But while Davis, an unrestricted free agent, hasn’t been able to get back on the basketball court this season, he could be ready to begin another facet of his career.

May 6, 2012; New York, NY, USA; New York Knicks point guard Baron Davis (85) reacts on the court against the Miami Heat during the first half of game four in the Eastern Conference quarterfinals of the 2012 NBA Playoffs at Madison Square Garden. Knicks won 89-87. Mandatory Credit: Debby Wong-USA TODAY Sports

Davis looks to be headed to television as it is being reported that he is getting his own television show on the Esquire Network (formerly known as G4).

According to Deadline, Davis will be the host of a new half-hour segment to air this summer called “How I Rock It”, which will profile the styles of ”athletes, musicians, celebrities, designers, influencers, and street-style icons” who have worked to set a ”new standard for today’s modern man.”

This concept has a chance to be popular as it pertains to the NBA, at least around playoff time, where postgame attire has become every bit as important as winning basketball games.

For that, Oklahoma City Thunder guard Russell Westbrook would have been the ideal host, but I’m pretty sure he will be busy late into the summer. With that being said, I’m sure Davis could devote an entire segment to Westbrook’s pajama pants and fake rims.

On a serious note though, it’s good to see Davis being active and pursuing other opportunities, although I wouldn’t write off a return to the court next season just yet.

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Until now, exactly what role Davis would serve was unndefined, but we’ve since learned that he will serve in multiple facets.

He will spend some time around the team in an advisory role; he will work with Madison Square Garden’s “Garden of Dreams” Foundation; he’s expected to provide content for MSG’s in-game entertainment and he may do some scouting for the team.

A unrestricted free agent, Davis is expected to miss the entire 2013 season, but in good faith the Knicks have allowed him to rehab his knee at their facilities and wanted Davis to remain involved with the team in some capacity.

He won’t be sitting on the bench during games and won’t have an official title, but him being around the team is a good thing considering he still has close ties with many of the current Knicks players.

Davis still wants to resume his playing career and will likely be out until at least May. His first choice is to return to the Knicks, only time will tell if that is possible after the team signed Raymond Felton and Jason Kidd in the offseason.

“I hope I return. I want to come back,” the point guard said in June, according to Begley. “I want to be a Knick for the rest of my career. Playing in the Garden and the people, the fans. I feel like New York is the mecca of basketball. This was the best stage, for who I am, to give back to the community and play for a top-notch organization.” 

May 6, 2012; New York, NY, USA; New York Knicks point guard Baron Davis (85) gestures to the crowd as he is carried off the court after an injury against the Miami Heat during the second half of game four in the Eastern Conference quarterfinals of the 2012 NBA Playoffs at Madison Square Garden. Knicks won 89-87. Mandatory Credit: Debby Wong-US PRESSWIRE

The Knicks allowed Jeremy Lin to walk and replaced him with the trio of Jason Kidd, Raymond Felton and Pablo Prigioni. But while all of that was going on, did anyone ever wonder what happened to Davis?

Davis was all set to be an unrestricted free agent this season before blowing out his right knee during last season’s playoffs.

But instead of just allowing Davis to walk away injured, the Knicks made a classy move by keeping him around this year.

According to his agent Todd Ramasar, via ESPN’s Jared Zwerling, Davis will remain with the team in “some capacity.”

Being that he’s likely out for the season, he won’t be re-signed as a player, but they’ve treated the injured guard like one of their own, which is indeed a classy move. Since his injury, Davis has been allowed to do all his physical therapy with the Knicks training staff.

According to Zwerling, the role Davis will play won’t have a title or involve him to be on the bench during games, but instead will be more of a mentorship role behind the scenes and during practices.

That’s something he’s very excited about.

“He’ll still be around the team and could kind of help some of the younger guys just through his experience,” Ramasar said. “The Knicks have been wonderful in terms of just extending support to Baron, whether it be through obviously his physical therapy or just having him involved with the organization going forward. He really loves that team and that organization has done an excellent job with Baron, and Baron feels like that’s home. He really, really enjoyed last season with the Knicks.”

The ultimate goal for Davis is a comeback to the NBA as a player, but I think it says a lot about both the Knicks and Davis that they both want to help each other out although Davis isn’t currently under contract to him.

Who knows if his knee will be healthy enough to return to the NBA this season, but at least for now, Davis has a home with the Knicks and they are more than happy to have him on board.

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Time to hand out some grades for the '11-12 Knicks

We’ve had some time to settle down from the Miami series and look back on the season that was. For better or for worse, 2011-12 was an entertaining season for the New York Knicks. The number of identities this team took on feel like something out of Nyjer Morgan’s imagination.

What we’re going to try and do is grade what each player brought to the team this season in regards to the expectations surrounding that player entering the year. For example, since the expectations for a Mike Bibby are completely different for a Carmelo Anthony, if Bibby gets a higher grade than ‘Melo, I’m not saying Bibby was/is a better player. All I would be saying is that Mike Bibby was expected to be a spare part, while Carmelo was the face of the team that under-performed at some points.

OK. Let’s get into this.

Head of the Class - 

Tyson Chandler – A+

- There is no question that from the start of the season to the end, Chandler was the most consistent and balanced Knick on the court. He brought defense to a team that has been dearth of effort on that end of the court since Mike D’Antoni took over, as evident by his Defensive Player of the Year trophy. Plus, the combination of Chandler and Mike Woodson did the impossible: they made Carmelo Anthony hustle. Not to mention, Chandler had an insane field goal possession.

“A” Students - 

Iman Shumpert  - A

Very few Knicks fans actually liked the selection of Shumpert in last year’s first round, and I include myself in that field. However, he certainly out-performed any expectations that were placed on him, and he’s shown that he has the potential to become an elite talent in this league. He broke the starting line-up in his rookie season, and will be, at the worst, a Tony Allen-type player in his career. That’s not a bad floor to have.

Jeremy Lin – A-

The only reason Lin is graded a step lower than Shumpert is simply because he played less games. We know what we all saw from Lin-sanity, but we’re still a little cautious as to just how real that all was. With that being said, unless the Knicks decide to go in a different direction, Jeremy Lin should be their starting point guard next season, and he’ll be a good one, too.

“B” Street -

Steve Novak – B+

What else is there to say about Steve Novak at this point? He led the NBA in 3-pt % and was an absolute force from beyond the arc. The Knicks picked him off the waiver wire scrap heep, so the fact that he made such an impact on the team is why he gets this high of a grade.

Jared Jeffries – B-

I mean, what were we really expecting from Jeffries this year? Energy off the bench, taking a ton of charges and playing strong defense. Check, check and check. At this point, we know what Jared Jeffries is capable of doing and what’s unrealistic to expect. He’s a nice piece to have on the bench, and he proved that yet again this season.

Average “C”s

Carmelo Anthony – C+

OK, time to explain why ‘Melo falls this low. We really went through three different levels of Anthony this season. Out of the gates, he was a flat-out F, playing terrible basketball, looking stagnant on offense and not seeming to give a crap either way. Then, after D’Antoni’s ouster, he played like an MVP, tearing up offensively and playing defense with more vigor. Once we got to the playoffs, it looked like he was trying too hard and his game suffered because of it. Carmelo Anthony was a big reason why the Knicks got to the #7 seed, positively and negatively. He’s also a big reason why they only won one playoff game. This year, he gets a grade a little above average because of the expectations, which only grow after this season.

Baron Davis – C

Remember the time we all thought once Baron Davis got healthy from his initial back problem, he was going to save our season? Oops. Baron Davis didn’t have an impactful year, but he also held his own when he was in the line-up. Unfortunately for Boom Dizzle, it looks like his career is over after that brutal knee injury in Game 4.

