Jets lose again

 

            The Jets looked absolutely pathetic on Thursday night as they dropped a crucial game against the Jacksonville Jaguars, 19-3. Somehow with the Jets playoff hopes on the brink, they are still alive and with a couple of out of town scores going their way, they could be right back in the same situation as before the Jags game. 

            It's the second time the Jets have gone a full game with putting up three total points and in both of those games, Zach Wilson was the quarterback. It is a simple answer, Zach Wilson is the problem and he needs to be moved on from. He's had his chances, and when the Jets needed him the most he folded heavily under pressure.

            It's crazy to think how if the Jets got just decent quarterback play every game over the last five games, they could've clinched a playoff spot by now. Wilson getting benched for Chris Streveler in the third quarter, a guy who was just brought up from the practice squad, and Streveler totally outplays him is absolutely pathetic on Wilson's part.

            This guy was the #2 pick and we traded our former starting quarterback because we thought he was the guy. At the end of the day, there are some athletes who can handle coming to New York and taking on its presence, and then there are some that can't and Zach Wilson is one of those.

            The defense on the other hand also played one of their worst games of the season and only let up 19 points. This defense is legit and can go with any team in the league. When you have a defense that is claimed to have played bad while only letting up one touchdown all game means they are elite. 

            If the offense could have just bailed them out, then we would be having a whole different conversation. This defense is special and if somehow the Jets finagle their way into the playoffs, no one wants to mess with this defense. Maybe the offense, but not the defense I can tell you that much.

            Now, as a Jets fan all my attention is faced towards our other competition in the wild card race. Meaning the Chargers, Dolphins, Patriots, and Steelers. As long as the Dolphins lose one of their next two games, the Jets should have a shot if they beat Seattle to get in the playoffs if they beat the Dolphins in Week 18.

            As crazy as it seems, the Jets are still alive with their abysmal offense doing them no favors whatsoever. They just need a couple out of town scores to fall their way and then they control their own destiny. If they can't seize the opportunity, then the promising season will go to waste once again.

My Team of the Week (Week 15)

             The Las Vegas Raiders have earned my team of the week in week 15 after one of the most bizarre endings to a sports game that I have ever seen. They took down the New England Patriots at home, 30-24, in a game which had an ending that left everyone speechless.

            The Raiders looked like they were lifeless heading into the two minute warning, down by 7 and facing a 4th down, until they woke up and turned on the jets and scored a touchdown to tie the game up. It seemed like it was going to be a game that would end up going into overtime, but that was far from the case.

            Because of one of the more dumber plays you'll ever see, the Raiders won the game. They scored 13 points in 32 seconds of time left in regulation. Jakobi Meyers forgot that the Patriots were wearing white uniforms and instead threw it to the lone guy wearing a black uniform.

            It was like Meyers was the quarterback and he just made a terrible throw that Chandler Jones intercepted and ran it back for a pick-six. It was an unbelievable play. Now, although the odds are slim, the Raiders still have life in the AFC playoff picture, and things get especially interesting if they can win their upcoming game this week and the Patriots lose theirs.

            Instead of just sitting on it and letting the game go into overtime, the Patriots tried to get fancy and go for a miracle game-winning score and in the end it all came crashing down against them. 

            There have been embarrassing plays we have seen in the history of the NFL like the butt fumble, which also happened in a game the Patriots played, but this has to be the dumbest mistake of all time in my opinion. The butt fumble by Mark Sanchez happened when the Jets were already out of the game and down multiple scores, but in this case, the game was about to go to overtime.

            Never will anyone forget what Jakobi Meyers did to cost his team the game and potentially cost the Patriots their season. They now sit outside the playoff picture looking in with a tough road ahead against Cincinnati, Miami, and then Buffalo on the road.

            It's going to be a steep hill to climb for the Patriots, but what a come from behind win by the Raiders after it looked like they were out of it with only two minutes remaining in regulation. They now have a big game upcoming against the Steelers this week and who knows, maybe they'll have another miracle and potentially sneak into the AFC playoffs. 

Jets lose their third straight

 

            It's coming down to the most anxious time to be a football fan as the playoffs are right around the corner and still the Jets cannot win meaningful games. The Jets drop one against Detroit which they had to and should have had, 20-17.

            Coming into the game, it wasn't a must win game, but if the Jets had won it would've been VERY beneficial towards their playoff chances. Instead, they drop to 7-7 and their playoff chances right now are looking somewhat slim, but they still sort of control their own destiny.

