NY KNICKS: Contenders or Pretenders?

Johnny J

       

The New York Knicks have played 38 games in 72 days with a record of 25-13, which puts them in first place of their division. Not bad; except that the Knicks started the season 18-5 with remarkable blowout wins against the Miami Heat and other contenders. Injuries and age may have caught up with them after going 7-8 in their last 15 games.

The Knicks received a break in the schedule by having to play one game against an underachieving Detroit Pistons' team in London. The Knicks won 102-87 at the 02 Arena in London. The game was highlited by the return of Iman Shumphert, who tore his ACL against the Miami Heat in last year's playoffs. Shumphert, played 15 minutes in his first game and scored 8 points. (I'm glad to see him back. As a fan and friend, your defensive presence was highly missed. Now we can just bench Ronnie Brewer, that untalented scrub!).

One of the reasons why the Knicks have been struggling is due to injuries, Even though the Knicks welcomed back Shumphert on Thursday, the Knicks are banged up:

• Point guard Raymond Felton--"broken pinkie" 
• Marcus Camby--"inflammation of the foot" 
• Rasheed Wallace--"foot injury" 
• Amar'e Stoudemire is trying to work his way back into form after having knee surgery in the preseason.

Stoudemire's minutes have been limited and it looks like his passion for the game has gone out the door. There are games that he plays and it looks like he just doesn't try to compete. As a team, the Knicks are happy to see two of their good players back, but they lack a big man on the frontline with Camby and Wallace out. Entering tonight's games, the Knicks rank 27th in rebounding at 40.6 per game!

(For more on the importance of rebounding, please check out NBA Lessons--Ed).

Its been rumored that Wallace's foot injury could cost him the season and I know its hard for Wallace and Head Coach Mike Woodson to accept; you just don't bring someone out of retirement to cut them because of injury. "He'll be back -- but when, I don't know," Woodson said. "We're gradually trying to get him back where he can run again so he can get back in a uniform. But when? we don't know when yet." If the Knicks do cut Wallace, they would likely pursue veteran Kenyon Martin. Since I don't want to see that happen I hope Wallace can come back. He's a great defender and a threat around the three-point arc. I don't have any respect at all for Martin, who I don't think is a school-yard bully like Wallace. He doesn't intimidate players at all and has no offense to speak of. Which is the reason that he's still a free agent.

The Knicks are the oldest team in the NBA with an average age of just less than 33 years-old.

They have been criticized for adding a ton of veterans, such as Jason Kidd, (39) Kurt Thomas, (39) Marcus Camby, (38) Rasheed Wallace (38). One person who doesn't have a problem with it, is Carmelo Anthony, who enjoys the presence of the veterans. "It forces me to mature out there," Anthony said about the influence of the veterans. "Having the veterans, those guys bringing me up under their wings. It's a learning process to have guys like Jason. I've never been on a team with veterans like we have. Everybody in the world knows I can score. For me to come out here and do something else, it makes us better."  That is something that I like to hear from a leader and recently voted as a starter to this year's All-Star game, his fifth appearance, and second as a Knick.

Could J.R. Smith join him? (He better!--Ed). Numbers don't lie, or asWallace would say,"Ball don't lie."  Smith is averaging a career best 16.8 PPG, with assists and rebounds being up from last season. He has two buzzer-beating, game-winning shots and he has been grounded this year with the things that he does off the court. Right now Smith is playing to the point where he should at least be mentioned. If he keeps this up, he deserves to get the sixth-man of the year award (Stiff competition from the Clippers' Jamal Crawford and Matt Barnes though--Ed.)

What I don't like to hear is Knicks' owner James Dolan babying Anthony. After Anthony and Kevin Garnett's altercation over his wife tasting like, "honey nut cheerios," Dolan had two microphones put in on both ends of the court at Madison Square Garden, claiming that he's trying to protect Anthony from opponents' trash-talking. I, however, think you're hurting him even more: it's bad enough to hear Anthony has been having bad games because he was, "fasting for spiritual reasons,"; now I have to see the star player lay his head down on the owner's shoulder when someone says hurtful things? Anthony has just shown a weakness: now everybody including fans, players, and the media will be able to get to him. All I can say is, "it was fun while it lasted."

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NBA PICKUP GAME 2012: Point Guards (you don't want on your team)

Felipe M

I conducted a small poll asking the simple question, "Which five NBA players would you not want to have on your pickup team?"  Needless to say, I ended up getting very different answers so I decided to split this into a 5 part series based on NBA positions.  What follows is the list of players followed by the reasoning behind the selection. 

