kristaps porzingis

New York Knicks vs Detroit Pistons – 11/16/16 – Game Recap

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New York Knicks vs Detroit Pistons
Game 11: November 16, 2016
Knicks 105, Pistons 102

Written by Eric Weinstein – @ericcweinsteinn

Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the Kristaps Porzingis show.

The Knicks took on the Detroit Pistons tonight for the second time this season, and evened up the series at 1-1. The story of tonight’s game was Kristaps Porzingis, who led the Knicks with a career high 35 points, along with 7 rebounds and 3 assists. Carmelo Anthony had 22 points, and Derrick Rose had 15 points, with a few clutch baskets in the fourth quarter. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope led the Pistons with 21 points, and missed a potential game tying three pointer at the end of regulation. Long Island native Tobias Harris finished with 19 points and 10 boards.

Takeaways from this game:

Kristaps Kristaps Kristaps:

I don’t want this to become a lovefest for Porzingis, but boy was he special tonight. Porzingis had his career high of 35 points, which is great in itself, but the array in which he scores is incredible. Whether it’s threes, post ups, fade-away jumpers, or that thunderous alley-oop, he had the garden crowd on their feet all night. He only took 22 shots to get to those 35 points, so the efficiency is there, and we are watching him become a star in front of our very eyes.

Props to KO and the bench:

His numbers won’t jump off the page, but Kyle O’Quinn had a really nice game tonight off the bench. He finished with 6 points, 5 boards, 2 assists, and 3 blocks, and this may have been the best defense we have seen him play. Besides, KO, the entire bench played great as well.

Brandon Jennings had 7 assists, Justin Holiday had 9 points and 5 assists, and even Maurice N’Dour had an extremely active 9 minutes.

Joakim Noah:

Joakim responded to the benching positively, as he came out of the gates hot. The Knicks ran pick and roll with Rose and Noah the first play of the game, and continued to use it throughout the game. 7 points and 15 boards for the 72 million dollar man in this one, and these are the type of nights that make him worth that cash.

Ball movement and offensive boards:

The Knicks outrebounded the Pistons 52-40, even with Andre Drummond on the other team. They totaled 19 offensive boards, which is the most I’ve ever seen the Knickerbockers grab in a game. Joakim Noah was a huge reason for that, his activity on the glass was a key to the Knicks jumping out to a first half lead.

Other Notes:

The way the Knicks played tonight, it just felt like there was no way they were going to lose, no matter how close Detroit came. Even though it came down to the final shot, I was never in doubt that New York would come away with the win. One thing to be worried about is the Knicks going to Washington tomorrow night to play the Wizards, and KP played a season high 40 minutes. Rose, Melo, and KP all played heavy minutes tonight, and hopefully won’t be too fatigued going into tomorrow’s game. Knicks and Wizards tomorrow night at 7. Great win tonight, 5-6.

New York Knicks vs Dallas Mavericks – 11/14/16 – Game Recap

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New York Knicks vs Dallas Mavericks
Game 10: November 14, 2016
Knicks 93, Dallas 77

Written by Eric Weinstein – @ericcweinsteinn

See what happens when you play defense?

The Dallas Mavericks came to MSG to take on the Knickerbockers tonight, and the Knicks took it to them. New York defeated Dallas 93-77 backed by Carmelo Anthony’s 24 point, 7 rebound effort, as well as Kristaps Porzingis’ 24 points and 11 rebounds. Dallas was without Dirk Nowitzki and Deron Williams tonight, and Harrison Barnes paced them with 20 points.

Takeaways from this game:

An Epic Holiday:

For those that understood my Angels and Airwaves reference there, well done. The Holiday that I’m referring to is Justin Holiday, who had his best game as a Knick tonight. Holiday finished the game with 16 points, and he sparked the team with his exceptional on the ball defense. Most notably, he began the second half with the starting lineup, and we didn’t see the 72 million dollar man, Joakim Noah, for the rest of the game, which is a completely different problem.

Holiday is proving to be more than just a throw-in from the Derrick Rose trade with his active play.

Defense!

