This Is Playoff Level Jumper Technique (AP)

It’s finally come, after six mega-failure seasons, an Amar’e Stoudemire signing, and a blockbuster acquisition of Carmelo Anthony, the Knicks are back in the playoffs. Not that I’d gotten used to New York’s drought or anything, but this almost feels like we’re breaking the rules; like we aren’t supposed to be in the postseason; like to play basketball in May is to taste a forbidden fruit. But damn, doesn’t forbidden fruit taste the best? Hop the stile. Playoff/Clyde Frazier tribute edition.

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First, despite popular wisdom, the Knicks actually do play some very good defense at times.  Wilson Chandler, Landry Fields, Ronny Turiaf and Toney Douglas have been great at scrambling all over the court and causing chaos, while Raymond Felton can be quite the bulldog on D himself.  And Amar’e, while simply awful at one-on-one defense, can be a good help shot blocker.  Thus we’ve actually had several games where our D clamped down at the end of the games and really save the day for us.  So why am I complaining today — is it just because we lost?  No, it’s because this time D’Antoni came up with a specific defensive game plan that I feel put us in a big hole.  What was it?

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To Become Believers, The Monkees Needed To See Her Face. For Basketball Fans, They Needed To See Some Knick Victories Over Quality Opponents.

The New York Knicks win over the Denver Nuggets should turn even the skeptics into believers, writes Stan Chin:

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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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Before Darko came to the Knicks last season, he worked on his "Blue Steel" look. This summer he decided instead to work on his game. Turns out that was more useful. Go figure.

Former bench boy Knick Darko Milicic returned to New York with his new team, the Minnesota Timberwolves, hoping to issue another beat down.  Antony Marino had this to say about it:

Just sixty minutes before one of the great disasters in American aviation history, the New York Knicks—victorious in nine out of ten games—prepared for payback against the Minnesota Timberwolves. Whether it is more obviously absurd that the Knicks had accomplished this brilliant feat or that any NBA team should have to avenge a loss to the hapless Wolves, I cannot say. Nevertheless, it was sure to be a winnable game, and with the soft underbelly of the 2010 schedule fading fast, it was a game the Knicks had to have.

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To donate to the FanSided and Site5 Holiday Season Charity Drive and help us help the BGCA help our children, visit this link.

Here are some things I’m thankful for in the world o’ Knicks (feel free to add your own thankful bits in the comments section below):

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Walt "Clyde" Frazier Splendidly Showing Sensational Sartorial Skills

Buckets writer Antony Marino’s recap of the New York Knicks’ victory over the New Jersey Nets explains how it was all about Learning To Lead And Leather Suits:

Last night a team of New York Knickerbockers with “no valuable assets*” foolishly pushed caution to the wind and actually consented to compete against a New Jersey Nets squad with an “exciting young core.*”  In the game of basketball.  In public.  On TV.  I know.  An untimely demise would certainly meet the foolhardy clowns that dared to face the future [current] power of Brooklyn [Newark], but from whence would it come? The lightning quick Devin Harris (you, sir, are not a point guard, but I will defend to my death your right to say that you are)? The quantum leaping Travis Outlaw (your titanic lack of basketball IQ is only rivaled in absurdity by your yearly salary)? The highly-touted rookie Derrick Favors (lots of guys would sit on the bench behind Kris Humphries, just not typically in the NBA)? The unstoppable Brook Lopez (okay, you are absolutely fantastic at basketball)? I, like many  prognosticators of Knick failure, waited in baited breath for this much maligned group of uncoordinated, orange and blue mouth-breathers to finally show their true colors, but alas this moment never came.

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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.

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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.

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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Amar'e Stoudemire's struggled to create good looks for himself, but even though the Knicks lost last night, he took a step forward. (Source: Yardbarker.com)

Last night’s game against the Milwaukee Bucks was over by the end of the first quarter, which left us down by 22 points.  In the end, yes, we lost by 27 points, but really they only added to their lead at the very end when we played the bench dregs for almost the entire fourth quarter.  One might be tempted to say that since we scored only 80 points that our offense was the problem, and yes, it sure was awful, but really it all came down to that lack of defense in the first quarter.

Truth is it wasn’t just that our D wasn’t as crisp as it could’ve been, but also that the Bucks just were on fire.  They scored 41, but then we clamped down, limiting them to 23, 26 and 17 in the final three quarters.  And they only got 26 in the third thanks to an at-the-buzzer-shot, so we practically kept them under 25 points a quarter after that disastrous first one.  Here are a four things that I’m concerned/thinking about:

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10.Because Jared taught Wilson Chandler how to keep a single facial expression for 48 minutes straight.

The many facesface of ILL Wil.

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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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Stoudemire's 1st Knick game in NYC may not have resulted in a win, but it set the tone for a great, gritty, exciting rebirth of a season (Source: Yardbarker.com)

The Knicks lost both games this weekend, including the home opener against Portland where we led by 9 points with under six minutes remaining, but make no mistake: these are not last year’s Knicks.  We had tight games against both the Boston Celtics and the Portland Trail Blazers, two teams who, as I wrote in my pre-season Power Rankings, I believe are amongst the top five teams in the entire league.  Throw in the fact that in the last two minutes of the Blazers game we played some great lockdown defense, and clearly you should ignore the opening to the snarky recap by the Associated Press:

The elaborate pregame festivities were designed to emphasize that these are the “new” New York Knicks.

Crunch time was the same ol’ story.

