Episode 224: Make It Stop

Marc and Jay talk about the losses to the Clippers and Nuggets, a new trade rumor, top 5 things that will magically turn this season around, listener questions and much more

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Knicks vs Pelicans – 12-1-13 – Game Recap

Written by William Lee

The Knicks did a great job of defending the Pelicans in the first quarter, forcing them to shoot 23.8%, going 5/21 from the field. Kenyon Martin set the tone from the tip, he did a good job of harassing Anthony Davis on the first two Pelicans’ possession, poking the ball from Davis, causing the Pelicans to start off with two turnovers. A couple possessions later Anthony Davis made a strong move to the rim, attempting to dunk the ball, but Andrea Bargnani was there to contest it without fouling. Bargnani had an amazing defensive effort in the first quarter, blocking three shots in the period, highlighted by a block on Jason Smith which led to a fast break alley opp to Carmelo Anthony. Anthony Davis left at 1:33 remaining in the first quarter, with the Knicks leading 18-16, and never returned.  The New Orleans sophomore stud suffered a non-displaced fracture on his left hand. His season averages coming into tonight’s match up with the Knicks was 19.6 points 10.6 rebounds and 3.9 blocks per game. This was another golden opportunity for the Knicks to take advantage of, to finally stop their losing streak.

With the Pelicans’ superstar sidelined, the bench came out swinging in the second quarter with Tyreke Evans and Ryan Anderson both scoring ten points in the quarter. This kept the Pelicans in the game with the Knicks in the first half, with the Knicks leading 49-44 going into intermission. The Knicks were sharing the ball and had great ball movement, with 13 assist on 18 made field goals at the half. Raymond Felton led the way for the Knicks at the half with 10 points and 5 assist. Continue reading

Knicks @ Nuggets – 11-29-13 – Game Recap

 

trade

Written by William Lee

            Hard to believe this trade was over two years ago, in a cold February winter night in 2011. Since then it has been an up and down roller coaster ride for the Knicks and their fans. The blockbuster trade brought immediate dividends with the Knicks making the playoffs for the first time since the 2003-2004 season, but was immediately swept by the Boston Celtics in the first round. Then the worldwide phenomenon we all now come to be known as Linsanity occurred the following season. The Knicks had another first round exit, but not before picking up their first playoff victory, in over a decade. With the incredible hype behind Linsanity, James Dolan guaranteed that the Knicks would to match any offer up to one billion dollars during the offseason. All it really took was a poison pill contract worth $25 million over three years, with $14.8 million of it in the third year. Even with the departure of Jeremy Lin, the Knicks then had a magical 2012-2013 season, where the Knicks set a new NBA record with 891 three point shots made in a season. The Knicks broke past the First Round, but not before JR Smith elbowed Jason Terry, prolonging the series with the Boston Celtics. The Knicks then fall to the Indiana Pacers in the Second Round, in a hard fought series.

Up and down, up and down we are along for the Carmelo Anthony era ride of the Knicks. Unfortunately last year may have been the apex of the roller coaster ride up, as this year has been a complete disaster. The Knicks has lost seven straight entering tonight’s match up with Carmelo Anthony’s old team, the Denver Nuggets. Things look bleak now, but it could take a nose dive descent for the Knicks as the Nuggets hold the upcoming Knicks first round pick this year from the Carmelo Anthony trade. The Nuggets helped their own cause tonight, as they sent the Knicks to their eighth straight defeat, winning 97-95. Continue reading

Knicks at Clippers 11-27-13

Written by William Lee
Raymond Felton made his return to the Knicks after missing the last four games with some nerve complications in his hip. At first Felton looked out of sync with his teammates committing two quick turnovers, but quickly got back on track, finishing the game with 12 points and 7 assist. Blake Griffin got into early foul trouble, picking up his second foul before the half way mark of the first quarter. With the Clippers’ superstar forward on the bench, the Clippers united as a group to take a 29-27 first quarter lead. The Clippers had eight players score by the end of the first quarter.  Carmelo Anthony and Andrea Bargnani got off to a quick start, both finishing in double digit scoring by the end of the first quarter predicated by the Knicks better ball movement. The Knicks finished the first quarter with eight assist on eleven made field goals.
Basketball is a game of runs, and the second quarter featured three prolonged runs. The Clippers opened up the second quarter on an 11-2 run to take a 40-29 lead with 8:20 remaining in the second quarter. The Knicks then went on a 13-0 run to regain the lead 42-40, during this run the Clippers took and missed four straight threes. The Clippers then went on a 9-3 run to end the first half leading 49-45. During the two prolonged Clippers’ runs there was one common denominator; Amare Stoudemire was in the game defending the paint for the Knicks. The first Clipper run ended when Stoudemire was substituted out at 8:13, and then the Clippers went on the run to end the quarter when Stoudemire checked back into the game at 3:37 left in the first half. Whenever Stoudemire was in the game, there was a clear path to the rim, he was completely lost on defense. He finished the first quarter with a +/- of -21, as compared to the current best Knicks defender Kenyon Martin, who had a +17 at the end of the first half. Overall Stoudemire finished the game with an even worse+/- at an astonishing -29, while Martin was by far the best Knick in +/- staying at +17. Continue reading

Episode 223: What We’re Thankful For

Marc and Jay do two top 5s, what we’re thankful for and what you can watch instead of the Knicks, we very briefly talk about the Portland game, listener questions, Marcs fantasy basketball strategy, we talk to Tyson Chandler and much more

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2013/14 Knicks Roster Power Rankings – Week 5

Four games and four losses since last weeks rankings.  I will now try and rank the varying levels of awfulness that make up the Knicks roster.
       
