Tag: New York

No Relief in Sight: Knicks Drop 7th Straight in 96-85 Loss to Pistons

I’m running out of comments – CARMELO ANTHONY

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AUBURN HILLS, MI — Is it the offseason yet? For the Knicks, it might as well be since from their play it’s become quite apparent they no longer care. This is what a broken team with no confidence, pride nor sense of duty in what they do looks like. At this point, predicting how a Knicks game will go is quite easy. They’ll jump out to a quick lead (this time 14 points), blow it as soon as they get, and let their defensive woes get them blown off the court in the fourth when they fail to get stops. Oh, and let’s not forget letting someone on the oppoosing side notch a career-high in some category.

BACKCOURT TRASH: Our starting backcourt of JR Smith and Raymond Felton was absolutely woeful with both going scoreless for the entire first half. JR managed 16 points for the game, but that was only due to gunning when the game had already been decided in the fourth. They shot a dismal 6-26 for the game. Iman Shumpert (5 points, 2/7) and Tim Hardaway Jr. (0 points, 0/6) couldn’t provide much of a spark off the bench, either.

ANOTHER GUARD GOES OFF: During this losing streak, we’ve seen the likes of Stephen Curry (triple double) and DJ Augustin have monster games. Last night Will Bynum got in on the fun, scoring all of his 16 points in the fourth quarter. Opposing guards seem to realize by the start of the fourth that our guards can defend and start picking us apart.

LATEST CAREER HIGH: Andre Drummond was a beast last night. Aside from schooling Amar’e Stoudemire in the paint during the third quarter (six straight points on various spin moves), he pulled down a career high 28 rebounds.

STAT N’ MELO: When it came to offense, New York only got consistent production out of these two. Stoudemire scored 22 points and Melo added 28. While their shooting percentages were strong, the ball movement wasn’t consistent, so a good bulk of their points had to come through isolation plays.

WOODY: Raymond Felton continues to get paraded out for heavy minutes despite being a clear detriment on the floor. Felton played 32 minutes, going 1/9 from the floor (4 points). Any competent coach would have benched him a long time ago for Prigioni and Toure Murry, who can’t possibly do any worse.

We’ll see if the Knicks can make the bleeding stop on Wednesday when they head to the Target Center to face the Timberwolves.

Raymond Felton Arrested on Felony Gun Charges

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Knicks starting point guard Raymond Felton was arrested on Tuesday morning and faces three counts of criminal firearm possession.

Initial reports claimed Felton was arrested for pointing a gun at an unidentified woman. However, a New York police spokesman clarified that Felton is facing second, third and fourth degree criminal charges because the weapon is not registered and not for any threatening actions.

Felton turned himself in to the 20th Precinct on the Upper West Side of Manhattan at 12:50 a.m. The Knicks played earlier in the evening, losing to the Dallas Mavericks 110-108.

At press time, Felton has not released an official statement on the matter.

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There are a lot of crass jokes that can be inserted about this situation (namely the idea that Felton could shoot with any accuracy). With that said, this is definitely not a laughing matter — New York gun laws are among the strictest in the United States and a person’s celebrity won’t save them. We all remember the famous case of Giants receiver Plaxico Burress receiving a 3.5 year sentence despite shooting himself by accident in a New York City nightclub back in 2009.

Any sane Knicks fan wants Felton gone, but most of us would like the man to keep his freedom. If this does result in time away from the team, one positive is that Coach Woodson would literally have no choice but to play Toure Murry.

PATHETIC! Knicks Blow 17-Point Lead, Fall to Hawks 107-98

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Weak. Weak in all facets: defense, mentally, offensive execution… you name it. Not even 24 hours after squandering a 14-point lead against the tanking Magic, the Knicks repeated their disgraceful play in allowing another team to let their guards run amuck and a random player get a career high (Mike Scott, 30 points off the bench) as the Hawks embarrassed them in the fourth quarter. And keep in mind this was with two of the Hawks’ best players, Paul Millsap and Al Horford, out with injuries.

This team is hopeless. Just sit back and watch the train wreck.

