Tag: Knicks

[Video] Welcome Back, Shump! — Knicks 105, Spurs 101

Shumpert

What a difference a competent shooting guard makes. We’ve saw a flash of it during the Nets win earlier this season, and Iman Shumpert reminded us last night why most fans were so high on him going into this season as he dropped a career-high 27 points to lead the Knicks to their best win of the season over the Spurs.

 

1-2 PUNCH: The Knicks had an excellent inside-outside game going with Carmelo Anthony’s return and Shumpert’s fiery outside shooting. Melo chipped in 27 points on 50% shooting and nabbed 12 rebounds. When he drew double teams, he and the rest of the teammates looked for Shump behind the three-point line for open treys. This allowed Iman to not have to worry about putting the ball on the floor and keep the Spurs defense spaced out.

THE SPURS’ BEST WEAPON: Although New York kept Tim Duncan (9 points, 7 rebounds) and Tony Parker (12 points, 7 assists) contained, the game was close due to Marco Belinelli playing possessed and dropping 32 points (6 threes, 12-16 shooting overall). It wasn’t until the final two offensive plays, where he badly bricked two threes, that he finally came back down to earth.

SHOOTING WELL: The Knicks maintained a strong shooting percentage the entire game, hitting 51% of their shots, including a hot 9-17 (53%) from downtown.

MURRY OR UDRIH?: Beno Udrih go to play the crucial final minutes of the fourth and almost blew the game with a near turnover. His defense was also a struggle. Murry is still learning out there, but I haven’t forgotten how Udrih blew that Wizards game by not being able to keep his man in front of him. I hope to see Murry’s minutes get around the 20 minute mark until Felton and Prigioni’s return.

NO TIME TO REST ON LAURELS: The Knicks are now 11-21 and 4 1/2 games behind the division-leading Toronto Raptors. The upcoming schedule features the Rockets (tonight), Dallas, Detroit and Miami through next Thursday. The team will need to bring the same effort we saw yesterday to get through this stretch with a winning record.

[Photo] JR Is Not Pleased — Knicks Waive Chris Smith

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The Knicks have announced the waiver of guard Chris Smith, prompting older brother JR Smith to subliminally label the move a “betrayal” on social media.

Chris Smith has played just two minutes since being called up to the main roster after injuries to guards Raymond Felton and Pablo Prigioni.

Smith isn’t getting waived empty-handed, though. The Daily News reports that Smith’s contract contained a clause allowing his salary to be guaranteed, meaning Chris will pocket his entire $490, 180 wage for making it to the end of 2013.

That isn’t good for JR, who posted a meme of Robert DeNiro and Sharon Stone from Casino to drive home his displeasure.

JRSmith_Betrayal

Chris’s signing had long been viewed as a picture perfect example of nepotism and a package deal with big brother JR’s two-year contract that was signed this past off-season. JR is being paid $5.6 million this season.

I won’t get on JR too hard considering this is his brother and we know he’s prone to reacting before thinking things through. And knowing the Knicks, they probably sold him on an obvious lie that Chris would never be considered for the chopping block. However, JR has been in the league long enough to realize that no one man is above the team. With the Knicks in absolute dire straits and being overstuffed with guards, Chris was the clear odd man out to make room for someone like Jeremy Tyler, whom New York is praying can be a youthful spark in terms of rebounding and interior defense.

A moment of silence for the end of the Chris Smith era. And, let’s acknowledge the meme chose to close out his evening.

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Frustration and Futility — Raptors Complete Back to Back Sweep, Beats Knicks 115-110

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Even with Carmelo Anthony out nursing a bum ankle, there was some hope going into these back to back Raptor games that the Knicks could find a spark and possibly go into the New Year just one game out of first place in the Atlantic Division. What New York and their fans got was a painful reminder of just how bad this Knicks team is. Despite playing hard down the stretch, New York displayed the worst of their defensive woes with needless switching and bad rebounding, allowing the Raptors to weather a late rally and storm back themselves to close out the Knicks.

 

KILLED ON THE BOARDS: The Knicks losing the rebounding battle is no surprise (45-37), but giving up 13 offensive rebounds is a death blow. The Raptors got so many second chance opportunities in the fourth. The Knicks were put into defensive scrambles that lead to open drives and three-pointers. Most disappointing here was Tyson Chandler, who managed just 2 rebounds in 27 minutes of play.

 

RAN AROUND THE COURT: The gave up three big runs over the course of the game that made winning this game unlikely. With the score tight early in the second quarter, the Knicks went into a zone defense and succumbed to a 12-0 run to go down 52-41. Overall, they were outscored 31-22 in the quarter and down 57-44 at halftime. In the third, the Knicks were on the wrong side of a 15-2 run and were behind by as much as 23 points before chipping away to take a 85-71 deficit into the fourth.