            If they can go 3-0 in their final three games, then there is a good chance that the Jets will be in the playoffs, but enough with the predictions and scenarios, at the end of the day you have to win and the Jets aren't doing that right now. It pains me as a fan of this team that the Jets last 5 games have resulted in four losses and all by one score.

            It's good and also bad that the Jets have a short week coming up as they take on the Jaguars on Thursday Night Football. The Jags are another tough team that is coming into the game with the playoffs at stake like the Lions. It's going to be another tough game no matter if it being played on a Sunday or Thursday.

            Playing on Thursday night also presumably means that there will be no Mike White at the helm for the Jets as he will not have enough time to get healthy enough for the game. They will have to ride with Zach Wilson who did not play as bad as he had played before he got benched. He threw for two touchdowns and looked much better after being punished for his recent play by getting benched.

            The one thing that he didn't do well was make the simple plays. There were lots of time when he would throw an easy slant over the middle that would just be too far out in front of the receiver or too long. If you want to be a successful quarterback for a team in the NFL, you have to learn how to make the simple throws, or else you aren't going to succeed. 

            I remember making a blog before the season that showed the keys to how the Jets could have a successful season, and one of the keys was staying healthy and boy have they done the complete opposite. I mean its week after week with another vital player going down with an injury like last week with Quinnen Williams and Mike White. 

            It seems like every year the Jets are cursed by the injury demons. If there was ever a time to step up and win for the Jets, it is right now. Forget last game, forget all the losses before that, put your head down and win ball games. Learn how to finish ball games. I get it, this team is very young and inexperienced, but winning games, especially when no one predicts you will, only makes you better and grow as a player in the NFL. 

My Team of the Week (Week 14)

 

            A surprise team lands as my team of the week in week 14 and it is the Carolina Panthers. The Panthers went into Seattle and beat the Seahawks, 30-24, and still remain in the hunt for the crown of the NFC South.

            The Panthers have went through many hardships this year. Just to list a few: they have had three starting quarterbacks, traded their star running back midseason, their head coach was fired, and they have one of the worst offenses in the league. Despite all of this, they were able to go into Seattle, which is one of the best home field advantages in the league, and beat the tough Seahawks.

            Sam Darnold will most certainly remain their QB1 for the rest of the season after showing what he had in his bag this previous game. It is crazy to think but although the Panthers have went through so many bad things this season, they are one game behind Tampa for the lead in the NFC South. There is a realistic chance that the Panthers could win the NFC South because of how bad it has been.

            This game was crucial towards winning the division as their lackluster offense finally picked up the slack and helped the defense out on the way to the victory. The defense for the Panthers is what has kept them in most games as they stand as one of the more underrated defenses in the league in my opinion.     

            The run game really helped the Panthers out as they combined for over 220 rushing yards on the day. Who needs Christian McCaffrey when your running back room can put up those type of numbers, but can they do it consistently is the question.

            The Panthers remaining strength of schedule is one of the weakest in the league. The Panthers certainly do have a realistic shot at taking the NFC South and this was just one small step towards it. If I would've told you in August that the Carolina Panthers would still be in the playoff race in mid-December, you would've said I was nuts. 

The Knicks are finally winning games

 

            The Knicks are on a 4 game winning streak and absolutely dominating their competition. The defense has taken a huge leap forward from the first 20 games of the season and is starting to help them win more and more ball games as we approach midseason.

            The Knicks have won four in a row against some solid teams including the Cleveland Cavaliers, Atlanta Hawks, and the Sacramento Kings who have surprised a lot of faces this year. Against all of these teams who possess great offenses, the Knicks allowed less than 100 points in each of the three games. 

            Julius Randle has started to emerge as the player who won most improved player just two seasons ago and looks like a clear all-star in the East if he can keep this type of play up. Last night, he was ejected midway through the third quarter for arguing with the refs, yet he still finished with 27 points and 8 rebounds, that is absurd numbers for barely playing half the game. 

            RJ Barrett has been steadily improving his game after having a very long struggle to start the season. RJ seems to always get off to a slow start to start the year, but eventually he bounces back and he sure has recently, hopefully he can continue to play great basketball. 

            With RJ and Randle playing better basketball, Jalen Brunson has been able to take a load off and not have the Knicks consistently rely on him every night. He has not put up the same numbers as he used to, but he is still a huge difference maker for the Knicks almost every game.

