The New York Knicks Thread.

[dxjayrock2008]

Knicks rout Hawks to take winning record to break




By BRIAN MAHONEY

AP Basketball Writer
NEW YORK (AP) Even after a decade of futility, the New York Knicks aren't satisfied with a winning record at the All-Star break.
They're already focused on playing second-half games that matter.
Amare Stoudemire scored 23 points, leading the Knicks into the All-Star break above .500 with a 102-90 victory over the Atlanta Hawks on Wednesday night.
"It was a great win for us," Stoudemire said of his return after missing a game with a sprained right big toe. "We'll take something into the All-Star break, that confidence that we needed and now we just use that motivation for the second half of the year."
Wilson Chandler added 20 points and Danilo Gallinari had 17 for the Knicks, who at 28-26 matched their average victory total for the last five full seasons. They didn't even earn their 28th victory last season until April 6 and haven't been above .500 this late in a season since they finished 48-34 in 2000-01.
But Mike D'Antoni believes they will need to reach the 40-win plateau to end a postseason drought that dates to 2004, so there's plenty of work left.
"We've got a ways to go yet, but at least we'll have a good break and get everybody back and ready to make that stretch run of 28 games that we need to play full tilt," D'Antoni said.
Raymond Felton finished with 13 points and 11 assists as the Knicks controlled the second half and beat Atlanta for the first time in three meetings this season.
Marvin Williams scored 17 points for the Hawks, who lost for the third time in four games and fell a game behind Orlando for fourth place in the Eastern Conference. Mike Bibby had 15 points, and Al Horford had 12 points and 11 rebounds.
"We just totally went away from our game plan," Hawks coach Larry Drew said. "We have a recipe when we play on the road and I thought early the warning signs were there early in the first quarter. Especially defensively. I wasn't as concerned offensively. My main concern was defensively. We had multiple defensive breakdowns and then at the offensive end we just started settling. Being on the road you have to get the shots you want."
It was the first meeting since Marvin Williams and New York's Shawne Williams, no relation, were suspended for throwing punches near the end of Atlanta's 111-102 victory on Jan. 28.
Stoudemire has since offered some tough talk about Horford, and there were words exchanged between Felton and Horford late in the game after the Knicks point guard fouled Atlanta's All-Star center. Felton was called for a technical foul, a few minutes after Horford got one for complaining he was fouled by Stoudemire while making a jumper.
"It happens in the game of basketball. Elbows thrown, attitudes, tempers getting flared, so it happens," Felton said. "It's all about basketball, everybody being competitive."

[CKR13]

One of the players that the Knicks could opt in the 2012 Free Agents market is Deron Williams of the Utah Jazz.

http://www.cbssports.com/nba/story/1...dolan-jumps-in

[CKR13]

The New York Knicks have traded Danilo Gallinari. Raymond Felton, Wilson Chandler, Timofey Mozgov, the 2014 First Round Draft Pick, Two Future Second Round Draft Picks and $3 Million in Cash to the Denver Nuggets for Carmelo Anthony, Chauncey Billups, Anthony Carter, Reynaldo Balkman and Shelden Williams.

The Knicks have also sent wingman Anthony Randolph and center Eddy Curry to the Minnesota Timberwolves

[CKR13]

Edited but a preview of Anthony and Billups on a New York Knicks jersey.

[JGX]

Wow, Balkman makes his triumphant return to New York.

[Khalid80]

With this trade we can notice that the East has become as competetive as the West since in previous years there were just 2 or max. 3 teams from the East that were strong contenders but now we have 5 legitimate teams in the East (Boston, Miami, Chicago, Orlando and New York)

[mvblair]

Wow, Balkman makes his triumphant return to New York.

Hah, hah, hah!!

Like everybody else, I'm disappointed that Carmelo got his way. I get so tired of these stars who sign contracts and then piss and moan until they get traded.

Carmelo had a good situation in Denver. He's got an OK situation in New York now. Stoudemire is good and they'll be in the play-offs, but I'm not sure how much damage they will do. Having Billups helps.

...but boy, New York gave up a lot. Gallinari, Felton, Chandler, Mozgov, draft picks, money...a lot of people probably think Gallinari is their best player, but I'm really high on Chandler. I like him a lot.

So, is it worth it?

I don't think so. They should have "called Carmelo's bluff" and signed him in the summer. They didn't have to give up all those players.

[CKR13]

Currently, Chauncey Billups has a non-guaranteed contract for the 2011-2012 season worth $14.2 Million and the Knicks will be gauging the impact and performance of Billups for the team before making a decision of not or to exercise the Team Option.