Rank Player              Comments Last weeks Rank
1 Anthony, Carmelo Last night was the first night in a long time Melo has shot over .500, but he’s also fighting constant double teams due to the lack of help around him.  A few more assists would help but I can’t complain too much considering he’s currently 2nd in the NBA in scoring and a very impressive 11th in rebounding. 1
2 Martin, Kenyon Huzzah!  An actual Knick player that plays defense.  He can rebound too!  He’s been playing over 25 minutes a game.  Anyone else terrified at what this team would look like if K-Mart went down? 6
3 Bargnani, Andrea Bargnani went ice cold for a few games but who am I going to put above him?  He’s been grabbing 5 boards a game which is…not the worst I guess.  Would still like to see him get more touches in the 2nd half of games, especially when he’s productive in the 1st half.  Looking at you Melo and JR. 2
4 Udrih, Beno With Felton out Beno has bene our resident ‘PG who lets every opposing PG run past him on just about every play’ guy.  He’s up this high for his performance in the Indiana game because 1 great game is 1 more than the players ranked 5-15. 9
5 Stoudemire, Amar’e You know this team is in trouble when we’re putting Amare in the top 5.  Yes his defense is still the worst but he’s been scoring and rebounding at a very efficient rate which is all you can expect from him at this point.   Continue reading

Episode 222: Running out of Sad Songs

The Knicks lost again and Marc and Jay try to cope.  We are joined by a basketball god, Derrick Rose and Chris Smith.  Talking about the usual, coaching, injuries, fixes, trades, whether it’s time to panic, and much more

Episode 222

Episode 221: Secret Switches

Marc and Jay talk about the Detroit and Indiana games, minutes management, Shumperts foul, top 5 dumb comments we’ve seen this week, Marcs notes from the Pistons game, what we’re going to do if the Knicks lose against Washington and much more

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Knicks vs Pacers – 11-20-13 – Game Recap

 
Written by William Lee
 
Paul George outduels Carmelo Anthony in the Pacers overtime win against the Knicks 103-96. George sent the game to overtime on an Iman Shumpert foul on a three point attempt, he calmly knocked down all three free throws. With the game all tied up at 89-89, the Knicks had 5.2 seconds left to win the game, going with their superstar Carmelo Anthony, but he could not deliver the victory, missing on a turnaround jumper. In the extra period Paul George scored nine of his season high 35 points, to pull away from the Knicks. George showed his complete array of offensive repertoire in overtime. Drawing first blood in overtime with a three to push the Pacers ahead 92-89 with 3:43 left in overtime. Then he scored on a pull up jumper, and then got Andrea Bargnani up in the air on a pump fake, and drawing a foul, knocking down both his free throws on the next possession. With 1:08 left in overtime George hit a dagger step back jumper to put the Pacers ahead 99-93. The Knicks could not keep pace with the Pacers in overtime, as Carmelo Anthony was the only Knick who scored, that wasn’t in garbage time. He tried his best to keep the Knicks close scoring four points in the extra session.
 
Carmelo Anthony started off great, scoring 17 points and grabbing seven rebounds by the end of the first half. The Knicks were the team that looked like they were the defensive stalwarts holding the Pacer scoreless for five minutes to start the game. The Knicks were up by as many as 13 points to nothing, before the Pacers clamped down on defense. The Knicks missed ten straight field goals, fueling a Pacers 14-6 run to end the first quarter. This was highlighted by a Roy Hibbert bank in three to cut into the deficit 19-14 to finish the quarter. Continue reading

Knicks at Pistons – 11-20-13 – Game Recap

Written by William Lee
Both the New York Knicks and the Detroit Pistons were shorthanded, but it was the Pistons who overcame the adversities and was victorious Tuesday night. Winning 92-86 despite their starting point guard Brandon Jennings leaving the game early with an upset stomach. Pistons were also without point guards Chauncey Billups (knee tendinitis) and Will Bynum (groin, hamstring). The Knicks were also without their starting point guard Raymond Felton, who missed the game because of hamstring soreness and a pinched nerve in his hip. Beno Udrih stepped into the starting lineup, but was held scoreless in 18 minutes of action. Mike Woodson decided to go to a big lineup to match up with the Pistons’ large frontline. Without Tyson Chandler and Metta World Peace, Kenyon Martin joined Udrih in the starting lineup for his first start of the season. Woodson also decided to put JR Smith back to his sixth man role, and inserted Iman Shumpert back into the starting lineup.
Both teams got off to a hot start, shooting over 50% in the first quarter. The Pistons lead 26-24 after one period, behind seven points from Josh Smith and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope respectively. Andrea Bargnani led the way for the Knicks with nine first quarter points, highlighted by a driving and one dunk. The Knicks cooled off in the second quarter missing 14/21 shots, with so many misses, the Knicks kept themselves in the game with five offensive rebounds in the quarter. Amare Stoudemire showed flashes, with back to back spectacular dunks, part of an 8-0 Knicks run, to take a 34-28 lead with 8 minutes left in the first half. Brandon Jennings came back into the game, and was content with setting his teammates up, collecting four assist the rest of the half. With his fourth assist leading to a Gigi Datome buzzer beating three to end the half, to tie the game up at 43-43. Continue reading