            Another guy who deserves the props that he does not receive is Miles McBride. Now I can go on and on about what McBride has done for the Knicks this season, but just to sum it up, in games where he plays over fifteen minutes, the Knicks are 13-3. So it's clear, play Miles McBride or you are going to lose games. 

            We are also talking about a guy who last year rarely received any minutes because of the guard-heavy roster the Knicks have, and now since he is getting his shot he's taking advantage of it and not looking back. The Knicks are finally giving the young guys the green light and I'll tell you what it is REALLY paying off for them right now.

            With lots of rumors surrounding Cam Reddish, Derrick Rose, and Evan Fournier and where they will end up, Leon Rose and the Knicks should try and get deals done for these vets as soon as possible. They now know what these young guys bring to the table and can trust them to carry the load for the rest of the season from here on out.

            The Knicks have been playing some great basketball and have to keep it up. They have a favorable upcoming schedule this week with three road games, two against the Bulls and one against the Pacers. Gotta take advantage of the opportunity and move. Let's Go Knicks. 

            

Jets drop one in Buffalo

 

            The Jets drop another key game and this time in Buffalo to the Bills, 20-12. From the start to the finish, injuries killed the Jets as player after player kept on getting hurt and really affected the Jets performance in the end.

            It's getting more and more clear that the loss against Minnesota is really going to cost the Jets coming down the stretch of the end of the season. Essentially now they have to win their next 3 of 4 games if they want to have a shot at making the playoffs. 

            Like almost every game this season, the Jets were in it till the last minutes of the games. A safety drew them within 11 points down the stretch and then a Michael Carter fumble while driving essentially costed them the game as they really never recovered.

            It seems like unless the Jets are playing indoors, they somehow get the worst conditions to play in every game. Just looking at their games since the bye week, against the Patriots there was terrible winds that made it almost impossible to play in, against the Bears there was torrential downpour the entire game, Vikings game was indoors thankfully, and then this previous game there was all sorts of bad weather including snow, wind, rain, and whatever else you can imagine.

            One thing I know is that the Jets aren't going to go anywhere with the offensive line they currently have. Snap after snap it seemed like Mike White was getting hit every single time. On almost every single pass he was pressured and luckily he was only sacked 3 times, but two of those times he got hurt and had to come out of the game.

            If the Jets do make the playoffs and have to play in bad conditions it's automatically an advantage for their opponent. But that's what makes football football, it's supposed to be played in any condition necessary unlike other sports. 

            The Jets have to get used to that and easier said than done, but they need to stop getting hurt every game. It seems like every single game a new key player goes down, like today with Quinnen Williams and Corey Davis. The schedule isn't going to get any easier for the Jets, but luckily they head home after two tough road contests.

            Their last two home games of the season coming against teams that no one would've predicted at the start of the season to be any good, but they are certainly in the hunt. The Lions especially being 5-1 in their last 6 games with one of the most potent offenses in the league. The Jags aren't too shabby either. 

            It's a win now or your promising season is over situation for the Jets in these next four games. I would hate to see another season go to waste and the playoff drought continue. I could tell you this, no one wants to face this Jets defense come playoff time, but the only way they are going to get there is if the offense can bail them out. 

My Heisman Trophy Winner

             Sad to see yet another great college football season to an end, but with the ending comes the winner of the Heisman and it comes down to four quarterbacks. All of these quarterbacks have had great seasons and three out of the four will have a chance to compete for the college football championship as well.

            To start off my prediction, in 4th place comes Stetson Bennett. Bennett had a great season and lead his Bulldogs to an undefeated season and the #1 spot in the college football playoff, but in my eyes he didn't deserve to a candidate in the top 4. In my opinion, fellow SEC quarterback, Hendon Hooker, had a better season statistically and deserved being among the top 4 more than Bennett did.

            Not a lot of people expected Tennessee to be a win away from possibly competing in the college football playoff and it wasn't a surprise to a lot of people that Georgia would be dominant like they always are. The 25 year old, who is older than a couple NFL quarterbacks, will finish 4th in the Heisman trophy race.

            Coming in at number 3, in a tough decision, will be Max Duggan. I was very tempted to put Duggan at number 2, but at the end of the day there is no way the voters would put Stroud at 3. Duggan had an amazing season after not even being the first game starter for the Horned Frogs.

