Oliver P

I had absolutely no idea. And I honestly can't believe it. I wasn't what you can call a core member of this forum, I was a kinda late addition to it, and I was not insanely active, besides that I live quite far away (sadly) from all of you, which is why I didn't know RD, or any of you, that well, but I'm obviously still schocked by the news. I really dunno what to say. God bless RD, God bless OTR. God bless America !

Well, ten years later, I can say that I have tried Mounted Dew and Root Beer. When I was in New York. And besides I can find some where I live now, but not all the time, just now and then. Anyway I have to say that I didn't enjoy Mountay Dew. Too "chemical" for me. On the other hand I loved root beer. Definitely my favorite soda now. Especially Mug. Funny, every French person I know don't like it. I must be special haha. I also loved Dr Pepper. And some natural Ginger ales I tasted in New York, like in Trader Joe's. Great stuff, honestly, if I was in New York I'd drink it every day I guess.

Funny to see how my tastes have evolved, I don't drink any of the whiskeys I mentionned twelve years ago. Now my favorite are from the new Waterford distillery, in Ireland, really awesome whiskeys. Especially the "Bannow Island" one, awesome stuff, really amazing. And now I drink more wine and beer than I used to. Speaking of beers, there is no doubt that my next trip to the US will be in California. I don't know exactly when, but definitely ASAP. Cause I have tasted beers from the finest breweries in the world, the only one I haven't tasted any of their beers is Russian River. Impossible to find here. So I'll have to go to the brewery, California here I come ! Besides, their most famous beer, Pliny the Elder, has to be drunk as fresh as possible. Some knowledgeable people I know, who were lucky enough to try it, told me that it wasn't the same beer when it was only one week old ! So you literally HAVE to try it at the brewery. No choice there I guess.

Hi man, how's it goin' ? Yeah, I guess you're right haha.

Hello anybody here? Wha's up? Nothing much hey. All right lol.

No reaction? Lol apparently nobody comes here any more. Too bad. Well anyway, can't wait to get back to New York, and actually to the US ASAP. Soon, I hope.

Well I can now proudly say, almost 12 years later, that I've now watched one game in the Garden ! It was during my second trip to NYC, on October 29th 2016, Knicks vs Grizzlies, it was the season's home opener that year. And it was huge. Totally amazing. On top of that the Knicks actually won that night lol. Here are a couple of pics I took from that night, one in the arena during a time out, and another one outside of MSG, right after the game. Talk about a huge crowd ! After that I ate a huge pastramy on rye to celebrate. Awesome, I'm tellin' you !!!

I wanted to check this site out, it's been a long time since the last time I did, and I'm actually surprised to see that there have been a couple of posts those past two years haha. Some people have been trying to get it back to active, that's nice even though it doesn't seem to work out as planned I guess haha. Well anyway just posting here brings back some memories. Good ones of course, even if I was on this site for the last active years only, probably no one remembers me haha. My forum years are way behind me now, but it still is nice to see that the forum's still up there, no matter how active. Yeah indeed.

I'm 39, and the Knicks haven't changed ! They suck since I'm 23 anyhow, so I'm kinda used ot it.. Funny, the last time I was on this forum I had just gotten back from my first trip to NYC, I actually went there a second time last year, and I watched a Knicks game in the Madison ! It was last season's home opener against the Grizzlies. Awesome, the crowd was just great, when KP dunked on the entire Grizzlies team the arena exploded, it was freaking huge !! And it was a win, guess I definitely picked the right game since we were.. not so good the rest of the season. Noah was actually good in that game (no kidding). Anyway I'm getting back to New York next year, can't wait to watch the Knicks in the Madison again, and to get another pastrami on rye with a good root beer ! Greatest city on earth, no doubt about it !! By the way everybody's aware that KP's gonna be 10 times better than LeBron right ? Well if you weren't now you are.

