As Thursday’s deadline inches ever closer, Knicks’ general manager Glen Grunwald could be looking to address that need as he appears to be targeting a former All-Star center, as ESPN’s Chris Broussard reports that the team has been showing strong interest in Phoenix Suns center Jermaine O’Neal.

Sources: Knicks showing strong interest in Phx’s Jermaine O’Neal…Phx also talking w/Toronto about moving Sebastian Telfair

— Chris Broussard (@Chris_Broussard) February 20, 2013

Dec. 12, 2012; Phoenix, AZ, USA: Phoenix Suns center Jermaine O

O’Neal is a shell of what he once was, but the 34-year-old former All-Star is averaging 6.9 points, 4.5 rebounds, and an impressive 1.3 blocks in only 16.6 minutes per game.

The most impressive part of O’Neal’s season is the fact that he has been healthy, which is a rarity.

O’Neal isn’t a bad thought for the Knicks.

First of all, his price tag should be very cheap, which is a bonus.

Secondly, the Knicks need size badly and O’Neal has been productive, averaging 15.0 points, 9.5 rebounds and 2.8 blocks per 36 minutes. That’s production the Knicks simply aren’t getting from any other big off the bench not named Amar’e Stoudemire. In addition, O’Neal would provide a defensive presence that Stoudemire does not.

It’s nice that Marcus Camby and Rasheed Wallace have returned to practice, but you never know how healthy either guy will be the rest of the season.

Of course that’s the drawback with a guy like O’Neal as well.

He makes sense though as he fills a need as a guy that can be productive in around only 15 minutes per game.

If the Knicks are serious about O’Neal, it would take a player to get him and not draft picks as they are currently at the maximum of 15 guaranteed contracts.

Grunwald has until Thursday afternoon to decide whether or not to make a move in order to go for it this season. If anything, he is at least exploring his options.

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With some key parts out of the lineup, here’s a look at how the guys who did play performed in our daily New York Knicks’ report card.

Dec. 26, 2012; Phoenix, AZ, USA: New York Knicks guard Jason Kidd controls the ball in the first quarter against the Phoenix Suns at the US Airways Center. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

Game Stats

Field Goal Percentage: 42.5 %( 40-of-88)

Opponent’s Field Goal Percentage: 45.8% (38-of-83)

Three Point Percentage: 40.9% (9-of-22)

Opponent’s Three Point Percentage: 38.1% (8-of-21)

Free Throw Percentage: 71.4% (10-of-14)

Opponent’s Free Throw Percentage: 81.3% (13-of-16)

Assists: 21-21 (Even)

Rebounds: 41-38 (Knicks +2)

Points in the paint: 28-28 (Even)

Individual Grades

Jason Kidd (23 points, 8-of-16 shooting, 8 assists, 6 rebounds, 1 steal, 1 turnover)

Kidd’s first start at the point went exactly how you figured it would-outstanding. In typical Kidd fashion he filled the stat sheet and made all of the little plays at both ends of the floor that helped the Knicks win. Watching Kidd’s understanding of the game is a pleasure. He’s a leader and the Knicks needed every bit of it last night. Grade: A

James White (2 points, 1-of-3 shooting, 1 assist)

White got the start in Anthony’s absence and didn’t do much in 18 minutes. He also had a costly foul on Jared Dudley late in the game, but was bailed out by Smith’s two big shots. Grade: D

Ronnie Brewer (2 points, 1-of-3 shooting, 1 rebound, 1 assist)

Brewer continues to see his minutes cut due to ineffectiveness. He only played 13 minutes Wednesday night and did nothing to earn Mike Woodson’s confidence. That’s a shame because Brewer’s defense could have slowed down Jared Dudley, who went for 36 points. No excuse to allow that to happen. Grade: F

Kurt Thomas (5 points, 2-of-4 shooting, 4 rebounds, 1 assist)

Dec. 26, 2012; Phoenix, AZ, USA: New York Knicks center Tyson Chandler (6) takes a shot under pressure from Phoenix Suns center Marcin Gortat (4) in the first quarter at the US Airways Center. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

Thomas got another start and played 16 minutes. He chipped in on the boards and in the scoring column. Thomas doesn’t play a lot, but you know what you will get from him when he’s on the floor. Grade: C+

Tyson Chandler (14 points, 6-of-9 shooting, 12 rebounds, 2 blocks)

Another big game from the Knicks’ center as he controlled the paint and the glass. He was solid defensively and efficient from the floor. Chandler should be an All-Star. Grade: A-

Chris Copeland (14 points, 6-of-12 shooting, 2 rebounds, 2 blocks)

Will Copeland earn a permanent spot in Woodson’s rotation? He’s making a case for it with another big game last night. He’s a spark off the bench and didn’t have a bad game defensively either. Grade: B+

Pablo Prigioni (5 points, 2-of-4 shooting, 3 assists, 2 steals)

The Suns made their comeback mostly with Prigioni on the floor in the third quarter. He was a -11 for the night and turned the ball over four times in 17 minutes. With Felton out of the lineup, Prigioni must be better and take better care of the basketball. But he did do some good things, so it wasn’t a total wasted effort. Grade: C-

Marcus Camby (4 points, 2-of-7 shooting, 9 rebounds, 1 block)

Camby played 13 minutes and grabbed nine boards and blocked a shot. That’s exactly what he brings to this team and it would be nice to see him a regular part of the rotation. Grade: B+

Steve Novak (3 points, 1-of-3 shooting)

Novak is on the floor to shoot the basketball and if he isn’t getting open looks, then he doesn’t offer up very much value. Playing 28 minutes, Novak has to get up more than three attempts and has to make more than one. Grade: D

J.R. Smith (27 points, 11-of-27 shooting, 6 rebounds, 5 assists, 5 steals)

It is safe to say the Knicks won because of Smith’s heroics. He wasn’t very efficient from the floor, but he stepped up and made clutch shots, even though he tried to shoot the Knicks out of the game in the third quarter. But what I loved about Smith’s effort had nothing to do with his scoring. It was the rebounds, assists and five steals he had that were just as important. Overall it was one of his best all-around games in a Knicks’ uniform. Grade: A-

Carmelo Anthony: DNP, Hyperextended Left Knee

Rasheed Wallace: DNP, Sore Left Foot

Raymond Felton: DNP, Right Finger

Both Carmelo Anthony and Raymond Felton have been ruled out for Wednesday’s tilt against the Phoenix Suns.

Dec 6, 2012; Miami FL, USA; New York Knicks point guard Raymond Felton (2) looks on during the second half against the Miami Heat at American Airlines Arena. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports

Both players got hurt during the Knicks’ loss to the Los Angeles Lakers on Christmas Day. Anthony hyperextended his left knee when Marcus Camby fell on to him in the second quarter and Felton sprained his right pinkie finger in the third quarter when he and Steve Nash dove for a loose ball.