Neither weekend game was anything like ones from previous years, so let’s look at what can be gleaned from them in order to better understand our new-look Knicks.  Last year we frequently had to examine things Clint Eastwood-style, checking out the Good, the Bad & the Ugly.  Life is looking up this season, so now and then we’ll check out a game’s ART (the Awful, the Remarkable & the Terrific):

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This is how the game would've looked to you if you were a piece of the hardwood. Reason #431 why it's good not to be a floor board. (Source: Yardbarker.com)

The Knicks won their season opener 98-93 over the Toronto Raptors, thanks largely not to Amar’e Stoudemire but to the just-relegated-to-the-bench Wilson Chandler.  Just last week we asked who would be the Knicks #2 behind Stat.  Danilo Gallinari was the runaway favorite by our voters, followed by Raymond Felton and even Toney Douglas before we got to Chandler.  Okay, in fairness, after Gallo the next highest total was that a different player would step up each night, and chances are that’s what’ll happen rather than Chandler regularly being this unstoppable.

What are the takeaways from this game?  Just as we said during the preseason that there’s a danger into reading into too much from those games, clearly it’s equally presumptuous to make large scale assumptions based on a single game.  But that won’t stop me.  Here are my comments: (more…)

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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Anthony Randolph, still figuring out the game of basketball, apparently didn't know that you're not supposed to lift up the other guy and carry him to the basket. Talk about embarrassing. (Source: Yardbarker.com)

Sorry this didn’t come out earlier, but here are my belated thoughts on Knicks-Celts pre-season game #1 (they play again on Sunday in the neutral territory of Hartford, Connecticut):

-Many questioned whether Amar’e Stoudemire was worth the $100 million contract, and so far he’s been a man amongst boys.  He had another insane evening where he shot nearly 70% from the field, plus he got to the free throw line an impressive 15 times.  In just 27 minutes.  However, again the rebounds were anemic at just 5.  But he did also get 2 blocks, so at least he’s looking to protect the basket a bit more than he has the last couple of years.  Warning, most of the rest of this post is negative after this.

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The Knicks may've lost to the TWolves, but Wilson Chandler may've proved his worth after his lackluster training camp performance. (Source: Yardbarker.com)

Playing in Paris, the new-look Knicks’ first game against a NBA opponent, resulted in them coming in second place to the lowly Minnesota Timberwolves, 106-100.  Many people (including yours truly) feel that this year the TWolves could be the worst team in the league, so it ain’t a great sign that we lost to ‘em.  Still, as it is pre-season, just as one can’t read too much into our win on Monday against Milan, neither can ya read too much into a loss here.  Then again, we’ve got nuthin’ better to do, so let’s voice our concerns, knowing full well that by the next game they may be obsolete.

Except for the rooks (oh, and all the healthy players got minutes today), pretty much everyone else looked worse than in the first game.  Amar’e Stoudemire managed only 11 points on 36% shooting.  Will that bring back out all the nay-sayers who said he’d struggle without Steve Nash giving him easy feeds.  I hope not.  Two games does not a sample size make.

The turnovers were lower (19) than last game, but still not low enough.  The two other main issues I brought up also came back to haunt us in this outing:

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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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Rookie Landry Fields (L) has shown he may be able to play in the NBA. However, Andy Rautins (R) has been eh. Should we write him off as dead weight (no offense intended to you, Eddy Curry) (Source: Yardbarker.com)

A few days ago I linked to an article that claimed the Denver Nuggets wouldn’t pursue Carmelo Anthony trade talks to us because they believed the Knicks had inappropriately engaged in back channel conversations with Melo during the summer.  As some pointed out, it oddly wasn’t pointed out what we’d done, leaving us confused and surprised.  We’re not alone.  RealGM reports Knicks’ President Donnie Walsh had this to say about the Nugs giving us the cold should ‘cuz they think we’re big ol’ cheaters:

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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Sure, Rudy can juggle a basketball but he's still not 1st round pick worthy

In an odd new rumor it appears the Blazers front office appears to have forgotten who they’re shopping around the league. There have been new reports saying the Blazers want at least a 1st round pick for a guy who is coming off a season where he was given a chance to start and perform but failed miserably.

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Remember when Eddy Curry was a McDonald's All-American High Schooler with unlimited potential? Now, due to all the money he made from the Knicks, he's off somewhere potentially eating unlimited McDonald's. (source: Yardbarker.com)

Not only did Eddy Curry fail to show up at Las Vegas Summer League like he was supposed to do, but he also never told the team why. As a vet, he was under no obligation to play on Summer League (and it’s quite rare for players with as many years in the NBA as him to do so). However, he said he was gonna come, so it’s not too much to ask him to be a professional. He’s been supposedly rehabbing his knee, but this season he needs to rehab something in even worse shape: his career. Coach Mike D’Antoni has said the starting center spot is open, so Curry still has a chance to show the Knicks (and more importantly the league since his contract’s ending) that he can be productive.

On the brighter side, however, Amar’e Stoudemire, Anthony Randolph, Wilson Chandler and and new Russian center Timofey Mozgov did all show up to workout with the coaches for a few days. Why Vegas rather than New York? First, ‘cuz the assistant coaches were involved in summer league. Second, Team USA is also gearing up for practices in Sin City shortly. D’Antoni will again be an assistant on that team, while Amar’e (along with former Knick David Lee) is one of the players who was invited to compete for a spot.

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

The following comes from my friend Shai:

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

What exactly are you expecting to happen?

