2013/14 Knicks Roster Power Rankings – Week 13

Seriously, is this the same team I wrote about last week?  Four games, four blowout losses.  The closest game was a 10 point loss to the Pacers.  There were also Knick Effects in 3 out of 4 of these games (highest or 2nd highest scoring game of the season for an opposing player).  This might be my hardest week to rank yet as pretty much the entire roster has played way below expectations. Lets give this a try:
       
Rank Player Comments Last weeks Rank
1 Chandler, Tyson Tyson still does not look like himself but he had a decent week.  He even got involved on offense in a couple of games.  You know what kind of week it’s been when having a fairly decent couple of games gets you the #1 spot.  Bonus for calling out Woodson on his defensive scheme. 7
2 Anthony, Carmelo Melo has done a great job at getting to the line and is still rebounding at a good clip, even having a 20 rebound game.  Shooting 4-23 though….I’d like to see less iso and hero ball and more distribution, but considering pretty much the whole roster has been shooting poorly I can see where the lack of confidence in teammates is coming from. 1
3 Udrih, Beno Why is Beno this high?  Because he was smart enough to reqest a trade.  That kind of intelligent thinking is worthy of a high spot. 11
4 Jeremy Tyler Jeremy Tyler went 3-4, 2-3 and 3-3 in consecutive games.  Shooting numbers the likes of which the rest of the roster couldn’t achieve even in the wettest of dreams. 15
5 Stoudemire, Amar’e Amare had a good game before rolling an ankle that will keep him out 2-3 weeks.  At least it wasn’t his knee.   Continue reading
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Episode 234: The Blame Game

Marc and Jay talk about the last two games, more JR drama, Woodsons punishment techniques, upcomng games, trade rumors, and much more

Download Episode 234

2013/14 Knicks Roster Power Rankings – Week 12

Four games and four wins this week making it the best week since I started this rankings.  Unlike most weeks, I might even be able to avoid making myself furious by the end of this weeks rankings:
       
Rank Player Comments Last weeks Rank
1 Anthony, Carmelo Melo started the week off on fire.  His last two games he hasn’t shot particularly well but it’s probably harder to shoot when there is no consistent 2nd scoring option and opponents can double you on every possession.  Melo has also been rebounding and even assisting at a decent clip.  This weeks clear #1. 3
2 Shumpert, Iman While Shumpert didn’t shoot well this week, he seems to have found his groove defensively again, putting up the best +/- on the team with a total +46 in 4 games.  He’s also averaged about 8 rebounds per game which is a nice bonus. 1
3 Martin, Kenyon It won’t show up as much in the box scores but Kenyon has been huge for the Knicks.  He’s had more than a few timely putbacks and has been an underrated passes as well. 6
4 Bargnani, Andrea it’s feast for famine with Bargnani.  He looked so good against Detroit and Miami and so bad against Philly.  At least it looks like Woodson has learned to play Bargs more when he’s hot and much less when he’s not.  Kinda like what should have been done with JR for the last 2 seasons. 7
5 Stoudemire, Amar’e While Amare had a poor outing in Detroit, he was huge in the Miami and Philly games.  He looks like he’s getting his confidence back and even got to show off some of those new post moves we’ve been hearing about.  Amare has already played more games than last season.  I’m not sure if anyone really truely expects him to stay healthy through the rest of the season and the playoffs but if he can it’ll give the bench a much needed scoring punch. Continue reading

Episode 233: Shoelacegate

Marc and Jay talk about the last three game, a rare episode where we only cover wins, shoelaces, reenactments of Woodsons press conference and a JR interview, trade scenarios, stats guy and much more

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JR Smith Trade Scenarios

The Knicks are looking into trading JR Smith.  Considering he’s played like crap for pretty much the entire season, had an offseason knee surgery, got suspended for repeated drug violations as well as fined for repeated unsportsmanlike conduct (shoelacegate parts 1 and 2) the market for JR is at an all time low.  Remember, when the market for JR was at an all time high after he got the 6th man of the year award the Knicks were still the only team to make an offer.  That being said I’m going to attempt to propose a few trade scenarios that would kinda sorta make sense for the other team (obviously any trade getting rid of JR makes sense for the Knicks).

Scenario #1

Milwaukee Bucks get:
JR Smith
Cole Aldrich

New York Knicks get:
Gary Neal
Carlos Delfino

Why the Bucks do it:  The Bucks really want to get rid of Neal and Delfino hasn’t been healthy in 4 years.  The Bucks save about 1M a year after this year and in theory replace Neals 3 point shooting.

