Ismael AbduSalaam

[Video] Another One: Porzingis Slams a Putback Over Kevin Love

Five games into the season, our rookie Kristaps Porzingis might have already found a signature move. LaMarcus Aldridge was the victim last week. This week, Porzingis caught Kevin Love in the paint with a sweet putback slam.

[Video] Say No To Calderon: Cavs 96, Knicks 86

Photo Credit: AP Photo/Tony Dejak

In all honestly, I planned on doing a recap of this game on Wednesday, but I was too pissed off. The Cavs were begging the Knicks to beat them. Their three-point shooting was non-existent, defense suspect, and LeBron couldn’t get into a shooting rhythm.

But never fear Knicks opponents, victory is always within reach when Jose Calderon is on the floor! The season is young, but it’s no hyperbole to state Calderon is the worst starting point guard in the league. On paper, his stats are atrocious — 4.6 pts (27% FG), 2.4 assists, and three-point shooting at 31%. But the eye test is where Calderon looks even worse. He literally can’t keep any opposing guard in front of him. Mo Williams dropped 22 points on him. Amazingly, Fisher had Calderon playing in the final seven minutes. At the time, the game was even. A few minutes of errant passes and stagnated offensive sets later, we found ourselves down by double digits.

This rant sums up my feelings quite well.

WHERE ART THOU SHOT, MELO???: Games like this are when we could really use the old Melo. Unfortunately, most athletes don’t hit the ground running after major knee surgery, so I’m not expecting Melo to return to form completely until around late December. Despite the bad shooting (17 points, 6/18), Melo was strong with his defense on LeBron (23 points, 9/23) and getting boards (12).

PORZINGIS EXCELS…WHEN HE’S ON THE COURT: Our rook continued to impress. In 21 minutes, he put up 13 points, 4 rebounds, 2 steals and 2 blocks. He’s currently leading the team in the latter two categories. The problem is the foul trouble kept him benched for long stretches in the second half. It really hurt us because he went out midway in the third just when he had started putting repeated buckets on Kevin Love. Outside of his brain fart fouls, Calderon’s issues with keeping his man out the paint contributed to Kris’ fouling. Nonetheless, Kris’ confidence is growing. Phil got us a gem.

Porzingis Suffers Neck Strain in Spurs Defeat

Kristaps Porzingis’s best game of the young season was overshadowed by a scary fall with Carmelo Anthony that resulted in a neck strain.

Late in the fourth quarter tonight against the Spurs, Porzingis fell while battling for an offensive rebound. Anthony secured the ball but tripped while going up for a shot. He fell with full body weight on the back of Porzingis’ neck.

The rookie was down for several minutes before rising under his own power.

X-rays were negative and a concussion was “ruled out,” Knicks officials confirmed. The strain is being viewed as a “soft tissue injury.”

Porzingis scored struggled with his shot (5/15, 13 points), but was a force on the glass with 14 rebounds (8 offensive), and on defense with 3 steals and 2 blocks. The Spurs would win the game 94-84.

At press time, Porzingis is expected to be reevaluated tomorrow.

[Video] Porzingis Throws Down Putback Slam Over LaMarcus Aldridge

Kristaps Porzingis is gaining confidence before our eyes. The towering 7’3 rookie had his best game (13 pts, 14 rebs, 3 stls, 2 blks) tonight against the Spurs in a losing effort. He also delivered the best play of his young Knick career via this emphatic putback slam over LaMarcus Aldridge. I can’t remember ever seeing him this fired up.

[Video] No Tricks, All Treats: Melo Drops 37 on Wizards in 117-110 Win

WASHINGTON, DC — The Knicks notched their second road win of the season with a gutsy performance over the Washington Wizards last night. You would think it’s too early in the season for games with playoff-like atmospheres, but that’s what we got as Melo answered one his unlikely critics and showed a shooting rhythm that will prove deadly this season.