J.R. Smith – C

Smith is an interesting case. He absolutely became the Knicks Irrational Confidence Guy off the bench, and there were games he absolutely dominated in that role. However, there were just as many games where Smith was jacking up way too many 3s without getting teammates involved. He was like Al Harrington on steroids when it came to getting the ball on the wing and putting up a shot. I’d like to see Smith return next year because he can be a real valuable sixth man, but it has to be at the right price.

Josh Harrellson – C

This isn’t a knock on Jorts. Instead, he look real good when he did play. But, he didn’t play nearly enough to surpass all expectations this year. He has a solid future moving forward in New York.

“D” List Celebrities 

Landry Fields – D+

Fields was not a complete disappointment, but he definitely regressed in his second season. He showed flashes of Rookie Fields, but Sophomore Fields just didn’t seem to play the game the same way. He didn’t rebound as well, nor score with as much consistency. Maybe it was just a sophomore slump, maybe it was something more. We won’t know until next season which is the real Landry.

Amar’e Stoudemire – D

The amount of times I merely shook my head at a Stoudemire stat line was too many. He was not remotely close to the same player the Knicks gave a max contract to in the off-season of 2010. This all could have been a result of trying to play so many games in a short period of time, or this could be a sign that ‘Melo and STAT will never work. Trust me, this is one of the biggest questions circling around the Knicks front office this off-season.

Mike Bibby – D

He played a couple of games. He didn’t play them really well. That’s Mike Bibby.

Fail

Toney Douglas – F

And a capital F. Toney went from potential starting point guard and strong sixth man to 13th man on the bench. How? We may never know. When he did play this season, he didn’t play well at all. So, its not like the demotion was unjust. I guess we all should be thanking Douglas a little, though. Without him playing so poorly, Mike D’Antoni would’ve never thought to insert Jeremy Lin into the line-up. So, there’s that.

In-com-plete

Jerome Jordan

Was I supposed to be able to judge what this guy can do in the long-term based off his very limited exposure this season?

Dan Gadzuric

Wait…he was on the team????

Is it time for a reunion in New York between Steve Nash and Amar'e Stoudemire?

It didn’t take long at all after the New York Knicks season finished in Miami last night for star forward Amar’e Stoudemire to start clamoring to bring in his former teammate in Phoenix, soon-to-be free agent point guard Steve Nash.

According to The New York Daily News, Amar’e said, “Everyone knows that Steve loves New York and that New York loves Steve. I love Steve. It would be great to have him here next year.”

Clearly, one of the Knicks biggest weaknesses against the Miami Heat in this year’s first round was their play from the point. However, they played without Jeremy Lin for the entire series, got a little bit more than a half out of Iman Shumpert before he went down with a torn ACL, saw Baron Davis’s career end with his bevvy of knee injuries and were forced to start Mike Bibby in a critical Game 5. So, yeah, the Knicks had issues.

But, just one day after the season ended, its a little premature for any of us to start talking about what the Knicks need to do, or should do for that matter, in order to improve this off-season. There are a ton of questions that need answering.

And maybe the first one that needs to be addressed: is Amar’e Stoudemire an active part of the Knicks future? Is there a team out there that would take the remaining three years on his contract, along with his uninsured knees, so the Knicks would have more financial flexibility? With that said, I fully expect STAT to stay here in New York and be ready to contribute in a more normal, non-condensed 66 game season. I think that many games in so few days really took its toll on Amar’e. He’s better than how he played this year, and we’ll see that next year.

After answering that question, remember Lin-sanity? And how Knicks fans wanted to give him a max contract after his incredible seven-game win streak once he was inserted into the starting line-up? Well, the team needs to figure out his value, and if he’s worth the money that will be necessary to lock him up as their starting point guard.

Then the team will need to figure out what to do about key reserves like J.R. Smith and Steve Novak, who are both in line for raises after their strong 2012 campaigns. In that regard, I see Novak sticking around far more likely than Smith, who signed for the mini-mid level exception after escaping China in February.

Look, the Knicks aren’t going to have a ton of money to play around with, so any free agent decision they do make needs to be the correct one. This team also lacks a first-round draft pick this year, which means they won’t be able to build bench depth with cheap rookie contracts like they were able to do last year with Iman Shumpert.

Carmelo Anthony and Amar’e Stoudemire will play next year with max contracts. Tyson Chandler’s contract is above the mid-level exception. Iman Shumpert will be able to play on his rookie contract, and I believe Landry Fields will be on his rookie contract option years as well. Throw in Josh Harrelson and Jerome Jordan, and right now that’s all the Knicks have locked into their 2012-13 campaign. There are a lot of questions swirling around the make-up of this team heading into next year. Oh, and they still don’t have a coach locked up either.

Would Steve Nash be a great addition? Absolutely. Is it much to early to speculate about his arrival. Definitely.

First it was Iman Shumpert. The defensive juggernaut who was supposed to contain Dwyane Wade in this series. Instead he ended up tearing his ACL in Game 1. That injury forced Landry Fields back into the starting line-up, a move that offensively handicaps the team.

In the unbelievable Game 4, The Knicks lost another key guard. Baron Davis collapsed under his right knee on a fast break in the middle of a 10-0 run. An MRI revealed a partially torn patella tendon, and fully torn ACL/MCL. This sort of injury for a player of B-Diddy’s age and history may be career ending.

The hole at point guard created options. Let Mike Bibby start or try to see what the recovering savior, Jeremy Lin, can do.

Jeremy Lin #17 of the New York Knicks and Mike Bibby #20 celebrate after Lin scored against the Washington Wizards during the second half at Verizon Center in Washington. (AFP Photo)

It appears we no longer have these options, because Jeremy Lin has been ruled out of Game 5, and potentially for the rest of the series. Mike Woodson said that, “he’s just not physically ready to play.”

It was Lin who originally put this team back into playoff contention in February with his spectacular run leading to an eight game winning streak (a little thing called Linsanity). Then ‘Melo and STAT returned, and all things turned to crap. We all know how that story ended, (RIP Mike D’antoni).

Lin went down with a sore knee that led to an MRI that revealed a torn meniscus in his knee in March. He had surgery, and was supposed to be able to return in the second round of the playoffs. As I am sure you are well aware, it does not look likely that The Knicks will be able to make it to the second round, so we may need to wait for Linsanity part II until next season.

Without Jeremy Lin or Baron Davis running the point it will be turned over (no pun intended) to Mike Bibby. Bibby has been playing better as of late, and seems to have found his shooting touch. The main issue is that he cannot provide 30-40 minutes of playing time.

Who will be our second string point guard? I highly doubt that Coach Woodson would hand the reins over to Toney Douglas. He has struggled all year, and could ruin our chances in Game 5. The most logical answer is that J.R. Smith and Carmelo Anthony will have to play out of position in order to handle the ball.

Carmelo we can trust, but J.R. Smith has been less than stellar with his ball handling this season. Also, they are both guilty of occasionally taking the more difficult shot in lieu of passing to a teammate.

The Knicks have been dealt a bad hand when it comes to injuries, but they cannot make excuses. The Knicks can pull off a miracle this week, and it starts with defending Lebron James and Dwyane Wade. They don’t need Jeremy Lin in order to do that, and they don’t need him to make game 5 competitive.

Apr 26, 2012; Charlotte, NC, USA New York Knicks point guard Jeremy Lin (17) shoots the ball before the start of the game against the Charlotte Bobcats at Time Warner Cable Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jeremy Brevard-US PRESSWIRE

Even after winning Game 4 in New York on Sunday, the finish line is nowhere in sight yet for the Knicks, who put an end to their own personal 13-game playoff losing streak with Sunday’s win.

However, if they plan to start any kind of playoff winning streak this season, Lin is going to have to play a role in that and play through the pain.

