There were some rocky patches at times, but the Knicks have lived and died with the three-point shot. Because they have shot the ball well pretty much all season long, these Knicks have carved out a spot in NBA history.

Apr 3, 2013; Atlanta, GA, USA; New York Knicks small forward Carmelo Anthony (7) shoots against Atlanta Hawks small forward Josh Smith (5) in the second quarter at Philips Arena. Mandatory Credit: Mike Muszynski-USA TODAY Sports

In Thursday night’s game against the Chicago Bulls, J.R. Smith knocked down  three-pointer that broke the single season record for three-pointers made by a team, passing the 2010 Orlando Magic team that made 841 shots from behind the arc. the Knicks have now made 847.

The Knicks lead the NBA this season with 10.9 three’s made per game and also leading the league with 28.9 attempts per game. In addition, at 37.6 percent per game, the Knicks ran fifth in the league.

With sharpshooters like Steve Novak, Smith, and Carmelo Anthony it’s hard to argue that the Knicks wouldn’t be a decent shooting team. But I’m not sure anyone expected the Knicks to be this lethal from beyond the arc, especially when you look at the career percentages from most of the Knicks shooters coming into the season.

There are still four games left to be played, so expect the Knicks to be firing from behind the arc and pad their record even more.

You live by the three and die by the three.

Let’s hope come playoff time that the shots continue to fall.

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Madison Square Garden was a welcome site for the Knicks, who returned home after a disastrous five-game road trip and the Knicks were glad to be back, outscoring the Magic 26-15 in the first quarter.

Orlando got back into the game in the second quarter and the Knicks took only a five-point lead into the locker room but took control of the game in the third quarter for good, outscoring the Magic 32-19.

The Knicks shot 52.6 percent (40-for-76) from the floor and knocked down 15-of-34 attempts (44.1 percent) of their attempts from behind the arc.

With that being said, here’s a look at how each Knicks player graded out in the win.

Pablo Prigioni (6 points, 2-of-2 shooting, 5 assists, 4 rebounds, 1 turnover)

Prigioni got his second consecutive start at the point and it worked as he is one guy that needed to be on the floor more. He knocked down both of his triples, ran the offense smoothly and was very active defensively. More importantly he turned the ball over one time, which was something the Knicks were having a problem with from Raymond Felton. It was a solid 20 minutes of work for Prigioni. Grade: B+

Raymond Felton (7 points, 3-of-8 shooting, 4 assists, 2 rebounds, 1 steal)

Mar 20, 2013; New York, NY, USA; New York Knicks small forward Carmelo Anthony (7) looks to drive to the net during the first quarter Orlando Magic at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Anthony Gruppuso-USA TODAY Sports

Felton slid over to the 2 again and although he scored only seven points and didn’t shoot the ball well, was pretty solid Wednesday night. He dished four assists and didn’t turn the ball over, finishing up with a plus-21 rating. Even though he had some problems defensively again, especially guarding Beno Udrih in the second quarter, it wasn’t the usual awful defensive performance from Felton. Grade: B-

Iman Shumpert (7 points, 2-of-4 shooting, 3 assists)

Shumpert had a good first half, scoring seven points and dishing three assists. But he tweaked his surgically-repaired left knee on the first half’s final play and told that he felt a “pop” in his knee, and the last time he felt that, he missed eight months. It wouldn’t be a normal day around this team without another injury and I would expect the Knicks medical staff to be very cautious with Shump in the upcoming days. Grade: B

Carmelo Anthony (21 points, 7-of-14 shooting, 8 rebounds, 1 steal, 1 block)

The three game break looked like it did ‘Melo some good as he looked fresher and energized, scoring 14 points through two quarters on an efficient 5-of-9 shooting. Anthony finished with a solid line in 33 minutes and even though the Magic don’t have a great frontcourt, it was good to see as the Knicks absolutely need Anthony at 100 percent. Grade: A

Kenyon Martin (11 points, 5-of-6 shooting, 3 rebounds, 1 steal)

With Chandler out of the lineup, Martin brought physicality and energy to the Knicks lineup and delivered a Chandler-like offensive performance, scoring 11 points on a very efficient 5-of-6 shooting performance. Nikola Vucevic sat the game out with the flu so that helped but it was a solid performance, although K-Mart grabbed only three rebounds and got into foul trouble again. The Magic did score 50 points in the paint which was a bit concerning. Grade: B

Chris Copeland (9 points, 4-of-10 shooting, 3 rebounds)

Copeland was back to the bench after starting against Utah on Monday, mostly because he is a defensive liability. He did score nine points in 20 minutes, but also fouled out in that short span. Overall the entire bench did not have a good night, excluding J.R. Smith, as the other five bench guys all had minus ratings, including the minus-five from Cope. Grade: C

Steve Novak (11 points, 4-of-8 shooting, 3 rebounds, 1 steal) 

Novak looked comfortable with his shot, which if that continues will be big for the Knicks down the stretch. He knocked down three shots from behind the arc and grabbed three rebounds in 26 minutes. Grade: B

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

It’s a mystery why Camby doesn’t get more time. The Knicks allowed 50 points in the paint to a small Magic team and you would think Camby could be a factor. But that can’t happen with him playing only seven minutes (all in the first half). You don’t want Camby playing the 4 with Anthony on the floor, but with Chandler out of the lineup and Martin in foul trouble, you would think Camby would be useful. Apparently that is not the case. Grade: D

Mar 20, 2013; New York, NY, USA; New York Knicks point guard Jason Kidd (5) drives past Orlando Magic small forward Hedo Turkoglu (15) during the fourth quarter at Madison Square Garden. Knicks won 106-94. Mandatory Credit: Anthony Gruppuso-USA TODAY Sports

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

It was a typical game from Kidd with five points, five dimes and three steals as he was very effective off the bench in 23 minutes. But he was outstanding defensively for the most part. The future Hall of Famer got his hands on a lot of passes and looked very active on the floor. Grade: B+

James White (7 points, 3-of-4 shooting, 1 steal)

White got off the bench for a change lately and scored seven points in only six minutes. He got behind the Magic defense for a layup and threw down a dunk on a breakaway. I will take that production from White in limited minutes. Grade: C+

J.R. Smith (22 points, 8-of-16 shooting, 7 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 block)

Finally Smith stopped forcing up perimeter jumpers and it showed in his results. He took the ball to the basket often against a small Magic lineup. The drives to the basket opened up some opportunities to knock down open jumpers. At the end of the night, Smith led all scorers with 22 points on an 8-of-16 shooting performance. He also pulled down seven boards and dished two assists. Grade: A

Tyson Chandler (DNP- Neck)

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Mar 11, 2013; Oakland, CA, USA; New York Knicks small forward Carmelo Anthony (7) returns to the bench for the timeout against the Golden State Warriors during the second quarter at Oracle Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports

Amid all of the injuries, the Knicks should get their best player back when Carmelo Anthony is expected to make his return to the Knicks lineup.

Anthony told ESPN’s Ian Begley that he expects to be back in the lineup against the Magic.

“I feel good as of right now, so I’ll be ready to play tonight,” Anthony said.

‘Melo also said that he doesn’t think his knee and hamstring injuries will hamper him for the rest of the season.

He had his knee drained last Thursday and has missed six of the Knicks’ last eight games with the right knee injury. The two games that he did play, Anthony missed a good portion of each as he didn’t look healthy at all.

The Knicks have officially listed ‘Melo as probable but it is all but certain that he will play and that is welcome news as the Knicks will be without Tyson Chandler and Kurt Thomas, who will join both Amar’e Stoudemire and Rasheed Wallace in street clothes for the time being.

Anthony is second in the NBA in scoring at 27.5 points per game.

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The past couple of weeks have seen a lot of movement as some guys have struggled while some players have improved their draft stock in a big way.

With that being said, the Charlotte Bobcats are now on the clock (as a note, draft order is based on the standings as of March 7).

1. Charlotte Bobcats
Player Name: Ben McLemore
Position, School: SG, Kansas

The Kansas freshman has everything that you look for in a shooting guard- size, athleticism and defensive ability, not to mention he is a lights out shooter, currently hitting 42.5 percent of his three-point shots.

Feb 27, 2013; Fort Worth, TX, USA; Oklahoma State Cowboys guard Marcus Smart (33) during the game against TCU Horned Frogs at the Daniel-Meyer Coliseum. Oklahoma State Cowboys won 64-47. Mandatory Credit: Jim Cowsert-USA TODAY Sports

His 36-point performance against West Virginia showed that he can score in any fashion, from behind the arc or off the dribble. The Bobcats need some scoring punch and  with McLemore they continue to stockpile great young talent.

2. Orlando Magic
Player Name: Marcus Smart
Position, School: PG, Oklahoma State

Smart makes perfect sense for the Magic here as they can target their floor general of the future. He may be more of a scorer than a pure passer, but he is a winner and a leader and can impact this Magic offense from the guard position, something they need badly.

3. Washington Wizards
Player Name: Nerlens Noel
Position, School: PF, Kentucky

The Wizards have their backcourt set with John Wall and Bradley Beal. Now it is time to address the frontcourt. Noel is an excellent shot-blocker who should develop a better than average offensive game. Knee injury or not, Noel has the makings of a dominant NBA big man.

4. Sacramento Kings
Player Name: Otto Porter
Position, School: SF, Georgetown

Porter doesn’t put up lottery-type numbers on a slow Georgetown team, but he has great handle for his size and is a prototypical NBA wing. He really can do it all offensively as 33-point outburst at the Carrier Dome, followed up with a game-winning bucket on a drive to the hole to knock off Connecticut in overtime. Add to that the fact that Porter went for 28 against Rutgers after that and it is safe to say that Porter is showing off both his shooting stroke and his ability to attack the basket.

5. New Orleans Hornets
Player Name: Shabazz Muhammad
Position, School: SF, UCLA

After landing both Anthony Davis and Austin Rivers in last year’s draft, the Hornets can add another big part of their future in the heralded Muhammad. He can score from anywhere on the floor and will complement the Hornets good young core rather nicely.

6. Cleveland Cavaliers
Player Name: Anthony Bennett
Position, School: SF/PF, UNLV

Bennett is the complete package offensively and would fit in rather nicely with an up and coming Cavs team. Bennett’s foot speed is typically too quick for 4s and his strength and power can overwhelm 3s. He is an explosive athlete that keeps rising up draft boards. Adding  Bennett to the likes of Kyrie Irving, Dion Waiters, Tyler Zeller and Tristan Thompson and Cleveland looks to have a tremendous young core for the future.

7. Phoenix Suns
Player Name: Cody Zeller
Position, School: C, Indiana

The Suns need help all over the floor and can add another talented big body in Zeller, who has the size and athleticism, plus a very nice mid-range game. Zeller’s stock may be slipping at the moment, but you can’t pass up on his level of all-around talent.

8. Minnesota Timberwolves
Player Name: Victor Oladipo
Position, School: SG, Indiana

Oladipo has become a complete guard and one of the better half-court finishers in the nation. He’s a great fit for a Wolves team that needs a legit shooting guard badly. He may not be the best shooter in the world,  but Oladipo is a lockdown defender and offensive slasher and attacker, who should fit in nicely with Ricky Rubio’s playmaking skills.

9. Detroit Pistons
Player Name: James Michael McAdoo
Position, School: PF, North Carolina

McAdoo could be the best athlete in the draft and adding him to a frontcourt that already features Greg Monroe and Andre Drummond improves the Pistons. McAdoo is more of a 4, but can also play the 3 where mid-range, both facing up and back to the basket, and attacking the rim with either hand. He has a ton of upside and could be a good fit in Detroit.

10. Philadelphia 76ers
Player Name: Alex Len
Position, School: C, Maryland

Len has shown the tools to be an elite threat on both offense and defense, but hasn’t been able to put the complete package together consistently. With Andrew Bynum’s future up in the air, the Sixers need a legitimate big man to man the interior.

