Loaded Celtics are the next big hurdle for Knicks to climb
NY Post
There comes a point in the evolution of a hopeful champion when it should start worrying more about the competition.
If it weren’t for Michael Jordan, for instance, Patrick Ewing, Karl Malone and Charles Barkley would have a ring — or at least a couple more Finals appearances. If it weren’t for the Warriors, James Harden’s Rockets wouldn’t be such a disappointment.
If it weren’t for LeBron James, Tom Thibodeau might still be in Chicago and DeMar DeRozan in Toronto. If it weren’t for Kobe and Shaq, we’re looking differently at the Sacramento Kings.
Which brings us to the present-day Celtics.
Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown have been circling an NBA championship so long you forget they’re only in their mid-20s.
To put that into a local perspective, they’re both younger than Jalen Brunson, Julius Randle and Josh Hart. They’re at roughly the same ages as Steph Curry and LeBron when they won their first titles. Barring wandering eyes or injuries, Tatum and Brown aren’t leaving the Atlantic Division for a while.
SALT LAKE CITY — The Knicks could not fully salvage a two-way clunker Saturday night, and their longest winning streak of the season is history.
If Brian Daboll will be fighting to keep his job across these next seven weeks, it is not lost on Tommy DeVito that he is the one who has been entrusted to help his coach save it.
Kevin Shattenkirk is 35, a Stanley Cup champion and now a father of three with his wife, Deanna, after having a second daughter in September.
SALT LAKE CITY — An encouraging upgrade in his availability status didn’t result in Miles McBride’s return to the Knicks lineup.
This is pretty much the deal.
Uncertainty has followed Zion Williamson off the court.
SALT LAKE CITY — The “Dimes” nickname is open in New York now that quarterback Daniel Jones has been released by the Giants, and perhaps it can be a fitting team-wide moniker in another sport.
General Curtis LeMay: “You’re in a pretty big fix, Mr. President.”
Last spring’s ultimate defeat, coming on top of a quite similar one 24 months earlier, should have proved once and for all that the Rangers’ skill game, impressive at it at may be in spurts, does not overcome their physicality deficiency at the final-four level.
Jon Berti, who started three postseason games at first base for the Yankees when Anthony Rizzo was out with fractured fingers, was non-tendered by the team prior to Friday’s deadline, as was left-hander Tim Mayza.
CALGARY, Alberta — The Rangers needed just 16 seconds to get back into a game they had no business being in over halfway through.