They have started to get healthy, but one man in particular can be credited for their most recent stretch of good play- Knicks’ center Tyson Chandler.

Feb 4, 2013; New York, NY, USA; New York Knicks center Tyson Chandler (6) during the third quarter against the Detroit Pistons at Madison Square Garden. Knicks won 99-85. Mandatory Credit: Anthony Gruppuso-USA TODAY Sports

The first-time All-Star has been as dominant at both ends of the floor as possibly at any time in his 12-year career. He has been all over the paint defensively, but the work he has put in on the glass as of late has been nothing short of special.

Chandler helped the Knicks defeat the Detroit Pistons on Monday night by grabbing 20 rebounds, doing so for the third consecutive game.

No Knicks’ player has accomplished that since Willis Reed accomplished the feat in December of 1969.

That season ended with a Knicks championship, something Chandler hopes will happen this season as well.

The Knicks have struggled rebounding the basketball all season long, ranking 26th in the NBA, after the most recent stretch of domination, Chandler has helped them climb up to 23rd (41.0 RPG). Hopefully that trend continues and the Knicks keep on crashing the glass at this rate.

It is not that Chandler has been having a bad season, he clearly hasn’t, but something has ignited him as of late.

If a spark needed lit in Chandler, credit Knicks’ head coach Mike Woodson for sparking the fuse, giving Chandler a stern talking to before his latest exploits.

Woodson’s message was clear and that was if Chandler was going to be an All-Star, he had to play like it on every possession.

“I didn’t think he was playing complete basketball,” Woodson told Newsday’s Jim Baumbach. “He was taking possessions off. He wasn’t moving the pace offensively and he wasn’t getting it done in terms of rebounding the basketball. And you can’t be an All-Star in this league and not play like it.”

If Woodson was trying to send a message to Chandler, that message was received loud and clear.

“The last thing you want is for people to start questioning you,” Chandler said. “And I agreed . . . Sometimes you need that. You need a little push.”

It’s no secret that the Knicks feed off Chandler’s energy and emotion. He’s is their emotional leader and when he is providing that on a nightly basis, this Knicks team is very tough to beat.

It’s no coincidence that the Knicks recent winning streak has coincided with Chandler’s improved play.

Now the key is for him to keep it up.

Chandler doesn’t have to grab 20 rebounds a night, but he must continue to play like the dominant center that he is.

I have no doubt that he will do exactly that.

Chandler is a winner, a leader and a pro’s pro. He is the type of player that young big men should emulate.

It’s not always about flash and highlights, but instead about winning and doing your job.

Very few do it better than Chandler.

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

Follow Buckets Over Broadway on Twitter and on Facebook

The winner joins the 1973, 1995 and yesterday’s winner the 1998 Knicks in the Sweet 16.

That brings us to today’s matchup and just like the other ones, you get to vote and decide the winner, who will go onto play the 1995 team in the second round.

Here’s a look at today’s matchup.

1984 New York Knicks: 47-35 regular season; lost in Eastern Conference Semis

1971 New York Knicks: 52-30 regular season; lost in Eastern Conference Finals

The ’84 team, led by a huge season from Bernard King, finished the season third in the Atlantic Division and the No. 5 seed in the East. They were able to sneak by the Detroit Pistons in five games in the first round of the playoffs, but lost in seven games to the Boston Celtics in the second round.

The ’71 team was trying to win a second consecutive championship and was the No. 1 seed in the east. But after defeating the Atlanta Hawks in the first round, they lost in seven games to the Baltimore Bullets, ending their chances of repeating.

Here’s a look at how they stack up against each other.

