Right away you might not think a third string point guard would have much of an impact on a team, but as you’ve seen in the past this has been proven wrong.  Jeremy Lin was a third string point guard behind Toney Douglas and Mike Bibby and look what he created – Linsanity.  I’m not saying that Pablo Prigioni will bring Prigionity, but he can definitely be an asset on this team.

Probably the most experienced rookie in the NBA after playing years of international ball, the 35 year old brings to the table his veteran leadership skills (you can never get enough of that) and his unselfish point guard skills. This was a perfect addition for the Knicks squad as was Jason Kidd since they have a ton of scorers and just needed players to control the floor.  He’s a type of player that will play smart, find the hot shooter, help space out the floor, and try to fix the often-staggered offense.

I could see Prigioni getting his minutes in two different situations.  The first is when head coach Mike Woodson decides to pair up Kidd and Felton together in the backcourt and Prigioni would be used to play the backup minutes.  The other situation would be when Felton is looking sloppy out there, throwing the ball away, and taking bad shots (this did happen often on the Trail Blazers last season) and then Kidd comes in, and at age 39 where he’s hobbling up and down the floor, can’t cover a speedy player like like Russell Westbrook or Derrick Rose – Prigioni would then come into the game and help at the point for a bit.  I know Prigioni is not much younger than Kidd, but after playing in Argentina and in Europe, he has adapted to the physical play and can handle the extra pressure.

You can tell by Prigioni’s attitude that he really wants to help out the Knicks team.  In an article by Marc Berman of the New York Post, Prigioni says he “really feel I can help the team — 10 minutes, 20 minutes, 30 minutes, doesn’t matter.”

Manu Ginobili, Prigioni’s Argentine teammate  has weighed in and mentioned :

“He’s been one of the best point guards in Europe for many years… I have complete confidence in him. He’s a great player, great character. Not shy of taking a tough position and making a big shot.’’

Hopefully we will see this type of play when Prigioni comes to the Big Apple this year.

Apr 18, 2012; Dallas, TX, USA; Houston Rockets center Marcus Camby (29) waits for play to resume during the game against the Dallas Mavericks at the American Airlines Center. The Mavericks defeated the Rockets 117-110. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-US PRESSWIRE

The New York Knicks got a dose of good news Monday night when they acquired center Marcus Camby as part of a sign-and-trade deal with the Houston Rockets.

The Knicks will send Toney Douglas, Jerome Jordan and Josh Harrleson and a pair of second round picks (2014 and 2015) in exchange for the 38-year old center.

Yahoo! Sports Adrian Wojnarowski reports that Camby’s deal is for three-years and $13.2 million and the final year includes a partial guarantee.

Camby has agreed to a three year, $13.2 million deal with the Knicks, source tells Y! The final year includes a partial guarantee.

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@WojYahooNBA) July 9, 2012

Camby’s presence will be huge as he can backup and lighten the load Tyson Chandler. He will provide a defensive presence who can still rebound, grabbing 9.0 boards per night in 2012. The Knicks didn’t have a capable backup for the Defensive Player of the Year last season and it became quite easy to score on the Knicks when Chandler wasn’t on the floor.

That won’t be the case next season.

If the Knicks can sign Jared Jeffries to a veteran’s minimum contract, the team will have a pair of defensive minded big men to backup Amar’e Stoudemire and Chandler.

The sign-and-trade for Camby allows the Knicks to use the $3 million non-taxpayers mid-level exception for Jason Kidd. The Knicks also were able to keep Dan Gadzuric, which means they could add guard depth by possibly using him in a sign-and-trade for $2 million.

Next up for the Knicks could be re-signing J.R. Smith, according to ESPN’s John Hollinger.

I’m hearing Knicks are now trying to wrap up J.R. Smith deal.

— John Hollinger (@johnhollinger) July 9, 2012

Follow Matt Shetler on Twitter for news, reaction and analysis from around the NBA.

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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.

Feb. 19, 2012; New York, NY, USA; New York Knicks small forward Steve Novak (16) and New York Knicks point guard Jeremy Lin (17) react during the second half against the Dallas Mavericks at Madison Square Garden. Knicks won 104-97. Mandatory Credit: Debby Wong-US PRESSWIRE

The decision was a surprising and unexpected one; many felt that the NBPA had little shot of winning the case. However, the Knicks aren’t in the clear yet, as the NBA has announced it will appeal the decision. Details are still emerging as to what the next plan of action will be, but in the meantime, the decision is still in favor of the Players Union.

If the decision doesn’t get reversed (it so will, because it’s the Knicks and it’s David Stern and that’s just what happens), then this is great news for the Knicks. By earning Early Bird Rights to Lin and Novak, the Knicks can re-sign both of them without having to dip into their mid-level or biannual exceptions. Lin and Novak have both expressed great interest in returning to the Knicks, but were hesitant to hint at a definite return since money was a concern.

Likewise, if the decision holds (we’ll operate under the assumption that it will, for now), this could directly impact J.R. Smith’s decision to opt in or out of the final year of his contract. The MLE gives the Knicks about five million dollars to sign another player, so Smith may choose to opt out in hopes that the Knicks would give him a larger portion of the MLE. Likewise, the biannual exception could be used to lure a veteran who’s unwilling to settle for the vet.’s minimum.

This year’s free agent class is full of point guards, and if the Knicks are indeed able to keep their MLE while re-signing Jeremy Lin, then they could have plenty of options. Steve Nash may still out-price the Knicks, but other options could be Raymond Felton, Kirk Hinrich, Jason Kidd, or Ramon Sessions.

The Knicks’ frontcourt could use help too, but with Josh Harrellson and Jared Jeffries likely in the fold, the Knicks might not want to commit money to a backup big, because Carmelo Anthony, Amar’e Stoudemire, and Tyson Chandler all command so much playing time. Whatever position the Knicks draft could be an indicator as to what types of players they’ll target in free agency.

However, another obstacle remains regardless of how the NBA’s appeal goes. CBA expert Larry Coon noted on Twitter that giving a contract of over three million dollars to a free agent will put the Knicks in the hard cap for the season. One of the CBA revisions during the lockout has made the tax punishments extra severe for teams who exceed the salary cap. Then again, we are also talking about James Dolan’s money, and he tends to not care very much about what he spends on the Knicks.

Perhaps if the Knicks wanted to sign a player to the full MLE and avoid paying the hard cap, they could try to move Toney Douglas or Jerome Jordan for another pick. However, if they were to move into the first round, that pick would also count against their cap for a similar amount of money, so it may not make much of a difference.

There are questions and opportunities abound on this decision and what remains in the Knicks’ future, but as Howard Beck noted: this isn’t over yet.

The Knicks don’t have a first round pick this year as a result of the Tracy McGrady-Jordan Hill-Jared Jeffries trade done in 2010, which they are still paying for. Donnie Walsh, then-GM of the Knicks, was unloading contracts to have as much cap space as possible heading into the famed summer of 2010.

Walsh was forced by the Houston Rockets to throw in the Knicks’ 2012 first round pick. The pick was top-five protected – meaning if it was a top five pick in the draft, the Knicks would keep it – but alas, the Knicks were not a lottery team, and the Rockets got it instead.

The Knicks do have a second rounder – the 48th pick – and they’ve had success drafting in the second round in recent years, selecting Landry Fields and Josh Harrellson. However, as evidenced by their selection of Andy Rautins two years ago, second rounders can be unpredictable. Rautins isn’t even in the NBA anymore.

So, the Knicks may look to move up in the draft – especially considering many people feel this is an especially deep and talented draft. Tommy Dee of the Knicks Blog claims that the Knicks are shopping Landry Fields, and the Golden State Warriors may be possible suitors, willing to give up their 30th pick. Fields would be a good fit in an uptempo offense with shooters (Dorrell Wright, Klay Thompson), a good passing PG (Steph Curry), and a big who can space the floor and pass (David Lee). This was evidenced by Fields’s excellent play in the first half of his rookie season, with Raymond Felton, Danilo Gallinari, Wilson Chandler, and Amar’e Stoudemire. The Warriors also have four draft picks, so they may be willing to give one up for a solid wing player.

