nelly2-larry hughes

NY Daily News – Larry Hughes’ thick beard isn’t so much a fashion statement as it is a sign of frustration. Apparently, the veteran guard has no plans of trimming his facial hair until he is traded, released or is playing regularly again for the Knicks, the latter of which Hughes is convinced will never happen. “I’m not going to play,” he said in a whisper. “I know that.” Hughes seems more distraught and confused than angry following a month that saw him log 15 minutes over two games. Hughes’ fate seemed clear over the weekend when Mike D’Antoni curiously played Jonathan Bender ahead of him with the team’s best reserve, Al Harrington, sidelined with a sore left knee. Sure, Hughes may not be an All-Star but there is little doubt that he could provide more than Bender. In consecutive road losses to the lowly duo of Washington and Minnesota, Bender shot a combined 0-for-5. While Harrington rested, the Knicks’ bench scored a total of 31 points against the Wizards and Timberwolves on 12-for-43 shooting. Hughes was the only available Knick who didn’t play. “(My frustration) is as high as it’s going to get,” he said. “I can’t get any more frustrated than I already am.” Hughes, who is earning $14 million this season and can become a free agent on July 1, calls January a “month lost” and revealed late Sunday that he and his agent are constantly talking about ways to gain his freedom from the Knicks. The Knicks would love to trade Hughes and Darko Milicic to Houston for Tracy McGrady, but such a deal doesn’t make much sense for the Rockets. “We’ll figure this thing out,” Hughes said. “Hopefully sooner than later.”

You show ‘em Larry! Like the article says, he’s no All-Star (sidenote: what’s the opposite of an All-Star?), but if Jonathan Bender AKA Donnie Walsh’s BFF was stealing my minutes, pretty sure I’d be frustrated as fuck too. Though I gotta say I’d like to think I’d be a little more creative if I really wanted to make my point. Like maybe shoot myself Plaxico-style or Twitter that James Dolan has a small dick or something. Guarantee you pull one of those stunts you’ll be out New York so fast it would make your bearded head spin.   Plus the beard strike is just like Gandhi starving himself or Rosa Parks calling shotgun on the bus. Sometimes you just gotta put your foot down and show the world you’re not taking no guff from nobody. So I totally see where Larry’s coming from. He’s not playing. And if he’s not playing he’s not getting any TV time. So fuck it. Shaving sucks anyway.

Most importantly the Larry Hughes drama just highlights what has got to be driving the Knicks crazy.  Namely D’Antoni’s rotation.   I have always been a fan of D’Antoni and know he is an unconventional coach, and at times this season he has had the Knicks playing some great basketball.  But I think it’s safe to say that a 10 point loss to the Wizards followed by a 20 point loss to the Timberwolves means shit just ain’t working.  The weird DNP streak with Nate, inconsistent minutes for a bunch of guys, and now the Hughes shit just continues to eat away at team morale.  While the 8 seed is definitely up for grabs in a weak East, D’Antoni needs to realize the elite teams have a set rotation where everyone knows their role.  That’s obviously not the case with the Knicks where every week someone different is pouting at the end of the bench.