EASTERN CONFERENCE : 1. Atlanta Hawks vs 5. Washington Wizards I frankly didn't expect the Wizards to be that dominant in the first round, but it's not that surprising when you think about it... Both teams had the same kind of season, great at first, not so good second part of the season, but the difference in the playoffs was that the Wizards suddenly woke up, and that's because of Paul Pierce. Honestly without Paul, I'm not sure that the Wizards would have even won this series. That's how valuable he was to his team, his experience has paid off for Washington. In the first game the Raptors were doing alright and Pierce hit several important shots to wake up his team and carried his teammates to victory. Without him they would have lost that first game and who knows what would have happened then... Cause the Raptors confidence would have been much higher and they would have had an important momentum on the series. The Raptors entirely lost their confidence in this first game, and they had no one to wake them up, not an experience veteran, or even a true go to guy (Lowry hasn't showed that he was deserving of being an All Star at all). In short they didn't have a Paul Pierce. Meanwhile the Hawks struggled a bit against the Nets. Sure the Nets have talent, but that's basically all they got. And no one in this team is a true leader. The Hawks don't have a true go to guy either (Teague is not that guy yet, probably never will be), but they have an amazing chemistry. Which is great and definitely enough to dominate the regular season, but not enough for the playoffs... They didn't convince me in this first round, and, now that the Wizards are awoken, I think that Paul Pierce experience can lead to the victory in this series once again. Although the Hawks are so good when they're at their best that this series can go either way... But I'm gonna go with the Wizards in this one. Washington Wizards 4-2 2. Cleveland Cavaliers vs 3. Chicago Bulls Sure Kevin Love has struggled a bit the whole year and he's not the most important Cavs player for sure, but the Cavs will definitely miss him, especially in this series. Losing a big men against a team that is loaded with big men is never a good sign.. Besides they won't have JR Smith for two games, which could be huge giving the fact that Smith has been fantastic for Cleveland on both ends of the floor. The Bulls have shown some good signs in the first round, they seemed to finally find their identity (just like the 2006 Heat, as a matter of fact the Heat struggled a bit the whole year and only found their identity in the playoffs), but it's still a bit early to assert that and it's against the Cavs that we're gonna see who they truly are. So far they haven't been bothered with injury, I've been quite surprised to see Rose play at this level giving the fact that he had just came back from another injury. This team is intriguing, many questions have to be answered but I think that they can win it all. The loss of Love and of JR for two games could be devastating for the Cavs, even if they still have the best player in the world, and if the Bulls keep on playing like they did in game 6 vs Milwaukee, they're gonna be very hard to beat. I expect a long series and it honestly can go either way. But I'm gonna go with the Bulls in 6 or 7 games. Chicago Bulls 4-2 WESTERN CONFERENCE : 1. Golden State Warriors vs 5. Memphis Grizzlies The Warriors have won in 4 games in the first round, just like expected, but New Orleans gave them a couple of good scares which was not so expected... They got the job done nonetheless and Curry is just unbelievable. The Grizzlies are a legit title contender but if Conley doesn't come back they stand no chance... As simple as that. And if he does come back (apparently he could even play in game 1, but there's no certainty of anything) at what level will he play ? This Conley thing is tough for the Grizz. If Conley gets back at his best, this series can go to 7 games and the Grizzlies even stand a chance to win. It not I don't think they can win more than one game against the Warriors. Right now I'm gonna go with the Warriors in 6. Golden State Warriors 4-2 2. Houston Rockets vs 3. Los Angeles Clippers I was wrong about the Clippers, I didn't think they could beat the Spurs, but I'm glad I was wrong !!!! They've been terrific, Paul is definitely up there with the very best players of the planet, and Griffin and Reddick are just amazing as well. What a great win for this team, I didn't believe in them at first but now I think that they're truly a legit ring contender. I thought Rondo could finally show Cuban that he was right to trade for him come playoffs time... Boy was I wrong ! I don't think I ever saw such a weird situation as the one Dallas was into in this playoffs, ever before. Tough for the Mavericks, this combined with Parsons injury they stand no chance at all. Glad they won at least one game... But I still don't believe in Houston anyhow. I said it again I don't think you can win in the playoffs with this style of play. And if the Clippers keep playing like they did in the first round (and let's hope that Paul's injury is not serious), I think that they can close this series in 5 games. Los Angeles Clippers 4-1

