The Knicks turned the ball over 11 times in the first quarter alone, en route to 20 on the night. But the Knicks shot the ball very well early on and led by as many as 15 points in the second quarter, although that lead was trimmed to just six at the half.

Ultimately it turned out to be an 87-77 victory, although Detroit’s Greg Monroe was also out of the lineup, otherwise this could have been a different story.

March 6, 2013; Auburn Hills, MI, USA; New York Knicks point guard Raymond Felton (2) moves the ball on Detroit Pistons center Viacheslav Kravtsov (55) in the second quarter at The Palace. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports

The Knicks eventually cooled off from the floor and shot only 41.3 percent from the floor on the night (31-for-75), including a 37.1 percent (13-for-35) performance from behind the arc. Without Monroe though, the Knicks held a 48-36 rebounding edge, including pulling down 14 offensive rebounds, which played a big role in the win.

With that being said, let’s take a look at how each Knicks player graded out in the victory.

Raymond Felton (26 points, 10-of-15 shooting, 6 rebounds, 4 assists, 7 turnovers)

Felton had an up-and-down night. He scored 26 points, including 12 in the third quarter, which the Knicks needed badly. But he also took very poor care of the basketball, turning it over seven times through three quarters, which simply can’t happen. In addition, he had almost twice as many miscues as assists. But he knocked down some big shots and the Knicks wouldn’t have won without him. Grade: B

Iman Shumpert (9 points, 3-of-6 shooting, 6 rebounds, 2 assists)

Shump got off to a good start for the second consecutive game, knocking down a trio of three-pointers to score nine of the Knicks first 12 points, and grabbed six rebounds in the first half. But he was unheard from in the second half and finished with a team-worst minus-10 rating. Grade: C+

James White (0 points, 0 shot attempts, 3 assists)

White played only eight minutes, which makes you wonder why he starts, but did dish out three dimes in that span. Otherwise, as usual, the Knicks starting lineup didn’t have much impact. Grade: C-

Kurt Thomas (0 points, 0-of-1  shooting, 2 rebounds)

Thomas got the starting nod and played a total of four minutes. He grabbed two rebounds in that span, but also turned the ball over twice. Grade: D

Tyson Chandler (2 points, 1-of-3 shooting, 11 rebounds, 2 blocks)

Chandler scored only two points and got only three shot attempts, which is unacceptable against a smaller Pistons’ frontcourt. But was productive on the glass  and despite both Jason Maxiell and Jonas Jerebko scoring in double figures, Chandler was good on the interior, especially with some great help defense late in the game. Grade: B

Amar’e Stoudemire (22 points, 8-of-12 shooting, 9 rebounds)

Stoudemire was outstanding once again and came out of the gates on fire, scoring 17 first half points. I would have liked to see him get more looks in the second half, but it was another outstanding and more importantly another very efficient game for STAT. Grade: A+

J.R. Smith (20 points, 7-of-22 shooting, 4 rebounds, 5 assists, 4 steals)

This is getting old, watching Smith throw up a ton of bricks, mostly because of questionable shot selection. But he knocked down three big triples in the fourth quarter and filled up the stat sheet in other areas. But shooting 31.8 percent for the  game can’t be excused, especially considering the  amount of bad shot attempts that Smith forced up. Grade: B-

March 6, 2013; Auburn Hills, MI, USA; New York Knicks point guard Jason Kidd (5) passes the ball on Detroit Pistons point guard Brandon Knight (7) in the second quarter at The Palace. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports

Steve Novak (o points, 0-of-5 shooting, 2 rebounds)

Novak, who knocked down some big shots Monday night against the Cleveland Cavaliers, did not Wednesday night against the Pistons. Novak missed on all five of his attempts and that can’t happen. Grade: F

Jason Kidd (6 points, 2-of-7 shooting, 5 rebounds, 6 assists, 3 steals)

Kidd scored only six points and didn’t shoot well, but he dished out six dimes, grabbed five rebounds and recorded three steals in 32 minutes off the bench. He also finished with a team-high plus-24 rating. Grade: B+

Marcus Camby (2 points, 0-of-1 shooting, 1 rebound)

Camby played only six minutes and didn’t do much, but he seemed active and didn’t do anything to cost the team when he was on the floor. Grade: C

Pablo Prigioni (0 points, 0-of-3 shooting, 3  assists, 2 rebounds)

Prigioni seems to always alternate good game then not-so-good game. He was good against Cleveland, which means he wasn’t great in 17 minutes against the Pistons. He didn’t do much, but did dish out a few assists and played decent defense. Grade: C

Kenyon Martin: DNP (Coach’s Decision)

Chris Copeland: DNP (Coach’s Decision)

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Things have gone well for the Knicks as of late as they performed well at both ends of the court for long stretches at a time.

The Pistons made it closer than this game should have been and scored 62 points in the paint, but the Knicks made 14-of-34 three-point attempts, including 10-of-20 to begin the game.

As the Knicks continue to roll, let’s take a look at how they graded out against the Pistons.

Raymond Felton (4 points, 2-of-5 shooting, 9 assists, 5 rebounds, 2 steals)

It was another solid game for Felton, who controlled the pace of the game very nicely and didn’t force things too much. He has improved defensively the past four games and made things tough on Pistons’ point guard Brandon Knight, who made only 2-of-10 shots from the floor. His nine assists gave him eight or more assists in five consecutive games. Anyone doubting the impact that Felton has on this team is being proven wrong on a nightly basis. Grade: A-

Jason Kidd (3 points, 1-of-7 shooting, 3 assists, 2 rebounds)

Feb 4, 2013; New York, NY, USA; New York Knicks small forward Carmelo Anthony (7) drives the pane during the fourth quarter against the Detroit Pistons at Madison Square Garden. Knicks won 99-85. Mandatory Credit: Anthony Gruppuso-USA TODAY Sports

Kidd hasn’t been great the past few weeks and despite being all over the floor early on, he didn’t do much in this one. Grade: C

