Tag: NBA

Happy New Year! Amar’e Stoudemire to Make 1/1/13 Debut Against Trailblazers

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Knicks co-captain Amar’e Stoudemire will make his long-awaited season debut tonight at Madison Square Garden against the Portland Trailblazers.

Stoudemire had been sidelined the entire season after undergoing a left knee debridement procedure in October. He completed his first scrimmage on December 19 and completed a full contact practice with no problems.

Stoudemire is expected to come off the bench for the forseeable future, manning a formidable second unit with the team’s second leading scorer, JR Smith.

Source: Yahoo Sports

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A low-post presence? More rebounding? Scoring help? Stat’s return couldn’t have come at a better time with Melo and Sheed questionable for tonight. Let’s keep our fingers crossed that Stat has a monster game to start his season off right. I know for sure the Garden will give him a thunderous ovation. Once Shumpert is back, the circle will be complete.

[Video] Iman Shumpert’s December 30 Practice

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Iman Shumpert’s will be returning to the Knicks lineup in January after eight months sidelined with a torn ACL. Here is a glimpse of his training conducted yesterday. Shumpert has not started full contact practices at this time.

#@*! a Moral Victory: Knicks Erase 27-Point Deficit But Lose on Kings Buzzer-Beater 106-105

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It finally came back to bite us in the ass.  Playing pathetic defense and letting trash teams hang around has happened a few times this season, most notably in December on the road to the Bobcats and Suns. But each time, the Knicks played great fourth quarter D and JR Smith hit heroic buzzer-beating shots to steal the games. Well, this time we got to feel the heartbreak ourselves with James Johnson heaving up a miracle three to snatch away what would have been the greatest comeback in Knicks history. Personally, this game still has me pissed off and these are the reasons why.

 

LESSON LEARNED: You play two halves of basketball for a reason, New York. I don’t know if the Knicks were thrown off because of the last start time (10 p.m. ET time) or what, but their defense in the first half was the worst it’s been the whole season. Coach Woodson was incredulous watching Kings guards essentially having an open look shooting drill from the three-point arc. You had guys like Jimmer Fredette coming off the bench and scoring 15 points in 12 minutes off 6-7 shooting from downtown. The Knicks had no effort on each side of the ball and our ineptness was puncuated by Chris Copeland getting blocked on a fast break by little guard Aaron Brooks. And not to mention that block lead to a Kings fast break and a three-pointer.

It doesn’t matter that we were missing a good chunk of our starting lineup; giving up 71 points at the half to the Kings is not acceptable. In the second half, the Knicks held Sacramento to 35 points. I hope the lesson that Woodson crashed home in the postgame is that if we had of played any semblance of defense in the first half, this would have been a Knicks blowout win.

 

KIDD’s KEY MISTAKE AND CRITICAL MISSED SHOTS: Jason Kidd is our glue, but last night 2 of his 5 turnovers resulted in us not being able to steal the victory. Kidd turned the ball over twice, the last in trying to get a lob to Chandler, that lead to Kings forward James Johnson hitting his first three-pointer of the season. In hindsight, our last three possessions went heavy on isolation and trying to wear the clock down instead of ball movement to maximize scoring opportunities. Chandler made several offensive tipbacks to give us extra possessions but we failed to convert on any which would’ve iced the game.

The other problem is the missed free throws. Chandler was a beast everywhere else in getting 21 points and 18 rebounds, but his 3-9 at the free throw line (including a key miss in the final minutes), came back to haunt us. The rest of the team was no better as we shot 12-20 (60%).

 

IF SOMEONE ELSE GETS INJURED I’LL SCREAM: How much more bad luck can we have? The early word from last night was that Tyson Chandler was seen limping in the locker room due to a sprained ankle. He won’t miss any time but I’m really desperate, as most Knicks fans are, to see this squad at full strength. Melo, Rasheed Wallace and Amar’e Stoudemire are all scheduled to come back sometime next week, with the first two expected to be back on January 1. Their presence is sorely needed.