The Knicks are listing both players as day-to-day.

In addition, backup center Rasheed Wallace (sore left foot) will not play Wednesday.

This is Felton’s, who also has bone bruises on both hands, first missed game of the season; it’s Anthony’s fifth and Wallace’s ninth missed game because of injury. For Wallace, it is seven consecutive games now in street clothes.

Jason Kidd will move to the point guard and James White will be making his first start of the season. In 20 games, White is averaging 1.6 points in only six minutes per game.

Ronnie Brewer, Kurt Thomas and Tyson Chandler are also in the Knicks’ starting lineup vs. the Suns.

December 23, 2012; New York, NY, USA; New York Knicks guard Raymond Felton (2) chases down a loose ball during the third quarter of an NBA game against the Minnesota Timberwolves at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

That’s mostly due to injury as Felton has been playing with bone bruises in both of his hands.

However while that hasn’t kept Felton out of the lineup, another hand injury just may.

Felton sprained his left pinkie yesterday in the third quarter of the Knicks’ 100-94 loss to the Lakers during a scramble with the Lakers’ Steve Nash for a loose ball.

However it’s this pinky injury that could force Felton to the sidelines Wednesday night against the Phoenix Suns, which may be a good thing.

The hand injuries have clearly affected Felton’s play as of late.

He was brutal from the floor once again against the Lakers, finishing with 10 points on 5-of-19 shooting from the field in 35 minutes.

Because of the recent shooting slump, Felton’s field goal percentage has dipped to 39.5 percent and despite taking very good care of the basketball overall, he couldn’t get Carmelo Anthony the basketball in the fourth quarter yesterday against the Lakers.

If the Knicks are going to have long-term success, Felton is going to have to play a big role. If he is running out there injured and shooting the Knicks out of hot streaks and games, it doesn’t make much sense for him to be out there.

With games against the Suns and the Kings on the road remaining before the calendar switches to 2013, it makes sense to give Felton a week to heal up.

Jason Kidd and Pablo Prigioni should be just fine for a couple of games.

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Dec 2, 2012; New York, NY, USA; New York Knicks small forward Carmelo Anthony (7) drives around Phoenix Suns shooting guard P.J. Tucker (17) during the fourth quarter at Madison Square Garden. Knicks won 106-99. Mandatory Credit: Anthony Gruppuso-US PRESSWIRE

New York jumped out by as many as 20 in this one and held off a late Suns charge to stay perfect at Madison Square Garden on the season.

The Knicks got the win despite playing without both Jason Kidd (back) and Marcus Camby (foot) and watched Raymond Felton injured his hand late, but no matter the combinations, the Knicks keep clicking.

Here’s a look at how each Knick graded out in the win.

Game Stats: 

Field Goal Percentage- 44.4% (40-of-90)

Opponents Field Goal Percentage- 48.8 (39-of-80)

Three-point Percentage- 41.4% (12-of-29)

Opponents Three-point Percentage- 34.8 (8-of-23)

Free-throw Percentage- 82.4% (14-of-17)

Opponents Free-throw Percentage- 68.4% (13-of-19)

Rebounds- 45-43 (Knicks, -2)

Points in the paint- 38-30 (Knicks, -8)

Individual Grades:

Raymond Felton: (23 points, 10-of-17 shooting, seven assists, three rebounds) Felton was brilliant running the Knicks’ offense. He was good from the floor and knocked down 3-of-6 shots from behind the arc. The most impressive part was that he didn’t turn the ball over in a team-high 39 minutes. Grade: A-

Ronnie Brewer: (eight points, 3-of-8 shooting, four rebounds, two steals): Brewer wasn’t bad. He knocked down a few shots and did a decent job defensively. But Phoenix crept back into the game several times and shot almost 49 percent from the floor. The Knicks better defenders have to step up and defend better. Grade C+

Carmelo Anthony: (34 points, 11-of-27 shooting, four rebounds, two assists, one block): ‘Melo was great as usual, but he wasn’t as efficient from the floor and I would like to see the rebound and assist numbers go up, but regardless it was a typical MVP-type performance. Grade: A-

Dec 2, 2012; New York, NY, USA; Phoenix Suns point guard Sebastian Telfair (31) drives past New York Knicks center Tyson Chandler (6) during the fourth quarter at Madison Square Garden. Knicks won 106-99. Mandatory Credit: Anthony Gruppuso-US PRESSWIRE

Kurt Thomas: (two points, 1-of-3 shooting, six rebounds) Thomas played 19 minutes and did a good job on the glass. He also did a good job on Luis Scola and Michael Beasley. Grade: B-

Tyson Chandler: (15 points, 6-of-8 shooting, 13 rebounds, two blocks): Chandler has been great lately. He’s shooting a high percentage from the floor and has been more involved offensively. In addition, this one of his better performances crashing the glass all season. Grade: A-

Rasheed Wallace: (one minute played) Two technicals in one minute just doesn’t cut it. He can’t hang his teammates out to dry like that.  Grade: F

Steve Novak: (12 points, 4-of-10 shooting) Novak did what Novak does- drain three’s. He hit four more big ones on Sunday. Grade: B

Chris Copeland: (eight points, 4-of-5 shooting, three rebounds, two assists, one  steal, one block) Because of the Wallace ejection, Copeland got 10 minutes of playing time and filled the stat sheet. Some decent performances of late could earn Copeland some more playing time. Grade: B+

Pablo Prigioni: (no points, 0-1 shooting, one rebound, one steal) Prigioni wasn’t nearly as effective as he was against the Bucks and received only nine minutes of playing time and turned the ball over three times in that span. Not his best day. Grade: D+

J.R. Smith: (four points, 1-of-11 shooting, five rebounds, four assists) It keeps getting uglier and uglier for Smith, but he made an impact rebounding and passing the ball. Grade: C-

Jason Kidd: DNP (back spasms)

Marcus Camby: DNP (sore left foot)

James White: DNP (Coach’s Decision)

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Oct 21, 2012; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Los Angeles Lakers shooting guard Kobe Bryant (24) drives against Sacramento Kings shooting guard Marcus Thornton (23) during the preseason game at the Staples Center. Mandatory Credit: Richard Mackson-US PRESSWIRE

First Place – Los Angeles Lakers

Starters:

PG – Steve Nash

SG – Kobe Bryant

SF – Metta World Peace

PF – Pau Gasol

C – Dwight Howard

This has to be the best team on paper in the league, if not; it is certainly in the top 3. Steve Nash put up 12 points and 10 assists on a bad Phoenix team with no real scoring options to pass to. At 38 years old, Nash could possibly post his best career assists numbers with this star-studded squad. Kobe Bryant was second in the league in scoring last year even with all his nagging injuries. We know what he brings to the table, as he will go down as one of the best players ever when it is all said and done. Kobe will take all the trash talk and doubters as his fuel. He knows this is his window to tie or possibly pass Michael Jordan in the ring race so I think he will do whatever it takes to win.

