iman shumpert

Knicks Roster Mid-Season Grades

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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 105: Streaking

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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

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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

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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?

Episode 100 – Knicks at Miami

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We do a live commentary of the Knicks at Miami game.  This is fun even if you didn’t listen live/DVR the game.  We spend most of the time talking about trade scenarios, taking calls, reading emails, and going off on complete tangents like wresting, all time greats, rivalries, and other things going on around the league.

This episode was really long so I had to break it into two parts.

Download Episode 100 Part 1

Download Episode 100 Part 2

Eastern Conference: Initial Reactions

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As part of my weekly columns on Popblerd I deceded to write my initial reactions on every team in the eastern conference:

Eastern Conference

Miami Heat – They look scary good so far. They’ve had 4 blowout victories in their first 8 games and a win without Wade OR James. It also looks like they got a steal in Norris Cole. Exactly what a team with 2 of the 5 best players in the league needs, to get really lucky in the draft on top of that. Barring any long-term serious injury to their big three, they are pretty much a lock for the conference finals.

Chicago Bulls – Boozer is playing closer to what the Bulls thought they were getting last year, Rose looks even better and they were able to steal Richard Hamilton for next to nothing. The East is a two horse race this year between Miami and Chicago.

Indiana Pacers – They made some great moves in the offseason, getting David West being the best of those moves. They have a lot of good young pieces and no terrible contracts. While not contenders this year, they will be a tough out and they are in position to make some noise in the very near future. Continue reading →