Another night – another game at Verizon Center.
See you all tonight as we play the NY Knicks.
Pixels raining the other way.
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Pixels raining the other way
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Tag Archives: New York Knicks
Zero for 12 to start the game
An amazingly unproductive way to start a game. The shots were missed by every player it seems; take a look. Hard shots- easy shots – lay ups, 3 pointers.
We continue to dig deep holes in the first quarter and the try to fight our way back; and against really good vet laden teams. That won’t do.
We are 6 games into a 66 game season; we have not played well; but we must regroup; the shots will start to fall; we must not get down on ourselves; this is a young group that is fragile in that it doesn’t have any success to point to and give itself confidence – they must figure out a way to win; amongst themselves and with the coaching staff.
See you all on Friday night as we play a very good NY Knicks team.
No One Knows Nothing Redux
One month ago I was receiving hate mail about NBA trades and deadline and superstars moving from one team to another.
Hate mail. Full of conviction and opinions from virtual general managers via email to me.
OK.
One month later.
The New York Knicks are a 500 team at 35-35. They are 7-9 since their big blockbuster trade. They have two superstars on their team.
The Denver Nuggets are 10-4 since the trade. Addition by subtraction? Denver is 42-29 overall.
And I haven’t received any emails of late on this subject.
It isn’t easy building a winning team. There is no magic wand to wave.
But deep rotations adhering to a system; developing and keeping a core together; and playing as a team seem to me the best course of action. Writing checks and throwing new players into a mix and expecting great and immediate success is hard to execute.
Wizards Game Last Night
I thought we played well. We showed why we have promise but we showed why we have so much work left to do.
We also showed why we really are missing that one “go to” guy, a big man that can take over a game; go to the basket; draw fouls; and hit foul shots.
The Knicks are much improved and they have a player that is red hot. He is in his prime and is a difference maker.
We need to play closer to the rim and take more foul shots. We need to take less fade away jump shots. Even I can see that! Ball movement is good, too. We stand around too much at key times. We make too may turnovers without a shot. We will improve but the delta between success and failure possession by possession is so small. Covet the ball each and every opportunity down court. We will learn.
When the going got tough at the end of the game, one player dominated the pace and action. We will develop that instinct and hopefully will learn how to close out games that are ours to win.
We had a big crowd last night. The energy was high in the building.
However, we certainly did have a lot of Knicks fans in attendance last night and it makes me sad. We have a lot of work to do to sell out our building filled with Wizards fans. We are focused on that and this atmospheric is also a part of our rebuild plan. Sell out games – with our fans.
We essentially have half the building empty that we have to sell every single night via groups; walk ups; and online sales. Last night – because the Kicks are playing so well – the local Knicks fan base was activated and because tickets are available, the house was truly of mixed loyalties. This is a key reason why we are so focused on selling season tickets to our fan base.
Again, I have experienced this before and I believe that the better we play, the more competitive we become and the better services that we offer. We will be able to sell out games with our own fans in the house.
Thank you for attending the game last night Wizards fans. It is most appreciated.
It doesn’t get easier. We play the Lakers and then we play the Heat.
Onward.
Teachable moments offered here. Gaining experiences as a team.
Spike
I will next sit with him courtside in MSG when the Wizards play the Knicks. He owns two season tickets there and he has invited me to join him.
That was our deal made back in 2007 when I was finishing my film, Nanking. Spike gave me great feedback in editing and we talked a lot about basketball.We agreed to host a home on home series with each other.
Spike was very generous with his time. He talked to many of our fans; signed autographs; and didn’t trash talk at all. He celebrated the Knicks. He was a fantastic guest. I hope we return the favor at MSG and that I can celebrate a victory in NYC.
Bad PR
Show up. Play when asked. Say, “Thank you. I am fortunate to be a professional athlete playing in the NBA.” Regardless of how bad the atmosphere is, support your team and your teammates and play the game. Enjoy life and your career. Time is short so get out there and play and earn that paycheck. The world is ending. Real people – good people - are getting laid off from work and having their homes foreclosed. No one will empathize with a professional athlete making $21 million per year and one who doesn’t want to work to earn it.
Wow. Talk about bad timing and bad optics and bad PR. Just play the game. Smile and realize how fortunate you are to be a professional athlete. No one will sympathize about hurt feelings. For $190k per game, get on the floor and play and enjoy. How bad can it be?