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Should we have Sergio Rodriguez, JR Giddens and Bill Walker return next year for us? It's time to start thinking these things through. (source: Yardbarker.com)

In a homage to the seminal band The Clash, I present the beginning of the “Should I Stay Or Should I Go Now?” series where we look at each of the Knicks’ 2009-2010 players and examine whether… well, whether they should stay or go. We’ll be discussing not simply if they were good for us or not, but also factoring in how much it would cost to retain them, how it would effect our salary cap space, and what role we would want from them. For instance, it’s a no-brainer we don’t want to pay Chris Duhon $6 million to be our starting point guard again. However, giving him the veterans’ minimum of like $1+ million to be the backup (or simply a bench/practice presence) becomes a far more interesting question.

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

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

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

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

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

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Earlier this week, Walsh questioned the value of Chris Bosh. Sources close to Walsh believe Walsh would rather retain Lee for smaller contract then a max contract on Bosh.

Well Donnie, things won’t pan out like that. Lee is absolutely fed up with being underpaid and has contributed just as much if not more then Bosh has done with Toronto.

If we intend to keep Lee it’s going to have be a long-term deal worth a lot more money then Lee is currently making. Lee is one of the most consistent players in the league and has been nothing short of sensational since being drafted here. Lee is a workhorse who’s earned the right to maybe even a max contract, just not from us.

Bosh is a player you can build around, Lee is some you can’t. Toronto blew up a great core by adding Barngani and Turkgolu to produce one of the worst defensive teams in recent memory. Bosh and Lee both play for teams with minimal talent, but Bosh is the better player now.

Bosh is a game-changer and adding him to this team would be huge, but that would also mean the end for Lee. Lee deserves to be on a good team and as it stands right now Walsh has no interest in paying him the money he deserves.

There’s also been rumblings of trading Wilson Chandler. Chandler, another starter has been solid all season long and recently lost his father. Now, with a few games left in the season trade talks start to surface that the Knicks are looking to move Chandler?

I’m not going to put all the blame on Donnie, but this is just setting a bad president going forward into this summer.

Gallo didn't shy away from contact ...which seemed to include head pats mussing up his hair plus kidney bunny punches (source: Yardbarker.com)

Friday night, David Lee missed his first game of the season due to a sore right knee.  What made it hurt as much for fans as it did for him is the fact that he inexplicably played 40+ minutes in the previous game even though we were getting blown away by the Celtics.  However, in the continuing saga of a bizarre season where nothing makes sense: we won.  What made the win against the Philadelphia Seventy-Sixers even more unlikely? Our second (or third?) best player, Wilson Chandler, missed the game again due to injury (at this point it’s possible Wil might not return this season).  Throw in that our fourth best player, Tracy McGrady went 0-for-7 in 29 minutes.  Gently stir and mix in that our replacement starting center, Jonathan Bender, left the game when he broke a finger on his left hand in the first half (which’ll cause him to miss the rest of the season).

Yup, East is West, Black is White, Up is Down.  I’m pretty darn good at math, but I can’t figure out the calculus of how we won this thing. You figure, well, Al Harrington must’ve had one of those nights when he exploded.  Nope, the dude played 40 minutes, yet only tossed in 11 points on a pathetic 25% field-goal shooting.  We came into the fourth quarter trailing.  We’d been down as much as 12 points.  The Sixers, who killed us on the boards in the last game (as most teams do), even had their point guard snag 8 rebounds — yet somehow they lost the battle of the boards by a sizable 13 of ‘em!  It’s like this game took place in Bizarro World or something.  In a bit of nostalgia, Coach Mike D’Antoni played Chris Duhon an astounding 31 minutes.  In a ton of normalcy, Duhon responded with three points on 20% shooting and not a single assist.  Nice to see some things don’t change.  EVER. (more…)

Is it just me or have the Knicks looked a little different lately?

With the Knicks racking two wins in a row, rumors have really rapidly run rather rampantly.  Is it true that the players’ life-forms have been inhabited by aliens?  How else do you explain wins over a top team like Atlanta, ending Dallas’ 13 game winning streak in a blow-out, and not playing down to Philadelphia’s level last night and losing like we like to do?  We here at Buckets Over Broadway are not afraid to plunge into such hard-hitting journalistic investigations to uncover the truth for you.  Are these the same Knick players we’ve known all year?  Or are they hosts to a possibly hostile race of space creatures who’ve come to slowly yet surely destroy any sense of logic in our world, thus creating chaos, leaving us unable to know up from down, and easy pickings for interplanetary conquest?  At this point, either seems feasible.  Let’s compare what clues point towards being a Knick versus an Alien:

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Joe Johnson – Atlanta Hawks

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

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

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

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

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

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Sadly, Big Al goes in for the layup even if it means shoving others aside. (Source: Yardbarker)

Maybe all the cold weather in New York this year has made the Knicks think it’s still Christmas, ‘cuz they’ve been non-stop giving out the gift of victories to any team that comes near them.  The New Jersey Nets, who had won only 6 our of 61 games, were on a path to be the team with the worst record in NBA history.  The previous record low is only 9 games (out of an 82 game season) held by Washington in like 1982 or something (their leading scorer was Fred Carter).  If the Nets kept at that 6 of 61 pace, they not only would’ve been unable to win more than those 9 games, they wouldn’t have even won 9.  Now though at 7 of 62 after we let them whup us on Saturday, suddenly they’re on pace to out-do those 9 games.  Not a bad gift from their cross-river rivals?  This is one mark in the record book for which ya don’t wanna become famous.