Metta World Peace is not the Peace of old but he still has it on defense. Being the fifth option on offense will help him focus more on defense where the Lakers need him most. Pau Gasol is a top five power forward and knows what it takes to win in L.A. He now knows he will not be traded and got the Kobe approval over the summer. Gasol playing right next to Dwight Howard is a nightmare for any team. Howard is the best center in the league and is just a flat out beast. He has so many other great players around him now that he doesn’t need to be everything for this franchise as he was in Orlando. Dwight is going to do him, which is averaging 20 and 10 while being the best defensive big man in the league.

Key Bench Players: Antawn Jamison, Steve Blake, Devin Ebanks, and Jodie Meeks.

It’s hard to obtain a fierce bench when you have the huge names in your starting lineups like the Lakers do. They don’t need these guys to come off the bench and score 15 a night. They need them to come in for hustle plays, rest for the starters, and honestly, just don’t play stupid basketball. They will know their role and will be fine.

Team MVP: Kobe Bryant – The Lakers go wherever Kobe takes them. It’s still his team and he is looking to build to his legacy. He will be the MVP if he trusts his star teammates and sacrifices in order to win his sixth ring.

The Lakers are looking to avoid a season like the Heat had in 2010-2011. They want to avoid the early season chemistry problems and start dominating early. With Nash running the show, I don’t think this will be a problem. Lakers win this division without much trouble.

Second Place – Los Angeles Clippers

Oct 22, 2012; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Los Angeles Clippers guard Chris Paul (3) during the game against the Golden State Warriors at the Staples Center. The Clippers defeated the Warriors 88-71. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee/Image of Sport-US PRESSWIRE

Starters:

PG – Chris Paul

SG – Chauncey Billups

SF – Caron Butler

PF – Blake Griffin

C – DeAndre Jordan

The Clippers will start the season with a full training camp and another year of chemistry under their belt. Chris Paul has no trade rumors around him and looks to show the league there isn’t much debate who the best point guard in the NBA is. Paul does it all and is easily the leader for this Clippers team. Billups is coming off an injury but when he was healthy he did what he does best last year- hit big shots. Billups has the brain of a point guard so he knows where to be at all times. He is smart and brings championship experience to this Clippers squad. Most teams that try to have two natural point guards on the floor at the same time fail, but not these two veterans.

Caron Butler is a very solid player. I don’t think he is a top tier player, which some people think he is. He is an above average forward who is on the perfect team for him. This season will be all about the Blake show. Griffin has exploded on the scene and taken the league by storm. His injury in the Olympics might have people worried but he should be 100 percent as the season rolls around. Knee injuries are now a scare for Griffin but if he is healthy there aren’t many better players around the rim in the league. If he develops a consistent outside shot he might become the most dangerous offensive big man in the NBA. DeAndre Jordan is also a great compliment to Blake, as he doesn’t have much of an offensive game but is known for his defense and rebounding. Great duo down low for the Clippers.

Key Bench Players:  Lamar Odom, Jamal Crawford, Grant Hill, and Eric Bledsoe

The additions of Odom, Crawford, and Hill were perfect the Clippers. Odom is a small-risk and big-reward player. His love and comfortbility level in L.A. is well documented and if he is anywhere close to what he was when he was with the Lakers, it’s a good signing. Crawford is now a journeyman who still supplies a spark off the bench while Hill brings the veteran presence to this young team. Bledsoe is a solid backup point guard and is learning from the best.

Team MVP: Chris Paul – This is the golden age of elite point guards and CP3 might just be the overall best one. He is the motor to this team and the unquestioned leader. He will push this franchise to places it has never seen before.

The Clippers are tired of being the Lakers little brother in L.A. Before CP3 got there, it would be a slap in the face to the Lakers to consider the Clippers a family member. Times have changed and the Clippers are now very much relevant. They aren’t in the class of the Lakers, Thunder and Spurs, but the Clippers will be better than last year and will compete with the best of them. My bold prediction is that Mike D’Antoni will eventually coach this team. Chris Paul and Blake Griffin can be a better due than Steve Nash and Amar’e Stoudemire once were under coach D’Antoni.

Third Place: Sacramento Kings

Starters:

Oct 21, 2012; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Sacramento Kings center DeMarcus Cousins (15) during the preseason game against the Los Angeles Lakers at the Staples Center. Mandatory Credit: Richard Mackson-US PRESSWIRE

PG – Isaiah Thomas

SG – Marcus Thornton

SF – Tyreke Evans

PF – Jason Thompson

C – DeMarcus Cousins

The Kings are young and growing together. The ball will be in the young and overlooked Isaiah Thomas’ hands. Last pick of the draft means nothing for him as he opened eyes with his play and earned his spot as the starting point guard. His backcourt partner, Marcus Thornton, broke out last season averaging 18.7 points per game. This team’s best outside player, hands down is Tyreke Evans. He was masterful his rookie season averaging 20 points a game, but the last two season his PPG has slipped to 17 and 16 respectively. Evans needs to play like his rookie self if the Kings have any chance of making some noise in the West. It takes years for a player to figure the ins-and-outs of the NBA; to give up on Evans would be foolish.

The Kings frontcourt is young but they have extremely raw talent. Jason Thompson, just like the rest of their starters, is young and still learning the game. I believe Thompson will split minutes and possibly lose his job during the season to Thomas Robinson. Robinson is a pure beast and has a motor that doesn’t stop. He is physically ready for the NBA but now needs to translate it to the NBA hardwood. Both of these big men will have to make way for DeMarcus Cousins. Cousins had a huge leap in his sophomore season averaging a double-double at 18 and 11. I believe his attitude is no longer a problem and he will be one of the best centers in the league after this season. Cousins is for real.

Key Bench Players: Aaron Brooks, John Salmons, Thomas Robinson, Travis Outlaw, and Chuck Hayes

Aaron Brooks and John Salmons have had stints in the NBA where they were impact players. They are now in perfect roles with the Kings, where they can be huge sparks off the bench, especially if the starters don’t bring their A game every night. Outlaw and Hayes are good role players as well.

Team MVP: DeMarcus Cousins – Cousins will take the reigns as the team’s best player this season. I see Cousins ditching the attitude problem, taking Robinson under his wing, and averaging over 20 and 12 this season.

The Kings have a tough task in front of them for a long time with the Clippers and Lakers in their division. The Kings can fight for a low playoff spot this season if they play together as a team. They will go through growing pains and hopefully this helps them mature and doesn’t destroy this young team.