STRONG FIRST HALF: Outside of a bad defensive run early in the second quarter, the Knicks played well on both sides of the court. Over the last nine minutes of the half, they went on a 29-6 run to take a 52-39 lead. Overall, they outscored the Hawks 29-15 in the second quarter. Melo had 19 points, Chandler 13 rebounds, and all seemed well for NY. But if you had watched this team recently, you knew no lead was safe, and New York showed their usual true colors over the second half.

A LAZY TEAM GETS SUBPAR RESULTS: After coming out strong going up 56-39, the Knicks started to do what they always do — take their foot off the gas and start going against everything they got them success. The defensive rotations started coming slower, allowing guys like DeMarre Carroll and Mike Scott to swish open threes and drive to the basket. Jeff Teague suddenly realized the Knicks guards are the worst defensive group in the league and started driving to the rim at will.

By the beginning of the fourth, the Hawks had rattled off 3 consecutive treys to take a 77-73 lead. They never looked back.

HARDAWAY JR. – HOW CAN DEFENSE BE SO BAD???: No one was really good defensively tonight, but the player who stood out as the absolute worst was Tim Hardaway Jr. Now, we all love our fearless rookie, but that’s no excuse for the woeful defense he exhibited over and over. He makes Steve Novak look like Scottie Pippen. On fast breaks, his feet moved like a newborn deer. When attempting to guard Jeff Teague, he got blown by at will for layups.

You could tell the schooling was rattling him on the offensive end, as his normal sharp-shooting eroded into a 3/10 night (1/5 from three).

YOU ALREADY KNOW WITH FELTON: Our usual whipping boy started off good with six assists in the first half. But as usual, he was another Knicks guard getting blown by on defense, giving up three-pointers and bricking open shots.

4TH QUARTER FUCKERY: For the rest of the season, every Knicks fourth quarter should be accompanied with Benny Hill theme music. They were outscored 39-25, and Melo had to come back within 3 minutes, making his rest ridiculously short. He tried to will us to another win, but another strong effort (35 points, 52% shooting) was wasted.

KILL IT WITH FIRE: Hey Knicks, want to ensure that Melo sticks around this offseason? The best thing you can tell him is that no one, with the possible exception of Hardaway, will be back. That’s right, I want this whole team gone. Watching them is now making me physically ill. Buy them all out like Metta and Beno.

[Video] Get This Man Some Help! Melo’s 42 Ends Knicks 3-Game Skid, Beat Pelicans 98-91

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We actually won a close game! When Raymond Felton (SMH) hit the deck and allowed Tyreke Evans to put the Pelicans ahead (91-90) with roughly 2:00 remaining, the game was ready to become a replay of Tuesday’s defeat to the Grizzlies. Instead, Carmelo Anthony put forth a Herculean effort, punctuated by 42 points (13 points in the fourth), to will the Knicks to much-needed victory. But as usual, it was the game the Knicks made harder than it needed to be.

STARTING LINEUP DISAPPOINTMENTS: Outside of Melo, no one in last night’s starting lineup (Shumpert, Chandler, Felton, Prigioni) managed to score in double figures. Shump was 1-6 (4 points) before leaving the game in the second with a left ACL sprain. Felton was 1-8 (5 points), while Chandler managed 4 points and Prigioni 6. With that type of production, it’s a wonder Melo didn’t gas out again in the fourth as we’ve seen in recent games. Whether you like Melo’s game or not, it’s clear to everyone watching Knicks game that he’s the main reason this beleagured squad still has a chance of making the playoffs.

BENCH GUNNERS: JR Smith (19 points) and Tim Hardaway (16 points) stepped up big time to keep the team afloat. They were essential in getting the Knicks the lead in the second, and pushing it to double digits in the third quarter.

4TH QUARTER COLLAPSE AVERTED: The Pelicans ripped off an 11-0 run to take a 83-81 lead with 7:25 left. From there, the game became a seesaw battle for several plays. Coach Woodson re-inserted Tyson Chandler, who had some key rebounds (11 for the game) but also a few blunders. The worst was turning his back on the ball, which allowed Prigioni’s man to burn him for an easy layup and put the Pelicans back up 89-88 with 3:50.