POOR JARED DUDLEY (NOT REALLY): In May, Jared Dudley went on a NY radio show and proclaimed Carmelo Anthony the “most overrated player” in the NBA. His reasoning was the usual talking points we hear: doesn’t make his teammates better, one-dimensional blah blah blah. He later apologized, but word obviously got back to our Knicks leader, as he revealed in his post-game comments:

It wasn’t really nothing kind of personal against him. I just knew what was said in the offseason. So that was in the back of my mind.

Melo had a field day in the second half when Dudley attempted to guard him. He hit a key long jumper with just 4 seconds left on the shot clock to put NY up 108-106. In the game’s final 20 seconds, Melo iced it with four free throws. Meanwhile, Dudley has 0 points in 17 minutes. His two shots were open three-pointers that would have swayed the momentum back in Washington’s favor.

He bricked both.

I think Melo made his point. His entire stat line read 37 points (11/18), 7 rebounds, 4 assists and 1 block. He had 11 points and 5 rebounds in the fourth quarter alone.

GUARDS HANG TOUGH: Our backcourt had the nightmare task of dealing with John Wall (25 points) and Bradley Beal (26 points). They weren’t exactly contained, but Jerian Grant (7 points) and Langston Galloway made them work and prevented layup drills in the fourth quarter. That was enough to make Wall miss two key floaters. And Robin Lopez altered a Beal layup that would have brought the Wizards within three.

Calderon lack of speed necessitated him sitting in the fourth, but he was a solid contributor with 10 points. Galloway had two clutch threes in the fourth and delivered 14 points, 7 rebounds and 4 assists.

BENCH BRIGRADE HOLDS MELO DOWN: How many times have we seen Melo worn out in the fourth from carrying the scoring load all game? Once again, the bench players drew fouls and kept the game close, allowing Anthony to sit from a few minutes left in the third to the 8 minute mark of the fourth. Those players included Derrick Williams (7 points), Kyle O’Quinn (10 points) and Lance Thomas (12 points).

THE TRIAL BY FIRE CONTINUES: The Knicks go home to face another high-end playoff team when the Spurs visit Madison Square Garden on Monday. Who came up with our schedule???

[Video] The Buck Stops Here: Knicks Stomp Milwaukee By 25 in Season Debut

MILWAUKEE, WI — Watch out starters, the bench players are coming for your jobs. With Carmelo Anthony and the rest of the starting lineup struggling with their shots, the Knicks bench shouldered the load with a combined 73 points to lift New York to a crushing 122-97 road win.

COMING BACK STRONG: The Knicks had a slow shooting start (2-12) and struggled with keeping the scrappy Bucks out the paint. An 8-0 Milwaukee run had them down 11-4, but the insertion of Derrick Williams and Jerian Grant provided a big energy spark. Even in the penalty with 4 minutes remaining in the first, the Knicks remained aggressive with their man to man defense and forced the Bucks into woeful perimeter shooting. Powered by DWill’s 11-point first quarter (24 for the game), New York went on a 15-0 run between the first and second quarters to take command of the game with a 34-23 lead and never looked back.

ALL-AROUND CONTRIBUTIONS: Even when the Bucks got down by over 20 in the third, they remained determined to get back in the game. But every time they got close to single digits, a key basket shut them down. Four bench players hit double figures, and Kyle O’Quinn had one of the better all-around performances with 8 points, 11 rebounds and 2 blocks. Rookie point guard Jerian Grant stepped up due to Jose Calderon’s foul trouble and dropped 10 points, 5 assists and pocketed 3 steals.

