Sports of The Times - Strickland Is Experiencing a Role Reversal - NYTimes.com

Sports of The Times - Strickland Is Experiencing a Role Reversal - NYTimes.com

Appearing in today's NY Times online edition, William Rhoden writes a nice piece highlighting the accolades of the former point guard of the NY Knicks. It's a great piece, and it comes at a time when many journalists have been speculating whether or not Mike D'Antoni is the right head coach to lead the Knicks to a championship.

I have always bee a Rod Strickland fan. Since his days as a point guard for the Knicks, Rod Strickland was always a favorite of both my father and myself on game day. He was a quiet leader with silky smooth ball handling skills. Essentially, he let his play speak for him.

Rhoden points out several things that should make Rod a serious contender to be the next head coach of the Knicks:
1. He attended Truman High School in the Bronx
2. He played for defensive-minded Knicks of the 90's
3. He is a proven college point guard teacher (Derrick Rose, Tyreke Evans, John Wall)

All of the above should immediately put Rod Strickland on Donnie Walsh's Head Coaching short list should D'Antoni continue to flounder at emphasizing defense and expanding his short rotation.

NBA.com: How some teams look heading into the Summer of 2010

NBA.com: How some teams look heading into the Summer of 2010:
"Cap space following 2010 Trade Deadline

1. New York
Salary - $21,571,737
Amount Under - $32,028,263

2. New Jersey
Salary - $27,170,659
Amount Under - $26,429,341

3. Miami
Salary - $32,254,326
Amount Under - $21,345,674

4. Washington
Salary - $34,454,130
Amount Under - $18,943,379

5. Chicago
Salary - $35,662,116
Amount Under - $17,937,884

6. Sacramento
Salary - $36,454,130
Amount Under - $17,145,870

7. L.A. Clippers
Salary - $38,235,273
Amount Under - $15,364,727

8. Minnesota
Salary - $41,004,156
Amount Under - $12,595,844

9. Oklahoma City
Salary - $42,104,151
Amount Under - $11,495,849

Projected salary cap for next season is ~$53.6 million.

Starks and Mason Take Pippen to the Paint

Check out the punch by Anthony Mason in the slo-motion closeup. One of the many reasons why, even though they never won a championship (a shame), this team was my favorite sports team of all time. Defensively, they just didn't give a S***! I must note that the Bulls were equally as aggressive on defense as the Knicks were. It makes you wonder why the current Knicks don't hire Charles Oakley or Anthony Mason to coach pride and defense in some capacity, which is something the Knicks have been sorely lacking for some time.

Nevertheless, this was one of the best rivalries of all times, no doubt.

Ewing the Great