However, for the Knicks to shop Fields seems a bit suspect. The Knicks only have a half-filled roster and may possibly lose J.R. Smith and Steve Novak this summer. Likewise, Iman Shumpert may be out until December as he recovers from a torn ACL. Fields is a restricted free agent and the Knicks can spend as much as they like to re-sign him. To trade away an asset that won’t sacrifice cap space, and is a proven player, who – despite struggles – can still be very effective in many assets of the game.

If the Knicks want to find another draft pick, they could also try to do a deal with a team like the Portland Trailblazers, who have four picks – two lottery and two second round picks. The Blazers are without a PG for next season, and they’re also weak upfront, so they might be interested in players like Toney Douglas or Jerome Jordan.

The Cleveland Cavaliers also have four picks: a lottery pick, the 24th, and two second rounders. Perhaps they would give up their 24th pick or one of the second round picks for one of the above-mentioned players.

The Knicks also own the draft rights of Georgios Printezis, a Greek player who is doing quite well in the Euroleague. Though he likely isn’t coming to the NBA this season, the Knicks could give up his draft rights in a package of Douglas or Jordan in order to move into the first round.

I wouldn’t expect the Knicks to give up their second round pick to move up because of the uncertainty surrounding their free agents.

However it shakes out, the next month will be an interesting one for the Knicks as they try to shape their future through the draft and free agency.

Are these two players the Knicks only options at point guard this off-season?

There was a lot of buzz on Twitter today suggesting that Steve Nash doesn’t have much interest in playing in New York, eliminating him as an option for the Knicks in 2012-13. You can ask five different insiders and likely get five different responses about Nash’s short list of destinations, but if the Twitter-verse has this one right, it doesn’t look like Steve Nash will be playing home games at Madison Square Garden any time soon.

With that in mind, it’s important to ask: is it Jeremy Lin or bust for the New York Knicks at point guard?

Remember, as it stands today, Toney Douglas is the only player healthy on the Knicks roster with significant time spent playing the point. Mike Bibby will likely not be re-signed in free agency, while it still appears Baron Davis’s career is over after his devastating knee injury suffered in the playoffs. Iman Shumpert could be a starting point guard one day, but he is likely to miss at least the beginning of the season after he tore his ACL in Game 1 against the Heat.

Another important factor into the Knicks manuverability this off-season involves if they’ll have their full Mid-Level exception or not. A hearing is still upcoming in regards to Jeremy Lin’s Bird Rights, which could play a pivotal factor in regards to the Knicks ability to offer a free agent a full Mid-Level or only a portion of it. Again, keep in mind, thanks to new rules under this CBA, regardless of what is decided in the Bird Rights hearing, the Knicks will be able to go over the salary cap to lock up players who they picked up off waivers, which, in this case, is Jeremy Lin and Steve Novak.

Let’s assume the Knicks do, indeed, get their full Mid-Level through Lin’s Bird Rights hearings. The names in the free agency market are very slim in terms of players that would be willing to play at that salary slot. For starters, Deron Williams will get a max-contract from someone this off-season (even money is on Dallas), so he is not even close to being an option.

The options the Knicks would be looking at include a return engagement with Raymond Felton, the possiblity of Andre Miller (though he may get a contract worth more than the Mid from, say, Chicago, who will be looking for a stop-gap starter for Derrick Rose), or Kirk Hinrich. I didn’t include Goran Dragic in that group because the buzz around the league is Houston not only plans on locking him up long-term, but for an average salary above the Mid-Level exception.

Of the three true possibilities listed in Felton, Miller and Hinrich, none are exceptionally better than Jeremy Lin, or better at all for that matter. After those guys, the Knicks would be looking at the bargin bin of the Jonny Flynn’s and John Lucas’s, which would be a significant drop and should only be considered as back-up type players.

Considering the uncertainty of the Knicks true salary cap situation, the unlikelihood of a Steve Nash taking less money to play in New York, a first round draft pick this year or a wealth of options on the free agent market, its time for Knicks fans to begin to understand that the situation laying in front of them is that Jeremy Lin isn’t only the best option to play the point, he may be the only option.

New York has been saying all the right things since the season ended in regards to Lin and his future, even though his agent continues to remind us that nothing is for certain. However, the Knicks may have to understand that Lin is in the position of power in their negotiations. The market is pretty dry.

One year ago, if you were to tell me that Jeremy Lin would be the most important player the Knicks could sign in free agency, I would’ve called you crazy.

Now, it would seem crazy if the Knicks didn’t bring him back, and quickly.

Apr 5, 2012; Orlando, FL, USA; New York Knicks point guard Toney Douglas (23) attempts a jump shot against the Orlando Magic during the second quarter at Amway Center. Mandatory Credit: Douglas Jones-US PRESSWIRE

Yet things never really work out the way they are supposed to in today’s NBA and as it turns out picking up that option could impact the Knicks this upcoming offseason.

His contract isn’t crippling to team, making only $2.1 million this season, but given the state of when the Knicks could be when it comes to the salary cap, that’s money that Grunwald almost certainly wishes he would have in his pocket right now.

When that option was picked up, Douglas was struggling big time as the Knicks starting point guard, and Jeremy Lin was still a week or two away from captivating the NBA. So it probably made sense at the time, but now it’s a move Grunwald likely wouldn’t have made since Douglas was buried deep on the bench for the rest of the season.

If instead the team had decided to let Douglas fall into free agency, it’s conceivable that Lin, Steve Novak and J.R. Smith could have all been lured back. At the very least, the Knicks would have been in a much better position to target a summer free-agent class headlined by Steve Nash.

With Lin, Novak Smith, Landry Fields and Jared Jeffries all free agents, the Knicks will need them to come back for less than their market value to retain a couple of them.

While Douglas can be limited offensively, his defense could be an asset for the Knicks if rookie Iman Shumpert misses significant time to start next season. While this is a nice bonus for the Knicks, it does not provide them with the type of point guard they are looking for to help complement Lin’s skill set.

It is difficult to imagine a situation in which the Knicks could deal Douglas, even for an additional second-round draft pick. With their options limited and their budget strained, the Knicks must try again and hope for the Douglas of just a season ago — a tenacious defender and scoring sparkplug.

If Douglas can regain his old form, perhaps that $2.1 million will be seen in hindsight as helping, rather than haunting.

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

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

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

OK. Let’s get into this.

Head of the Class - 

Tyson Chandler – A+

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

“A” Students - 

Iman Shumpert  - A

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

Jeremy Lin – A-

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

“B” Street -

Steve Novak – B+

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

Jared Jeffries – B-

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

Average “C”s

Carmelo Anthony – C+

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

Baron Davis – C

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

J.R. Smith – C

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

Josh Harrellson – C

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

“D” List Celebrities 

Landry Fields – D+

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

Amar’e Stoudemire – D

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

Mike Bibby – D

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

Fail

Toney Douglas – F

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

In-com-plete

Jerome Jordan

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

Dan Gadzuric

Wait…he was on the team????

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

Amar’e Stoudemire returned to the lineup, his sliced hand wrapped in multiple layers of protection, and gave the Knicks a boost of energy early on. As expected, though, they still struggled and stumbled through a terribly sluggish second quarter to face a six-point deficit at halftime. In the second half, the Knicks found life. They got out on the break for transition baskets, while forcing turnovers. J.R. Smith hit a three-pointer, Stoudemire wrestled to the rim for some one-handed dunks, and most importantly, Carmelo Anthony got going. ‘Melo poured in 41 points, on a number of downright silly, turn-around, midrange jumpers, and a critical pull-up three-pointer off a broken play late in the 4th quarter. The two teams exchanged blow after blow until finally, with one last stop at the buzzer, the Knicks pulled away with an 89-87 win, and snapped a 13-game playoff losing streak.

The one negative take-away, however, was Baron Davis’s gruesome knee injury in the 3rd quarter, later to be determined a partially torn patella tendon and a completely torn ACL and MCL. The Knicks now will have to carry on without Davis (whose injury is expected to take 12 months to heal – we might not see Baron in the NBA again) and use Mike Bibby as their starting point guard. Bibby did hit two huge three-pointers in the second half filling in for Davis, and he is playoff tested. However, he is also Mike Bibby and with a few exceptions this season, he has not inspired confidence or glee from many Knicks fans.

Mike Woodson revealed this morning that Toney Douglas will be the first guard off the bench tonight and will play some minutes at the point. Woodson will also likely use more of that lineup where J.R. Smith, Carmelo Anthony, and Landry Fields all take turns bringing the ball up the floor and trying to set up the offense. While less than ideal, Mike Bibby can’t play 35-40 minutes, and Toney Douglas just hasn’t been good enough to earn major minutes.