[CKR13]

According to the NYPost, Carmelo Anthony will don number seven (7) for his Knicks debut on a scheduled press conference.

[CKR13]

New York Knicks President of Basketball Operations, Dolam Smith confirmed that the Knicks are in the market for a center.

http://sports.espn.go.com/new-york/n...ory?id=6148502

[NorCal]

Hah, hah, hah!!

Like everybody else, I'm disappointed that Carmelo got his way. I get so tired of these stars who sign contracts and then piss and moan until they get traded.

Carmelo had a good situation in Denver. He's got an OK situation in New York now. Stoudemire is good and they'll be in the play-offs, but I'm not sure how much damage they will do. Having Billups helps.

...but boy, New York gave up a lot. Gallinari, Felton, Chandler, Mozgov, draft picks, money...a lot of people probably think Gallinari is their best player, but I'm really high on Chandler. I like him a lot.

So, is it worth it?

I don't think so. They should have "called Carmelo's bluff" and signed him in the summer. They didn't have to give up all those players.

I'm tired of the moaning and crying too. Being unhappy is one thing but why does this need to be played out publicly?

I also agree with you about NY's future...........they gave up too much and they still look to be cash strapped for the future. Basically everyone agrees that the new Collective Bargaining Agreement will lower the salary cap, enact a hard cap or put some further type of limitation on team's spending that is not currently built into the system meaning team's will have less money to spend. So..............in NY's case they need another star or one heckuva good supporting cast to contend for a championship and I don't see them being able to build that after the new CBA is in place.

[CKR13]

The aftermath of the blockbuster trade, the Knicks depth chart stands as:

C Stoudemire / Turiaf
PF Balkman / Williams / Williams (Shelden and Shawne)
SF Anthony / Brewer / Walker
SG Azubuike / Fields / Mason Jr.
PG Billups / Carter / Douglas / Rautins

[CKR13]

New York Knicks 114 Milwaukee Bucks 108

Carmelo Anthony made an impressive debut with a double double game of a team high 27 points and 10 rebounds. The veteran, Chauncey Billups also had a good debut as Billups had 21 points, 8 assists and 6 rebounds.

Amare Stoudemire had 19 points while Toney Douglas scored 23 points off the bench.

[JGX]

Wow, Balkman makes his triumphant return to New York.

+15 in 7:32 tonight.

[dxjayrock2008]

Knicks lose to Cavaliers

By TOM WITHERS, AP Sports Writer 3 hours, 18 minutes ago



CLEVELAND (AP)—Carmelo Anthony left with a sore elbow and a bruised ego.
His second game with the New York Knicks was embarrassing.
Playing the final quarter with numbness in his right elbow, Anthony missed a key late free throw and fouled out of his first road game with the Knicks, who took Cleveland too lightly and were beaten 115-109 on Friday night by the fired-up Cavaliers.
Anthony, acquired earlier this week from Denver in a blockbuster trade, finished with 27 points but missed a foul shot with 25 seconds left that would have brought New York within two. Afterward, he said he banged his elbow in the second half and that it has been bothering him for some time.