Fourth Place: Golden State Warriors

Oct 19, 2012; Portland, OR, USA; Golden State Warriors shooting guard Stephen Curry (30) speaks with Golden State Warriors head coach Mark Jackson in the first quarter of the game against the Portland Trail Blazers at the Rose Garden. Mandatory Credit: Steve Dykes-US

Starters:

PG – Stephen Curry

SG – Klay Thompson

SF – Harrison Barnes

PF – David Lee

C – Andrew Bogut

On paper, the Warriors have a pretty solid starting lineup. Curry is one of the NBA’s best pure shooters but he needs to stay healthy if the Warriors have any chance of making noise in the West. Curry had a glass ankle last season, playing in only 26 games. He has to stay on the court for the Warriors this season. Thompson showed he can really shoot the rock and progressed as the year went on. Curry’s injuries were maybe a blessing in disguise as this lead to Thompson learning the game better by picking up some of Curry’s minutes. If he avoids the sophomore slump, the Warriors have a deadly shooting backcourt.

Barnes was a coveted prospect out of Ames High School and one of the best players in the country at North Carolina. I believe he received too much pressure as a freshman when he was named to the preseason All-American team. Barnes will have not as much pressure in Golden State as all he needs to do is play hard and learn the game. He is expected to make rookie mistakes but his upside is huge. David Lee has been a model of consistency and is in the prime of his career. A double-double machine but not a franchise player, you can count on Lee to give you numbers night in and night out. Bogut came into his own at the end of his Bucks career but was riddled with injuries. If he is healthy, you don’t have to worry about the production from the Warriors frontcourt with Lee and Bogut out there.

Key Bench Players: Brandon Rush, Richard Jefferson, Jarret Jack, Andris Biedrins, and Carl Landry.

The Warriors bench is filled with great role players. Brandon Rush has established himself as a great sixth man and spot starter. The Kansas product has developed a nice three-point shot. Jack is a solid backup point guard and is great to have with the uncertain health of Steph Curry. Jefferson brings the veteran presence but doesn’t bring the production anymore. Biedrins and Landry are a nice duo off the bench for the frontcourt and should contribute as expected.

Team MVP: Klay Thompson: I think Thompson comes into his own this season and steps up the scoring due to Monta Ellis no longer being on the team. The boy can play and will help Mark Jackson’s team win games.

The Warriors, like the Kings, are a young team on the rise. David Lee and Andrew Bogut know the game but Curry, Barnes, and Thompson are just beginning. If these three come up together, they can shoot the lights out of the ball. Mark Jackson will get the best out of his team night in and night out but it might take a year or two for them to seriously compete. The Warriors are slowly on their way and the development of their three young guns is key for the present and the future.

Fifth Place: Phoenix Suns

Oct 19, 2011; Tulsa, OK, USA; Phoenix Suns guard Goran Dragic (1) drives around Oklahoma City Thunder center Hasheem Thabeet (34) during the first half of a preseason game at the BOK Center. Mandatory Credit: Beth Hall-US PRESSWIRE

Starters:

PG – Goran Dragic

SG – Wesley Johnson

SF – Michael Beasley

PF – Luis Scola

C – Marcin Gortat

Dragic is a solid point guard in the league but he is no Nash. No one is, but these are the shoes Dragic has to fill. He has learned from Nash before and held his own in Houston. Wesley Johnson has extreme raw talent but didn’t figure it out in Minnesota. I think he has great upside and maybe a switch in teams so early in his career will inspire him. You would have to say that Michael Beasley is the best player on this Suns team. He needs to take that step to the next level in his career if he ever wants to justify his second overall selection in the draft.

Luis Scola moves from the sinking ship Rockets to the still afloat boat that is the Phoenix Suns. Scola has an awesome skill set and is the definition of a European player. He will give the Suns a consistent season. Gortat had a career year, as do most centers that play with Steve Nash. He now needs to play tougher and become a leader on this Suns team.

Key Bench Players: Sebastian Telfair, Shannon Brown, Markieff Morris, Jarred Dudley, and Kendall Marshall.

Telfair has been a bust but the Suns will give him decent playing time. The high draft selection of UNC product Kendall Marshall is a clear message on where this team wants to go with the future of their franchise. Brown has never been the same since he left the Lakers but provides a spark off the bench. Morris has to fight for minutes, as he needs to justify his first round selection. Dudley is probably the best and most consistent player of this Suns bench and will contribute as he has throughout his career.

Team MVP:  Michael Beasley – This might be Beasley’s last chance of being an efficient starter in the NBA. The Heat had to give up on him, but it wasn’t his fault as they formed their Super Team. The Timberwolves are building for their future and chose to go ahead with Derrick Williams and Kevin Love. It hasn’t been pretty for B-Easy, but he should be able to shine in the desert.

The Suns shouldn’t have high expectations as they are in the rebuilding phase. Long gone are the days of Nash and Stoudemire with D’Antoni on the sideline. This Suns team needs to take their time and learn the game together but it’s going to be rough as they play in a pretty stacked division. They need Johnson, Marshall, and Morris to develop nicely this year and coexist with the veterans still on the team. A high draft pick can form a nice young nucleus for the Suns moving forward.

So, let me get this straight. The Knicks have presumably lost Landry Fields to the Raptors, they’re on the verge of losing Jeremy Lin to the Rockets, and they completely lost the Steve Nash sweepstakes to the Lakers. I’m looking for the silver lining as a fan, but its hard to find one.

I can only look at this move from a Lakers perspective. My god, they’re loaded. Think about their two potential starting fives:

Nash, Bryant, Metta, Gasol, Bynum.

Or, Nash, Bryant, Hedo, Gasol, Howard.

Both of those line-ups are just unfair. The rich get richer, for sure.

As for the Knicks, yeah. I joked with a buddy on Facebook earlier today that we should start preparing ourselves for the second-coming of the Raymond Felton Era. Now? That’s looking like a best-case scenario. Best case! How did this all happen? The team is down to Jason Kidd and/or Felton. They’re going to have to sign both if they lose Jeremy Lin to the Rockets.

I hate to be that pessimistic Knicks fan, but I’m getting that sinking feeling in my gut that this is going in the absolute wrong direction. I need a pick-me-up. And his name isn’t James White.

According to multiple sources, the Knicks and Suns have continued their discussions about a possible sign-and-trade between the two teams that would land Nash in the Big Apple, while sending guard Iman Shumpert, among others, to Phoenix. As part of the deal, Nash would likely sign a three-year, $25 million contract.

Yesterday on Knicks Radio, we talked about how the team might be feeling the heat both from the fans, media and opposing teams to make a splashy move for the sake of making one. The Hawks, Nets and Celtics have all made significant additions to their teams, while the Knicks have mostly stood silent.

