Author: Jay

James Dolan: The Good, Bad, and the Ugly

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Written by Nicholas McGowan

I write this piece as not a defense for James Dolan but instead of a reason as why we as Knicks fans should appreciate what Dolan has done for us over the past few years. Dolan has made his fair share of mistakes. Let us begin with said mistakes:

-Handed out his band’s CD to free agents in the summer 2010 at the end of their meetings
– CAA apparently runs the organization, (Mike Woodson reportedly had to change his representation to CAA)
-Strict media policy limiting the amount that Knicks personnel can talk to media
-Rumor that he would trade Iman Shumpert if he did not play in the Summer League
-Has proven incapable of finding a GM who can make sound basketball decisions
-Can’t find consistent coach

These are just some of the many mistakes that James Dolan has made. His actions drove us to protest our beloved Knicks. While that action is justified; he isn’t as bad Knicks fans make him out to be. My aim is not to convince you that he is good owner, but my intention is to persuade you to be glad to have him as an owner. We could be worse off. Dolan through his decision to hire Phil Jackson and his never changing spending habits are the reasons of why we as fans shouldn’t be as angry as we are with him. Continue reading →

2013/14 Knicks Roster Power Rankings – Week 22

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Just when the Knicks rope you back in with an 8 game winning streak they drop turd of a game by looking heartless against a Kyrie Irvingless Cavs team. Atlanta is giving the Knicks every possible chance to make the playoffs but the Knicks don’t seem to want to capitalize. We’ve reached the final month of the season so lets take a look at what appears to be the roster that will fail to get Melo to the playoffs for the first time in his career. Oh and Earl Clark did not get picked up for the rest of the season (Shannon Brown did) so there are only 14 players on the roster now.
Rank Player Comments Last weeks Rank
1 Stoudemire, Amar’e I forgot how much I missed super efficient/dominant Amare. No one knows how long this will last but lets all enjoy the ride while we can. 5
2 Anthony, Carmelo The look of absolute disgust on Melos face as he watched the bench give up a double digit lead to Philly in three minutes says it all. 1
3 Prigioni, Pablo 9 assists in 18 minutes against Philly, yes please! Tell me again why he plays half as many minutes as Felton? 7
4 Chandler, Tyson The league leader of putting up decent stats while looking like he doesn’t give a crap. We all know Tyson can do better than 4 points and 6 rebounds against the Cavs. 11
5 Smith, J.R. Aaaaand just like that JRs shot is gone again. Still, kudos for keeping those bad shots to around 10 a game instead of 20 and for passing the ball better than our starting PG. 3
6 Shumpert, Iman Shumpert doesn’t really put up stats anymore but you can see how much his defense is missed when he’s out. For example the Cavs game. 6
7 Aldrich, Cole Aldrich played about 7 minutes a game this week and not in garbage time. He’s done what you want a backup center to do; rebound and at least try on defense. 4
8 Murry, Toure’ His only appearance this week was the 4 minutes against Philly where the Knicks let up a huge lead. Murry is up this high as a farewell because I’m pretty sure Woodson will blame that on Murry and we’ll never see him again. 12
9 Hardaway Jr., Tim It seems like THJ alternates weeks between playing great and sucking. Looking forward to him playing great next week. 2
10 Jeremy Tyler Like Murry, Tylers only action was that epic collapse vs Philly. Welcome to the doghouse. It’s getting crowded in here. 8
11 Felton, Raymond Felton cannot cover anyone. No one. Look at the PG stats for the opposing team. WTF. Raymond should be required to watch 5 hours of pick and roll film a day until he figures out how to deal with one. 10
12 Shannon Brown What can Brown do for you? Not much. 13
13 Martin, Kenyon I saw K-Mart stand up on the bench, so it’s confirmed that he’s not crippled. 14
14 Bargnani, Andrea I know it’s not Bargnanis fault the Knicks gave up so much for him but it doesn’t make me any less pissed off. 15

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Episode 246: Jinx

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Marc and Jay talk about the win streak and how it is probably just a season long Knick Comeback, Mike Woodsons letter to Phil Jackson, top 5 things everyone needs to stop talking about, setting expectations going forward and much more

Download Episode 246

Knicks Vs. Pacers – 3-20-14 – Game Recap

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Written by William Lee

Welcome to New York Phil Jackson. One day after the Knicks formally introduced the new team President in a Tuesday afternoon Press Conference, and on a day Knicks’ fans decided to hold a protest rally, New York welcomed Mr. Phil Jackson with a 92-86 victory over the Indiana Pacers. The Knicks extended their season high winning streak to seven games, and avoided a season sweep by Indiana.