Luckily for us, Melo went into God mode for the remaining minutes. With the towering Anthony Davis in his face, Melo recovered from a block and knocked down a jumper. On their next possession, Chandler keep a baseline loose ball alive that allowed Melo to hit a layup to make it 94-91. With Davis again all over him, Melo drove for a stop and pop jumper to push the lead to 94-91. To put the nail in the coffin, Melo got a steal and then hit another stop and pop jumper (this time over an inspired Luke Babbitt) to make it 98-91.

It’s a shame Melo has to run himself into the ground every game just to barely pull out wins. Unfortunately, the Knicks have no choice but to ride the man’s talent in hopes of securing a playoff berth.

OTHER INJURIES: Amar’e Stoudemire sat this one out and Kenyon Martin is also nursing nagging injuries.

[Video] Sweet Revenge: Knicks Pummel Celtics 114-88

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It’s always a great evening when the Celtics get smashed. The worst defeat the Knicks suffered this season was an embarrassing 41-point defeat to Boston at home, so it was highly appropriate that New York returned the favor with this rout. 

 

MELO SETS THE TONE: The Knicks came out the gate with Carmelo Anthony dropping 2 assists via backdoor cuts from Iman Shumpert. The team quickly followed the ball movement lead to a 12-0 run that had New York up 18-5. JR Smith added two triples and when the first quarter ended, the Knicks had 9 assists on 62% shooting for a 31-15 cushion. The sparks for this great start were Melo (11 points, 2 assists, 2 steals), Tyson Chandler (5 rebounds) and Kenyon Martin (4 points, 1 block).

BENCH FIREPOWER: There was no dropoff when the second unit came in to start the second quarter. In fact, the Knicks bench blew the game open. Lead by Jeremy Tyler delivering his best game of the season (17 points, 5 rebounds, 2 blocks), New York had 63 points from the reserves, allowing Melo and company to get extended rest in the second and all of the fourth quarter. JR chipped in 17, and Tim Hardaway Jr. added his dribble penetration and deadly 3-point shooting for 16 points.

CHANDLER ON THE RISE: It was a struggle his first few games back, but Chandler is starting to get back into a groove on offense and defense (12 points, 13 rebounds). He was the recipient of several nasty alley-oops, and when Tyson gets those touches his defensive intensity picks up. 

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AUDITION FOR RONDO?: In the off-season, stories began circulating that Melo was pushing for the Knicks to sign Rondo. A few months back, Rondo’s high school coach said Melo was actively trying to recruit him. Rondo is just six games back into his comeback from ACL surgery, so he doesn’t have his legs and looked pretty bad out there (7 points, 5 assists, 4 turnovers). 

However, if Rondo can get back to his old form, he’d be a huge asset for Melo’s game. All ACL injuries aren’t created the same, so I’m sure the Knicks will be monitoring his progress closely to see if he bounces back like Shumpert, or slides  further like we’ve seen with Derrick Rose. I’m banking on the former happening.

THREE AND NO REASON TO STOP: The Knicks are on a three game winning streak and have the Cleveland Cavaliers next on Thursday (January 30). The Cavs are struggling having lost four of their last five, so the Knicks should keep this streak going.

SOUR NOTES: Shumpert left the game early with a right shoulder strain, a re-aggravation of an injury he suffered in the pre-season. K-Mart was also forced to sit after re-aggravating his left ankle sprain. Metta World Peace returned, so we’ll just have to pray he can step up with spot minutes if K-Mart misses any extended time.

 

 

[Video] Team Effort: Melo, Felton and Chandler Power Knicks Past Lakers

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NEW YORK CITY, NY — Weekend afternoon games have not been kind to the Knicks this season. Whether it’s due to partying or just lack of focus is anyone’s guess. This wasn’t an issues yesterday (well, at least on offense) as New York but together a total team effort highlighted by big games from Carmelo Anthony (35 points), Tyson Chandler (13 points, 14 rebounds), Raymond Felton (20 points), Tim Hardaway Jr. (18 points) and JR Smith (16 points) to take their latest “must-win” game over the Los Angeles Lakers. The last thing the Knicks needed was a letdown after Melo’s 62 point game and for now, the momentum is still intact.

