressive for one that finished 22-44 last season. Nevertheless, the New York Knicks have captivated the imagination of the city, and in the process spawned a fledgling (but absurd) public campaign propelling […]
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![Jason Kidd]()
’70s Babies: Breaking Down the Red-Hot New York Knicks
Heading into tonight’s game against Orlando, New York is the only undefeated team in the NBA. Save the pillowcase–of–snow globes thumping inflicted by the Miami Heat in the playoffs, the Knicks have gone 22-6 under the glowering tenure of Mike Woodson. The story line has been simple: The Knicks are buying into Woodson’s ideology and […]
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You’re Allowed to Hate the Thunder Now
During Sunday night’s game against Atlanta, Russell Westbrook and Thabo Sefolosha of the Oklahoma City Thunder finished the first quarter by barking at each other on the sidelines until their teammates squired them to opposite corners of the huddle. It was an ugly scene in an ugly loss. Despite a Gemstar-sharp performance by new acquisition […]
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![Jay-Z]()
We Went There: Opening Night With the Nets at the Barclays Center
On Saturday night, a national television audience watched the Brooklyn Nets defeat the Toronto Raptors in the transplanted franchise’s new home. From your soiled barcalounger, you may have heard the “Brooooooooooklyn” chants and seen Brook Lopez draw countless foul shots with his herky-jerky release. But you missed so, so much. Here’s an on-the-ground report of […]
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![Carmelo Anthony]()
We Went There: Sixers-Knicks in the Carrier Dome
Last night, Carmelo Anthony finally heard chants of “MVP.” It was not in Madison Square Garden, where there is desperate hope that he will make the Knicks a contender this season, but in the Carrier Dome at Syracuse University. It was here that he won a NCAA championship in 2003 as a freshman. Despite the […]
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We’re Not Sure If What Jeremy Evans Did to Ronny Turiaf Is Legal
Let’s start by saying some kind words about Ronny Turiaf. Whether on the Lakers, Warriors, Knicks, Wizards, Heat, or now the Clippers, he’s always been a hard-working, enthusiastic Wookie who seems content to wave rally towels and heave his barrel chest into any nearby opponent. He appears to be a fine teammate, and one who […]
