<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">GREENBURGH, N.Y., Feb. 5 ? Scrawled in shorthand, Jerome James?s New York career so far looks something like this: optimism, injury, recovery, optimism, suspension, injury, recovery, injury, optimism, injury. The optimism rarely wanes with James, who is indefatigably cheerful. The injuries and disappointment rarely wane, either. Since signing with the Knicks two summers ago, he has been sidelined by injuries to both hamstrings, his neck, his left Achilles? tendon, his left ankle and his right foot. He has also lost games to illness and to two separate one-game suspensions ? one for not being ready to practice, one for leaving the bench during the brawl with Denver. Yet there was James on Saturday night, standing in at power forward at tip-off in Orlando, bullying the All-Star Dwight Howard and helping the Knicks grab a rare road victory against a quality team. The experiment worked well enough that James probably will start again Tuesday night, when the Knicks play the Los Angeles Clippers at Madison Square Garden. Despite his missteps and misfortune ? and plantar fasciitis in his right foot ? James is a starter again. ?I?ve been amazed at the way he?s been able to conduct himself and just kind of plow through all of this,? said Coach Isiah Thomas, who took a leap of faith when he signed James to a five-year, $30 million deal in 2005. It has ranked among Thomas?s worst investments, but he seems determined to get a return. Channing Frye, who had been the Knicks? starting power forward, is a weak defender. So Thomas has turned to James ? a 7-foot-1, 280-pound center ? to play next to center Eddy Curry. The tandem can work against only certain teams and may have to be split as soon as this weekend. But Thomas seems eager for James to prove his worth. ?I look at him as a player and as a person and the way he?s conducted himself, and I don?t think we were that wrong about him,? Thomas said. ?I think there?s a lot of basketball left in him.? Thomas added, ?I definitely liked what I saw,? referring to James?s start on Saturday, when he had 4 points, 3 rebounds and twice blocked Howard?s shot.</div> Source
<div class="quote_poster">NTC187 Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">I thought he was dead?</div> No you didn't.
<div class="quote_poster">Sir Desmond Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">No you didn't.</div> Ok, I didnt, but I wish... he was?