I guess the Knicks read my last recap when I blasted the team defense. The Knicks held the Mavs to just 77 points tonight, which is far and away the lowest amount they’ve given up this season. I know Dallas was missing some key players, I mean, one of the greatest players of all time was in street clothes on their bench, but to hold an NBA team under 80 points shows an excellent effort. It finally looked like the Knicks cared about playing hard on defense, which was nice to see that as a priority. Courtney Lee and Justin Holiday especially played hard and dug in on the defensive side of the ball.

KP and Melo:

When your two best players both score 20 plus, you’re in good shape. Melo, who couldn’t buy a bucket in the first half, got into a nice groove in the second half, as he scored 20 of his 24 after halftime. Porzingis was scoring a number of ways, and his crossover into a pullup jumper in the first half got me out of my seat. The dude is 7’3, and everything he does is so smooth. Love it when these two click.

Other Notes:

The Knicks have a lot of winnable games coming up this week. They play Detroit at home on Wednesday, and then they play Washington the night after. If the Knicks defend like they did tonight, and the ball moves as freely as it did in the second half, the Knicks should win both of those games. Look for Justin Holiday to be the first guard off the bench after tonight’s performance.

By the way, Maurice N’Dour should never shoot a three ever again, no matter the situation. My God that was ugly.

Why The New York Knicks Suck: it’s 2016 not 2006

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Why do the Knicks blow so badly?

The Knicks suck terribly this year

Why this team is complete and utter garbage, and is worse than it should be

Nobody really expected much out of the New York Knicks this season. Why would they? The team tanked its way to 17 wins last season in a bid to rival the Washington Generals and couldn’t even do that right. What was supposed to be an awful season en route to having the best chance at getting the #1 pick turned into a terrible season inexplicably improved by meaningless wins at the end that dropped us to the #4 slot.

All’s well that ends well, though. With the drafting of future GOAT Kristaps Porzingis, and the addition of actual NBA-caliber players like Robin Lopez and Aaron Afflalo plus varsity team-caliber players like Derrick Williams and Kyle O’quinn, the Knicks looked poised to be fighting for a .400 record(hurray!).

The Knicks got out to a solid record considering their lack of talent, coaching, and experience together, flirting ever so teasingly with .500 several different times. When the team is clicking, they’ve played tough against the best in the league(without Melo even. Sign of something?), but the reality of the season has been that the Knicks have beaten a few solid teams and have usually lost to anyone who is actually good(and plenty who aren’t).

Despite some improvements, the Knicks still suck. But why? Why is it that fringe, formerly-unemployed NBA dreck feast against us night in and night out? Why do teams come to MSG expecting to get an easy win? Why is it that basic in-game adjustments from the other side kill us and there’s nothing we can do about it?

While talent, coaching, and lack of a good South American player(everyone knows that you need to have at least 1)  have something to do with it, that doesn’t explain it all, and firing Fisher isn’t going to change much.

The Knicks suck because it’s 2016 and not 2006. Better yet, they suck because it’s 2016 and not 1996. In a league that relies on versatility, controlled pace, spacing, and penetration, the Knicks are posting and joking, plodding and waddling, switching and bitching their way to the bottom of the Eastern Conference. Let’s tear into it a little bit more…

Outdated strategy

New York Knicks suck

The Knicks own version of the Bermuda Triangle does its best to swallow the talent of our best players. Modern analytics and technology be damned.

The NBA that your parents grew up watching was a slower, choppier, more physical game played around the rim from the inside out. It was a big man’s league. The rules and spirit of the game at the time made it a hell of alot easier to play from the block. Perimeter-oriented teams were rare. That’s not the case anymore. The Modern NBA is dominated by free flowing, quasi-positionless, versatile teams that attack from the perimeter, and make you pick your poison. You either let the wings take it to the rim, or you give up an open 3 ball. The Knicks are on pace for closer to the 2006 average in 3’s than they are the 2015.

