Best Season as a Knick: 1997-98- 15.5 PPG, 5.7 Rebounds, .485%

Whether you called him LJ, Grandma Ma, or the Antonio Cromartie of the NBA, Larry Johnson clearly made his mark on the Knicks franchise. He was never the player for the Knicks that he was with UNLV or Charlotte because of the back issues, but he was still an important part of the late 90s/early 2000 Knick teams.

The best thing about LJ was how great of a team player he was. This was a man who scored over 20 points per game in his career before coming to New York, but knew with the Knicks he would have to sacrifice his game and offensive numbers. 

His numbers did not jump out, but they always seemed better than they really were. He might only score 10 points and grab 5 rebounds, but those were most likely 10 important points and 5 important rebounds, helping contribute to a win. He would also play rock solid d on the opposing teams best offensive player.

His defense was the most underappreciated part of his game. He did not come to the team with a defensive reputation, but he clearly earned it quickly. Jeff Van Gundy would always praise him for his defensive play. He would guard big men, guards, it really did not matter.

Many thought the Knicks would become a softer team after trading Anthony Mason for LJ. Mason was a fan favorite with that tough guy attitude which was such an important part of those teams. LJ fit like a glove. He took over Mason’s role as the tough guy on the team. It was LJ that got up in Alonzo Mourning’s face resulting in the infamous Jeff Van Gundy hanging from Mourning’s leg incident. He also added more of an offensive game than Mason, without giving up the intimidating presence.

LJ always stepped up his game in the post season. He sacrificed his overall offensive numbers, but managed to make so many huge shots in post-season games. People will always point to the 4-point play against the Pacers, but there was much more than that specific moment. In many of those post-season series, he was the lone low post threat on the Knicks. Patrick Ewing was hurt for many of those series, including that series against the Pacers, and it was up to LJ to make up for his loss.

Unfortunately, LJ’s career ended when he was only 31 years old. His back finally went out on him, causing retirement. The Knicks still have not been able to replace the attributes, which he brought to the team and it has been over 10 years. Can you imagine LJ playing along side Melo and Amar’e? That would be nasty.

By Rob Bonanni

Best Season as a Knick: 1995-96- 14.6 PPG, 9.3 Rebounds, 4.4 Assists, .563 FG% 

Who can ever forget Anthony Mason? Whether it was the design on his head or badass style of play, Mason was truly a MSG favorite. His play symbolized the Knicks of the 90s. His toughness fit in perfectly with the style of play Pat Riley wanted from the team. When Mason was on the court, everyone knew the Knicks were a team that was going to distribute punishment.

When looking at him, you felt intimidated. The guy could have easily been making tackles on Sundays in the NFL. He was built like a truck and very athletic for his size. He was only 6’7, so he usually guarded guys much taller, but at 250 pounds he was able to muscle them up. And speaking of muscle, he was chiseled from head to toe.

I don’t want to say he lacked talent because he was talented, but he did it in interesting ways. His greatest talent was probably his ability to handle the basketball for a big man. He was one of the first point-forward type players in the league. When Don Nelson coached the Knicks, he actually had him at the point much of the time.

His offensive game was average. In actuality he lacked an offensive game. He only had two seasons with the Knicks where he averaged over double digits in points, He did develop a low post game, but if you asked him to take a shot more than 10 feet from the basket, there was no chance it was going in. He might have had the ugliest jump shot you will ever see. Who can ever forget the one handed foul shot?

What hurts Mason most for this list is he did not play long enough with the Knicks. Additionally, his best seasons came after he was traded.

Mason was the centerpiece of the big trade for Larry Johnson after the 95-96 season. If you look at both of their careers after the trade, many would say Mason’s was better. I disagree. LJ was not the same player he was with the Hornets when he came to the Knicks, but he was a better fit for what the Knicks wanted at that time. The Knicks were looking for a better offensive player and no one can argue that LJ’s offensive game was much better than Mason’s.

Even though I liked what Mason brought to the team, trading for LJ was a move the Knicks needed to make. LJ’s true value was more in the post season where he would always raise his level of play. The Knicks also beat the Hornets in the 1997-playoff series after the trade was made. The Knicks dominated the series, in a 3 game sweep.

By Rob Bonanni

I Want Rubio!

So this is what the Utah Jazz felt like. Last night’s blowout loss is being dissected by writers all over the country today. My take? Simple case of the better team taking care of business at home. Onto the links…

* If you missed the game: The must read Times recap.

* Classic case of adding insult to injury, Mark Cuban picks his shots nicely.

* Looking for someone to blame after last night’s embarrassing loss? How about Rick Carlisle?

* Raising season ticket prices seems like the logical reaction to a lopsided blowout.

* So much for playing nice with the refs.

* The Deron Williams to New York deal that could’ve been is finally dissected.

* Wonderful breakdown on Knicks Now by Kenny Smith and Greg Anthony.

* Is New York a guilty copycat of Miami’s blueprint? Hmmm possibly. But who’s better for the long term?

* If you think the Knicks have a shot at the title this year, someone’s grandmama might agree.

* I strongly agree with the analysis detailed over on The Knicks Blog. Amar’e Stoudemire should be spending the next stage of his career in the mid-range.

* Very funny. Ronny Turiaf misses you, Mozgov.

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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