 

THE BRIGHT SPOTS: Chris Copeland’s first half defense was trash like everyone else’s, but his scoring was very impressive. He had the jumper working and was aggressive in dropping 23 points. JR Smith continued his excellent play with a season-high 28 points coupled with 7 rebounds and 5 assists. Marcus Camby didn’t have a strong rebounding game (just 2 boards), but his 11 minutes were key in our comeback as he had four emphatic blocks around the rim.

In the end, we’re still 21-9 despite the erratic play of the last two weeks. In a few days we’ll start 2013 with several of our most important players back and our best perimeter defender in Iman Shumpert is scheduled to make his return by mid-January. It would have been great to end the year with our greatest comeback in overcoming a 27 point deficit, but Knicks fans have many reasons to be hopeful in the New Year.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DJrkWXweDjw&feature=youtube_gdata_player]

[Poll] Charlotte or Phoenix – Which JR Smith Game Winner Was Better?

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JR Smith has activated his “clutch gene” this year courtesy of two dramatic game-winners over the Charlotte Bobcats and Phoenix Suns within the last month. Both shots were made under pressure from tight defense, but which jumper was the better shot? Personally, I give the Charlotte one more style points because of JR’s smug pose afterward while being mobbed by his team mates. But when you look at the difficulty of the Phoenix shot coupled with just a second left and the need for Jason Kidd to deliver a perfect pass, I’m going with JR’s dagger to the Suns. What really made both shots great was the Knicks fans being deep on the road and making the reactions look like Madison Square Garden.

No Surgery for Raymond Felton’s Finger, Still to Miss 4-6 Weeks

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The Knicks have confirmed Raymond Felton will not need surgery to repair a complex fracture to his right pinky suffered on Christmas day against the Los Angeles Lakers.

Felton consulted a hand specialist in New York yesterday and was given a 4-6 week recovery period with a splint used to stablize the pinky.

The recovery period will also give Felton time to heal from other nagging injuries to his hand, including a bone bruise suffered several weeks ago.

Felton is averaging 15.8 points and 6 assists. Jason Kidd, who has spent the majority of the season at shooting guard, will move to point and split duties with Pablo Prigioni until Felton’s return

Felton and Melo Are Out… JR Isn’t: Swish Hits Another Game-Winner In Phoenix

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With Christmas being a disappointment courtesy of the Lakers, yesterday evening’s game against the Phoenix Suns was supposed to be an easy bounce back game. We had already bested them by a comfortable margin earlier in the season. That meant nothing as the Suns played inspired ball behind Jared Dudley, who dropped a career-high 36 points. But in the end, it was key defensive stops and timely buckets that lifted this depleted Knicks squad to a much-needed road win.

JR SMITH DOES IT AGAIN: Not only did JR hit the game-winner with just a second left, but the man from St. Benedict’s Prep also hit a contested circus shot the possession before to tie the game. If the latter shot doesn’t go in, we lose this game. Smith never lost his confidence despite bad shooting early in the game. Coach Woodson knew our chances of winning hinged on Smith breaking out at some point and that’s exactly what happened. Smith was also great on defensive with key fourth quarter steals and deflections. His stat line was awesome with 27 points, 5 assists, 5 steals and 6 rebounds off the bench. JR showed a bit of his nasty side too in taking out Goran Drajic.

JASON KIDD REMAINS YOUNG AT HEART: J-Kidd is our glue and proved it again last night with a phenomenal game on both ends of the floor. He mixed up his attack with three pointers (5-8) and driving to the basket. His 23 points were sorely needed, but his biggest contribution was on the defensive end during the last possession for the Suns with the game tied at 97. Kidd caused a deflection which lead to Telfair stepped out-of-bounds And with the game on the line, Kidd delivered a perfect inbounds pass to Smith and the rest is history.

CHANDLER AND CAMBY DELIVER THE 1-2 PUNCH: Candler shook of his bad Christmas game with an excellent effort (14 points, 12 rebounds, 2 blocks and just 2 fouls). Our rebounding normally goes in the trash can when Tyson sits, but Camby showed why he’s another invaluable pickup, notching 9 rebounds (4 offensive) in just 13 minutes! Camby is still rusty in regards to finishing around the rim and passing, but his defensive presence and rebounding is all we need from him right now. And lo and behold, with Camby playing well the Knicks win the rebounding battle 41-38.

