| Rank | Player | Comments | Last weeks Rank |
| 1 | Porzingis, Kristaps | Please don’t be injured, please don’t be injured, please don’t be injured, please don’t be injured. | 3 |
| 2 | Kanter, Enes | The fact that Kanter is a double-double machine and McDermott is a solid bench player while Melo is averaging career lows in just about every category makes me feel so much better about this trade than I did a few months ago. | 2 |
| 3 | Lee, Courtney | Lee has had some monster games lately. Definitely picking up scoring void Hardaway left when he went down. | 1 |
| 4 | McDermott, Doug | McDermott was a big reason that all of the starters had a negative +/- while all the bench players had a positive +/- against the Hawks. | 7 |
| 5 | Beasley, Michael | If Beasley keeps playing like this it’s definitely going to effect the odds on Knicks making the playoffs. | 5 |
| 6 | Ntilikina, Frank | Up and down season, which is normal for a 19 year old PG. This week was a very up week. | 11 |
| 7 | Jack, Jarrett | Jack had a similar week to last week. He’s only moving down because so many Knicks had an even better week. | 4 |
| 8 | Thomas, Lance | Thomas has moved into the starting lineup and hasn’t looked too bad. No apology coming. | 8 |
| 9 | O’Quinn, Kyle | O’Quinn hasn’t been getting many minutes lately but he’s definitely been making the most of them. | 9 |
| 10 | Hardaway Jr., Tim | The Knicks have been winning, but they are going to need Timmy to get healthy soon. A ton of away games in January and against much better competition. | 6 |
| 11 | Baker, Ron | Baker came back and has looked like a 4M a year player. Take that however you want. | 13 |
| 12 | Dotson, Damyean | Looks like Baker took Dotsons minutes. Not sure how I feel about that. I don’t think I feel great about it. | 10 |
| 13 | Hernangomez, Willy | Willy better figure out defense and fast or he’s going to be out of the NBA in a year or two. | 12 |
| 14 | Sessions, Ramon | Since Jack is the Knicks veteran PG presense what value does Sessions bring? | 14 |
| 15 | Noah, Joakim | Parsons is averaging over 12 PPG this month, making Noah the official worst contract in the NBA. | 15 |
courtney lee
2017/18 Knicks Roster Power Rankings – Week 8
| Four games since the last rankings. 2 and 2 which is pretty amazing considering Porzingis and Hardaway each missed three games. | |||
| Rank | Player | Comments | Last weeks Rank |
| 1 | Lee, Courtney | Someone needed to step up when Porzingis and Hardaway were out and it looks like Lee was more than happy to take on that roll. Great week for Lee. | 3 |
| 2 | Kanter, Enes | Three double-doubles this week for Kanter. It’s so nice having someone down low who is able to grab seemingly every rebound. | 6 |
| 3 | Porzingis, Kristaps | Beasley did better than expected when starting in place of Porzingis, but I think we can all say thank god Porzingis is back. | 2 |
| 4 | Jack, Jarrett | Jack has definitely been this seasons most pleasant surprise. I guarantee that in the beginning of the season there weren’t too many NBA betting sites that had Jack averaging over 6 assists per game. | 4 |
| 5 | Beasley, Michael | Beasley backed up his words with a surprisingly good week. Color me impressed. | 8 |
| 6 | Hardaway Jr., Tim | Of course as soon as Hardaway starts looking great he gets injured. Knicks really need his scoring. They averaged just under 99 points a game in the three games THJ missed this week. | 1 |
| 7 | McDermott, Doug | McDermott hit 14 shots this week and only 3 of them were threes. Weird. | 7 |
| 8 | Thomas, Lance | The bench has been very mediocre lately. Not terrible, but no one has stood out either. Lance leads the ‘meh mob’. | 10 |
| 9 | O’Quinn, Kyle | KOQ did almost nothing on the court this week but I still love his energy. | 5 |
| 10 | Dotson, Damyean | Dotson got to start a couple games this week and even grabbed 7 boards on Monday. Progress. | 11 |
| 11 | Ntilikina, Frank | Frank had me really excited a few weeks ago. Lately….not so much. | 9 |
| 12 | Hernangomez, Willy | Willy played one game this week where he didn’t look like trash, tying his season long record. | 14 |
| 13 | Baker, Ron | Baker is back. Hooray? | 13 |
| 14 | Sessions, Ramon | We had a Ramon sighting this week. Rad. | 15 |
| 15 | Noah, Joakim | To everyone who got mad at me for criticizing the Noah contract: apology line starts on the left. | 12 |
Pistons 111, Knicks 107 – Where do the Knicks go from here?
