So, here’s the course that the pulse of New York has taken since the Knicks acquired Carmelo Anthony in exchange for everyone not named Amar’e Stoudemire one month ago: It started with, “We got ‘Melo! We might win the first of many guaranteed titles this season!” Then that quickly downshifted to something along the lines of, “Wow, this team might need some time to figure out how play together on both ends of the floor before we win our titles.” Then, as the losses began to mount, it turned to anger and boos and complaints of their team playing zero defense. Then last night, after dropping another one at home, this time to the Orlando Magic, the boos at the final buzzer were delivered with the same zeal that best describes the way New York plays D – half-hearted at best … The game was actually close almost the entire way, until Orlando decided to put it away at the end. At one point on the ESPN broadcast, a frustrated Mark Jackson goes, “I don’t understand why the Magic don’t just post up Dwight Howard on Shawne Williams and run the offense through him.” About three seconds later, Orlando iso’d Dwight on Williams in the post and Howard just rolled right through him for an easy two. That was basically the ball game and Orlando went on to win 111-99 … How about the Memphis Grizzlies going into Boston and stealing one last night? They withstood a Paul Pierce run in the fourth (he finished with 22 on 6-10 shooting) to hold on 90-87. Boston had a final shot to tie the game and they went to their Mariano Rivera in Pierce in the hopes of getting to OT. No surprise there. What was a surprise though, was seeing the guy defending Pierce not automatically give The Truth his patented two dribble to the right pullup that he uses every single time at the end of halves and games. Shane Battier forced Pierce left and he put up a three that had no chance … While the game was a loss for the Celtics, it was a huge win for the Boston’s Got Wings program. Rajon Rondo came up with 7 steals, which means an additional $3,500 for Boston playgrounds just from last night’s game alone. Check out more about the program HERE … It was interesting to see that two former Celtics, Leon Powe and Tony Allen played a huge role in the Memphis win, mostly by playing serious defense and attacking the rim. How tough was Powe? After the game, Doc Rivers called him the “baddest man on the planet.” …You know who’s not tough? Everyone in an Atlanta Hawks uniform. They consistently fold like chairs at the first sign of trouble and prior to their game against the Sixers last night, Hawks coach Larry Drew called his team “fragile” and said they need to play harder down the stretch. You would think after getting trounced the previous night by the Bulls, that they would want to come out and get one back. Instead, Drew’s team went out and lost to the Sixers 105-100, letting Philly kick their asses down the stretch, allowing them to go on a 25-6 run to open the fourth quarter … The Miami Heat may have coasted to a 100-94 victory over Detroit in Auburn Hills last night, but what everyone will remember is the baptism Rodney Stuckey gave Chris Bosh … We ended the night with the Blake Griffin dunk-a-thon against the Wizards in L.A. After one of Blake’s many slams, Clippers color guy Michael Smith said, “I don’t know if there’s ever been a more powerful dunker in NBA history.” He then threw out names like Wilt Chamberlain as other potential title holders … By the way, with Blake destroying rims all over the place, JaVale McGee wasn’t even thinking about trying any of this nonsense … Danny Granger went bananas against the Bobcats last night, going off for 33 in the Indiana’s 111-88 win. Danny Buckets poured in 25 of those points in one 16-minute stretch … Chuck Hayes had an unlikely triple-double in Houston‘s 131-112 victorious shootout with the Warriors. He racked up 14 boards, 13 points and 11 dimes … We’re out like being “fragile.”
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