 

HAVE ALL THE 3-POINTERS YOU WANT, TORONTO!: The Raptors shot a deadly 47% from downtown (15/32), with Terrence Ross hitting a career-high seven treys. The perimeter was wide open and every guard, and even a forward or two, seemed to get in on the fun. The Knicks couldn’t rotate in time, and the constant, flat-out idiotic switching created repeated mismatches in Toronto’s favor.

 

THE PLAY THAT SEALED IT: Amar’e Stoudemire’s post-scoring, along with some good passing from Toure Murry, were the main factors in allowing the Knicks to trim the lead to six, 101-95. Demar Derozan had the ball and got away with pushing off Murry, who toppled to the floor. When Derozan tried to fly past, Murry reached out and swiped him, which Derozan sold well by toppling over. The hit was ruled a flagrant, leading to a five-point swing with both free throws made and a three-pointer swished on the extra possession, puting the Knicks in an 11-point hole (106-95) they never crawled out of.

 

JR THE PG: Raymond Felton and Pablo Prigioni being out continues to hurt badly. There were a few plays down the stretch that went nowhere due to JR having to be a playmaker and set up the offense.

 

THE POSITIVES BECOME NEGATED: Stoudemire (23 points, 9 rebounds) and Chandler (16 points) had solid scoring games, but the lack of defense neutralized that. The team couldn’t get stops or rebounds when it mattered. Woodson opted to sit Andrea Bargnani (12 points) in the fourth. Like last night’s game, Bargnani started strong in first and became a non-factor in the ensuing quarters.

 

NON-TRADE COMES BACK TO BITE US: While I think the Knicks made a good move not giving up so many players and a first round pick for Kyle Lowry, he sure did lit up New York tonight. He nearly had a triple double, going for 32 points, 8 rebounds and 11 assists. The man out-rebounded everyone on the Knicks except Stoudemire. Speaking of guards…

 

NY BACKCOURT: JR Smith was 1-8 until late in the game, still managing to put up a respectable stat line of 13 points, 7 rebounds and 6 assists. However, with the Melo out the team was in dire need of scoring and playmaking, two things he couldn’t shoulder. Woodson went with Murry over Beno Udrih, who had already notched 4 turnovers before the fourth. Murry made some bad passes himself, but he at least showed some semblance of defense.

Iman Shumpert played like he wanted to be left in Toronto with Landry Fields and Steve Novak. He constantly gambled (and lost) on steals, leading to his man beating him backdoor for layups.

 

FRUSTATION LEVELS HIGH: Shumpert was seen barking back at Woodson in the waning minutes. Chandler also shoved Jonas Valanciunas under the basket. After the game, Chandler had to restrained by Herb Williams for some unknown reason.

 

FROM TERRIBLE BACK TO BAD: Is there any hope going into 2014? Well, at least when Melo finally comes back, the team will still be bad and flawed, but just a little less terrible than they are right now.

The Chucking Chronicles: JR Smith Speaks on His 17 3-Pt Attempts Against Bucks

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The Knicks held on for a double overtime win Wednesday night in Milwaukee, largely in part due to a late jumper from JR Smith. While that play sealed it, the most eye-catching stat of the night among JR’s 23 shot attempts was an astounding 5-17 from downtown. To say our streaky shooting guard was gunning is an understatement. Below is what JR had to say about his shooting and what Knicks fans can expect in future games.

Long as NY wins, JR can shoot at his heart’s content.

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Tyson Chandler Returns to Starting Lineup Against Bucks

Brooklyn Nets v New York Knicks

Knicks center Tyson Chandler has confirmed that he will return to the starting lineup tonight against the Milwaukee Bucks.

Chandler has been sidelined since November 6 after fracturing his right fibula in a collision with Bobcats guard Kemba Walker. In his absence, the Knicks have struggled mightily on the defensive end, posting an overall record of 7-17.

In the four games Chandler has played this year, he’s averaged 7 points, 9 rebounds, 1 steal and 2.5 blocks.

Coach Woodson has also confirmed that the addition of Chandler will move Andrea Bargnani to the bench, and Carmelo Anthony to the power forward position.

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Finally, some good news! I’m not expecting Chandler to be an immediate savior since the team’s problems are varied. In addition, it’ll take some games before his timing and legs are fully back. But from a morale standpoint, just his presence will be a huge energy burst for this team. The road to .500 begins tonight…

Amar’e Stoudemire Out Indefinitely with Knee Swelling?