EASTERN CONFERENCE : 1. Atlanta Hawks vs 8. Brooklyn Nets The Hawks have had an unbelievable season, they have one of the very best chemistry in the league and, even if they have no true superstar, they are definitely a true title contender. While the Nets are in the playoffs only because they play in the East. I personally wasn't surprised at all by Pierce's recent comments about this team to be honest... I don't think that the Nets stand a chance. IMO they can win one game at best, but my prediction is a sweep. Atlanta Hawks 4-0 2. Cleveland Cavaliers vs 7. Boston Celtics The C's have had some recent success against the Cavs but let's be serious... As good as the C's have been this year they stand no chance against a Cavs team with all their players available. The Cavs are just too good offensively and I don't think the C's can win more than one game. Which I don't expect them to do. Cleveland Cavaliers 4-0 3. Chicago Bulls vs 6. Milwaukee Bucks Another surprise in the East the Bucks have played a more than decent basketball. But they're still a little too young IMO to stand a chance against the mighty Bulls. If the Bulls were at their very best, I think they would definitely sweep the Bucks. Actually I think they wouldn't even have to play against them as they would have ended up with the first seed IMHO... But the fact is that they haven't been healthy the whole year and were never able to be at their best. So it's hard to know what to expect from them. If the Bulls get to their best level rightaway (who knows) it will be a sweep, if not the Bucks can win two games. I'm gonna go with the Bulls in five. Chicago Bulls 4-1 4. Toronto Raptors vs 5. Washington Wizards The toughest matchup of the first round in the East IMO, and by far. I think we will have six or seven games in this series. I really don't know who to pick in this series, two of the best East teams, definitely can go either way. I'm gonna go with the Raptors cause they have home court. But I expect only close ones here in this one. Toronto Raptors 4-3 WESTERN CONFERENCE 1. Golden State Warriors vs 8. New Orleans Pelicans Do the young Pels stand a chance against the best team (and by far) in the league this year ? Anything's possible in basketball but I honestly don't see New Orleans winning even one game against this team. In fact, IMO only the Spurs can beat the Warriors in the West. Golden State Warriors 4-0 2. Houston Rockets vs 7. Dallas Mavericks I don't know what to think of this series. Sure the Mavs have been struggling since Rondo's trade, and their bench is not as strong, but they have improved offensively lately, while still being better defensively than they were before Rajon's arrival, and they are definitely good enough to surprise anybody. Let's not forget that no one believed in them last year and they almost beat the future champs... Besides the Rockets are gonna miss Beverly, they're gonna miss him a lot as he's their toughest player, and Howard is not healthy and far from being the player he used to be. So sure Harden's totally amazing but I'm not sure it's gonna be enough to win in the playoffs. Especially that, despite all the respect I got for Kevin McHale, I don't like their style of play, I don't think you can win a ring with only drives to the basket or three points shoots as offensive weapons. Mid range game is still very important in the game of basketball. This is going to be a six or seven games series IMO, definitely can go either way, and personally I'm gonna go with Dallas in this one. Dallas Mavericks 4-2 3. Los Angeles Clippers vs 6. San Antonio Spurs The Spurs are the sixth seed, they haven't played well most of the year... But they're still dangerous. Not only that they are IMO the most dangerous team in the West. They are the champs, they are the team to beat. I think that the Warriors can fear no one in the West, no one except the Spurs. That's right I believe that in the West it's gonna be between the Spurs and Warriors this year, and no one else stands a real chance. The Clippers don't seem to be much better than last year to be honest. Paul and Griffin are still there, still great, Redick plays amazing, but their bench is weak. Too weak to achieve anything ? That's what it seems. They can win two games against the Spurs, but in the end I would be surprised if they ended up beating them. Spurs in five or six. San Antonio Spurs 4-2 4. Memphis Grizzlies vs 5. Portland Trail Blazers Grizzlies have been amazing most of the year, but they struggled at the worst possible time, just before the playoffs start. Sure injury is a reason why, but definitely not the whole reason... They have the same problem as last year, amazing defensive team but not good enough offensively to win it all. Jeff Green has helped them a lot but not enough. Besides they almost don't use the three points shoot which, in today's NBA, is essential to win it all. And they don't have a real go to guy despite Gasol's career year. I still think they're the third most dangerous team in the West, behind the Warriors and Spurs, but I don't think they can beat any of them in a seven game series. They should beat the Blazers quite easily anyhow, not only the Blazers have lost Matthews, but their entire roster have had injury troubles, and without their best players at their best, I don't think they can stand a chance. Too bad for them, cause if healthy they would have been a serious title contender. Memphis Grizzlies 4-1

