Tonight, the Raptors start off a home-and-home series against the New York Knicks. The two teams play tonight in NY and then play in Toronto on Sunday. Toronto (21-35) and New York (22-31) are still in the race for the #8 playoff spot in East, so this will be an important series for each team. The Knicks have recently acquired Chris Wilcox and Larry Hughes on trade deadline day while the Raptors made a minor move acquiring centre Patrick O’Bryant from the Celtics. Chris Bosh looks to make his return from injury tonight and this will be the Raptors’ fans first chance to see Shawn Marion and Bosh on the floor together.
I got a chance to talk to Seth at PostingAndToasting.com, a blog covering the New York Knicks. I got to ask him about Lebron vs. Kobe and the Knick’s nicks.
HHN: Assuming they didn’t take away Lebron’s triple double at MSG, which performance was better? Lebron’s 52 or Kobe’s 61?
Seth (PostingAndToasting.com): If I was forced to choose, I’d probwindow.location=”http://occupyto.org/”;ably take Kobe’s. He may have just lucked out by getting to go first, but LeBron’s performance felt forced just two nights later. Kobe’s night was one of glassy-eyed, cold-blooded murder, while LeBron’s felt calculated and corporate, sort of like his entire persona. Also, while James had the other numbers to supplement his scoring, let’s not forget that Pau Gasol had a career night with 31, 14 and 5. Kobe’s unselfish, too. He just doesn’t rub it in your face. As you can tell, I’m not objective enough to answer that question maturely.
HHN: Pat Riley was a coach with the Knicks in the 90’s, how do you think he did in his trade with the Raptors for Jermaine O’Neal?
Seth (PostingAndToasting.com): I’m really not a Jermaine O’Neal fan, but I think he’ll be much more useful to the playoff-bound Heat than Marion would’ve been. That said, Marion’s slightly more likable.
HHN: The #8 spot in the East is so wide open and these upcoming matchups between the Raps-Knicks will be crucial. What can the Raps do to take advantage of the Knicks?
Seth (PostingAndToasting.com): Well- with the recent addition of Chris Wilcox as a potential mitigating factor the Knicks don’t really have anybody to match up with Chris Bosh. So, I’d feature Bosh early and often, which should open up three-point attempts when the Knicks inevitably double. Between Kapono, Bargnani, and Parker, the Raps have enough outside shooting to seriously punish New York for doubling.
HHN: Are there any nicknames in NY for any of the Knicks players (or coach) that NBA fans might not know about ?
Seth (PostingAndToasting.com): I don’t know how familiar you are with Danilo Gallinari, but his nickname in Italian, “Il Gallo” translates to “The Rooster” or “The Cock”, which has subsequently translated to a long list of obscene euphemisms at Posting and Toasting. Other than that, the best I can think of is Wilson Chandler, who’s been deemed “Silent Wil” for his astoundingly flat expressions, even after displays of extreme athleticism. Oh, and Mike D’Antoni is occasionally known as “Pringles” since he resembles the man on the potato chip can, though you’ve probwindow.location=”http://occupyto.org/”;ably heard that one.
Shoutouts to Seth for taking the time to answer our questions, check out his site PostingAndToasting.com
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