Iman Shumpert (8 points, 2-of-3 shooting, 2 rebounds, 2 assists)

Shump’s minutes are still limited, but he looked good in his 17 minutes and he played his usual solid defense which was a big part of the win. Grade: B

Carmelo Anthony (27 points, 10-of-17 shooting, 7 rebounds, 3 assists)

Anthony did whatever he wanted to for most of the night, due large in part to having Kyle Singler guarding him, which was a gift from the Pistons. He led the team in scoring and was efficient from the field. It was a solid all-around day except for another high turnover number (four). Grade: A-

Tyson Chandler (8 points, 4-of-9 shooting, 20 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal, 1 block)

Chandler grabbed 20 rebounds for a third consecutive game and made Greg Monroe a non-factor for most of the night. It has been an outstanding stretch of play for the first-time All-Star. Grade: A+

Amar’e Stoudemire (20 points, 8-of-14 shooting, 3 rebounds, 2 steals, 1 block)

Stoudemire looks more and more like the STAT of old, scoring 20 points in 28 minutes. He looks explosive and it is no coincidence that the Knicks recent streak has come with impressive performances from Stoudemire. Grade: A

Steve Novak (6 points, 2-of-5 shooting, 2 rebounds)

It’s been hard for Novak to turn in consistent back-to-back performances as of late. He did knock down a couple of three’s but needs to do more in 20 minutes of playing time. Grade: C+

Pablo Prigioni (3 points, 1-of-1 shooting, 1 assist)

Not Prigioni’s best night although that he wasn’t bad. He is at his best when he is getting teammates involved and that didn’t happen on Monday with only one assist. Grade: C

J.R. Smith (16 points, 5-of-15 shooting, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal)

Smith chucked up an insane amount of three’s again (13).  He did make five of those, but he had a fourth quarter that was reminiscent of the Smith of old, throwing up brick after brick, often taking bad shots and playing out of control. It wasn’t his best all-around effort, but he was productive. Grade: C+

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Jan 17, 2013; London, United Kingdom; New York Knicks forward Carmelo Anthony (7) drives around Detroit Pistons forward Tayshaun Prince (22) during the first quarter at the O2 Arena. Mandatory Credit: Paul Cunningham-USA TODAY Sports

Both Anthony and Chandler won a gold medal playing for Team USA during the summer and both had great success on Wednesday as the Knicks defeated the Detroit Pistons 102-87.

Iman Shumpert returned for the Knicks and was in the starting lineup as New York came out on fire at both ends of the floor. The Knicks led by 20 at one point, a lead that the Pistons cut to only five in the third quarter, but the Knicks closed strong and won their second straight game in convincing fashion.

With that being said, let’s take a look at how each Knicks player graded out in London.

Game Stats

Field Goal Percentage: 45.8% (33-of-72)

Opponent’s Field Goal Percentage: 44.3 %( 35-of-79)

Three Point Percentage: 35.5% (11-of-31)

Opponent’s Three Point Percentage: 35.3% (6-of-17)

Free Throw Percentage: 80.6% (25-of-31)

Opponent’s Free Throw Percentage: 50.0% (11-of-22)

Assists: 22-17 (Pistons +5)

Rebounds: 44-36 (Knicks +8)

Points in the paint: 44-22 (Pistons +22)

Individual Grades

Jason Kidd (5 points, 2-of-5 shooting, 6 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 steals, 3 turnovers)

Kidd started slow and filled the stat sheet but did turn the ball over twice; oddly two of them came on traveling violations.  Will Bynum and Rodney Stuckey had some success against him, but Kidd saved his best for the fourth quarter at both ends of the floor. Grade: B-

Iman Shumpert (8 points, 3-of-7 shooting, 2 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal, 1 block)

Shump’s debut was a shot in the arm for the Knicks as they got off to a good start at both ends of the floor for a change and took a 29-17 lead after the first quarter. He looked explosive and fearless and did a lot in only 15 minutes of action, including draining his first shot of the season- a corner three in the first. Grade: B

Chris Copeland (7 points, 3-of-6 shooting, 2 rebounds)

Copeland’s game is scoring the basketball and he really doesn’t give you much of anything else. Unfortunately the Knicks didn’t need much of Copeland in this game as he took only six shots in only 18 minutes of playing time. In addition he had some problems guarding Kyle Singler as Copeland didn’t have a great day defensively. Grade: C-

Carmelo Anthony (26 points, 8-of-19 shooting, 4 assists, 3 rebounds, 2 blocks)

Jan 17, 2013; London, United Kingdom; New York Knicks center Tyson Chandler (left) celebrates with Carmelo Anthony (7) while on the bench during the game against the Detroit Pistons, at the O2 Arena. Mandatory Credit: Paul Cunningham-USA TODAY Sports

London is where Anthony had tremendous success over the summer and he picked right up where he left off by coming out on fire in the first quarter, draining three triples in an 11 point first quarter. The only knock on Anthony was five turnovers, which can’t happen. Grade: B+

Tyson Chandler (10 points, 3-of-4 shooting, 14 rebounds, 2 blocks)

Chandler finished with a double-double and got off to a good start by grabbing seven rebounds in the first quarter. He did a great job of making Greg Monroe a non-factor and despite the Pistons scoring 22 more points in the paint than the Knicks, the Knicks outrebounded Detroit by eight and a majority of Detroit’s points in the paint came with Chandler on the bench. Grade: A-

Amar’e Stoudemire (17 points, 3-of-5 shooting, 4 rebounds)

Offensively it was Stoudemire’s best game since his return, scoring 12 of his 17 points in the first half and having a fantastic day from the charity stripe, by knocking down 11-of-12 attempts. But he wasn’t very good at the defensive end of the floor as Pistons’ rookie Andre Drummond abused him often. Hopefully the defense will come, but it was an encouraging performance from STAT. Grade: B

Ronnie Brewer (0 points, 0-of-1 shooting)

With the return of Shumpert, Brewer only got four minutes, which is a trend I expect to continue. Grade: Incomplete