Pistons 111, Knicks 107 – Where do the Knicks go from here?
The odds on a top draft pick going to New York at the end of the season just increased after what can only be described as a ‘routine’ loss for the Knicks Saturday night.
Leading by as many as 21 points in the first half, the visiting Pistons were sluggish and
noticeably off their game after coming off a loss to the Wizards the night before. However, a 13-point half time lead quickly became 1 point following a characteristic Knicks collapse in the 3rd quarter, and it wasn’t long before Detroit had the lead in the 4th quarter.
$71m man Tim Hardaway Jr. had a night to forget in front of the Knicks faithful, as he only hit 1 of his first 12 attempts from the field, including 0 of 6 from 3pt range. Blame can fairly be placed on his shoulders, as KP’s 33 points (including 23 in the first half) should’ve been more than enough to see the Knicks to their first win of the season, providing his teammates could produce even a semblance of scoring and defense.
For the team’s second scoring option, Hardaway’s night would’ve looked even worse if it wasn’t for the impressive performances from both Enes Kanter and Kyle O’Quinn, who combined for 32 points and 17 rebounds in around 24 minutes on the floor each. I would argue that apart from Kanter and KOQ, none of the Knicks supporting players had games to remember.
Courtney Lee had a dismal 4 points 2 rebounds and 1 assist in 28 minutes of action, and
whilst Ramon Sessions had a passable Continue reading
New York Knicks at Cleveland Cavaliers
New York Knicks at Cleveland Cavaliers
February 23, 2017
Cavaliers 119, Knicks 104
“We’re back, and we’re the same as ever!” – The Knicks
So after a very New York Knicks trade deadline, where the Knicks made no moves to better the team right now, or better the team for the future, Carmelo Anthony led his team into the Quicken Loans Arena to battle LeBron James, Kyrie Irving, and the Cleveland Cavaliers. It went exactly as you would think.
The Knicks got squashed tonight, and the score doesn’t do this beat down justice. Continue reading
New York Knicks vs Charlotte Hornets – 1/27/17 – Game Recap
New York Knicks vs Charlotte Hornets
Game 48: January 27, 2017
Knicks 110, Hornets 107
Written by Eric Weinstein – @ericcweinsteinn
flagrant2blog.blogspot.com
Trade that.
As we all know, the Knicks have been on a rough stretch as of late. Coming into tonight’s game, the Knicks had dropped 14 of their last 18 games, and the finger pointing began. Heartbreaking loss after heartbreaking loss put the Knicks way back in the standings, and Carmelo Anthony has been put on the trading block. Tonight, was different. After the offense went stagnant in the fourth for a stretch, Courtney Lee happened, and the Knicks took over the game. The Hornets could not withstand this burst of offense late, and the Knicks held on to win the game, 110-107.
This was one of the best wins of the season for the Knicks, and is another one of those games where they will give me false hope. Kristaps Porzingis snapped out of his shooting funk, scoring 18 points on 8-11 shooting, even though he was in foul trouble most of the game. Carmelo finished with 18 points on a rough shooting night, but he drilled a jumper to seal the deal at the end of the fourth.
It’s been a really rough month for the Knicks and their fans, and with everything seemingly going down the toilet, the Knicks pulled out a fun win. Stopping all-star guard Kemba Walker, Nicolas Batum, and the Hornets is a tough task, but the Knick defense stepped up in a big way in the fourth quarter. The insertion of Kyle O’Quinn was huge for the team as well, as his brand of defense was exactly what the Knicks needed. Key blocks at the end of the game, along with some big rebounds were what paced the Knick defense. No Noah in sight, I don’t even think he played in the second half, but I could be wrong.
The one negative in this game was the Derrick Rose injury. The back spasms early in the season were the only blemish on the Rose injury record for the year, and tonight another injury reared its ugly head. Even though his defense has been awful, Rose has brought a spark to the offense when he gets into the lane, and he’s been much better than Brandon Jennings this year.
Granted, Jennings was great filling in for Rose tonight, but if the Knicks want to turn this around with the current roster they have, Rose needs to be healthy.