“I don’t like to make any excuses, this was a game, regardless of how long we’ve been together, that we should have got,” said Anthony, who had a gauze wrap on his elbow. “It comes down to everybody being on the same page defensively. “We’ve only had four practices to get it together.
“No excuses.”
Amare Stoudemire had 31 points and Chauncey Billups, the other guy in the Anthony deal, scored 20 of his 26 in the fourth trying to rally the Knicks, who have dropped 10 straight to Cleveland.
Antawn Jamison scored 28, J.J. Hickson had 24 points and 15 rebounds, and Ramon Sessions added 22 points for the Cavs, who have beaten New York twice this season. Anthony Parker scored 16 for Cleveland, which has won three of five since ending a record 26-game losing streak.
“I put all the credit with that on the coaching,” joked Cavs coach Byron Scott.
The Knicks weren’t laughing.
They must have been reading their press clippings following a tsunami of publicity in recent days after finally landing Anthony, the Brooklyn-born superstar. His arrival had even the most cynical New York fans finally believing pro basketball was all the way back in the Big Apple.
Not quite.
The new-look Knicks are a work in progress. Their talent is undeniable, but they don’t have any chemistry and it could take some time for it develop. At times, Anthony and Stoudemire seemed to be playing on different teams. There was little ball movement as the Knicks seemed content to launch shots and hope they’d drop.
But the bigger problems were on defense. The Knicks got lost on pick-and-rolls and were unsure of what to do when switching assignments.
“Defensively, we’ve got a long ways to go,” Stoudemire said. “It takes time. It’s training-camp mode again.”
The Cavaliers came in with the league’s worst record, but they were the ones who looked like a team with playoff potential as they consistently outworked the Knicks for loose balls. Cleveland outrebounded New York 62-42, an inexcusable stat for the Knicks.
“They played harder,” Stoudemire said. “They had a great amount of energy. We got outworked.”
Cleveland didn’t even have its newest star, point guard Baron Davis, who has yet to arrive after being obtained in a deadline day deal from the Los Angeles Clippers. But as the Cavs were putting the Knicks away in the fourth, Davis did check in on his Twitter account.
“Loving the energy I’m seeing,” he wrote.
If not for Billups, who was saddled with three quick fouls in the first half, the Knicks would have really been embarrassed.
Mr. Big Shot made plenty of them, scoring 20 of New York’s 28 points in one stretch. His layup with 1:17 left pulled the Knicks within 105-103 and Stoudemire’s bucket made it 107-105 with 49 seconds to go.
But that’s when Cleveland’s Daniel Gibson hit the game’s biggest shot, drilling a 3-pointer with 30 seconds remaining. Billups said he shouldn’t have switched on a screen and gotten out on Gibson but didn’t.
Anthony, who had 16 points in the first quarter, was quiet in the fourth before driving the lane, hitting a runner and picking up a foul with 25.8 seconds left. Anthony, though, missed his free throw and then picked up his sixth personal trying to wrestle the ball away from Sessions.
Anthony then spent the final seconds on the bench as Sessions made five free throws in the last 24 seconds to ice it for Cleveland.
The Knicks’ medical staff checked Anthony’s elbow after the game. Anthony said it “flared up and had a little swelling” but that he expects to play in Sunday’s game at Miami. At the moment, he doesn’t have any tests scheduled on his injury.
“Right now, I don’t have any time for testing,” he said. “It’s time for me to play basketball and go out there and get some wins.”
The Knicks haven’t had very much practice time since Anthony arrived, and coach Mike D’Antoni has been trying to work out the kinks as players get accustomed to each other. D’Antoni hasn’t had enough time to fully open his expansive offensive playbook.
“There is a learning curve and you can’t get around it,” D’Antoni said. “We know it and we know it’s going to take us a little while.”
Notes: Hickson had a career-high five blocks. … Davis comes to Cleveland with a reputation for being difficult, which Scott says is unfair. “I talked to Don Nelson about him, and Nelly loved him,” Scott said of Nelson, who coached Davis in Golden State. “In New Orleans, I had nothing bad to say about him. He came to practice. Our differences were because of the way I wanted things done. But he’s matured, he understands what I was doing, it’s water under the bridge and we move on.” … The Knicks are interested in re-signing F Jared Jeffries, who they traded to Houston last season and was waived by the Rockets on Friday.

[dxjayrock2008]

NY Knicks edged the Miami Heat, 91-86. Melo leads the Knicks with 29 points, 9 rebounds and 2 assists. Amar'e added with 16 points, 10 rebounds and 3 assists.

[eliooo93]

NY Knicks edged the Miami Heat, 91-86. Melo leads the Knicks with 29 points, 9 rebounds and 2 assists. Amar'e added with 16 points, 10 rebounds and 3 assists.

Well done NY! They were able to win although the refs made 2 or 3 bad calls/no calls against them late in the game.
I'm really hoping for a NYK-MIA match up in the first round of the playoffs.. The only way this can happen is if the heat finish 3rd and the knicks 6th

[Khalid80]

Well done NY! They were able to win although the refs made 2 or 3 bad calls/no calls against them late in the game.
I'm really hoping for a NYK-MIA match up in the first round of the playoffs.. The only way this can happen is if the heat finish 3rd and the knicks 6th

Billups was clutch in the final minutes of the game and imo if it wasn't for his leadership NY wouldn't have been able to win this game.....

[mvblair]

I also agree with you about NY's future...........they gave up too much and they still look to be cash strapped for the future. Basically everyone agrees that the new Collective Bargaining Agreement will lower the salary cap, enact a hard cap or put some further type of limitation on team's spending that is not currently built into the system meaning team's will have less money to spend. So..............in NY's case they need another star or one heckuva good supporting cast to contend for a championship and I don't see them being able to build that after the new CBA is in place.

I don't know enough about the financial aspect of the NBA, but what you're saying seems to mesh with what I'm reading.

No, they probably can't get another superstar unless that star takes less money. They also probably can't pick up that supporting cast because 1) they sent potential supporting cast players to Denver, and 2) they don't draft as well as a team like San Antonio.

[CKR13]

The New York Knicks have bought out forward Corey Brewer.