If the Knicks weren’t so depleted in the backcourt, Lin playing really wouldn’t be an issue, but it’s turned into a huge problem. One that Lin needs to lend a hand to.

As soon as Baron Davis went down, the pressure for Lin to come in and save the Knicks for a second time began to mount. You’ve heard all types of theories on why Lin shouldn’t, including that it would hurt him in negotiating with teams as a free agent in the offseason, but it’s foolish to believe that one game will effect his earning potential.

We’re approaching the original six weeks that Lin was supposed to be out for after his knee surgery, and Lin didn’t do himself any favors by setting Game 4 as a hopeful return date earlier on in the series. But now his team needs him, so if Lin is able to, he must step up to the plate and suit up for Game 5.

I’m not suggesting by any means that Lin play if he can’t go or isn’t medically cleared, but if he’s able to run, jump, cut and absorb contact, then he has to give it a go.

Now, you can subscribe to the theory of “the Knicks won’t beat the Heat anyway.” While that may be true, they would be foolish to go down with bullets left in their gun.

The concerning part for me is the rust that will be on Lin after not playing a game since March 24 against the Detroit Pistons.

Knicks interim head coach Mike Woodson also sees Lin’s return as doubtful due to not being in basketball shape, telling ESPNNewYork.com’s Ian Begley:

I’ve watched him shoot and run up and down, he’s not in great shape. You know as well as I know, playoff basketball, you’ve got to be (in peak condition). And he hasn’t played in a while, so I don’t know if that’s going to be a determining factor with the doctors.

Then there’s the fact that Lin wouldn’t be coming back to play in just any game—it would be against LeBron James and the Miami Heat. The same suffocating Heat defense that forced Lin to his worst game as a starter, harassing him into eight turnovers and 1-of-11 shooting in a February 23 Miami win.

I’m not suggesting that Lin playing would save the Knicks. It would be a lot to ask the guy to save the season twice in one year. But if we learned anything from Lin already, it’s to expect the unexpected from this guy.

His own Willis Reed-type moment would be huge for the Knicks.

Even if Lin can only play 15-20 minutes, and that would likely be the limit, you wouldn’t be able to calculate the emotional lift it would give to his teammates and the Knicks fanbase.

That’s all the more reason that if he can go, he must attempt to play through the pain.

A Mike Bibby and Toney Douglas point guard duo isn’t going to get the job done, but who knows? Maybe Lin has a little magic left and a few more tricks up his sleeve in what will definitely go down as the Year of Linsanity.

May 6, 2012; New York, NY, USA; New York Knicks small forward Carmelo Anthony (7) drives to the around Miami Heat power forward Chris Bosh (1), small forward Shane Battier (31) and shooting guard Dwyane Wade (3) during the second half of game four in the Eastern Conference quarterfinals of the 2012 NBA Playoffs at Madison Square Garden. Knicks won 89-87. Mandatory Credit: Debby Wong-US PRESSWIRE

Anthony was outstanding, scoring 41 points and putting the Knicks on his back late in the game, but like everything else during the Knicks’ roller-coaster season, good news is met with a dose of bad news.

Despite Anthony’s heroics and the return of Amar’e Stoudemire to the Knicks lineup, New York suffered another costly injury when it lost point guard Baron Davis, who dislocated his right kneecap in the third quarter.

With no Davis in the lineup and rookie Iman Shumpert already on the shelf with a knee injury, the Knicks are down to what promises to be the unproductive duo of Mike Bibby and Toney Douglas or a possible return of injured point guard Jeremy Lin.

While Melo’s hero ball worked for one game, it’s not likely to have much success if Lin returns, though.

Granted, Anthony shot the ball pretty well on Sunday, going 15-of-29 from the floor, but looking back on his past playoff performances with New York, Melo shot only .375 from the floor in last season’s sweep at the hands of the Boston Celtics and was only shooting .344 (22-of-64) in the first three games of this series.

If Lin returns to the lineup, and there’s no indication he’s going to be ready, to succeed the Knicks offense is going to need to rely on ball movement and that hasn’t been Anthony’s strength in postseason play.

This postseason alone, despite the poor shooting percentage, Anthony has attempted 33 percent of the Knicks’ shots from the floor.

Once Lin emerged as a potential star, the Knicks’ playmaking needs were resolved, so Melo didn’t have to attempt to fill that role, but Anthony was uncomfortable in a point-guard-dominated offense and admitted as much a week before Mike D’Antoni resigned as head coach.

He hasn’t been able to play with other teammates effectively, as the Knicks’ best success with Lin came with Anthony out of the lineup and Anthony’s best success in a Knicks uniform came in April with both Lin and Stoudemire nursing injuries.

It’s unfortunate for Knicks fans, but there is a reason that Anthony has a career playoff record of 17-36 in nine career postseasons, has got out of the first round only once and has the worst career postseason winning percentage (.321) of any player with 50 or more playoff games under his belt.

An isolation-dominated offense, or Meloball, can get a team 40-50 regular season wins, but it doesn’t work against good defensive teams in the playoffs.

But that’s the way Anthony plays the game and if he’s going to go down, he’s going down shooting.

Adding Lin to the mix is just going to have Anthony out of sorts. Of course, that’s with a Lin who’s been playing, not a rusty Lin who hasn’t played basketball in five weeks.

If Meloball stands any chance, and it doesn’t stand much this series, he’s going to need the ball in his hands a ton.

If Lin is going well, the Knicks offense is based on playmaking and ball movement, but when it hits Anthony’s hands, the movement will stop and the tempo Lin creates will slow down.

One day, for the Knicks to have postseason success, Anthony is going to have to learn to play with his teammates better, but it’s going to be a lot to ask him to change his game with only three days in between Game 4 and Game 5.

As good as it would be to see Lin back on the court, the chances of things working right now between he and Melo are very slim.

Lin may give them an initial spark, but it’s going to be Anthony who either puts the Knicks on his back or shoots New York right out of the series.

May 6, 2012; New York, NY, USA; New York Knicks power forward Amare Stoudemire (1) blocks a shot by Miami Heat point guard Mario Chalmers (15) during the second half of game four in the Eastern Conference quarterfinals of the 2012 NBA Playoffs at Madison Square Garden. Knicks won 89-87. Mandatory Credit: Debby Wong-US PRESSWIRE

This game was a back and forth battle from the start and in the end it was who could convert under pressure, who can knock down their free throws, and step up their defense.  The Knicks caught some breaks in the end such as Carmelo’s long heave from the 3 -point line where Shane Battier gave him a love tap on his elbow and received three shots from the foul line.  The next play with the Knicks up one after a ridiculous move by Lebron James that got him an “and-one”, Amare Stoudemire tried dribbling the ball to the basket with his left lacerated hand that had 8 lines of padding on it, and was about to lose the ball out of bounds when Joel Anthony comes along and bails him out with a foul.

I think Amare Stoudemire played better with a lacerated hand because without being able to use it, he needed to use his athleticism, his jumping skills and actually put a body on a guy to get the rebound.  He finished with 10 rebounds, 5 of them coming on the offensive end and scored 20 points on an efficient 8-13 shooting.   What were once boos at the beginning of the game due to his stupid injury, ended up being cheers for his great performance that he has lacked throughout the playoffs.  He was the key to this game since we had a second scoring option that we haven’t really had in previous games.

The Knicks defense played a large role in this win especially closing out on the three point line – The Heat shot 3-19 from the the 3 point line due to the great perimeter defense by Landry Fields and J.R. Smith.  When Wade shot that three at the end that could have been a game winner, it was Landry Fields who was right in his face and contested the shot.

Mike Bibby who played the rest of the game when Baron Davis went down hard and left the game, hit two clutch three pointers that extended the Knicks lead in the final minutes.  It must feel so good for a crowd to be cheering for him in the playoffs against the Heat, the team he was with last year and was non-existent in the playoffs.

