Tag: Beno Udrih

The Sky Is Falling (Not Really): Knicks to Buy Out Metta World Peace x Beno Udrih

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After last night’s debacle in Orlando, the Knicks will head into Atlanta tonight will two open roster via pending buyouts of doghouse players Metta World Peace and Beno Udrih

World Peace was considered a solid signing in the offseason (2 years, $1.6 million) as was Udrih (1 year, $1.27 million). Instead, both showed erratic play and in Artest’s case, a prolonged knee injury which kept him sidelined for weeks.

Over 29 games, Artest is averaging 13 minutes. This year represents a career-low in points (4.8), rebounding (2.0) and steals (0.8). Udrih started 12 games for the Knicks this year, but became vocal with his complaints about Coach Woodson in January, in addition to requesting a trade. He has played sporadically since then with multiple DNPs. He is averaging 5.6 points and 3.5 assists, down from a career average of 8.9 points and 3.6 assists.

In tweets that have now been deleted, Artest’s brother Daniel blasted the Knicks organization as incompetent.

Mike Woodson is trash as a coach. That’s my opinion. The Knicks are a trash organization. That’s my opinion too. Melo deserves better. Fact!

— Daniel Artest (@DMArtestQB) February 22, 2014

 

Ron wanted to be a knick his entire career and his dream became a nightmare. Knicks need an overhaul. Top to bottom

— Daniel Artest (@DMArtestQB) February 22, 2014

 

How u an owner but ppl control you? He had to be kissing another of the same sex and it’s on tape. #KnicksTape

— Daniel Artest (@DMArtestQB) February 22, 2014

 

I’m not threatening Dolan on twitter tho. Lol. Some fan is locked up for that. Lol. However. I can say he’s the worst owner in sports.

— Daniel Artest (@DMArtestQB) February 22, 2014

 

I knew Knicks was bullshit when @NY_KnicksPR had me in office like. “Daniel. Ur tweets are a distraction.” Please.— Daniel Artest (@DMArtestQB) February 22, 2014

 

Out of respect…. I didn’t listen to @NY_KnicksPR however. “$15k would hush me”— Daniel Artest (@DMArtestQB) February 22, 2014

 

And I know my tweets on nyk was partly the reason too. Ron always be like chill. They watching.— Daniel Artest (@DMArtestQB) February 22, 2014

 

@NY_KnicksPR and the @nyknicks org should worry about winning and ur on floor product instead of what I’m tweeting next.— Daniel Artest (@DMArtestQB) February 22, 2014

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Can’t say I disagree much regarding Daniel’s  points about Woody and Dolan. But, there is one big problem with his assessment…he’s leaving out the fact that his brother has been woeful on both ends of floor. Us Knicks fans learned very early in Ron’s tenure here that the player we were getting wasn’t anything near the man who helped the Lakers win two championships.
As for Udrih, good riddance. I though he’d be the one to solve a lot of our point guard problems, but he spent most of his time running around like a headless chicken on offense, and getting burned on defense (most damning being that game-winning layup he gave up at the Garden).
This abomination of a Knicks team needs to be eradicated and if it has to start with World Peace and Udrih, so be it.

At Least Melo Still Cares: Blazers 102, Knicks 91

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PORTLAND, OR. — The Knicks’ three-game West Coast swing started with their sixth straight defeat as the Trailblazers, behind hot, efficient play from guards Damian Lillard and Wesley Matthews, burned the Knicks for a combined 40 points. Outside of Carmelo Antony having another double double (34 points, 15 rebounds) and Kenyon Martin of all people being the high man in assists (6), there wasn’t much to applaud on the Knicks’ end.

FLAT 1ST HALF: The Knicks went down by as much as 22 points in the first half courtesy of bad help defense in the post (primarily Andrea Bargnani), and no offense outside of Melo. Portland went on a 12-0 run to go up 22-12 with 5 minutes left in the first quarter and NY wouldn’t get it to single digits again until midway through the 4th quarter. A 17-4 run in the second quarter got the Blazers their biggest lead, 44-22, before settling on a 56-39 halftime lead.

A SOLID THIRD QUARTER FOR A CHANGE: The Knicks slowly began chipping away late in the third behind inspired play from Melo. Instead of doing damage on the scoring front, he got three consecutive assists, two of them 3s from Udrih and Bargnani, that kept the Knicks within a 13-10 point striking range headed into the fourth.

THE BACK-BREAKER: A Bargnani three trimmed the lead to seven (81-74) early in the fourth, but then the momentum collapsed in less than a minute. Metta World Peace touched the ball after the shot, leading to a technical on a second delay of game. A broken fast break on the Knicks’ next play lead to Blazers exploiting the team’s bad transition defense for an easy Batum dunk, and then a Shumpert missed three lead to Wesley Matthews sinking one on the other end to put the deficit at 88-74.

The Knicks’ effort was never the same after that outside of Melo, who managed to get to 98-91 off a jumper with 1:47 remaining. Lillard promptly hit two shots, a mid-range jumper and floater in the paint, to ice the game.

SHOOTING GUARD HOLE: This is where the Knicks were hurt the most on offense. Iman Shumpert is playing like a man with broken confidence and it’s evident in his stats last night (0 points, 1 steal, 2 TOs). JR Smith wasn’t much better off the bench, managing just 6 points on 2-8 shooting and 5 fouls.

PG PLAY: Beno Udrih improved from last game, going for 13 points and 5 assists. Still, our guards overall have to improve defensively and offensively for the team to prevent big deficits going forward. Pablo Prigioni didn’t have it this game — the veteran contributed 0 points and just 1 assist in 17 minutes.