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Wilson Chandler missed his second game, er I mean first game, since that game I imagined against the Cavs was just a bad dream.  Al Harrington started in his place, and Big Al kept his hot streak going.  He was hitting three-

pointers like they were going outta style.  Wait, “going out of style?”  What kind of dumb expression is that?  I feel like in today’s style conscious society, if something’s going out of style we try to instantly get rid of it, not accumulate ‘em.  Maybe in the old days if you knew a pair of pants were going out of style you might get a bunch of ‘em before they disappeared forever, but now it’s gotta be the opposite, right?  Like what kind of idiot would I be if I put up an Obama “Yes We Can” poster now?  Or if I decided that the way to make big money is through internet start-ups and real estate?  Actually, real estate might be coming back, but then that’s more like going retro.  Like getting me a pair of moon boots now might be kinda fun, but back when that fad was dying we knew they were awful even at the time.  Sorry, sorry, I’m rambling.  Where was I?

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We were up by 5 points with about two minutes to go in regulation, and it looked like we’d have a nice win.  But then we let ‘em score 6 unanswered points, with the last five happening in a mere 18 seconds.  Yikes.  Al Harrington hit only one of two free-throws to tie it up.  Then Harrington got a layup and a foul, meaning a chance to give us a  nice three-point game with 32 seconds left.  But again Harrington missed the gimme.  And in less than 7 seconds we let ‘em score and tie it up.  And while Harrington could’ve iced the game if he’d hit those two free-throws, if it wasn’t for him we wouldn’t have even been there in the first place.

Big Al shot a nice 12-of-21 from the field for 37 points.  He hit 5-of-8 three-pointers.  Yet somehow from the closer range of the free-throw line, and with no defenders, he shot about the same, 66%, missing 4 freebies.  The overtime was also odd, ‘cuz all game long it was just an offensive fest.  Washington rang up from 26-30 points in each quarter (we ranged from 24-31).  Yet in the five minute overtime, they managed only 4 points.  And we had only 6.  And we only got those last two points with seconds left, thanks to David Lee.  Of note, TMac, who had another solid game with 23 points, did not play at the end of regulation or during overtime (I’m unsure if this was due to his knee hurting or a lack of conditioning).

TMac's been great about driving to the hole rather than settling for the jumper... when he's able to make it on the court

Last thought about that game.  As some of you know, I used to write a Clippers blog (even though I’m a New Yorker, I currently live in Los Angeles and have pathetically adopted the Clips as my secondary team).  As a result, it was bizarre noticing this version of the Wizards had five, count ‘em, five former Clippers.  The day of the game they signed former Clip prodigy (before a devastating accident), Shaun Livingston (who sadly had a costly turnover for the Wiz late in the game), plus newly acquired Al Thornton, James Singleton, Quinton Ross and Earl Boykins.  I mean knowing how bad the Clips are/have always been, how dumb do you have to be to acquire five of ‘em?  And not even just any five, but five who pretty much always came off the bench.  So you’re not just choosing players from a bad team, you’re choosing players who couldn’t get much playing time even when they were on an awful team?  Moving on…

Saturday’s loss to the Memphis Grizzlies, we remained competitive for most of the game, even taking a lead into the fourth quarter.  Once again, Al Harrington was unstoppable.  31 points on 18 shots.  Again he was on fire from three-world, hitting better than 50% at 6-of-11.  And again, oddly, he was worse with free throws, making only 3-of-6.  McGrady had his first terd of a game, 0 points and 2 assists in only 15 minutes before having to sit out the whole second half due to knee pain (yikes!).  The thing that really killed the Knicks though was the rebounding disparity.  The Grizz used their superior length to outrebound us by 20 rebounds.  Pathetically, we allowed former Knick Zach Randolph to get a career high in rebounds with 25.  Our team, combined, managed to get just 32 boards.  Yup, one man almost outboarded our whole frickin’ team.

Comedian Tracy Morgan (from TV's "30 Rock"), watching the Knicks get whupped on the boards, ain't laughing

Last thoughts:

-D’Antoni has started regularly playing new acquisition Bill Walker, ‘cuz he’s been impressed with his athleticism.  Walker does have potential, so it’s nice to see him get some run so we can determine if he can be a piece down the road.

-Sergio Rodriguez didn’t have that non-stop energy in Saturday’s game.  Maybe he was tired from the back-t0-back, or just from being on a team where he often didn’t play at all to now getting big minutes and needing to initiate everything.

"Oh my God, your jaw is so strong & square! I must touch it!"

-As much crap as we’ve given Chris Duhon here over the last few months, we oughta comment that the dude has been pure class since not only losing his starting gig, but also losing all minutes whatsoever.  He’s gone beyond being a professional about it.  Always the first guy jumping up and cheering, and he seemed as thrilled as anyone when the Knicks pulled out the Wiz game.  He even issued a statement acknowledging that he sucked and that he was given MORE than enough of a chance to right things but he couldn’t, so he thinks it’s a good move to go another direction.  And I used to think a classy guy meant someone who didn’t eat with their fingers.

-Danilo Gallinari and Wilson Chandler, despite being the only key players who’ll definitely be here next year, remain marginalized in the offense, usually getting at best the fourth or fifth shot attempts.  And mostly getting those off of broken-down plays rather than having plays run specifically for them.  This is a very, very bad trend.

Chandler rarely gets the ball 'cuz he takes low percentage shots like this. Oh wait, he drove past his man for an easy dunk. ...Hmmm, then I dunno why he don't get the rock more.