Why the Knicks do it:  They get rid of JR Smith

Scenario #2 Continue reading

Knicks vs Thunder – 12-25-13 – Preview

Written by William Lee

Here is my preview for the Knicks’ Christmas day game. DO NOT WATCH THIS GAME! I cannot emphasis this enough! We (Yes I am a delusional Knicks’ fan, that thinks he is a part of the team and say things like we, us, etc.) are going to get completely destroyed by the Thunders. It will be a complete waste of your time, do not throw away two and a half hours. Do not watch a J.R. Smith led Knicks team (Carmelo Anthony a game time decision due to his sprained ankle) who STILL thinks it is Santa Con. Check this video out, trust me, MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Please instead, spend the time enjoying with your family and friends. Or instead spend the time with your new gifts, which hopefully isn’t anything Knicks related. If you do not live in New York, YOU WILL BE RIDICULED for sporting any Knicks gear, as well you should be… WE SUCK! You know if you MUST get your Knicks basketball fix, and I guess you must be glutton for punishment. I recommend watching when the Knicks did anything good….sooo over 40 year ago vintage footage is what I recommend. Get yourself some NBA Dynasty Series – New York Knicks – The Complete History, or here is something more recent.

So again to recap my preview of the Knicks’ Christmas day game, DO NOT WATCH THIS GAME! DO YOURSELF THE FAVOR!

Merry Christmas, and Happy Holidays from The New York Knicks Podcast.

2013/14 Knicks Roster Power Rankings – Week 3

I just thought of doing this so there is no week 1 and two.  This is based on how the player has played over the previous week(s), not on total talent. 
       
Rank Player              Comments Last weeks Rank
1 World Peace, Metta Ron Artest (I’m not calling him Metta) has been the Knicks best bench player.  A few dumb hacktastic fouls aside he’s been the least aggravating Knicks to watch over the first two weeks.
2 Anthony, Carmelo Melo has been shooting like crap all season but it’s easy for opposing teams to gang up on him when there are no other scoring threats and Melo probably wouldn’t pass if there were.
3 Bargnani, Andrea Bargs offense has come alive the last two games.  I have absolutely no expectations of him rebounding or playing defense so this is as good as it gets.
4 Prigioni, Pablo Pablo has been defending and shooting well in fairly limited minutes.  Two things Felton has not done well at all so far.
5 Hardaway Jr., Tim It’s not so much that THJ has been good it’s that everyone else has been so bad. Continue reading

Knicks vs Spurs 11-10-13 – Sarcastic Bullet Points

  • Welcome back from weed suspension JR.  Oh how we missed all your wild shots, terrible shooting percentage and unforced turnovers.
  • Hey Woodson, until Chandler gets back Aldrich is the only real center on the team and can actually rebound, make sure you keep playing him less than 10 minutes a game.
  • Amare didn’t have any turnovers this game.  I guess he was too busy missing shots and fouling players instead.
  • Nice rebound Bargnani.  I don’t have to be more specific as that was the only one for the whole game.
  • Hey Metta, hacking at peoples arms does not qualify as good defense.
  • I jokingly told my girlfriend that I would go shopping with her if the Knicks went down by 30.  My ass just got back from clothes shopping.  Thanks a lot.

Jay’s 2013 Eastern Conference Preview

Jay’s 2013 Eastern Conference Preview

Paul George and LeBron James

The Riggin’ For Wiggins Bracket

15. Philadelphia 76’ers – How excited are you if you’re a Philly fan that your team gutted its roster for a 25% chance at getting supposed first pick in next year’s NBA draft, Andrew Wiggins. Highlights of the season will be game 1 when Allen Iverson will have his retirement ceremony (remember he retired, it clearly was not that he couldn’t find a job) and the last few weeks of the season when they could be serious challengers for worst record of all time.

14. Charlotte Bobcats – The soon to be Hornets have had 8 top 10 draft picks in 9 years and have never drafted an all-star. Every year their strategy seems to be ‘tank and get a high draft pick’ yet they suck at drafting. Well congrats Charlotte, the acquisition of Al Jefferson will probably boost your record just enough so that you won’t get the number one pick, guaranteeing you’ll screw up whatever pick you do get.

The We Suck But Not As Hard As The Last Bracket Bracket

#yolofro

13. Toronto Raptors – After trying to give away Andrea Bargnani last season, the Raptors managed to get two players who are even less effective in Tyler Hansbrough and Steve Novak. At least they have a bunch of inefficient ball stoppers. Continue reading

Optimism and the Knicks

Optimism, defined as:

A tendency to expect the best possible outcome or dwell on the most hopeful aspects of a situation”

Of course this word has strayed from the dictionary of Knicks fans in recent years, but you can’t deny the last three years have offered more cause for optimism than any other in the post-Ewing era. I suppose to a certain extent then we should feel lucky that what was a consistently sinking ship of a team year upon year under the direction of Isiah Thomas has now turned into what is expected of a New York franchise; big players, big results, and most importantly of all, big ambitions. Furthermore, you’d be forgiven for thinking that the last two years of the Melo trade have been disappointing given the reasonably swift post-season exits, because when it’s all said and done, there has been improvement. In 2011-12 the Knicks achieved a .545 regular season win percentage, and in 2012-13 a .659 win percentage; the improvement is clear to see, losing in five games to the current NBA champions Miami Heat is hardly an embarrassment, and even losing to the Pacers in the conference semi’s is understandable given Roy Hibbert’s inexplicably high level of play against a banged up Tyson Chandler and a makeshift center in Kenyon Martin.

More of the same please Shump

More of the same please Shump

he point I am trying to make, is that this year, more than any other year, we have reason to be optimistic about the Knicks. Continue reading