            If you had told me or any other college football fan at the start of the season that TCU would be in the College Football Playoff, I would have said you were nuts. But, they found their way there and through a very tough Big 12 schedule as well. Each and every week TCU had great competition on the other side and they prevailed every single time besides the Big 12 championship. The guy who absolutely nobody had in their preseason Heisman rankings finishes third in the Heisman trophy race. 

            Coming in at number 2 is going to be CJ Stroud. Stroud was a candidate last year and finished fourth in the rankings and I believe in what is probably going to be his final college season, he will finish just short of 1st. Stroud put up great numbers like last year, but there were some games that caught a lot of people off guard and were also against not the greatest opponents.

            Ohio State's strength of schedule in the first place was not very high so that is one factor. But sometimes I would watch Stroud and he would look unstoppable and then other games, he was just the opposite. What put the nail in the coffin for me was when Ohio State got pulverized at home by Michigan. Stroud is definitely a great quarterback and I hope his transition to the NFL turns out well, but the Ohio State quarterback finishes 2nd in the Heisman trophy race.

            Finally, coming in at number 1 is USC quarterback, Caleb Williams. Williams just had an unbelievable season under coach Lincoln Riley after transferring from Oklahoma. His transition to a new environment and new teammates was perfect and USC was just a game away from being in the college football playoff as well. Him being just a sophomore is scary as well as he still has at least one more year left of college ball.

            His touchdown to interception ratio was impeccable at 37 to 4 and threw for over 4,000 yards on the season. Absolutely incredible numbers for a guy who totally brought back the USC football program from the dead with his coach Lincoln Riley as well. Riley has developed other quarterback Heisman winners such as Baker Mayfield and Kyler Murray as well so I think this only boosts his chance even more. 

            In a great college football season that still has its bowl games coming up, Caleb Williams is definitely my Heisman trophy winner. These four quarterbacks all had outstanding seasons, but at the end of the day, Williams stands out more than the rest of the competition. 

My opinion on the Knicks new rotation

 

            The Knicks have won two in a row and many people including myself believe it has to do with the new rotation that has been implemented. Typical guys like Derrick Rose, Evan Fournier, and Cam Reddish do not see the floor anymore, and guys that typically don't see the floor, like Deuce McBride, are getting key minutes.

            The thing that Tom Thibodeau stresses the most is defense, and since he has made these changes to the lineup, the defense has stepped their game up. Against two of the most prominent offenses in the east in their last two games, the Knicks allowed 81 points to the Cavs and 89 points to the Hawks. Before those two games, there had not been one game all season where the Knicks opponent scored under 100 points in a game.

            It also makes it so the entire 9 man rotation that the Knicks are running out there is incredibly young. My whole mentality with this Knicks team, if they weren't going to trade for a star, is to give the young guys a chance and this is their chance and they've handled it well so far.

            Now with all good things, there is always some negatives. You can't have two guys who sit on the bench and never see the court be making $32 million combined and just be sitting there. You have to find a way to trade these guys and unfortunately it may be hard to do. Sure, Derrick Rose used to be one of the best players in the NBA, but now he is getting older and is always hurt.

            Also, no team wants to eat Evan Fournier's annual salary of $18 million. The only appealing asset out of the three players that have been benched is Cam Reddish. Reddish showed some glimpses of what he can do this season, and to be honest I don't know why Thibs benched him. 

            The Knicks traded a first-round pick for him just last year and this year he is finally showing you what he can do, and you just decide to bench him? Unless the Knicks are trading him and getting a good half of the deal then this move makes no sense. The Knicks are definitely overcrowded with talented guards, but at least let Reddish cool off and start to struggle before you bench him while he is playing good basketball.

            That was the case with Rose and Fournier, they were struggling this season and weren't providing any boosts to this team, so they found their seat on the bench. If Rose and Fournier do not find their way back into the rotation, they need to be traded because there is no point in paying players a combined $32 million to watch the games courtside. 

            In the end, I am happy with what Tom Thibodeau is doing in letting the young guys play. If you don't let them play, then you might not know how good they really are and we are just figuring out what they can provide to this team now. 

Judge is back in pinstripes!

 

    

            Well finally, after all of the waiting and nervousness of whether Aaron Judge would re-sign back with the Yankees is over. The MVP signed an enormous deal for 9 years and $360 million to make him not only the highest-paid position player of all-time so far, but a Yankee for life as well. 