And New Yorkers are buying into this hook, line & worm (why is it supposed to be sinker — I mean when a fish really falls for it he goes after the worm, much like an alcoholic with a bottle of tequila).  Darren Rovell who discuses the business side of sports tweeted yesterday that “Knicks 2010/11 tickets went on presale last Thursday. They’re on record pace, having sold 770 new tickets so far.”  Record pace???  Do fans realize we haven’t signed ANYONE yet?  If we end up looking like we’re gonna suck, even one-legged Tracy McGrady will look to leave town.  So this is a two-part look at what to realistically expect.  Part II will be sometime next week.

Let’s look at this first based on the available teams.  First, here are the ones who’ll be competing for poaching rights:

New York Knicks: $18.64 million in 2010-11 payroll
Miami Heat: $26.07 million in 2010-11 payroll
New Jersey Nets: $26.63 million in 2010-11 payroll
Chicago Bulls: $31.85 million in 2010-11 payroll
Los Angeles Clippers: $33.53 million in 2010-11 payroll

Sacramento Kings: $34.0 million in 2010-11 payroll

The Washington Wizards and Minnesota Timberwolves could also conceivably get in on the bidding, but they seem unlikely to join the chase.  I doubt Sacramento will even seriously look into trying to grab a big name and instead will prefer to build up a bit more from the ground up through draft picks.  It’s also kinda erroneous to list Miami as only having about $26 million.  Well, first the reason I list them even that low is ‘cuz I assume there’s no way they pick up James Jones’ $4.6 million option.  However, what makes them even lower is that their payroll includes Dwayne Wade’s $17.15 million contract that he’s said he’s gonna opt out of.  In other words, they’ll have less than $10 million in committed contracts!  So they could pay a max salary to both Wade & LeBron and still have say $10 million to offer to say Carlos Boozer.

Next let’s look at what each of the five teams has to offer (I’m excluding Sac).

The Knicks:

1. the second most cap space (after Miami),

2. the mass market of New York to provide much richer endorsement deals and better national exposure,

3. Perhaps the allure of playing at Madison Square Garden, aka “The Mecca of Basketball”,

4. An open and willing wallet (& now a well-respected GM in Donnie Walsh to make you feel they’ll spend wisely),

5. Coach Mike D’Antoni has a good rep as a “player’s coach” and as an assistant coach on Team USA he’s actually worked with most of these guys before.

Cons: 1. David Lee could likely be gone, meaning they’d be coming to a team with literally only Danilo Gallinari and Wilson Chandler (oh yeah, plus Eddy Curry in the trainer’s room),

2. Perhaps a feeling that you’d have to sorta start from nothing.

The Heat:

1.For Wade it’s the only team he’s known(&he’d get more $), and for others it might feel less risky to jump with someone else to a brand new team rather than to join someone on their current team,

2. No income taxes in Florida,

3. Perhaps Pat Riley?,

4. A solid young player in Michael Beasley, and

5. The weather (& yes, that is a real factor for players).

Cons: 1.For some players it might actually be less appealing to join “Wade’s team” rather than go with him to a new place where it could be “our team” (kinda like how it’s usually better for a young couple to move into a new place rather than say just the gal moving into the guy’s place ‘cuz then it’ll always feel like “his place.”),

2.The fact that the Heat/Riley haven’t really looked for help for Wade since the championship year might make some concerned (including Wade) that this isn’t a franchise that will do whatever it takes to win the trophy.

The Nets:

1. Jay-Z is part-owner (& you bet that’s a factor for this hip-hop idolizing generation),

2. Will be moving to Brooklyn, giving it that New York mass market appeal, plus a chance to sorta “recreate” this franchise from the ground up in this new location,

3. Potentially a stud rookie (like John Wall),

4. Some decent players in the spots that are often toughest to fill: Brook Lopez at center and Devin Harris at point.

Cons: 1. They will be coming off a season where they were either the historically worst team ever or darn close to it,

2. It’ll be at least one year, if not two or more, until the team does actually make it to Brooklyn and the crowds ain’t been stellar in Jersey,

3.Uninspiring coach and front office,

4. If the NY angle is exciting, why wouldn’t ya just go to the Knicks?

The Bulls:

1.A chance to play alongside a franchise player in Derrick Rose, as well as solid pieces like Joakim Noah and Luol Deng,

2. Get to play in the house that Jordan built,

3. For Wade a chance to go home,

4.Good media market and good city.

Cons: 1. You’re playing in the house that Jordan built so you’ll likely always be second in the city’s heart to him,

2.Not enough $ to get a second max player so you’d have to feel that the addition of you alone can turn this team into a contender,

3. Questionable coach in Vinny Del Negro, and a timid front office that’s proven to be afraid to go all in (like by refusing to give up Luol Deng for Pau Gasol).

