New York Knicks: Marcus Camby Sign-and-Trade Makes Knicks Instant Contenders

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Jul 092012
 

The New York Knicks did a solid job defensively last season and were much improved from the basement-dwelling defense they displayed the past decade.

To help build on that, New York has agreed to terms with the Houston Rockets on a sign-and-trade that will bring Marcus Camby back to the Big Apple, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (via Twitter).

Y! Sources: Marcus Camby agrees to three year, $13.2M contract with Knicks insign-and-trade deal. tinyurl.com/cxzwcda

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@WojYahooNBA) July 10, 2012

New York will be giving up Toney Douglas, Josh Harrelson, Jerome Jordan and second round picks in the 2014 and 2015 NBA drafts. A small price to pay for a deal that will give the Knicks championship-caliber defense for 48 minutes per game.

One of the bigger problems for the Knicks last season was playing consistent defense throughout the course of an entire game.

The Knicks most vital component to great defense was none other than Defensive Player of the Year Tyson Chandler. However, New York’s center had to battle injuries during the season and it was impossible to get him necessary rest to heal those wounds.

Without him on the floor, the Knicks looked like a totally different team defensively and couldn’t get it done. Jared Jeffries did the best he could to back Chandler up, but he succumbed to injuries as well.

Camby gives the Knicks the reinforcement they need. With experience as a power forward and center, the former Knick returned can give head coach Mike Woodson more options in regard to his rotation.

But, most importantly, this team can afford to give Chandler a break and still be consistent. Camby can still rebound, block and roam the interior with the best of them at age 38, even comparable to his teammate, the DPOY himself.

Coach Woodson has got to be the most excited at the prospect of Camby returning to New York. The Knicks head coach is already considered a defensive guru and will have plenty of plans for his two big men.

Who wouldn’t love to see LeBron James, Dwayne Wade and the NBA Champions Miami Heat try to penetrate on a combination of Camby and Chandler defending down low for the Knicks?

This move doesn’t mean the Knicks will easily unseat the King and his championship squad, but it does make them a more realistic contender to do so than they were last year. 

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Leaving Tyson Chandler off All-Defensive Team Is an Absolute Joke

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May 232012
 

Few things get NBA fans as worked up as NBA award results. 

It’s hard to blame them, though. Look at the NBA’s All-Defensive first and second teams that were announced today: Defensive Player of the Year Tyson Chandler was headlining…the All-Defensive second team. 

Yes, that’s right. The  player who was given the award that goes to the single best defensive player in the entire league was not voted as the best defender at his position. Dwight Howard got that nod.

Rounding out the first team were Serge Ibaka, LeBron James, Tony Allen and Chris Paul.

The second team was made up of Chandler, Kevin Garnett, Luol Deng, Kobe Bryant and Rajon Rondo. 

Before everyone freaks out, it’s important to remember that the DPOY voting is done by sports writers and broadcasters while the all-defensive teams are chosen by NBA coaches who pick a first and second team by position but cannot vote for their own players. 

While it sounds ridiculous for the DPOY award winner to be on the second team, it shows that coaches still value and recognize the defense of three-time DPOY winner Howard more than the award-winning defense of Chandler this year.

While Chandler being left off of the first team is what will make headlines, perhaps even more telling is that James was the only player to appear on all 29 ballots. This means that each of the four other first team selections were left off of at least one ballot (in addition to their own coach’s ballot) entirely. It also shows how good James is and how highly NBA coaches think of him. Had they been given the opportunity to vote for DPOY, the winner would likely have been James.

Awards are always going to be subjective, but there’s got to be a way to improve upon this. Andre Iguodala not being on any All-Defensive team while Kobe Bryant makes another second team? Bryant’s a brilliant basketball player and one of the best to ever do it, but his appearance is one of respect rather than output.

This is how this award has always gone and I doubt it’s going to change anytime soon.

Let’s try to stop caring so much. It’s obvious that a lot of the people checking off the ballots don’t. 

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Chandler Named All-NBA 2nd Team, Shumpert Honorable Mention

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May 232012
 

Via NBA.com

Miami Heat forward LeBron James, winner of the 2011-12 Kia NBA Most Valuable Player Award, headlines the NBA All-Defensive First Team, the NBA announced today. James totaled 53 points overall, including 24 First Team votes. He was the lone player to top 50 points.

Joining James on the NBA All-Defensive First Team are forward Serge Ibaka of the Oklahoma City Thunder (47 points), guards Chris Paul of the Los Angeles Clippers (35 points) and Tony Allen of the Memphis Grizzlies (33 points), and center Dwight Howard of the Orlando Magic (41 points). Ibaka and Allen earn First Team honors for the first time; Allen was an NBA All-Defensive Second Team selection last season.