            On Tuesday evening, I thought the Aaron Judge era in New York ended after a false tweet was sent out by MLB reporter Jon Heyman. That only lasted approximately seven minutes as he was corrected by many other sources and the Yankees just about 15 hours later closed down the deal with Judge.

            I give Aaron Judge a lot of credit where it's due because he bet on himself and 62 home runs and an MVP award later, he's making $40 million a year. If he just took the contract that the Yankees offered him before the 2022 season, he could've possibly been making half of that $40 million. 

            $40 million may sound like a lot, but after the season that he just had, $40 is not such a bad price after all. Silver Slugger, MVP, almost triple crown winner, and many other awards to go along with it. Not to mention breaking the home run record in a single season.

            Aaron Judge deserves every penny that is coming his way after his magical season. Obviously, this past season will be very hard to repeat, but if he can come anywhere close to where he performed this season, there will be no complaints from Yankee fans. 

            At one point I thought that Aaron Judge's time in pinstripes was finished and that Yankee Stadium. would have to remove the Judge's Chambers, but the Judge's Chambers can stay put because Aaron Judge is now a Yankee for life!

My Team of the Week (Week 13)

             For the second time this season, my team of the week in NFL for week 13 is the San Francisco 49ers. The 49ers took on a good Dolphins team at home and ended up winning the game by a score of 33-17. 

            The Niners battled through lots of adversity this game as their starting quarterback, Jimmy Garoppolo, played one drive after he was taken out of the game with an injury that is now going to sideline him for the season. 

            This left the Niners with no choice but to go to their backup quarterback, Brock Purdy, the rookie from Iowa State who was this year's Mr. Irrelevant in the draft class. Purdy with no NFL regular season experience put on a show and looked poised out there against a tough Dolphins defense. He lead the Niners to a big victory against a good opponent and if he can do what he did against a team like that, the Niners should have no problem adjusting to him being the guy at the helm.

            The Niners defense was sharp per usual even against the fastest team in the league with Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle. Not only are they the fastest team in the league, but they have one of the highest scoring offenses in the league and the Niners held them to just 17 points.

            It was an all out great team performance for the 49ers although losing their starting quarterback. But looking at the bright side for them, they were able to adapt after Trey Lance went down with a season-ending injury, so who says they can't adapt well now? 

            If Brock Purdy shows any glimpses of how he performed on Sunday, then the 49ers are in good hands and have nothing to worry about. This is why the San Francisco 49ers are my team of the week in week 13 of the NFL season. 

            

Jets lose an absolute heartbreaker

             I finally brought myself to writing this, as the Jets lost an absolute heartbreaker yesterday to the Minnesota Vikings, 27-22. The Jets had two great chances to seal the victory but no matter how close they got, they could never convert when it truly counted.

            The Vikings are a very good team and I the Jets had the chance to put at least 40 points on the board against them and just could not finish out drives. The Vikings are a great team in close games and the Jets had multiple chances to go ahead and let the Vikings play from behind, but instead they go 1/6 in converting red zone opportunities into 6 points.

            The Jets are a good team this year and have competed at high standards against teams that heavily outnumber them like the Vikings, but if they really want to make the playoffs and succeed as a team, they have to take advantage of the small things. Now I give them credit, they went into the second half down two scores and were down by 3 scores at one point, and then late in the 4th quarter, they were a yard away from taking the lead.

            But as Robert Saleh said, there are no moral victories in the NFL and his point is spot on. Sure the Jets are playing well and have impressed a lot of people, but in no way are they coming out of this game with any moral victories. If Braxton Berrios could've caught that ball in the end zone to put the Jets on top, we wouldn't be talking about moral victories, we'd be talking about an actual victory and what's like to be 8-4. Instead the Jets are 7-5 and going into Buffalo next week.

            There's so much stuff that could've altered the outcome of this game like if they Jets didn't go for it on 4th down in the winding minutes of the first half, in their own territory that lead to a Minnesota field goal. With just a simple punt there, the Jets are looking at a potential game winning field goal by Greg Zuerelein on one of their final drives of the game to snatch a victory from the Vikings, but as we all know, one simple mistake can make a drastic outcome occur.

            Lots of negatives coming out of this game but one thing I know is that Mike White has proven and solidified that he is QB1 for the remainder of the season. After the Bears game I thought he was phenomenal, but to throw for over 300 yards in back to back games after Zach Wilson has only thrown for 300 yards in a game once in his career, I'm sorry but Zach Wilson has lost his job for good. 

