[Video] Demar Derozan Game-Winner Overcomes Late Melo Heroics

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To tank or not to tank? Carmelo Anthony believes not to, as evidenced by his 24 points and a nice pass to Courtney Lee for a three-pointer that made it 91-90 with 10 seconds remaining. But Demar Derozan had other plans, hitting an 18-footer over Derrick Rose to help the Raptors escape the Garden with a 92-91 victory.

We’ve seen games like this countless times throughout the season. The Knicks played strong defense early and had a 53-40 halftime lead. But in the second half, they struggled to deal with the Raptor’s aggressive defense and settled too much for contested jumpers. Still, they had a chance to win it at the buzzer with Melo’s open three-pointer clanking.

The Knicks are 24-36, five games out the playoffs, and have the eighth-worst record in the NBA. This team has shown zero consistency the entire year and don’t need to start now. The long-term health of the team rests on getting the highest draft pick possible this summer.

https://youtu.be/pUywN0VlUws

https://youtu.be/EQmT7i_1mUY

Joakim Noah to Miss Rest of Season for Arthroscopic Knee Surgery

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Joakim Noah’s inaugural season with New York has likely come to an end with the news the injury-plagued center needs arthroscopic knee surgery.

Noah has missed seven straight games due to a sore left hamstring. Although the knee wasn’t specified by sources, it likely involves the same leg plagued by the hamstring issues. Noah last had surgery in 2014 to remove damaged cartilage from his right knee.

Noah signed a four-year, $72 million contract with the Knicks last off-season. He is averaging 5 points and 8 rebounds.

Thanks Phil, the worst contract in the league is the gift that keeps on giving. Frankly, I’m getting Amar’e flashbacks from this signing but at least Stat could get buckets on offense. Our silver lining is knowing we can finish the season with Willy Hernangomez and Kyle O’Quinn splitting center duties.

 

Knicks Waive Brandon Jennings, Sign Chasson Randle

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In a surprise move, the Knicks have waived Brandon Jennings to sign Chasson Randle, who played in the Knick’s D-League and was recently waived from the Philadelphia 76ers.

The move was made once Jennings approached Knicks management about wanting to sign with a playoff team. The Knicks are currently four games out of the eighth seed.

Jennings was one of big free agent signings for New York last summer. On a 1-year deal for $5 million, Jennings averaged 8.6 points and 4.9 assists on 38% shooting for 58 games.

Randle is expected to be available for tonight’s game against the Raptors.

 

It’s been real, BJ. The irony is that Jennings always held it against New York that they passed on him in the draft. He finally gets to play for his dream team and can’t last an entire season. That says something about the dysfunction of the organization and locker room morale.

On the positive side, this helps our tank. Jennings was our floor general off the bench, but his shooting was streaky and defense horrible. The younger Randle will be an improvement on both ends and we get to further develop a player with upside. And unless Randle channels Linsanity from several years ago, we’ll likely still lose the majority of our final games and be in position for a good draft pick.

Gotta find the silver lining where we can with this season.

[Video] Watch Kristaps Porzingis Dominate the NBA Skills Challenge

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All hail Lord Porzingis! Our second-year big man took down formidable competition in DeMarcus Cousins, Nikola Jokic, and Gordon Hayward to win the Taco Bell Skills Challenge last night. The key to the challenge was being an accurate long-range shooter, a skill that has always been a cornerstone of Porzingis’s offense. This award should be a great boost for KP’s confidence as the Knicks try to refocus for an improved second half of the season.

Melo to Replace Kevin Love as 2017 All-Star

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Carmelo Anthony is once again an All-Star. The Knicks forward learned today the NBA has selected him to replace the injured Kevin Love.

Love is expected to miss six weeks to recover from knee surgery. Sunday’s game will be Melo’s 10th All-Star game appearance.

Anthony is averaging 23 points on 44% shooting for the season. The selection comes with Melo on a recent hot streak of 26 points on 46% shooting for his last 10 games.

 

[Video] Hornacek Rips Starters in 131-123 Loss to Nuggets

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Photo Credit: USA Today Sports Images

What happens when you face the statistically worst defense in the league? You drop 123 points on their head. But what also happens with your defense is equally as trash? You still lose because you gave up 131 points at home! The Knicks continue to be the laughingstock of the league with another L to fall 11 games under .500.