PORZINGIS SHOWS HIS VALUE: Our prized pick struggled with his shot (3-11), but still made a strong impact by getting to the line (9-12). He ended up with 16 points and 5 rebounds on a “bad” night. When that shot starts going down, he’ll be a constant threat that opens up the game for Melo. [youtube https://youtu.be/Qy1kjYVvQGs]

TEMPERED EXCITEMENT: While it was great to dominate like this with a key starter (Arron Affalo) and bench big man (Kevin Seraphin) out, we need to keep in mind the Bucks were missing two of their best players (Giannis Antetokounmpo, O.J. Mayo). However, the effort and focus we saw was missing most of last season. In addition, this year’s team has playmakers. I’m on board with Charles Barkley (gasp) that New York makes the playoffs barring any serious injuries.

MELO CONTRIBUTES IN OTHER WAYS: Melo finished with 11 points (4-16), but impressed me with 5 assists, including one to kick off the game. No, Carmelo won’t be dropping triple doubles anytime soon, but this indicates what he can do when surrounded by competent athletes.

OTHER KEY POINTS: The Knicks won the rebounding (49-47) and assist (24-17) battles, and also forced 18 turnovers (6 alone on Michael Cater-Williams), helped by 11 steals.

BACK AT IT TONIGHT: The Knicks get no rest as they’re at MSG for a stiff test against the Atlanta Hawks. I’m interested to see the reception Tim Hardaway Jr. gets.

[Video] Knicks 2015-2016 Season Final Preview

Tonight, the Knicks kick off the season against the Milwaukee Bucks. Check out this final preview to get you hype. The game starts at 8 p.m. ET.

[Video] Melo, Knicks Excel in Preseaon Debut, Blow Out Brazil 100-81

The Knicks are back and we’re undefeated! Look, I know it’s just one game, but after last year we need every chance to celebrate.

Before our Garden faithful, the Knicks dominated the Brazilian Paschoalotto Bauru 100-81, blowing the game open by outscoring them 36-19 in the second quarter.

Carmelo Anthony showed no signs of any issues on his surgically repaired left knee, scoring 17 points in 20 minutes on 8/10 shooting. The squad also got big efforts from our newly acquired big men Kevin Seraphin (14 points, 7/11) and Kyle O’Quinn (14 points, 5/7).

Our prized rookie, Kristaps Porzingis, had a rocky start (2 misses and 2 turnovers to start), but eventually settled down to contribute 7 (2 three-pointers) points in 21 minutes. You see the potential, but you also see the long road of work ahead — the standout sore area is rebounding (just 2).

The Knicks are back in action tomorrow with a road game against the Washington Wizards.

Matt Barnes Attacks Derek Fisher for Dating Estranged Wife

Before officially kicking off the 2015-2016 season, the Knicks already have some drama via head coach Derek Fisher, who was attacked by former teammate Matt Barnes over the weekend for dating Barnes’ estranged wife Gloria.

According to a report from The NY Post, Fisher has been dating Gloria for several months. What drew Barnes’ ire was finding out Fisher was staying in his former home. Barnes, who now plays for the Memphis Grizzlies and was training in Santa Barbara, reportedly flew into a rage and drove 95 miles to L.A. with the expressed intent “to beat the shit outta Fisher.”

Per another source, the two men came to blows with Fisher receiving a “few scratches,” but opting not to press charges.

Fisher was not at Monday’s practice due to “equipment trouble” with his flight. He will be on the sidelines tonight for the Knicks’ debut preseason game against Brazil.

The NBA stated they are “aware” of the altercation but there’s no word on if any disciplinary action will take place.

Leave the married women alone, Fish! Gloria might be “estranged” from Matt, but until the divorce is finalized, you’re frolicking with another man’s wife. I don’t expect this to have any ramifications on tonight’s game, but it’s still the type of unnecessary distractions a team doesn’t need.

Oh, and if you’re wondering if Gloria Barnes of Basketball Wives fame is worth all this trouble, you tell me.

[Video] Jab Step! “Carmelo Anthony Be Like…”

Since hitting my radar via his hilarious on-court impersonations of Russell Westbrook and James Harden, I’ve been waiting for BdotAdot5 to deliver his take on our very own Carmelo Anthony. Here it is. You think he included enough jab steps?

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