Moreover, the Knicks will need more heroic performances from Anthony and Stoudemire. The tandem worked well in Game 4, with both players operating cohesively on pick-and-rolls and not using up each other’s space. Stoudemire’s hand has presumably improved over the last three days, so he may have less trouble securing rebounds and operating to his left. Even while operating with only 75% of his limbs last Sunday, Stoudemire still worked his way to 20 points and 10 rebounds.

Anthony, meanwhile, will have to shoot lights out and continue putting up monster offensive numbers. As Tom Haberstroh pointed out, Anthony scored more at the rim in Game 4 than any other game in the season. Settling for jumpers won’t do against Miami; ‘Melo is going to have to come out in attack mode, and of course, attack efficiently.

Still, Miami is going to come out with urgency and fire because they do not want to go back to New York for Game 6 and risk giving the Knicks confidence. No team in NBA history has come back from a 3-0 deficit. Can the Knicks be the first? Seth Rosenthal over at Posting and Toasting has already started the MILPCAT movement (Most Improbable Legendary Playoff Comeback of All Time).

Do you believe?! No? A little bit? OK, we’ll see. Go Knicks!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Interim head coach Mike Woodson doesn’t expect Lin to play and attempt to save the Knicks season for the second time this season. That leaves Game 5 on the road in Miami in the hands of veteran Mike Bibby; unless something happens in the next two days that could allow Lin to play.

“I’m going at this as if he’s not going to play. That’s how it’s been here for the last month, month and a half, and that’s how I’m preparing,” Woodson said during a conference call.

“I’ve watched him shoot and run up and down. He’s not in great shape and you know as well as I know that playoff basketball, you’ve got to be at an all-time high, and he hasn’t played in a while,” Woodson said. “So I don’t know if that’s going to be a determining factor with the doctors, and the fact that he hasn’t played. I can say, yes, he looks good, but again, does he feel good? Do the doctors think it’s enough time based on the injury that he’s had to get him out on the floor? I can’t make that decision.”

There have been reports that the Knicks have been pressuring Lin to play on Wednesday, but so far there’s been no signs coming from the Knicks brass that he will be able to give it a go.

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

That leaves Bibby and seldom used Toney Douglas as the Knicks only floor generals for a very important Game 5.

Lin has been playing in 3-on-3 workouts after surgery to repair torn cartilage in his left knee April 2. The Knicks said at the time he was expected to miss six weeks, meaning his season was likely over unless they reached the second round.

He was going to work out again Monday, and the Knicks will practice Tuesday. Woodson said he would prefer to see Lin go through an entire practice with full contact before seeing him in a game against one of the NBA’s fiercest defenses. But there’s just no time for that.

Even if Lin can go, fans must realize he hasn’t played in a game in over five weeks, meaning the rust will be there.

Then there’s the fact that the Heat harassed Lin into eight turnovers and 1-for-11 shooting in a Feb. 23 victory in Miami, Lin’s worst game since he assumed the starting point guard spot.

No matter who ends up being the Knicks point guard on Wednesday night, they will face a tough challenge. Someone has to rise to the occasion though and it looks like Bibby will get the first opportunity.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

If Melo shoot less will the Knicks win more?

success with Carmelo Anthony only taking 7 shots.

It is no secret that the Knicks have been unable to get their team together since acquiring Melo last season; at this point, as I have argued before, it is pretty obvious that the nature of Anthony’s game—the fact that the Knicks don’t have a point guard compounds this fact—is such that the ball stops when it gets to him which completely negates what made the Knicks a good team last season prior to his arrival in NYC.

Last night against the Bobcats, Anthony deferred his game. Instead of taking a ton of shots and needlessly pounding the ball into the ground, he shared the ball and got others involved. When the Knicks share the ball—which, needless to say, isn’t often—they actually have a fairly balanced offensive attack.  Guys like Bill Walker, Landry field and Toney Douglas are competent offensive players that can stick open looks; Landry Fields in particular, is a player that thrives in an offense that moves the ball frequently.

More importantly, moving the ball and playing the screen and roll opens up (more…)

• Every week Knicks.com will be profiling some of the greatest rivalries in Knick history, this week they take you back to 90’s to relive some of the all time great Knicks-Bulls matchups.
• The New York Daily News caught up with Roger Mason Jr. in Harlem, handing out turkeys for the holidays. Unfortunately he didn’t have much to say about the lockout; Surprise, surprise
• Yahoo sports debates the legitimacy of Amar’e’s injury that  kept him out of Drew Gooden’s charity all-star game.
• Over at ESPN.com Jared Zwerling wrote a great piece about Tony Douglas and his brother, a wide receiver for the Atlanta Falcons.

Toney Douglas hides his partially torn right labrum from public view.

Perhaps the most frustrating thing about the Celtics series – you know, after the injuries, the crunch-time mishaps and the shady, WWE-style officiating – was the drawing of conclusions about our Knicks.  The series ended a lopsided 4-0 sweep and the drive-by national sports media, who pick about five teams to actually watch during the season, decided this team was utterly ill-equipped to compete against the Celtics, as if the Knicks had really been banking on Anthony Carter, Roger Mason and Jared Jeffries in crunch time all year.  That in turn led to the old standbys to which we’ve become accustomed: “The D’Antoni style doesn’t win,” which is true, when two of his three best players are hurt; “defense wins championships,” which is something people say when they have nothing else to say; and my new favorite, “Boston exposed the Knicks’ lack of depth after the Anthony trade,” which was great because it came from the “Melo’s a bargain at any price” crowd.  People treated that series like the Knicks played at full strength, and judged them accordingly when they failed.

One Knick in particular suffers from a similar mischaracterization.  Toney Douglas had a strong second half of his rookie season, shooting far better than we’d hoped while patrolling the defensive perimeter with a zeal we may not have seen since Derek Harper.  The showing gave us a glimmer of hope that the late first-rounder could be our point guard of the future.  Yet he is dogged by factors that are to an extent out of his control: he played the entire season with a partially torn labrum, for which he finally had surgery two weeks ago and may be out of action until September; and of course, even to many Knicks fans, there’s that old adage that sure, you can play Douglas at point guard, but he’s just not a “true” point guard.

(more…)

(Photo by Nick Laham/Getty Images)

This news kinda came out of left field, but at least it partially explains what was up with Toney during those last few playoff games. He played scared defense and was abnormally gun shy on a few golden opportunities, most likely because it hurt to lift his arm. This from Frank Isola:

According to the club, Douglas had arthroscopic surgery to repair a torn labrum in his shooting arm. Team physician Dr. Answorth Allen performed the operation.

Douglas’ recovery time is expected to be 12 to 16 weeks, and the injury also raises concerns about how much of an impact it could have on his future. The Florida State product averaged 10.6 points this season, his second in the NBA.

Heading into their playoff series against the Celtics, it can be argued that the Knicks are overmatched at every single position but small forward—and even there, Paul Pierce vs. Carmelo Anthony is no cake walk. But the one player able to bring a significant advantage for New York happens to come off the bench. He has the type of dynamic range that can change a game’s momentum, and if the Knicks are lucky, swing a series. The man I’m talking about, of course, is Toney Douglas.

(more…)

Yea...So That Didn't Go In (AP)

Box Score

The 2010-11 regular season goes into the books with a tiny thud as the Knicks lose a semi-meaningless game to Boston four days before the two teams meet in the first round.  I say “semi” meaningless because even though between these two teams Amar’e Stoudemire was the only impact player who saw the court, the Celtics bench players—who had been struggling—were given a little confidence boost. But it isn’t something to read into or worry too much about. Take the jump to read more ’bout it. (more…)

The First Time Anyone's Ever Passed With Jared Jeffries Defending Them (AP)

Box Score

If basketball games were 24 minutes long, the Knicks would be feared. Nobody would want a piece of them—Carmelo, Amar’e, even Toney Douglas—come early May. But alas, the game isn’t 24 minutes, it’s 48. Through the first half tonight, New York looked dangerous and effective on both ends of the floor. Their offense was clicking, the ball was moving, and defensively they controlled the game’s pace. Then halftime happened.  (more…)

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Yeesh. Make the jump to to read Amar’e's further explanation of these comments.