The Knicks run the triangle. And in defense of this system, it doesn’t matter if we were running the square, the circle or the trapezoid either, the talent on this team just doesn’t live up to a top-tier squad. Still, while nearly all great teams in the league initiate their offense via penetration from wings, ours starts with the slowest player catching the ball 17 feet from the basket. The triangle maximizes mid-range jump shot opportunities and often puts the ball in the hands of the one guy on the court whose job is physical defense and rebounding(Lopez). Take these stats to heart:

  • The Knicks take the 5th most 2 point field goals in the league
  • The Knicks rank 27th in 2 point %………
  • The Knicks take the 23rd most 3’s, and rank 22nd in 3 point fg%
  • The Knicks are 22nd in assists
  • The Knicks are 25th in pace

So the Knicks run an offensive system geared at getting shots that they can’t make. Is there anything more Knicks than that? To top it off, they can’t balance it out with 3’s or free throws(even though the Knicks have the highest ft% in the league, they are only average at getting there). What makes it worse is that they iso the crap out of the ball, ranking 22nd in the league in assists and on pace for about the league average in the mid 00’s. Playing at the 5th slowest pace isn’t helping either. Not when the talent doesn’t match. Great teams like the 90’s Bulls, and recent Lakers and Celtics championship teams played slowly, but they had the talent to match. New York is playing Robin Lopez and Derrick Williams.

Fit

One thing that the Knicks can say about the team this year is that they actually have NBA-caliber players. Melo, Porzingis, Lopez, Afflalo, Thomas, and Galloway, and maybe Derrick Williams and Jose Calderon all belong in the league in some capacity, even if just as back ups in some cases.

The problem is that they are more of a hodgepodge than a cohesive unit. The leftovers of a swing and a miss in free agency. The best teams in the league field units that are not only talented, but that fit like gloves. They are mixes of shooters, defenders, penetrators, finishers, and post threats. To see how the Knicks are the opposite of that, let’s look at the starting lineup:

Jose Calderon New York Knicks

Calderon– Jose is the worst Spanish thing since the Spanish Flu. Not only is he inept defensively, he can’t do anything offensively aside from shoot. To make it worse, he can’t beat his man to get his shot off. So he is only a spot up shooter at this point, but the Knicks are playing him major minutes.

Afflalo- AA is off and on like a high school couple, and can’t play defense like he could in his day. He’s a net negative on D in terms of +/- and is barely posting in the positive for defensive win shares. The real issue is, though, that he doesn’t bring versatility to our attack. AA makes his living either posting up or shooting from mid range. And what’s worse is that the majority of those 2 point field goals are not assisted. That means he is someone who we iso from mid range or on the block. Sounds exactly like someone else in the starting lineup…..

Melo– Melo is still a star player, but something just isn’t right with him this season. The biggest issue is how he is being used. Melo is 13th in usage % at 29.5%, and has decreased his % of shots around the rim. He ranks second in isolation plays, and those plays produce less than 1 point per possession. He also has an assist % nearly identical to our point guard. It’s great to see Melo moving the ball, but should our star scorer really be our primary playmaker, especially when he is over 30? The players surrounding Melo don’t make up for his shortcomings, and don’t emphasize his strengths. There is no elite wing defender, no elite gunner or slasher to punish doubles, and no playmaker to make his life easier. He is at his best when finishing possessions created by a point guard or bullying smaller defenders in the post. Not isoing, turning and fading, or creating off the dribble.

Porzingis– the second coming is still in his infancy, but it’s clear that he has the skills to be dominant in the modern NBA. The problem is that the system isn’t emphasizing his strengths, either. The slower the team plays, the harder it is for Porzingis to use his natural advantages. How many impressive alley-oops and putbacks have we seen from him? How many times has he beaten slower bigs in transition, and how many times have we seen this Latvian beast trail for a wide open 3? Yet, he posts up(15% of possessions) more than he plays as the roll man(13.5%) despite being wildly more efficient at the latter and in the bottom third of the league at the former. His most efficient offensive possessions are when he cuts to the rim, yet he does that less than pretty much everything else. Partly a spacing issue, and partly a system issue. Also, when he does get doubled in the post, spacing issues make him more turnover prone and there isn’t enough shooting to punish double teams.