March 6, 2013; West Lafayette, IN, USA; Michigan Wolverines guard Trey Burke (3) drives during the 1st half in the game against Purdue at Mackey Arena. Mandatory Credit: Sandra Dukes-USA TODAY Sports

11. Oklahoma City Thunder (via Toronto)
Player Name: Trey Burke
Position, School: PG, Michigan

Here is a case of just not allowing a talent like Burke to fall any further. He has incredible court vision and intelligence and has the ability to score the ball as well. Here’s a case where the Thunder can add to  their bench by taking the best available player.

12. Dallas Mavericks
Player Name: Willie Cauley-Stein
Position, School: PF/C, Kentucky

With Dallas likely striking out again on Dwight Howard this summer, it makes sense to add size with potential impact here. Cauley-Stein has some work to do on the offensive end of the floor but he is a package of size, speed and athleticism.

13. Charlotte Bobcats (via Portland)
Player Name: Mason Plumlee
Position, School: PF, Duke

Plumlee is a very athletic, skilled inside scorer who is also a great rebounder. The Bobcats can use some production in the paint so this pick makes sense. His numbers are starting to drop off a  bit, but Plumlee is a seven-footer with the ability to create in the post.

14. Phoenix Suns (via Los Angeles Lakers)
Player Name: C.J. McCollum
Position, School:  SG, Lehigh

The Suns need some more production from the perimeter and McCollum can fill it up. Although he will not play in his conference tournament McCollum should be available to participate in pre-draft workouts. McCollum was second in the nation in scoring before breaking his foot in early January.

15. Milwaukee Bucks
Player Name: Glenn Robinson III
Position, School: SF, Michigan

Glenn Robinson played for the Bucks and now they have the opportunity to draft his son, who would help a great deal at the small forward spot. He has size and athleticism and can finish at the rim along with being a good spot up shooter. He’s averaging in double figures and shooting 56 percent from the floor and would immediately become the Bucks top wing player.

That is the question.

With the NBA trade deadline only a day away, teams around the league are putting together their final blueprints in order to prepare for the stretch run.

The best part about trade deadlines in any sport is the fact that it allows every fan to play general manager, at least for one day.

With that being said, that’s exactly what we are doing here as I take a trip around the FanSided Network, asking NBA editors exactly what they would do if they were the general managers of their respective franchise.

Let’s get right into it and feel free to comment on what moves you would make for your favorite team.

Feb 11, 2013; Dallas, TX, USA; Atlanta Hawks forward Josh Smith (5) prepares to enter the game against the Dallas Mavericks at the American Airlines Center. The Hawks beat the Mavs 105-101. Mandatory Credit: Matthew Emmons-USA TODAY Sports

Boston Celtics: Michael Sykes, Hardwood Houdini

For the Celtics, I’ve used the trade machine to construct a monster three team deal between the Hawks, Celtics, and Milwaukee Bucks.

In the deal, the Celtics acquire Josh Smith–who will likely be moved–but they also take in Lou Williams, Luc Richard Mbah Moute, and John Henson. Lou Williams’ deal is probably going to be a snag if that ever game into fruition because he makes $5 million per year over the next three. He’s not a player who fits well into Doc Rivers defensive constructs, but he’ll add a scoring punch that Boston definitely needs.

The Hawks will bring in Samuel Dalambert along with Avery Bradley, Jared Sullinger, and Drew Gooden. They’ll get an expiring contract with two rookie deals in this to make cap space to go after Dwight Howard and/or Chris Paul. They’ll have to bring in Gooden, who has a pretty hefty contract making around 7 million over the next three years, but after getting rid of Smith it shouldn’t be too much of a hit.

The Bucks will get Jeff Green, Brandon Bass, Jason Terry, and Fab Melo. They’ll get a lot of help that from Jeff Green on a team that is lacking quality wing players other than Mike Dunleavy and Monta Ellis–if you really can count him as a wing player. They’ll bring in a young, raw center and two versatile veterans in Jason Terry and Brandon Bass.

Brooklyn Nets: Jonah Mars, From Russia With Dunk

The Brooklyn Nets have been one of the most talked-about teams during this trade period, but chances are still probably greater that they will not make a move than that they will.

However, one of the biggest rumors they have been involved with is a trade for Josh Smith. In my proposed trade, Smith would come to Brooklyn, the Nets will send MarShon Brooks, Kris Humphries, and draft picks to Milwaukee, and the Bucks send Brandon Jennings and Beno Udrih to Atlanta.

This trade makes sense for all teams involved. The Nets need a skilled power forward to come in and be able to score this season, which neither Reggie Evans nor Humphries have been able to do. The question for Brooklyn is if they will be able to re-sign Smith in the offseason. The trade makes sense for Atlanta because they acquire someone who can become a franchise point guard in the future. The move only works for the Hawks if they can re-sign Jennings, which they should be able to do if they agree to this trade.

It makes sense for Milwaukee because Jennings has made it clear he does not want to play there much longer and they will get some value for him. The Bucks have been interested in Humphries in the past and they will be able to give Brooks more playing time. The Nets have a lot of draft picks they can trade to the Bucks to help them in the future. Maybe one first and one second-round pick from Brooklyn will sweeten the deal for Milwaukee.

The Nets don’t need to make a trade and chances still are that one will not happen.

Feb 19, 2013; Orlando, FL, USA; Orlando Magic shooting guard J.J. Redick (7) reacts during the first quarter against the Charlotte Bobcats at Amway Center. Mandatory Credit: Douglas Jones-USA TODAY Sports

Chicago Bulls: Caleb Nordgren, Pippen Ain’t Easy

The Chicago Bulls trade Richard Hamilton, Marco Belinelli and a first-round pick (via CHA) to the Orlando Magic for J.J. Redick.

The Bulls desperately need shooting and Redick’s one of the best in the business. He’s having a career year on the worst team he’s ever played for and his efficiency and passing numbers are somehow up despite the lack of surrounding talent. The Bulls once almost acquired Redick in 2010, and they could really use him now.
Cleveland Cavaliers:  Zachary Kolesar, Right Down Euclid

For the Cavaliers, they would likely be a part of a multi-team trade, as they make a valuable trade partner due to their vast cap space. That would mean they would ship off the expiring contracts of Daniel Gibson, Luke Walton and Omri Casspi. Teams aren’t going out looking for these guys, but it would be a good way for the Cavs to dump off some money before the trade deadline. If they’re going to be involved in a straight-up trade, I would expect them to move a guy like Marresse Speights for a low first rounder. Ever since joining Cleveland Speights’s stock has skyrocketed, as he has seen more minutes on the depleted Cleveland bench.
Denver Nuggets: Michael Waterloo, Nugg Love

From everything I’ve heard the Nuggets are staying pat. I don’t mind that. However, dealing Timofey Mozgov would make sense to me. He’s third on the depth chart and produces when he played. He just is buried behind Kostas Koufos and JaVale McGee. His contract expires at the end of the season and he can be signed for cheap.

The Nuggets could look to Boston who still need a big. They likely will lose him anyway so taking a first or a second or even a project like Fab Melo would make sense for the Nuggets.

J.J. Redick for Mozgov and Wilson Chandler makes sense but Redick wants to stay in Orlando and is planning on re-signing this offseason.

While none of the previous ones really excited me, most notably to the Phoenix Suns for Jared Dudley, or to the Minnesota Timberwolves for Luke Ridnour, the latest set of rumors are ones to raise an eyebrow at.

February 10, 2013; Orlando FL, USA; Orlando Magic shooting guard J.J. Redick (7) shoots a three pointer against the Portland Trail Blazers during the second half at Amway Center. Orlando Magic defeated the Portland Trail Blazers 110-104. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

Alex Kennedy of Hoopsworld reports that the Knicks and Orlando Magic have discussed a deal involving Iman Shumpert for J.J. Redick.

Kennedy says via Twitter:

The Magic and Knicks have discussed a J.J. Redick for Iman Shumpert trade. Other players (and maybe a third team) would have to be involved. Nothing imminent, but it’s something to keep an eye on over next few days. Redick helps NY win now, Shumpert gives ORL another young piece.

This is an interesting move as it would represent the Knicks wanting to win now. I still would prefer a legitimate big man, but Redick is having a fantastic season, averaging 15.3 points, 2.4 rebounds, and 4.4 assists in 31.6 minutes per game, which are all career-highs for the Duke product. He is also connecting at a 40.2 percent clip from behind the arc this season, which only Steve Novak has a better percentage among current Knicks players.

With as many three’s as the Knicks shoot, it would be nice to add a guy like Redick, who can knock them down with consistency.

He will become an unrestricted free agent on July 1st and while the Magic have said they would be open to re-signing him, his value could go up even more with a strong finish to the season, which ultimately could force the Magic to watch Redick walk and get no compensation in return.

As for Shumpert, he gives a young Magic team another young athletic piece to build around in the future.

He’s averaging 5.3 points, 3.4 rebounds, and 1.5 assists on just 33.8 percent shooting and has seen his role diminish on this current Knicks team. He is just coming back off knee surgery though and it remains to be seen exactly what Shumpert’s role is now, and in the future.

I have been quick to diminish any rumor involving Shump so far, but this Redick rumor is interesting and is something I would think about if the Knicks are indeed trying to win now.

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You have heard the criticisms over and over about how Anthony and Amar’e Stoudemire can’t play together and how Stoudemire and Chandler can’t be on the floor together.

Jan 27, 2013; New York, NY, USA; New York Knicks center Tyson Chandler (6) shoots a free throw during the third quarter against the Atlanta Hawks at Madison Square Garden. Knicks won 106-104. Mandatory Credit: Anthony Gruppuso-USA TODAY Sports

Well on this night at least the Knicks “Big Three” silenced their critics.

The important thing was that the Knicks got a much needed win, but it was nice to see Anthony, Stoudemire and Chandler all have success in the same game, which has been a rare sight since they were put together last season.

‘Melo started slow and didn’t have his best night from the floor; making 8-of-17 shots, but did score 20 and broke the mark held by Richie Guerin, which was set during the 1961-62 season.

But the best part was the way the Knicks’ bigs had success.

Sure, Orlando’s Glen Davis left the game after breaking his left foot, but Chandler and Stoudemire were nothing short of great on this night.

The duo combined for 35 points on 17-of-18 shooting from the field in leading the Knicks to a 113-97 victory.

It was especially good for Chandler, who has been in a funk recently and hasn’t been getting enough touches. Before Wednesday night, the reigning Defensive Player of the Year had scored in double-figures only once in his last seven games, but finished with 21 points on 10-of-11 shooting, along with seven rebounds and a season-high five assists.

It’s encouraging because this should be something the Knicks can build off of.

“That’s the beauty of having two big guys play and Melo plays big as well,” Knicks’ head coach Mike Woodson said (via Associated Press). “It’s kind of nice to have three big guys like that up front playing.”

So the next time Anthony, Stoudemire and Chandler are criticized for not being able to play together, those people can watch this film.

They can play well together and hopefully we see production like this from the “Big Three” going forward.

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January 30, 2013; New York, NY, USA; New York Knicks forward Amar

The game started off poorly as the Magic’s starting backcourt of Jameer Nelson and J.J. Reddick took turns lighting up the Knicks from all over the court. The Knicks foolishly sent double-teams to Glen Davis (who later left with a foot injury and did not return), resulting in poor rotations and slow close-outs that left Nelson and Reddick open to feast on jumpers. Even when the Knicks stuck to the backcourt tandem, they managed to shake free and connect on shots. Luckily for the Knicks, Raymond Felton and Tyson Chandler provided a boost for the Knicks’ equally-as-hot offense. Through the second quarter, the Magic eventually cooled off… to the tune of 55% FG shooting and 46% shooting from downtown.

