Here’s Times scribe Harvey Araton’s take:

Could Randolph have been a building block in New York at a much lower cost than Amar’e Stoudemire? We’ll never know, but be sure of one thing: Had it been him catching the pass from Carmelo Anthony at the end of Game 2 in Boston and not Jeffries, the Knicks would have had their first playoff victory in 10 years.

(Photo Courtesy of the AP)

Box Score

Being down 3-0 in a best of seven playoff series doesn’t create too many positive things for a basketball team. What it can do, however, is instill fight, will, belief, hope, and an underdog mentality. Today the Knicks lost; their season crashing to the floor while extending what feels like an eternal winless playoff streak. Their largest deficit in today’s particular game was 23 points and the team had every reason to pack it in and wait until next year as they stared a long summer square in the face: Their starting point guard was in a suit, their largest free agent acquisition in franchise history was limited by back problems, and their starting shooting guard was in the final stages of his slow transformation from Rookie of the Year candidate to Casper the friendly ghost. But the Knicks didn’t give up. They fought back. They had belief and hope and a will to win. Unfortunately, their opponent, the Boston Celtics, had all those things coupled with more talent, chemistry, and experience. In the end, Kevin Garnett’s 26 points, Rajon Rondo’s 12 assists, and the Celtics 50% shooting from the field was just too much to overcome—it would be for most teams.

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Amar'e Stoudemire, here shooting over Nenad Krstic, will start today against the Celtics in game four.

Per the Twitters of just about every Knicks beat writer, Amar’e Stoudemire is going to give it a go today.  He’s reportedly feeling “much better,” though as Howard Beck of the Times notes, “he’s hopped up on Advil.”  But who among us hasn’t taken some painkillers during this series?  Amiright?

Billups and Shaquille O’Neal remain out for their respective teams; Alan Hahn tweeted yesterday that Billups is “finished,” while O’Neal made the trip intending to play today but will be kept in reserve with the Celtics headed for a possible sweep.

In other news, the Knicks’ starting lineup remains the same as Friday’s.  Frankly I thought Landry Fields had as much chance of starting as Amar’e.

Happy Easter, errrbody.  It seems we may have two resurrections to celebrate today.  Enjoy the game, and Mike will be along with an evening recap.

"Did you hear the one about a playoff team running its offense through Jared Jeffries?"

I remember not so many days ago I mentioned that we should take this series for what it is: an outside chance at an upset, sure, but mostly a reward to us fans after so many years of embarrassment, an official proclamation that the Knicks are back.  I wrote that we should keep the negativity to a minimum and revel in the glory of playoff basketball and a national spotlight.

We all see what a bunch of crap that was, right?  Can we go back to bitching and moaning now?  Oh, good.

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Recap when emotionally prepared.  Which is tomorrow.

Amar’e has been at MSG since 4, but hasn’t yet taken the court. All treatment so far. Did do some things after shootaround this morning.

Amar’e is on active roster. Have to see how he gets through warmups. He’s been at MSG for 2 hours so far.

Official word from D’Antoni is Amar’e is “game-time decision”…Chauncey is on inactive.

Looks like we’ll have both big guns in there at least to start.  As the Celtics continue to remind us, though, it isn’t how you start but how you finish.  UPDATE: Amar’e will start.  Ok, let’s see what this team has on its home floor.

No official word on Shaq, but it looks like he’ll try to give it a go in game four on Sunday afternoon.

The Knicks were down seven at the end of the quarter. “It’s an ugly game,” Monroe said. “If I had to draw this one up, it’d look like this,” and he pantomimed a mess of scribbles.

Trautwig asked the analysts to raise their hand if they thought the Knicks could come back and tie the game. They all looked at each other. King cautiously lifted his. Monroe and Tripucka raised their eyebrows. King shrugged his shoulders.

Yet somehow the Knicks began to claw their way back. Anthony continued his run of unearthly baskets, driving to the hoop as elusively as Monroe and raining jump shots with a touch as deadly as King’s. The Knicks closed to within two, and Trautwig complemented King on his unlikely prescience. “I was being optimistic,” King said. After the Knicks remarkably took the lead with eight minutes left, everyone in the room jumped out of their seats. King raised both his arms in the air. Monroe beamed. “I don’t mind being wrong,” he said.