Lopez Knicks

Lopez– Robin plays gritty, tough, hard nosed basketball. Exactly the kind of guy that Phil would have loved back in the old NBA. The problem is that the game has changed. Lopez is putting up great numbers close to the basket defensively (opponents are shooting 12% worse against him around the rim), but he is fairly one-dimensional. He struggles to keep up with quicker bigs, and doesn’t offer much versatility in the form of switching. On offense, he struggles to contribute much outside of post up hooks. So instead of having a mobile big that creates space, finishes off of cuts to the rim, and plays a modern style, the Knicks play a slow bruiser that muddies up the middle and takes away valuable space for the team’s two best offensive players.

What this boils down to is that the Knicks play players who don’t compliment each other’s strengths. If a player isn’t doing exactly what he is good at, then he can’t really contribute much else while on the floor.

Versatility

The modern NBA is full of teams who play positionless basketball, especially on the defensive end. The Warriors, Spurs, Thunder, and to a lesser extent the Cavaliers have versatile personnel capable of at least keeping you honest on offense, and capable of defending multiple positions on defense or vice versa. The Knicks, on the other hand, attempt to keep the score low by playing as slow as possible, and not actually trying to stop their opponents from scoring. Players like Calderon, Afflalo, Williams, and Seraphin struggle on defense and aren’t anything special offensively. Players like Lopez and Galloway bring it defensively every night, but aren’t versatile offensively.

Carmelo Anthony

Sorry, Carmelo. We want you out there for your defense. Don’t worry, we’ve got Sasha to pick up the slack on O.

It’s sad to think that Carmelo Anthony might be the best two-way player on the team, and he is the guy we want saving his energy for offense. Lance Thomas, at 6-8, 235 should be that guy, but his defense isn’t as good as has been heralded, and he only scores 8.5 per game.

Having players that can’t play both sides of the ball in a versatile manner, either by being able to guard multiple positions and hit the long ball or by being talented offensively and at least passable defensively means that this team is not only predictable night in and night out, but is also incapable of adjusting. While teams of bygone eras past had rigid position definitions and specialists that filled pre-determined roles, modern NBA teams thrive on fluidity and versatility.  Compare the starting lineups of the 2006 NBA finals between the Heat and Mavericks to the 2015 NBA finals between the Cavaliers and Warriors to see exactly what I am talking about. The Knicks just haven’t gotten the memo.

In an NBA where the best teams play in space while maximizing 3’s, free throws, and layups, the Knicks take long, inefficient 2’s. In an NBA where the best teams push the pace to make it easier on offense for their best players, the Knicks slow it down and pound the ball in, assuring everyone gets hurt and tired. In an NBA where the best teams play units that maximize each other’s strength and hide weaknesses, the Knicks either play redundant players and specialists, or misuse the talent that they do have. In an NBA where the best teams play versatile players capable of wearing multiple hats on either end, the Knicks play Jose Calderon and Robin Lopez. This team would have probably kicked some serious ass in 2006. Too bad that was ten years ago. The good news is that this squad is sure to provide plenty of fodder for the NewYorkKnicks Podcast, so stay tuned!

3 Realistic Trades for Carmelo Anthony: the future of the New York Knicks

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Carmelo Anthony of the New York Knicks

Carmelo and Porzingis are the right stars, but it might be the wrong time.

3 Realistic Trades for Carmelo Anthony: the future of the New York Knicks

Talking about trades for Carmelo Anthony is all the rage now that we have a blue-chip prospect in Kristaps Porzingis, but finding the right fit is more difficult than deciphering what the hell Clyde is talking about half the time during broadcasts. The New York Knicks have been pretty much synonymous with dysfunction and disappointment over the better part of this century. From trading away valuable draft picks for the worst Italian since Mussolini to signing clinically obese, immobile big men to multi-year, cap-destroying deals, this team has had little to be excited about for a long time. The Knicks are a hapless collection of oxymorons– a  big market team in a center of world culture that nobody wants to play in, a team with a huge payroll and minuscule win total, a team that plays in the “Mecca of basketball” but usually loses to whichever team makes a pilgrimage there– so it’s only fitting that the one time in the past two decades that they’ve had a legit superstar is also the one time when the best thing to do for the franchise is trading him.