In the second half, the Knicks took advantage of the short-handed Magic. Reddick and Nelson cooled off while the Knicks, behind some extra offensive punch from Carmelo Anthony, Amar’e Stoudemire, and Chandler, began to wear the Magic down. The defense continued to tighten up (to a degree), while the offense just kept coming. Eventually in the fourth quarter, a series of four straight three-pointers from the Knicks boosted an eight-point lead to an 18-point lead. New York cruised the rest of the way playing mostly their bench bros, and eventually took the win to move to 28-15.

Here’s a look at some individual performances:

Tyson Chandler – 31 minutes, 21 points, 10-11 FG, 7 rebounds, 5 assists,

After a mini-slump over the previous four games, Chandler busted out in the early-going, feasting off the Magic’s weak interior defense and the playmaking of Raymond Felton. Chandler didn’t rebound the ball as well as we’ve been used to this season, nor did he direct traffic and generally tidy up the defense as efficiently as normal, but the Knicks’ defensive dilemmas stemmed far deeper than him. His accuracy around the rim (only one missed attempt and it was a jumper) and some lovely passes made up for it.

Final Grade: A

Carmelo Anthony – 39 minutes, 20 points, 8-17 FG, 7 rebounds, 5 assists, 1 block

Anthony put his name in the Knicks’ record books by notching his 30th consecutive game of scoring 20 or more points. ‘Melo was generally quieter tonight, though his stat line might have been a bit more gaudy if not for some poor shot attempts in transition (two awful pull-up threes come to my mind) and some missed shots from teammates. Regardless, a nice line tonight from Anthony and a big old “Welcome!” into the Knicks’ history.

Final Grade: A-

Raymond Felton – 31 minutes, 15 points, 6-13 FG, 3-6 3FG, 9 assists, 1 steal, 0 TOs

Felton continued to look more comfortable back on the court after his month-long absence. He began the game hot, feeding Chandler for an alley-oop in the pick-and-roll, knocking down a couple of floaters (his form looks different/better, by the way), and canning some hoists from the perimeter. Jameer Nelson embarrassed him on the defensive end quite a bit, and Felton didn’t have any more success trying to switch onto Reddick; the defensive struggles seemed to take him out of his groove a little bit. Either way, much like his teammates above him, a nice stat line, and some lovely offensive orchestrating.

Final Grade: B+

Amar’e Stoudemire – 21 minutes, 14 points, 7-7 FG, 4 rebounds, 2 blocks

Mike Woodson continues to monitor Amar’e Stoudemire’s minutes below what Stoudemire is capable of playing, but with the recent results, who’s to complain? Stoudemire was perfect on the offensive end tonight, and was still robbed of four points – got stripped after splitting a double-team, got called for an offensive foul on a pretty spin, post move. Nary an attempt outside the paint for Amar’e, even when sharing the court with Anthony and Chandler. He looks far more comfortable around the basket and finding openings off the ball. His two indisputable highlights: a jam over Gustavo Ayon off a spicy dish from Papa Prigs and a wild, fade-away, contested jumper off the dribble. His defense is still a bit spacy and poorly-positioned, but it, too, looks improved. I like this productive Amar’e. Now if he can boost those rebounding numbers by actually grabbing the ball and not tipping it in the air.

Final Grade: B

J.R. Smith – 35 minutes, 11 points, 4-8 FG, 5 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 block

By far Smith’s most quietly efficient game in quite some time. It seems like eons since he last notched 50% shooting from the field and 100% from downtown, but he did so tonight, and quite silently. Throw in some unnoticed (on my part) productivity on the boards and passing the ball, and suddenly I find myself regretting ignoring Smith’s game as a ho-hum performance.

Pablo Prigioni – 16 minutes, 11 points, 4-7 FG, 3-6 FG, 2 rebounds, 2 assists

Prigioni is building on a solid streak of good play, and had (in my opinion) one of his season’s best performances tonight. Prigioni took and

mostly made open looks when they came to him, shot with confidence, found teammates in all sorts of ways (even if the assists don’t reflect it) and generally played some great minutes spelling Felton.

Final Grade: B

Steve Novak – 23 minutes, 8 points, 3-7 FG, 2-6 3FG, 1 rebound, 1 assist

Leaving Novak on the floor than Stoudemire at this point feels like a misuse of minutes, but as Woodson noted earlier this week, the Knicks need to get Novak involved more. His confidence was clearly low early on, and his shots looked rushed and aimed (a bad combination for a pure shooter), but some garbage time buckets might fix that problem.

Final Grade: C

Iman Shumpert – 22 points, 7 points, 3-7FG, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, 5 fouls

Shump got a spanking from the Magic’s backcourt tonight, simply said. Reddick torched him on screens and curls, evaded him off the dribble, and when Shump briefly got switched to Nelson (why we didn’t see more of this, nobody knows…), he was unable to stick to him all that well. Shumpert didn’t take advantage of his open looks off the pick-and-roll and Anthony’s general prowess, which seemed to pile onto his overall frustration. A forgettable night, all in all.

Final Grade: C

Chris Copeland – 8 minutes, 3 points, 1-2 FG

Hard to judge these types of stints, but Copeland hit a garbage time three-pointer after a completely unremarkable second quarter appearance, so that’s good.

Final Grade: C

James White – 10 minutes, 2 points, 1-3 FG, 1 rebound

Why Woodson likes to have a place-holder starter (i.e. White, Kurt Thomas, etc.) is beyond me, but White really doesn’t do much on the court. His jumper was flat and he got burned backdoor a couple of times. Truthfully, I’d rather give his minutes to Ronnie Brewer.

Final Grade: C-

Ronnie Brewer – 4 minutes, 1 point, 1-3 FT, 3 rebounds

Brewer is so low on the Knicks’ depth chart, I’m afraid he won’t even get invited to Mike Woodson’s Super Bowl part, or that Dave Hopla has forgotten about the shooting coaching he needs to be giving Ronnie. Brewer was so great in the early-going, I’d love to see him recapture some of that and boost the Knicks’ rotation a bit, even if the space for him is limited.

Final Grade: C-

Incompletes: Jason Kidd (DNP), Rasheed Wallace (DNP), Marcus Camby (DNP)

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Jason Kidd is the latest New York Knicks player that is sidelines with an injury, as the 39-yer old guard is officially out Wednesday night against the Orlando Magic with a sore lower back.

Jan 11, 2013; New York, NY, USA; New York Knicks point guard Jason Kidd (5) during the third quarter against the Chicago Bulls at Madison Square Garden. Chicago won 108-101. Mandatory Credit: Anthony Gruppuso-USA TODAY Sports

James White will be in the starting lineup in Kidd’s absence and will start alongside Raymond Felton, Iman Shumpert, Carmelo Anthony and Tyson Chandler.

Kidd only played five minutes Sunday’s win against the Atlanta Hawks after only playing 15 Saturday in a loss to the Philadelphia 76ers. Knicks’ head coach Mike Woodson planned on lowering Kidd’s minutes once Raymond Felton and Iman Shumpert returned, but this isn’t the way he likely preferred to do it.

The future Hall of Famer missed four games earlier in the season with back spasms, but that doesn’t appear to be the case here as it looks like Kidd is just sore and will be given the night off. It looks as if he could be good to go Friday night against Milwaukee.

White gets the start because he is athletic and a good defender, but Kidd’s leadership will be missed as he is very tough to replace.

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But Carmelo Anthony took over and scored 16 of his 40 points in the fourth quarter as the Knicks came back to defeat the Orlando Magic 114-106.

January 5, 2013; Orlando FL, USA; New York Knicks point guard Jason Kidd (5) shoots against the Orlando Magic during the first quarter at Amway Center. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

The Knicks had plenty of trouble with Jameer Nelson through the first three quarters, as the Magic guard scored 29 points on them, but Mike Woodson’s team got some key fourth quarter stops and held Nelson scoreless in the fourth, while holding the Magic to only 17 points as a team in the game’s final quarter.

It wasn’t just ‘Melo though, as several Knicks players played a key role in the win.

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

Game Stats

Field Goal Percentage: 47.7 %( 42-of-88)

Opponent’s Field Goal Percentage: 48.2% (41-of-85)

Three Point Percentage: 36.4% (12-of-33)

Opponent’s Three Point Percentage: 38.5% (10-of-26)

Free Throw Percentage: 81.8% (18-of-22)

Opponent’s Free Throw Percentage: 77.8% (14-of-18)

Assists: 24-23 (Knicks +1)

Rebounds: 45-40 (Magic +5)

Points in the paint: 44-36 (Magic +8)

Individual Grades

Jason Kidd (15 points, 5-of-10 shooting, 8 rebounds, 7 assists, 2 steals, 1 turnover)

Well that was more like it. After struggling for two games, Kidd was fantastic and filled the stat sheet. More importantly he found his jumper again, knocking down five shoots from behind the arc. He kept the nicks under control when it looked at times that the game could get away from them. That type of leadership can’t be taught. Grade: A-

Ronnie Brewer (2 points 1-of-4 shooting, 1 steal)

January 5, 2013; Orlando FL, USA; New York Knicks small forward Carmelo Anthony (7) drives to the basket as Orlando Magic shooting guard DeQuan Jones (20) defends during the second half at Amway Center. New York Knicks defeated the Orlando Magic 114-106. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

Brewer blew some defensive assignments early on and got benched for it, but despite only scoring two points and not grabbing a rebound in 17 minutes, Brewer did play a role in the win. He had an outstanding third quarter defensive, forcing a few key turnovers that the Knicks turned into points. Grade: C

Carmelo Anthony (40 points, 14-of-29 shooting, 6 rebounds, 6 assists, 1 steal)

He scored from everywhere on the floor and put the Knicks on his back in the fourth quarter. Even more impressive was that he not only grabbed six boards, but dished out a season-high six dimes. Anthony was simply magnificent. Grade: A

Marcus Camby (2 points, 1-of-1 shooting, 1 rebound, 4 assists)

Camby only grabbed one rebound in 13 minutes, but made several nice passes that resulted in four assists, which you don’t necessarily expect from him. Keep in mind that he had only four assists all season. It was a nice day for Camby but he has to be a bigger factor on the boards, so his grade comes down a bit. Grade: B-

Tyson Chandler (14 points, 6-of-6 shooting, 12 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 block)

Another solid outing for Chandler, who recorded another double-double. He was a presence around the rim at both ends of the floor, but Nikola Vucevic got the better of him on the glass in the fourth quarter. However he went 6-for-6 from the floor and pulled down five offensive rebounds. Grade: A-

Amar’e Stoudemire (11 points, 3-of-7 shooting, 4 rebounds, 1 assists)

Stoudemire was sloppy, but still scored 11 points and went 5-for-5 from the free-throw line. He is having a lot of trouble defensively, and you can see the drop-off in New York’s interior D when Stoudemire enters the game. Grade: C

J.R. Smith (18 points, 8-of-18 shooting, 6 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals)

Smith saw his streak of 20 point games ended, mostly because of being in early foul trouble, but while he wasn’t spectacular, he was still pretty good. In addition to scoring 18 points, Smith was active on the glass and at the defensive end of the floor. Grade: B

Chris Copeland (0 points, 0-of-1 shooting)

Copeland only played four minutes and didn’t have any impact in the final result. Grade: Incomplete

Pablo Prigioni (5 points, 2-of-6 shooting, 2 assists, 1 rebound, 1 steal)

After a great game against the Spurs, Prigioni was non-existent against the Magic. Grade: D

Steve Novak (7 points, 2-of-6 shooting, 2 rebounds)

Novak knocked down a couple of three’s in the second quarter, but that was pretty much it from him on the night. Grade: C-

Rasheed Wallace: DNP- Foot

James White: DNP- Coach’s Decision

Kurt Thomas: DNP-Coach’s Decision

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Nov 13, 2012; Orlando, FL, USA; New York Knicks center Tyson Chandler (6) dunks against the Orlando Magic during the third quarter at Amway Center. New York defeated Orlando 99-89. Mandatory Credit: Douglas Jones-US PRESSWIRE

Two trends still remain for the Knicks: they’ve beaten all of their opponents by double-digits and they are still the only undefeated team in the NBA. Most people would not have expected the lowly Magic to give the Knicks a run for their money to end both streaks, but credit must be given to Orlando for putting up a feisty effort against a somewhat lackadaisical Knicks squad who have played just two games over the last eight days.