STOUDEMIRE: Amar’e had his usual defensive woes (giving up a four-point play opportunity in the first half), specifically trying to guard LaMarcus Aldridge (18 points, 14 rebounds). However, he was active and showed life on offense, dropping 10 points off jumpers, post moves and rolling to the basket.

I’ve worked my butt off to get in tip-top shape and to be able to compete at the highest level. To work that hard and to be losing like we are, it’s not a great feeling. – CARMELO ANTHONY

The criticism is starting to quiet about Melo. While his defense will never be standout, his shot selection is improving, and his rebounding has been the best of his career while trying to pick up the slack for Tyson Chandler. The man needs help badly and unless JR, Iman and Bargnani match his effort, this losing streak will not end anytime soon.

[Video] Allergic to Defense: Wizards Eat Up Knicks in 4th

We can’t keep losing these games. – AMAR’E STOUDEMIRE

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Tell me if you’ve heard this scenario before. The Knicks play solid in the first and second quarter. They pass the ball, look for the open man, and play active and smart on defense. They begin to unravel in the third quarter and finally fall apart in the fourth quarter as lack of defensive stops discourages them.

Of course you’ve heard this before since it’s been the Knicks’ M.O on their now on five-game losing streak. The Washington Wizards, a playoff team but no powerhouse, had an easy time of it once they figured out the Knicks currently have no heart or identity on offense or defense.

 

STILL WAITING FOR THAT FULL GAME: 12 games in, the Knicks have yet to put together a full 48 minutes of competent basketball. The first half last night saw Wizards point guard John Wall run amuck in the first quarter and early part of the second by scoring 17 points. His output was offset by a re-energized Amar’e Stoudemire, who was thriving in the post-up and pick n’ rolls (5-5, 12 points). Carmelo Anthony stayed under control in the first half as well with his shot selection, helping the Knicks to 52-49 halftime lead.

As usual, things fell apart in the third quarter. The offense sputtered into isolation plays for JR Smith (6-14, 12 points) and Melo, leading to long missed jumpers and the Wizards pouncing on the Knicks’ weak transition defense. The Wizards outscored the Knicks 27-17 to take a 76-69 lead into the fourth. While the Knicks, specificaly Melo, JR and Pablo Prigioni hit some timely threes in the fourth to remain close, they could never get any stops. Guards like Bradley Beal (18 points) and the aforementioned Wall (31 points) abused them with pick n’ rolls and penetration to score at will and prevent a Knicks comeback. The team appeared to sense their defense couldn’t hold firm. Mentally, you began to see them start slacking by the middle of the quarter. The biggest culprit was Melo, who several times failed to rotate and allowed the Wizards to sink open threes.

 

MELO’S GOOD AND BAD: Anthony notched another double double (23 points, 12 rebounds) and shot 47% from the field, so on the surface you’d think he’s one of the last people you’d criticize. But in this game he deserves a fair share of the blame, as he didn’t provide full effort on defense in the crucial fourth quarter. I’m sure he’s exasperated by the big weight he’s had to carry so early in the season, but the team will always take its lead from him. When Melo starts to check out, the team follows. He’s shown flashes of good passing and that’s the only way the team will regain its confidence. Two assists for him won’t suffice and neither will repeated isolation plays in crunch time. Melo was great with the “hockey assists” in a few games already this year and needs to continue that to keep Bargnani’s offense involved late in the game.

 

BACKCOURT WOES: Raymond Felton sat for his third straight game with back issues, leading to another start for Beno Udrih. Coming off his stellar effort against the Pacers, some fans were speculating that Udrih might be the starting answer for Felton. This game brought those views back to reality, as Udrih also struggled mightily to keep the young Wizards guards in front of him. And offensively, he wasn’t much better, mustering just 2 points and 5 assists.

Iman Shumpert was mostly invisible as well, delivering 6 points, 3 steals and 1 rebound in 27 minutes.

 

THE ROADTRIP OF WOODY’S FUTURE: The Knicks now face a three-game road trip starting tomorrow night in Portland before moving on to Los Angeles (Clippers) and Denver. Should the Knicks not win a game, which is very possible if the team continues playing like this, then it’s hard to imagine Mike Woodson making through the end of the week. The Knicks will at that point have a 3-12 record while being on a 8-game losing streak.

If the team comes out with no urgency in Portland, it sends a clear message about the team’s pride (or lack thereof).

[youtube http://youtu.be/l8wvrbrwHGs]

No More PG Worries — Knicks Sign Beno Udrih to One-Year Deal

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The Knicks have been a roll this week and sewed up one of their last remaining depth roles in signing 9-year point guard Beno Udrih to a one-year, veteran’s minimum deal.

The Knicks have been vigorously pursuing Udrih for the past few weeks. According to undisclosed sources close to Udrih, his main reason for joining the Knicks was a chance to play for a contender.

Udrih averaged 8.2 points and 4.6 assists last season for the Bucks and Magic. Over the last 27 games of the year, Udrih increased his numbers to 10 points per game and six assists while shooting 40% from the field and 39% from three-point range.

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This is a very good pickup, especially at the veteran’s minimum. When Felton went down on Christmas Day last year, the Knicks backcourt suffered greatly with the increased burden on the old legs of Jason Kidd and Pablo Prigioni. Udrih not only works the pick n’ roll well, but he has a solid mid-range jumper which will be essential in keeping the floor spaced.

The other point guard option was Bobby Brown, who from what I’ve seen is an aggressive point guard with a scorer’s mentality. I wouldn’t have been mad at picking him up, but Udrih’s NBA experience was likely the deciding the factor in NY choosing him.

Considering the limitations we had on the financial end, we’ve made some excellent moves this summer in improving nearly every position.