1984 Knicks

Coach- Hubie Brown

Starters

C- Bill Cartwright (17.0 PPG, 8.4 RPG)

F- Truck Robinson (10.8 PPG, 8.4 RPG)

F-Bernard King (26.3 PPG, 5.1 RPG)

G- Rory Sparrow (10.4 PPG, 6.8 APG)

G- Ray Williams (14.8 PPG, 5.9 APG)

Bench- Louis Orr, Len Elmore, Trent Tucker, Darrell Walker, Ernie Grunfeld, Rudy Macklin

1971 Knicks

Coach- Red Holzman

Starters

C- Willis Reed (20.9 PPG, 13.7 RPG)

F- Dave DeBusschere (15.6 PPG, 11.1 RPG)

F- Bill Bradley (12.4 PPG)

G-Dick Barnett (15.5 PPG)

G- Walt Frazier (21.7 PPG, 6.8 RPG, 6.7 APG)

Bench- Phil Jackson, Dave Stallworth, Cazzie Russell, Mike Riordan, Greg Filmore

My Take: This actually wouldn’t be as close of a game as I thought it would be initially. The ’71 team is loaded and while they were only 14th of 17 teams in scoring at 110.1 PPG, they did lead the league in points against, allowing 105.0 per game.

The ’84 team by comparison scored 106.9 points per game and allowed 103.0, which made them a very good defensive team for that era of basketball.

Cartwright and King could potentially play Reed and DeBusschere to a draw if the ’84 team was lucky, but they have no answer for Frazier, who had one of the finest seasons of his career in ’71. He’s the X-factor and a big reason why the ’71 team wins this going away.

Your Vote: Your vote is the one that counts though, so make sure you vote for the winner in the poll on the right hand side of this page. Voting is open until tomorrow afternoon and the winner will advance to the Sweet 16.

Up Next: We head to the Southeast Region as the No. 1 seed 1993 Knicks take on the No. 8 seed 1952 Knicks.

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

Our opening round matchup of the East Region features the No. 1 seeded 1972-73 team against the no. 8 seed 1950-51 squad.

Their resume’s look like this:

1972-73: 57-25 regualar season and won the NBA championship

1950-51: 36-30 regular season; lost in NBA Finals

The ’73 team was the last Knicks team to win an NBA championship. They finished third in the Atlantic Division that season before going on a roll in the postseason, knocking off the Baltimore Bullets and Boston Celtics before defeating the Los Angeles Lakers in five games to capture the title.

The ’51 team finished third in the Eastern Division before beating the Boston Celtics and Syracuse Nationals to advance to the NBA Finals, losing there in seven games to the Rochester Royals.

Here’s how the two teams stack up against each other.

1972-73

Coach: Red Holzman

Starters:

C- Willis Reed (11.0 PPG; 8.6 RPG; 1973 Finals MVP)

F- Dave DeBusschere (16.3 PPG; 10.2 RPG)

F- Bill Bradley (16.1 PPG)

G- Earl Monroe (15.5 PPG)

G- Walt Frazier (21.1 PPG; 7.3 RPG; 5.9 APG)

Bench: Phil Jackson; Jerry Lucas; John Gianelli; Dick Barnett; Dean Meminger; Henry Bibby

1950-51

Coach: Joe Lapchick

Starters

Vince Boryla (14.9 PPG)

Harry Gallatin (12.8 PPG; 12.1 RPG)

Max Zaslofsky (12.7 PPG)

Connie Simmons (9.2 PPG; 6.5 RPG)

Dick McGuire (8.4 PPG; 6.3 APG; 5.4 RPG)

Bench: Nathaniuel Clifton; Ernie Vandeweghe; Tex Ritter; Ray Lumpp

My Take: The 1973 team is just a a great team filled with great players who accomplished what hasn’t been accomplished by players wearing Knicks jerseies in almost 40 years.

Their starting five will be tough for any Knicks team to matchup with in this tournament and should go on to win this game fairly easy.

Your Vote: Your vote is the one that counts though, so make sure you vote for the winner in the poll on the right hand side of this page. Voting is open until tomorrow afternoon and the winner will advance to the Sweet 16. DeBusschere is going to be the difference maker in this one as his ability to not only score, but crash the glass will give the ’73 Knicks a big edge.