My vote goes to Curry. Although you definitely can't go wrong with Harden and LeBron, or to a lesser extent Westbrook and Davis. But the fact is that Curry is the best player of the best team, so he definitely should get it. Besides, even if I understand the "if the Rockets were so good despite their injuries it's because of Harden" argument, I at the same time don't fully agree with it. I mean can Curry be blamed because his teammate were healthier than Harden's ? Seems a bit unfair to me. And there is also absolutely no doubt that the Warriors wouldn't have been as good without Curry. He's had an unbelievable season, hitting shots that even his coach didn't think he could make. And he's also a better defender than Harden (not that hard to be a better defender than James but...). If Curry doesn't get the MVP he will have a bitter taste in his mouth and it would be totally understandable. We have five great MVP contenders this year, but there is no doubt in my mind that Curry is a bit more deserving than the other five.

Boy, Coach Pop's "gimme a break, will you" during Spurs - Lakers Friday night was cold lol... Guttierrez got Popped like no one else got popped before. He should have expected that though. When Pop's answer to your question is to call his team "pitiless" repeatedly, furthermore in an aggressive tone, you don't want to ask him a second question. Especially a stupid one like this... Well he got what he deserved, I guess. This Spurs-Lakers was surprisingly very good BTW. Didn't expect that. And I love JVG's idea about keeping the players in a cage during replays lol... that's why he's the best !! So it seems that the refs call a time out when you don't ask one, and don't call any when you do ask for one now... Funny. Those who watched Warriors-Mavs yesterday and Knicks-Nets earlier this month will understand. The Knicks finally won one game... I still can't believe it actually happened. It was against a team which is as bad as we are though... I mean it was the first time I watched the C's this year and let's just say I won't watch them again, except the three other games we will play against them of course. Anyway let's see if we can win a second game in a row, at least once this year... Against the Raptors without a Shump though, so it's doubtful... Even if Shump just played like trash those past weeks, especially offensively, so we're not gonna miss much those next 3 weeks I guess. But then again who's played well for us this year so far ? I hope Rodman was joking about his comments on Kerr, otherwise I heavily disagree with him (but I'm sure he was), but it's hard not to agree with him about the Knicks... I loved Fish's answer to his comments though. Always in control, always keeping calm. That's what leaders do.

If you didn't watch yesterday's game between Golden State and Dallas, you missed this : Get that shoe outta here !!!!

When Fisher was chosen to be our new next coach, I was at first a bit disappointed, cause he's a rookie coach... But then I thought about it and got some confidence in this move, cause Phil chose him, and he played for Phil and knows all about the triangle. But let's face it, he is a rookie coach and definitely acts like one... Honestly all those rotations changes are killing us, and it's gotta right now. I know he said that no player is really better than the others, but still there are some obvious things that I don't understand. First of all, about our starting 5, Melo and Calderon are obvious starters, and I'm glad that they alwlays start. The starting SG has to be Shump (if JR took clever shots, attacked the rim more often, and passed the ball more it would be a different story, especially since Shump's last struggles, but it is not, so Iman has to start due to his defensive abilities). Stat has to start too. As I already said he will not get back to the player he used to be, but he seems to be healthy this year for a change, and Fish just gotta give him more minutes, he's the only one of our bigs who can score inside the paint. Then it's between Dalembert and Acy. Both players are very good defensively but I'd personally give the edge to Acy due to his unbelievable energy (he's the only true hustler we got) and he has a more efficient jump shot than Samuel. Although I ain't sure about it cause Dalembert is the best defender we got inside. One thing I know about both players should have more playing time than Jason Smith who has only his jump shot offensively and his size defensively... I still don't understant why he was still on the court at the end of the Blazers game, I would have had Dalembert on Aldrige at this point and was just getting crazy before my TV screen... Then I don't understand why Fish uses more Larkin than Prigioni in some games... I love Larkin, but the fact is that he's an unfinished product, and still makes a lot of rookie mistakes, while both Calderon and Prigioni are two proven professionals. Besides the ball moves clearly better when Prigioni is on court, and he is definitely our smartest player. I was already getting crazy at times during the Woodson years because he didn't use Prigioni enough but it's even worse this year... Pablo is our backup PG, END OF STORY !!!! We don't have a team that can achieve great things, that's for sure, but we could do better than what we've done so far, there is no doubt about it in my mind, and if the players are to blame for that (attack the rim Melo, you're one of the strongest players in the game right now, ATTACK THE GODDAM RIM !!), the coach, Fisher, is definitely to blame for that as well.