Before Game 2′s telecast on TNT, Charles Barkley made a few strange comments towards Mike D’Antoni. As far as we know, the statements were unprovoked. D’Antoni responded earlier today in an article by Newsday’s Alan Hahn:

Mike D’Antoni brushed off questions about Charles Barkley’s recent comments — and subsequent apology — on TNT this week. Barkley before Tuesday’s Game 2 criticized D’Antoni and suggested the Knicks “are going to have a new coach next year” and then on Thursday said he was wrong to say that.

“It’s fine,” D’Antoni said. “It’s a distraction in a sense that I’ve got so many things on my plate right now, trying to get us right, but I haven’t really thought about it that much.”

When asked a follow-up question, D’Antoni quickly replied, ”This is probably not the place to go into it.”

Weird. Unless Stephon Marbury is Barkley’s godson, I can’t figure out/wait to hear what the deal is.

If you like basketball, chances are you like kicks. And if you like the Knicks, chances are you like Melo. Since 2+2=4, here’s a presser from Nike about the ridiculously cool shoes Anthony will have strapped on for tonight’s Game 3. (more…)

Photo Courtesy of AP

Every now and again, an individual player submits a performance so miraculous on the nation’s stage, we struggle to place it in the proper perspective. In Game 2, Carmelo Anthony scored 42 points and grabbed 17 rebounds (Dwight Howard numbers), hitting the type of shots that forced giggles from a couple former players sitting in a certain Atlanta studio.

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Courtesy of Howard Beck:

Boston’s Delonte West took the inbounds pass in the backcourt with 4.1 seconds left, forcing the Knicks to chase him and waste time. Anthony, who seemed gassed, did not foul him until 0.6 remained on the clock. West made both free throws for the final margin.

The Celtics, who had all of their stars present and in working order, barely escaped.

Courtesy of Bob Ryan:

More Knicks confusion: After the ball was inbounded, Delonte West was allowed to dribble unimpeded until he finally was fouled by Carmelo Anthony at the 0.6-second mark. Not exactly the urgency you need.

Okay. Now there’s 4.1 seconds left in the game, you’re down a single point, and the opponent has a side inbounds. There’s no reason to think a win is out of reach or that this ball game should be chalked up as an inevitable loss. It’s still anybody’s to win. In this situation, in the NBA, one full second, maybe 1.5, should trickle off the clock before a foul is had. It’s a simple man to man assignment where each Knicks player should be matched up to shadow a Celtic, and the moment he catches the ball he’s fouled. Instead, New York allowed Delonte West to escape into the backcourt and dribble out all possible hope of a game winning or tying shot.

Yes it’s unlikely. The odds of it happening are stacked so incredibly high that attempting to win would be daunting if not downright heroic. But it also would be necessary, smart, and instinctive. At least it should be. What we all saw Carmelo Anthony do in that second half was incredible, and who’s to say it couldn’t happen again.

I’ve been a D’Antoni supporter since his arrival, but the effort and wherewithal on this play was both embarrassing and nonexistent; that’s on the coach. The play wasn’t included in the game’s highlights, and more people today will be talking about Carmelo’s decision to pass to Jeffries, and then Jeffries’ decision to pass to Garnett, but this should be included in the team’s mental crumbling as much as anything. There’s just no way a professional team can breakdown like this in a playoff game and expect to win a series. I don’t care who was injured or who was on the court. You or I could chase Delonte West 20 feet and then hit him, anybody could. It made the Knicks look like a team resigned to go back home for Friday’s Game 3 and give it their best shot in the Garden. The problem is, this ideology is a million miles away from what a true champion believes.

In battles of Good and Evil, it usually takes Good a while to get going, for reasons that seem all too familiar.

In addition to being a Knicks fan, one of the other ways I misuse my time is watching professional wrestling.  As a kid I was attracted to the lights and entrance music and the overall spectacle, and today…well, pretty much the same thing.  Without going into the whole defense of wrestling that no one wants to read, I’ll just say it’s no less intelligent TV than any reality show, and it’s less fake than 24 or Grey’s Anatomy or any other popular show that, when you admit to liking it, doesn’t compel people to conduct an impromptu psychological evaluation.  I just don’t mind watching scripted sports, I guess.  I even sometimes get this weird hang-up where after I flip over from wrestling to real sports, and I’m still in “scripted” mode, I’ll find myself wondering how this game ends before I snap out of it and realize I’m not watching actors on a stage anymore.