The Clippers:

1.Best nucleus of players with Baron Davis at point, potential all-star second-year player Eric Gordon at shooting guard, Blake Griffin at power forward, and Chris Kaman at center.  Throw in LeBron James at small forward and they could be contenders ‘cuz you could make a legit argument that the Clips would be stronger at every position than the Cavs supporting cast,

2. The huge market of Los Angeles,

3. The warm weather and Hollywood connections/glamor of LA,

4. A chance to do the impossible and turn a cursed laughingstock into a champion.  Even Jordan couldn’t have saved the Clips,

5. The chance to out-do Kobe Bryant in his own arena.

Cons: 1. It’s the Clippers,

2. Cheapskate owner Donald T. Sterling, so basically what you see is what you get — don’t expect any help walking through that door,

3.The injury curse — Wade gets hurt enough as it is, if he joined the Clips his torso would probably fall off his legs,

4. It’s Kobe’s arena and it’s a Laker town, even LeBron bringing the Clips three championships in a row still might not catapult him and the team to town favorite,

5. It’s the Clippers.

That disclaimer aside, the Knicks played worlds better against the Celtics (a team that’s one of only like 4 or 5 legit title contenders at this point), plus this good showing was in Boston so they didn’t even have the home crowd behind them.  Well, there was one exception.  New acquisition, Eddie House, got a standing ovation from his former fans.  Likewise, new Celtic, our former L’il Him, Nate Robinson, got tons of applause when he checked into the game to play his first minutes as a Celt (Krypto-Nate had been ill so he hadn’t played in any of Boston’s last few games).

Happily, once again Chris Duhon did not get off the bench (I believe I may’ve seen him wearing a suit, so maybe he wasn’t even on the active list for the game).  Sergio Rodriguez, still a bundle of energy, already has grown to better understand how to run D’Antoni’s offense.  He played 38 minutes, racking up 18 points on a fabulous 7-of-10 shooting, with 3 three-pointers, five rebounds, six assists, two steals, and one block to top it all off nicely.  This is a guy who was a third-string point guard for a team mired in mediocrity (the Sacramento Kings) who couldn’t get off the bench.  He’s always shown flashes of brilliance, but no NBA team has ever let him just go to town.  If he can keep up this level of play, I’m betting the Knicks will try to bring him back for next season (at a reasonable low salary).  This is a win-win situation for both sides.  We’re giving him a chance to prove himself, and in return we might get a great bargain for the future.

If we're gonna assume the Knicks lost from now on, we can also assume David Lee had a great night on offense and the boards. At Boston he racked up 28 points and 15 rebounds. Dang.

House gets a standing ovation from the crowd. Except for the rich people in front. They don't get up for nobody. Damn rich people.

Surprisingly, instead of Toney Douglas coming off the bench, D’Antoni gave new shooting guard Bill Walker some minutes.  I’d always assumed Walker was end-of-the-bench material who was thrown in to make salaries work in the Nate Robinson trade.  Sorta like how we also tossed in Marcus Landry who was our 15th man who rarely got to see the floor.  Now of course there’s the possibility that D’Antoni gave Walker some extra burn ‘cuz we were going up against his old team, but the kid looked good.  Yeah, he accumulated four fouls in just thirteen minutes, but he’s got some serious athleticism and potential.

Is it just me or does this look like one of them Lord Of The Rings shots were they digitally shrunk Eddie House so he'd look like a hobbit next to normal humans?

There was fear Tracy McGrady wouldn’t be able to play last night since we’d played the night before and he’d talked about how he was feeling all these minutes in his surgically repaired knee.  Again, he drove several times which was friggin’ awesome.  He did put up one or two ill-advised outside jumpers.  That, combined with him not getting some foul calls that he should’ve gotten, resulted in a less-than-stellar 3-for-8 shooting night for a mere six points.  Plus he only had enough energy to play 27 minutes.  But as I said, just the fact that he played at all was a great sign.  And while his shooting stank like skunk poo, that court vision was in full effect, allowing him to get eight assists.  Most point guards don’t even get that many assists in a game, so to get that from a shooting guard is a beautiful thang.

Battle Between Two Formerly Exciting All-Stars With Bad Knees Who Are Now Shadows Of What They Once Were. On A Tuesday Night.

Between McGrady, Rodriguez & Eddy House, we got nearly 20 assists, which resulted in us getting a ton of easy baskets against one of the best defensive teams in the league.  How easy, you ask?  We shot a sick 52.5% from the field.  The other thing that kept us in the game?  Our rebounding.  The Celts have taller big men than us in Kevin Garnett and Rasheed Wallace, plus much stronger big men in Kendrick Perkins and Glen “Big Baby” Davis.  Not only did we not let them dominate us on the boards, we actually out-boarded them by one!

The last impressive part about the game was that even though we got down by something like 14 points within the first quarter, the team never gave up.  In the fourth quarter we got within one point and were in it until the very end.  With less than 50 seconds remaining, we were down by three.  After several great passes getting the Celts out of position, we got it to Wilson Chandler for an easy lay-up at the basket with no one in front of him.  Then a truly unexpected thing happened.  Ray Allen, never known as a good defender and having lost a bunch of lift in his legs, came and blocked Chandler from behind.  Probably if Chandler had just dunked it instead of flipping it up it would’ve gone in, but there was no way he could’ve anticipated being blocked from behind by Ray friggin’ Allen.  It would’ve been a one-point game with less than a minute to go, giving us a real shot at stealing the game.  ‘Course if we did that, then I could’ve turned to you and said, “Guess what?  We won the lottery today.”

Sergio: "Hey, how come Nate's shooting at our basket?? What, he's not a Knick anymore?"

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…)

Not A Good Sign When The Bulls' Cheerleaders Do "The Dance Of The Dead"

Word is that the Knicks’ have chosen to go in a new direction since they clearly no longer have a shot at the playoffs after their month-long visit with mediocrity (actually mediocrity’s too good a term for them, let’s substitute that with suck-itude).  No, that new direction alas, is not “let’s play well” or “at least pretend to play some defense,” but rather “we suck so much, why don’t we at least let the rookies lose for us so we can see how they are.”  Thus last night we went out and made the Chicago Bulls look like they still had Jordan & Pippen, losing to them by a mere 33 points.

