Posted by Ali

This past week I had the good luck (and good planning) of being able to attend two Knicks games at MSG in 3 days: Sunday Feb. 24th against the 76ers and Wednesday Feb. 27th against the Warriors. Same home team, completely different experiences. 

PART I: KNICKS VS 76ers

Back in January, I had bought 200 level tickets to the Knicks vs Warriors game, with the hope that both teams would still be playing at a high level after their torrid starts, and that we’d have a good match up of Dark Horse Title Contenders. The 76ers game ticket on the other hand, was a product of good fortune and good connections. I had gotten an Entry Level Suite ticket and while I didn’t know exactly what that entailed, I knew it’d have to be awesome. 

As I walked to MSG on Sunday, my friend who had gotten me the ticket, directed me to 4 Penn Plaza on 31st between 7th and 8th. This was not your normal 7th Ave entrance with all the hustle and bustle of Knicks fans. No, I had to squeeze between a grid of steel barriers and walk under an enclosed scaffold-laden tunnel. Alone. After what seemed like forever (but really was like a minute) I came upon glass doors and security guards. There was a ticket waiting for me and damn was it fancy.

On my way up to the 5th floor, Glen Grunwald, General Manager of the Knicks, joined me in the elevator. And no, I did not know exactly who he was when he got in the elevator (yay for Google!), but I did know he was important. And huge. Dude is big. As we rode up, an employee asked Grunwald if he was going to check on the team. Grunwald replied, “No, I’m seeing the team doctors. Our newest member sprained his ankle during practice this morning. Great way for him to start right?!” It was loaded with sarcasm. Kenyon Martin sprained his ankle?! Already?! I was so excited to be privy to that news that I almost missed running into Justin Tuck who was being shuttled through the back hallway to his seats. Seriously, could this get any better? I hadn’t even watched a single minute of basketball and I was already smitten with all MSG had to offer me. 

As I entered our suite, I was a little confused. It was an enclosed room with a buffet of food, an open bar, and two 45 inch tv screens, but no live basketball. Was I suppose to be watching the game on the tv?

How foolish I was. After getting a drink my friend took me out to our seats. Whoa.

I apologize for the terrible quality - but see the guy up front with the blank and orange jersey, that’s Spike Lee!

Pictures (specifically ones I take on the iPhone… dammit) do not do justice to how great these seats were: right behind celebrity row, close enough to see the players’ faces clearly without squinting but just far enough to watch the game unfold as a whole. This is why people spend hundreds of dollars (in 1979 dollars, do the math)on floor level tickets. I get it. I really, really get it. 

As the teams were announced and the players centered around half court for the opening tip, I couldn’t help but think how no one looked physically larger than life. I was hoping Andrew, Bynum and Andrew Bynum would be there on the sidelines because I had heard his physical presence looms above everyone, but alas all 3 were missing. The game itself also didn’t feel any faster being that close. In fact, I felt like I’d have a good chance of beating at least one of the guys down the court on a couple of runs. Felton, it’d probably be Felton.

Me being this close to the court was a distraction for the 76ers; Evan Turner wouldn’t stop looking at me!

The teams traded baskets back and forth for the first quarter and it wasn’t until the second quarter (coincidentally after my friend had to leave our seats to attend to something - apparently this happens often to her at Knicks games), did the Knicks finally go on a little run. Carmelo led the attack, but it was STAT who dominated the court.

The Live Melo Experience is not physically impressive. He’s quick and decisive with a beautifully quick release, so I get why people like him but he just doesn’t do it for me. I also didn’t feel he played particularly well that night - too much one-on-one isos, not enough defense, etc. - I mean, it wasn’t until I looked up at the scoreboard did I even realize he was the leading scorer on our team!

STAT however, looked great in person (offensively, that is – he’s even more terrible in person defensively). He got to the rim so easily and so dominantly, that I could feel the building shake every time he went for a dunk (that could also have been the crowd). I don’t have enough fingers and toes to count all the times he got blocked by lesser talent last year as he lumbered about on the court without his normal lift. This year however, he looks like the all-star he use to be his first year in NY, but without the wear and tear of being the “leading man”. He’s working a little harder on defense and while he’s still sub-par, he’s at least moving his feet. 

As the game entered the 4th quarter, the 76ers were doing everything to hang in there. Jrue Holiday was consistently leaving Felton in the dust, Evan Turner was taking advantage of a weak wing defense, and the 76ers were just making the Knicks look a step slow. Then Chandler showed why he is the reigning defensive player of the year. With a single digit lead, he helped - HARD - on a screen his man set for Jrue Holiday. I have mixed feelings about this type of help because it sometimes leaves Chandler’s man wide open for an easy layup. This is especially true when whoever he’s helping doesn’t catch up fast enough to close the passing lane Chandler has left open by leaving his man and no one else helps to recover for him. On this play though, it worked perfectly. With Chandler bearing down on Holiday and Felton harrassing him in the corner, the two forced a back court violation in the worst kind of way. That stop was the game. 

The final score was 99-93, closer than the game actually was. My friend (as well as most of the crowd) was ready to leave with 8 sec left and the 6pt lead, but I had watched enough games to know that anything could happen. I wanted to see those final seconds count down even though I knew the outcome was probably a Knicks win. When the buzzer sounded we clapped and cheered politely and then walked our way out.  

The game itself was not super memorable, but everything that came with it - the seats, the celebrities, the juicy dirt - was memorable. I don’t know if I’ll ever get an opportunity to be that close again and to live the game in that way, but it was by far the best basketball experience in my entire life… until Wednesday against Golden State.