Steve Novak (13 points, 5-of-9 shooting, 3 rebounds)

Novak didn’t make much of a difference again until late, but when the Pistons made their run, he drained some daggers. The Knicks don’t lose often when Novak hits five shots from the floor. Grade: B

Pablo Prigioni (0 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal)

Prigioni didn’t attempt a shot in 21 minutes, but was otherwise solid. Grade: C

J.R. Smith (16 points, 6-of-15 shooting, 6 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 steals)

It was a typical performance from Smith, who didn’t shoot well, but was all over the court and filled the stat sheet at both ends of the floor. Smith was only 1-of-6 from behind the arc and turned it over four times, but otherwise impacted the game in a positive way. Grade: B-

James White: Played only one minute. Grade: Incomplete

Kurt Thomas: DNP- Coach’s Decision

Rasheed Wallace: DNP- Sore Left Foot

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Apr 28, 2012; Miami, FL, USA; New York Knicks guard Iman Shumpert (21) during the first half of game one in the Eastern Conference quarterfinals of the 2012 NBA Playoffs at the American Airlines Arena. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports

He will be on a minutes limit initially, but despite that, could Shumpert actually be in the Knicks starting lineup right off the bat?

Knicks’ head coach Mike Woodson sees it as a possibility, telling Newsday’s Al Iannazzone:

“We’ll see,” Woodson said, when asked if Shumpert could start. “That could be a possibility, as well, based on him loosening up. If the doctors said that might be the way to go, I wouldn’t be scared of putting him in the starting lineup. He’s been there before.”

It makes sense, given the slow starts that the Knicks have gotten off to during the past 13 games, especially on the defensive end of the floor where Shumpert’s athleticism will give the team a shot in the arm and his perimeter defense will be greatly welcomed.

It also makes a lot of sense to have him on the floor late in games when the Knicks need stops. Everything in between, it will be curious to see how Woodson uses the second-year guard.

Shumpert’s return also should help cut down on Jason Kidd’s heavy workload, as Kidd has been playing a ton of minutes since Raymond Felton went out of the lineup Christmas Day. Woodson may be able to cut down on Kidd’s minutes beginning Thursday, but he should see a good reduction more towards the end of the month when Felton returns.

It remains to see exactly how Woodson will use Shumpert right off the bat, or if he is in the starting lineup on Thursday, but one thing is for sure and that is whatever role Shumpert is used in initially, his return will be a welcomed shot in the arm for a struggling Knicks team.

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Apr 28, 2012; Miami, FL, USA; New York Knicks guard Iman Shumpert (21) is carried off the court during the second half of game one in the Eastern Conference quarterfinals against he Miami Heat of the 2012 NBA Playoffs at the American Airlines Arena. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports

Now it is official.

ESPN’s Ian Begley reports that Shumpert felt “great” after playing 3-on-3 Monday evening and experienced no pain or soreness in his surgically repaired right knee. If he experiences no setbacks during practice on Wednesday, Knicks’ head coach Mike Woodson said that Shump will play Thursday night.

“He looks good … it’s going to take a day at a time. We’ll see how he feels tomorrow. Just got to make sure he doesn’t have any setbacks. And if not, he’ll play on Thursday,” Woodson told Begley.

The Knicks flew to London Monday night and will have a full practice on Wednesday before playing the Pistons on Thursday.

If all goes well for Shumpert, he will have a minutes restriction, similar to that of Amar’e Stoudemire, although it has yet to be determined exactly how many minutes Shumpert will play right off the bat.

Shump’s return couldn’t come at a better time for the Knicks, who need a shot of life after losing eight of their past 13 games.

His perimeter defense will be welcomed as the Knicks have allowed more than 100 points in seven of the past eight losses.

Shumpert hasn’t played since Game 1 of last year’s first-round series loss to the Miami Heat when he tore his ACL.

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Will it be the team that got off to an 8-1 start to the season based on strong defense or will it be the team that allowed the Dallas Mavericks and Houston Rockets to score on them at will?

Nov 21, 2012; Dallas, TX, USA; New York Knicks center Tyson Chandler (6) during the fourth quarter against the Dallas Mavericks at American Airlines Center. The Mavs beat the Knicks 114-111. Mandatory Credit: Matthew Emmons-US PRESSWIRE

It’s concerning that the effort on the defensive end disappeared the past two games. That’s what we are talking here is effort, not execution.

I’m not the only one showing concern, as reigning Defensive Player of the Year Tyson Chandler is also concerned, telling Newsday’s Al Iannazzone:

“You’ve got to be concerned,” Chandler said. “We’ve got to get it together. That [Houston] team, first of all, they’re not better than us. They’re not 30 points better than us. That’s no disrespect to them. We can’t allow that to happen. The same thing with the Dallas Mavericks. We’ve had two letdowns. We’ve got to get together, got to get our focus back.”

If you want to know just how ugly it has been, the Knicks have given up 245 points the past two games and the 131 Houston hung on them was more than they allowed to anyone all of last season. And in the past six quarters, they have allowed 196 points.

During that span, the strategy has appeared to try and outscore the opponent instead of getting stops. That’s not going to work.

But the Knicks get the opportunity to fix things Sunday at the Garden against the Pistons.

Detroit comes in averaging only 92.2 points per game (26th in NBA) and has topped the century mark on only three occasions on the season.

More than scoring 110-plus points, the Knicks have to get back to defending well, especially with Brooklyn on the schedule Monday night.

“We just had lapses all over the place,” Chandler said to Frank Isola of the New York Daily News. “I take responsibility for that. I’ve got to get my team and myself better.”

“We’re getting beat a lot off the dribble,” he added. “The penetration is hurting us. They’re getting to the heart of our defense. We’re allowing offensive rebounds, easy shots on the perimeter, dump-offs for layups. Just a lot of easy baskets. Early in the year we were making things tough, and now we’re letting guys off way too easy.”

Some of that could be helped by the return to the lineup of Rasheed Wallace. But even if Wallace doesn’t play, head coach Mike Woodson has a great interior defender on the bench in Marcus Camby that he has been mysteriously letting sit on the bench.