New York goes down to Georgia and they’re looking for a game to steal, and they’ll take on the Atlanta Hawks. The last time the Knicks and Hawks played at the Garden, it was the Hawks who came away with a tough win. The Knicks will need the same contributions from Courtney Lee and Brandon Jennings if they want to leave Atlanta with a win. Here’s hoping they build on this one. Don’t look now, but the Knicks are only two games out of the eighth seed. 21-27.
2016/17 Knicks Roster Power Rankings – Week 13
| Yeah I know I know, I missed the first 12 weeks of the season. Better late than never. These rankings are based on the last week of games. | |||
| Rank | Player | Comments | Last weeks Rank |
| 1 | Anthony, Carmelo | Slow start to the season, but Melo has been very solid the last 2 weeks. Of course Knicks being Knicks, Melo met with Phil today to discuss Melo’s future with the team. Stay tuned. | – |
| 2 | Rose, Derrick | Derrick Rose has proved this month that he can still drive. He can drive to the basket. He can drive around in Chicago while the Knicks have a game. Unparalleled when it comes to driving. | – |
| 3 | Baker, Ron | I’m not going to be unrealistic, Baker would probably barely play on any other team, but he’s been really solid for the Knicks. He’s turned 30 point blowouts into 10 point beatings a number of times already. | – |
| 4 | Kuzminskas, Mindaugas | Another pleasant surprise, Kuz has the ability to score from inside and out. Defense isn’t great, but it’s not like pretty much anyone on this team is great at that. | – |
| 5 | Holiday, Justin | If the Knicks decide to blow this team up I hope Holiday is one of the few pieces they pick out of the rubble. | – |
| 6 | Noah, Joakim | This week Noah has been rebounding like a guy who gets paid 18M a year. Now if he can re-learn to defend, shoot free throws, and stay on the court more than 20 minutes a game we might have something here. | – |
| 7 | Lee, Courtney | The Knicks can’t defend anyone. So when it was time for a starting lineup change the only starter who is good at defense got benched because Knicks. | – |
| 8 | O’Quinn, Kyle | The Knicks have been almost not losing lately and O’Quinn is often the reason for the Knicks almost not losing. | – |
| 9 | Hernangomez, Willy | Willy looked great the first 6 weeks of the season and now he can’t get any minutes. Considering Porzingis has been out this isn’t a good sign. | – |
| 10 | Jennings, Brandon | Hey it’s that guy who looks great once every 2 weeks and completely disappears the rest of the time! | – |
| 11 | Porzingis, Kristaps | Every night I pray to the basketball gods that KP’s achilles heals 100%. | – |
| 12 | Thomas, Lance | When I was thinking of all the possible injuries the Knicks will have this season, broken face wasn’t among them. | – |
| 13 | Plumlee, Marshall | Knicks are obeying league rules that state every team has to have a Plumlee or a Zeller. | – |
| 14 | Vujacic, Sasha | Sasha is so happy Ndour is on the team because now there is someone ranked below him. | – |
| 15 | Ndour, Maurice | Trying to end on a positive note. Ndour has been looking good in the d-league! | – |
IT’S TIME FOR HORNACEK TO STEP IT UP
IT’S TIME FOR HORNACEK TO STEP IT UP
Written by Guillem – @GoodOldLiam
Don’t get me wrong. I like what Hornacek has done so far.
Did I expect more? Not really. I liked what he did in Phoenix. How he had a creative offense, a fun team to watch. How he did the A/B teams, showing he will get the best out of the full roster. And I like his character.
He’s just done what I expected; I expected very good things from him.
Now he needs to find ways to improve the performance of the team. Not just wins. Offense and defense.
Right now we are 14th in offense and 25th in defense. With a net rating of -2.9, we are the 20th best team. However, in terms of winning %, we are 12th.
What does that mean? Continue reading
New York Knicks Vs Toronto Raptors – 11/12/16 – Game Recap
New York Knicks Vs Toronto Raptors
Game 9: November 12, 2016
Raptors 118, Knicks 107
Written by Eric Weinstein – @ericcweinsteinn
flagrant2blog.blogspot.com/
Can SOMEBODY play some defense?
On the second night of a back to back, the Knicks lost another tough game, as they dropped this one to the Toronto Raptors, 118-107. Carmelo Anthony led the Knicks with 31 points, but that wasn’t enough to defeat the Raptors. DeMar DeRozan, the NBA’s leading scorer, paced Toronto with 33 points.