Through the majority of the game the Knicks were flat. The Magic continually beat the Knicks on backdoor cuts, curls around the perimeter, and on the boards, getting themselves easy baskets against a slightly disinterested Knicks defense. On offense, the Knicks looked more stagnant than we’ve seen all season. The Magic’s defensive gameplan seemed to center on Raymond Felton by having guards go under screens against Felton and letting him shoot long twos and midrange jumpers. All 21 of Felton’s points were needed, but his 23 shots and only 5 assists was hardly efficient.

J.R. Smith, seemingly the savior once again tonight, checked in early off the bench in the first and third quarters and provided an immediate boost. Smith’s second half, in particular, was a potential game-changer. The Knicks began the second half slowly, when Woodson, quick on the trigger, pulled Brewer out of the game and inserted Smith after only two minutes. In the third quarter, Smith went 5-5 from the field for 12 points, while also grabbing 2 boards and dishing out an assist.He finished with 21 points on 9-14 shooting, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, and 2 steals. He continues to be tremendous off the bench.

The first half, despite only trailing by four at the end of it, was lowly for the Knicks. Perhaps as a result of the time off between games, they looked a step slow on their rotations and didn’t move the ball with the same continuity that had been seen in the first four games. Carmelo Anthony and Felton did the lion’s share of scoring in the first half. Anthony finished the game with 25 points on 11-22 shooting to go along with 8 rebounds. Much of his work on offense came from pull-up jumpers and crafty moves off the dribble as he was often double-teamed when he tried to post up. Though it was still a solid, efficient effort from Anthony, it lacked some of the pizzazz that we’d seen in previous games.

But it was defensively where the Knicks had most of their problems. Anthony was a culprit on some lackluster defensive possessions as he moseyed down the court, upset (rightly so) about some no-calls on offense. The half-effort was sort of indicative of the team as a whole on the defensive end. The Knicks were also out-rebounded 25-16 in the first half (42-31 for the game) and allowed 53 first-half points to an Orland team that was ranked last in the NBA on offense.

Luckily for the Knicks, their opponent tonight was just not fit to ever really run away with the game. Against a better team, the Knicks’ effort through the first three quarters would have put them in a deeper hole. Instead, going into the deciding fourth quarter, New York actually led by one point, 77-76.

The fourth quarter was a glimpse of the more dominant, rascally Knicks that have been on display thus far this season. New York’s defensive rotations were quick and decisive, never allowing Orlando good looks at the basket; their hands were active, often disturbing shooters and penetrators. Only 13 points for Orland, compared to the Knicks’ 22 in the fourth quarter. The Knicks found something of a groove in that final period, too, as Jason Kidd’s steady hands contributed to five points of his own and some buckets for Smith, while Felton assisted on a few baskets for Chandler, including a finally-well-timed alley-oop.

Despite their struggles and mostly questionable effort, the Knicks came away with a win and final results similar to what’s been seen all season. Two ugly wins in a row, yet the Knicks seem undaunted. Tonight, they entered the critical final quarter with an air of confidence that the lesser, more inexperienced Magic would not be able to handle them. And they were right: the Knicks came away with their fifth double-digit victory in a row.

Notes

- According to Frank Isola, Ronnie Brewer was held out for most of the second half because of some knee swelling. This might explain why he was so quickly yanked in favor of J.R. Smith.

- Rasheed Wallace continues to be the first big off the bench for the Knicks, which has been less-than-thrilling. ‘Sheed has been pretty good at posting up and finishing around the basket so far this season – the problem is he rarely does it. Tonight he was 2-7 from the field, 0-5 from three-point range. On defense, he has been burned by younger, quicker big men and has contributed little else during his playing time. Marcus Camby is still working his way back into shape, familiarizing himself with the playbook, but Kurt Thomas’s sudden disappearance from the rotation is odd.

- As some folks have pointed out on Twitter, it appears Steve Novak’s quicker release this season has messed with his accuracy. Tonight he was only 1-2, and over the last three games (tonight included), he’s just 2-8. Come back to us, Steve!

- Pablo Prigioni didn’t play in the second half…?

- As mentioned, Carmelo Anthony’ scoring methods tonight resembled his past play more than the well-behaved ‘Melo we’ve seen this season. It’ll be interesting to see if he begins to revert back to those ways, or if he keeps up his smarter shot selection, with more post-ups and passes out of double teams. If he does keep it up, can he/will he keep it up when his own shot isn’t falling or when the Knicks struggle like they did tonight.

Either way, the Knicks will need a better effort for the coming games. A huge back-to-back test comes this Thursday with a game in San Antonio, and a game Friday night against the Memphis Grizzlies.

But beginning tonight against the Magic, all three games are on the road, which will be a test for the undefeated Knicks, considering three of their four wins so far have come at Madison Square Garden.

Nov. 9, 2012; New York, NY, USA; New York Knicks small forward Carmelo Anthony (7) waits for a rebound against the Dallas Mavericks during the second half at Madison Square Garden. Knicks won 104-94. Mandatory Credit: Debby Wong-US PRESSWIRE

With such a veteran team, there is little chance that Mike Woodson’s team will overlook the Magic with two of the better teams in the NBA on tap next. With that being said, here’s everything you need to know about tonight’s game.

When: Tuesday, November 13 at 7:00 p.m. EST

Where: Amway Center in Orlando, Florida

Watch: MSG, NBA League Pass

Betting Line: New York Knicks (-6.5)

Knicks Key Injuries (Per CBS Sports): Out- Iman Shumpert (knee), Amar’e Stoudemire (knee)

Magic Key Injuries (Per CBS Sports): Out- Al Harrington (knee), Hedo Turkoglu (hand). Questionable- Jameer Nelson (groin)

When the Knicks Have the Ball: Knicks Offense- 104.5 PPG (second in NBA); Magic Defense- 93.5  PPG (10th)

When the Magic Have the Ball: Magic Offense- 87.8 PPG (30th in NBA); Knicks Defense- 87.5PPG (first)

Key Matchup: Carmelo Anthony vs. Magic Power Forwards

Guys like J.J. Redick (14.2 PPG), Arron Afflalo (16.7 PPG), Glen Davis (16.3 PPG) and Nikola Vucevic (11.0 PPG) have got themselves off to decent starts, but they don’t have an answer on the defensive end for ‘Melo (27.3 PPG).

Anthony presents a mismatch for the Knicks with guys like Davis, Josh McRoberts and even possible rookies Andrew Nicholson and Kyle O’Quinn.

Whoever the Magic use on ‘Melo can’t guard him when he faces up and Anthony should have good success extending the Magic defense as well. He should also have success going to work on the block as there really isn’t much the Magic can do to stop him.

If the Knicks stay unselfish and Anthony does what he has done all season, this should be an easy win for the Knicks.

Prediction: Knicks 101, Magic 84

Some rookies have showed up to play and some vets have shown us their age.

Here is a look at my fantasy basketball outlook for the coming week with players you should target in free agency and some players that you may have to give up on.  (The players listed are those who are still readily available in the free agent pools of ESPN and Yahoo! leagues)

Nikola Vucevic (C/F- Magic):  Hardly given a chance to play last year in Philly, he is taking advantage of the lack of size on Orlando’s roster.  One of the pieces of the trade that sent Dwight Howard to LA, he has averaged 13.3 points, 9.0 rebounds, 1.3 blocks and a steal through three games.

While getting only 16 minutes in the first game he has come back with games of 37 and 42 minutes.  With Orlando clearly rebuilding and not having many options, he is someone that will garner a lot of minutes, even in blowout losses.  The only knock here is that he has only attempted seven free throws in those three games.   He’s going quickly on the waiver wire.  Don’t’ wait any longer to get him.  (40% owned in ESPN, 52% owned Yahoo!)

November 7, 2012; Charlotte, NC, USA; Charlotte Bobcats guard Ramon Sessions (7) looks to shoot as he is defended by Phoenix Suns center Marcin Gortat (4) during the game at Time Warner Cable Arena. Suns win 117-110. Mandatory Credit: Sam Sharpe-US PRESSWIRE

Ramon Sessions (G- Bobcats):  Sessions has ALWAYS had the talent of a true point guard, but until his trade to the LA last season, has never really been given the opportunity to play the position full time.  Stuck in timeshares with guys like Luke Ridnour and Kyrie Irving, he truly excelled when given the reigns to the Lakers offense.  He is showing improvement in his 3-point game and is a player who likes to take it to the hole which subsequently led to his 4.4 FT attempts per game last year.  With Gerald Henderson out for at least 2-4 weeks, Sessions will get more minutes and could slide into the shooting guard position while Kemba Walker is on the floor.  Not bad if you can get SG eligibility out of him, too.  (42% ESPN, 32% Yahoo!)

Kevin Seraphin (C/F- Wizards):  Only 22-years old, Seraphin has room for improvement, but this 22-year old from French Guiana is already rising up the free agency hit list.  Many aspects of his game are still very raw, but finding center help in fantasy basketball leagues is always vital to any teams’ success.  With Nene seemingly always nursing an injury (this time it’s plantar fasciitis) and Emeka Okafor looking every bit his age, Seraphin will log heavy minutes on a team not shy to play it’s youth.

Last year, from March 15^th on, he averaged 14 ppg which also included a stretch of 16 consecutive games in double-digits.  This is a guy that when given the minutes he produces.  Because he started the year injured and D.C. has only played one game he has been overlooked by fantasy owners.  Get this guy now before it’s too late.  (13% ESPN, 24% Yahoo!)

Other guys to get bullish on: 

Jarrett Jack (G- Warriors):  Brandon Rush ACL injury makes him a full rotation player.  Will be a good source of assists, 3’s, steals and FT’s.  (26% ESPN, 41% Yahoo!)

Gerald Green (G/F- Pacers):  This guy’s got hops.  With Danny Granger officially sidelined up to 3 months, he will be called upon to fill a big hole in that lineup.  (1.9% ESPN, 12% Yahoo!)

Marcus Morris (F- Rockets):  The twin brother of the Suns’ Markieff, this rookie is averaging 12 points and 5 boards a game in 20 minutes.  A thin bench will get him playing time (0.1% ESPN, 2% Yahoo!)

Al-Farouq Aminu (F- Hornets):  With No. 1 pick Anthony Davis sidelined, he has stepped up his game, dropping 13.3 points a game to go along with 7 rebounds.  He has gotten 2 steals in each game as well.  He should stay in the starting lineup when Davis comes back with Ryan Anderson moving back to a sixth man role.  (68% ESPN, 48% Yahoo!)