Coach Hornacek is at his wit’s end and let the starters have it to start his post-game interview.

Couldn’t guard anybody. Simple as that. They should be embarrassed by the way they couldn’t guard anybody… So those guys are happy scoring their points. We’re going to lose every game.

The venom was warranted. The Nuggets at one point late in the first quarter were shooting 75% and finished 6/11 from three-point range. Luckily, the Knicks were on their own shooting barrage and were only down 2 (34-32) to start the second quarter.

The Knicks played their best ball last night with the second unit, who pushed the pace and attacked the Nuggets defense in transition.  Kyle O’Quinn (16 points on 8/9, 4 blocks) got after it on both ends. Willy Hernangomez (12 points) showed great hands catching needle-thread passes from Brandon Jennings (6 points, 13 assists) on fast breaks.

But it would all go to hell once the starters returned. A 12-point second quarter lead evaporated via an 11-3 Nuggets run and the Knicks, despite scoring 66 POINTS, could only settle for a two-point halftime lead.

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YOU CAN’T OUTSCORE BAD DEFENSE: The second half was just an abomination on the defensive end. Kristaps Porzingis, starting his first game as a center, got a somber wake-up call from Nikola Jokic, who lit him and the rest of the Knicks bigs up for a career-high 40 points. It wasn’t just points — KP was getting rag-dolled in there when it came to rebounding. He’s simply not strong enough yet to bang consistently in the paint. Still, I agree with Hornacek that KP’s lack of physicality doesn’t excuse everything that happened last night.

With the length, it should help, he should be quicker than that guy. He should be able to get up on him. He might get overpowered at some point but a lot of (Jokic’s) shots, he just lined ’em up. Spun the ball around with the seams and just shot it in. If our guys think that’s a challenged shot, we need to redefine what that is.

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WHEN 21 POINTS IN 12 MINUTES AIN’T ENOUGH: Carmelo Anthony, being the quintessential scorer that he is, thought he could shoot us back into it. He went 8/8 in the fourth quarter with 4 three-pointers, including several that got the deficit back in single digits. But it was all for naught since the Knicks couldn’t get stops. One late back-breaking sequence saw the Knicks give up a four-point play after Melo had cut the deficit to six.

Tonight it was bad. As players we’ve got to take that upon ourselves and hold ourselves accountable for that and we have to do better. We have to do better on the defensive end.

The Knicks will remain home for a national afternoon game against the Spurs on Sunday (February 12).

https://youtu.be/xSpBoJGrQeQ

https://youtu.be/CXe0wXi83gU

 

James Dolan Bans Oakley from MSG: “We need to keep the Garden safe.”

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Knicks owner James Dolan has confirmed that Charles Oakley is indefinitely banned from Madison Square Garden.

Dolan appeared on Michael Kay’s show to explain his side, implying that Oakley was abusive and was possibly intoxicated. Oakley has maintained that he did nothing wrong and was surrounded by officials within 4 minutes of taking his seat.

“It’s very clear to us that Charles Oakley came to the Garden with an agenda,” said Dolan. “From the moment he stepped into the Garden he began with this behavior, this abusive behavior. Disrespectful behavior… Charles should have never made it to his seat.”

Aside from the ban, the most significant fallout has been Dolan’s firing of Frank Benedetto, MSG’s Senior VP of Security. The Knicks also sent out another video of the incident with 15 eyewitness accounts that allegedly support Dolan’s assertions.

Watch excerpts from Dolan’s interview below.

I know one thing — there better be huge Oakley chants all throughout tonight’s game. I’m sure in Dolan’s mind he’s saving the Knicks’ reputation by going on the radio and disparaging Oak as a out of control, alcoholic monster. All it’s doing is making the franchise look more dysfunctional and ironically in line with the public disrespect Phil Jackson has been laying on Melo in recent weeks.

The Knicks PR statement should have said an unfortunate incident and we’re working with our staff and Oakley to ensure it never happens again. Instead, this interview will prolong the media circus for weeks to come (possibly the rest of the season).

What a time to be a Knicks fan…

[Video] Inspired Knicks Can’t Close Show Against Clippers

Photo Credit: USA Today Sports Images

Last game, the Knicks were rightly trashed for a despicable effort against the Lakers. Tonight, the effort was there, but a few miscues in the final four minutes allowed the Clippers sans Chris Paul to pull out an 119-115 at Madison Square Garden.