Whatever the rotation may be, one thing is clear and that’s the Knicks must get back to playing great team defense. If this Pistons team scores at will on them, then there may be a problem.

Offense and shooting naturally goes through hot and cold streaks, but effort on defense should not.

That’s been the disturbing part the past two games.

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Mar 24, 2012; New York, NY, USA; Detroit Pistons forward/center Jason Maxiell (54) looks to pass during the first quarter against the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Anthony Gruppuso-US PRESSWIRE

The game previously had been designated for international play, but the site wasn’t immediately disclosed.

The O2 arena in London will host its seventh NBA game — including four exhibitions — since 2007. That’s the same O2 Arena when Carmelo Anthony and Tyson Chandler recently won gold medals and the same city in which Anthony hit an amazing 10 three-pointers in a game.

NBA commissioner David Stern released a statement.

“London was the epicenter of global sports this summer, and the Olympics were a tremendous showcase for basketball,” NBA commissioner David Stern said in a released statement. “Playing our third regular-season game in the city in three years and having historic franchises like the Knicks and Pistons serve as our ambassadors provide extraordinary opportunities to further the game’s growth and development in the UK and throughout Europe.”

The Toronto Raptors and New Jersey Nets last played a pair of regular-season games at the same venue in March 2011, but the NBA skipped London on its preseason tour this year.

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At the start of the decade we saw the Indiana Pacers spearheaded by recent Hall of Fame inductee Reggie Miller, dominate the division. Then slowly the Detroit Pistons carved themselves a mini dynasty for a couple of years. But when Lebron James finally assimilated into the league, the Cavaliers were forces to be reckon with until James took his talents to the Southeast Division.  Now more recently, a Chicago native in Derrick Rose,  has led the Bulls back to prominence but with his current rehab process are now in dire need of a speedy recovery.

And just like that we have come to a complete circle and the Pacers look to be the top dogs now in this division with their exciting playoff run last season. Today I will analyze how the Knicks would fair against a rebuilding and playoff desperate Detroit Pistons in a seven game series.

Point Guard: Raymond Felton/Jason Kidd/Pablo Prigioni vs. Brandon Knight/Will Bynum

Although Brandon Knight had a shaky rookie season learning to play point guard at the NBA level, the future of this former Kentucky Wildcat is very bright. Knight is a gym rat that will log many hours to improve his game. On the basketball court Brandon Knight can certainly shoot the ball but also beat his opponents off the dribble. He still needs learn to make plays for his teammates but that will come with time. Will Bynum is flat out scorer. Despite his small stature he is fearless when driving through the lane and is an underrated athlete.

These two will give the Knicks older point guards problems but nothing they haven’t encounter before. The Knicks will be fine here as long as they keep both these players honest on both ends of the floor and not get suckered into a track meet with these guys.

Advantage: Knicks

Shooting Guard: Ronnie Brewer/Jr. Smith/ Iman Shumpert vs. Rodney Stuckey/Kim English

April 17, 2012; Detroit, MI, USA; Detroit Pistons point guard Brandon Knight (7) and point guard Rodney Stuckey (3) against the Cleveland Cavaliers at The Palace of Auburn Hills. Mandatory Credit: Andrew Weber-US PRESSWIRE

At only 26 years old, Stuckey still has time to turn around what should have been an already successful NBA tenure. Stuckey has great scoring instincts and a rare ability to simply duck his head down and barrell his way into the paint. Yet he has struggled defining his role on this rebuilding team whether if he’s a point or shooting guard. Detroit’s rookie Kim English will actually see some valuable minutes this season with the lack of depth the Pistons have right now in the guard rotation. English will look stretch the floor for this team with his long range sniping ability.

If Ronnie Brewer can follow through with his claim that he will be ready for the season opener, the Knicks should have enough length and defensive prowess  to guard these players. Brewer is long enough to bother the stronger Stuckey and Jr. Smith can no doubt stay with Kim English on the perimeter.

Advantage: Knicks

Small Forward: Carmelo Anthony/ Steve Novak/ James White/ Chris Copeland vs. Tayshaun Prince/Corey Maggette/ Austin Daye/ Kyle Singler

The Pistons are very versatile at this position. They have very good scoring wings in both Maggette and Daye. They have an underrated player in Tayshaun Prince who even at his age can still provide above average defense and can give you a little bit of everything down on the other end. Rookie Kyle Singler has a high basketball IQ and can shoot the ball very well.

The problem here(at least for the Pistons) is who can really guard Carmelo Anthony here? Prince back in the day would be the “guy.” But the over the years he has lost a step and the same passion isn’t there as it was. Melo will have his way with Prince, the very skinny Daye, and non-existent defense from Maggette.

Advantage: Knicks 

Power Forward: Amar’e Stoudemire/ Kurt Thomas vs. Jonas Jerebko/Charlie Villanueva/Jason Maxiell/Khris Middleton

Jan 7, 2012; Auburn Hills, MI, USA; New York Knicks power forward Amare Stoudemire (1) and Detroit Pistons power forward Jason Maxiell (54) go for a loose ball during the second half at The Palace. Knicks won 103-80. Mandatory Credit: Tim Fuller-US PRESSWIRE

It’s no secret the Knicks are rather thin at this position. Even though I love what Kurt Thomas brings for this team he will be playing limited minutes for the Knicks because of his age. Amar’e Stoudemire should be a handful for the Detroit here but the Pistons are very athletic and potent at this position as well.

Jonas Jerekbo is pretty good athlete that plays with a ton of energy. Charlie Villanueva despite his lackluster tenure on this Detroit team can be a very effective and versatile scorer. But the key for Detroit here is Jason Maxiell. Indeed he is undersized for the position but he still can be a pest on for his opponents on defense because of his strength and his never say die attitude.

Add in the fact that Greg Monroe will see minutes here, I believe the Knicks are at a slight disadvantage here with their limited rotation.