1. Rajon Rondo--Why Rondo gets so much hate among NBA fans is a perplexity to me.  Obviously, getting into a fight with Kris Humphries earlier this year, probably didn't endear himself to many fans.  In my opinion, Rondo would be great as playground point guard because all he would do is pass you the ball, non-stop!  However, Rondo shows up among many NBA fans' most disliked players all over the Internet. 
• Why? He does come off pretty weird, as a guy who dances to the rhythm of his own beat--maybe a bit arrogant for many NBA fans. Also, many people think he's overrated because he looks to be too afraid to shoot and score and has yet to develop a long range shot.  I like him, but many fans don't.
2. Ray Felton--Felton has been one of the more productive point guards since he entered the league with the Bobcats, but a reputation of selfishness and poor dieting has followed him throughout his career. His weight would be magnified as he arrived in Portland, unprepared for a shortened-NBA-lockout-induced-season and out-of-shape, flushing the Blazers' chances to make the playoffs and Felton and his weight were deemed the scapegoats.  
• This season however, he's been playing like a man on a mission with the New York Knicks, playing admirably for the club and being the main scorer sometimes on a team full of injured players. However, as one pollster explained his reasoning in selecting Felton, "too many donuts in his system. I don't like subbing in the playground, but you know this spare tire would be out of air after only eight minutes of outdoor summer heat." Despite his valiant effort this season, Felton proves that a bad reputation is harder to shed than a few pounds.
3. Jeremy Lin--The reason why Felton is playing so hard this season is because he's trying to make sure people know that he is a million times better than Lin. Lin is better paid and gets more publicity, but this season, Lin's inconsistent play is making NBA fans screaming out "FLUKE!" As one fan noted, "he took the money and ran...Can we please kill 'Linsanity' once and for all?"  Another fan stated that he's "one of the worst starting point guards in the NBA...the only thing this untalented PG does better is sell jerseys in Taiwan."
• Both his FG% and 3-point% are down from last year, but he was never a deep-threat to begin with, though the Rockets are asking him to shoot more from beyond the arc. Because of his poor shooting (and playing alongside teammate James Harden) his scoring is down as well, but playing against a Knicks' Defense earlier this month, showed that he can flourish if he is asked to dribble penetrate more often during games.  The fact that his turnovers per game are down either shows smarter decisions by Lin or a decrease in handling the ball for the Rockets. Besides that, Lin provides a decent, all-around game for a player at his position, but in the playground game, if you're not scoring and hitting your shots, you're not getting the ball, period.
4. Jameer Nelson--The reason I can't stand Nelson is because during the 2004 NBA draft, Nelson was the last player still in attendance who was yet to be picked and he looked devastated. Then Dick Vitale was interviewed during the draft's telecast and pleaded with all NBA teams to select the Senior out of St. Josephs's because he did things the right way and stayed in school and blah, blah, blah!  So by association, I've never really liked Nelson.  However, since Nelson has been the main scoring threat on the Magic this year, he has seen steady increases in production, although his 3-point% is down from last year (not so easy to hit those 3-point shots without teams double-teaming the post, huh?). However, Nelson can be inconsistent as well, scoring 28 points and dropping 10 dimes one night only to score 8 points and 5 assists in the next game. 
• Nevertheless, I can picture myself being on Nelson's team and experiencing a guy who can dribble his way to the paint with ease, but then inexplicably dish the ball to someone and would give dirty looks each time he thought his teammates were not cutting the right way or not rotating properly. Basically, he would glare at you, as if to blame you for his shortcomings.
5. Jerryd Bayless--Back when I covered the 2008 NBA Draft, I remember Bayless being described as an explosive guard who can one day give opposing teams trouble with his speed and raw scoring talent.  Unfortunately, Bayless has not met expectations and had one fan saying, "I spent a season watching him play and he consistently made stupid a$$ decisions."
• Since being drafted in 2008, Bayless has already played for four different teams.  "NBA journeyman" was not part of the scouting report on him.

HONORABLE MENTIONS

Goran Dragic, Steve Nash, and Ty Lawson were inserted by me because even though they are pretty good point guards, the fact of the matter is that I can see them push the ball and running up-and-down the court constantly. In the playground game, that running up-and-down the court and trying to constantly score on transition can be beneficial as the opposing team might not see it coming and lazy, transition defense is the norm in the street game.  But for a guy like me, I'm not very interested in running up-and-down the court for a whole game.  I'll take Rondo and his half-court game any day.  