This would be a huge move for the team, but its worth talking about in the terms of why they shouldn’t do it. You cannot find a Knicks fan that doesn’t love Iman Shumpert and his potential. He blossomed last year as a strong two-guard who has the ability to play the point. His defense was critical to the team’s late season success after Mike D’Antoni vacated the building. It is also important to note that he will miss the beginning portion of the season, recovering from knee surgery.

There really isn’t any possible way for the Knicks to swing a deal without including Shumpert, who is their youngest and most promising player. But, bringing in Nash, even for just three years, coupled with re-signing (hopefully) Jeremy Lin could be something that puts this team over the top and brings them back on the same level with the other powerhouse teams in the East.

It will also make the Knicks incredibly thin. Along with Shumpert, the team will have to trade able bodies like Toney Douglas, Josh Harrelson and Jerome Jordan. Do any of those players signal a significant loss? No. But, they do take away from the depth this team has, or lacks. The Knicks will be forced to fill out the majority of their bench with veteran minimum contracts, which could be a dangerous proposition.

Long story short, if it costs the team trading Shumpert in order to get a star and former MVP like Steve Nash, I don’t think a lot of Knicks fans will cry foul. But, they will grimace.

Its going to be like ripping off a band-aid. Just do it quickly. We’ll all feel better immediately after.

This previous offseason, with very little money to spend and presumably no big tricks up their sleeves, the Knicks managed to surprise everyone by using the amnesty clause on Chauncey Billups and pulling off a sign-and-trade for Tyson Chandler, a well-known, respected center. The franchise reveled in causing one of the biggest free agency splashes in the league.

This summer, the Knicks once again shook up the headlines when they were awarded the Early Bird Rights for Jeremy Lin and Steve Novak. It was assumed the Knicks would re-sign both players, while bringing back fellow free agents J.R. Smith and Landry Fields. To top it all off, the Knicks would have $3 million to spend on an additional player, perhaps a veteran point guard to bring off the bench.

But once again, the Knicks have set their sights high: this time on Steve Nash.

Nash, one of the all-time great point guards the NBA has ever seen, is one of the prize free agents of this year’s class. He would do wonders helping to mentor Jeremy Lin, running the offense, finding a balance between the Knicks’ Big Three of Stoudemire, Anthony, and Chandler. Nash would bring potency from behind the arc. He would become a guiding voice in the Knicks’ locker room; a player that everyone respects. Yet signing Steve Nash outright will be nearly impossible for the Knicks.

Thus, sign-and-trade rumors between the Phoenix Suns and Knicks have emerged.

Steve Nash is being courted by a number of suitors, but it’s been suggested that the Toronto Raptors and Knicks are the two front-runners. The Raptors have reportedly offered a whopping 3-year/$36-million deal to Nash, which would make the opportunity to play in his home country difficult to turn down. However, some sources say that Nash prefers New York. The sign-and-trade with Phoenix would allow Nash to receive more money, and still land in his preferred location without sacrificing over $20 million by taking New York’s mini mid-level exception over Toronto’s gargantuan offer.

Where the problem lies, however, is what the Knicks would have to give up in order to get Nash. The Suns aren’t in a position to bargain since in almost all other scenarios, Nash would leave for nothing. However, Phoenix would likely want something in return. In the most preferable, but least likely situation, the Knicks would send Toney Douglas, Josh Harrellson, and the non-guaranteed contracts of Jerome Jordan and Dan Gadzuric, in which case Phoenix could waive the last two players, and retain two young, cheap players of the Knicks’.

But common sense says that Phoenix would like something a little meatier. Iman Shumpert’s name has been thrown into the mix, but Alan Hahn insists that he’s been given no indication that anyone in the Knicks’ front office would be willing to part with Shumpert. Landry Fields could be signed and then packaged with some of the players mentioned above.

Steve Nash is an all-time great, but in any of the above scenarios, the Knicks are sending away almost all of their developing youth. Though they’re all fairly modest players now, Shumpert, Fields, Harrellson, Jordan, and Toney Douglas (if he ever regains his confidence) are all nice, young players that could be stepping stools when the Big Three’s contracts expire in three years.

The Knicks’ pursuit of Nash also could be rubbing some of their current free agents the wrong way. Jeremy Lin believes he’s ready to be the floor general for a contending team now, and he’s currently waiting in limbo for the Nash issues to be sorted out. The Knicks can match any offers towards Lin, but the longer the Knicks wait, the antsier Lin could get. He could demand more money from the Knicks, or match an offer sheet to a “poison pill” contract, forcing the Knicks to match. Lin did just drop out of the U.S. Select Team yesterday due to contractual issues.

Other free agents like Fields, Novak (the Knicks can match offers on both), and J.R. Smith are waiting around too, and could be more likely to bolt, ask for more money, or sign offer sheets from other teams the longer they’re forced to wait.

Likewise, Steve Nash has a chronic spine issue that he’s dealt with over the past few years. His achy back often causes him to leave games early, or be attended to on the sidelines. Without the Phoenix training staff – a group has commendably extended the careers of Nash, Stoudemire, Grant Hill, and Michael Redd, to name a few – how well would Nash hold up? Especially considering he’d be in New York where the weather is harsher on bones and muscles than the dry heat of Phoenix.

This isn’t to say going after Nash is a bad move – if it’s a step towards a championship, and perhaps to the Knicks’ front office, the step to a championship. Yet things aren’t always as simple as they seem, and signing and trading for Steve Nash could come with some consequences.

ESPN’s Marc Stein reported that the Toronto Raptors and the Knicks are Nash’s top two favorites, but I still view the Knicks as an extreme long shot for Nash.

In ESPN sitdown Nash said he’s eager to meet Mavs if they miss out on D-Will. But sources say TOR & NYK are his top two (no order) for now

— Marc Stein (@ESPNSteinLine) July 1, 2012

First off, the Raptors have been reported to have a big offer ready for Nash that will exceed $12 million per year. The Knicks simply can’t come close to that.

If Nash were to sacrifice money for a chance to win, it wouldn’t be a whole lot of money and the Knicks would have to give up two or three players to create the cap space.

Yahoo Sports Adrian Wojnarowski has reported that the Suns have expressed interest in Landry Fields as part of a sign-and-trade, but ultimately it would take more than Fields in a deal to bring Nash to the Big Apple.

Phoenix has expressed interest with Landry Fields as part of possible sign-and-trade package with New York for Steve Nash, sources tell Y!

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@WojYahooNBA) July 1, 2012

The New York Post’s Marc Berman has reported that the Knicks have had talks with the Suns about Nash.

Mar. 16, 2012; Phoenix, AZ, USA; Phoenix Suns guard Steve Nash during game against the Detroit Pistons at the US Airways Center. The Suns defeated the Pistons 109-101. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-US PRESSWIRE

I wouldn’t mind seeing Nash finish his career in a Knicks uniform, but it depends at what costs.

