Chris Paul and the Oklahoma City Thunder matched up against the New York Knicks in Madison Square Garden on Friday night.

                These two teams face different storylines. Both teams were written off at the start of the season because of the lack of talent on there roster. One team bought into this, one did not.

                The OKC Thunder are on a collision course with the NBA playoffs and newly acquired Chris Paul is the reason. He is averaging 18 points, 5 rebounds, 7 assists and 2 steals in 32 minutes this season. And he made the all-star team.

                On the other hand, the Knicks have been in the news for all the wrong reasons. First the head coach was fired, then the president was fired. Now, longtime Knicks fan and celebrity Spike Lee is in the middle of the controversy.

                After a dispute before the game with MSG security and James Dolan, Spike Lee told Stephen A. Smith that he will no longer be attending Knicks games this season. And many other fans are supporting Lee.

                During Friday night’s game, MSG saw its lowest fan attendance at a home game since 2006.

                Some think this is because of Lee, some think it is because of Coronavirus but I think it is a simple statement by the New York fans.

                The Knicks found themselves down early and couldn’t fight there way back. New York shot a pitiful 16% from behind the three-point line, and two starters scored less than 7 points.

                Meanwhile, six OKC players were in double figures. Chris Paul scored 21 points, dished out 12 assists and nailed four 3s.

                The Thunder defeated the Knicks 126-103, bringing them one step closer to a playoff berth, and pushing the Knicks one step closer to the worst record in the league.

https://www.nba.com/knicks/

https://www.nba.com/thunder/

Nick Spagnuolo

PUR3463 Writing Assignment #2

New York Knicks Game Preview

                Julius Randle and the New York Knicks are set to face off against Victor Oladipo’s Indiana Pacers on Friday, Feb. 21 at 7:30 p.m.

            Both teams will be fresh off the All-Star Break, so expect a high energy eastern conference matchup.

The season series is tied a one a piece between these two teams, so what will it take for one team to have an extra leg up on the other?

In their last meeting on Feb. 1, the Knicks beat the Pacers 92-85 led by Marcus Morris’ 28 points, who was just recently traded to the Los Angeles Clippers. On the other hand, the Pacers were held back by Oladipo, who shot 2-14 from the field and only recorded seven points in 22 minutes.

If the Pacers want to a shot a revenge, Oladipo will have to step his game up. A full recap of that game can be found here: https://www.espn.com/nba/game?gameId=401161370

Back on Dec. 7, the Pacers were led by T.J. Warren and Doug McDermontt’s red-hot shooting night and beat the Knicks 104-103 nail bitter.

A full recap of that game can be found here: https://www.espn.com/nba/matchup ?gameId=401 160973

The Knicks sitting at 13^th place in the east with a record of 17-38, while the Pacers are 32-23 and are sitting at the sixth seed.

New York is seven games back of the eighth seed. The time to make a miraculous run is now. However, the season has been filled with turmoil.

Both head coach David Fizdale and team president Steve Mills have been fired, and the Knicks appear to be a dumpster fire all over again. But people fail to see what is at the core of this team. The young core of the Knicks is their driving force right now.

It is up to R.J. Barrett, Kevin Knox, Frank Ntilikina, Allozo Trier to back up the veteran leadership by Julius Randle and Dennis Smith Jr. bring to this team.

However, they need to get past Victor Oladipo and a Pacers team that is ready to prove they are legit title contenders.   

For more information go to https://www.nba.com/knicks/ or https://www.nba.com/ pacers/.

PUR3463

Nick Spagnuolo

Writing Assignment #1

                Jack Knox wasn’t always the life of the party.

                Born Sept. 17, 2000 in St. Petersburg, Florida, Jack was raised by loving and caring Christian parents, Paul and Dee. He and his two older brothers, Ben, 22, and Will, 20, did everything together. They all went to Northside Christian school from kindergarten until high school graduation. The trio of brothers ran track together and Jack and Ben still hold active race records in their respective classes.

                One by one the brothers graduated from high school, and one by one they were accepted into the University of Florida. Ben is dual majoring in aerospace and mechanical engineering, Will is pre-med and Jack is studying business administration.

                Jack is now a student member of the University Athletic Association and plays a big part in his fraternity. But Jack Knox wasn’t always the life of the party.

Before Jack broke out of his cocoon and developed into the successful social butterfly he is today, he said he was always very shy and felt like he was always in his older brothers’ shadows.

                Jack said his entire outlook on life changed after he attended a summer camp when he was in sixth grade. His parents wanted him to do something without his brother at his side. Jack didn’t want to go, but his parents knew it was for the best.

                The next week changed his life forever.

                “I was the fastest kid at the camp, and I always won the competitions. But it is so more than that. I really found myself at that camp. I learned I could be my own person and I didn’t need to have my older brothers with me…. I wouldn’t say I was stepping out from their shadow, but I just realized I could be my own person and I didn’t need them at my side. I could go out and make friends on my own. It didn’t always have to be us three doing everything together and wearing matching clothes.”             

Jack ended up finding lifelong friends at that camp. He recalls his best friend from the camp not being another camper, but a camp counselor.

  “Ryan, one of my counselors, always used to mess with me, but I learned to mess with him back and now we just have a great friendship. He taught me it doesn’t really matter your age. It matters how you act and how you carry yourself. He also taught me to fight back. Once I finally started fighting back, he gained respect for me and it has been a great friendship ever since.”

Jack went back to that camp every summer until he graduated high school and now, he volunteers there during his summers. Ryan is no longer a counselor at the camp, but Jack emulates his old counselors’ persona, hoping to turn another shy boy into the life of the party.

https://www.instagram.com/jackintheknoxx/

This is an example post, originally published as part of Blogging University. Enroll in one of our ten programs, and start your blog right.

You’re going to publish a post today. Don’t worry about how your blog looks. Don’t worry if you haven’t given it a name yet, or you’re feeling overwhelmed. Just click the “New Post” button, and tell us why you’re here.

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