Bad Sign #2: The Players Join The Fans In "The Wave"

In fairness, Derrick Rose came out on fire, and I believe shot 9-for-9 for 19 points in the first half before he even missed a shot.  Rose, not know for his jumper, had it going last night, which makes him nearly unguardable.  Of course the Knicks’ persist in using Jared Jeffries to defend opposing teams’ point guards, which basically means he backs off and dares them to shoot the jumper.  If they hit ‘em, like Rose did, then we’re outta luck.  Actually, even when Jeffries plays up on ‘em, then if he gets beaten off the dribble it leaves players like Chris Duhon, Danilo Gallinari & David Lee to help out, none of whom are shot-blockers or particularly good at help defense.  It’d seem smarter to have Jeffries on one of the big men so that he can be the one who helps out.  Not only is he (sadly) the Knicks’ best shot blocker (out of the players who get minutes), but he also actually leads the league in drawing charges.  Meaning if Rose was to beat Duhon off the dribble, Jeffries could position himself so Rose would have to run him over, forcing Rose to commit a foul.

Bad Sign #3: Harrington Gives Up, Starts Doing One-Handed Push-Ups

When Rose went out at the end of the first quarter, the Knicks actually battled back and looked like they might make a game of it.  That lasted until about midway through the second quarter, and then I believe they lost interest when they saw a shiny object.  Or maybe they started to think about what they’d type if they were on Twitter.  Perhaps I’m short-changing them.  For all I know, they could’ve been contemplating the tragedy of Haiti.  Regardless, the focus was definitely on the game.

Wilson Chandler Spots Shiny Object Off-Court, Loses Focus

However, particularly with Nate Robinson out, the two kids we drafted (Jordan Hill and Toney Douglas) got some run.  Heck, the game got so out of hand that even Marcus Landry and Jonathan Bender got to jog up and down the court a few times.  Oddly, with the game clearly out of hand, Coach Mike D’Antoni still kept starter Chris Duhon in.  Maybe it was his way of punishing Duhon for his awful play the last two months.  And y’know even putting aside the fact that Du hasn’t hit a shot since the first Gulf War, it seems like all Duhon does offensively is run pick-and-rolls with David Lee.  I got nothing against pick-and-rolls, but how about doing some with Gallo, Wilson Chandler or Al Harrington?

If You Can't Beat 'Em, Smack 'Em

Anyway, the good news is that we won’t have to play Chicago again for at least a few more hours.  Yup, they’re coming to the Garden tonight.

These last few months may end up being very, very long…

Why's Chicago's Derick Rose Smiling So Big? He Gets The Knicks Two Nights In A Row!

[Donnie] Walsh may have found a taker for [Jared] Jeffries, and it also appears that the price he has to pay to get Jeffries off the books is Jordan Hill. The trade, as reported by Yahoo, would send Jeffries, Hill and either Al Harrington or Larry Hughes to Houston for Tracy McGrady, Brian Cook and Joey Dorsey. Draft picks would also exchange hands, in the Rockets’ favor.

With an estimated $53 million cap next summer, the Knicks would stand to have as much as $31.5 million with which to pursue free agents [if this trade goes through]. The cream of the crop — LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh — can each sign for $16.57 million, so the Knicks can almost afford two of them. They would still be about $1.7 million short of making a maximum offer to two of these players.

But they would have options. One scheme would be to sign one of these players for the full $16.57 million and then pursue a player on the next rung down, like Atlanta’s Joe Johnson, who might sign for slightly less.

[...] they would also enter the 2010-11 season with Curry as an ending contract, and therefore as a more valuable trade commodity.

While it’s tough to trade a young player like Jordan Hill before you can fully determine his potential, it’s probably worth it for the added flexibility this summer.  However, word was that the Knicks partly wanted to get rid of Al Harrington so they could free some time up at the power forward spot for Jordan.  Trading them both would likely mean that either Gallo or, yikes, newcomer Brian Cook would split time at the PF slot.  While losing Jordan would be a bummer, the draft picks that Larry Coon briefly mentions sound like we’d be giving up a lot according to Brian Cronin at KnickerBlogger.com who says the trade would also include:

(and here’s the kicker) the right to swap 2011 first round picks, an unprotected 2012 first round pick and possibly a 2010 second round pick.

Due to the Eddy Curry trade/signing, we already lost a draft pick that turned into LaMarcus Aldridge, plus we’re gonna lose this year’s pick (which after we tear the team apart should make us rack up even more losses & guarantee us a top 5 pick). Cronin goes on to say:

Morey deserves a lot of credit for driving an extremely hard bargain, knowing that the Knicks are so desperate for that cap room that they’d give him pretty much anything he wanted.

If the Knicks go out and sign Lebron James and another MAX player like Wade or Bosh (or hell, just Lebron James and other good free agents like David Lee and, I dunno, Marcus Camby), then this trade is clearly a winner. But what are the odds of the Knicks getting the top free agents out there?

The local sportswriters are showering Walsh with praise over the possible deal, suggesting he should get Executive of the Year if the trade goes through, but be sure to ignore those fellows.

I’m with him, partly ‘cuz honestly Jared Jeffries has played rather well this year.  His defense has been great, and his three-point shooting has steadily improved.  Yes, he’s not quite a $7 million player, but for one year?  Particularly for the Rockets who appreciate glue guys like their own Shane Battier.

