NEW YORK KNICKS LOYALIST

Knicks Blow 25-pt Lead, Hold Off Bucks 90-83

The Knicks got a lesson on the importance of closing out teams last night as they ended up in a seesaw battle in the closing minutes of the fourth quarter in fighting off the Bucks to a 90-83 victory.

After a first half which saw the Knicks dominate defensively (forcing 16 turnovers) for a 56-31 lead (punctuated by a 32-13 second quarter), New York would only score 34 points in the second half while giving up an astounding 33 points in the third quarter! It would have been great for the starters to rest considering the Bulls await them tonight, but this dogfight may just be what the team needed.

STRONG BACKCOURT: Coach Woodson went with the 2 point guard backcourt of Raymond Felton and Pablo Prigioni. The Knicks caught a big break when Bucks guard Brandon Knight left the game two minutes in with a strained hamstring. Luke Ridnour also didn’t play, ensuring the Bucks offense would be stalled in parts without their point guards. Felton executed several excellent fast breaks off steals and had his jumper working to the tune of 18 points. There was a brief scare with him having to leave the game due to a strained hamstring, but he worked through it.

Prigioni was his usual pest on defense, notching 3 steals and keeping the ball moving with 5 assists. Iman Shumpert started slow (0-3), but began showing the range and even finishing at the rim (a problem for him last year). Shump ended up with 16 points.

FLAT THIRD QUARTER: The Knicks came out very weak. This was an issue last season where the guys just seemed to get unfocused on their rotations. Before you knew the it, the lead went from 18 to 11 to single digits. The stupid fouls contributed to the Bucks getting easy baskets as well. Melo looked to get teammates involved, but several wide-open jumpers were missed and the Bucks continued to surge.

4TH QUARTER SCARE AWAKENS MELO AND CHANDLER: Caron Butler had a solid game for the Bucks (14 points) and managed to tie it with 4:30 remaining off a three-pointer. Milwaukee even took the lead off a John Henson free throw (81-80). From there, Carmelo Anthony and Tyson Chandler were the catalyst for a game-sealing 10-2 run. Prigioni got a steal for a fast break, leading to Melo missing a layup and Chandler putting home a putback dunk. Melo then scored on his next two plays, a tip-in and a post-move, to make it 86-81. Another Chandler dunk made it 88-81 and effectively iced the game. Melo finished with a solid double-double of 19 points (7-16) and 10 rebounds. Chandler added 6 points, 10 rebounds and 5 blocked shots.

BARGNANI BOOED: Based on this game, the New York faithful won’t have much patience with Andre Bargnani this season. He struggled with his shot and defense for most of the game and finished with 6 points (3-9 shooting) and 2 rebounds off the bench. He was unsure of himself and that’s one thing NY doesn’t tolerate. To be fair, he’s still learning the offense and I’m willing to wait 25 games before pulling out the pitchforks.

BETTER EFFORT NEEDED AGAINST CHICAGO: The Bulls smacked around the Knicks every game last year. NY will have to be much better tonight if they hope to get a win, as Chicago is having their season-opener with Derrick Rose returning. We’ll see how the lineup tweaks work with Amar’e Stoudemire getting burn tonight. Game starts at 8 p.m. ET on TNT.

GAME HIGHLIGHTS

[Video] Iman Shumpert – “New Beginnings”

My one goal is to get my ring… – Iman Shumpert

With the season beginning tonight, Iman Shumpert has released this excellent video speaking on his focus for the year and the reason for the departure of his trademark flattop. This is a fantastic reminder of why Shump is the heart and soul of this Knicks team (and why he better not be traded).

Knicks Waive Five Players, Retain Chris Smith

With the regular season starting next week, the Knicks cleaned house yesterday with the waiving of five players: Ike Diogu, C.J. Leslie, Josh Powell, Jeremy Tyler, and Chris Douglas-Roberts.

The surprise among the cut players are Diogu and Tyler. The former played well in his limited minutes (7.2 points, 4 rebounds in 16. 2minutes) and provided a solid inside presence with his 6’8, 255 pound frame. The 6’10 Tyler, who was signed to a 2-year deal in August after a strong showing in the summer league, was unable to play this pre-season after suffering a right foot stress fracture in early September that’s sidelined him until late November.

With the Knicks’ constant rebounding issues, the team announced that they will “keep an eye” on Tyler once he’s healthy should he not sign elsewhere.

The waivers mean that Chris Smith, brother of JR Smith, has made the team despite registering playing time in just three games and averaging 1 point (14% shooting) and 1 rebound.