The player of the game was by far Carmelo Anthony erupted for 41 points on 15-29 shooting, with 6 rebounds, 4 assists and only 1 turnover.  When he had the mid-range jumper on target, he was virtually unstoppable.  He needs to hit this if we want to win any more games. Click here for box score.

What we need to see for Game 5:

Tyson Chandler finished with only 1 point and added 9 rebounds in Game.  Two things he has to work on.  The first is he has to finished around the rim, he is 7 feet and missing layups.  The second thing is Tyson really needs to start making smarter decisions – he in frustration committed a cheap foul and then received a technical foul in anger, giving the heat 3 straight free throws.  In game 3 he also made a mistake with an outlet pass and then committed a stupid foul resulting in an “and one” and a 5 point turnaround.  He can’t make these mistakes if we want to win.

We also need J.R. Smith to shoot well.  We cannot have him shoot 3-15 and  1-8 front he 3 point line – it’s just way too many waisted opportunities.  He has to stop isolating himself and trying to create off the dribble – instead he needs to get his shots off when it is in the flow of the offense.

May 6, 2012; New York, NY, USA; New York Knicks point guard Baron Davis (85) gestures to the crowd as he is carried off the court after an injury against the Miami Heat during the second half of game four in the Eastern Conference quarterfinals of the 2012 NBA Playoffs at Madison Square Garden. Knicks won 89-87. Mandatory Credit: Debby Wong-US PRESSWIRE

The New York Knicks can’t seem to catch a break when it comes to injuries, self-inflicted or otherwise.

Sure New York won their first postseason game since before 9-11 when they defeated the Miami Heat Sunday afternoon, but like it has been all season, good news is met with bad news as the injuries for the Knicks continue to pile up.

This time it’s very costly as point guard Baron Davis dislocated his kneecap when he planted on a fast break in the third quarter.

Davis is already filling in for starting point guard Jeremy Lin and his injury is crucial as New York is running out of ball handlers with rookie Iman Shumpert also on the shelf with a knee injury.

For Davis, the injury brings a tough season full circle.

He began the season in Cleveland with a bad back and was a victim of the amnesty clause. After signing with the Knicks, Davis missed the first 32 games of the season and while he was viewed as a savior to a team that had bad point guard play to begin the season, he ultimately became a casualty to Linsanity as when Davis returned, he did so as a backup to Lin.

Davis eventually started 14 games when Lin injured his knee, but never really got into a groove as his one season in the Big Apple saw him average only 6.1 PPG and 4.7 APG on the season while shooting only .370 from the floor.

Now that Davis is gone, veteran Mike Bibby appears to be next in line, but Bibby hasn’t done much better throughout the season.

The Knicks can hold out hope that Lin could return for Game 5 and if he does it could prove to be a huge lift for a depleted New York backcourt.

One thing is for sure though and that’s the story of the 2012 New York Knicks season has been injuries and Davis joins the parade for the second time this season.

What could Jeremy Lin have meant to the Knicks against the Heat?

When any series goes wrong in any sport, the mind becomes flooded with so many “what if” questions that it becomes hard to keep track of them all.

One of the first “what ifs” we’re all going to have to embrace has been staring us in the face with those new glasses he’s been sporting on the bench: What if Jeremy Lin had been healthy?

To me, this is such a fascinating question because there are so many different variables that go into what Jeremy Lin returning to the line-up could’ve meant. Remember, though it feels like centuries ago, the Knicks came into the playoffs on fire. Carmelo Anthony was playing out of his mind and had New Yorkers feeling like the world was good again. Amar’e was returning into the fold to add another wrinkle to the offensive attack. Shumpert firmly entrenched himself into the starting line-up as a defensive stopper. Even Baron Davis was showing signs of life.

So, what if Jeremy Lin was healthy?

It would be completely unfair to judge Lin’s experience against the Heat off of one game during the height of Lin-sanity when the Knicks went down to Miami and, gulp, got extinguished. When the Knicks were hot during Lin-sanity, there was nobody more valuable to New York. During the Knicks treading water period pre-All Star break, Lin was still a very effective offense player that averaged around 16 points and 7 assists, but turning the ball over a bit. Even during the D’Antoni team tank job that forced him to re-sign, Lin was still competent.

When Woodson took over, Lin actually seemed to have better control of the ball on offense. His turnover ratio became more controlled. He was still able to find his teammates, and still commanded attention from opposing defenses. Teams couldn’t only plan for Anthony, they needed to compensate for what Lin.

So, again, I ask: what if Jeremy Lin had been healthy for this series?

Does Lin provide an immediate spark to the offense? Of course. Is Mike Woodson more capable of finding enough touches for Carmelo, Amar’e and Lin in comparison to Mike D’Antoni? Absolutely. Does a healthy Lin allow the Knicks with more flexibility on their bench, allowing Fields, Davis, Novak and Smith to form literally an entire second wave all while allowing the starters some valuable rest? Naturally.

But, even then, it brings the Knicks closer to the Heat, but I don’t think it tops Miami. Blood is in the water and Miami is tasting it. For the first time in their tumultuous two-plus years together, this seems to be the first time they’re playing with an edge. They’re not timid anymore. They’re playing with a serious mean streak. The way they’re functioning right now, I don’t know if there’s a fully healthy team that can shut them down.

There will come a day where it’ll need to be decided exactly how valuable Jeremy Lin is to the Knicks in terms of dollars, cents and years. In fact, with the Knicks one more loss away from the off-season, that question is fast approaching reality.

Over the first three games of this series, the Knicks have had more problems then just play from the point or balls falling in the bucket. ‘Melo has disappeared. Amar’e never seemingly returned. Shump blew out his knee. J.R. Smith has built at least three additional stories to the new World Trade Center building with his awful bricks. Novak has disappeared. Baron Davis has remained to be Baron Davis.

Could the Knicks have competed better with the Heat with a healthy Jeremy Lin? There is no question.

However, should the Knicks have been competitive, Lin or no Lin, with the Heat from the start? Yes. No question.

And that, more than anything else that could’ve, should’ve, might’ve, probably would’ve happened had Lin played is why this question is truly irrelevant. The Knicks dead panned. They dropped the ball, sort of speak.

So, in hindsight, maybe the better “what if” question should have simply been:

What if the Knicks just played better basketball?

Apr 22, 2012; Atlanta, GA, USA; New York Knicks power forward Amare Stoudemire (1) talks with small forward Carmelo Anthony (7) during the second half against the Atlanta Hawks at Philips Arena. The Knicks won 113-112. Mandatory Credit: Paul Abell-US PRESSWIRE

Yes, Iman Shumpert is out. Baron Davis’s back is still very much an issue. Tyson Chandler’s fever has dropped, but he’s still recovering from the flu. Toney Douglas and Mike Bibby will play major minutes. Gulp.

But the Knicks need to focus on who they have on the court and what they can do to make those players better. This starts with the offense.

With Davis unhealthy and Shumpert out for the season, you have to figure the ball will be in Carmelo Anthony’s hands a lot more. That is, if they can get him the ball. In Game 1, the Heat played Anthony very physically, pushing him out onto the perimeter and fronting every one of his catches. This led to precious seconds on the shot clock ticking away while the ball-handlers waited for Melo to get position, and then try and toss the ball over the anticipating Heat defenders’ hands.

Mike Woodson needs to be more creative in getting ‘Melo the ball. The Heat are very aggressive with their pick-and-roll defense, so using Anthony as the screener might not be as effective to get him better looks. However, the Knicks could, at the very least, set some down screens for him, or set some off-ball screens and run Anthony on a curl to get him a clean pass.