James led the Heat to a 46-20 mark and the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference Playoffs. He paced the Heat in steals (1.9 spg) and defensive rebounds (6.4 drpg), and tied for the team lead in rebounds (7.9 rpg). With James leading the effort, Miami’s defense tied for fourth in opponent scoring (91.3 ppg), and ranked third in forced turnovers (16.6) and fifth in opponent field goal percentage (.434).

Ibaka paced the league in blocks (3.65 bpg) while Paul led in steals (2.53 spg). Howard was the league’s leading rebounder (14.5 rpg) as well as its top defensive rebounder (10.8 drpg). The Grizzlies allowed 96.0 points per 100 possessions with Allen on the court compared to 101.7 points per 100 possessions with him off.

The NBA All-Defensive Second Team consists of guards Rajon Rondo of the Boston Celtics and Kobe Bryant of the Los Angeles Lakers, center Tyson Chandler of the New York Knicks, and forwards Luol Deng of the Chicago Bulls and Kevin Garnett of the Boston Celtics.

Shumpert received the 3rd most honorable mention votes thanks to a tremendous year defensively.

This is the 3rd time that the DPOY, voted on by the media, did not make first team all-NBA.  Thanks Moke.

Since the #NBA began naming a #DPOY in 1983, #Chandler is the THIRD reigning DPOY to NOT make First Team (Robertson in ’85 and Mutumbo ’95).
@MokeHamilton
Moke Hamilton

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Tyson Chandler, DPOY?

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May 022012
 

It seems that Tyson Chandler is going to win the NBA’s Defensive Player of the Year today. A press release from MSG stated that “NBA AND NEW YORK KNICKS TO MAKE MAJOR ANNOUNCEMENT TODAY” at 2pm in their training facility. Hard to imagine what else this could be. The Knicks finished 5th in defensive efficiency [...]

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Hollinger: Tyson Chandler deserves DPOY

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Apr 112012
 

ESPN.com’s John Hollinger argues that Tyson Chandler is the frontrunner for Defensive Player of the Year.

I never thought I’d live to see the day when a prominent New York Knicks player was also massively underrated. Yet here we are.

What a refreshing turn of events. For nearly 20 years, the only interesting debate we’ve had about most Knicks players has been whether they’re merely overrated or are phenomenally overrated. That’s what happens in the league’s biggest market, especially when the fans have been starved for more than a decade of both a superstar player and a consistent winner.

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Luol Deng Deserves Defensive Player of the Year Award

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Feb 282012
 

Luol Deng should be given this year’s NBA Defensive Player of the Year award.

Not Dwight Howard, not Andre Iguodala. Luol Deng.

The Chicago Bulls small forward epitomizes head coach Tom Thibodeau’s defensive system.

He’s not going to register massive numbers of blocks or steals, but there is no better on-ball defender than Deng.

Watching Deng in a game, it is easy to see why he is so good defensively. He has the height and strength to guard even the tallest at his position and the speed to stay with the fastest.

And there is no other player in the NBA who can control what LeBron James does on the offensive end without ending up in foul trouble. Nobody stops James these days, but Deng gets closer than anyone and really makes the Miami Heat superstar work for every single shot.

Deng’s consistent ability to remain in front of his man and hassle every single shot makes him the perfect player to receive the DPOY trophy at season’s end.

Dwight Howard has won it three years running and is still a fantastic defender, but he has been inconsistent and nowhere near as dominant as he has been in years gone by.

Andre Iguodala has broken through as a great defensive player, but his team’s defense overall is not quite as good, and these awards are normally given to the best players on the best teams.

Deng, of course, owes a lot to Coach Thibodeau and his Bulls teammates. Thibodeau’s arrival from the Boston Celtics staff heralded a new beginning in the franchise’s playing style as the first-time head coach installed his system and instilled belief in his players that they could hold every single team to incredulously low scores night in, night out if they played hard enough.

It worked. The group of Deng, C.J. Watson, Ronnie Brewer, Taj Gibson and Omer Asik finished the season as the best defensive group in the entire NBA. A group of Deng, Watson, Brewer, Gibson and Joakim Noah was only a few spots behind.

The Bulls’ team defense should be watched again and again by any team looking to become defensive experts. The players move on a string as if connected to one another. Switching players is the norm, as the team forces bad passes and very bad shots that often lead to turnovers or misses.

Another reason, although slightly unrelated to the DPOY award, is Deng’s on-court leadership. Derrick Rose may be the leader offensively, and Noah may be the leader in the locker room, but Deng has shone through this season as the coach’s security blanket, playing over 35 minutes in even the biggest of blowouts.

This signifies a huge level of trust in his players by Thibodeau, and in return, the rest of the team look towards Deng to make the big defensive stops needed in the crunch time of marquee games.

Deng has been a decent defender for years, but often overlooked in this award simply because the Bulls were not known for defense and because Deng was out of the limelight for a long time.

Now, on the heels of his first All-Star appearance, could Luol Deng become the first British player to collect one of the NBA’s biggest awards?

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