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I hope the Knicks have a plan because this looks bad on paper. Yes, we kept the 7-footer Cole Aldrich (who frankly was inconsistent this pre-season but has upside…), but the Diogu and Tyler cuts are baffling based on their play. I don’t have much hope Tyler will be available to resign during the season — serviceable and young big men are lacking and any team with sense will pick him up. Unless NY has an under the table deal in place, he’s possibly gone for good. And while Diogu wasn’t in the best shape, he gave a great effort in the post and was the only player outside of Melo that’s shown he could finish around the rim consistently.

As for JR’s brother, we know nepotism is the only reason he’s on the roster. I’ll hold my outrage if he’s cut and sent to the D-League. If he remains on the bench, it shows the organization has no vested interest in putting together a winning team. Roster spots, especially with our needs, are important and should be treated as such.

We’ll see how this plays out in the coming weeks. For now, there’s reason for concern.

[Video] Knicks Orange & Blue Scrimmage Recap

Earlier this week, the Knicks held a special “Orange & Blue” Scrimmage for fans up in NYC. The below video recap includes comments from Melo, Tim Hardaway Jr. and Tyson Chandler. Peep the ending jam session courtesy of Melo, Hardaway Jr. and Shump.

Raptors Hold Off Knicks in Double OT

A lineup of third-string Knicks played hard, but not consistently enough in the areas of defense and rebouding to defeat the Raptors, who used an overtime third-pointer from Terrence Ross (27 points) to force a second overtime period and win 123-120.

Our starters did their part in limited minutes. While Carmeolo Anthony didn’t shoot well (4-13, 9 points), he looked to distribute and took care of the glass in grabbing 8 rebounds. Andrea Bargnani’s shot wasn’t there either (4-12), but he was active in drawing fouls (5-7 at the line) and finished with 13 points. Tyson Chandler hit a few jumpers and was energetic around the rim in his 19 minutes, finishing with 15 points and 7 free throw attempts.

With Raymond Felton and Iman Shumpert resting, heavy minutes went to Tim Hardaway Jr. and Beno Udrih. Junior’s (4-16, 15 points) shot was erratic, but he never shied away from taking them and got some good looks. Udrih had a very solid game outside of some head-scratching turnovers (4). He finished with 19 points, including a big three-pointer to help force the second overtime.

As we’ve seen over the last few games, Ike Diogu (10 points, 7 rebounds) and Toure Murry (12 points, 5 rebounds) came to play hard and continued their cases for making the team.

The big highlight of the game was Metta World Peace and it wasn’t his excellent stat line (16 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists). Tyler Hansbrough tried to dirty up the game as usual and Peace was having none of it. Hansbrough looked like he’d seen a ghost and backed down immediately. In past years, Hansbrough has been one of those guys that’s abused our frontcourt players. Glad to see this season we’ll see none of that when Metta goes into Artest mode.

There was a lot left be desired on the perimeter defense with Ross dropping 27 off the bench and Rudy Gay (19 points) and Demar Derozan (21) also taking advantage of our slow rotations. Rebounding, which will likely again be our weakest area this season, proved to be our downfall as Ross was able to get two looks at a three-pointer that forced the second overtime. However, keep in mind the lineups that were out there and the bigger importance in having all of our main guys healthy to start the year.

Only two pre-season games are left with NY facing the Bucks on Wednesday, and the Bobcats on Friday.

B-More Homecoming: Knicks Top Wizards in Melo’s Return

In his first game before his hometown fans in Baltimore, Carmelo Anthony dropped 22 points to lead the Knicks to a 98-89 preseason win over the Washington Wizards.

Despite the ongoing issues with rebounding and defense, there managed to be several bright spots on the roster. Forward Ike Diogu continued his good play with 10 points and 8 rebounds in 23 minutes. Toure Murray was another standout with his tight perimeter defense keeping John Wall contained. He also chipped in 14 points and 2 steals, prompting Melo to say afterward that Murray had a “bright future” in this league.

Andrea Bargnani (13 points) also showed signs of what hopefully leads to a comeback season. In the first half, he was aggressive getting to the rim and exhibited solid post-defense (3 blocks). While his rebounding was abysmal (just 2 boards), it wasn’t a huge detriment against this Wizards team.

INJURY SCARE: In the first quarter, Iman Shumpert sprained his right elbow after colliding with a driving Bradley Beal. He could have returned later in the game, but was wisely left out as a precaution.

BACKCOURT BLITZ: Beno Udrih is getting more comfortable every game. He had a few nice drives into the lane, one of which resulted in a three-point play. He finished with 12 points on 5-9 shooting. Tim Hardaway Jr. was another offensive spark with 14 points.