Takeaways from this game:
This team cannot defend, which should be news to nobody:
I don’t know if I could count how many easy baskets the Raptors scored tonight. Whether it was Kyle Lowry and Norman Powell getting to the rim, or open threes for the Raptors shooters, it was they were warming up. And when the Knicks decided to try and play solid D, they ended up bailing them out with a foul, (See, “Courtney Lee“ who had a tough time guarding DeRozan in the third quarter). The Raptors took 38 free throw attempts, making 33, and shot 47 percent from the field. Watching Raptors players drive past Joakim Noah (who did have a really nice game with 18 rebounds) was so frustrating, and the fouling by basically everyone on the roster was maddening. Clyde always says, “Play defense with you feet, and not your hands.” Maybe they should’ve hired him as the defensive coach.
DeMar DeRozan is a problem:
This dude can fill it up. DeRozan had 33 points tonight, which is actually one point below his average for the season, but the way he scores is so fun to watch. DeRozan barely takes any shots from behind the arc, and is so smooth with his drives to the rim and mid-range jumpers. A true throwback, and fun to watch. It would be more fun if he didn’t play for a team in the same division, but what can you do.
KP’s Dunk:
Not a lot to say about this, only that it was so dope. Love this man.
Other notes:
The story of this game was defense. The Knicks scored 107 points, which is more than enough to win in the NBA. Derrick Rose, Carmelo Anthony, and Kristaps Porzingis all looked great on the offensive end of the floor, but the team defense is atrocious, and you don’t need me to tell you that. Until that improves, the Knicks are going to lose a lot of games like this. The bright spot in this game is that they really competed against a team that most people would say is better than them, and hung around the whole game. It was about as intense and entertaining as a November game could get. The Knicks get the injury riddled Dallas Mavericks on Monday night at the Garden, led by Harrison Barnes. Let’s hope they learn how to defend before that one. 3-6.
Is Basketball Back at MSG? Grading the Knicks Offseason – Part 2
Written by Kevin Meng
Yesterday we broke down the first half of the Knicks offseason. Now on to the rest of the moves the Knicks made so far this summer.
Signing Courtney Lee to a 4 year, $48 million dollar deal
Not quite sure why Lee chose to play here, but I ain’t mad. In a starting 5 with a scoring forward, a defensive-minded center, the best Latvian big man since Kaspars Kambala, and a penetrating guard with a shaky shot, the one thing this team was lacking was a consistent three ball shooter and wing defender.
Lee has been a positive on the defensive end his whole career, playing bigger than his 6’5, 200lb frame might suggest. He also averaged 39% from bomb territory on 3 attempts per game last season. He was the one of the best shooters on a team that hoisted up the 4th most attempts in the league. With all of the attention on Mr. Anthony, KP, and Rose, he should thrive.
Seeing the deals thrown around for similar players like Kent Bazemore, and the premium put on 3nD wings, signing him for 12 per on average is a great deal. One marker of a good contract is the backend of the deal. A player might be worth their salary in the first two years and grossly overpaid the final two(Luol Deng to the Lakers??), but looking at Lee’s deal, he might even be underpaid in year 3 considering the new cap.
Finding the perfect compliment to the surrounding talent, and doing so on a fair contract? Here’s a big fat A for you, Mr. Jackson.
Grade: A
Signing Joakim Noah to a 4 year, $72 million dollar deal
Not sure if PMFJ still thinks he’s on his hippy retreat in Montana or not, but we have a sinking suspicion that he was on some serious mind altering substances when he signed this deal. When healthy, Noah is a still a very effective defender, good finisher around the rim, and great passer. Add to that his chemistry to Rose and the fact that we didn’t have a center, and the reasons for signing him are obvious. But 4/72 for a guy who can’t stay healthy and is on the downside of his career with a skillset that doesn’t age well? Yeesh.
In this market, players are going to get overpaid. There weren’t many C’s left on the market to get, and even fewer that fit what we needed, but this deal seems more like Phil panicked, realized he needed a C that could pass and be mobile on the court, and blew away the first one he could find with an offer he couldn’t refuse. Noah is still a good player, but he seemed angry at how Chicago did him dirty. Expect a big bounce back from him, but don’t expect him to earn the deal he signed. At least he isn’t Eddy Curry.
Grade: C+
Re-signing Lance Thomas to a 4 year, $27.5 million dollar deal
The New York Knicks Podcast 