Advantage: Pistons

Center: Tyson Chandler/Marcus Camby vs. Greg Monro/Andre Drummond/Slava Kravtsov

Greg Monroe was my pick for most improved player last year and that’s because he can do just about everything you want from a big man today: shoot, post up, pass, rebound, defend, and compete.

I’m glad the Pistons took a gamble on the Andre Drummond project. His offensive game is still pretty raw but in a couple of years this kid if groomed properly, will be an absolute beast.

The Knicks have the advantage here because of Chandlers’ mobility to stay with Monroe in the post or on the perimeter. And because Drummond’s post play is still unpolished Camby should be an effective defender against the rookie.

Advantage: Knicks

Coaching: Mike Woodson vs. Lawrence Frank

Mike Woodson will have to slow this game down and play half court for Stoudemire and Anthony to be utilized effectively. Frank will look to speed the tempo up more. This starts and ends with point guard play. I can’t see Brandon Knight consistently getting this done giving his lack of experience.

Advantage: Knicks 

Prediction Knicks dominate this series in either four or five games. This is mainly because Pistons still have too many questions on their roster. They need to decide who’s the point guard on this team with both Knight and Stuckey both combo guards. They also need Drummond to get himself ready mentally because from what it seems like he will be thrown into the fire right from the start which will be interesting to monitor. The Knicks have a more talented and complete team than the Pistons who are trying breakout of their rebuilding stage and back in the playoff hunt.

Carmelo Anthony may return to the lineup Tuesday against the Pistons. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-US PRESSWIRE

respectively.  Without resident chucker Carmelo Anthony in the lineup, the Knicks resorted to chucker by committee, attempting 69 three point attempts in those two games. The particularly disconcerting part about those attempts is the lack of precision with which those jumpers were taken; the Knicks made just 23 of those 69 attempts—a mark of 33%.

The reality now for this team—as they find themselves in 10^th place in the East—is that they are in real danger of not making the playoffs if they continue to perform the way they are currently performing. The glaring lack of point guard play is an obvious reason why this team has struggled, however the effort level defensively is something that can, and needs to change. At this juncture the Knicks just aren’t playing like a team that wants to win these games.

With this in mind, tonight is the perfect time for the struggling Detroit Pistons to be rolling into town to face the Knicks.  The Pistons will enter tonight’s game with just one more win than the last place Charlotte Bobcats, making them a prime target for the Knicks to grab a much needed W against. (more…)

Hottest Seats:

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Why are we using a picture of Shawne Williams as a Memphis Tiger? Because before Sunday he'd never played on the court in a Knicks jersey. (Source: Yardbarker.com)

One of the oddest things about the New York Knicks’ double-overtime victory over the Detroit Pistons on Sunday was that it also featured both coaches using double rotation strategies: getting everyone a shot initially, only to end up with a short leash.  By the end of the first quarter, Detroit coach John Kuester had already gone ten players deep.  For the Knicks, Mike D’Antoni went nine-deep in the first half, which might not seem like he went too deep into his bench, until you see who he played.

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Forget athleticism, today we're looking at the math behind (and in front of) the Knicks.

Welcome, class.  Today we’ll be using basic math to discuss the future of your New York Knickerbockers, using yesterday’s 125-116 double-overtime victory over the Detroit Pistons as a springboard. Once again, the numbers show that we let a solid lead in the fourth disappear (up by 6 with barely more than 2 minutes to go), but once again the final tally reveals we still managed to hang on for the win.  More numbers?  The victory brought us back up to .500, our 9-9 record keeping us at 7 in the east, only 1/2 a game back from the Indiana Pacers and Miami Heat for the #5 spot.  Most of our wins have been against teams with losing records, and we do keep letting teams get back into games, so once again we wonder if we should be optimistic or view our record as a fluke?  Let’s dig further into the most basic of numbers to see if we can answer that question.

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Kobe bites his shirt! Does that mean he's worried the Lakers won't be on top this year? Nah, probably he just forgot to eat dinner. (Source: Yardbarker.com)

With the season beginning tonight, it’s time to rank how strong all the teams are at this point.  This isn’t who will be strongest at the end of the season or who will have the best regular season.  This measures how strong each team is right NOW.  If a team engaged in a seven game series today with any of the teams listed below them, I’m saying they’d win.  So yeah, injuries count big time.  And chemistry.  And like, how good they are.  It’s basically a highly complex formula that you mere mortals wouldn’t understand.  Either that or it’s all based on pure opinion.

1. Los Angeles Lakers — Even with the recovering Kobe shooting 28% this pre-season they’d still beat everyone.  Hell, he only shot 24% in Game 7 of Finals.

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Maybe Darko Milicic (R, shooting over Pau Gasol) finally gained the maturity to succeed this year. (Source: Yardbarker.com)

While some speculated that Darko Milicic, the former glued-to-the-bench Knick traded to the Minnesota Timberwolves last year, would seek revenge in last night’s game, instead he showed maturity, acknowledging he was the problem, not Coach Mike D’Antoni.  As the New York Post reported, he even gave helpful advice to the Knicks’ new Russian center Timofey Mozgov:

When discussing coaches on the hot seat, consider Don Nelson's butt on fire. (Source: Yardbarker.com)

In the first part, we looked at the coaches in good positions, but today we look at the ones in bad and ugly situations.  We went over those who were Bulletproof, 95% Bulletproof (aka Impervious), Pretty Safe and Fairly Safe.  Note that this is NOT about which coaches are good or bad, simply what the chances are that they get fired during the season.

Maybe Safe… Um, Maybe Not:

Jim O’Brien – Pacers: They’ve been mediocre for several years now and Bird hasn’t fired O’Brien yet.  Although the addition of new exciting young point guard Darren Collison gives hope for the future, there’s no reason to expect this team to be any better this season without a halfway decent power forward, so unless the team’s significantly worse than last year, O’Brien should make it through the season.

