Dave Cowens' New Gilgul
Last night I went to my first Knicks game of the year courtesy of a very good man who provided me courtside seats. I was supposed to go with "Judah" but that didn't work out for reasons that are beyond the scope of this post (I will take him next Monday).
As you may know, I haven't had any use for the NBA for at least 15 years. I find the pro game to be generally dreadful, with little team play and a bunch of outsized egos on display. I yearn for the Celtics of the 70s and 80s.
Last night's game, however, gave me hope. In particular, one player gave me hope: David Lee, the latest gilgul of Dave Cowens. Lee played with joy and intensity. He scored about 14 points, had 16 rebounds, played fierce defense and moved constantly.
I'm not saying that Lee will be as good as Cowens (1971 rookie of the year and a Hall of Famer who was voted one of the top 50 players in NBA history) but he does remind me of Cowens in many ways. (Cowens was an undersized center even back in the 70s. These days he would be, at best, a power forward if not a small forward).
Lee made a few reckless moves last night but they were mistakes of aggression, not laziness. That can be harnessed. So long as Isaiah doesn't mess this up, there is renewed hope in Knicks land.
Last night I went to my first Knicks game of the year courtesy of a very good man who provided me courtside seats. I was supposed to go with "Judah" but that didn't work out for reasons that are beyond the scope of this post (I will take him next Monday).
As you may know, I haven't had any use for the NBA for at least 15 years. I find the pro game to be generally dreadful, with little team play and a bunch of outsized egos on display. I yearn for the Celtics of the 70s and 80s.
Last night's game, however, gave me hope. In particular, one player gave me hope: David Lee, the latest gilgul of Dave Cowens. Lee played with joy and intensity. He scored about 14 points, had 16 rebounds, played fierce defense and moved constantly.
I'm not saying that Lee will be as good as Cowens (1971 rookie of the year and a Hall of Famer who was voted one of the top 50 players in NBA history) but he does remind me of Cowens in many ways. (Cowens was an undersized center even back in the 70s. These days he would be, at best, a power forward if not a small forward).
Lee made a few reckless moves last night but they were mistakes of aggression, not laziness. That can be harnessed. So long as Isaiah doesn't mess this up, there is renewed hope in Knicks land.
Labels: Sports
posted by MoChassid @ 9:54 AM
2 Comments:
At 10:15 AM,
NYfunnyman said…
This comment has been removed by the author.
At 10:59 AM,
MoChassid said…
I don't disagree with your point. Lee strikes me as the kind of guy whose game will improve with experience.
Right now he's a sick rebounder and tenacious defender who may indeed get beaten on the spin move. I also I don't know whether he can hit the jump shot. But I would be surprised if he didn't elevate his game over the next couple of years.
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