Up Next: Check back tomorrow to not only see who wins this matchup but also vote on the second game in the East Region, featuring (2) 1994-95 Knicks vs. (7) 1977-78 Knicks.

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

Follow Buckets Over Broadway on Twitter and on Facebook

The Lakers visit MSG.

Anytime Kobe Bryant and the Lakers return to MSG; it is a must watch. These are two of the most recognized franchises in all of sports. It also features two of the greatest cities in the world going up against one another.

This will be one of the toughest tickets to get all season. All the big time celebrity’s will be out for this one. For their game at MSG last season, tickets on Stub Hub were going for more money than tickets for the games against the Heat. This will be the second match up of the season between the two teams. They play in Los Angeles on November 17; one night after Carmelo Anthony and Chauncey Billups return to Denver.

The Lakers are not the same team, and Kobe is not the same player, but both are still pretty good. They will also not have Phil Jackson as their head coach. Jackson retired and former Cavs coach Mike Brown now takes over. No Phil takes a little bit away from the match up, considering how well he is remembered as a former Knick and Chicago Bull’s head coach.

There are only so many more times where Knick fans will get to see Kobe play at the Garden, at the top of his game. Additionally, with Carmelo, the Knicks now have a team that can compete with Kobe and the Lakers. It can easily be one of those nights where both superstars go mano y mano and put on a show for the Garden faithful.

When thinking about Knicks vs. Lakers at the Garden, who can ever forget game 7 of the 1970 NBA Finals. Willis Reed shocked the world by coming out on one leg, hitting his first two jumpers of the game. The Knicks went on to blow out the Lakers and win the NBA title.

Overall the Lakers have had a significant edge in the regular season match ups. They lead the series all time 162-111, and in recent years the match up has been extremely one sided. They have won 8 in a row, and going back to the 2001-2002 season, have won 16 of 20.

The Lakers have been one of the best teams in the league, whereas the Knicks have been one of the worst The Knicks can only hope their luck against the Lakers will change with Carmelo and Amar’e leading the way.

By Rob Bonanni

Imagine if these guys all were young at the same time and played together. Wait, but since Willis Reed and Patrick Ewing both played center, you can only pick one of 'em. Ay, there's the rub. (Source: Yardbarker.com)

Right now ESPN.com has a great little thing where for each team in the league you can vote on who their greatest player was for each position.  For the Knicks, do you go Patrick Ewing or Willis Reed at center?  You gotta go Walt Frazier at point, and sorry, Bill Bradley, but Bernard King was unstoppable at small forward.  Shooting guard I’m inclined to go with Earl The Pearl, but I’ve never seen Richie Guerin play, so maybe he has a case?  And if the team is playing with today’s three point line and we’re thinking who’d mesh best together, maybe instead the two should be Allan Houston to stretch out the other team’s defense and keep ‘em honest.  At power forward, for some reason they list David Lee, even though he pretty much just played center.  I’m not picking him, of course, just pointing out that it’s odd that he’s in this category.  Probably you should go with Dave DeDebusschere, although I grew up worshiping at the altar of Charles Oakley, and particularly if you chose Ewing over Reed, then you need an enforcer.

(more…)

Now you can find old pictures of Willis Reed on places other than a Wheaties box. Look below to find out where. (source: Yardbarker.com)

We’ll take a little break from putting Donnie Walsh under cross-fire and instead check out some Knick notes from around the interweb.  First off, earlier this morning Team USA pulled off the win against Russia, yet one of the two Ruskies who played really well was none other than incoming Knickerbocker, Timofey Mozgov.  Over on Posting & Toasting, Seth noted the following things (amongst others):

- Timofey backed up Sasha Kaun and definitely outplayed him. He probably could’ve snatched more of Kaun’s minutes had he not been in foul trouble throughout the game. Be it on loose balls, moving screens, or shot contests, Mozgov is a physical player, and his timing and positioning will have to be a little sharper if he ever wants to get major NBA minutes. That said, Mozgov won’t be getting major minutes this season, so he’s welcome to foul away. The Knicks could use that physicality…well, maybe not the moving screens.