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With the Cavs having lost the unstoppable Delonte West (plus I think some other guy?), how bad will they be? You might be surprised by our take. (Source: Yardbarker.com)

We already examined how much teams improved/regressed during the off-season, but now we’ll talk about how they stack up against each other.  Meaning, we gave Orlando a zero for their summer and the Wizards a +2, but now we’re here to tell you that yes, of course Orlando is still gonna be far better.  For those who haven’t seen those posts on off-season grades, click the following links to see what we had to say about the Northwest, Atlantic, Central, Southeast, Pacific and Southwest Divisions.  Also, we’re only gonna be talking about the regular season here.  So even though we don’t think the Celts will be a top two team record-wise, it doesn’t mean we think they’re incapable of making it through the gauntlet again.  Lastly, some teams will be put in clusters ‘cuz they’ll likely end up with similar records and what does a victory or two here and there matter?

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1. Rather than a standard A through F grade or going for a scale of 1-10, we shall use a system that my friend Noriko loves: -5 through +5.  It helps differentiate things a bit more, ‘cuz like if a team gets a C-, it’s better than an F, but is it good?  With this scale, you can instead give the team a +1, which shows that they improved the team, but only marginally.  Or maybe they get a zero ‘cuz they didn’t hurt the team or help it.

2. These grades are not, I repeat, NOT, about how good teams will be.  It’s purely about how good their summer moves were.  For instance, the Sacramento Kings may get a higher grade than say the Orlando Magic, but that doesn’t mean I’m insane and think the Kings will be better than the Magic.  It simply means I like the Kings’ draft of DeMarcus Cousins more than the Magic’s signings of Quentin Richardson and Chris Duhon (although I haven’t fully examined those teams yet, so I dunno what grades they’ll get).

3. The grades are not just based on how good the players are, but also their contracts.  Joe Johnson is definitely a top 30 player, but with Atlanta giving him $120 million/6 yrs, the largest contract of anyone this summer, his signing turns into a negative.

4. Grades will be scaled based on what each team could have done.  Meaning the Lakers, a team over the salary cap, get major kudos for snagging Steve Blake, Matt Barnes, Theo Ratliff and bringing back Shannon Brown with their limited financial flexibility, but if say the Knicks, with all their cap space, had only made those moves, I’d pan ‘em.

5. Fit matters.  I like Kirk Hinrich a ton, and had he gone to the Pacers (a team that desperately need a point guard before yesterday’s Collison trade), I would’ve raved about the move.  However, Washington acquiring him is a bit odd considering they already have PGs in John Wall and Gilbert Arenas.

And now…

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Remember When These Two Meant Something?

Out of nowhere the Detroit Pistons have apparent interest in signing Tracy McGrady. Although it’s not official, this could be McGrady’s last chance at getting signed to play anywhere this summer.

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Shhh, LeBron and Wade are on their way to the mythical Superstar Free Agency Summit. There's even a secret handshake to get in the door. (source: Yardbarker.com)

With LeBron-frenzy-ation reaching new heights as we approach hunting seasonfree agency’s opening day, lots of incorrect info is being bandied about.  And I won’t stand for poor bandying.  Thus I sit here writing about what’s a Myth or Irrelevant.

1. Bosh’s List Of 5 Teams – Myth

Yes, yes, I know even I reported it, but it turns out it’s bogus.  The claim was that his agent submitted the list of the 5 teams Bosh was interested in playing for next season.  Now it’s come out that his agent has debunked this story.  Which makes sense.  Would someone really wanna limit their options like that this early on?  Shouldn’t you wait and hear what offers you get?  Maybe say Orlando pops out of the woodwork, with the ability to do a sign-and-trade involving Rashard Lewis?  Bosh and Dwight Howard are supposedly somewhat close, and after playing with the defensively inept Bargnani, it’s gotta look pretty appealing to team-up with Superman.  I mean, yes, I completely made this up, but the point is it’s just good business to wait and see what options are out there before you start closing any doors.

2. Free-Agent Powerhouse Summit With Dwayne Wade, LeBron, Bosh, Joe Johnson, A’m'a’r'e, and Matt Barnes – Myth

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Adam Sandler and Kate Beckinsale have held the trophy more than 14 franchises combined. (source: Yardbarker.com)

As we prepare for the 62nd championship round, one thing is clear: when it comes to winning the whole enchilada, the rich keep getting richer.

-Out of 30 franchises, only 16 have ever take home the trophy.

-Boston (17) and the Lakers (15) have combined to win (32) more than half of the championships.

-By contrast, the next franchises on that list, the Bulls (6) and Spurs (4), won all their rings during one time period and one superstar’s tenure (a certain Michael Jeffrey Jordan and Timothy Salierius Duncan — okay, I made up Dunc’s middle name; anyone know if he’s got a real one?).

-After that we’ve got 3 three-peaters (copyright Pat Riley) with the Pistons, Warriors and Sixers. Followed by 2 two-timers (Knicks and Rockets). For you Knick fans, that means if LeBron comes to NYC and wins 4 titles, that means we jump to #3 on the list!

For the rest of my post, click here for the main FanSided page.

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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Joe Johnson – Atlanta Hawks

As we discussed after the recent Knicks/Hawks game, JJ has a nice relationship with Coach Mike D’Antoni from their time together in Phoenix, plus the Knicks have somehow managed to look competitive this year in the three games he played against us.  When JJ was on those D’Antoni Suns teams, although he was huge for them, at the time he was considered to be at best their fourth most important player (after Steve Nash, Amar’e Stoudamire & Shawn Marion).  Joe rightly felt he could be more, a centerpiece, and he wanted to be paid accordingly.  Having achieved all that with the Hawks, he now has reached the point most vets get to: the main thing he wants now is the chance to play for a championship.  He is even one of the few stars who has literally put his money where his mouth is and has stated he’d be willing to take a bunch less money to be on such a team.

