Robert Silverman from Knickerblogger.net joins us today. We talk about the Knicks win over the Cavs, Roberts name for the Knicks bench, Amar’e and his creaky limbs, Baron Davis, the logjam at shooting guard, the Knicks future, favorite all time Knicks and much more. Download Episode 109
Eastern Conference Midseason Grades
The season is half over so I thought it would be a good idea to take a look at how each team has fared so far and give them mid-season grades.
Let’s start with the Eastern Conference, going in order of current standing.
Miami Heat: A+: The East is as predictable as the West is unpredictable. I don’t think there’s a person on the planet who didn’t think Miami and Chicago would be the top 2 teams. LeBron is having his best season as a professional and has also managed to stay away from twitter, interviews, hour-long specials, and every other way he put his foot in his mouth last season. The supporting cast is much better this year after signing Battier, getting a steal in Norris Cole in the draft, and having a healthy Haslem and Miller. The road to the finals goes through Miami.
Chicago Bulls: A+: Only one game out of first and that’s with Rose missing a bunch of games. It doesn’t seem to matter who replaces Rose, they continued to win with John Lucas III and Mike James at the point. The best defense in the league and a deep bench. We should really just start the east playoffs with the conference finals, Chicago and Miami are so much better than the rest of the conference it’s almost unfair.
Indiana Pacers: A: This year’s most improved team. People barely talked about the David West signing, that was a very underrated move. You won’t seem them on national TV very often, so they’ve been flying under the radar and have quietly moved up to the #3 seed. This is a young team that’s is in a great situation cap-wise. They’ll need that cap space to make a move to put them in the same league with the top two teams in the conference, but even without making a move, as presently constructed they’ll be a tough out for years to come. Continue reading
Knicks Roster Mid-Season Grades
Grades:
Carmelo Anthony – B: He played too much iso-ball in the beginning of the season, but since coming back from his injury has been making a huge effort to move the ball around. His shot is way off right now but we expect him to look more like himself after the all-star break.
Mike Bibby – F: I know he’s getting old and he’s lost a step, but how did he forget how to shoot and pass as well? We had to play shooting guards at the point because he was too bad to play more than five minutes.
Tyson Chandler – A: Exactly what we wanted when we signed him. Excellent defender, low post presence and when a good PG is playing can be a factor on offense too. He’s currently leading the league leader in field goal percentage. Needs to calm down on techs or he’s going to be suspended for a number of games in the second half. Continue reading
Episode 108: All Star game and Knicks Mid-Season Grades
We announce our contest winner, do the top 5 ways to make the all star game better, Jeremy Lin ice cream, read some listener emails and give the entire Knicks roster mid-season grades. Download Episode 108
Episode 107: Don’t worry we mention Jeremy Lin
We talk about the NJ, Atlanta and Miami games. We propose an Amar’e trade. We bring back some of our segments including 2 heated minutes, glad we got him in the offseason and he gets paid how much? Download Episode 107
Episode 106: LINterview with Jim Cavan
Jim Cavan from Knickerblogger.net is on the show with us today. I’ll be you never would have guessed, but we do talk about Jeremy Lin during this interview. We also talk about JR Smiths Knicks debut, Steve Novak, what the Knicks rotation will look like when everyone gets healthy, where the Knicks will end up by the end of the season and much more. Download Episode 106
Episode 105: Streaking
Linsanity continues as the Knicks beat the Raptors and destroy the Kings. We talk about D’Antoni’s coaching during this streaka and Melo coming back on Friday. We also talk about JR Smith coming to the Knicks, what that will mean for Shumpert and Fields and our 24 other shooting guards and who will get cut as a result. Download Episode 105
The Knicks are about to sign J.R. Smith
Anyone want to fill me in on the logic of this move?
This is my guess as to what the GM was thinking, “Hmmmm, I think I’d rather sign a 4th shooting guard and continue to play Jeremy Lin 40 minutes a game instead of signing a backup point or even a backup big man. OK so I’ve talked myself into a SG, but our 4th SG can’t be just any SG. What we need is a ball stopper. Preferably one who’s a very streaky shooter like Jamal Crawford was. Oh let’s make sure he is suspect on D and has a bad attitude, things were getting a little too happy around here, we need to make things interesting. I know, J.R. Smith!”
Last I checked we have Landry Fields, Iman Shumpert and Toney Douglas all fighting for minutes at the 2. Obviously Douglas is currently the odd man out, but it looks like Shumpert will also lose most of his playing time when Smith arrives. You know, our best wing defender. Also a young player that needs to get some run to develop.
I hope this works out, but I have a feeling I’m going to be waching the game from my computer (not my couch because MSG still has their channel blacked out in NY) and thinking about this post when he’s in the middle of a 2-14 game and Shump looks miserable on the end of the Knicks bench.
The Knicks Depth
Remember a few weeks ago when we were complaining that the Knicks went 4 deep with one of the worst benches in the NBA? Well now if Baron Davis ever comes back we’re suddenly 2 deep at every single position.
Jeremy Lin Baron Davis
Landry Fields Iman Shumpert
Carmelo Anthony Steve Novak
Amar’e Stoudemire Josh Harrellson
Tyson Chandler Jared Jeffries
And that’s with Toney Douglas, Bill Walker, Renaldo Balkman, Mike Bibby and Jerome Jordan all getting zero minutes.
Are we actually resembling a real team?
The Knicks Win Their Sixth In A Row
The Knicks won their sixth in a row, the first five with a starting lineup of Jared Jeffries, Bill Walker, Landry Fields, Jeremy Lin and Tyson Chandler. If you’re doing the math that’s 1 legit starter, a D-leaguer, a 2nd round pick, a guy who was the 11th man in Boston and a guy who couldn’t break into Houston’s rotation when all of their forwards and centers were injured. Amar’e was back for this one, but started out real rusty.
So why are they winning?
The New York Knicks Podcast 