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Amar'e Sulks Off The Court After Watching Boston Steal Game One (AP)

Welcome to the playoffs, everybody! If Game One is able to tell us anything, this should be one hell of a legendary basketball series.  Despite the heartbreaking Ray Allen dagger, we’ll be staying positive here because there’s so much to be optimistic about. Hit the jump for a (totally not mental) breakdown. (more…)

At this point, you and I have read every preview and analyzed the series from every possible angle. Hell, we’ve been prognosticating about the team’s playoff chance since mid-February. You don’t need me or anyone else to tell you about the Celtics and how the Knicks match up.

There are, however, a couple of things I wanted to touch on before we settle in with our pillows, blankets and whatever comfort food gets you through a playoff game. As a begrudging resident of Boston I’ve watched almost as many Celtics games as Knicks games. Most of what I’ve seen is no different from their national reputation: they play incredible team defense, they are among the most unpredictable teams in the league in crunch time, and a big game from Rondo and one of Pierce/Allen/Garnett is usually enough for a win.

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Heading into their playoff series against the Celtics, it can be argued that the Knicks are overmatched at every single position but small forward—and even there, Paul Pierce vs. Carmelo Anthony is no cake walk. But the one player able to bring a significant advantage for New York happens to come off the bench. He has the type of dynamic range that can change a game’s momentum, and if the Knicks are lucky, swing a series. The man I’m talking about, of course, is Toney Douglas.

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The 2011 NBA Playoffs schedule for Game 1s of the Eastern Conference’s first round have been announced, and the Boston Celtics will host the New York Knicks on Sunday, April 17, at 7 p.m. ET at TD Garden. TNT and local cable partners will broadcast the game. The Celtics and Knicks are the final East teams to get started, as the other three series tip off on Saturday.

There’s no doubt the NBA feels this is the marquee first round series from the East, hence the lone Sunday night spotlight. Should be a fun one.

Mr. Alicia Keys remixes the Knicks anthem for the playoffs. Good lordy, the Garden will be rocking next week.

Orlando 95, Philadelphia 85

Miami 98, Atlanta 90

Washington 95, Boston 94 (OT)

Philly’s loss locked the Knicks into sixth place, and the Heat win coupled with Boston’s loss in Washington leaves the second seed out of reach for the Celtics. The schedule has yet to be announced, but game one will take place either Saturday or Sunday in Boston.

Boston elected to scratch Garnett, Allen, Pierce and Rondo despite heading into tonight a game back of Miami with two games to play.  They may also have lost Delonte West for the immediate future; he suffered a strain on the same ankle that kept him out for two weeks last month.

The message from tonight’s game was clear: the Celtics don’t care who their opponent is because they don’t consider the Knicks a threat.  And that’s justified – the Knicks haven’t done anything yet.  But finally, after seven long years without playoff ball, it’s on, everybody.  Let’s make it a rivalry.

As the Knicks finish out the season — with motivation to clinch a winning record (need three more wins in the last five games) and possibly move up to the sixth seed (can do that with a win in Phlly tonight) — D’Antoni said he will be holding auditions for available spots in his playoff rotation, which is expected to be very limited. D’Antoni is likely to play only about seven to eight, at best, and you already know the starting five (I have Shelden Williams as the starting center) and Toney Douglas is the top six. The candidates for the final one or two spots include Jared Jeffries, Shawne Williams and Anthony Carter. Ronny Turiaf and Bill Walker could be in the mix.

“The guys on the bench, I told them, they’re more or less auditioning for a spot in the playoffs,” D’Antoni said. “I’m not going to play 10 guys, it may be nine, may be eight, may even be seven. So it should be a good competition.”

D’Antoni did say he liked the energy he saw in Derrick Brown, who played the final 9:55 of Tuesday’s win and had seven points (2-for-2 with an electrifying fast break dunk and 3-for-5 from the line) and a steal. “Derrick Brown looked good,” D’Antoni said. “He’s got a live body. We’ve got five games and I want to see a little bit more of him.”

From what Mike D’Antoni recently said regarding his playoff rotations, we’ll now be discussing who should (and shouldn’t) be apart of it.

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