DOGHOUSE: You know that old saying about it’s not about the size of the dog, but the size of the fight in the dog? It’s the perfect saying to describe how the battle is playing out over our final roster spots. It’s no secret that we need a legit center to back up Tyson Chandler, but thus far guys like Cole Aldrich have looked clueless out there. Meanwhile, Diogu is all grit and determination, grabbing boards and finishing around the rim. Yeah, he’s only 6’8, but rebounding isn’t just about size — it’s positioning and awareness of the ball. Diogu has shown that while others like Josh Powell and the aforementioned Aldrich have not. It looks like Coach Woodson sees that as well, so I expect he’ll make the team over his bigger and younger counterparts.

The Knicks will be back in action on Monday (October 21) against the Raptors.

1st HALF HIGHLIGHTS

[Video] Preason, Game 1 – Knicks 103, Celtics 102: Shump the Sharpshooter, Hardaway Jr.’s Game Winner

“No exhibition games!” – Iman Shumpert

PROVIDENCE, R.I. — Aside from a frustrating fourth quarter collapse, there was a lot to like about the new and improved New York Knicks, who kicked off their preseason with a go-ahead corner jumper from Tim Hardaway Jr. to hold off the Celtics 103-102.

Melo took it easy tonight (7 points on 3-8 shooting), but did show some nify two-man game moves with Andrea Bargnani. The latter’s outside shot wasn’t falling (0-3 from downtown), but he did a decent job of getting to the line and keeping the floor spaced.

The offensive star of the game was Iman Shumpert, who was a scorching 7-7 from the floor (3-3 from behind the arc). There was no holding back — Shump was full speed ahead the entire game. If his shooting remains consistent, Coach Woodson would be hard-pressed to keep him out of the starting lineup.

Metta World Peace was a solid contributor last night as well, chipping in 13 points and 4 rebounds. He was one of five Knicks in double figures, including Raymond Felton (11), Hardaway Jr. (16), Shumpert (18) and Bargnani (12).

With the lead up to 23 points with a little over eight minutes remaining, the Knicks bench was emptied and the Celtics went on a run. They briefly took the lead behind Chris Babb scoring 12 points in the quarter.

Thankfully, Hardaway Jr. was also on fire, dropping 10 points in the final stanza. His jumper in the closing seconds put away Boston for good, and shows the Knicks have another capable offensive weapon to help out Melo. Woodson should be giving him as much play as possible to get his confidence strong for the season.

Next up on Friday are the Toronto Raptors.

[Video] Tyson Chandler On Developing a Jumpshot, Adding Weight and Melo SF/PF Debate

Tyson Chandler is coming into this season with a lot to prove. For starters, Chandler has been working extensively on developing a reliable medium-range jumper and hookshot (dont’ laugh). In addition, Chandler speaks on his off-season regimen to get stronger (and hopefully prevent injuries), and possibly letting out the Knicks game plan on which position Melo will be playing most this season.

Amar’e Stoudemire Had Undisclosed Knee Surgery Over Summer

The questions about Amar’e Stoudemire’s health have intensified today with the disclosure that the veteran forward underwent an unreported knee surgery in July.

The New York Daily News states Stoudemire had the surgery as a “clean-up” procedure on one of the knees.

The sugery marks the third knee procedure Stoudemire has undergone in the last 12 months. Last year, Stoudemire missed the beginning of the season due to a debridement surgery on his right knee. The same procedure, this time on his left knee, caused him to miss the end of the regular season and a total of 53 games.

At press time, the Knicks are preparing for their opening media day. Stoudemire has yet to release a statement.

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I doubt many of us were expecting much from Stat this year, but it’s still disheartening to hear that he’s had yet another surgery. I’m not deterred by the claim it’s not “serious.” Anything having to do with Stat’s knees is serious, as the last 12 months have shown.

I’m sure Amar’e will downplay this and claim he’s in “phenomenal shape,” but it serves as another warning for Knicks coach Mike Woodson that Stat will have to be on a meticulously-managed minute schedule. I’d be shocked if we see him play more than 15 minutes a game this season unless we’re severely short-handed.

Sportiqe’s Clever Grateful Dead Knicks Tee

A Knicks fan can never have enough gear from their beloved team. With that fact in mind, I bring to you a new stylish tee from the good folks over at Sportiqe Brand Apparel. Aimed at bringing fashion to sports fans, the company has created a unique tee that incorporates the logo of the legendary band The Grateful Dead.

In light of recent events, I’m sure our own “recreational” JR Smith would love to endorse this product. Get your own “fashionable fit” in men and women’s styles. Use the code GDNBA5 to get $5 off the purchase price.

Click HERE to check out the entire Sportiqe’s website.

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