Likewise, the Knicks absolutely need Amar’e Stoudemire to be more aggressive. It’s baffling that neither Mike D’Antoni or Woodson ever run a ‘Melo-Amar’e pick-and-roll with any consistency, but it may be effective if the Knicks go small without Tyson Chandler in the game, or if they surround Anthony and Stoudemire with shooters like Steve Novak and J.R. Smith.

By using Anthony as the ball-hander and Stoudemire as the screener, the Heat either have to pick their poison – stopping Anthony’s drive or denying Amar’e's roll – or switch, in which case Anthony would have a larger, slower defender on him.

The primary ball-handlers will figure to be Davis (in limited action), Anthony, Bibby, Douglas, and Smith. Some of them have shown the wherewithal to run a pick-and-roll, but in the halfcourt, the Heat either switch on screens, or hedge aggressively which essentially denies any actions in the play.

Stoudemire is at his most effective in a fast-paced offense (see: Phoenix Suns 2002-2009 or New York Knicks 2010). If the Knicks push the ball off misses, and race up the court, they can run a more effective pick-and-roll with Stoudemire before the Heat’s defense can set and prepare itself.

Getting both Anthony and Stoudemire active in the Knicks offense will force the Heat to commit to either one. This will open up the floor for the rest of the Knicks.

And, of course, an offense is only effective if a team can hold onto the ball. Miami is too fast, athletic, explosive to be given opportunities to run in the fast break. If the Knicks continue to turn the ball over (27 in Game 1!!), they really won’t have a chance to beat Miami.

The defense is another issue. LeBron James and Dwyane Wade are going to beat you. They’ll get their points on drives and jumpers alike; you really can’t stop them. However, the Knicks frustration mounted in the second quarter of Game 1 and that frustration usually led to silly, pointless fouls, built the momentum for the Heat. Guard the Big 3 the best you can, and just force them into a tough shot – there’s a chance they’ll miss it. What the Knicks don’t want to do is bail Miami out with fouls.

With each passing game in a series, the next game always feels like the most important. However, tonight could be the most important for the Knicks in terms of swinging the whole series. If somehow, some way, the Knicks could steal Game 2 in Miami tonight, they’ll head back to New York with a tied series and raucous Garden crowd awaiting their heroes.

The game will be on at 7 on TNT. Tyson Chandler and Baron Davis will both start, Landry Fields will start in place of Iman Shumpert. Let’s go Knicks!

It has already been made clear that Iman Shumpert will be out for a long time after tearing his ACL during Saturday’s Game 1.  The 6’5″ rookie shooting guard has been the lesser part of the defensive duo that also includes Tyson Chandler. Shumpert was supposed to take on the defensive matchup of Dwyane Wade. Many believe that Wade is the key to the Heat’s championship run, and that if he plays poorly they lose their edge. Now it will be up to Landry Fields and J.R. Smith to contain him, both of which lack the defensive prowess that Shump has.

Defensive Anchor of the Knicks

Speaking of  Chandler, he is still not fully recovered from the flu that essentially nullified his appearance in Game 1. Coach Mike Woodson has said that he hopes “a miracle happens overnight and that he is ready to play.”

Certainly not great news for fans who do not want to see Lebron James trample through the paint again. I think judging from Tyson’s prior history and commitment that he will play. The question is how much of his defensive player of the year candidate skills show up.

Jared Jefferies, Chandler’s typical back-up, is also battling through pain as his knee barely lets him play 10 minutes. He played only seven in Game 1, but he is badly hobbled.

It was reported that he played through a lot of pain, and was very sore on Sunday. Similar to Chandler, it is unclear how much he can give the Knicks if he does play. The depth up front is so poor, that after Jefferies comes rookie Josh Harrellson, who played well early this season, but has been unable to impress Coach Woodson since returning from his broken wrist.

The starting lineup took another hit when Baron Davis told reporters that his back tightened up after taking a hard hit from Wade. The point guard has been injured practically the whole season, but performed very well in the first quarter of Game 1.

Davis scored 10 points in the game. If B-Diddy does not play tomorrow, then the ever aging Mike Bibby will have to man the point. Mario Chalmers and Dwyane Wade’s defense will make cheap work of his efforts, and create even more turnovers.

Jeremy Lin can not come back soon enough.

That leaves a starting line up of Mike Bibby, Landry Fields, Carmelo Anthony, Amar’e Stoudemire, and Josh Harrellson. What a scary thought.

Let’s hope Woodson,  Anthony and Stoudemire have something up their sleeves for the next few games, because if not, they will have plenty of time over the summer to think about what they should have done.

I would say that the chances are slim? Wouldn’t you?

Apr 15, 2012; New York, NY, USA; Miami Heat small forward LeBron James (6) causes New York Knicks small forward Carmelo Anthony (7) to loose the ball during the fourth quarter at Madison Square Garden. Miami won 93-85. Mandatory Credit: Anthony Gruppuso-US PRESSWIRE

But with the Knicks having spent most of the last decade in a cellar of incompetence, that rivalry burned out as quickly as it had started. Only recently has it been revived, and to call it “revived” is even a bit of a stretch. The two teams have mostly become a marquee match-up because they were built in similar ways.

Recall that in the long wait for the highly anticipated summer of 2010, the Knicks were the first team to clear enough salary for two superstar free agents, LeBron James being the main target. The Miami Heat, however, one-upped the Knicks and signed three free agents (James, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh), thus beginning the Knicks’ quest for their own Big 3.

New York acquired Carmelo Anthony at heavy costs, and effectively kissed cap space goodbye by pulling off a $56 million sign-and-trade for Tyson Chandler. And now here they are, seated in the seventh seed, looking up at the second-place Miami Heat who they were modeled after. Let the rivalry be renewed!

In the weeks leading up to the conclusion of the regular season, there was a great amount of debate as to whether the Knicks should purposely tank to avoid playing the Miami Heat, who swept the season series and won by an average of twelve points.

Since the Miami Big Three formed, they’ve won five of the seven meetings, and in the two Knicks victories, the game came down to the final minutes of the fourth quarter. But here I am, suggesting that we all forget what happened last season, even forget what happened this season.

The Knicks have had several different identities this season, and the Heat have never faced any of them more than once or at full health.

In January, they faced a Knicks team without Carmelo Anthony and lacking any point guard play or consistency. In February, they faced the Linsanity team with Anthony working his way back from injuries and Jeremy Lin, exhausted from his sudden, glorious emergence. Most recently, they faced a Knicks team with a red hot Anthony playing power forward, missing Amar’e Stoudemire as the other Knicks were unable to provide a secondary scoring punch against the Heat.

Now, the Knicks head into the playoffs with the roster they thought they’d have in training camp when they said they’d be going hunting in Miami. This is a team that Mike D’Antoni said “will” beat the Miami Heat, as Alan Hahn revealed.  There’s plenty to be excited for if you’re the Knicks (and being the fans we are, that means we’re part of the Knicks, and thus, we get to be excited too!).

Anthony is playing arguably the best basketball of his life, posting 30 ppg on 50% shooting, 7 rpg, and 4 apg in April. Amar’e Stoudemire, though not completely integrated into the lineup, looks like his back is in good condition. Just ask Tyrus Thomas. We get to watch Iman Shumpert guard Dwyane Wade. Steve Novak finished the season leading the league in 3-point percentage. Baron Davis has had sufficient rest, playing just two games over the last week and a half. J.R. Smith seems focused on being impactful off the bench.

If there was ever a team to bring out the most hostile Garden crowd, it’s the Miami Heat.  James’ crunch time struggles have been well-chronicled and that probably doesn’t bode well for the Heat to play in the Mecca of basketball with a raucous crowd that smells blood. If the Knicks can steal one game in Miami, the stakes become much greater for Miami who have much more pressure on their collective shoulders than the Knicks.