Realistically, depending on Nash’s salary requirements, it would take two, maybe three of a group that includes Fields, Steve Novak, Iman Shumpert and Toney Douglas to get Nash in a Knicks uniform.

Even then, the Raptors could offer Nash more money, but the main issue could be the fact that the roster would be depleted.

Depth is one thing the Knicks have going for them right now and I don’t feel sacrificing that depth for a couple years of Nash is worth it. You also have to figure into the equation that if the Knicks make this move, that’s about it for the offseason.

They can add a couple veteran’s minimum players, but it’s not as if they could replace the depth they would be giving up. parting ways with Fields and Douglas could be a possibility that wouldn’t kill the Knicks, but you also have to consider the fact that the Suns wouldn’t want any part of that offer.

The free agency period is just beginning and there will be almost daily talks regarding Nash to the Knicks, but tread with caution.

Be careful what you wish for. You just might get it and the cost could be very high.

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Did the '04-'05 Phoenix Suns prove that offense can't win championships, or just leave the question still unanswered?

The old adage is that defense wins championships, and until the last 48 hours I believed that pretty strongly.  For those who have been following my comments on various posts, I keep harping that the thing we most need is a shot-blocking defensive center because I was no moron: I know offense can only take you so far.  Eventually shots won’t fall, and that’s why you need to be able to rely on defense.  However, after watching the Knicks/Celts game and then last night the San Antonio Spurs against the Denver Nuggets, I saw reasons to believe offense could lead to a ring and question my very own beliefs that D is dee way to win.

No, no, I’m not saying I’m delusional and that after one close game against the Celtics that now I think that this New York team has a shot at winning a championship this year.  And up until just last night, I was the same acolyte as you, praying at the Holy Altar Of Defensive Stops. My hope was that coach Mike D’Antoni could get us up to that elite level of those high-octane offensive teams of the past decade (like his own Phoenix Suns, but also the Sacramento Kings and Dallas Mavericks).  At that point, we’d then follow the Mavericks blueprint to the next step, firing the old offense-only coach (in their case, Don Nelson) and bringing in a defensive-minded coach as the closer (new coach Avery Johnson did bring them to near the brink of acquiring some shiny new rings until Dwayne Wade went nuts).  And while I still believe that’s probably the best way to go, I now can’t help but feel there is another way.  What made me change so radically that I’d be willing to forgo my dearest, closest beliefs?

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See how Amar'e received the ball here in a position where he could easily get past his own guy, forcing the little guy to either foul or tickle him in the armpit? Earlier in the year he never got the rock like that. No wonder he wasn't laughing and smiling until now. (Source: AP)

While many of us were thrilled that the Knicks beat the New Orleans Hornets Friday night because they were the first team with a winning record we’d gone up against in a while, stat-heads likely were just as impressed (if not more so) with our commanding 116-99 victory over the Toronto Raptors because of the huge point differential.  In the world of advanced statistical analysis, one surprising revelation has been that a better indicator of team success is not whether you defeat good teams, but rather by how many points you outscore your opponent.

One of the leaders of basketball’s new statistical revolution is ESPN’s John Hollinger.  As of today, he gives the Knicks a phenomenal 87.7% chance of making it to the playoffs.  His worst case scenario, meaning rock bottom awful, is that we only win 29 games this year.  In other words, even if everything goes to hell from here on out, we’d at least still match last season’s total.  What’s the best case?  60 wins.  That seems incredibly unlikely, which all the more makes you realize that it’s equally incredibly unlikely that we only equal our ’09-’10 results.  Meanwhile, Amar’e Stoudemire’s former team, the Phoenix Suns, is listed as having only a 56.5% playoff chance and with a maximum win total of 58 games.  Although in all fairness, that’s because there are so many more good teams in the West that it’s harder to predict with certainty.  It’s not that hard to imagine teams like Portland, Houston, Memphis or Golden State going on a run and getting into the playoff picture.  Yet even the most fertile imagination and most fervent local fan probably has trouble seeing a future where Detroit, Philadelphia or New Jersey can be amongst the top 8 Eastsiders this season.

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

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

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

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Could Phil Jackson, the Zen Master himself, get fired this season? Of course not, you idiot, but where do the rest of the coaches in the league stand? (Source: Yarbarker.com)

I seem to be in a major ranking/grading/evaluating the whole NBA-mode, so today we’re gonna check out which coaches might not make it through the season.  Every year it seems like about six coaches are fired in the middle of the 82 game grind.  And a few more who made it through the grist then are shown the exit during the summer.  But we just finished one summer, so we ain’t talking about the next one yet.  Just this upcoming season.  Who’s Bulletproof?  Who’s on the Hot Seat?  And where does everyone else stand and why?  Well, you’re lucky ‘cuz we’s about’s ta answer these questions fer ya.

Bulletproof (again, for this upcoming season only):

Doc Rivers – Celtics

George Karl – Nuggets:  He might quit if it’s too grueling, but ya can’t fire a guy coming back from cancer.  Ya just can’t.  If you disagree, grow a heart, dude.

Phil Jackson – Lakers

Gregg Popovich – Spurs

Jerry Sloan – Jazz

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Today we examine many fans' most hated move by Donnie Walsh: hiring Mike D'Antoni. They might not like our opinion on the subject. (Source: Yardbarker.com)

We’re now on the last lap of our Donnie Walsh analysis.  We’ve gone over his Drafting ability (which earned him a zero), his Trades (a nice +3) and his Free Agency Signings (another +3).  Today we look at the remaining qualities under the amorphous title of General/Other, which includes just two large elements.  Honestly, I’ve now forgotten some of the things I was gonna examine in this section, so forgive me if I don’t include something important.  I should’ve jotted down quick notes when I started this endeavor but I never remember that I tend to never remember things.  It’s a curse.  I think.  I don’t remember.  But probably it has been.  Anyway, The rules again:

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Many view Kevin Durant as the Second Coming. We see him and the Thunder more likely coming Third through Sixth. (Source: Yardbarker.com)

On Wednesday we discussed what the Eastern Conference Playoff picture looks like, and today we go west, young man.  We’d already previously examined how much teams improved/regressed during the off-season, but now we’re talking 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 amongst friends?

#1 – Lakers

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Instead of Phoenix having Amar'e Stoudemire as their starting power forward, they've now got this guy. No, not LeBron, the guy he's dunking on: Hakim Warrick. (source: Yardbarker.com)

Today we go west, young man, to examine the summer moves of the Pacific Division teams: the Golden State Warriors, the Los Angeles Clippers & Lakers, Phoenix Suns and Sacramento Kings.  We already did the Eastern Conference, so click on the following links to check out our reviews on the Atlantic, Central and Southeast.  Our last two posts will be on the Southwest and Northwest. For the newbies to this series, the rules are again listed below, but the rest of y’all can skip down to the team listings.

