Crazy, crazy week that kept me from recapping the Boston game…but what more was there to say, really? For the first quarter and change, the game looked like a continuation of the terrible malaise from the game against the Bucks (also played while a snowstorm raged outside), and the Celts had the Knicks doubled at 46-23 on a Brian Scalabrine layup early in the 2nd quarter…yes, that Brian Scalabrine.

The Knicks eventually returned the favor by doubling the Cs 30-15 to get the deficit to 8 at 61-53, but no one who watched the game really felt the Knicks could mount a challenge with such desultory defense – at one point the Celtics were shooting 80 percent for the game. While Coach D’s teams have always been infamous for games featuring wild swings in momentum, it was weird to watch a game that ranged from 6 to 20+ point leads (and we’re talking rapid fluctuations) and never feel the outcome of the game was in doubt.

Now here we are at Christmas, and while the media and some fans are stoking early wishes for Lebron and other marquee free agents in 18 months,  my wishes for the Knicks are more modest and more immediate (and go beyond stopgap D-League level solutions to keep the seven man rotation from dropping dead). I had the chance to watch major parts of the Nuggets-Blazers home and home series the last two nights, and I enjoyed watching two teams with a mix of superstars, emerging young stars, and some truly interesting role players go back and forth. These are teams that may be missing a piece or two to make it all the way to the top, but you can see both teams growing to be forces in the West.

Watching the Knicks this year has been truly enjoyable, given the team’a ability to make the most of its limited talent, and play past the injuries, personnel changes, and offcourt drama. And yes, the system is very entertaining, at least when the opponent doesn’t have the ability to impose its defensive will on the Knicks and stop their attack cold. But the Knicks aren’t the Blazers or Nuggets or (in the East) the Hawks or even the Pistons – they’re several pieces away from giving major teams anything close to a scare.

As entertaining as the team can be, cheering for moral victories and having the limitations of the team stare you in the face constantly starts to get old, even when the Knicks are putting a beating on a weaker team or hanging with one of the league leaders. Perhaps this year, Knicks fans can hope for nothing more than to cheer on the team as lovable underdogs escaping the muck of the Isiah years, and wait for players to get healthy and contracts to expire. But I’d like to see the team start to fill out its roster and play tough more consistently with the likes of the Hawks and Cavs and Celtics, and maybe even win a few games against those teams.

I think Coach D really believes this Knick team can be a playoff team with some other pieces and with more consistency from the current group. Now that this current group has had the chance to play more games together, you get the sense that they’re starting to figure out how they can take it to the next level; I loved Al Harrington talking about not just jacking up 3s, but taking it inside more.

For Christmas and the new year, I want a deeper, more consistent Knick team that doesn’t crumple like a cheap suit against a competent defensive team. I don’t think it requires marquee free agents or a miracle from Santa to make that happen. (at least I hope a healthy, contributing Eddy Curry and Danilo Gallinari aren't Santa-level miracles at any rate)

Five NBA games on tap today  -- a true Christmas gift for the hoops junkie, and I'll have my dual tuner DVR going full bore today while hanging with the family. Merry Christmas everyone!