Yes, outside of Charles Oakley’s arrest there was an exciting game that took place.

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BIG THREE LOCKED IN: This was one of the rare times that Melo, Rose and KP all played well. All three scored 20 or more and shot at least 50%. Melo lead the way with 28 points and 9 boards. At times, he was engaged in an intense duel with Blake Griffin, who had a first quarter rampage with 18 points and finished with 32. Melo kept his heat-check shots to a minimum and played well in the flow of the offense.

What I liked most about his game is he got to the rim and in most cases finished, got fouled or kicked out. The 1 assist doesn’t reflect it, but he had a few hockey assists and it kept everyone involved.

https://youtu.be/M-xKB42KTS4

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We got our best game since D-Rose’s return with 20 points, 7 boards and 8 assists on 63% shooting. The most surprising thing about it was he did a lot of his damage on mid-range jumpers from all over the court. That was pivotal in keeping the floor spaced as the defense couldn’t pack the paint for his drives. And for the first time in what feels like ages, you saw Rose actively looking to pass to KP and others.

https://youtu.be/HfHifZDbitw

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Looking to keep Porzingis involved did wonders for the kid’s confidence. He didn’t feel the need to defer to the vets and attacked the Clippers defense from the perimeter and inside with cuts to the rim. The three-pointer was there (4/7) and he finished with 27 points, 6 boards and 2 steals. The two glaring issues were the unwise personal fouls (5) and being unable to keep Deandre Jordan off the boards.

KP didn’t foul out, so in a twisted way that can be seen as progress. But if we had him for the stretches he had to sit, the game might have turned out differently. As for getting muscled in the paint by Jordan, that is something that only time can correct. However, it’s a good indicator that we are still a few years away before KP can consistently battle at the center position.

https://youtu.be/_eavCv39-yA

DEFENSE AND BENCH: So as good as the Big Three played, how did we lose? First, the defense simply couldn’t sustain their energy and focus. After outscoring the Clippers 95-88 over the first three quarters, the Clippers stormed back to outscore the Knicks 31-20 over the final 12 minutes. Former Knick Jamal Crawford burned us for 20 points (nine in the fourth) off the bench and even Deandre Jordan hit four straight free throws.

The other area that killed us was a lack of bench scoring. In recent games, we could count on a great showing from some combination of Jennings, O’Quinn, Holiday or Hernangomez. But last night they were overwhelmed and outscored 36-18. The highest Knicks bench contributors were Hernangomez and Holiday, who scored 5 points apiece on a combined 2/9 shooting.

The Knicks are home again on Friday to face the Nuggets.

https://youtu.be/MC83uLqdeAQ

 

[Video] Charles Oakley Says He Did Nothing to Provoke MSG Fight and Arrest

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Charles Oakley was freed early Thursday morning after being arrested for assaulting Madison Square Garden security and criminal trespassing last night during the Knicks-Clippers game.

Oakley gave the below interview to explain his side and refute allegations that his behavior was abusive and directed at Knicks owner James Dolan.

Don’t expect to see Oakley back at the Garden anytime soon, or possibly ever again.

 

 

 

 

[Video] Charles Oakley Arrested and Charged for Fight During Knicks-Clippers Game

 

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Charles Oakley had a dubious homecoming tonight. A  shoving match with officials resulted in the Knicks legend being ejected from Madison Square Garden and arrested by the New York Police Department.

Details are sketchy, but Oak apparently got into some sort of dispute with Knicks owner James Dolan. Attempts to calm him were rebuffed as Oakley shoved and shouted at several Garden officials.

After Oakley was lead away and cuffed, Knicks president Phil Jackson reportedly attempted to calm Oakley one last time in the Garden tunnel.

The Knicks PR department released a brief statement that referenced Oakley’s behavior as “abusive.”

At press time, Oakley has been charged with three counts of assault and criminal trespassing. He is denying that he said anything to Dolan and was surrounded by security for no reason.

Dolan and Oakley have had a contentious relationship since the latter’s retirement. Oakley has been public in his criticism of Dolan’s leadership, prompting the Knicks owner to exclude Oakley from all events that have honored former players in recent years.

As if this season couldn’t get any more bizarre. Despite the circumstances, this is still more fight than the Knicks have shown lately. We’ll hear Oakley’s side soon enough.