(more…)

Sorry for the slight delay on this recap, my effort today has been slightly on par with Carmelo Anthony’s. It’s incredibly difficult to come back from a 32-9 deficit—what the Knicks faced after one quarter—and make a basketball game competitive, so hats off to New York for doing just that. But that’s about the only positive to be taken from this Sunday matinee. The first quarter saw apocalyptic level shooting from just about every Knick player—they shot 4-25 in the first 12 minutes and didn’t seem interested in switching up the offensive game plan. The much maligned defense played like its described, specifically in the transition game. On one early Chauncey Billups miss, the Bucks quickly pushed the ball up the court and, with three Knicks back and ready on defense, found a wide open Carlos Delfino whose facial expression said “why isn’t anyone guarding me”. Coming off a game two days ago where he hit eight three-pointers, Delfino, of course, drained the shot. His first of six behind the arc for a career high 30 points.

Behind Chauncey Billups (21 points) and the usual suspect, Amar’e Stoudemire (25), the Knicks were able to cut their 23 point deficit to six by halftime. Most of it was due to an outstanding protection of the basketball. (The Knicks only had six turnovers in the game.) But none of that really mattered. The team shot 38.6% on the day. When your interior defense is a Kleenex, it’s very difficult to win any games shooting the ball like that.

* Carmelo Anthony had 23 points on 14 shots, five rebounds, and one assist. Not to pile on the poor guy, but the numbers have a difficult time describing how terrible a performance this was. Defensively Anthony was atrocious. His main assignment, Carlos Delfino, was the one flaunting the superstar swagger Anthony normally hones. Delfino was open all day long. It’s like Carmelo doesn’t know guarding players when they don’t have the ball counts as “playing defense”; I don’t understand it. Taking pride in your defense doesn’t mean your man goes off for a career high scoring performance when you’re guarding him. Hopefully he ratchets it up come playoff time.

* Landry Fields was a ghost today, but I have a difficult time putting blame on his shoulders. Nobody’s sacrificed more in the field of scoring points than the rookie, and it seems he’s having a difficult time finding shots within the flow of the game. He had 0 assists, and due to an inability to defend John Salmons (the Knicks reluctantly switched Turiaf onto the Bucks shooting guard on a few plays), only played 21 minutes. New York usually loses when Fields has games like this one.

* D’Antoni started Shelden Williams at center. He played the first six minutes, then watched the following 42 from the bench. What the hell is the point in doing this? Williams was his usual terrible self in his minutes on the floor, adding further evidence to the “Shelden Williams isn’t an NBA player” argument.

* BOX SCORE

* Toney Douglas is getting floor time for his defensive abilities, but it’s his offensive play receiving a majority of the scorn/praise. Today it’s mostly scorn. He had nine assists, but shot 3-13 from the field for seven points. Douglas has become the team’s true X-factor, and his up and down play has been symbolic of the team’s, so usually when he either shoots lights out, plays solid defense, or just makes solid decisions, the Knicks contend. Today his shots weren’t falling. Result: loss.

Boom Goes Toney's Dynamite

Toney Douglas came off the bench last night to log more minutes than both Chauncey Billups and Landry Fields. It was probably for the better; Douglas hit 9 three pointers, tying Latrell Sprewell’s Knicks franchise record. They seemed to keep coming, one after the other, like raindrops. And Memphis had no umbrella. Or rain coat. Or water resistant Timberlands. Late in the third quarter, when everyone in the gym knew what Douglas was planning with the ball in his hands, Memphis tried everything in their pick and roll defense. They went above, attempted traps, fell below screens, and yet nothing was a suitable response. Douglas attempted 9 threes through 3 quarters, and made 8 of them.

* The always illuminating New York Times recap

* The Knicks had a pretty great win last night, but let’s not pretend all our problems are magically poofed. In the last few days, Mike D’Antoni’s taken some heat for his coaching style’s allowing of such repugnant defense. His excuses have been perfunctory. Here’s an advanced scout’s take on the team so far.

* Two comparisons we won’t be able to escape the rest of this season—and likely the next few years: The loot we sent to Denver and the Nets’ trade for Deron Williams.

* Highly esteemed SI.com columnist Jeff Pearlman gives his two cents on Madison Square Garden’s decision to raise ticket prices.

* Anthony Carter used to live in Hawaii. Here they check up on him in a solid feature.

* Now that James Dolan has two superstars he enjoys watching, the minimum pressure level for Mike D’Antoni will be a dark shade of orange, teetering on light red.

* We covered this a few days ago, looking ahead at the rest of the regular season. Business Insider backs up our argument.

* More Mike D’Antoni pressure cookers.

* Something tells me this unit needs more than training camp to play effective defense…or they could just mimic Miami.

* Calculating the Eastern Conference Playoff possibilities.

Amare – 12-15 FG, 31 Pts in 24:13 (WOW!)

Carmelo – 12-16 FG, 34 Pts in 30:11

When asked in the post game press conference whether now we should expect nights like this on a regular basis, Carmelo laughed at the silly question, looked down at the box score in front of him and said something to the effect of, “Ain’t gonna be too many nights that the two of us miss only 7 shots”. Damn right about that, but it was pretty damn fun to watch anyway. You can credit the awful Jazz defensive effort some for the inflated stat line, but clearly Anthony and Stoudemire are tow of the most gifted offensive talents in the NBA and are capable of combining for 65 points on any given night.

Here are a few other intriguing things that came out of Carmelo’s mouth. He talked about how he and Amar’e are beginning now to play off of each other. This revelation was apparent very early on in this beatdown, as Melo assisted on three Amar’e buckets in a 3-minute stretch of the first quarter. The best part of Carmelo’s dishing and Stoudemire’s swishing was that STAT’s buckets came from different spots on the floor. One 19 footer, one layup at right next to the rim, one short 7-footer.

To me, this showed that Melo is beginning to recognize where Amar’e is on the floor on different offensive sets and he using his ability to draw attention of more than one defender to “get” Amar’e open. In fact, Anthony said as much in his post game comments, explaining that since defender tend to gravitate toward him and not leave him to double team someone else, other guys (Stoudemire and Toney Douglas) will be open. It’s just a question or them knocking down shots, which they did early and often tonight.

Stoudemire actually took to the podium first. He basically brushed off the astounding shooting performance by the two stars and said, “Myself and Carmelo can score one-on-one with ease. Offense is not a problem for us”. It most definitely was not against a seemingly disinterested Utah squad that is obviously in shambles since Jerry Sloan stepped down and Deron Williams was dealt to New Jersey. Amar’e went on to echo some of the same sentiments as Carmelo in regards to the two of them being able to open up shots for the rest of the guys:

“The goal is to always keep the ball moving, and always keep the defense on [its] toes. They can’t quite guard us. If we keep the ball moving like we did tonight and other players get involved and make open shots, then it’s going to be hard to guard us”

Landry Fields put it best in the locker room when asked about his two superstar teammates, something to the effect of, “When STAT and Melo are playing like that, there’s not much anyone can do. Toney Douglas acknowledged that he knew it was up to guys like to knock down open shots when Melo and Amar’e are cooking like they were last night, because there would be opportunities aplenty.

I know it’s one game and the Knicks still have a ton of holes on defense and still struggle against squads/players with a big interior presence (case in point: Al Jefferson’s 36 pts tonight), but when was the last time this team had a laugher like this? After so many nights I sat in MSG, cringing at the poisonous atmosphere created by the Isiah’s Thomas’ reign of terror, last night was a blast. The always heady Garden fans chanting for Andy Rautins to enter the fray. Watching Stoudemire cheer lead for his boys continuing to pour it on the hapless Jazz in the final quarter. Seeing Renaldo Balkman swish a trifecta, fresh off the bench. Pure joy.

Yes this team has been enigmantic, and will likely continue to be so through the last 20 games of the regular season, but the the Knicks are relavant once again. Going to a game at Madison Square Garden is special again, and that’s the damn way it should be in this hoops town.

* Turning onto the dreaded 87 a couple nights ago, Landry Fields popped his front tire on a pothole. Poor guy. Andy Rautins was there too, but apparently neither of them knew how to change a tire.

* More analysis into whether or not Amar’e and Carmelo can coexist.

* Could the Knicks have grabbed Bob Cousy?