Now don’t misunderstand: he knows he has a very good thing going with the Hawks and that they are a really, really good team.  He’s not gonna just leave them to play on a mid-level Knick team.  So ignore this quote in the NY Daily News:

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Wilson Chandler missed his second game, er I mean first game, since that game I imagined against the Cavs was just a bad dream.  Al Harrington started in his place, and Big Al kept his hot streak going.  He was hitting three-

pointers like they were going outta style.  Wait, “going out of style?”  What kind of dumb expression is that?  I feel like in today’s style conscious society, if something’s going out of style we try to instantly get rid of it, not accumulate ‘em.  Maybe in the old days if you knew a pair of pants were going out of style you might get a bunch of ‘em before they disappeared forever, but now it’s gotta be the opposite, right?  Like what kind of idiot would I be if I put up an Obama “Yes We Can” poster now?  Or if I decided that the way to make big money is through internet start-ups and real estate?  Actually, real estate might be coming back, but then that’s more like going retro.  Like getting me a pair of moon boots now might be kinda fun, but back when that fad was dying we knew they were awful even at the time.  Sorry, sorry, I’m rambling.  Where was I?

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New Yorkers, rightfully, are worried that this is an all-or-nothing proposition.  Basically, unless we get LeBron James or Dwayne Wade, we’ll just be a slightly above average team.  Kinda like how we looked with Crawford & Randolph.  While there are other studs available this summer like A’mare Stoudamire, Chris Bosh, Joe Johnson, Carlos Boozer, none of ‘em are mega-stars who ensure you’ll have a legit shot at winning a championship.  Those second-tier guys just assure that you’ll make the playoffs.  Even if you do get two of ‘em.

So if we don’t get Plan A, does that mean Plan B is doomed to fail?  Not necessarily.  Most Knicks fans are worried about Plan B, but that’s ‘cuz they assume it means not just that we sign two lesser talents, but that we sign them to more than they’re worth.  The fear is that we do something like the Pistons did this summer, when they had a bunch of cash and felt compelled to spend it, thus overpaying for Ben Gordon and Charlie Villanueva, both of whom are currently coming off the bench for Detroit.  Likewise, several years ago a few teams cleared cap space to sign Tim Duncan and Grant Hill.  After Duncan stayed with the Spurs and Hill went with Tracy McGrady to Orlando, Chicago paid a bunch of money to some scrubs just to say they got someone.

Now if Isiah was still in charge, sure, we all know he would definitely follow that path, but doesn’t Donnie Walsh deserve the benefit of the doubt?  Besides the remarkable salary dumping job he did for us, he had quite a run with the Indiana Pacers.  Not only did he assemble enough talent for them to constantly be in the top of the east during the late 1990s, but he even got that team to Finals against the Lakers in… what was it, 2000?  And after that within a year or two he had completely rejuvenated that team, getting rid of Rick Smits, Mark Jackson, Dale Davis, Antonio Davis, Jalen Rose, and turning them into a young Eastern Conference contender around Jermaine O’Neal, Brad Miller, Ron Artest, Stephen Jackson, Jamaal Tinsley, and the still effective Grandpa Reggie Miller.  This was a team that seemed poised to make it to the finals for the next few years until the unfortunate Malice At The Palace, players-and-fans-scuffle.  Has a team ever been turned around that quickly with a completely new cast?  The Lakers new team is still built around Kobe, one of their two supernova stars from their earlier three-peat.  The old-time Celtics won like 11 championships with various supporting stars, but they all centered around Bill Russell.

Fine, you say, we’ll give Walsh a chance.  But if he doesn’t get LeBron or Wade, what can he reasonably do to get the rest of the cream of the crop?  The key is getting some supporting parts at reasonable prices.  Houston has been excellent at that, getting solid unflashy guys like Shane Battier, Trevor Ariza, Luis Scola, and Carl Landry on the (relative) cheap.  Get Chris Bosh and Joe Johnson to agree to slightly less than the max, and then try to snag Ray Felton, Brendan Haywood, Josh Childress, Shannon Brown, Rudy Gay, Manu Ginobili, Kyle Korver, or Mike Miller on the cheap.  Maybe David Lee or TMac will agree to a lesser deal.  It would be pretty solid to have a line-up of Bosh, Lee, Gallo, Chandler, and Felton with Childress, Brown, Miller & TMac coming off the bench.

Yes, that’d still probably only get us to 4th or 5th in the East, but here’s the thing: it also would keep us out of the tax.  Since you personally don’t have to pay the tax as a fan, you probably don’t care, but it matters a bunch.  Why?  It means that the following summer, 2011, when Eddy Curry’s $11.3 million salary comes off the books, we can use that full amount to sign someone else.  If we give out excessive contracts this summer, we’ll go over the cap and won’t be able to add anyone new after we get rid of Curry.

With that $11+ mill, we could have a real shot at such 2011 free agents as Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, Greg Oden, Jason Richardson, Samuel Dalembert, Jeff Green, David West, Zach Randolph, Marc Gasol, Mike Conley, Troy Murphy, Mike Dunleavy Jr., Shane Battier, Aaron Brooks, Tayshaun Prince, Rodney Stuckey, J.R.Smith, Nene, Caron Butler, Joakim Noah, Boris Diaw, Kendrick Perkins, Jamal Crawford, Al Horford, and some guy named Carmelo Anthony.  Adding just one of those guys to the above roster would probably elevate the team to one of the East’s elite.  Adding Melo would bring a very real possibility of winning multiple championships.

By having a few reasonable, desirable smaller contracts, we could also trade Curry’s expiring contract in the middle of next season, so we wouldn’t even have to wait for 2011.  Like by next year the Celtics will finally have to accept that Kevin Garnett is so half-dead he’s practically a zombie.  They realize they need to blow up the team, so they decide to get rid of Paul Pierce for an expiring contract.  He makes more than Curry, but we throw in Mike Miller to make things work.  Using those contracts would also help if say someone like Melo wants more than that $11 mill.  We basically give a Mike Miller to a team for free (like only getting a second round pick in return), and then we have like another $3 mill available to pay Anthony.

The point is that it’s not LeBron/Wade or mediocrity.  It’s about not returning to the ways of Scott Layden & Isiah Thomas (& honestly lots of other GMs), and overpaying mid-level players.