- One of Mozgov’s fouls came when Derrick Rose drove to the rim and Timo pasted his shot against the backboard. The refs whistled a phantom foul, but not a single Knicks fan saw the call because we were all changing our underpants.

There’s more good stuff in the post, so check it out.

(more…)

The Good:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Carl Braun, who was chosen for five consecutive All-Star games as a member of the New York Knicks, died Wednesday of natural causes. He was 82.

Braun died in Florida, the team said. He is the second former Knicks star to die in a week. Hall of Famer Dick McGuire, Braun’s teammate, passed away Feb. 3.

“Carl Braun was the first superstar of the New York Knicks and a cornerstone of our franchise’s early success,” team president Donnie Walsh said in a statement. “Watching him play at the old Garden was a privilege for us New Yorkers in the 1940s and ’50s. He is a true legend in our sport and he will be missed.”

Braun was an All-Star from 1953 to 1957 — he missed the 1956 game because of injury — and retired as the team’s career scoring leader with 10,449 points. He’s still in fifth place on the career list behind Patrick Ewing, Walt Frazier, Willis Reed and Allan Houston.

“As a young New York Knicks fan in the ’50s, I spent hours trying to emulate Carl’s patented over-the-head shot,” NBA commissioner David Stern said. “Carl was one of the NBA’s early great shooters, an All-Star fixture on those Knicks teams and, most importantly, a great friend to all who knew him.”

Born on Sept. 25, 1927, in Brooklyn, Braun also spent two seasons as the Knicks’ player/coach before ending his career in 1961-62 with the NBA champion Boston Celtics.

Braun is survived by his wife, Joan, four daughters and six grandchildren.

After scouring the internet, I was amazed at the dearth of material on Dick McGuire.  Here was one of the greats, and the only footage I could find of him playing bball was on MSG’s memorial for him.  In an age where every moment is recorded of people who are famous simply for being famous (like Paris Hilton or Jon&Kate), it’s sad that the exploits of a true pioneer will likely fade away into nothingness eventually.  How many websites do we need devoted to David Hasselhoff?  It’s up to us to keep our history alive.  How many great films, great books, great songs have been lost?  Someone recently said to me that the reason most books from before 1900 haven’t stood the test of time is because they weren’t that great.  I have a hard time believing that.  Yes, they may not have been Shakespeare, but that doesn’t mean they didn’t have books that if they came out today would be considered one of the top 50 books of the year.  It’s also not just about whether things from the past are as “good” as things in the present, it’s about understanding how things have evolved.

For instance, one silent film which was considered a shocker at the time it came out was the original “The Great Train Robbery.”  If you watch it today, well, probably the recent “Taking Of Pelham One Two Three” is more suspenseful to our modern sensibilities.  However, the key to appreciating “The Great Train Robbery” is understanding why it was a shocker.  It wasn’t about the plot.  It was about a shot that they showed at the very beginning, and then the exact same shot shown at the very end.  It’s completely unremarkable to you and me.  It’s just a guy looking at us (ie.the camera) and shooting his gun.  The thing is that up until that point, they’d never had a person look right at the camera before, so when he shot that gun, the audience was literally instinctively afraid that he was shooting at them.  They ducked to the side.  In a sense, it was to them what the first 3-D films were to our times.  That’s incredible.

Similarly, while doing a bit of research on McGuire, naturally a lot of things came up about his contemporary dribbling maestro, Bob Cousy.  There’s an anecdote on him that reminds me of Michael Jordan’s famous improvised shot against the Lakers.  The one where he went up in the air for a right-handed lay-in, then seeing Sam Perkins preparing to block it, mid-air MJ switched the ball to his left hand and flipped it in.  Here’s the description of Cousy in a 1949 college game from an old Sports Illustrated article:

(more…)