            All Mike White has to do is sharpen his red zone offense, which could be helped out a little by Mike LaFleur, and then everything will be good. The connection between him and Garrett Wilson is special not only on the field, but off the field as well. Wilson and White seem to have great chemistry off the field which lead to another great game and 162 yard performance from Wilson.

            Still not happy with the outcome in Minnesota yesterday for the Jets but the season is far from over. It's early December and the Jets are playing meaningful football for the first time in 7 years and some of us Jets fans don't know how to act. The Jets have fought and have dealt with adversity spectacularly all season long and if they keep it up they'll no doubt be a playoff team come January. Time to bounce back as the boys head to Buffalo. 

My Knicks Report

             22 games into the regular season, the Knicks sit at a 10-12 record, currently in the 10th seed in the Eastern Conference. The Knicks have been unable to close out close games down the later stretches of games and that is why they have a below .500 record.

            From last year, I think that the roster has definitely improved, but obviously it isn't perfect and needs some changes. I don't have the same mindset on Julius Randle as I did to start the season as he has totally revamped his game from a selfish player to a very unselfish player who is making minimal turnovers as of late.

            The number one thing that I believe the Knicks have to take care of is getting rid of Evan Fournier. To some, he is the Knicks best shooter, but in reality sure he can shoot the ball at a high percentage, but he doesn't bring any defense to the game and he is totally not worth the money the Knicks are currently paying him. Now this also makes it harder for other teams to take him on that although he is a game changer on offense, is he really worth that $19 million per year? At the end of the day, he is not and that is the reason why he is finding himself on the bench with no playing time.

            Other guys such as Cam Reddish, Quentin Grimes, and even Miles McBride deserve minutes over him which makes Fournier rotation spot non-existent proving that he needs a new home at the end of the day. Even if it's just for a second-round pick, the Knicks need to explore their options with Evan Fournier as he has totally lost his spot on the team and needs to find a new home.

            The team as a whole has been clicking on the offensive end as they are in the top 10 in scoring per game in the NBA, but the thing they lack the most is defense which is in the bottom of the league. Sure, you would think that the Knicks would be winning more games with the offense they have, but the defense is totally just killing them and making them unable to close out close games. You can't give up 145 points to the Thunder at the Garden and expect to win. 

            The part of the team that I have been really satisfied about is the point guard play from Jalen Brunson. Brunson has been a star since he put on the Knick uniform and has taken the ball out of Randle's hands as the main ball handler. He rarely turns the ball over, is a great shooter, and a great leader to lead this Knicks squad. I've really liked how Jalen Brunson has been performing this season and if he keeps it up, who knows maybe he might find himself an All-Star team.

            Adding onto a part of the Knicks which has been very beneficial for them is the play of the big guys. Mitch Robinson, Isiah Hartenstein, and Jericho Sims have stepped up this year and are one of the best trios of centers in the league in my opinion. To have a guy like Sims, who is not guaranteed he will play every game, to come off the bench and play is a luxury as he has matured a lot since his rookie season.

            Hartenstein was a great addition and for the price the Knicks paid, it looks like they got a bargain. Another guy who got paid in the offseason, Mitchell Robinson, has been great when he doesn't find himself in foul trouble. Looking at last game, taking on the league's best, Giannis Antetokounmpo, he didn't find himself in foul trouble and put up one of his best stat lines with 15 points and 20 rebounds. That's the key for Mitch, as long as he does not get into foul trouble, he will benefit this team very much in the long run.

            Finally, the last guy I want to talk about is RJ Barrett. RJ has been widely spoken about in the media for his poor play to start off the season, and it's definitely true. He has been a terrible shooter and Clyde Frazier said it best last night when he brought up that as RJ gets closer to the hoop, he shoots the ball worse.

            RJ is already in his 4th year in the NBA and in those first three years, he always got off to a slow start, so I have no doubt RJ will pick it up as he has shown some sparks in glimpses in the previous couple games. 

            The Knicks need to start winning games against teams who come in as better teams. They have come close to doing so in the last couple games like last night against the Bucks and a couple of nights ago against the Trail Blazers. They can't go 82 games and expect to play a team like the Pistons every night and think they are going to be a top 10 seed in the East. It's only 22 games in, so hopefully the Knicks will pick up the slack and have a better stretch coming up.