Although the Knicks are in no shape to compete for a championship as currently constructed, some of the ingredients are in the cupboard. There’s the scoring machine that can get buckets against any defense, a budding defensive stopper with unlimited range, and some young, tough guards that can stroke it from deep. But for everything that is in stock there is something missing, and the store probably won’t be stocking it any time soon. This team has everything except enough talent and coaching to win ball games.

Right pieces. The wrong time.

Seeing as how the timelines of the team’s best pieces don’t really align( Melo being 31 and Kristael JORD-zingis merely 19), it could be that the team won’t be in contention until Mr. Anthony is too old. While he can be this generation’s Paul Pierce(a star who never had enough help to play with the big boys until late in his career), do we really want to chance that? On the other hand, the organization is finally showing some signs of sensible management and finally has a bright future, do they really want to trade the best player the team has had since Patrick Ewing while he is still in his prime?

Depending on how you look it, it might be the best thing to do. IF they strike gold in free agency, say, Nicholas Batum, Mike Conley or both and a few solid veterans, then maybe there is hope that they can go down in a blaze of glory to the Lebron James Eastern Conference Championship corporation in the conference finals, but if they strike out again, then the landscape is bleak. Melo will be going on 33 with no sign of hope coming for another year or two at least. While he is still worth something, the Knicks could do well by trading him, accumulating draft picks and growing around a new core of young players. Which brings us to:

The trades

Crafting the right trade for Melo isn’t easy. First, he has a no trade clause, but that doesn’t worry me much seeing as how the current roster would send me screaming to the nearest competitor if I were an NBA superstar on the backend of my prime. Second, we would need to get solid young players and picks. The problem here is that the teams that Melo wants to go to probably won’t give us the type of pick we are looking for. That means getting the best young player possible, accumulating some solid picks, and tanking when we have our own pick next year while letting Magic-staps John-zingis develop by having free reign to devour unsuspecting defenses with his dragon-like wings and fire breath.

Step 1) Which teams might Melo go to?

Carmelo Anthony of the Knicks

As you can tell, Melo likes to party. He doesn’t want to go somewhere that sucks….like Detroit.

First you need a contender or a team on the brink of contention in a place that doesn’t suck (sorry Orlando, Sacramento, and Utah). Certain places like Indy and OKC might not appeal to a city boy, can overcome their prairie issues with their sheer basketball abilities in my opinion. Current NBA chainsaw, Golden State won’t be making any changes, so they’re out. That leaves us with(in no order):

Houston, Cleveland, Indiana, Chicago, Miami, Atlanta, OKC, Memphis, Dallas, LAC, New Orleans, Washington and Phoenix.

Step 2) Who has something we want?

We want a nice young player(or at least not old), cap relief and picks. That is going to eliminate Cleveland, Indiana, Memphis, Dallas, and LAC right off the bat. Sorry, but they have nothing we want. Now we have Houston, Chicago, Miami, Atlanta, OKC, NOP, Washington and PHX.

Step 3) Find the real suitors

Sadly, Phoenix has a bevy of nice young assets but getting Melo wouldn’t vault them into contention. Same with Washington since we’d want Bradly Beal or nothing. I’m afraid they both need to be scratched from the board. New Orleans doesn’t really have any interesting players or picks aside from Jrue Holiday, who is oft injured and might actually be too good too quickly and win us more games than we want( DAMN YOU FISHER FOR WINNING THOSE GAMES AT THE END OF LAST SEASON!), so they are gone. All of OKC’s nice picks are gone when we need them, and they don’t really have anyone young that could help us or be anything good in the future, so that leaves us with Houston, Chicago, Miami and Atlanta. But Atlanta has a good thing going, and Melo wouldn’t fit there ball movement style of play( you know? those teams that pass the ball?!?). So now we are down to 3 measly little teams that would suit Melo, the Knicks and themselves in a trade: Houston, Chicago and Miami.

The Trades for Carmelo Anthony

#1- Houston

New York trades Carmelo Anthony, Jose Calderon and Lou Amundson

Houston trades Ty Lawson, Patrick Beverly, Corey Brewer, K.J McDaniels and Terrence Jones + a 2018 first round pick and a 2020 first round pick.

Why for New York?