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2012 RANDOM NBA THOUGHTS: Vol, 2

Felipe M

Today's Random NBA Thoughts are based on the games that were played on Monday, December 17, 2012. 

Chicago Bulls at Memphis Grizzlies: This game matched the top two defensive teams (in terms of Average Points Allowed Per Game) in the NBA. And judging by the score, it was definitely an offensive stalemate. For the Bulls, this marks the 5th consecutive game that they have failed to score over 100 points.  While the Grizzles' center, Marc Gasol was held to only 4 points, we did experience a Wayne Ellington sighting as the former Tar Heel scored 11 points, on 3-4 from 3-point-land, grabbed 2 boards, and 2 assists in 20 minutes of playing time.

Minnesota Timberwolves at Orlando Magic: In what could've been the weirdest game of the night, the T'Wolves took a commanding halftime lead as they scored 32 points in the 2nd Quarter--and then they went on to score only 32 points in the entire 2nd half.  Despite having two players grab double-digit rebounds, the T'Wolves edged out the Magic in the rebound department by only 1 (43-42).  Even then, the T'Wolves grabbed more offensive rebounds (15-6). The rest of the game was evenly matched for the most part, but the most glaring stat of the night was that the Magic hit 42.9% from beyond the arc, while the Wolves struggled at 28% which might have proved to be the difference in the game.

On a fun note, this game matched up starting centers Nikola Pekovic vs. Nikola Vucevic. I can only imagine how much the broadcasters of this game enjoyed having to announce both players' names on a constant basis tonight. More importantly, both players achieved a double-double.

Los Angeles Clippers at Detroit Pistons: Having seen Chris Paul live, I can honestly say that he is without a doubt, the smartest point guard in the NBA. And tonight, he proved once again why he might be the best point guard in the NBA despite the lack of athleticism that has been on display by his younger, more explosive counterparts. Dropping 7 dimes, swiping 3 steals, and scoring 14 points to go along with numerous plays that could have made tonight's highlight reels.

However, the real treat (well, for any real NBA junkie, that is) came in seeing just how far away Brandon Knight is from even sniffing Paul's elite status.  Shooting 5-16 from the field (3-10 from 3-point-land), Knight scored 16 points, but committed 5 turnovers (which cancelled out his 5 assists).  Perhaps Knight was missing the play of fellow backcourt mate, Rodney Stuckey, but it's safe to say that Knight was definitely schooled tonight.

Check out more articles on Brandon Knight, here.

Houston Rockets at New York Knicks: The date we have all been waiting for--the #1 team, in terms of average 3-Pointers Made per Game, was hosting the #2 team in the Rockets.  And both teams did not disappoint as they combined for 60 attempts from the 3-point line.

And, of course, the biggest sports story of the night, the triumphant return of Jeremy Lin to Madison Square Garden.  Lin has had an up-and-down season as he has struggled to find a proper role on a Rockets' team that revolves around superstud James Harden. Lin also had to face a Knicks' team determined to spoil his return, especially Ray Felton who clearly was trying really hard to prove that he's better than Lin despite not getting the same publicity (and getting paid a lot less as well).  However, Lin proved to be up for the moment as he scored 22 points (on 9-15 shooting from the field), 8 assists, 4 rebounds, and 2 steals.  More surprisingly, Lin was able to maneuver his way down the paint against a tough Knicks' defense which is anchored by Tyson Chandler, who looked to intimidate Lin by committing hard fouls on the guard. But that did not stop Lin from continually driving down the lane time and time again, frustrating Chandler and whoever the Knicks assigned to defend the determined point guard.

San Antonio Spurs at Oklahoma City Thunder: On most nights, this would be the marquee matchup of the night, but you knew that the Spurs would not go 100% against their biggest rival on the road and the Thunder were able to even the season series at one. While not a single Spurs' player logged over 30 minutes in this game, the Thunder were clearly determined to win this game as they had four players (including both Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook) logging in over 30 minutes. This will prove to be a more competitive game when these two teams meet up in San Antonio on March 11, 2013.

Sacramento Kings at Phoenix Suns: If there was ever a microcosm to describe the Kings this season (heck, even in the last 2-3 seasons), it would have to be the 3rd quarter of this game where the Kings only scored 14 points after leading by as many as 19 points before the game reached halftime.

Some would say that the Suns have had a tendency to comeback from large deficits this season, but the Kings have proven time and time again, that despite having highly talented and athletic players, they are clearly the dumbest team in the NBA.