* SLAM 147 hit newsstands the other day. Guess who’s on the cover.

* Amar’e goes to the hood with Mr. Bloomberg.

* More on what we already know: Chauncey Billups is important.

* With his thigh still hurting, Billups likely won’t play tonight, but it shouldn’t matter. The Knicks are focused on the playoffs and avenging last week’s loss to Cleveland is a welcomed way to get there.

* After his 24 point outing against Chris Paul, Toney Douglas is under quite the microscope.

* “We’re always going to be a little bit of an iso, one-on-one kind of a team, which, to be honest with you, is pretty good,” D’Antoni said, a declaration that would have made jaws drop in Phoenix.

* What does everyone think about Carmelo’s breakup letter to Denver?

* Eight months after he was traded to Cleveland, Baron Davis will make his debut tonight against the Knicks. Is he elite?

* This picture is funny in an “I wish it were controversial” kind of way.

No, no. Settle down. Not even close. But for one night he was, without a doubt. The bulk of today’s Linkin’ Center will revolve around those two players, with a slight edge in content going to Paul. In my opinion it’s sad, really, that the fans at MSG would cheer for a visiting star when they finally have 2.5 of their own. It feels so out of touch and unrealistically low. You know what it is? It’s like buying roses for a pretty girl who, while tipsy at a party six months ago, said you were cute. Then when Valentine’s Day rolls around, while you’re in a happy relationship and she’s six years into a slightly rocky commitment, you have roses delivered to her at work. It’s kinda like that, in a pathetic and desperate kind of way. When you cheer an opponent hoping to sway them in a free agency decision that’s not for another 14 months, how can you expect that player to respect you? Whatever. Call me old school. The Knicks don’t even need a point guard! Alright I’m over it. Onto the links before my eyes explode.

* Even though he couldn’t play, it looks like Chauncey Billups had his fingerprints all over Tony Douglas’ wonderful performance.

* Don’t get me wrong, it’d be GREAT to have Chris Paul come aboard, but chances are the Knicks simply won’t have the cap room. So let’s stop worrying about it.

* Our brother’s over at Swarm & Sting are feeling sad over last night’s beat down. In a small step towards cheering them (and yourself) up, read their recap of last night’s game.

* You know what you’re getting every game from Carmelo and Amar’e. It’s when the unexpected guys step up that the Knicks look like a very, very formidable opponent.

* The harsh truth about a team finally finding its way.

* Why Donnie Walsh hasn’t had his contract extended yet is anybody’s guess. Here’s a breakdown of why it’s a considerable concern.

* More on the toast heard round the world.

* Is New York the greatest thing to happen to basketball since the three-point line? No. Unless you work in television.

* Reiterating that last question, we’ll let a panel of NBA.com writers give their thoughts.

* Someone in New Orleans is a sore loser. Then again, he does have a point with this whole “Mardi Gras” deal.

* Looks like Toney Douglas should get another start against Cleveland on Friday.

IN CASE OF CHAUNCEY BILLUPS INJURY, INSERT TONEY DOUGLAS. Like a faulty fire extinguisher, this probably won’t work on a consistent basis, but tonight it was all powerful.  Douglas started the game for Billups, who hurt his thigh last night in Orlando, and played like he never wants to give up the starter’s spot. In 32 minutes the former Seminole finished with 24 points on 10-13 shooting (4-6 from deep), five assists, and four rebounds.  From the opening tip he was aggressive, blowing by Chris Paul (who, for small stretches, played like he wished he were on a different team) several times and finishing at the basket with ease.  After Douglas and Stoudemire, who had 24 points of his own, were through with them, the Hornets looked about as demoralized as a professional basketball team can be. By midway through the third quarter they weren’t boxing out on free throws or closing out on wide open Knick shooters, and on the offensive end their strategy was “watch Jarrett Jack take a jump shot.” (Jack finished with a team high 21 points.)

Paul finished the game with a season low four points on 2-7 shooting.  He managed his usual 10 assists, but really failed to insert himself into the game’s narrative at any point.  New Orleans’ other weapons were also out of ammo: David West was 6-16 and Trevor Ariza only attempted four shots.

The whole night was a real feel good affair; the Knicks held a consistent 20 point lead throughout the second half.  At one point the crowd at MSG started a Jared Jeffries (more on him later) chant, and then followed it up with a call for Roger Mason. Mason, who’s tallied four total points on 1-16 shooting this season, entered with four minutes left and the game all but decided, and proceeded to sink the two shots he took, one of them from downtown.  Every Knick on the roster saw the floor, including the recently acquired Derrick Brown and the recently decomposed Shelden Williams.

Before the game Mike D’Antoni told reporters he thought that since Carmelo Anthony and Chauncey Billups came aboard, the remaining role players were caught standing around too much on offense, watching those two great additions do their thing, “like it was an All-Star game.” The Knicks did a great job of moving the ball around tonight, and not just in transition.  In particular, I’d like to point out my man Landry Fields.  He instinctively sniffs out open floor space like a slot receiver weaseling his way through the zone defense on a football field. As great as he is without the ball on offense, he’s just as good with it, taking (and mostly making) uncontested three-pointers, grabbing the ball in transition and advancing it via the un-fancy but effective chest pass without hesitation. In terms of seeing a decrease in shots, no New York starter was affected more by the Carmelo trade, yet Landry still manages to put his thumbprint on almost every basketball game he plays in.

Jared Jeffries got into the game and wasted no time nestling himself into the role of pestering offensive rebounder and defensive glue guy. Best case scenario for the Knicks? He becomes a poor man’s Joakim Noah. Even with a 23 point lead late in the contest, Jeffries was still hustling for loose offensive rebounds. Then again, you, the reader, could’ve grabbed an offensive board or two at that point.

Shawne Williams is a very good three-point shooter.  Probably the best on a team loaded with them.  His defense is prone to create serious match-up issues, but when he’s hot Williams can NOT be left open. He went 4-6 from deep tonight and scored 16 points; New Orleans didn’t get the scouting report.

Guarding Carmelo Anthony is like trying to solve a sticky Rubik’s cube. He might not score the most points in the league, but he can attack in the greatest variation of ways. When you think of Anthony putting the ball in the hoop, you picture him out on the wing, steady, in the triple threat position, facing his defender with 47 different options on which he’s choosing his plan of action. Tonight he showed serious effectiveness in transition, making the right decision in almost every given opportunity and making the result a positive one for New York.

So what did we learn tonight? Well, for starters, we now know that the Knicks are capable of moving the ball in the half court, which is very important if they want to see success in the playoffs.  Another is that heading into his match-up with Chris Paul, Toney Douglas was mad. Mad at Mike D’Antoni for giving Anthony Carter more minutes than him two games ago. Mad at himself for playing so poorly against Orlando. Mad at the crowd for giving Chris Paul a warmer ovation than their own starting point guard.  But after watching the brilliant performance he staged tonight, right now you’ve got to think Toney Douglas isn’t so mad anymore. After draining what would be his last three of the night late in the fourth quarter, he landed on a Hornet defender’s foot and stumbled back into the scorer’s table.  Douglas then shot the closest referee a look that asked, “Where’s the call? Nobody told you it’s my night?”

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The New York Knickerbockers beat the Toronto Raptors last night, winning their sixth straight game and 11 out of their last 12, but it took Amar’e Stoudemire once again performing like an MVP, and Raymond Felton’s clinching three-pointer bouncing off the rim five times (plus once off the backboard) before falling in.  With our record at 14-9, it’s the best we’ve been since 2001.  And tonight we have one last easy game (against Washington, who also might likely be playing without John Wall, perhaps their best player).  Then the true test begins when we finally start playing teams with winning records.
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Is it possible that Roger Mason Jr. has been the key for the Knicks' winning streak? Perhaps, because he seems to be best used by, as seen here, being off the court. (Source: Yardbarker.com)

New Buckets writer, Antony Marino, believes your New York Knicks’ current winning streak is due to everyone, particularly Roger Mason Jr, finding their roles:

I apologize for my recent lack of productivity. I awoke this morning to the unmistakable stench of smelling salts and the discomfort of a full beard. Doctors told me I had been in a deep coma since Blake Griffin’s dunk, but that I had fared better than Mr. Mozgov who was now eating his meals through a straw. Luckily, middling-grade vodka has been Timo’s primary means of sustenance for years, but the experience of drinking it through a straw has been harrowing nonetheless.