Personally, like Cronin, I think it’s highly unlikely we get Wade or LeBron, who are really the only game-changers out there.  Maybe we get a Bosh or Joe Johnson or A’m'a’r'e Stoudamire, but they only improve your team a bit, they don’t turn it into a potential title contender.  However, what could help make the trade worth it is the one thing that neither of these articles mentions: maybe McGrady can still be a good player.  Both of those treat him just as an expiring contract to be gotten rid of, but maybe the guy still has something left in the tank.  I believe he’s still only like 30, so he ain’t dead yet.  Sure, he ain’t gonna be the T-Mac of a few years ago who lead the league in scoring & legitimately was thought of as being in the same category as Kobe Bryant.  But what if he’s still solid?  Maybe a collection of Bosh, Joe Johnson, TMac, Wilson Chandler & Danilo Gallinari could be dangerous.  Let’s see if we get a chance to find out.

Clusters of spectators occupy sections in every arena, waving Israeli flags, chanting his name, pleading for an autograph, a high-five, or even a glance.

These past few days in particular have been a blur of activity: Pregame and postgame chats with a throng of fans Sunday in Toronto; a post-practice gathering Monday at Madison Square Garden with members of the media, including several Israeli television and print journalists; a private audience with Commissioner David Stern in his Olympic tower office hours later; a reception sponsored by the Israeli Consul General in the early evening and, finally, tonight’s long anticipated Kings-Knicks matchup that is being marketed as Jewish Heritage Night.

A Jewish acappella group sang the National Anthem

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Um, Jared, for a bounce pass you're supposed to bounce the ball on the ground, not your butt...

However, the Knicks seemed fairly disinterested for much of the first half.  Kinda like they’ve looked in general.  One amazing exception was Larry Hughes, who got an early call off the bench and decided to play with energy this time instead of sulking.  He played well enough to get minutes in the second half too, and afterward D’Antoni said that if Hughes keeps playing like that then he’ll keep getting minutes.  Of course the bigger more important question is whether this means Hughes will shave his beard.  Early word says he’s not ready to commit to that just yet.  We’ll keep you on top of this vital news as soon as more information breaks.

Hughes: "One, two, step, kick and... jazz hands!"

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2. Chris Duhon’s shot is starting to come back, but whenever it does briefly return he then seems to follow it with some ill-advised jumpers.  It’s like a shooter who gets hot and then keeps trying harder and harder shots, looking for a heat check.  Except Duhon (who’s been like 3 for 912 over the last few games) has been in such a rut that if he hits just one shot he seems to think he must be on fire.  Weird.  Going from passing up open shots and layups to forcing looks ‘cuz he thinks he might be feeling it.

Duhon: "Who cares if I'm surrounded by 4 Wizards? I hit my last shot, so I'm shooting this one!"

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Wizards' Mike Miller: "Aww yeah, it's white boy versus white boy now!"

We all know David Lee is extreeeeeeemely undersized for a center, but because he hustles, he usually holds his own in the rebounding department.  Plus, even though he’s short, Jarred Jeffries at 6’11″ and Danilo Gallinari at 6’10″ are pretty darn tall for the forward spots, while Wilson Chandler at 6’8″ towers over all SGs.  So they shouldn’t have trouble rebounding.  For the most part, that’s been true.  This weekend teams battered us so badly on the boards that we looked like a little boy jumping for his hat while a tall bully just holds it above his reach.  In Saturday’s loss to the Washington Wizards, 5’9″ Nate Robinson (have we officially moved to calling him 5’9″ instead of 5’8″ like he used to be?  Has he actually grown?), was tied for 3rd for most offensive rebounds.  Meaning he got just as many as Lee, Chandler, and 7’0″ backup Jonathan Bender.  And more than Gallo’s 0 offensive rebounds.

Maybe if we did this with our players they'd get up higher & snag rebounds.

That isn’t meant to single out Gallo, as he actually lead the team in rebounds in that game with 10, so he stepped up his game in that department.  However, when you see that we shot 44.7% versus the Wizards’ nearly identical 44.9%, yet we got to the free throw line more, getting 14 points to their 7, it would seem like we shouldn’t have lost by 10 points.  (Side note: even though we did get 7 extra points at the line, we should’ve gotten even more as the team shot a miserable 63% from the charity stripe, highlighted by Jeffries’ 1-for-5 showing.)  So what was the big difference, the Short White Boy asks rhetorically because he already told you what this was all about?  Rebounding.  We was outrebounded 59-40 by the Wiz.  They had 24 grabs on the offensive glass, meaning, yes, 24 extra shots.  Against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Sunday our boardwork was even worse: we were outrebounded 58-36.

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David Lee: "Gimme that ball, Kevin Love! I'll show you how a real white boy plays!"

After being severely, and historically, whupped by Dallas by 50 points the other day, last night the Knicks came out determined to show their stuff and won by nearly 30 points.  Jared Jeffries got the team off on the right note.  The first two times Minnesota tried to bring it up court, the 6’11″ Jeffries stole it from the Timberwolves’ maybe 6″ point guard, Jonny Flynn, before he even made it across half-court.  Both resulted in baskets.  Flynn, who played in Syracuse last year and was part of an epic 6-OT extravaganza, was darn psyched to play in NYC for the first time.  Unfortunately for him, the Knicks’ gambit of covering him with Jeffries worked wonders.  The kid is darn quick, but he clearly doesn’t trust his jumper.  Whenever he started to drive, Jeffries would back further and further up, often leaving Flynn open enough to shoot a jumper from as close as the free-throw line.  Flynn never stopped and shot it.  Instead he had 6 turnovers in just 25 minutes.

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