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First Free Agent Splash?

The Amare to New York deal could be done as soon as this weekend and is expected to be worth up to $120 million for 5 or 6 years.

The Suns have appeared to be the only other team interested in offering Amare the max and with their two new deals with Hakeem Warrick and Channing Frye it seems the Suns have parted ways with Stoudemire.

Great news for us nonetheless!

Phoe-Knicks on the Horizon?

According to NBC Sports Pro Basketball Talk, Amare Stoudemire of the Phoenix Suns has opted out and will become a free agent at midnight tonight.

Out of these two guys, is it possible that Mike Miller's the one more likely to be in a Knicks uniform next season? (source: Yardbarker.com)

Mike Miller, the Washington Wizard’s sharp-shooter, is one of the lesser known free agents this summer, but it’s players like him who could help round out the Knicks.  Argus Leader reports:

As an unrestricted free agent, Miller can sign with a team that gives him what he wants – and what he wants is to stop losing.

“I’m looking for a winner,” confirms the 6-foot-8 swingman, who averaged 10.9 points and 6.2 rebounds in 54 games last season. “The last couple of years have taken a toll on me, as far as not being in the playoffs and not playing this time of year. So I’m looking to change that. This time, if it doesn’t work out, there’s no one to blame but myself.”

You might be thinking, um, but the Knicks weren’t exactly winners this last year.  However, if we can sign some of the big free agents…
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Rival executives will continue to try to convince the Hornets to make Chris Paul available in trades, pointing to the fact that Williams can simply slide the promising Darren Collison and his modest $1.4 million salary into that spot. When those teams get shot down, look for the Hornets — based on the hints we’ve received from more than one exec — to make Collison available as long as the interested party is willing to take back the cap-clogging contract of Emeka Okafor,James Posey or Peja Stojakovic with Paul’s backup.

Everyone’s talkin’ ’bout Tony Parker as a trade target, how’s about the much cheaper Darren Collison with Okafor thrown in as center?  Particularly since New Orleans wants to cut costs they’d be interested in Eddy Curry, unlike San Antonio.  We’d still be able to sign two max free agents, or one and keep David Lee with money left over.

——————————-

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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.

Will LeBron join D'Antoni? And is that even a championship combo? (Source: Yardbarker.com)

The following comes from my friend Shai:

Since Alex generously allowed me to post my ramblings about college basketball players on this Knicks site, I asked him if he would consider posting the following honestly-curious question to Knicks fans:

What exactly are you expecting to happen?

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Yeah, Dirk is annoyed about losing, but that has nothing to do with why he's opting-out of his contract (source: Yardbarker.com)

ESPN reported that Dallas’ Dirk Nowitzki is likely to opt-out of his contract, ostensibly add his name to the free agency pool, and as an unrestricted free agent at that.  What does that mean for Knick fans?  Quite possibly not a damn thing.  Even if he 100% wants to return to the Mavs, he’d still do this for contractual reasons, so it doesn’t imply he’s contemplating leaving in the slightest.   What’re the contractual reasons?

Opting out to sign a new deal, for starters, would lock in terms based on the NBA’s current collective bargaining agreement through the life of the next contract. Under the league’s current system, Nowitzki is eligible for a four-year maximum contract from Dallas worth $96.2 million once he opts out. The most he could receive from another team is a four-year deal worth $93.1 million.

Signing a three-year extension to the last remaining season on his current contract, by contrast, would expose Nowitzki to potential after-the-fact reductions to his annual wage if league owners are successful in their attempts to lower the value of maximum salaries in the next collective bargaining agreement.

[...] Another motivation for Nowitzki to opt out as opposed to signing an extension is the ability to secure a no-trade clause.

If Dirk played for anyone else besides Mark Cuban, I’d say this also was a good maneuver to put pressure on management to improve the team, but Cuban’s already made public his plans to go after LeBron.

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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.

It doesn't matter if you hate Chicago's Derrick Rose. As a Knicks' fan you should root for him to expose Cleveland's Mo Williams so that a certain King will get frustrated and wanna leave the Cavs. (Source: Yardbarker.com)

It’s Fan Appreciation 101 to root for your team to win, but as anyone who’s taken higher classes in Team Supportation knows, that’s just the tip o’ the iceberg.  Sometimes you gotta see the larger picture, which may require you to hope your team actually loses for say a better draft position.  The Indiana Pacers finished the season playing some of their best ball, but that annoyed many true-blooded Indy fans since it destroyed their lottery chances.  Other times, you may root for your team to lose so that the owner finally wises up and sees it has to fire that crappy coach or GM (or both — hello Isiah Thomas and Mike Dunleavy Sr.).

Frequently, as a member of the faithful, you may even have to root for outcomes in games featuring other teams.  Say you’re battling for the 8th seed in the playoffs, then you gotta watch the games involving the other teams in the battle so you can root against them.  Or maybe you’re assured of being in the playoffs, but you know you match up against one team better than another.  Now you gotta cheer for the right teams to win and the wrong ones to lose all so that everything falls perfectly for your one true team.

However, with the Knicks’ eliminated from the playoffs long-ago, what’s a Knick fan to root for?  Things that will help us out in free agency.  I spent the last month of the regular season caring less about the Knicks’ wins/loss total than about the outcome of the Raptors/Bulls’ battle for the final playoff spot.  I figured that if the Raptors don’t make the playoffs, then surely Chris Bosh’s chances of remaining in Toronto drop rapidly.  Does this mean he’s a sure-fire Knick, or even that he’s my top choice?  No, but I like to improve my odds as much as possible.  Had the Pacers finished with the fifth worst record instead of the tenth, they still might not have won the lottery, but it wouldn’t have hurt.

Thus, for a true Knick fan, here are the things for which we should be rooting in order to increase our chances during the free agency period:

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Damn straight, Phil Jackson should be walking with his head down after some of his coaching choices! Right? ...Right? Um, maybe not. (Source: Yardbarker.com)

Is there anyone in the NBA who gets criticized more than coaches?  It doesn’t matter who you are, how successful you are (or have been), or what players you have at your disposal — we can always find problems with you.  Earlier this year, Greg Popovitch was criticized for being unable to make his big off-season acquisition, Richard Jefferson, productive.  The other night, Phil Jackson, winner of more NBA titles than God himself, left himself open for target practice by choosing to draw up a play for Pau Gasol to attempt the game-tying three-point shot (Pau missed, which could cause the Lakers to lose home court advantage if they play the Magic in the Finals).