So where do we stand, Knick fans? (more…)

Raymond Felton hurt his back last night, but that wasn't gonna stop him from gutting out a win against his former team. (Source: Yardbarker.com)

Last night, your New York Knickerbockers defeated Raymond Felton’s former team, the Charlotte Bobcats, 110-107, giving us a four-game winning streak and more.  It moved us into sole possession of the seventh seed in the East (with a full game lead over the eighth and just one behind being tied for fifth).  It left us just one game below .500.  And should we win tonight’s rematch against the Bobcats, we would have our longest winning streak in nearly five years.  Perhaps even more important, taking the rematch would also give us the season series against the Cats since we only play them three times.  Since they’re one of the teams who we’ll be fighting for the final playoff spots, that tie-breaker could end up being crucial.  But before we jump ahead to thoughts of April, let’s stay in November for a moment and discuss last night’s ART (The Awful, The Remarkable and The Terrific).

The Awful

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Blake Griffin had the game of his life, but the Knicks happily had the game. (Source: Yardbarker.com)

With two victories over the weekend against the Golden State Warriors and Los Angeles Clippers, the Knicks have managed to pull themselves up to being tied for seventh in the East.  Our 3-1 record on the road trip was, amazingly (and depressingly), the best we’ve done on the road since 1998.  Yes, during it we beat two of the league’s weaker teams (the Kings & Clips), and the Warriors were missing one of their best players (our former fan-fave, David Lee).  However, keep in mind that previously we had been losing to those weaker teams, even ones missing top players (the Sixers without Andre Iguodala, and the Rockets without Yao Ming and Aaron Brooks).  The results were so different than the early part of the season, that it’s hard to know what’s real and what’s Memorex.  So who are we?

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Maybe we need Bill Walker and his sweet shooting stroke to get more minutes. (Source: Yardbarker.com)

After writing my post yesterday I saw that I’d received a sample from potential new Buckets writer, Joshua Sage, apparently using the same “Live by the three, die by the three” adage that I used.  Which, of course, is not to be confused with former television juggernaut Lost’s “We either live together or die alone” phrase.  Then again, that kinda works for bball too.  Anyway, without any further ado, here’s Joshua’s piece:

Thus far proven in-adequate by the loss of Steve Nash, from his ‘brilliant’ 7 seconds or less offensive system, Mike D’Antoni has resorted to relying almost exclusively on three pointers.

Some have argued that this isn’t the worse plan in the world and that it might actually be working if A) Raymond Felton would create more space for his shooters by mastering the pick & roll and forcing defenders to adjust to him and Amar’e, or B) the Knicks would actually hit the three pointers they’re supposed to hit.

The problem with both is one and the same. The Knicks don’t have the personnel on the floor to be a high volume three point shooting team. Felton has never hit better then 38% of his three’s (32% for his career), Toney Douglas is at 36% for his career and Chandler is an awful 30% from range (same as Landry Fields), and all three make matters worse by attempting three point shots off the dribble, increasing the difficulty of the shot and thereby decreasing their chances of making it.

The Knicks best three point shooter is Bill Walker at 41% (who NEVER gets any real playing time), followed by Kelenna Azubuike at 40% then Danilo Gallinari at 38%. After examining these averages it becomes apparent that the only Knick not hitting three’s like he should is the Rooster. No other Knick starter is good enough beyond the arc to warrant them taking a high volume of shots from distance, save for Walker & Azubuike. Toney is good enough but he continues to take far too many three’s off the dribble instead of catching and shooting.

The Knicks thus far have functioned best when attacking the rim and getting the opposing team into foul trouble. Danilo has an uncanny ability to get to the line nearly every time he drives to the rim. His mobility & ball handling for his height makes it very, very difficult for defenders to stop him from getting to the rim without fouling him. Any player that can match his 6’11″ frame can’t keep up with him (save Kevin Durant) and none that move faster can contend with his length. So if Danilo and Amar’e can get to the line at will, and Chandler’s/Felton’s strength is attacking the basket, then why rely on three point attempts?

If Mike insists on burying teams under the weight of three point makes, then why not start the teams’ best three point shooter at SG? If that is the system, then Walker is the ONLY option, at that position, in the starting 5. At least until Azubuike gets back that is.

I know everyone is high on Fields and his basketball IQ, he looks like the next Wilson Chandler, etc. The fact is he is a terrible three point shooter and the Knicks require a quality shooter with range at SG to help space the floor for Danilo, Amar’e, Raymond, and Chandler who all do their best work when attacking the rim.

Either Mike changes up the system or he removes Fields from the starting 5. The man better choose and quickly because if the Knicks hit another 6 game slide there will be fans waiting outside for him, with torches and pitchforks, like crazed farmers waiting for Frankenstein’s monster.

Mike D'Antoni weighing the benefits of whether or not to play Anthony Randolph. (Source: Yardbarker.com)

The Knicks finally had a decent night offensively, and as we’ve been saying here, that made all the difference, giving them a much needed 113-106 victory over the Sacramento Kings.  Yes, part of it is that they were helped by the fact that the Kings are a weak team, but the hope entering the season was that if we beat the bad teams and lose to the good ones, we’ll still be good enough to slip into the playoffs.  No, we won’t be a team that can challenge for higher than a 7th seed as some deluded fans dreamed, but we just might not be as bad as we’ve seemed.

Looking back, our record isn’t nearly as awful as it seems.  The truth is that Minnesota needed a historic night in order to beat us, so we easily could be 5-7 instead of 4-8, and that would have us just a half game outside of the playoffs.  Right now, as is, we’re still only a game and a half out, which is pretty sweet considering how awful we’ve been.  The loss to Houston also was tough to handle because of their poor record, but their record may be deceiving in that of their 8 losses, 7 of ‘em were against teams likely to end up over .500.  The only inexcusable loss was against Philadelphia, and my feeling is that since we had a winning record at the time (3-2) and Phillie not only had looked bad but was also missing their top player (Andre Iguodala) that we entered the game a bit too confident and not with the desperation we needed.

Our next game is a rematch against Golden State, but they’ll be missing David Lee (they’ve gone 1-2 without him).  The next night we go up against the one-win Los Angeles Clippers, so we’ve got two very winnable games.  If we snag ‘em both, that’d leave us just half a game out.  Then we have a home-and-away against Charlotte, one  of the teams who we’ll be fighting against for the final spots.  Hopefully we can at least split those.  Then after that, two of our next three games are also very winnable (versus the Pistons and the Nets).

But back to last night’s game.  Let’s talk about a few of the key factors that lead to the victory:

-More importantly than shooting really well from the three-point line (40%) was the fact that we took a far more reasonable amount of them (15) rather than the 25+ we’ve been putting up regularly.  Just as if one lives by the sword then one dies by the sword, if ya live by the three you’re gonna die by it too.  Wilson Chandler played 34 minutes and nicely only took one three (which he made, but happily that didn’t make him go trigger-happy).

-Mozgov only got six minutes of playing time and Anthony Randolph didn’t get on the court at all.  Both of those guys may have tons of potential, but it’d be a compliment to say they’ve only played miserably.  We need wins and can’t just give our young guys minutes to screw up in hopes that they’ll improve down the road.  These guys need to be growing during practice time, and until they’re consistent there, they shouldn’t be playing.

-Along that line, it was also helpful that Ronny Turiaf didn’t get into foul trouble like he had the previous night in Denver, so he was able to log 30 minutes.

-Toney Douglas finally hit some shots, going 5-for-9 for 12 points in 21 minutes.  He doesn’t need to be on fire like he was during that two-game stretch earlier in the season, but he can’t come in and be a total stinkfest on O.  He’s Toney Tone, not Jared Jeffries.

-Of note is that we only had 14 assists, with Felton only getting 3.  This, to me, further proves my point that our issue is not with the point guard position but rather that our perimeter players haven’t been consistently hitting their outside shots.  We can survive if our shooters have a slightly sub-par night, but not if they have truly awful nights like they’ve been doing.

Hopefully we can use this win to help us sneak into Oakland on Friday and steal a victory back from the Warriors.

Gallinari, apparently bored with the game, throws up his arm ("forget y'all!") and walks away while Melo scores. (Source: Yardbarker.com)

The Knicks, who had been down by as much as 16 points in the fourth quarter, clawed their way back to a tie, only to run out of time in the end against the Denver Nuggets.  For once, the offense didn’t grind to a halt.  However, much like in the game against Golden State, Amar’e Stoudemire had key misses from the free-throw line that likely cost us the game.