Stat

The questions about if Amar’e Stoudemire’s knees would hold up sans a minute restriction have been answered, as the injury-ridden former All-Star may be sitting indefinitely due to swelling.

The news came in scrimmage practice following the Knicks’ 102-101 loss at home to the Washington Wizards. According to Coach Mike Woodson, Stoudemire could be “out a while” due to the flare-ups.

Last night, Stoudemire took to Twitter and refuted the injury claims, stating he is only being held back as a precaution.

Fans, IM NOT INJURED, just want u to know I’m ONLY stay’n bk bc of 6 games n 9 days w/ bk2bks! Body & Knees feel great!

The Knicks play tonight on the road against the Milwaukee Bucks.

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While I’d like to share Stat’s optimism, history tells me the man is banged up. This injury now reduces the Knicks available big men to Andrea Bargnani and Cole Aldrich. Tyson Chandler may be back this week, but likely not for tonight. I’m convinced the boxing gods hate us…

 

Melo the Closer – Knicks 111, Hawks 106

THJ_Knicks_Hawks

The Knicks overcame the heartbreak of Friday’s defeat in Boston by putting together a wholly efficient offensive performance to take a 111-106 victory over a red-hot shooting Atlanta Hawks team at Madison Square Garden. Outside of one moping player, all was well in NYC last night.

 

GOOD AND BAD DEFENSE: The Knicks did an excellent job of disrupting the Hawks offense with deflections and steals. They forced 12 turnovers in the first half and 27 for the entire game. It was completely necessary to offset the scorching shooting of the Hawks, who shot around 60% for most of the game. The percentage was due to the inside dominance of Paul Millsap (18 points, 8 rebounds) and Al Horford (17 points, 6 rebounds) coupled with the Knicks guards amazingly losing Kyle Korver on the perimeter (13 points, 4-9 from three).

THE SPARKS: We know Melo will get his, but the question with this Knicks team is who backs up our star player. Last night it was Tim Hardaway Jr. (13 points) who was aggressive getting to the rim for several dunks in the first half. Stoudemire (9 points, 5 rebounds) had a quieter game by his recent standards, but his output was great in getting the Knicks breathing room in the second quarter despite the Hawks shooting around 56% in the first half.

MELO THE FOCUS BUT TEAM EFFORT: The second half is where the team has had problems and in the third bad defense reared its ugly head. The Knicks had a 62-48 lead after the first few minutes, but left Korver open for back to back treys to help ignite a 15-6 run. ATL could not miss from the perimeter and were just behind 81-77 going into the fourth.

Up until that point, Melo had shot 9/15 from the field. There were a few rushed shots from him, but outside of that the team made his job much easier. Prigioni was dishing sweet passes to Melo and Bargnani. And speaking of Prigioni, his shooting kept the defense honest, dropping 11 points (3-6 from downtown). This gave NY a nice 15-point cushion late — under those cirmcumstances, Melo’s heat-check three, which went in to make the lead 106-93, was welcomed. Melo ended with another good stat line of 35 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists.

The reason for the seemingly close score was Atlanta hitting four straight threes in less than two minutes of garbage time.

SULKING JR: Although JR Smith got the starting assignment at small forward, he managed just 1-8 from the field in 24 minutes (benched for all of the 4th). He looked like he was at a funeral on the sidelines with Prigioni trying to console him. This comes on the heels of JR just attempting one shot against Boston.

A lot of fans are ready to ship JR out, but my memory is not short. His bench play last year was key in our team finishing at the second seed. With the knee surgery, I’ll give JR at least until the All-Star break to get it together.

1ST HALF HIGHLIGHTS

[youtube http://youtu.be/zAe9qyJBdRg]

[Videos] Backcourt, Where Art Ye? — Celtics 90, Knicks 86

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BOSTON, MA —  Considering it was “Friday Night Knicks” AND Friday the 13th, another ridiculous and painful loss should have been expected. After a masterful third quarter filled with excellent ball movement with our frontcourt of Melo (26 points), Bargnani (22 points) and Stoudemire (18 points) carrying the scoring load behind nice pick n’ rolls and sweet passes from the likes of Pablo Prigioni, it all went to hell in the fourth with ice-cold shooting, broken plays, and a fatigued Melo trying to bail the team out with seconds remaining on the shot clock (he couldn’t). As you can deduce from the title, the bulk of this defeat falls on our backcourt and the coaching rotations of Coach Woodson.

