by Ben on December 18 at 10:30PM
Mike Dunleavy Jr. He was my guy, he was my guy I tell you. For three straight seasons - 2004-05 to 2006-07 - I drafted him onto my fantasy teams and believed that he would develop into a good all-around NBA basketball player. Unfortunately, year after year he failed to live up to expectations; never fitting into Nelly's system and eventually getting shipped to Indiana where he continued his inconsistent play. This year I was officially done with him and for the first time my fantasy basketball team did not open with Mike Dunleavy Jr. in the starting rotation.
Naturally, Dunleavy has finally started to come into his own this year, flourishing in Jim O'Brien's fast-paced offense in Indiana. He is currently averaging career highs in points, assists, 3 pointers, 3 pt %, FG %, FT %... more or less across the board. So when MDJ went off for a career-high 36 points last night doing a little of everything - hitting circus jumpers, off-balance layoffs in transition and ripping threes - against my pathetic Knicks, it hurt on many levels.
First off, MDJ should never go off for 30+ points. If your team can defend at all, a big MDJ game should be of the 20 points 5 rebounds variety not 36 and 7. Secondly and most importantly, its simply time to accept the fact that this Knicks team is going no where with Lord Marbury at point guard and The Zeke coaching. The Knicks play with no fire or defensive acumen and run an unorganized offense reminiscent of a mediocre high school team.
This team has quit on its coach yet given they play in the parallel universe known as Madison Square Garden, coach has gotten a full vote of confidence from the owner. Basically, we as Knicks fans are totally screwed for the forseeable future unless a miracle (Marbury buy out & Isiah firing) were to occur. While it wouldn't remedy all of the problems associated with the current roster, it would at the very least give the young talent an opportunity to develop; allowing us the fans to finally see what exactly we have here.
So until there is a little light at the end of the tunnel or any signs of life in general, it is just easier to write about performances by the opposition. You can read about the poor play of the Knicks and the organization's general dysfuntion in your favorite New York paper. Wednesday night, I make my season debut at MSG as the Knicks take on Lebron and the Cleveland Cavaliers. I mean, he's no MDJ but that LBJ he's got some game... should be interesting to see if the Bron Stopper, Q-Rich (ha), can hold him under 36.
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