The New York Knicks lead 21-14 after the first quarter, in a very sloppy and ugly opening quarter. Both teams made only six field goals, converting on less than a third of their attempts. Indiana turned the ball over six times in the quarter, yet New York was so inept themselves, that they were not able to capitalize on any of those opportunities. The game was so ugly that for the last three and a half minutes of the first quarter, neither teams made a field goal to end the period. The one saving grace for the Knicks was that they were able to get to the line, and convert free throws, making 9/10 from charity stripe.

The field goal draught would continue for both teams, before Lance Stephenson finally made a field goal for the Pacers a little over a minute into the second quarter. Amare Stoudemire finally ended the Knicks’ field goal draught by hitting a mid-range jumper two minutes into the second quarter. This sparked an offensive bonanza out of nowhere for the Knicks, compared to how snail paced the game was going beforehand, going on a 16-2 run, giving the Knicks a 39-23 lead with 6:11 remaining in the second quarter. Stoudemire scored 10 of his 21 points in the second quarter, during the crucial run that gave New York a sixteen point lead in the first half. Continue reading →

2013/14 Knicks Roster Power Rankings – Week 21

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Only two games this week.  The Knicks winning streak continues, but their streak of playing terrible teams comes to an end on Wednesday when the play the Pacers.  We’ll talk playoff possibilities next week, for now lets enjoy a 6 game winning streak and the acquisition of Phil Jackson.
       
Rank Player Comments Last weeks Rank
1 Anthony, Carmelo Melo played 39 minutes in a blowout game to a terrible team.  You’d think with 17 other PF’s on the team Woodson would be able to rest Melo once in a while.  Anyway, another typical week from Melo, lots of points and a good amount of rebounds.  2
2 Hardaway Jr., Tim I’ve been saying that THJ would have to go off on offense to compensate for his lack of defense and that’s just what he did.  Two straight 20+ point games on some crazy good shooting nights.  If this were NBA Jam he’d have a trail of fire following the ball every time he shoots. 10
3 Smith, J.R. Who is this Smith guy who takes a normal amount of shots and hits a decent amount of them?  Who is this guy who passes the ball more than the starting PG?  And will it continue when the weather gets warmer and the club scene picks up? 4
4 Aldrich, Cole With Chandler and Amare out Aldrich got the starting nod against Boston and responded with a double double and three blocks.  He was rewarded the next game with a handful of garbage time minutes because Woodson. 13
5 Stoudemire, Amar’e Amare played only one of the two games this week but continued his streak of being phenomenal on offense. 1 Continue reading →

Episode 245: Hail to the Chief

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Welcome to the Knicks Phil.  Hope you survive the experience.  Jay and Marc travel to the future and play the audio tape of the Steve Mills press conference.  We get Marcs opinion of the Jackson signing, talk about what the future may hold and also talk about the current 6 game win streak and if that helps the playoff odds.  Also more!

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Knicks vs Bucks – 3-15-14 – Game Recap

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Written by William Lee

New York avenged a terrible February 03, 2014 loss to the league’s worst team on a Saturday matinée game, defeating Milwaukee 115-94.

The previous three contests against Milwaukee were highly competitive, going to a double overtime, and even giving the Bucks one of their league worst thirteen wins. Saturday would be a completely different story, as New York stretched their season high winning streak to six straight. Tyson Chandler and Amare Stoudemire made their return to the starting lineup, and even though they looked rusty at times, their presence was immense for the ball club. New York went on a 19-6 run early in the second quarter, which ended any competitiveness from the game the rest of the afternoon.

John Henson would dunk the ball to start the second quarter, the Knicks would answer with the massive run, sparked by Tim Hardaway Jr, who scored 11 of the 19 points, during the crushing run to the Bucks. Hardaway Jr. got to the rim at will, highlighted by an alley-oop dunk, where he was the recipient of a great team basketball play. On an inbound pass to Pablo Prigioni, he threw a three quarter court pass to Iman Shumpert, who threw the lob to Hardaway Jr. for the jam. Hardaway Jr. would then cap the run with a three, giving the Knicks a 49-31 lead with 5:36 left in the second quarter. Things were going so well for New York that Iman Shumpert somehow banked in a three from the right corner three. (I don’t think he called bank on that shot)

New York held a 60-42 lead at the half, and the second half both teams basically just went through the motions, waiting for the game to end. It was non-competitive in the second half, and garbage time came early. Tim Hardaway Jr. poured in 20 points from the bench, lending a helping hand to Carmelo Anthony who finished the game with 23 points.