DeMarcus Cousins has already gone through his annual wacky episode(s) where he has gone after Spurs' color analyst, Sean Elliot, admitted that he's been lacking confidence this season, visibly getting into confrontations with coach Keith Smart, and getting suspended for hitting O.J. Mayo below the belt.

Cousins is the biggest problem on a team full of problems and despite all of the lottery picks that they have accumulated in the past few years, there seems to be no direction, goal, or structure on this team (except getting a new fancy stadium from the highest, bidding city).  Brand new year, same old story in "Swerve City."

For more on the wacky Sacramento Kings, click here.

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NBA 2012-13 Fantasy Preview: THE BAD AND UGLY

Felipe M

(The following article will now deal with NBA players who are destined to see a dip in their production as we enter the upcoming NBA season. All projections are based on fantasy point, head-to-head leagues.  I apologize, once again, to any roto fans out there).

Unfortunately, what goes up, must come down in the real world, and it's no different in the NBA as some players' stock just has to come down for various reasons (age, new coach, new system, new teammates, new rules, etc).  The following is a list of players who will most certainly see a dip in their stock for this upcoming (and maybe beyond this) season:

• Jameer Nelson--Despite being the de facto best scoring option and playmaker in Orlando, projections show that he will not produce as much as most guards who are in similar situations (i.e. Ramon Sessions).  There's a reason why Dwight Howard did not want to play with him in Orlando. 
• Gerald Wallace--How "experts" can pick the New Jersey Nets as a title contender with Wallace in the starting lineup is perplexing to me. His career will continue to "crash."
• Andrew Bogut--After sustaining a number of injuries (most of them very serious) Bogut gets a fresh start at Golden State, but it's doubtful that he will post up the numbers he used to post up in Milwaukee. 
• Elton Brand--You can make the argument that his decline began a long time ago, but many fantasy owners still believe that a fresh start in Dallas where he will play in a more conventional half-court offense will revitalize his career.  My prognosis is that he cannot be relied on too heavily for this season.
• Anderson Varejao--Despite the fact that his production comes in the hustle categories, Varejao's time in Cleveland might be coming to an end as the Cavs might use him as trade bait for a contending team, which might mean a decrease in minutes/production.
• Chauncey Billups--Age and decline in production and play time play a factor in him making this list.
• Tyreke Evans--What should be the prime of his career, Evans is stuck in basketball limbo as he has refused to develop another dimension to his game. 
• Jose Calderon--Mr. Calderon, here's Kyle Lowry.
• Nene--No longer will benefit from the fast-paced game of the Denver Nuggets and was already unhappy being traded to D.C.
• Ray Felton--This is an obvious submission to this list as his timing is horrendous in returning to New York only to have coach Mike D'Antoni missing.
• Paul Pierce--He's still the best scoring option in Boston, but every year, he's relinquishing more and more control to Rondo.  
• Devin Harris--His days as a starting point guard in the NBA have come to an unexpecting end.
• Gerald Henderson--With the selection of Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, Henderson's days in Charlotte and as a somewhat fantasy relevent player might be nearing an end soon.
• Dorrell Wright--Was a fantasy darling when he played at Golden State, I don't expect him to do much in Philly despite the similar styles in play by both teams. 
• Caron Butler--Too much talent in Clipper-land and not enough basketballs to go around. Butler is in "Swingman Hell."

Next up, we will take a look at the NBA players who are in the crossroads of their careers coming into this season.

2011 NBA DRAFT REVIEW: Part IV-The Trades

Felipe M.

With so many trades happening in the 2011 NBA Draft, it's probably a good idea to add some perspective to these deals.  The first trade dealt with three Western Conference teams: the Dallas Mavericks, Portland Trail Blazers, and Denver Nuggets.  Here's how it breaks down:

• Blazers receive Raymond Felton
• Nuggets receive Andre Miller and Jordan Hamilton
• Mavericks receive Rudy Fernandez

The Portland Trail Blazers looked like an old team for most of last season as they must figure that they need a guard who can run the court better and be successful doing so as Ray Felton was in New York and in Denver.  I don't know why teams find holes in Felton's game as he's been fairly productive everywhere he's played.  Whatever the case may be, he is quickly becoming the reincarnation of Chauncey Billups.  Let's hope for his sake that he wins a ring soon.  It won't be easy with Nolan Smith breathing on his shoulder, but I think the two complement each other fairly well.  As mentioned in a previous article, Jordan Hamilton in Denver is a potential nightmare for defenses.  However, with shaky defensive play and questions about his conditioning lingering, it's tough to see him beating out other veteran perimeter players in Denver.  