There’s plenty to be excited for in this series. And yet, that’s all the reason to be terrified. These are the New York Knicks after all, and in this wild 2011-12 season, we’ve learned that we can’t assume anything. But if there was ever a chance for a miracle to happen, it only seems fitting that it would happen now.

And for that, I’m happy to say I was wrong. Since the lockout ended (ugh, remember that thing?), Grunwald has done nothing if not turn a team with a solid core, but gaping holes into one of the deepest outfits in the NBA, brimming with talent.

It was announced this afternoon that Grunwald’s “interim” general manager tag has been removed and he will carry on as the team’s official GM. A move so smart and stable, it hardly seems like it would come from a franchise that tends to revel in drama and dysfunction. But Grunwald’s work speaks for itself.

When the lockout ended in early December, a free agency frenzy ensued, and the Knicks came away with one of the offseason’s biggest prizes: Tyson Chandler. Chandler was acquired in a sign-and-trade that involved the amnesty of veteran point guard Chauncey Billups. Though the move was questioned by some – the Knicks were left with a glaring hole at the point guard position – it has proven to be well worth the while. Chandler (with the help of Mike Woodson) has spear-headed revolution that installed a defensive culture unlike anything the Knicks have seen since Jeff Van Gundy stalked the sidelines. Chandler is also averaging a double-double (11.3 ppg, 10 rpg) and leads the league in field goal percentage (68.1%).

Grunwald recognized the Knicks’ hole in the back-court and added Mike Bibby (who while wholly unimpressive has given the Knicks depth), and acquired Baron Davis who the Cleveland Cavaliers released via the amnesty clause.

Of course, Grunwald’s biggest point guard snag was the least noted and the least celebrated at the time: Jeremy Lin. As everyone has surely learned by now, Lin was waived by the Golden State Warriors before the season began, claimed by the Houston Rockets, who then also waived him, and finally picked up by the Knicks once the regular season was underway. Though Grunwald surely did not see “Linsanity” happening, he had kept track of Lin ever since he worked out for the Knicks before the 2010 NBA Draft. It was Lin who turned the Knicks’ depressing season around and helped get them back into the playoff picture.

Grunwald was spurned by Shawne Williams in the off-season (he chose a bigger offer from the New Jersey Nets), and instead signed Steve Novak who was waived by the San Antonio Spurs. Novak has turned into the best three-point shooter in the NBA, shooting at a 46.8% clip from beyond the arc. The addition of J.R. Smith was due to savvy planning by Grunwald. After being turned down by Williams and other free agents like Jamal Crawford, Grunwald saved the Knicks’ “room exception” (a two-year, five-million-dollar offer) until Smith returned from playing in China. The Knicks in turn were able to offer more money to Smith than any other team. The additions of Novak and Smith have given the Knicks one of the most potent benches in the league.

However, the work that lies ahead of Grunwald won’t be any easier. This coming off-season, Jeremy Lin, Landry Fields, J.R. Smith (player option), Steve Novak, Jared Jeffries, Baron Davis, and Mike Bibby will all become free agents. The Knicks have “Bird Rights” to Landry Fields, which allows them to pay Fields as much as they like (also as much as he is eligible for – players essentially get raises for their allowed maximum salaries as they play longer in the NBA) regardless of cap space. Thanks to a provision in the new Collective Bargaining Agreement, the Knicks will also be able to match any offer Jeremy Lin receives and are likely to keep him. However, they’ll have to use their mid-level exception to give Lin his due pay day, which lessens their chances of re-signing Novak and Smith who are likely to field bigger offers. Smith already appears to be headed in that direction.

When healthy, the Knicks are a team with incredible depth and talent, and that’s in large part due to the clever and keen financial dealings of Grunwald. Though his work is far from finished, it seems wise and just that Grunwald will be the man behind the scenes, working to bring the Knicks to the ultimate prize.

Mar 31, 2012; New York, NY, USA; New York Knicks point guard Jeremy Lin (17) holds a press conference to announce that he will be out for the remainder of the season with a partially torn meniscus before the game against the Cleveland Cavaliers at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Anthony Gruppuso-US PRESSWIRE

After hearing the news about Jeremy Lin’s knee surgery, I immediately began to think about how the Knicks can make the playoff push now that two of their starters (Amar’e and Lin) are out for the majority of the season. Call me crazy, but I still feel the Knicks can continue to play well enough to not only stay in the playoff race, but also climb up in the playoff standings.

First of all, the teams that we have ahead of us (Sixers, Celtics, Pacers, Hawks and Magic) are not that tough. Secondly, we have one of the best players in the NBA in Carmelo Anthony, who is starting to play at a high level.  With the injuries to Amar’e and Lin, Melo has to put the team on his shoulders and he’s the type of player who lives for these types of opportunities. With all the criticism he’s been getting since the trade to the Knicks, he now has the opportunity to prove the critics wrong.

Finally, the Knicks have a deep and talented team. Carmelo is our leader and go-to guy, but we have other players (Chandler, Smith, Shumpert, Fields, Novak and Davis) who can step it up as well. Because of the injuries, Toney Douglas and Josh Harrelson will now have the opportunity to prove to the coach that they deserve to get quality minutes as well.

The injuries to Amar’e and Lin are a major downer, but we have guys who can step up and fill in for the time being. As for Melo, it’s his time to shine and put up MVP numbers. If you ask me, I feel Melo will live up to the hype.

1. Are the Knicks going to lose six games in a row?

They’ve dropped their last two against the Boston Celtics and Dallas Mavericks. Tonight is their second game in as many nights at the San Antonio Spurs. Then they visit the Milwaukee Bucks (never easy), come home for the division-leading Philadelphia 76ers and travel to Chicago to play the Bulls. What a brutal schedule.

Have teams figured out Jeremy Lin? Picture Credit: Matthew Emmons-US PRESSWIRE

2. Have teams figured out Jeremy Lin?

After making a big splash in New York, Lin has cooled down. New Jersey Nets guard Deron Williams owned Lin the second time around. Celtics guard Rajon Rondo had his best game of the season against him last Sunday. It looks like teams have adjusted to Lin. Now it is his turn to adjust.

3. Should Baron Davis be the starting point guard?

Davis is healthy now. We all know what he brings to the table. It looks like the Knicks could use some veteran experience at point guard. Maybe Davis should start? That’s why they brought him in.

2. Is Coach Mike D’Antoni playing too many players?

At the start of the season, depth was a concern for Coach D’Antoni. That doesn’t seem to be the case anymore. He went six deep on his bench last night. But what is this doing to the psyche of the starters? They could be upset with the lack of playing time. Which brings me to the next question.

1. What is wrong with Carmelo Anthony?

Anthony is healthy. He has a point guard to run the show. But Anthony is shooting a dismal 29% from the field, 15 percentage points below his career average. The Knicks cannot win with Anthony shooting like that.

Edwin Torres was born in New York City. He has been a Knicks fan since the early 1980s. He has visited Madison Square Garden on many occasions to watch the Knicks and his favorite player, Patrick Ewing. For more articles, follow him on Twitter @FlipPoker.