Trending Up:  Nate Robinson, Dorell Wright, J.J. Reddick, E’Twaun Moore, J.J. Hickson, J.J. Barea, Larry Sanders, Danny Green

Rookies on the Rise:  Marcus Morris (see above), Kyle Singler, Jonas Valanciunas, Harrison Barnes, Jae Crowder

Stock Is Falling:  MarShon Brooks, Lamar Odom, Nene, Andrew Bogut, Wilson Chandler, Samuel Dalembert, Ben Gordon, Elton Brand, Derrick Favors, Bradley Beal

The Southeast Division is arguably the worst division in basketball right now. Yes, the division contains the defending NBA champion Miami Heat, but other than the Heat, this division might not include another playoff team this upcoming season. In years past, the Orlando Magic and Atlanta Hawks have been middle of the pack playoff teams, but with the departures of key players like Dwight Howard and Joe Johnson, those teams might be on the outside looking in now. The Washington Wizards on the other hand, have retooled big time and are looking for John Wall to take the next step and become an All-Star. And the other team in this division, the Bobcats, are just hoping to gain a little respect. With that being said, here are my Southeast Division predictions.

First Place- Miami Heat

Starters:

PG- Mario Chalmers

SG- Dwyane Wade

SF- LeBron James

PF- Udonis Haslem

C- Chris Bosh

The defending champion and two-time defending Easter Conference champions feature a starting lineup with three of the top 20 players in the NBA today and the hands down best basketball player in the world right now- LeBron James.  Nobody had a better 2012 than LeBron did. He took home a regular season MVP, his illustrious first ring along with a Finals MVP, and a gold medal in London. Now with all the pressure off his shoulders, we might see an even better James. Dwyane Wade was banged up all of last season but has recovered since successful offseason surgery, and Chris Bosh is all healed up as well. With the Big Three at full strength and Chalmers and Haslem doing the little things, Miami once again has one of the best starting lineups in the league.

Key Reserves: Ray Allen, Shane Battier, Mike Miller, Rashard Lewis, Joel Anthony, Norris Cole.

The rich got richer this offseason. With the additions of sharpshooters Allen and Lewis, the Heat are an even better team than they were last year. With the ability of LeBron and Wade to drive and kick going to the basket, Allen and Lewis will be getting some very good looks from behind the arc.

Team MVP: LeBron James- No need to explain this.

The Heat will cruise to the division title and ultimately the number one seed in the Eastern Conference. And I don’t see any team stopping them from reaching a 3^rd consecutive NBA Finals either. This team is too good and with their recent additions, how could anyone pick against them

Second Place- Atlanta Hawks

Starters:

PG- Jeff Teague

SG- Lou Williams

SF- Anthony Morrow

PF- Josh Smith

C- Al Horford

The Hawks kind of fall into second place by default this year. I don’t think Washington will make a big enough step to get past Atlanta, although the Hawks will hurt from losing Johnson and Marvin Williams. I think the Atlanta can get back into the playoffs by grabbing a low seed, probably the No.  7 or 8 seed. Lou Williams will provide a spark in the starting lineup, moving from his sixth man role with the 76ers last season and having Horford healthy all year will definitely help them stay afloat. Another thing in their favor is playing in the same division as the Magic and Bobcats, the two weakest teams in the Eastern Conference.

Key Reserves: Devin Harris, Kyle Korver, Zaza Pachulia, DeShawn Stevenson, John Jenkins, Johan Petro.

The Hawks bench consists of many ex-Nets (Harris, Stevenson, Petro) and sharpshooters in Kyle Korver and rookie John Jenkins. The always-reliable Zaza Pachulia rounds out a unit that will provide some spark and see some big shots hit from guys like Korver and Harris. Look for Korver to see a lot of time at the small forward position when the Hawks go to their “big” lineup and put Anthony Morrow at the shooting guard spot.

Team MVP: Al Horford- Horford missed almost the whole season last year and the Hawks were never able to recover without him. With Horford, a top ten center, back at 100 percent, look for Atlanta to be right back in the mix to earn another playoff berth. His rebounding and scoring is key to Atlanta’s success, and with Johnson now out of the picture, look for the offense to flow through Horford this season.

Atlanta is a good enough team to make the playoffs, but nowhere near the 4-6 seed range they have been over the past few seasons. The Eastern Conference is too good now and the Hawks lost too much to be considered a viable threat.

Third Place: Washington Wizards

Starters:

PG- John Wall

SG- Bradley Beal

SF- Trevor Ariza

PF- Nene

C- Emeka Okafor

On paper, this team looks very dangerous. On the court, things could go south very quickly. Wall will miss at least the first month on the season due to injury and who knows how Beal will develop in his first go around through the league. Okafor is solid and so is Nene, but both often struggle to stay healthy. If this team can play up to it’s potential and avoid injury, I think they can shock the NBA and make it to the postseason. But if turmoil strikes, expect the Wizards to be in the same situation as they have been in the last couple of years.

Key Reserves: Jordan Crawford, Jan Vesley, Chris Singleton, Martell Webster, Trevor Booker.

There are few players I’m as excited to see play this year other than Vesley (Jonas Valanciunas being the other).  Vesley is supposedly a big time overseas talent and could be exactly the spark the Wizards need off the bench. As for the rest of the bench, Crawford can score at will, but his shot selection is questionable and he can bump heads with Wall as we saw last year.  Singleton is a big time defender but he is basically a poor man’s, less athletic Ariza. I don’t like the frontcourt help off the bench and I think Washington is in major trouble if one of their oft-injured starters up front goes down.

Team MVP: John Wall- The Wizards will go as far as Wall can take them. This is his third season in the league and it’s getting down to nitty-gritty time. Can Wall become a top-ten point guard or is he all flash? His love for the game has been questioned and so has his leadership, both big time red flags for any organization. The front office has surrounded him with enough talent this year than Wall should be able to get the Wizards near a playoff berth.

Washington is good and the potential for this team is scary. With that being said, I don’t trust Wall and I don’t trust the health of this team. Too many injuries and not enough leadership will once again lead the Wizards to an under .500 record with no playoff berth.

Fourth Place- Charlotte Bobcats

Starters:

PG- Kemba Walker

SG- Gerald Henderson

SF- Michael Kidd-Gilchrest

PF- Bismack Biyombo

C- Byron Mullens

The Bobcats are coming off one of the worst seasons in NBA history and are currently the joke of the league. That can all change this season when the Bobcats younger players finally come together and produce some wins. Walker is the leader of this team and should have a productive sophomore season. Look for rookie Kidd-Gilchrest to be a big time playmaker and big man Mullens to build on a good 2012 season. Much of Charlotte’s success will depend on how second-year power forward Biyombo plays. Last year was just a small sample size of what he can bring to this team. I expect him to be much improved and for this team to crawl out of the Southeast basement.

Key Reserves: Ramon Sessions, Ben Gordon, Tyrus Thomas, Brendan Haywood, Reggie Williams.

The Bobcats quietly built a nice little bench over the offseason, with the prized possessions obviously being the backcourt duo of Sessions and Gordon. Both of these players are proven NBA players and could easily be starters. In Gordon’s case, he has thrived throughout his career coming off the pine, which answers the question of why Gerald Henderson is starting over him.

Team MVP: Ben Gordon- Gordon is coming from a bad situation in Detroit. He was signed to a big contract that he never lived up too and left on bad terms with the Pistons organization. As he arrives in Charlotte, this might be his last chance to save his career. The Bobcats are going to need help scoring the ball and that is exactly what Gordon will provide for them. If this team wants to avoid a last place finish, then Gordon will have to regain his old form.

The Bobcats can’t get much worse than last season, so obviously I think they will improve. I love Jordan’s pick of MKG, and I believe in Kemba Walker enough to put Charlotte ahead of Orlando in the standings. I think that if the young players develop enough and if Jordan can bring in a veteran, Charlotte can be dangerous in the future.

Fifth Place- Orlando Magic

Starters:

PG: Jameer Nelson

SG: Arron Afflalo

SF: Hedo Turkoglu

PF: Glen Davis

C: Nikola Vucevic

The Magic had a terrible offseason, losing all-world center Dwight Howard and getting basically nothing in return. They also fired their coach, Stan Van Gundy, and were unable to get rid of Hedo Turkoglu’s ridiculous contract. The backcourt will be solid with Nelson and Afflalo but the frontcourt is arguably the worst in the NBA. Hedo, Big Baby and Nikola Vucevic don’t exactly strike fear in opponents’ eyes. Look for Orlando to get outrebounded almost every game and have trouble winning games down the stretch without a star to go to.

Key Reserves: Al Harrington, JJ Redick, Andrew Nicholson, Gustavo Ayon, Moe Harkless, Josh McRoberts, Quentin Richardson, Kyle O’Quinn.

Not exactly household names jumping off the page, other than Harrington and Redick. The youngsters will surely have growing pains early but I certainly expect ex-Johnny Harkless to eventually mold into a nice scorer off the bench.  Ayon might be a name to remember moving forward and we know Harrington has the ability to hit big shots.

Team MVP: Arron Afflalo- Afflalo was the key return for Orlando in the Howard deal, but this is a bad spot for him. He is expected to fill some big shoes and it is virtually impossible for him to do so. Fans will unfairly expect him to be a star on this team while in retrospect; he is just a role player. If Orlando wants to stay out of the basement and not finish behind Charlotte, Afflalo will need to step up his game.

Orlando lost a top-five player in Howard and didn’t get much in return. Without him and the loss of Ryan Anderson, I don’t see Orlando making it out of last place. This team doesn’t have enough talent right now to compete and their bench is too unproven. Their frontcourt is a joke and if one of their starting guards gets injured, things will turn ugly in a hurry.

Apr 5, 2012; Orlando, FL, USA; New York Knicks shooting guard J.R. Smith (8) and small forward Steve Novak (16) celebrate in front of Orlando Magic shooting guard J.J. Redick (7) during the second quarter at Amway Center. Mandatory Credit: Douglas Jones-US PRESSWIRE

For anyone that isn’t caught up with the trades over the summer, the Orlando Magic shipped  Dwight Howard to the Los Angeles Lakers in a blockbuster trade including the Denver Nuggets and Philadelphia 76ers.  With the team built around Howard, his exit meant starting from scratch and building a whole new team.  Looking over the roster, this Magic team is far from making any run into the playoffs but in the years to come, with all the young talent they received in the Howard trade (including future draft picks), they could be a solid team once again.  As of now, for the 2012-2013 season, lets see how the New York Knicks who made many acquisitions this summer stack up against this young Magic team. I would really call this matchup a battle between the veterans and the young’ins.

PG– NYK: Raymond Felton, Jason Kidd, Pablo Prigioni vs. Jameer Nelson, Ish Smith

May 3, 2012; Dallas, TX, USA; Dallas Mavericks point guard Jason Kidd (2) drives the ball past Oklahoma City Thunder point guard Derek Fisher (37) during the first half of game three in the Western Conference quarterfinals of the 2012 NBA Playoffs at the American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-US PRESSWIRE

Orlando Magic –  Since Jameer Nelson’s 2008-2009 All-Star campaign, he really hasn’t improved his game (a consistent 12 points 5 assists for his career), making it safe to say that he is a solid point guard but no star.  He has a high 3pt FG% around the 40% mark and with his strength can make nice moves to the  basket.  Theres nothing special about Ish Smith, a two year veteran out of Wake Forest.  Already being small, he has a sub par shot and a low field goal percentage driving to the rim – he also is not a great distributor so overall this is a pretty weak position for the Magic.

New York Knicks:  With a total new look at the point guard position, the Knicks filled every area with speed and defense from Raymond Felton, and veteran leadership and great passing from Jason Kidd and Pablo Prigioni.  All three of them also are overall great offensive floor generals.  As long as Felton returns to his All-Star caliber form from two years ago, and Kidd doesn’t get injured, this is a great positon for the Knicks.