Over the last five years, Stat’s free throw percentage has been superb for a big man, ranging from 77.1% to 83.5%.  This year he’s shooting 72%, the worst he’s done since his second year in the league.  Last night he didn’t just shoot poorly for himself at the line, he shot poorly for like Shaq or Dwight Howard, going just 3-of-8 or 37.5%.  In a game decided by two points, that’s pretty huge.  When you miss free throws, particularly if you tend to miss them more toward the end of games, it’s clearly a mental issue.  Stat called out the team after the last game, saying they lacked a winning mentality, but one could easily make a case that he’s been the most responsible for not closing out games.

Though Stoudemire ended up with 24 points on a nice 10-for-19 shooting, he had only 6 rebounds and needs to dramatically improve his shot selection.  He tends to get the ball a little past the free throw line and then likes to try to drive to the side of his defender, getting some contact and putting up an awkward shot.  It only occasionally results in foul shots, but it always results in tougher attempts than had he just shot the open jumper when he caught it.  In fact, there were many times where he caught it in that area, with his man playing several feet off of him, and Stoudemire didn’t even look to shoot, instead passing it off to someone else.  For him to be truly dangerous, he needs to get his defenders to respect that outside shot.  That will force them to close out on him and make it easier for him to drive past them.  Right now they play a step off of him, making his drives tough even when no help defenders come over to clog the lane.

On the other side of the coin, in the world of and-that-guy-is-who?, the game featured two wonderful performances from unheralded rookies.  The Nuggets’ undrafted rookie, small forward Gary Forbes, notched 19 points on 8-of-13 shooting, going 3-for-3 from distance, and adding an impressive 9 rebounds.  Not to be outdone, our own Landry Fields, who many people thought shouldn’t have been drafted, rang in an even more impressive 21 points on 10-of-15 shooting, plus an insane 17 rebounds.  By contrast, our three centers (Timofey Mozgov, Ronny Turiaf and Anthony Randolph) only combined for a paltry 5 boards.

Point guard Raymond Felton also had a good all-around game, with 19 points, 8 rebounds, 11 assists, and only 1 turnover.  Actually, we were pretty darn good in keeping our turns down, only having 11 of ‘em.  Stoudemire too had a good game in that regard, only losing the ball twice.  One thing that seemed to help him get some easier buckets is that often after getting a defensive rebound with his man right on his back, Stat handed off the ball to Felton and then just sprinted down the court.  Felton would then pass the ball ahead to Amar’e who, yes, ugh, would take a few dribbles, but at these points at least there was usually just one defender, and that guy was backpeddling.

Other bits:

-Mozgov and Randolph were useless.  Actually, often they were worse than useless, frequently doing dumb things that hurt the team.  On one play, a Nugget was fouled, and because of continuation, took another step and just lobbed up the ball to ensure he got free-throws.  Randolph came over, trying to be like Kevin Garnett, and swatted the ball away.  However, since it was continuation and not, as KG does, a block on a shot taken after a dead ball, it was goal-tending, giving the Nugs two free points.

-Toney Douglas’ shot still wouldn’t fall, and since he doesn’t really know how to pass like a real point guard, it limits his usefulness.  Luckily, coach Mike D’Antoni seems to have realized this and thus limited Toney to just 16 minutes.

-Too many threes.  Heading into the fourth, the Knicks had already attempted 22 threes, only hitting five of ‘em.  In the fourth, they finally started to hit ‘em, going an excellent 4-for-9, but 31 threes on just 29% shooting is ridiculous.

-Speaking of threes, we’ve seemed to have trouble hitting them and thus keeping the opposing team honest.  Toney, Landry, Danilo Gallinari, Wilson Chandler and Anthony Mason have all been unable to consistently hit from range.  I’ve hoped that Kelenna Azubuike might eventually return and provide that steady threat, however maybe we already have our guy.  Last season, in his 27 games with us, Bill Walker shot an insane percentage from deep.  Last night he went 2-for-3 from downtown, so I was surprised that D’Antoni didn’t reinsert him when we needed a three at the end.  Walker hasn’t been as unconscious as he was in his limited run the previous year, but he’s still shooting a very impressive 36.8% (for comparison sake, since three pointers obviously get you more points than two pointers, shooting 33% from deep is the same as shooting a very impressive 50% from two-point land).  Maybe it’s time for D’Antoni to start giving him more than 14.3 minutes a night?  I dunno.  We clearly need to switch something up and get a boost from somewhere.

-Lastly, although we won the battle of the boards last night, clearly we need help at the center position.  It is thus with heavy heart (and still much confusion) that I write that last year’s surprising end-of-the-year flier, Earl Barron, has finally signed on with an NBA team — the Phoenix Suns.  I assume he’s getting the minimum and it’s just a one-year deal, so I still have no idea why we didn’t bring him back.  Is it really better to instead use that roster spot on keeping Shawne Williams glued to the bench?

Learn the Facts and Fiction behind the Knicks' failure, including the true key factor that took Kevin Love's game to the next level (nope, it wasn't his scoring or his rebounding). (Source: Yardbarker.com)

The Knicks’ slow start to the season seemed ripe for a turnaround over the weekend since they’d be playing against two teams (the Minnesota Timberwolves and Houston Rockets) that had only won two games each and had both looked pretty dang crappy so far.  The Twolves had lost their two starting point guards (Luke Ridnour and Jonny Flynn) to injury, plus for some reason coach Kurt Rambis had been refusing to play his best player (Kevin Love) for more than 24 minutes.

Meanwhile, the Rockets were struggling to form an identity with franchise player Yao Ming not playing in back-to-back games and only appearing in limited minutes.  Were they a group that played through the post in a slow-it-down half court approach, or a jump shooting squad?  With them also losing their starting point guard (Aaron Brooks) and their backup point (Kyle Lowry) having only played one game since returning from back injury, we couldn’t have wished for better set-ups.  On Friday night, the Knicks were up 21 points on the Twolves and it looked like everything would work out.  Less than 48 hours later it had become clear we are in serious crisis mode.

This being New York, of course, utter despair has kicked in, boos have been bombarded, and every little thing has been declared as “the problem.”  No doubt we have many issues, but let’s separate the Fact from the Fiction:

1.  Poor Defense – Fiction

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David Lee returned to New York with style last night. He left in a familiar manner: with the Knicks losing. (Source: Yardbarker.com)

The Knicks dropped to 3-5 with their 122-117 loss to David Lee’s new team, the Golden State Warriors.  While the Warriors have been a laughable team, like the Knicks, for the past few years, this year they’ve started out on a tear.  At 6-2, they actually have are tied for the 4th best record in the league.  Yes, it’s early in the season, so that’s a bit of a mirage, but the point is that while they’re not quite as good as that record would indicate, neither are they as bad as their recent history would indicate.

If you didn’t watch the game, the five point difference might seem large, but really it was a one-point game in the closing seconds, that only was extended to five due to purposeful fouls (the last of which shouldn’t have even happened with only 1.5 seconds left, so really the score should’ve been 120-117).  Likewise, if you just look at the box score, you’d see Golden State shot an insane 52.8% from the field and assume our defense is as awful as it was last year.  The truth though is that our half-court defense was actually pretty darn good at times and definitely got us back in the game, despite being down as much as 19.  So what was the real story?

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The Knicks' ran all over the Wizards Friday, and it was 'cuz everyone knows their role. (Source: Yardbarker.com)

Another potential new Knick blogger, Antony Marino, has fun writing about his take on Friday night’s victory over the Washington Wizards.  Sorry this wasn’t up sooner and that we don’t have anything for the loss against Philly yet.  It’s not that I only look at the Bright Side O’ Life (after all, I’m a %$^#$@& New Yawker) — it’s that my internet at home has gone MIA (no, it hasn’t taken it’s talents to South Beach, c’mon, that’s Missing In Action).  As one who watches Knick games on-line, non-existant interweb provides a serious impediment.  But enough of my belly-achin’ and back to Gufano’s excellent examination of our Friday Night Fight:

Yawn. Another day, another eleven blocks; another Knicks win. Good teams take care of business at home, and good franchises take care of toxic, 19th Century insulation and its resulting vascular liability at home. Or something. Great job all around.

