Though it’s not nearly as spectacular a story as Russell Westbrook’s latest attempt at dividing the Oklahoma City locker room, the New York Post’s Marc Berman preceded the Knicks’ underwhelming performance versus the Warriors last night by calling Oakland, “a lousy basketball town.” Yahoo’s Kelly Dwyer is far too polite to mention that Berman is struggling for quality storylines now that Stephon Marbury’s Skype connection is on the fritz, instead pointing out that such a gratuitious diss, “is absolutely ridiculous”.
The San Francisco Chronicle’s Rusty Simmons tried to draw a direct line between Berman’s post and the Warrior win, pointing out the frenzied sell-out crowd (which, to these ears, was a little louder than the home crowds that showed up for Golden State games against the Los Angeles Clippers and Chicago Bulls earlier this week) seemed louder than usual. He quoted David Lee as saying that the crowd “really willed” the Warriors down the stretch, all while referencing Berman’s post.
Of course, all of this could be ridiculous. Berman’s post didn’t actually make the Post, it was posted on the Post’s website. And Berman of the Post was likely none too proud of his one-off line once he not only thought back to 2007, but to all the other years that saw terrible Warrior teams greeted by massive crowds. As one Tweeter pointed out to Beck on Wednesday, the Warriors and Knicks attendance levels are quite comparable over the last few seasons.