BAD DEFENSE WE CAN LIVE WITH: Yes, seeing Jared Dudley drop 36 was annoying, but with several backups having to give heavy minutes with our injuries, we’ll have to live with it. Copeland got burned a few times with pump fakes, but he also made key buckets with his 14 points. With Steve Novak still struggling, another scorer was key to spreading the floor and Copeland was it.

While I’m not a fan of these down to the wire games against lowly competition, they serve as great confidence builders for our bench and can only help with poise when the playoffs come. Don’t get content, Miami. NY is still right on your heels in the standings.

MSG VERSION

[Video] Bah Humbug! Knicks Out of Sync in the 4th, Lakers Prevail 100-94

 

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To hell with Christmas! Well, maybe I shouldn’t go that far, but watching the Knicks slowly become unglued in the fourth quarter yesterday afternoon to drop a very winnable game to the Los Angeles left a sour taste in my mouth. It was a game of runs and standout performances, most notably Metta World Peace’s 16 point second quarter and Carmelo Anthony’s 17 point third, but in the end the Lakers got the stops they needed and punctuated the game with a Pau Gasol waltz through the lane for a dunk with just six seconds left on the shot clock.

It’s not the end of the world, but yesterday’s game was one that could’ve made a statement instead of highlighting our squad’s glaring flaws.

 

WEAK OFFENSE: Outside of Melo’s 34 points and JR Smith chipping in 25, everyone scored in single digits and shot horribly. Raymond Felton was the worst culprit in missing several floaters in the game and having one horrible sequence where multiple layups were missed under the rim. He shot 5-19 and the one positive of his performance was the 0 turnovers. But as the point guard, the flow of the offense falls on him and it was terrible in the decisive fourth.

 

HOWARD BESTS TYSON: All of last year, Tyson Chandler pretty much neutralized Dwight Howard one on one. Yesterday, it was Dwight who got the better of our center, especially on the defensive end. Howard repeatedly deflected our money Felton-Chandler lobs and altered nearly every shot at the rim. Chandler fumbled multiple passes and finished with a stat line of 6 points and nine rebounds before fouling out.

 

NOT FINISHING: Our free throw shooting was infuriating, going 9-16 for an unacceptable 56%. Aside from that, we couldn’t finish at the rim for nothing. Yes, Dwight Howard was down low, but much of it was our players failing to go up strong.

 

CAMBY MESSED UP, BUT GIVE HIM TIME: Marcus Camby returned for the first time in a month and nabbed 4 rebounds in 8 minutes. We lost the rebounding battle by just two (40-42) and that’s promising. Camby did mess up badly with one bad turnover and a missed defensive switch assignment that allowed Gasol to finish off the game with a dunk. However, if we are to compete strongly for the rest of the year, his backup minutes behind Chandler for defense and rebounding will be essential.

 

ARE WE REALLY PANICKING AT 20-8?: Everyone take a deep breath. Yes, this squad isn’t playing their best basketball. No, the defense isn’t as strong as it was at the beginning of the season. Time for everyone to be realistic — these guys are not robots and will have off/down periods. Considering Melo and Felton are banged up, Wallace is out, Iman and Amar’e are still waiting in the wings and we’re barely out of first place with a record of 20-8, are we ready to really start signaling the end of the world? Even with this uneven stretch of basketball, we are 3-3 over our last six and 6-4 over our last 10 and just a half game out of first place. Don’t listen to the talking heads. Outside of season-ending injury to our core, we’ll get it together. In the words of our fearless leader Carmelo Anthony:

We missed a lot of easy shots, a lot of little chippers around the basket, shots that we normally make,” Anthony said. “There were some plays that we thought should have went our way down the stretch, but for the most part, we fought. I’ll take this effort any night. If we continue to play with this effort, we’ll win a lot of games.

Getting it together starts tonight when we face the Phoenix Suns. No reason not to get that one.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U9qmfKkYxWM]

Freeway ft. Tek, Rasheed Wallace and Iman Shumpert – “Hol Fam”

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Iman Shumpert isn’t the only member of the squad that has bars. Rasheed Wallace joins Shump and Tek of Smif N Wessun for the closing track off Freeway’s just released mixtape Black Santa. Too bad Jason Kidd couldn’t get in on this, too.