BACKCOURT INEPTITUDE: Let’s get started with the reason the game was lost. Our guards shot a combined 3-20. Prigioni was 1-6 (although he did contribute 8 assists), Iman Shumpert 1-8 (including several airballs), and JR Smith went 0-1 despite playing 26 minutes and the entire fourth quarter (he sheepishly said afterward he was trying to get his teammates involved). There’s no way a team can win getting that little from their guard rotations.

The main issue that stood out is when the defense tightens, none of our guards can break down their man and get to the rim. This leads to a lot of passing on the perimeter that fails to set up the plays and leaves Melo, the only player that can consistently take his man one on one, being left to try to make something happen (many times 20 feet away from the basket). Secondly, our backcourt can’t keep anyone in front of them, putting a lot of pressure on a frontcourt that isn’t the most savvy defensively with Chandler still out.

4TH QUARTER CHOKE: The Knicks had a 73-68 going into the quarter but had to go at it without Kenyon Martin , who left the game limping with an abdominal strain. That hurt on the defensive end because K-Mart was having a strong game altering lay-ups and snatching down rebounds (8 points, 7 rebounds). Our defensive rotations got sloppy and the Celtics went on a 13-2 run to tie it at 81. A Melo drive for a three-point play would give NY their last lead to 84-81. Open back to back threes from Courtney Lee (18 points) and Avery Bradley (13 points) put the Celtics up for good 86-84. New York had their opportunities — Bargnani had a few open mid-range jumpers that bricked, and Melo’s pass out of a double team for an open JR Smith three could have put the Knicks back in front. The team could only manage 13 points in the quarter and were outscored 22-13.

STAT POSITIVITY: Amar’e Stoudemire continued his excellent offensive play, shooting 7-9 (18 points) and nabbing 5 rebounds. Once again, he seemed to be phased out for much of the 4th despite hitting a bailout jumper to put the Knicks up 81-78. We’ll all continue to be skeptical in wondering if his knees hold up, but so far he’s looking spry and strong in the post. As a precaution, he’ll likely sit today’s game against the Atlanta Hawks.

MORE HOPE ON THE HORIZON: From comments yesterday, it appears that Tyson Chandler will return this coming week. That won’t fix everything, but at least the interior defense and rebounding will get a boost.

The Knicks are back at the Garden tonight to face the Hawks at 7:30 p.m. ET.

[Video] Melo’s “23 Days of Flight” Jordan Commercial

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Last season, Kobe had the “death stare.” I’m sure the “Melo stare,” as you’ll see shortly in this commercial, has been the look he’s given a few teammates with the Knicks’ 6-15 start this year. Check out the full video that shows Melo’s preparation for a game, and his reaction when he finds out that he’s without the latest Jordan gear.

[youtube http://youtu.be/2_mgCnuS1mU]

Knicks Owner James Dolan Puts Lowry Trade on Ice (For Now…

KyleLowry

Knicks owner James Dolan has reportedly cooled talks with the Toronto Raptors regarding a potential trade for Kyle Lowry.

According to the NY Post, Dolan’s decision was influenced by the fact terms of the potential deal leaked. Per unnamed industry sources, the trade would have required the Knicks to give up Raymond Felton, Metta World Peace, either Iman Shumpert or Tim Hardaway Jr., or a 2018 first round pick to make the deal.

Dolan was not keen on giving up the pick and has preference to keep rookie Hardaway. Dolan and Raptors general manager Masai Ujiri previously worked together in 2010 when Ujiri, then GM of the Denver Nuggets, worked out a trade that sent Carmelo Anthony to New York for Danilo Gallinari, Wilson Chandler, Timofey Mozgov, Felton, $3 million in cash, plus a 2014 first-round pick and two second-round picks.

“Dolan didn’t want to get fleeced again by Masai,” an unnamed Knicks source to the Post about Dolan’s reluctance. “They had a deal ready.”

At press time, the Knicks still may reconsider the trade as rivals the Brooklyn Nets are also in the running.

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Dolan showing restraint?!!! I’m shocked. As much as we desperately need stability at the point guard position, that is definitely way too much to give up. The Raptors are trying to clear space and tank for next year’s loaded draft, so it’s not like they are in a big position of power. Metta just got here and we’re already thin in our frontcourt. Even with him currently out the rotation, his toughness comes in handy when we’re matched with bruising frontcourts. Hardaway Jr. is damn near our only guard that can shoot so it’d be idiotic to move him as well.

Even though this “restraint” is squarely due to Dolan’s bruised ego about the whisperings on how the Melo trade went down, we’ll take it if it means not throwing away another pick nor trading young players with growth potential.

Let our little brothers in Brooklyn take this on if they want to blink first. In the meantime, free Toure Murray at point guard and let him split time with Prigioni.