There was a time, not all that long ago, when going to Detroit and knocking around the Pistons would have been a laudable achievement, the type of victory around which a season could pivot. Now, though, the Pistons are worse than the Knicks, and in a deeper hole from which to climb back to relevance. Hey, though: A win’s a win!
The Knicks cracked some skulls last night in a 104–87 win in Auburn Hills. It was the Pistons’ eighth straight loss, and if you think the Detroit press isn’t depressed, read this game story, which literally runs a mere 185 words. A game story. For perspective, this post is already 115 words, and we’re just now clearing our throat.
David Lee scored 30 points, a career high, up from his 28 points Sunday against the Spurs. Thanks to a recent run by Toronto, the playoff odds are down to 33.5 percent, but those’ll have to go up once the Knicks stop messing around with Jonathan Bender, who, after an inspiring and red-hot start, is suddenly killing the team. Also, as the News points out, Mike D’Antoni used 9 of his 12 available players last night: The three who didn’t get in were Eddy Curry, Nate Robinson, and first-round pick Jordan Hill. If you look at the plus-minus for last night’s game, it’s clear the bench wasn’t much help, regardless.
By the way, the Knicks are making batty-eyes at Tracy McGrady, but he’s going to be a heckuva lot more difficult to get one’s hands on than Allen Iverson would have been. We won’t hold our breath.