The nice thing is that the team is developing a consistency.  We come out flat at the beginning of every game, let the opponent get a nice lead, and then make runs throughout where we turn it into a game.  The final part is where our variance comes in: often after we turn it into a game we then like to lose, but as shown on Monday and last week in Philly, sometimes we actually win.  The first part though, that’s apparently written in stone.

What’s the issue, you may ask?  Or maybe you don’t, but I’m answering it either way.  Coaches tend to always say focus on defense when things are awry, but I’mna buck that trend and go with offense (and hey, Mike D’s an offensive-minded coach, so it’s only appropriate).  In three-out-of-four of our last games, we’ve kept the opponent under 94 points.  That’s pretty solid in today’s high-scoring game.  However, we come out shooting awfully.  Duhon’s in the middle of a horrible shooting slump, and finally D’Antoni decided to limit Chris’ playing time Monday, giving him just 20 minutes and letting Nate Robinson run the point.  Of course, afterward D’Antoni said something to the effect of how he’d have a heart attack if he keeps running Nate at point, due to Nate’s uh… questionable decision making.

That said, it hasn’t just been Duhon.  For a few games Gallinari came out cold.  The last two games he finally got hot, but it almost made me wonder if Gallo would do better coming off the bench.  Maybe he’s the type who needs to get a sense of the game before he can get going.  The other he needs to work on is knowing when to shoot the three and when to drive.  There were a bunch of times he had an open three but he passed it up and drove because he’s obviously been told to do that once teams overplay him on the jump shot.  Thing is, what usually happens is that rather than get to the rim, he only goes a foot or two closer and has to shoot while his defender is lunging at him.  The idea is that by shooting closer, it becomes a higher-percentage shot.  However, since it goes from being a three-pointer to a two-pointer, it also becomes a less valuable shot.

There was some recent study (which I’m too lazy to look up) which I believe showed that the best, most valuable shot was one right at the rim.  Second to that though was not like five feet out, it was the three-pointer.  Or maybe it was five feet out and then the three-pointer?  Regardless, the three was definitely much more valuable than the ten-footer, and worlds better than the 15-22 footer inside the arc.  The math to show it is pretty simple.  If you shot 50% from within the two-point range (which usually only big men who operate by the basket can do), and you took 6 shots, you’d make 3, right?  And with each one being 2 points, it’d be worth 6 points.  On the other hand if you shot 6 three-pointers and hit only a third of them (aka 33%), you’d make only two shots.  But since each was a three, that’d also be worth 6 points.   Now let’s look at Gallo.  He shoots much better than 33% from three-point land: he’s at 41.6%.  However, from two-point land he’s much worse than 50%: he’s only 45.9%.  In other words it’s clearly better for him to go for the big one.

Now I’m not advocating that Gallo only jack up threes and turn into an Italian version of Antoine Walker.  He needs to keep driving when teams stick too close to him.  But he needs to be more aware of when they are too close.  Right now, he’s too into his head.  You can see that sometimes after he hits a three, the next trip down he’s already decided to fake the shot and drive to “fool” the defender.  But you can’t decide beforehand.  You need to actually go for the shot, and then if you see the defender closing too fast, you instinctively put the ball on the floor instead.  And then either go all the way to the hole or start to drive and kick it out to someone else.  They say the mid-range game is a lost art, but the truth is that’s because it’s often a poor choice.

But the losses aren’t all on Gallo — I just went off on a tangent about him.  Really Duhon is more the issue.  It’s not simply that Duhon’s shot is off, it’s more that he’s lost his confidence so much that he passes up open shots, often resulting in him either turning it over or forcing a teammate to make a tougher shot.  If say Wilson Chandler drives and kicks the ball out to Duhon, even if Duhon’s wide open he’ll pass it around the circle to the next guy (say Al Harrington) when Harrington’s defender is right by him.  As a result, Wilson’s drive was for naught, and now Harrington needs to create something with even less time on the clock.  Truth is it’s similar to how Gallo needs to learn to read the charging defender before deciding whether to shoot or drive.  Particularly as a point guard Duhon should have enough court vision that when he gets it he should know whether he’s open or whether he should shoot it.  If it’s his man who let’s say doubled Chandler, then he’s gotta put it up.  Even worse is when Duhon drives and actually gets all the way to the basket, he’s too nervous to shoot, so he suddenly looks to pass it to someone.  But that close to the basket he’s usually surrounded and a pass will result in a turn.  One time he drove past Ben Wallace on a pick, had an easy open layup, but didn’t shoot it.  Realizing he should’ve shot it, he then went in a little loop right underneath the basket (with Wallace following after him — it was actually kinda funny), and then threw up an awkward off-balance shot because he was worried Big Ben would block him (but Ben wasn’t anywhere close enough).  It was a simple play that he mucked up ‘cuz he’s all in his head.  And Duhon’s so in his head, that it isn’t even like this was because he was shooting 1 for 9 or something.  In the second Detroit game he only took 3 shots.

It’s even more important that he shoots because the fifth man on the floor is usually Jared Jeffries, who isn’t much of an offensive threat.  It’s like we’re already playing 4-on-5.  If Du’ won’t shoot, that brings us down to 3-on-5.  Plus, since Wilson Chandler now tries to get a higher percentage shot because he struggles at the three-point-line, it means we really only have one player out there who can stretch the other team’s D out to the arc (either Gallo or Al Harrington).

Oh, one nice thing that happened over those three games is that it seems that rookie Jordan Hill’s hard work at practices has finally gotten him some playing time.  He seems to have taken Jonathan Bender’s place in the rotation (or maybe Bender’s hurt and I haven’t heard about it).  Either way, it’s good.  He needs minutes to develop.  His outside jumper is pretty darn good for a big man.  He still gets over-excited and makes those rookie mistakes (like falling for pump fakes, thus fouling his guy & bailing him out).  But he could be good.

Okay, so I didn’t go too indepth on any of the three individual games, but this is all you’re gonna get from me.

Until I make another post.