Sources:
Yahoo! Sports – NBA

Feb 11, 2012; Minneapolis, MN, USA; New York Knicks guard Jeremy Lin (17) calls a play during the fourth quarter against the Minnesota Timberwolves at the Target Center. The Knicks defeated the Timberwolves 100-98. Mandatory Credit: Brace Hemmelgarn-US PRESSWIREJan 7, 2012; Auburn Hills, MI, USA; New York Knicks point guard Baron Davis (85) warms up before the game against the Detroit Pistons at The Palace. Mandatory Credit: Tim Fuller-US PRESSWIRE

Jeremy Lin has been amazing. He has worked the pick and roll to perfection and it will only get better when Amar’e and Melo return. But, what will happen when Baron Davis is healthy and able to play? At one time, he was supposed to be the Knicks’s savior. Everyone was so excited (including me) when the Knicks picked him up. We couldn’t wait to see him team up with Melo, Amar’e and Tyson. He’s had a few set backs, but is likely to return following the all-star break. I must say, this is a good problem to have; we will have our point guard situation set. But who will start? The answer is simple: Jeremy Lin should and will continue to start. I’m sure Knicks fans would agree, but that doesn’t mean Baron won’t get playing time. In addtion to Baron backing up Lin, D’Antoni can pair them up for a few minutes on the back court. The defense will suffer a bit, but imagine them taking turns running the pick and roll…

The playing time for some of the other Knicks players will suffer when Amar’e, Melo and Baron return. Most likely, it will be Bill Walker, Toney Douglas and Steve Novak’s time. The players who will most likely get a majority of the minutes off the bench will be Baron Davis, Iman Shumpert and Jared Jeffries.

Josh Harrellson, Steve Novak, Bill Walker and Toney Douglas will split time between them; it will mostly depend on the matchup. But having all these players is a good problem because as the season continues, the games will take a toll on them.

Jeremy Lin will continue to be the Knicks starter and hopefully, for the future. As for Baron Davis, he’ll get his time. I’m sure D’Antoni is not worried. As I previously mentioned, it would be exciting to have two point guards taking turns, working the pick and roll.

The sudden emergence of Jeremy Lin and the addition of Baron Davis, if and when he becomes available, will only make the Knicks stronger. Knicks fans, the wait is over…we are back!

Jan 25, 2012; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers power forward Anderson Varejao (17) battles New York Knicks power forward Amare Stoudemire (center) and small forward Carmelo Anthony (7) for the ball in the fourth quarter at Quicken Loans Arena. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-US PRESSWIRE

It feels like I have written these words about a thousand times this year, but the Knicks lost last night and man was it ugly.

The Knicks turned the ball over a whopping 22 times, 6 of which were in the deflating fourth quarter that ultimately ended the Knicks’ hopes of coming away with a victory in Cleveland.

Turnovers weren’t the only misadventure for the Knicks’ offense on this night; the Knicks shot a wretched 42% from the floor and an unbelievably putrid 15% from beyond the arc.  Needless to say, the decision making for the Knicks—something that has been an issue all season long—was an issue once again against a very beatable team in the Cleveland Cavaliers.

The effort was there for Amar’e Stoudemire, who had  14 rebounds—including 6 of the offensive variety—and 19 points, however his inefficient shooting—just 9 of 19—was an issue, and symptomatic of the Knicks lack of execution on that side of the ball.

The Knicks other embattled star finished with 15 points on a sub par 5 of 14 shooting. Despite the poor shooting night Carmelo Anthony actually looked a bit better on the offensive end of the floor. Anthony was aggressive and took the ball to the basket more than he has in the last few games; he was also more willing to move the ball, as evidenced by his 6 assists.  Much of Anthony’s poor shooting over the last two games can be attributed to an apparent wrist injury that has been bothering Melo since he injured it against the Bobcats on Tuesday night.

Apart from their offensive inefficiency, the lack support the Knicks got from their bench proved to be a huge factor in the loss. The Knicks played four guys off of the bench and got a combined 16 points on 6 of 21 shooting. Their lack of depth is no secret, but if they are going to compete on a nightly basis they need to  at least get something out of their bench and last night they got nothing. (more…)

When healthy, Davis is an elite point guard in the National Basketball Association (NBA).  He brings playmaking abilities and

When healthy, Baron Davis is one of the best point guards in the NBA.

leadership to the floor.  But it is his experience at the point guard position that the Knicks desperately need.

The Knicks started this season with Toney Douglas at the point but quickly abandoned that project.  Veteran Mike Bibby has played well at times, but he is not the player he used to be.  Rookie Iman Shumpert took over the starting job and has made some dazzling plays.  But the offense still seems unsettled.

Three different players have auditioned for the role.  None of them have emerged as the immediate solution.  Lack of continuity at the point guard position has greatly affected the offense.

Soon the Knicks will have to adjust yet again.  But they will gladly do that for Davis.  Davis is a proven point guard.  He can run an offense, find teammates and add offense of his own.  Another adjustment period is coming, but they have to do it.

So who will be the odd man out for the Knicks?

One option is to move Shumpert to the bench.  The rookie has been a capable point guard so he can spell Davis when needed.  Shumpert would also be a spark off the bench with his energy, defensive intensity and scoring.

Another choice is to relegate Landry Fields.  Fields was the steal of the draft last season.  However, he struggled toward the end of the year and has not been the same player since.  Moving Fields to the bench could ease the pressure and allow him to find his shot again.

Whatever the Knicks decide, the season of adjustments will continue.  It will take some time before these Knicks come together and play to their potential.  They will eventually develop chemistry.  Will it happen this season?  Only time will tell.

Edwin Torres was born in New York City.  He has been a Knicks fan since the early 1980s. He has visited Madison Square Garden on many occasions to watch the Knicks and his favorite player, Patrick Ewing. For more articles, follow him on Twitter @FlipPoker.

Sources:

NBA Statistics – Yahoo! Sports

Before last night’s loss the Knicks did a lot of talking; too much talking against a team 27 or so organizations in this league should beat on a consistent basis. As if losing to Cleveland twice in two weeks wasn’t bad enough, newly acquired Cavalier (now self made martyr) Baron Davis got into some boasting of his own late last night. From the Daily News:

“It’s always great to win in the Garden. The Garden is special, especially playing against a team that is getting a lot of coverage,” Davis said. “They were prepared to beat us down. This victory was very sweet because there’s a sense of a miniature rivalry growing here.”

First of all, a rivalry? Things can definitely get more embarrassing after a regular season loss, but I can’t think how off the top of my head. Despite the Knicks’ best (or 1A) player scoring 41 points, they still lost. Despite all the pre-game talk of payback and how beating Cleveland in a re-match would taste like champagne, they still lost. Despite the day of rest and the crowd at their back and the two best players in the gym on their side, they still lost. It’ll be interesting to see how New York responds on Sunday against an Atlanta team one up on them in the standings. Now that’s a legitimate team the Knicks should push themselves to form a rivalry with. Not Cleveland. Not now, not ever.

Clipper fans held a rally to convince LeBron to come to LA. If they really wanna convince him, they'd be better off with a coup d'etat and beheading Donald Sterling. (Source: Yardbarker.com)

ESPN reported that music mogul David Geffen is interested in buying a controlling interest of the Los Angeles Clippers.  It would be a brilliant move by Geffen because unlike say Michael Jordan’s recent purchase of the Charlotte Bobcats or the impending sale of The Washington Wizards, this is a franchise that could have a huge financial turnaround under the right owner.  Or rather simply just a new owner.

The Clippers are the NBA’s laughingstock not simply because of their godawful history, but more because of their even worse, notoriously cheap owner, Donald T. Sterling.  All franchises (except it seems the Lakers) go through tough times.  Not long ago, the Portland Trailblazers were nicknamed the Jailblazers, had the league’s highest payroll, and seemed to be going nowhere.  Now with Brandon Roy and LaMarcus Aldridge (and perhaps Greg Oden if he can ever remain healthy), they have a relatively promising future.  By contrast, the Clippers may have a nice core too, but few prognosticators would feel 100% confident predicting a better tomorrow for them.  This is almost solely due to Sterling’s reluctance to open his wallet.

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Evaluating players before the draft is not easy, but at least you know who you are talking about. Predicting who is going to get picked when is harder. Everyone has their own ranking system, but the big question is whether a team is going to pick the best player available or pick the player who best addresses the team’s needs.