With the John Wall hype machine and a healthy Yosemite Arenas coming to MSG on a Friday Night [Knicks Y’all] there was cause for concern of a letdown. But as has been the case in every game this year, the Knicks showed confidence, character and talent—exposing an inferior team time after time. Each Knick played their role to a “T”, other than young Anthony Randolph (who continues to look like a lost camper mistakenly left at Al Harrington’s Youth Clinic), but why rain on the parade? There is an imperative difference between one who is a “role player” and one who “plays one’s role”. Last night the Knicks continued to exhibit that they are largely composed of the latter. What follows is a giddy description of the roles and actors from last night’s praiseworthy performance against the Washington Walls.

The Wild Card: Bill Walker

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The Knicks victory against the Wizards last night left us giddy as Maria Von Trapp. Before the Nazis came.

Tonight’s win against the Wizards has inexplicably made new official Buckets writer Stan Chin break out into song… be warned though his singing voice has been compared to that of William Hung… and has been found wanting…

Take it away, Stan:

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Who's the Knicks' starting 2-guard? Landry. Landry who? Landry Fields, the rook above from Stanford. (Source: Yardbarker.com)

As many of y’all have probably already heard, second-round draft pick, rookie Landy Fields, has surprisingly won the starting shooting guard spot for opening night.  It had seemed like Wilson Chandler had it wrapped up (particularly with potential best SG fit Kelenna Azubuike still recovering from injury), with Toney Douglas’ inspired play having possibly given him a shot.  So it was quite a shock that Landry, who did have good preseason and summer league performances, came out on top.  A couple of brief thoughts on it:

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Gallinari, like everyone on the Knicks not named Stoudemire, has vacilated between inconsistent and awful. (Yardbarker.com)

While Amar’e Stoudemire has been a Master of Consistent Brilliance during the preseason, his fellow Knicks have been Apprentices at the Temple Of Inconsistency & Mediocrity.  As Buckets’ reader Brendan pointed out in his comments: will anyone else step up?  To have any hope at making the playoffs, let alone securing more than 35 wins, we need at least one more guy to produce regularly at a solid level.

The possibilities for the other rock to lean on have been flawed in both different and similar ways.  Point guard Raymond Felton was supposed to be our other huge upgrade partly because he simply wasn’t Chris Duhon.  While Felton has had a few games with decent assist totals, his shooting has in fact been consistently Duhonesque.  Yup, poor shooting and inconsistent assist numbers hasn’t inspired the Garden Faithful with hope.

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Ray Felton's been coming along slowly. With only one preseason game left, will he be ready when the season starts next week? (Source: Yardbarker.com)

As hard as it is to glean anything from preseason games, it’s even harder when we sit most of our starters, like in last night’s 118-91 pummeling by the Philadelphia Seventy-Sixers.  Coach Mike D’Antoni decided to give Amar’e Stoudemire, Wilson Chandler and Danilo Gallinari the night off.  Throw in the fact that Kelenna Azubuike is still recovering from injury, and it’s quite possible that we had four of our five eventual starters sitting.  How come those particular guys didn’t play?  My guess is because they’re the three guys who’ve had tons of experience playing in D’Antoni’s system so Coach wanted to give the other players more “real” game time to run it.

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New whispers of Carmelo Anthony to the Knicks... for the 17th time. (Source: Yardbarker.com)

Sorry things have been sparse here lately but I’ve been traveling, and now it looks like it’s possible a certain Carmelo Anthony also could travel to the Knicks.  A few weeks ago, it seemed like his trade to the Nets was a sure thing.  Even after that fell through, many journalistic idiots (like say, me) propagated the unfounded rumor that the Denver Nuggets were bitter with the Knicks and refusing to listen to us.  But it turned out, shockingly, that they weren’t running a business worth hundreds of millions of dollars as though they were spiteful five-year olds who when they get mad cover their ears and won’t listen.  They just weren’t enamored with the options we offered them.  According to ESPN.com, things have now changed:

The offers the Knicks have proposed have always centered around packages including Anthony Randolph, the expiring contract of Eddy Curry and a first-round draft pick they would acquire from a third team, and New York has softened its stance on including forward Danilo Gallinari in a trade.

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Earlier in the summer, Amar'e Stoudemire threw out the first pitch. Last night, he threw down for the Knicks for the first time... and it was gooooood. (Source: Yardbarker.com)

Yes, believe it or not, though it’s just pre-season, the Knicks have a winning record thanks to their victory over AJ Milano!  It wasn’t always pretty, with a tight first half and 28 turnovers leading to 31 points, but in the end we comfortably came out on top of Danilo Gallinari’s former Italian team, 125-113. In honor of this being not only our first game with our new nucleus, but also our first winning record in who knows how long, we present you with a Super-Sized Buckets today.

Good News:

-Amar’e Stoudemire went nutzzz, scoring 32 points shooting nearly 77% from the field.  No that’s not a typo, that isn’t his free-throw percentage, that’s his field-goal percentage.  From the line he shot nearly 85%.  He was dominant down low, but also even took one three-pointer, which of course he made.  And he did it in just slightly over 28 minutes.  That’s efficiency fer ya, folks.

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Does Coach Mike D'Antoni think Danilo Gallinari can get any better? See below. (Source: Yardbarker.com)

What are Amar’e Stoudemire’s expectations for the season?  Probably the same as many Knick fans.  ESPNNewYork reports:

Stoudemire said he thinks this season it is the playoffs or failure.  “Anything less than [the playoffs] would not be a success.”

[...] Not making the playoffs could cost Knicks head coach Mike D’Antoni and president Donnie Walsh their jobs.

[Stoudemire also said,] “my dedication is to the city of New York. I came here when the Knicks were down and out. I think the Knicks fans feel the exact same way about me. I think they have my back.”

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Ronny Turiaf (shown here rejecting Baron Davis, aka Boom Dizzle) could be our starting center. But on the other hand, couldn't he remain glued to the bench? (Source: Yardbarker.com)

Yesterday, in Part I of this preview, we discussed how Coach Mike D’Antoni tends to prefer a shorter rotation (meaning a bunch of our 15 person roster won’t see the court) and what types of players excite or disgust him.  One new note, based on a press conference that D’Antoni and Knicks President Donnie Walsh held (which Buckets reader Brendan linked to in the comments section of Part I, and which Chris Sheridan and many others have reported) is that apparently Coach is enamored with Timofey Mozgov after seeing him practice in person for the last few days:

“Have to see how he adapts to the NBA game, but at 7-1, 270 pounds, he’s maybe our most athletic guy, that runs, that’s a great guy, that has great hands and knows how to play,” D’Antoni said. “(Watching him) I’m like, ‘Yeah, what am I missing?’ So I’m happy with him and excited about the possibility. We have a lot of guys we should be excited about the possibilities.”

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Wilson Chandler, aka Wil The Thrill, has been one of the few good Knicks the last two years. Will he be a starter again this season, or could he >gasp< find himself glued to the bench? (Source: Yardbarker.com)

With a few days before training camp and positional battles begin, today we discuss who will likely be the Knick starters, part of the rotation, and the bench boys.  We have considerable depth, but as we said when discussing previews from other sites, Coach Mike D’Antoni has consistently shown himself to be someone who likes a short rotation.  Why?  A combination of it being easier to develop chemistry amongst a smaller group and the fact that he literally doesn’t seem to trust lots of players.

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Donnie Walsh (right) may be smiling about signing Amar'e, but should we be smiling or frowning about Walsh? (source: Yardbarker.com)

The Knicks have spent the last two years (losing and) preparing for this summer, so any evaluation of Donnie Walsh before then was pointless.  It’s still impossible to give a definitive evaluation as he’s wisely set us up with cap space available next year as well as young talent (Danilo Gallinari and Anthony Randolph) that are still developing.  Sure, you can argue that any team can always improve, does that mean you can never give out a final evaluation until the person’s tenure is finished?  No, but for instance, teams like Milwaukee, Atlanta, Dallas, the Lakers and many other teams are over the cap and thus don’t have that much room to significantly change (although actually with Milwaukee since they have the still developing cornerstones of Brandon Jennings and Andrew Bogut it would be too premature to judge them at this point).

A few things about how I evaluate GM/President-types like Donnie Walsh:

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