You Sometimes Just Find Yourself

Read my TSB column, where I insist that the future is here (again), if only the Knicks would release Marbury, bench Curry and Randolph until they're traded, and Pat Riley would let this Heat team emulate the 2003-04 cult faves.

On a similar note, and related to Dr. LIC's "little things" spree: I love this quote from Posting and Toasting's coverage of Knicks camp:

Q's intensity is almost frightening. He's clearly feeling the heat of Wilson Chandler reaching for his starting 3 spot. Richardson was animated all night, screaming, spiking balls, and throwing towels after any miscues in the scrimmages. You can tell he sets the tone for the younger guys by taking practice so seriously.

I think we've all already bled enough over where Darius Miles has been, and what we all lost in the fire. Him and Garnett joining up is an oldies package tour, not destiny at last. And I can't say I'd be thrilled to see Miles vindicated in life by backing up Leon Powe on a championship team.

About Richardson, though: I only just realized today that Q and D'Antoni are being reunited. Is this a good or bad thing? Quentin's most consistent season came with Phoenix, but all he did was jack up threes. He probably went to the basket once all year, and overnight stopped being one of the league's better rebounding guards. With the Clippers, he often looked like an exciting young player trying to get steady, bring his skills into focus and define his role (like Miles, but not so grotesque an undertaking). The Suns were his undoing, since they asked him to turn long-range gunner and lose all perspective on the floor. And then abruptly, D'Antoni didn't need him and decided his triggermen had to be a little more steady, less outrageous. Whether D'Antoni ends up having much use for Richardson, and if so, what kind of game he expects of him, will tell us a lot about the evolution of the coach's thinking, as well as of those Suns teams. And if—when the Knicks give him acceptable raw material to work with—he'll move into a new phase, or pick up where he left off pre-Shaq.

I also wonder if Richardson ever thinks about the effect D'Antoni had on his career arc. And whether he's out to prove to his teammates, D'Antoni, or both that he counts among the enlightened in this new era.