We, the fans and media, aren’t necessarily wrong in complaining about these points, but I think sometimes we not only expect too much, we also don’t always see (or know) the full picture.  For instance, maybe Phil was trying to make a point to Kobe about how the Black Mamba needed to give his body rest or it would cost the team (the previous possession Kobe missed two free throws that would’ve given the Lakers the lead).  If Kobe/Fisher/Artest/whoever hit a three for the tie, then maybe Kobe remains convinced that he can play through his injuries.  Sure, you can say this was a costly way to make a point (& I have no idea if Phil was trying to make this point), but if Kobe’s sitting out these two last games enables him to be healthy enough to lead the Lakers back to a championship, it’d be hard to argue with the results.

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Pacers' coach, Jim O'Brien, watches, appalled that the Knicks made him seem competent by forcing his team to look like an offensive juggernaut (source: Yardbarker.com)

We all love an epic battle between an unstoppable force and an immovable object.  The Knicks’ game last night against the Pacers was the opposite.  Indiana, the third worst shooting team in the league, is far from an unstoppable force on offense.  And us, New York, tied for second in allowing their opponents to shoot the highest percentage, is no one’s idea of an immovable object on D.  They like to shoot only .442, but we like to give up .482.  In backwards world it meant: could we force them to score more than they normally do, or would they make our defense look better than it is?  Turns out we decided to go 50/50.

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(source: Yardbarker.com)

After Jordan Hill’s solid play Sunday against the Knicks, Tom Ziller of NBA Fanhouse examined the issue of whether Coach Mike D’Antoni plays rookies:

Hill [...] hardly played for Knicks coach Mike D’Antoni, despite the fact that N.Y. remains one of the worst teams in the league and that the franchise needed all the boosted assets it could manage.  [Hill returned as] a legit rotation player with Houston, mind you.

Hill had tantalized at various times while playing for the Knicks, but he was never given much room to learn and grow and well… time to play.  Many fans rightly felt Coach Mike D’Antoni should’ve given Hill more burn, particularly since it’s been clear for a long, long while that we ain’t making it to the playoffs.  In his return the other day, Hill himself stated that D’Antoni doesn’t like to play rookies.  As we mentioned yesterday, unfortunately D’Antoni responded with his comment that he just doesn’t like to play “bad rookies.”  Other players & fans have also leveled the accusation that Coach D doesn’t play rooks (& truth be told, many coaches prefer to rely on the consistency of vets), but Ziller has D’s back:

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Let's start a rumor that this Team USA moment (where Wade jealously catches LeBron and Kobe laughingly bond) caused a rift. As a defense mechanism, Wade will now pursue Amar'e, while LeBron's goes for Joe. Can't they see true love is right there next to them? --No, not Kobe! I'm talking about each other! (source: Yardbarker.com)

In an ESPN.com article, Mark Stein writes:

It is widely assumed that LeBron James and Chris Bosh are the two marquee free agents Dwyane Wade wants the Heat to pursue starting July 1.

The reality, though, is that Amare Stoudemire should be regarded as no less than an equal in this conversation.

Given all the options and potential outcomes of LeBron’s foray into free agency — and Bosh’s recent insistence during All-Star Weekend that he’s in no rush to relocate just to be regarded as someone else’s sidekick — Stoudemire would appear to be the most signable of the three.

One source close to the situation insisted this week that Wade and Stoudemire are closer than advertised as pals even though they haven’t played together on Team USA since 2004.

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Would legendary Boston coach Red Auerbach be more likely to roll over in his grave from not only Celtic cheerleaders, but ones with kilts, or... (source: Yardbarker.com)

For those who didn’t watch last night’s game you can be forgiven for thinking that a 97-109 loss to the Celts doesn’t sound too, too bad.  That’s ‘cuz you didn’t have to sit through it.  And ‘cuz the Knicks had a useless run in the fourth against the Celtics’ bench-warmers to make the game seem more respectable than it was.  The boys in green didn’t need the luck of the Irish on St. Patty’s Day to maintain a 20+ point against us for most of the game. This iteration of the Celtics over the past few years has made its mark on defense, not offense.  We made ‘em look like the high-octane Phoenix Suns, letting them shoot over 50% from the field.

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Joe Johnson – Atlanta Hawks

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

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

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The Good:

1. New point guard Sergio Rodriguez took over the starting gig from Chris Duhon.  Spanish Chocolate was a never-ending blur and managed an unbelievable EIGHT steals!

2. New undersized shooting guard, Eddie House, played point when Spanish Chocolate went out, which meant: Chris Duhon didn’t play at all!  Not a second!  And that was goooood.

3. The Knicks did a good job hustling and scrambling on defense, holding the Bucks to a mere 43% fg shooting.

4. Tracy McGrady did not just settle for easy jump shots and instead had a few nice drives to the hoop.  Yes, none were dunks and a couple didn’t go in, but it’s excellent that he’s not shying away from contact with the big boys.

TMac, unafraid, drives to the hole, yet the Knicks still seem to be playing in the dark

5. At halftime the fans were thrilled as the Knicks honored the 40th anniversary of the 1969-1970 championship team.

6. To show how truly stupendous that 1970 team was, the current Knicks, in an outstanding show of support, got together before the game and decided to purposely play horribly so the fans would appreciate the old-timers even more. (more…)

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.

Of the four guys (including LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Joe Johnson) generating the most drooling out of the potentially NBA landscape-altering free agent class of 2010, Bosh is losing ranking as the most likely to disappoint.

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**Great NYT article on David Lee’s improved jump shot:

For the previous 15 games before Saturday, Lee had been as brilliant on the perimeter as he had been at the rim, his rapid evolution on full display. Since Dec. 6, Lee had converted 53 percent of his jumpers from 16 to 23 feet, and 75 percent of his shots from 10 to 15 feet, according to an analysis provided by HoopData.com.

In 35 games, Lee had converted more perimeter shots (86) than he did all of last season (82). He had hit 66 shots in the 16-to-23-foot range, compared with 51 last season and only 18 in 2007-8.

…  Lee’s accuracy rate from 16 to 23 feet was in the low 30s every season until this one. He was shooting 45 percent (66 of 146) in that range this season, well above the league average for power forwards (40.5 percent) and for centers (40.4), according to HoopData.com.

Another interesting thing they note is that Lee was a point guard early on in high school, so he’s got a pretty good handle (in the Houston game he caught one rebound, dribbled up the court, did a nice move on his man, and got a layup) plus he’s one of the Knicks’ better passers.

**On a sad note, the NY Post reports that David Lee’s grandfather is deathly ill.  As a result, Lee may have to leave the team momentarily.  They also mention:

Lee’s grandfather, E. Desmond Lee, made a fortune in coat hangers and became a well-known St. Louis philanthropist, donating $50 million to various charities in the city.

How do you make a fortune in coat hangers?  Did he have some unique design?  Was he the one who invented the part on them fancy hangers that clamps down on your pants & holds ‘em in place?  I’m curious.  Someone do some research on this.  Maybe I can make a fortune in like toothpicks or something.