TJV NEWS- NY Sports Report 2/21/2022

Welcome back to Mondays with Marv! Let’s check in with the locals!

By Marvin A Azrak

KNICKS: 25-34

What else do you want me to say aside from

they’re the first team since 1997 to blow a 20+ point lead three times in a season. None more mortifying than the last game before the break when they astonishingly coughed up a 28 point lead to the rival and understaffed Nets in a stunning 111-106 loss at MSG. Reports have also surfaced that coach Tom Thibodeau’s job is in jeopardy, and although it’s not entirely on him, the fact that Slam dunk contest champion Obi Toppin only plays eight minutes a night doesn’t help his case either. You also know it’s terrible when not a single Knick came close to making the all-star game, and not many fans believe this team is even play-in worthy. Crazy how we thought last year wasn’t a fluke.

NETS: 31-28

ORDER IN NETS WORLD!!

Okay, so the last couple of weeks have been a roller coaster: the Kevin Durant injury, the 11 game losing streak, and the James Harden saga. Harden reportedly was fed up with Steve Nash’s play calls the living situation in Brooklyn, among many other things, and essentially quit the team by intentionally dropping his work ethic, intensity, and communication with everyone. Only on trade deadline day did he come clean and tell Nets management he wanted to be traded to reunite with his former GM Daryl Morey from Houston and the Philadelphia 76ers. Brooklyn forcefully obliged and dealt the disgruntled prominent three-member for another, as they acquired all-star Ben Simmons, sharpshooter Seth Curry, and reigning defensive player of the year Andre Drummond, as well as two first-round picks in exchange for the beard and Paul Millsap. While both teams got what they wanted, this is a big haul for the Nets and makes them “more balanced,” which may help them despite being less talented.

Brooklyn finished the first half 2-1 with a win over the Kings where Seth Curry had 23 in his Nets debut, before the season-defining comeback victory at the Garden led by Seth and rookie Cam Thomas, who dropped 16 in the fourth quarter.

Unfortunately, the Nets dropped a 117-103 home decision to the Wizards but are in great spirits with Simmons and KD due back soon and a run back to the top of the East imminent.

ISLANDERS: 18-20-7

Like the Knicks, their most recent game sums up how abysmal this season has gone. New York hosted a nine-win Habs team who started Alex Hamilton, who hadn’t been given the label in four years in the net yet still fell 3-2 in a shootout. I don’t see a run in this team anymore, and it’s time to retool this upcoming trade deadline.

RANGERS: 32-13-5 69PTS

This team continues to dazzle. When they returned from the Winter Break on February 15th, the Rangers hosted the rival Boston Bruins and received one of the most memorable performances of Igor Shesterkin’s revelatory season. The netminder stopped 31 of 32 shots before being barreled over by Craig Smith, which resulted in Shesterkin momentarily leaving the game with 41 seconds left in overtime due to the league’s concussion protocol. Luckily, a Ranger’s timeout inadvertently bought him time, and he returned for the shootout before stopping seven of

nine shots to set up the Keandre Miller shootout winner past Jermy Swayman for a 2-1 win, sending the Garden crowd into a frenzy. Two nights later, the Blueshirts were on the opposite end of a 3-2 home shootout loss to the Red Wings but rebounded when Igor made 29 saves on Sunday, while Ryan Strome and Artemi Panarin both found the back of the twine in a 2-1 road win against the Ottawa Senators.

New York is currently third in the top-heavy Metro division and is three points behind the first-place Hurricanes, one behind the Penguins, but have two games in hand.