Rudy Fernandez joining the Mavericks is almost too perfect.  Fernandez was part of a logjam of wing players in Portland, but he should easily revitalize an aging Dallas team who would welcome his athleticism.

Andre Miller goes from leading the point for a group of veterans to playing that same role for a younger team.  Miller should flourish with the change in scenery, however, I'm not sure how he will handle Ty Lawson creeping up his shoulder if the Nuggets offense proves too inept with him running the point.

The second trade is as follows:

• Charlotte Bobcats receive Bismack Biyombo and Corey Maggette
• Milwaukee Bucks receive Tobias Harris, Stephen Jackson, Shaun Livingston, and Beno Udrih
• Sacramento Kings receive Jimmer Fredette and John Salmons

Where to start?  Well, in Charlotte, Michael Jordan is on a mission to drive that franchise to the ground, one player at a time.  The Bobcats acquired Corey Maggette--for some reason unbeknownst to me.  Probably to be the first scoring option off the bench.  At least Jordan was able to pick Biyombo Thabeet.

The Bucks rid themselves of the oft-injured John Salmons only to replace him with the oft-injured, but more explosive, Stephen Jackson.  Certainly an upgrade, but I can't wait for the first time that I hear Jackson and coach Scott Skiles butting heads.  Beno Udrih should play the same role that he played in Sacramento: a player that can come off the bench as a backup point guard or as a combo guard playing alongside Brandon Jennings.  Statistically it worked when he played alongside Tyreke Evans.  Not sure how Shaun Livingston will fit with this team except to play in matchups that take full of advantage of his height.  Offensively, this makes the Milwaukee Bucks a more potent lineup.


The Kings got John Salmons back, but with a crowded frontcourt and an emphasis on speed in the backcourt, his days are pretty much numbered in Sacramento.  He can play shooting guard, but the Kings enjoyed having both Marcus Thornton and Tyreke Evans play together and it looks like that Jimmer Fredette will be the first player coming off the bench to spell one of the guards.  At forward, he has players in Omri Casspi, Tyler Honeycutt, Francisco Garcia, and Donte Green to worry about.  


The third trade is as follows:

• Houston Rockets receive Jonny Flynn, Donatas Motiejunas, and Chandler Parsons
• Minnesota Timberwolves receive Brad Miller 
• Chicago Bulls receive Nikola Mirotic

With Ricky Rubio making his way to Minnesota, Jonny Flynn becomes expendable.  Unfortunately for him, the Rockets have a crowded backcourt so it looks like he'll be playing very sparingly. 

The T'Wolves acquired Brad Miller to remind Kevin Love what he would look like by the time he's 40 years-old.

And the Chicago Bulls pick an undersized European player that needs to develop his game overseas and add more muscle to his physique.  

The next trade is truly heartbreaking for both teams involved:

• Indiana Pacers receive George Hill
• San Antonio Spurs receive Kawhi Leonard and Davis Bertans

When it was announced that the Indiana Pacers would be getting a high energy player who has a lot of heart and is passionate about playing defense and rebounding you couldn't help, but feel good about the eventual turnaround for this team.  Unfortunately, it was a set up to acquire yet another point guard in George Hill.  The Pacers have been plagued at the PG position and it's Hill's turn to try his luck.    

The Spurs, on the other hand, showed their willingness to continue on their winning ways by trading away a player who is highly regarded within the Spurs' organization like Hill for the chance to be more athletic in the perimeter, especially on defense.  Also, the Spurs acquired Davis Bertans as it was rumored that the Spurs all but guaranteed Bertans that he would be drafted by the club.  San Antonio is looking pretty good in this draft as they were able to get the players that they clearly were targeting.  Too bad it was at the cost of trading away George Hill.

We already mentioned the trade involving the Boston Celtics and New Jersey Nets involving JaJuan Johnson and MarShon Brooks.  To summarize:

• JaJuan Johnson is a defensive force who will play for a team that loves to play defense.
• MarShon Brooks has some offensive skill, but has suspect defense going to a team that also has some offensive skill and a suspect defense.  

The Knicks would eventually acquire Josh Harrellson as they add depth and size to their Center position.  More on him in our 2nd round coverage.

Norris Cole of Cleveland St. gets traded to the Miami Heat and is almost guaranteed a roster spot just for his low salary alone.  The T'Wolves acquired foreign player Bojan Bogdanovic.  More on him in our 2nd round coverage. 

Finally, the Magic receive Justin Harper from the Cleveland Cavaliers for two future second round picks.  Harper will do his best to become the next Ryan Anderson.

The first fifteen 2nd Round selections are good to go!