Knicks @ Celtics – 3-12-14 – Game Recap

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Written by William Lee

New York matched their longest winning streak all season, collecting their fifth straight win Wednesday night defeating Boston 116-92.

An extremely thin frontline, got thinner Wednesday night, as Tyson Chandler did not play due to personal reasons for a second consecutive game, and Amare Stoudemire sat out to recover, who has been playing tremendous basketball both on offense and defense. Without Chandler and Stoudemire, Cole Aldrich stepped into the starting lineup. To the Knicks credit, every player stepped up to the challenge, especially Aldrich and Earl Clark, who saw meaningful minutes due the decimated frontcourt. Aldrich collected a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds, along with three blocks for a +19 +/-. While Earl Clark didn’t have an impressive stat line, his impact overall was felt, stepping into the rotation, giving excellent back up minutes (particularly in the second quarter when Anthony was resting), proven with the best +/- of anyone, +22.

The Knicks scored 68 points in the first half, which were the most points scored in a half by New York. New York put on a three-point shooting clinic in the first half, connecting on 9-of-10 from beyond the arc. Both Carmelo Anthony and Tim Hardaway Jr. connected on three-threes. Anthony started off strong, as per usual, with 13 points in the first quarter. J.R Smith got off to a hot start as well, scoring nine of his 13 points in the first quarter, helping build a 36-24 advantage by the end of the first quarter.

Tim Hardaway Jr. provided a huge lift off the bench, scoring 12 of his 22 points in the second quarter. New York was unconscious on offense Wednesday night, scoring at a 60.5% clip in the first half, leading 68-48 at the half. The Celtics defense looked like they were imitating the Knicks’ defense, constantly switching out bigs onto New York’s perimeter players, which forced mismatches in favor of the offense. This is scenario that played out for most of the first half, if the double didn’t come, Anthony easily scored on crossover dribble pull ups, and if the double came, the ball swung around the perimeter for a wide open three. New York handed out 15 assists on Continue reading →

Fantasy Basketball Quarterfinals

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Written by William Lee
 
We are heading into Week 21 for fantasy, which in most leagues will be the beginning of the Playoffs. Good luck to all. Be sure to use up all your available transactions, do not hesitate to drop inconsistent production players. Try to grab some role players that are playing four games, to help accumulate as much stats as possible (always keeping in mind the negatives that comes with more games, for example more turnovers, risking chances to lower your percentage in field goal and/or free three).
 
Teams
Game Played
  
Atlanta
4
  
Boston
3
  
Brooklyn
4
  
Charlotte
3
  
Chicago
4
  
Cleveland
4
  
Dallas
4
  
Denver
4
  
Detroit
3
  
Golden State
3
  
Houston
3
  
Indiana
4
  
LAC
2
This is going to be a problem for anyone that has Chris Paul, Blake Griffin as their top player, you cannot just drop them for free agents…you might need to add and drop to compensate for this. Continue reading →

2013/14 Knicks Roster Power Rankings – Week 20

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This week is pretty much the exact opposite of last week.  The Knicks won all four games, lots of players got involved and everyone looks energized.  Oh yeah and Phil Jackson might become president.  Kind of awkward timing for all this considering there is a protest planned for tomorrow.  Lets see how the Knicks look at they race to keep their very slim playoff hopes alive:
       
Rank Player Comments Last weeks Rank
1 Stoudemire, Amar’e The only things Amare did this week was to move into the starting lineup, find his midrange shot again, rebound at a nice clip, block shots and play acceptable defense.  I never expected Amare to every claim the #1 spot, but the Knicks are full of surprises lately. 4
2 Anthony, Carmelo Melo has been getting a lot more assists lately.  It’s amazing what happens when your teammates actually hit shots. 1
3 Chandler, Tyson Chandler missed the Philly game due to personal reasons, but before that had 3 double-doubles. 2
4 Smith, J.R. JR was also a big part of this turnaround, moving into the starting lineup, not taking as many shots and shooting more efficiently.  He’s also been getting a few nice looking assists every game. 14
5 Shumpert, Iman While he hasn’t been lighting up the box score, a look at his +/- numbers shows you the impact he has had on the court this week.  Pretty much the only bench player who’s been productive. 13 Continue reading →