Missing stars shouldn’t spoil our night

 Rumors  No Responses »
Dec 072012
 

For the second consecutive week on Thursday, a marquee NBA game was broadcasted nationally without the full cast of principal actors.

The parallels are faint. Carmelo Anthony sat out after slicing a finger that required five stitches in Charlotte on Wednesday night, whereas Spurs coach Gregg Popovich sent four-fifths of his starting lineup home with no associated injuries.

But just as the absences of Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili were supposed to produce a lopsided home win for Miami devoid of drama, Anthony in street clothes seemed to diminish much of the allure of the Knicks-Heat matchup going in because how many solid conclusions can you take away from a game that isn’t really a fair fight?

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Harrellson: Knicks are ‘special to me’

 New York  No Responses »
Nov 032012
 

After one of the Knicks’ preseason games last year at MSG, Josh Harrellson, an avid hunter, asked Amar’e Stoudemire where they could go hunting during the season.

Stoudemire replied, “South Florida.” A half-amused, half-confused Harrellson asked Stoudemire, “What can we hunt in South Florida?” Stoudemire replied, “We’re hunting D-Wade and LeBron.”

Now, more than a year later, Harrellson is part of the prey as a member of the Heat.

“It’s weird,” he said before the Knicks-Heat game Friday night.

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Knicks hope win is diversion for New York

 New York  No Responses »
Nov 032012
 

Truth be told, Tyson Chandler didn’t even want to play on Friday night.

Chandler had spent the last few days seeing and hearing the nightmare tales of New Yorkers in disarray in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, and his thoughts strayed from the game.

“There’s so many emotions,” Chandler said. “The last thing you want to do is play basketball, to be honest with you.”

Even a few hours before tipoff of Knicks-Heat, Chandler and some of his teammates felt preoccupied with thoughts of the hurricane victims.

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Halftime: Knicks 55, Heat 44

 New York  No Responses »
Nov 022012
 

After Friday morning’s shootaround, Dwyane Wade said he didn’t think it was right for the game to go on. He, and the Heat, seemed to carry that mentality over to the action, not appearing too interested in competing. But that’s also because the Knicks started the game playing exceptionally well, getting into lane, passing the ball, knocking down shot after shot and, of course, playing solid D.

Here are four key takeaways from the first half of Knicks-Heat:

1.

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Heat-Knicks provide oasis post-Sandy

 New York  No Responses »
Nov 012012
 

GREENBURGH — Holding sporting events in New York is a sensitive subject in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy.

Thousands are without power and hundreds have lost homes during the storm. The public transportation system in New York is in disarray.

So some have suggested that Mayor Michael Bloomberg and the NBA should cancel the Knicks-Heat game on Friday night.

Others, though, believe that holding the game can somehow help Knicks fans during these difficult times.

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D-Wade: Heat-Knicks will be ‘exciting’

 New York  No Responses »
Oct 102012
 

While the Heat upgraded, adding veterans Ray Allen and Rashard Lewis, the Knicks signed a few of their own in the offseason. And if go well, the Heat and Knicks could meet in the second round or even conference finals next spring.

All-Star Dwyane Wade told ESPNNewYork.com early Thursday morning in Beijing, where the Heat are playing a preseason game against the Clippers, that the Knicks-Heat rivalry this season will be competitive.

“Oh, man. It’s going to be exciting to see,” he said.

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Sheridan: Add the Knicks to the D-12 Wishlist

 New York  No Responses »
May 232012
 

Via Sheridanhoops

But two teams that could make the trade work are the Brooklyn Nets (which remain Howard’s favored destination) and the New York Knicks. But it would be tricky in the first instance; costly in the second.

But my source warned me that the Howard sweepstakes is definitely not going to be a one-team race, which brings us to the Knicks…

Stay tuned.

They have the means to take back Turkoglu along with Howard is they are willing to part with two members of their front line — Tyson Chandler, plus Amare Stoudemire or Carmelo Anthony.

If you are the Magic, you insist on ‘Melo, not wanting any part of Stoudemire’s uninsured contract. But if you are the Knicks (which means if you are Jim Dolan), you insist on keeping Anthony because of the price you paid for him and because of the scoring prowess he displayed in Games 3, 4 and 5 of the Knicks-Heat first-round playoff series. You tell whoever the Magic’s next GM is that he can have $3 million of Dolan’s cash instead.

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Halftime: Heat 55, Knicks 44

 New York  No Responses »
May 092012
 

Here are five quick hits at the half of the Knicks-Heat game:

1. Mike Bibby’s hot first quarter. He hit two 3-pointers and even knocked down a baseline jumpshot off of a screen, looking like a true shooting guard. At the end of the first quarter, he had eight points, three rebounds and a tremendous back screen on LeBron James that resulted in a Carmelo Anthony two-hand dunk. He also ran the pick-and-roll well a few times, and his best pass (his only assist) found Landry Fields cutting to the basket in the middle of the lane for the dunk.

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NBA Playoffs and the Mano a Mano Offense: The One Man Final Shot

 Rumors  No Responses »
May 062012
 

The ball pounds against the hardwood floor. Over and over and over.

Seconds tick off the clock. 

There is no sound of sneakers squeaking or bodies colliding. Just the sound of the ball repeatedly hitting the wood floor. 

This is what last-second offense has come to in the NBA. There’s no ball movement, hardly any picks and no set plays. It’s just one player, standing by himself at the top of the key dribbling out the clock until he, or a teammate, can chuck up a shot as the clock expires. 

Playoff fans witnessed this with Rajon Rondo on Friday night, holding the ball at the top of the key until he was fouled with four seconds left. By the time the Celtics were able to inbound again, Paul Pierce (who traveled first) got off a rushed, contested shot at the buzzer. 

It’s was more of the same in tonight’s Knicks-Heat game. Down by two, Dwyane Wade dribbled around in circles before chucking up a fadeaway, contested three from the corner. He drew all iron.

Last-second possessions have become a microcosm of a bigger problem with offensive philosophy in the NBA. The game has become more me-first than ever before. Although there is no stat to quantify it, it’s hard to watch the game and not feel like there are more one-on-one possessions than ever in basketball history. Even set offenses seem to be geared around passing and picking around the top of the key until some ball-handler can find a lane and take his man to the basket. 

It’s a troubling trend for the fundamentals of the game, and even more troubling for basketball purists. However, the tendency for one-on-one plays to determine last-second shots seems counter-intuitive. Isn’t the point of a last-second shot to get the best look at the basket possible? How is that achieved by having one player dribble out the clock until he can shoot over a defender?

Wouldn’t an offense be best served moving the ball around, setting screens and trying to set up an open shot from as close as possible? If that shot should happen to go in with precious seconds left on the clock, does a team not have any faith that it can defend for two or three seconds?

With more and more fadeaway buzzer beaters coming up short, one would hope it’s only a matter of time before the players and coaches come to their senses. 

Read more NBA news on BleacherReport.com

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Don’t expect Lin to play in Game 4

 New York  No Responses »
May 062012
 


Don’t expect to see Jeremy Lin in a Knicks uniform today.

The Knicks’ injured point guard all but ruled himself out of Game 4 of the Knicks-Heat series earlier this week.

His surgically-repaired left knee simply hasn’t healed quickly enough for him to return to the court.

Jeremy Lin
#17 PGNew York Knicks
2012 STATS

GM35
PPG14.6
RPG3.1
APG6.2
FG%.446
FT%.798

“I haven’t been able to load it or jump or explode or drive by somebody the way I want to, so it’s going to be longer than that,” the second-year guard said.

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