Freeway’s mixtape is available HERE.

Techs Galore! Ejections and Bad Play Define Knicks Home Loss to Bulls 110-106

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It would be my luck that the first Knicks home game I attend this season be one of the team’s worst performances. To say the Knicks were out of sync would be an understatement — the shooting, defense and mental focus were all beyond horrific. And yet, the circus that was the fourth quarter made the game quite entertaining even when it became apparent that NY had dug a hole too big to climb out of.

 

The Bricks Just Kept Coming: The Knicks shooting in this game was painful. For most of the contest, the Knicks were shooting an embarrassing 33% from the field and under 25% from three-point range. The Bulls lived up to their league-leading defense but it wasn’t just that. The Knicks got many wide open shots and failed to convert. Our normally sharp-shooting Steve Novak was the worst in logging over 30 minutes and scoring 0 on just three shot attempts. We had three guys score over 20 with none of them being efficient getting there. Raymond Felton (21 points) was 9-21 and couldn’t nail a jumper to save his life. JR Smith (26 points) was 9-20 and Carmelo Anthony (29 points), who was repeatedly turned back  at the rim and frustrated, went 10-25 before being ejected.

Remember when Ronnie Brewer was money earlier this season with that corner three? Well he must have returned to Earth because he couldn’t buy a basket, going 0-4 and causing us fans to groan with every brick. To add insult to injury, he even bricked a free throw.

 

The Whining Returns: During the game, which had the lead at times ballooning over 20 points, the Knicks got more annoyed with every missed bucket and with the physical defense the Bulls were putting on them. At times they had a point — the Bulls were allowed to rough Melo up in the paint while any contact placed on Loul Deng on the opposite end resulted in an immediate foul call. Nonetheless, you have to adjust to the game and Knicks failed miserably doing that.

The defense was very shoddy in getting to the Bulls shooters and gave up plenty momentum-killing three-pointers. Despite all that, the team was still 19-7 coming into tonight and we in the crowd (well most of us) just couldn’t find it in ourselves to boo them.

Melo got tossed but not before getting a standing ovation. Woodson had seen enough and did everything could (including telling the ref “fuck you”) so get an early trip to the locker room, which was granted. By that point the tension was heavy. Chandler and Noah got tangled up and did a little shoving, resulting in both guys being tossed (Chandler on his first technical and Noah had a previous one for being mouthy with the refs). Noah’s post-game comments summed up our mind state during that testy second half.

I don’t think they are used to being down that much. If they were up 20 points, I don’t think they would have been that frustrated.

 

These Refs Suck!: That was the chant we took up last night and it was very appropriate. There were nine technicals in total (6 Knicks, 3 Bulls), resulting from neither team respecting the official calls. And the more technicals resulted in less and less respect from both squads. Several times during the game you could see the refs huddled up trying to figure out how to get matters back under control.

Melo’s second technical was especially suspect (all he did from my seat was stare at the official). The league agreed, as the second tech issued by Olandis Poole has been rescinded. Who knows what could have happened if he stayed in the game. Another ref, John Goble, has issued eight technicals on the Knicks this year, including tossing Rasheed Wallace for his “Ball Don’t Lie!” phrase. And just so Knicks fans can keep track of these guys for future reference, the last ref rounding out last night’s 3 Stooges trio is named Zach Zabra.

If any positive can come out of last night is that it appears the league is closely reviewing the refs and how their quick whistles exacerbated the problems from last night. Expect the Knicks to get some favorable calls on Sunday against the Wolves and hopefully none of these refs will be suited up.

And even with the disappointing Knicks performance, spending time with Mom made it all worthwhile.

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[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uRde5_9b8Og]

[Mixtape] Iman Shumpert – “Th3 #Post90s”

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Before the Knicks take on the Chicago Bulls tonight, treat yourself to Iman Shumpert’s debut mixtape Th3 #Post90s. Shump has did his homework — the tape has its assorted tributes to the 90s (and even 80s) on tracks sampling Arrested Development to Run DMC. But Shumpert doesn’t rely on reliable samples; he has an assorted of original beats with soulful and boom bap arrangements over the typical trap beats.

Iman Shumpert is official. Hope he continues honing his talents in the booth.