Mike D’Antoni: Booing Knicks Fans Should ‘Re-Examine Their Life’


It was not all fun, games and Jeremy Lin adulation at Madison Square Garden last night. Knicks fans booed Jared Jeffries once again, despite his strong performance on the defense end, and this drove head coach Mike D’Antoni crazy. From the NY Post: “Despite blowing some lay-ups Jeffries, who shot 3-of-9, had a rock-solid night in filling in as the starting power forward for an absent Amar’e Stoudemire. ‘Indulge me for a second, anybody who boos Jared Jeffries has got to reexamine their life a little bit,’ D’Antoni said following the Knicks’ 99-88 winover the Jazz at the Garden. ‘I love our fans and I like Madison Square Garden, the arena, but here’s a guy who came back to us, minimum contract. He could’ve gone to a lot of other teams. He plays as hard as anybody could possibly ever play, with injuries, everything you ask him. He takes every charge, every dirty play, every rebound. He works every second.’ Jeffries had 13 points in a floor-burn performance, taking a couple of charges and getting fouled often around the rim. He made 7-of-10 free throws and grabbed eight rebounds. Jeffries was clearly appreciative of the support from D’Antoni. ‘I’ll die for him,’ he said. ‘I’ll leave blood on the court … because he’s the best coach in the NBA.’ […] ‘There are people that look at that and go, ‘Well, I think I’ll boo him.’ I have a hard time believing that,’ D’Antoni said. Despite the boos, Jeffries said he loves playing in New York. ‘Nobody likes playing at the Garden more than me,’ he said. ‘I’ve had my ups and downs here for sure.'”