THE TRUTH

After the Knicks lost in the eastern conference sem-finals to the Pacers,  Iman Shumpert, the youngest member of the Knickerbockers had some interesting words about his team.

Howard Beck of The New York Times has the story.

“I think we failed. We know we were supposed to go farther, and we didn’t. I’d say that’s a failure. Getting beat on the boards, we got to take care of the little things, and we didn’t. It finally caught up with us. We got to hold each other accountable. And come next year, little things like not playing hard should never come into play.”

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Twitter: @CoachFinamore

PACERS TOP KNICKS

The Indiana Pacers beat the New York Knicks last night 106-99 to wrap up their best of seven series (4-2).  Indiana now moves on to the Eastern Conference finals to face the Miami Heat.

Here’s Carmelo Anthony on the Pacers.

“They have a hell of a defense. They hold down the paint. They do a great job, do a hell of a job of controlling the paint, closing it down, making it tough for guys.  You’ve got to give them guys credit, especially when they got a chance to set.”

Hoops135@hotmail.com

Twitter: @CoachFinamore

NBA ACTION

Quotes from last night’s participants.

Grizzlies-Thunder

“We just stayed after it like we’ve done all year-long. It’s not always pretty. Tonight wasn’t pretty, but it was pretty for us because we got the win.” -Lionel Hollins

“We got a long way to go, and we got to keep battling.” -Lionel Hollins

“It’s frustrating, but we can’t hang our heads. We have to keep playing and keep improving. We just have to learn from it. We have to embrace the tough times and get better from it. I believe in my teammates.” -Kevin Durant

Pacers-Knicks

“That’s how we play Pacers basketball,” George said. “We just locked in, and it was just helping one another on the defensive end.”

“They outrebounded us, they won the hustle today, the little things.” -Carmelo Anthony

“We didn’t change much in terms of our physicality. I just thought we were a little bit more precise defensively in terms of our communication and we shored some things up. We didn’t allow them to get some of the things they got in the second game in New York.” -David West

“Our guys usually do what you emphasize. We don’t want to do it at the expense of giving up things up at the rim. But we were able to guard the paint and the 3-point line, and that’s the goal.” -Frank Vogel

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Twitter: @CoachFinamore@Yahoo.com

CERTIFIED CYNICS

When discussing athletes or coaches, you hear it often.

Everyone has one.

Justified or not, its inevitable.

I’m talking about the critics. The ones who are quick to criticize.

Soon as something goes wrong, everyone jumps on the “criticism” bandwagon. I’ve even heard people criticize others when things were going well!

Came across this article from the New York Post on Carmelo Anthony, a player who has been criticized over the years. Mike Woodson, Anthony’s head coach on Melo’s critics.

Me, personally, I really don’t care about what other people think. Those people are not around Carmelo every day. I see Carmelo every day. I know the work the young man has put in as a player.

That’s exactly how you handle critics. Criticism of you, or your players.

More from Woodson on Melo’s commitment.

A lot of those people … making comments that he’s not committed? I think he’s damned committed. He’s been that way since I took over the team. I like everything about him. I think his teammates love him. I think the fans love what he’s brought to the team this year.

Ex-basketball coach John MacLeoud once said, “The most critical are the least knowledgeable.”

Hoops135@hotmail.com

Twitter: @CoachFinamore

IT TAKES TWO

Walt Frazier, a wonderful guard from back in the day talked about Jeremy Lin and James Harden playing together in Houston via Houston Chronicle.

While the Rockets work to mesh James Harden and Jeremy Lin, both scoring guards, Knicks legend Walt Frazier compared the pairing to the Knicks’ backcourt of himself and Earl Monroe and said making it work is “just a matter of time.”

“Jeremy is like me, and Harden is like Earl,” Frazier said. “He likes the ball. I was the guy who created. They have to find the harmony to make that happen. I’m sure as the season goes on, Harden is not going to want to be out here, 30 feet away, trying to maneuver to get in. It’s tiring, man. If he’s got a good guy like Lin who can set him up to get easy shots, that’s going to prolong his energy level.

“The thing with us, both of us could be a point guard or a shooting guard, which is rare today in the league. If Earl was having a good game, he would be the shooter and I would be the orchestrator, and vice versa. I liked when he was having a good game, because they would double him and I would get more shots.”

Frazier said the questions about the Rockets’ backcourt are similar to when the Knicks traded for Monroe, except he was a top rival. Frazier and Monroe won the Knicks’ second title together. Both are in the Hall of Fame, with their numbers retired in New York.

“It could happen for them because Lin likes to penetrate and dish,” Frazier said. “Harden likes to go to the open spot and shoot the ball.”

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