Knicks: A-/B+    Magic: B/B-      Advantage: Knicks 

SG – NYK Iman Shumpert, JR Smith, Ronnie Brewer vs. Aaron Afflalo, JJ Reddick, E’Twuan Moore

May 6, 2012; Denver, CO, USA; Denver Nuggets guard Aaron Afflalo (6) shoots the ball against Los Angeles Lakers center Jordan Hill (27) during the first half of game four in the Western Conference quarterfinals of the 2012 NBA Playoffs at the Pepsi Center. Mandatory Credit: Chris Humphreys-US PRESSWIRE

Orlando Magic- Aaron Afflalo who was acquired from the Denver Nuggets is one of the most underated shooters in the NBA with a 47%FG and close to 40% from three.  And at age 26, he is only getting better, especially with the other aspects of his game.  JJ Redick who did not live up to expectations out of college  in any sense, still can his the dinger when left wide open.  And at age 23, the undersized, not-very-athletic E’Twuan Moore still can become a better player if he works on his shot and dribbling skills.

New York Knicks - Iman Shumpert is out till January with a torn ACL, MCL and lateral meniscus which takes away the tenacious defense and athleticism.  The Knicks filled this rising star’s role by re-signing JR Smith, who can score in bunches.  As long as he stay sunder control especially with his shot selection, he could really help out the Knicks.  The Knicks also added Ronnie Brewer who has a Hhumpert-esque style of play but he’s out 6 weeks with a hurt knee.

Without Shumpert:  Knicks: B-  With Shumpert: B+  Magic: B+  Advantage: Magic

SF –  Carmelo Anthony, Steve Novak, Chris Copeland vs Quentin Richardson, Al Harrington, Mo Harkless

Apr 5, 2012; Orlando, FL, USA; New York Knicks small forward Steve Novak (16) attempts a three point jump shot against the Orlando Magic during the second quarter at Amway Center. Mandatory Credit: Douglas Jones-US PRESSWIRE

Orlando Magic - Any sentence with Quentin Richardson in it, I can’t handle.  Ever since his time on the Los Angelos Clippers and the Phoenix Suns, Richardson has been one of the biggest disappointments of the past 7 years averaging around 8 points and 6 rebounds a game. This overrated player was way overpaid (over 35 million on his contract) on the Knicks (not unusual for them them to do this) and he was injured 25% of the time.  The other 75% of the time that he was playing he did absolutely nothing.  Al Harrington, who was also a Knick, is not going to get my full head of steam as Richardson did- he is a solid player and can get hot very quickly.  Mo Harkless, the 19 year old rookie out of Saint Johns University  is one of those rebuilding players for the Magic who was acquired from the Philadelphia Sixers in the Howard trade.  He can defintely score and has lots of athleticism.

New York Knicks:  I don’t have much to say about Carmelo Anthony – he’s better than all three SF on the Magic combined + more.  Behind Lebron James and Kevin Durant, Carmelo has proven to be the 3rd best SF in the league.  Mr. Discount – Double – Check (Steve Novak) led the league in 3pt shooting at around the 50% mark, and Chris Copeland is a promising player on the rise.

Knicks: A-  Magic: B-   Advantage: Knicks

PF– Amar’e Stoudemire, Kurt Thomas vs Hedo Turkoglu, Josh McRoberts, Christian Eyenga

Feb 8, 2012; Portland, OR, USA; Portland Trail Blazers center Kurt Thomas (40) shoots against the Houston Rockets at the Rose Garden. Mandatory Credit: Craig Mitchelldyer-US PRESSWIRE

Orlando Magic: Hedo Turkoglu is back for the Magic and as we’ve seen, he is no where close to as good as he was 4 years ago

when the Magic made it to the NBA Finals.  Josh McRoberts (most of you know him for his highlight reel of dunks) who was acquired from the Lakers in the Howard trade is a solid pickup who adds superb athleticism and at 6’10 has great dribbling and passing skills (although sometimes he can get a little sloppy).  Then Christian Eyenga who was acquired from the Lakers in the Howard trade too, has some really raw talent at the age of 23 and can definitely become a solid player.

New York Knicks:  This season for the Knicks is all based on how Amare Stoudemire plays becuase as we saw last year, Melo can’t do it all by himself.  But I really think he’s going to come back strong this year – he’s rested from his back injury, he’s worked with Hakeem Olajuwan to become a better post player and most of all in the highlight tapes, you can see his explosiveness is back.  Now when it comes to Kurt Thomas, he is going to do absolutely nothing on the court besides commit hard fouls but it’s what he’s going to do in the locker room with his veteran leadership that matters.  Looking at this position, there really seems to be a lack of depth but Woodson has all sorts of lineups that he could put on the floor  such as put Carmelo at the 4 or have Tyson Chandler and Marcus Camby in the game at the same time, so there is nothing to worry about.

Knicks: B+ Magic: B  Advantage: Knicks

C – Tyson Chandler, Marcus Camby vs. Glen Davis, Nikola Vucevic 

Mar 21, 2012; Orlando, FL, USA; Phoenix Suns center Robin Lopez (15), small forward Grant Hill (33) and Orlando Magic power forward Glen Davis (11) battle for a rebound during the third quarter at Amway Center. Orlando defeated Phoenix 103-93. Mandatory Credit: Douglas Jones-US PRESSWIRE

Orlando Magic:  Big Baby Davis had his breakout at the end of last season when Howard went down with a back injury.   After shadowing Kevin Garnett on Boston Celtics for 4 years and Howard on the Magic, its great to see something like this come to fruition.  In April he was putting up a consistent 17 points and 9 rebounds as Howard’s replacement.  The 7′ Foot Nikola Vucevic who was acquired from the 76ers  had his rookie season last year but did not get much playing time with so much depth on that team.  But now with Howard out and Davis undersized, we will really be able to tell what Vucevic can do this year.  His offesnive skils are not bad but he lacks athleticism and defensive skills.

New York Knicks:  With the present Defensive Player of the Year starting the game, and a former Defensive Player of the Year as a backup, I don’t know what more you can ask for.  These two big man will clog the lanes on defense, rack up all the boards on offense, and receive countless alley-oops from some great passing point guards.  I couldn’t be happier with this position.  I know there is lack of offense from these two players but with Melo, STAT and some great shooters, this shoudl not be a problem at all.

Knicks: A-/B+  Magic: B  Advantage: Knicks

Overall

With the Knicks winning at the PG, SF,PF and C position and the Magic barely having the upper hand at the SG position, the Knicks win the position matchups 4-1, clearly showing that they have the advantage over the Magic.

Advantage: Knicks

Apr 07, 2012; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Orlando Magic center Dwight Howard (12) is fouled by Philadelphia 76ers forward Elton Brand (42) during the fourth quarter at the Wells Fargo Center. The Magic defeated the Sixers 88-82. Mandatory Credit: Howard Smith-US PRESSWIRE

The interesting part is that Sheridan listed the Knicks as one of the potential teams that could make a serious push to acquire the six-time All-Star and three-time Defensive Player of the Year.

But would Howard be a good fit in the Big Apple and would the price the Knicks would have to pay be worth bringing him to town?

As for being a good fit, anytime you add 20.6 points, 14.5 rebounds and 2.1 blocks at the 5 spot, it’s a very good fit.

But that brings me to the price the Knicks would have to pay and that would be reigning Defensive Player of the Year Tyson Chandler and either Amar’e Stoudemire or Carmelo Anthony in exchange for Howard and they would have to take back one of Orlando’s bad contracts as well. Hopefully it would be Hedo Turkoglu’s and not Chris Duhon’s.

The one upside is that if it were Stoudemire and not Anthony in the deal, the Knicks would free themselves of the remaining three years of Stoudemire’s deal, which face it, is a risky one given his injury concerns.

Say that deal goes through, and assuming the Knicks re-sign point guard Jeremy Lin, the future lineup would look like this”

PG- Lin

SG- Iman Shumpert, when he’s healthy

SF- Anthony

PF- A huge hole

C- Howard

That’s assuming Turkoglu comes off the bench, but there’s also the option of starting him at the 3 and moving Melo to the 4, in that case I would like that lineup a lot.

But don’t get too excited. No one would touch Stoudemire in a trade like that and hopefully general manager Glen Grunwald wouldn’t think about pulling the trigger on a deal without Howard signing long-term in New York and that’s still unlikely to happen.

There’s also the fact of Howard’s immaturity and the prima donna he’s become throughout the course of the past season. He’s not a leader and is a liability on the floor in tight fourth quarters.

Then you have to look at if the personalities of Melo and Howard would mesh well in New York and I have my doubts. When would the first time Howard would cry about not getting the ball enough?

I’m setting the over/under at Game 4 of the regular season.

You can look at this from any angle you would like, but while it would be nice to add the best center in the NBA in order to take a run at a championship, this is a deal Grunwald has to pass on.

The production would be nice but the Knicks don’t need the baggage and the distractions that comes along with Howard.

Some guys you want to go to battle with and Chandler is one of those players.

Some guys are talented, but are nothing more than side-show comedy acts and that sums Howard up to a T.

So while there will be rumors flying around like crazy as soon as the season ends, don’t get too excited. Howard won’t be wearing a Knicks uniform anytime soon.

Mar. 14, 2012; New York, NY, USA; New York Knicks celebrate on the bench during the first half against the Portland Trail Blazers at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Debby Wong-US PRESSWIRE

However, now it’s a matter of exactly what seed the Knicks will clinch.

Currently, the Knicks are sitting pretty comfortably in the seventh spot, one full game ahead of eight place Philadelphia, and three games behind sixth place Orlando. Ideally, the Knicks would like to catch the Magic for that sixth seed, and it’s not entirely impossible.

Yesterday, it was announced that Dwight Howard will miss the remainder of the season by undergoing back surgery. The Magic are also missing Hedo Turkoglu, so their cupboard is a little bare these days. Furthermore, the Magic have a fairly tough schedule ahead of them. Here’s a comparison of the Knicks’ and Magic’s remaining games.

For New York: Cleveland Cavaliers, Atlanta Hawks, Los Angeles Clippers, Charlotee Bobcats.

For Orlando: Utah Jazz, Denver Nuggets, Charlotte Bobcats, Memphis Grizzlies.

However, the Knicks may need some help from old Lady Luck in order to snag that sixth seed. Orlando will either have to lose three of four or all four games, while the Knicks win all four of their games. With the Hawks and Clippers on the horizon, that may not be an easy feat. If that series of events does take place, though, it would send the Knicks and Magic into a tie, but since New York owns the tie-breaker (they won the season series 2-1), the Knicks would take the sixth seed.

All of this is, of course, to try and avoid the Miami Heat or Chicago Bulls in the first round – teams largely considered the top dogs in the Eastern Conference. With all due respect to the Indiana Pacers (who have had a scorching April), the Knicks feel that they would have a better chance to advance in the playoffs if they could face Indiana in the first round. Besides the obvious bonuses of advancing a round in the playoffs, it also would supposedly bring a healthy Jeremy Lin back to the team, which would fruther help the Knicks’ chances of making a deep playoff run.

But all of the above may be wishful thinking. If the Knicks’ dream scenario of the Magic tanking and the Knicks prevailing doesn’t come true, then in almost all likelihood, the Knicks may begin the playoffs facing either the Bulls or Heat. Some people prefer to see the Bulls with a rusty Derrick Rose, especially considering three of the four matchups with the Bulls were tight games (the Knicks winning one of them). Others would prefer to play the Heat, hoping for a redux of lockout luck.

Either way, whether the Knicks win out for the rest of the season, or find themselves playing the conquerers of the East in the opening round of the playoffs, the road won’t be easy.

Melo still Mending?

Carmelo Anthony missed the last game against the Oklahoma City Thunder with a sprained right ankle.  His status for today is unclear.  Anthony may not be 100%, but I think he will play at some point in this annual classic.

Shump Shump Shooting

Rookie Iman Shumpert has played extremely well for the Knicks this season.  But Shump has shot just 26% (8 out of 30) in his last two games.  Maybe overconfidence is starting to be a problem?