The other question is, what on earth was that GM thinking? The most recent “what was he thinking” award goes to the Minnesota Timberwolves, for using the 5th and 6th draft picks on point guards (Jonny Flynn and Ricky Rubio), followed by having one of them (Rubio) make noises that he would never play for the Wolves, and creating a situation where the other, Flynn, felt unsure of the team’s commitment to him, and for good reason.

So for me to say who will make which pick is guesswork, because every year there are inexplicable decisions made, and there are players drafted in the top 20 whose name you hear when he is selected, but then never again. Comparing mock drafts, I have seen players’ names move twenty spots or more.

Mostly, I’m seeing mocks that describe players, not why they will be picked or what the team is thinking. I already wrote about the players likely to be drafted in the first round, so instead, lets’ discuss what the team should do, not what they will do, because many teams have a weird tendency to pick the same type of player over and over regardless of the results. (Lakers trying to find a point guard, Bulls drafting post players, Houston drafting 3’s, Warriors drafting skilled bigs, etc.) Redundancy makes sense for some teams, but for others it’s stupid. I’ll take those case by case.
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Back in 2001, Earl Barron played for Memphis. Both he and the Knicks thought they had a promising decade ahead of them. They were wrong. But perhaps now we can combine forces and make the Tens be OUR decade. (source: Yardbarker.com)

For those who don’t know, though I’m a born and bred New Yorker, I’ve spent the last decade-plus in Los Angeles.  While here, I’ve adopted the Clippers as my sad, pathetic little brother to encourage.  That resulted in my creating the site FullyClips.com for the FanSided Network here before I got promoted up to the big leagues and was given the Knicks’ site.  For my first post on this site, I did a piece on The Smackdown Battle For Title Of The Past Decade’s Worst NBA Franchise.  Much to Isiah Thomas’ chagrin, I gave the award to Donald Sterling’s Clippers.  Although to be fair to Isiah, he only had a few years of being in charge to screw up the Knicks, versus Sterling had the entire decade (& more).  I’m sure if Isiah had a larger time frame in which to work his (black) magic, he could’ve stunk up the joint just as poorly as The Donald did.

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And New Yorkers are buying into this hook, line & worm (why is it supposed to be sinker — I mean when a fish really falls for it he goes after the worm, much like an alcoholic with a bottle of tequila).  Darren Rovell who discuses the business side of sports tweeted yesterday that “Knicks 2010/11 tickets went on presale last Thursday. They’re on record pace, having sold 770 new tickets so far.”  Record pace???  Do fans realize we haven’t signed ANYONE yet?  If we end up looking like we’re gonna suck, even one-legged Tracy McGrady will look to leave town.  So this is a two-part look at what to realistically expect.  Part II will be sometime next week.

Let’s look at this first based on the available teams.  First, here are the ones who’ll be competing for poaching rights:

New York Knicks: $18.64 million in 2010-11 payroll
Miami Heat: $26.07 million in 2010-11 payroll
New Jersey Nets: $26.63 million in 2010-11 payroll
Chicago Bulls: $31.85 million in 2010-11 payroll
Los Angeles Clippers: $33.53 million in 2010-11 payroll

Sacramento Kings: $34.0 million in 2010-11 payroll

The Washington Wizards and Minnesota Timberwolves could also conceivably get in on the bidding, but they seem unlikely to join the chase.  I doubt Sacramento will even seriously look into trying to grab a big name and instead will prefer to build up a bit more from the ground up through draft picks.  It’s also kinda erroneous to list Miami as only having about $26 million.  Well, first the reason I list them even that low is ‘cuz I assume there’s no way they pick up James Jones’ $4.6 million option.  However, what makes them even lower is that their payroll includes Dwayne Wade’s $17.15 million contract that he’s said he’s gonna opt out of.  In other words, they’ll have less than $10 million in committed contracts!  So they could pay a max salary to both Wade & LeBron and still have say $10 million to offer to say Carlos Boozer.

Next let’s look at what each of the five teams has to offer (I’m excluding Sac).

The Knicks:

1. the second most cap space (after Miami),

2. the mass market of New York to provide much richer endorsement deals and better national exposure,

3. Perhaps the allure of playing at Madison Square Garden, aka “The Mecca of Basketball”,

4. An open and willing wallet (& now a well-respected GM in Donnie Walsh to make you feel they’ll spend wisely),

5. Coach Mike D’Antoni has a good rep as a “player’s coach” and as an assistant coach on Team USA he’s actually worked with most of these guys before.

Cons: 1. David Lee could likely be gone, meaning they’d be coming to a team with literally only Danilo Gallinari and Wilson Chandler (oh yeah, plus Eddy Curry in the trainer’s room),

2. Perhaps a feeling that you’d have to sorta start from nothing.

The Heat:

1.For Wade it’s the only team he’s known(&he’d get more $), and for others it might feel less risky to jump with someone else to a brand new team rather than to join someone on their current team,

2. No income taxes in Florida,

3. Perhaps Pat Riley?,

4. A solid young player in Michael Beasley, and

5. The weather (& yes, that is a real factor for players).

Cons: 1.For some players it might actually be less appealing to join “Wade’s team” rather than go with him to a new place where it could be “our team” (kinda like how it’s usually better for a young couple to move into a new place rather than say just the gal moving into the guy’s place ‘cuz then it’ll always feel like “his place.”),

2.The fact that the Heat/Riley haven’t really looked for help for Wade since the championship year might make some concerned (including Wade) that this isn’t a franchise that will do whatever it takes to win the trophy.

The Nets:

1. Jay-Z is part-owner (& you bet that’s a factor for this hip-hop idolizing generation),

2. Will be moving to Brooklyn, giving it that New York mass market appeal, plus a chance to sorta “recreate” this franchise from the ground up in this new location,

3. Potentially a stud rookie (like John Wall),

4. Some decent players in the spots that are often toughest to fill: Brook Lopez at center and Devin Harris at point.

Cons: 1. They will be coming off a season where they were either the historically worst team ever or darn close to it,

2. It’ll be at least one year, if not two or more, until the team does actually make it to Brooklyn and the crowds ain’t been stellar in Jersey,

3.Uninspiring coach and front office,

4. If the NY angle is exciting, why wouldn’t ya just go to the Knicks?

The Bulls:

1.A chance to play alongside a franchise player in Derrick Rose, as well as solid pieces like Joakim Noah and Luol Deng,

2. Get to play in the house that Jordan built,

3. For Wade a chance to go home,

4.Good media market and good city.

Cons: 1. You’re playing in the house that Jordan built so you’ll likely always be second in the city’s heart to him,

2.Not enough $ to get a second max player so you’d have to feel that the addition of you alone can turn this team into a contender,

3. Questionable coach in Vinny Del Negro, and a timid front office that’s proven to be afraid to go all in (like by refusing to give up Luol Deng for Pau Gasol).

The Clippers:

1.Best nucleus of players with Baron Davis at point, potential all-star second-year player Eric Gordon at shooting guard, Blake Griffin at power forward, and Chris Kaman at center.  Throw in LeBron James at small forward and they could be contenders ‘cuz you could make a legit argument that the Clips would be stronger at every position than the Cavs supporting cast,

2. The huge market of Los Angeles,

3. The warm weather and Hollywood connections/glamor of LA,

4. A chance to do the impossible and turn a cursed laughingstock into a champion.  Even Jordan couldn’t have saved the Clips,

5. The chance to out-do Kobe Bryant in his own arena.

Cons: 1. It’s the Clippers,

2. Cheapskate owner Donald T. Sterling, so basically what you see is what you get — don’t expect any help walking through that door,

3.The injury curse — Wade gets hurt enough as it is, if he joined the Clips his torso would probably fall off his legs,

4. It’s Kobe’s arena and it’s a Laker town, even LeBron bringing the Clips three championships in a row still might not catapult him and the team to town favorite,

5. It’s the Clippers.