DEFENSE NEED NOT APPLY: A win is a win, but it was disturbing how badly the Knicks guarded the perimeter. The Lakers burned them for 11 treys on 47% shooting. Felton was the culprit most of the time, but others were pretty lax closing out on the shooters until the final minutes of the game. Jodie Meeks (24 pts) had a 13 points in the third and was a scorching 6/8 from downtown.

The post defense got off to a bad start with Pau Gasol (20 pts) before our trio of bigs, lead by Chandler, clamped down in the second half.

AROUND THE RIM ISSUES: Jeremy Tyler and Cole Aldrich had some really good defensive stops and rebounds, but their offense also had you yelling at the TV. On about four occasions they missed point-blank shots at the rim. Once they get more comfortable with their playing time, that should cease.

THJ: Our rookie was on fire. Tim went 4/5 from downtown and attacked the basket for a sweet 3-point play. His best sequence came in the third when he swished a three-pointer and was the recipient of a Melo alley-oop to extend the NY lead to 83-79.

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FUN FACT: Since resigning from the Knicks and going to LA, Mike D’Antoni is winless at Madison Square Garden. Expect Melo to keep it that way.

On Wednesday, the Knicks will host the Boston Celtics.

[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.

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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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Tyson Chandler Returns to Starting Lineup Against Bucks

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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…

[Video] Kyrie Irving Goes for 37, Knicks Lose 109-94

 

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How were the Knicks going to respond to that disgraceful 40-point thrashing at home to the Boston Celtics?

With another double-digit loss, of course. Carmelo Anthony and Amar’e Stoudemire gave strong efforts, but found themselves failed miserably by their guards, who couldn’t score or play adequate defense as Kyrie Irving had his best game of the season (37 points, 11 assists). This second straight defeat puts the Knicks back at square one regarding the questions about their mentality and unquestionably puts Mike Woodson back on the chopping block (who says he ever left it?).

 

VINTAGE BAD START: The Knicks went all out in trying to duplicate the horrific first quarter of the Celtics game. They gave up 16 free throws and were at one point down 27-9. They ended the quarter in a 31-19 hole,. but tightened up their defense in the second behind the inspired bench play of Stat (15 points). A Melo three-pointer got them within a point (46-45), but then a bunch of pounding and plodding isolation plays stalled the offense and allowed the Cavs to hold a small 48-45 lead at halftime.

3RD QUARTER MELTDOWN: Melo had 7 early quarter points and the team was well within striking distance. Then the team inexplicably started playing foolish. Everyone got three-point happy, in addition to not boxing out on rebounds nor guarding the perimeter. Irving abused Raymond Felton and Pablo Prigioni for 12 points in the quarter and the Cavs frontcourt got several putback slams off missed jumpers. The Cavs were draining their own threes and before long the deficit had ballooned to 73-60 off a Irving crossover and pullup trey on Prigioni. The last putback dunk on the Knicks had Melo throwing his hands up in exasperation at his team’s effort.

When the smoke cleared, the Knicks took a 81-65 deficit into the fourth.

NO BETTER IN THE LAST 12: The fourth quarter was no better. The Cavs pushed the lead at one point to 19 (88-69), and basically rode the hot shooting of Irving, who made the game into an Uncle Drew exhibition on our hapless Knicks guards.

BLAME MELO? PLEASE…: Games like this serve as a perfect example of why blaming Carmelo Anthony for the wretched start to the season is so ridiculous. The man’s stat line was 29 points (12-19 shooting), 8 rebounds and 3 assists. Sure, Melo is far from perfect. He doesn’t have the best instincts with his help defense, and of course he gets into volume-shooting habits too much at times. But from day one, he’s been our most consistent player in terms of effort and contributions. The guard play was abysmal and with Bargnani having a cold shooting night (11 points, 5/17), Melo’s effort was essentially wasted.

STOUDEMIRE: Amar’e defense and rebounding will always be an issue, but he at least put up points last night and had two great blocks at the rim. He played 27 minutes and had 17 points on 7/10 shooting. If his knees hold up (stop laughing), he could end up being our bench lead as originally intended.

The bleeding likely continues tonight as the Knicks face the Bulls.

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

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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