Chandler vs. Howard

The Knicks will have their hands full against Magic center Dwight Howard.  Howard is averaging 20.5 points and 15.2 rebounds a game this season.  He is hitting 58.6% of his shots.  The defensive task is largely up to Knicks center Tyson Chandler.  Chandler has truly strengthened the interior defense.  This battle alone will be worth the price of admission.

Defensive Efficiency vs. Offensive Power

The Knicks are currently eighth in the league in defensive efficiency.  You heard it right.  The Knicks are playing defense this season.  But they have a tough task ahead of them.  The Magic are second in the league in three-point percentage at 40.9%.  They are also making the most three-pointers per game (10).  The Knicks are second-worst in defending the three.

End of Two Streaks?

There are two streaks on the line today.  The Magic come in on a three-game winning streak.  The Knicks have dropped their last two.  It would be nice to see both of these streaks end today.

Enjoy the game!  It should be a good one, I hope.

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 Knicks coverage, follow him on Twitter @FlipPoker.

Sources:

NBA – Statistics – Yahoo! Sports

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Hottest Seats:

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Don't jump to conclusions about the Heat, a team that's only had two weeks to play together, because they lost twice to the Celtics, the best defensive team in the league and a crew who've played together for three years. Come April, the Heat will be much more polished. (Source: Yardbarker.com)

The media and fans (particularly in New York) are always quick, way too quick, to jump to conclusions and predict downfalls based on small sample sizes.  For the media, it’s ‘cuz they’re looking for stories.  When Amar’e Stoudemire was asked earlier in the week if he thought that the reason Andrew Bogut elbowed him extra hard was due to him being slightly involved in Bogut’s injury the previous year.  Stat’s reasonable response of “It’s possible” turned into a story of him claiming Bogut was purposefully out for payback.  Likewise, with the Knicks at 2-5 and the Heat at 5-4, suddenly people are roaring that neither team is anywhere near as good as people had expected.  Don’t buy it.  Yet.  It’s too early to know these things.  And just like how we don’t have enough information to know what’s real and what’s memorex yet, you also need to take the Golden State Warrior’s marvelous .667 winning record and the Indiana Pacers being at .500 with a skeptical eye.  Heck, I wouldn’t fault you for having two skeptical eyes either.  Let’s look at each team to better understand what’s going on:

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Tony Parker won't be walking through that door to save us. Then again, with Dwight Howard not coming tonight, hopefully we can avoid feeling we need to be saved. (Source: Yardbarker.com)

Rumors of dissatisfaction and Big Apple longing have made New Yorkers constantly hoping to land Carmelo Anthony and Chris Paul, but at the end of last season we were all fantasizing about snagging a different star: Tony Parker.  Apparently the San Antonio Spurs’ All-Star point guard was now expendable because backup George Hill had performed admirably.  Plus with TP married to glamorous actress Eva Longoria, clearly she’d prefer he move to Manhattan.  We here at Buckets even posted about a rumored potential trade of Tony for David Lee.  However, after CP3′s toast at ‘Melo’s wedding that they’d team up with Amar’e Stoudemire to form their own Big Three on the Knicks, Mr. Parker-Longoria slipped from many people’s minds.

Rest assured that Knick president Donnie Walsh hadn’t forgotten about the former Finals MVP.  Thus he, like any seriously knowledgable Knick fan, was distressed to hear that Tony signed a multi-year extension with the Spurs over the weekend.  While Chris Paul might be better, Parker’s contract ended this year, making him a serious possibility for us to snag.  Players who receive max contracts, like LeBron and Amar’e, they can be tough to lure as the NBA’s rules allow their home team to offer them more money.  However, with players like Tony Parker who aren’t quite at that level, we could’ve potentially offered a more lucrative contract than San Antonio (he signed for four years at only about $50 million).  That meant he was the easiest, most realistic top baller we could’ve gotten.

With Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili aging, wouldn’t it have made sense for him to at least wait until the off-season to see what options were available?  Well, due to injuries, the last three years Parker missed 13, 10 and 26 games.  So part of the reason he likely signed the deal was to be safe in case anything serious happened to him this year.  The other big concern of course is that a new Collective Bargaining Agreement will be signed, which means that there’s a chance he might not be able to get as good a deal once the new CBA is in place.  I still think he should’ve held off, because again, with him not getting a max contract, it seems like it’s pretty likely he could’ve signed just as lucrative a deal.  Bottom line: cross him off the list.  Sure we can still trade for him, but now there’s nothing about him that makes that more conceivable than any other trade we might make.

—————–

In other news, asbestos fell from the ceiling in Madison Square Garden so tonight’s game against Dwight Howard and the Orlando Magic has been cancelled.  You’re probably bummed about that if you had tickets to tonight’s game (or if you have any Knick or Magic player on your fantasy squad and put them in your line-up).  However, honestly, I think it might be good for us.  I keep harping on the difficulty of our first five games.  If you agree with my power ranking, then Orlando would be the third top five team we played in a row (after having played Boston & Portland over the week).  In other words, even if we are significantly better than last year, it would be quite an upset or coup to beat Orlando.  But most people look only at win-loss record rather than difficulty of schedule, and a third loss in a row would throw fans and journalists into a further panic of are-we-just-as-bad-as-we-were-last-year.  Instead now we have a far more winnable game against the Chicago Bulls, followed by two games we should win against Washington and Philadelphia.  Yes, we will have to play that Orlando game eventually, but it’s better to have it later in the year where a loss won’t cause any early season panic to erupt.

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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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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Miami snagged this trio over the summer. I'd say that's a pretty good off-season, wouldn't you? But how good...? (Source: Yardbarker.com)

In part III of this series, we’ll be looking at off-season moves of the teams that make up the Southeast Division: the Atlanta Hawks, Charlotte Bobcats, Miami Heat, Orlando Magic & Washington Wizards. If you wanna check out the first two parts, we covered the Atlantic Division and the Central Division.  The upcoming parts will look at the Pacific Division, Southwest Division and Northwest Division.The rules, as previously stated:

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 needed a point guard before the 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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(Source: Yardbarker.com)

The excellent Orlando Magic site, Howard The Dunk, ran an interview yesterday asking Buckets our thoughts on former Knicks/new Magicians Chris Duhon and Quentin Richardson.  Here are the first and last questions excerpted from it:

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How likely is it that Chris Paul could be traded to the Knicks? (Source: Yardbarker.com)

The last 24 hours have been swamped with intrigue over the news Chris Paul supposedly asked his team the New Orleans’ Hornets to trade him. Much like with Chris Bosh rumors earlier this summer, there apparently is even a list of potential places. New York is reputed to be on the list as well as the Dallas Mavericks, Orlando Magic and Portland Trailblazers. There are differing reports as to whether or not the Lakers are also on the list. So let’s look at this in two parts. First, how do the Knicks chances stack up compared to the other teams on the list? Second, with the Hornets set to meet with Paul on Monday, what’re the chances he even gets traded shortly. Note that the emphasis is on shortly because the rumor is he wants to be traded before the season begins. Down the road there are too many variables (new ownership, how the team does, future possible trades, Paul’s chemistry with the new coach and GM, etc.) to know how long things could last if New Orleans convinces CP3 to give ‘em one last chance.

Also, before we get into it, let’s set some things straight. Some fans and pundits have ripped Donnie Walsh for striking out with LeBron James and Dwayne Wade and “only” getting Amar’e Stoudemire. Let’s be honest: if Amar’e wasn’t on the team, no way Paul even lists the Knicks. I’ve heard others argue we should’ve kept Zach Randolph, Jamal Crawford & David Lee, and while that might’ve kept us as a 6-8 seed in the East these last few years, that ain’t a team that’s gonna excite a Chris Paul either. So let’s give some due first to Walsh for creating an excitement about the team that hasn’t been here since the days of Van Gundy.

Knicks, Mavs, Magic, Trailblazers or Lakers?

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New Bulls' coach Tom Thibodeau got his defensive chops from one of the best coaches in the game: Jeff Van Gundy. Unfortunately, it seems he also co-opted Jeff's same clothing/grooming style. (source: Yardbarker.com)

There has been confirmation that both the New Jersey Nets and the Chicago Bulls have hired new coaches.  The Bulls have hired Celtic’s assistant coach Tom Thibodeau, widely acclaimed for his defensive schemes.  Many have argued that his addition was equally as key to turning the Celts into defensive juggernauts in 2008 as getting Kevin Garnett.  The Bulls were great stoppers just a few years ago under former coach Scott Skiles (who this year turned the Milwaukee Bucks from matador defenders into, um, what’s the opposite, brick wall defenders?).  While the Bulls’ whirl-a-gig center, Joakim Noah, has kept the team from slacking too much, the arrival of Thibodeu should catapult the team back to a spot as one of the top defensive squads.

Meanwhile, the Nets, after a 12-win season where the only thing they stopped was your team from playing a quality opponent, is already being brought back to life by their new 6’5″ Russian katrillionaire, Mikhail “Don’t Call Him Mikey P” Prokhorov.  It’s a nice coup for him to snag Avery Johnson, the coach with the highest winning percentage in NBA history.  He turned the Mavericks from the offense-only laughingstock 200s posse which included the Sacramento Kings and Phoenix Suns, into a solid defensive ball club.  And that was with a star player, Dirk Nowitizki, who due to his complete lack of D, almost legally changed his name to “Irk.”

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Kobe's so darn good, Alvin Gentry's fine with losing to him. Elsewhere, Stan Van Gundy and Mike Brown still can't sleep, wondering what they did "wrong" to lose to the Celts. (source: Yardbarker.com)

Many have already talked about how the Lakers and Celtics have taken two different paths to the Big Show. It’s more than just a West Coast/East Coast thang, or offense versus defense. It’s also about the psychological effects they’ve left on those in their wake. Kobe, the self-proclaimed Black Mamba, has been an unstoppable force since Game 5 in the first round against the Thunder (by the way, I kinda love self-proclaimed nicknames. They should be totally illegal, but I find it so humorous that someone would decide to make up their own nickname that I loooove to ironically call them that. Thus I’m thrilled that Sasha Vujacic’s started getting playing time so I can yell out “The Machiiiiiiine” every time he touches the ball. Of course the true irony is that I’ve now used the Black Mamba tag so much that it no longer seems ironic to me when it comes out of my mouth. …Wait, what am I talking about? Oh yeah, Celts/Lakes.)

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Don't let the open arms confuse you. If you say something David Stern doesn't like, he'll fine you. No, there's no truth to the rumor that The Beatles wrote "Back In The USSR" about him. (Source: Yardbarker.com)

First off, please, please, please don’t confuse me for a whiney Boston Celtics fan. I actually was excited for them two years ago when they got Kevin Garnett because I felt like KG and Paul Pierce were two guys who deserved a shot and I wanted to see what they could do. Then they both, particularly KG, turned into jerks. So now I’m staunchly anti-Celts. I hope they lose this series, and I’m psyched that the Magic won last night. But Orlando shouldn’t have been helped out so egregiously by the refs.

No, I’m not a conspiracy nut either who thinks the “League” told the refs to extend the series. I just think that the refs and the NBA honchos have let the power go to their heads. It’s insane how afraid the league is of dissention. For those who didn’t watch last night’s game, Kendrick Perkins, the one guy in the league who can do a decent job defending Dwight Howard solo, got two technicals and was tossed. The first happened when he was helping Paul Pierce up, but their grip slipped so his arm went back a bit into Orlando’s backup center Marcin Gortat. Gortat responded, slapping the ball away, and they got hit by double technicals. I understand that one. At the time, particularly from certain angles, it looked like Perk just maliciously elbowed Gortat on purpose. But upon video review, you can see it was more of an accident.

To read the rest of this, go to my original post on 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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"What more can I do?" wonders Stan Van Gundy. Glad you asked... (source: Yardbarker.com)

After the Orlando Magic’s loss last night to the Boston Celtics, they’re down a seemingly insurmountable 0-2 and going into enemy territory to play the next two games. The good news? Both losses were close down the stretch. Stan Van Gundy is one of the best coaches in the game, and already he tweaked his line-up a bit after the first game. Seeing how well J.J. Redick performed in the opening stanza, Stan gave him even more run in the second verse, playing him 34 minutes. Yeah, yeah, JJ made the double bone-headed move at the end of the game where he didn’t call timeout as soon as he caught it, and then when he started dribbling he stopped before he crossed mid-court. That said, Redick was again outstanding, and one could equally fault Vince Carter’s free-throw misses or say that the Magic shouldn’t have let themselves get to the point where they needed a last-second save anyway.

Anyway, moving on, what other tweaks can the Magic make? Here are three:

For the rest of my post on the main FanSided page, check out the page here.

Orlando's Matt Barnes gets a good sniff of Joe Johnson in their series: yeah, JJ stunk (source: Yardbarker.com)

I really love Manu Ginobili, and I would’ve loved to see what he could do as a Knick, but I gotta say I was kinda glad when he recently signed a 3-year deal to stay with the Spurs.  That meant he wouldn’t be available as a huge risk out there tempting the Knicks.  If you look at the players with the 30 Biggest Salaries from this past season, you can pretty much lump ‘em into two categories: the best of the best and the obscenely overpaid injured types.  There’s a serious danger that Manu will fall into Group B.   As exciting as it’d be to see how good he could be as a team’s focal point (rather than Tim Duncan and Tony Parker being the first two options), it’s a bad bet.

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Big summer franchise movies are assembled much like a NBA franchise team. You’ve got the executives who care more about the bottom line (“Let’s sign Allen Iverson — he’ll put butts in the seat” or “Let’s hire Scarlett Johansson — she’ll add sex appeal!”) rather than whether they create a high quality product. They hire the actors, or ball players. The thing is, it’s then up to the coach, or director, to make something out of this collection they were force fed, with their name being on the line. When a movie sucks, how often do you hear, “Man, that studio executive did an awful job?” And days after the Chicago Bulls were eliminated from the playoffs by the Cleveland Cavaliers, it was coach Vinny Del Negro who got the axe, not GM John Paxson.

For the rest, click here.

The Celtics' Rajon Rondo drives to the hoop and is shocked to find that the Knicks have a 7-footer playing defense there. Meet Earl Barron. (source: Yardbarker.com)

Two seasons ago the Boston Celtics were the cream of the crop with Kevin Garnett leading their monstrous defense.  Last season they started out strong until KG went down with a knee injury which kept him out of the playoffs.  As a result, they struggled to get past the Chicago Bulls, then were eliminated in just the second round.  This year Garnett is back and ostensibly healthy.  But the mojo is gone.

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After playing so well, Gallo felt like he was sitting on air. (source: yardbarker)

This year the Atlanta Hawks picked up former Knick Jamal Crawford, who is second on the team in scoring and is the likely winner of the Sixth Man Of The Year Award for the most valuable player off the bench.  In addition, their should-be-All-Star power forward, Josh Smith, aka JSmoove, has taken his game to the next level by no longer settling for hoisting up three-pointers, thus greatly improving his field goal percentage (& shot selection).  As a result, the Hawks have taken that next step to where they’re almost up there with the big boys in the league.  No one would likely pick them to beat Cleveland or Orlando in a seven game series, but they’re no longer the gimmes they used to be.  And if the Cavs or Magic came out with less than their A game, the Hawks could easily come out as victors. All of which makes it more amazing that the Knicks beat the Hawks yet again last night.  Particularly right after losing to one of the historically worst teams ever in the Nets.

To further highlight the difference, in the Nets game the Knicks made negative NBA history by attempting the most threes (18) without hitting one (aka 0).  Against the Hawks, the Knicks came out and went four-for-four from out deep to start the game.  Of course they didn’t keep up that insane pace, but they still finished off hitting 10 of 15, for a whopping 66.6%.  Teams would kill to shoot that well from two-point range, so to do that from beyond the arc is just downright amazing.  And don’t kid yourself into thinking that it has anything to do with the other team’s defense — the Nets are one of the worst teams at defending from the three-point line.

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Bosh revealed that he’s not necessarily interested in playing anywhere that he’s not the clear-cut franchise player.

“That’s a good question,” Bosh said when asked by ESPN The Magazine’s Ric Bucher if he’s bothered by the widespread perception that he’s determined to follow either LeBron James or Dwyane Wade by signing on with one of the teams they choose starting July 1.

“It’s funny you say that, because I was thinking about it. I was just looking at what people say and it’s like, ‘Chris is going to go here and play with him or this, this and that.’ I’m like, ‘Wait a minute.’ I feel like I should be built around. And maybe that’s just my ego talking, but I feel that I’m a very good player in this league and I’m only going to get better. So … maybe we should be getting somebody [in Toronto].”

Bosh would probably be outta Toronto in a sec if one of the three teams in home state Texas were in the running

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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.

With a few of them likely to sit out this summer so they don’t injure themselves before they get a new contract (in other words the guys the Knicks would chase after: LeBron, Wade, Bosh, plus A’mare Stoudamire who made the pool too), it does provide some openings.  Not to mention that say a banged up Kobe might need to take the summer off to get his body healthy again.  Of course, included in those free agents-to-be are none other than David Lee, so he himself might have to bow out.  Oh, and another thing in Lee’s favor is that once again the Knicks’ coach Mike D’Antoni will be one of the assistant coaches on the USA team.  It’s always nice having someone on the inside to help plead your case.

Anyway, the remaining invitees include the Denver Nuggets’ Chauncey Billups, LA Lakers’ Lamar Odom, plus a who’s-who of all the young and upcoming players in the NBA according to ESPN: the Oklahoma City Thunder’s Kevin Durant (pretty much a lock to make the final roster since he almost made it last time and he’s only gotten better), Chicago Bulls’ Derrick Rose,

Minnesota‘s Al Jefferson and Kevin Love; Rudy Gay and O.J. Mayo of Memphis; Philadelphia‘s Andre Iguodala; Boston‘s Kendrick Perkins; Indiana‘s Danny Granger; New York‘s David Lee; New Jersey center Brook Lopez; Oklahoma City guard Russell Westbrook; Portland‘s LaMarcus Aldridge; Charlotte‘s Gerald Wallace; and Clippers guard Eric Gordon.

The Americans will choose a group from the roster to take part in their minicamp in Las Vegas in July. They are expected to play an exhibition game in New York before heading to Turkey for the world championships, which they haven’t won since 1994.

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“If a player fouls out in a game, can they keep on playing?”  Had you asked me that question before this past Friday, I’d've called you a moron for asking it.  Duh, if they get 6 fouls and foul out, clearly they can’t stay in the game anymore.  Seems that’s not true.  Apparently there’s a little clause that perhaps has never actually been invoked before.  The Golden State Warriors have had more injuries this year than a Yao Ming family reunion.  As a result, they went into Friday’s game against the Milwaukee Bucks with only 8 players (the minimum allowed under NBA rules).  Within a few minutes Anthony “Don’t Call Me Rob” Morrow tweaked his knee, adding him to the infirm group that included Ronny Turiaf, CJ Watson, Kelenna Azabuike, Vladamir Radmanovic, plus some others that I’m blanking on.

Fine, the Warriors still had two subs.  Unfortunately, D-League call-up, Chris Hunter then fouled out in just 11 minutes.  No worries.  The Warriors pull within 3 with less than a minute left.  And Andris Biedrins fouls out.  Okay, less than a minute to go, no subs.  However, to get the clock to stop running, the Warriors purposely foul the Bucks twice.  And both times it’s rookie Stephen Curry who does it.  The last time there’s only four seconds left.  But it’s his sixth foul, which’d leave the Warriors with just four players.  What happens then?  Do you play four on five?  No, apparently the last guy who fouled out (in this case Curry) gets to come back in!  However, the other team gets a technical free throw in addition to the foul shots they were already getting.

Sad Post-Script #1: Due to the NBA’s minimum requirement of 8 players, for Monday’s game against Chicago the Warriors called up some dude named Anthony Tolliver from the D-League for a 10-day contract.  Did he feel alone being the new guy from the minors?  No, the whole 3-person bench was D-League call-ups.  Tolliver even lucked out and got to start the second half.  That’s when his luck dried out.  He injured his knee and had to leave the game.

Sad Post-Script # 2:  Despite playing against a team with a bench of D-Leaguers, Chicago still lost that Monday game.  By nearly 20 points.

Sad Post-Script #3: Which D-Leaguer got the least minutes on the team?  Answer: None.  Pathetic NBA “regular” Devean George, who started the first half, only played 6 minutes.

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According to NewsOK (apparently that’s the name of an Oklahoma newspaper, although isn’t that kinda like naming your paper NewsFineWhatever?):

Hawks forward Joe Smith, who has written 400 to 500 songs, released his first CD, a 19-track debut entitled “The Beginning,” last season when he was with the Thunder. Smith, whose music name is Joe Beast, hopes to release his second rap CD before the NBA All-Star break.

Really?  400 to 500 songs?  And Joe Beast?  I thought the era of bball players trying to become rappers was over.  With him spending that much time writing songs, it’s no wonder that the former #1 pick has never amounted to anything more than a role player.

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U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan (a former baller at Harvard) at a recent NCAA convention pretty much said the NBA’s policy of basically “forcing” kids to go to one year of college before they can enter the pros, well, that it sucks donkey meat.  It’s not that he wants everyone to be able to go to the NBA straight outta high school, it’s that he feels like the one-and-done players aren’t getting the true value of the educational experience.  One possible solution is allowing high school players to make the jump straight to the pros, but if they do decide to go to college they then have to stay for two years.  For more info, check out this New York Times’ article, as well as TrueHoop’s exclusive interview with Arne “Don’t Call Me Tim” Duncan.
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Who’s the best player in the NBA?  Dwight Howard’s answer may surprise you:

I tell my friends all the time if I had to chose between LeBron, Kobe and Carmelo, I’m gonna choose Carmelo.

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Would Lakers’ coach Phil Jackson like to also be a General Manager someday so he can control what players his team has?

“I have no interest in that. I don’t want to have to deal with agents. I don’t want to have to lie.”

Wait a sec, doesn’t the General Manager hire and fire the coach?  In other words, the Lakers’ GM is Phil’s boss.  Forget about the fact that Phil makes $10 mill a year or that he’s won 10 championships, who wouldn’t want his job just so you could publicly call your boss a big ol’ liar?
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Nate Robinson painting.  And yes, I want it if it’s painted on velvet.

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In a recent post, I showed the Pacers & Knicks beating each other up and lamented that those days are gone.  However, it wasn’t all roses and glory for those Pacers.  Sadly, back then people felt they had to keep their homosexuality secret.  It’s time to come out of the closet.  C’mon Mark Jackson, you’re better’n that!

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Yao Ming in an Esquire interview on forcing himself to dunk:

When I was young, [in China] we were taught not to dunk. We were taught not to stand out from the rest of the team. It’s different now. The young guys in China are new age. They want to show their stuff. But I am old-school. It was a big adjustment when I first came here to play at a camp. The coaches told me to dunk, but I would lay the ball in. Finally, the coaches made everyone else on my team run laps when I didn’t dunk. I didn’t want my teammates to be punished because of me. That’s how I learned to dunk.

Pretty smart that in order to get him to “stand out from the rest of the team,” they used his desire to be part of the team.

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Lastly, Tony Parker of the San Antonio Spurs and his lovely wife, actress Eva Longoria-Parker (of ABC’s “Desperate Housewives”) do an amazing job of recreating “Summer Loving” from that Olivia Newton-John classic, “Grease.”  Between this and Joe Smith’s 500 songs, how much free time do these guys have on their hands?