The Knicks go into full rebuild mode and nab two future firsts + a very intriguing youngish player in Terrence Jones. He can hit the corner 3, run the floor, and is a great athlete. He just needs playing time and an open system. Beverly is a known quantity but a solid player that can shore up our PG defense, and with Beverly, Gallo, and Porzingis locked up long-term we will be set on that end of the floor. K.J has shown some promise at times, and could be a solid rotation player in the future. Ty Lawson is an alcoholic that would have fit in great with the Ray Felton era Knicks where they could hit the town and get arrested together, but would probably be cut by this new Knicks squad. And Corey Brewer is….from Tennessee.

Embrace the tank, go young and cheap, get some picks, and pray.

Why For Houston?

Houston has all of the elements of a contender but hasn’t put it together so far this season. Many pegged them as a the hipster pick to make the finals this season after their run last year, and with their star wing/big duo plus solid wing defenders in Beverly, Ariza, Brewer, there was no reason to think otherwise…until the season started. Melo would give them more raw offensive talent than any team in the league outside of the state of Oklahoma, and they’d still have enough depth to weather the storm during bench time. This is the proverbial all-in push as they say. It sucks losing their two pg’s in this trade, but seeing as how Ty Lawson isn’t even really running the point much anyway when he even gets playing time and Calderon is coming over, there is no reason to think this trade wouldn’t make them one of the best teams in the West. They might have to take a flyer on a free agent or d-league guy just to shore up their PG or SG spot but having Melo would be worth it.

 

#2 The Chicago Bulls

Continue reading →

2015/16 Knicks Roster Power Rankings – Week 5

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3 wins this week, bringing the win streak to 4 games!  I’m of course pretending the Miami game didn’t happen.  Those aren’t the Knicks I watched for the first 14 games of the season.  Those were a bunch of jokers who didn’t play defense and couldn’t shoot.
Rank Player Comments Last weeks Rank
1 Porzingis, Kristaps It took a whole 5 weeks before our young, too skinny, multi-year project claimed the #1 spot.  Zingis arguably outplayed our superstar Melo in 3 of the 4 games this week, including a 29 point game and a 7 block game (both tops among rookies this season). 2
2 Anthony, Carmelo Melo has been alright this week. Not the untradable superstar I keep hearing about, but decent.  His assists are back down, 5 over the course of the last 3 games, and his shot is still streaky.  Basically classic Melo, very good but leaves you wanting more. 1
3 Afflalo, Arron Afflalo is a legit starting SG, but not one of the best SG’s in the league.  He is, however, probably the best SG the Knicks have had since Starks.  That’s depressing. 3
4 Calderon, Jose The Knicks go as Calderon goes. He played well in our 3 wins and bad in the 1 loss. 5
5 Galloway, Langston For the first 3 weeks I thought we had a deep bench, now it looks like Galloway and whatever random guy ends up playing well for 1 night. Continue reading →

Knicks at Raptors 11-10-15 – Game Recap

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Written by Matt Adwar – @theknicksguy

A night where Knicks head coach Derek Fisher played 13 guys, it somehow all came together.

A blown call with Carmelo Anthony stepping out of bounds might have been the break the Knicks needed to pull out a victory. The Toronto Raptors made things very interesting hitting a 3 pointer to pull within 1 point with 1.5 seconds left. But the Knicks prevailed as they defeated the Raptors 111-109. The New York Knicks improved their record to 4-4 led by Carmelo Anthony who had a solid night with 25 points on 10-23 shooting. DeMar DeRozan led the Toronto Raptors with 29 points.

Lance Thomas, a key contributor in the 4th quarter said after the game “We imposed our will, everybody fought, its us against everybody”.

Tip Ins

Robin Lopez had one of his best games of the season contributing offensively and defensively. He racked in 12 points, 8 rebounds and 4 key blocks. Continue reading →

2015/16 Knicks Roster Power Rankings – Week 2

/ Jay / 1 Comment
Considering the tough opening schedule, I’d say 2-2 is a nice start.  The flaws in the roster are already becoming apparent.  We mentioned the backcourt was a problem and oh boy is it.  Jerian Grant leads the team in assists with 3.8.  In case you are new to stats, that is not good.
Rank Player Comments Last weeks Rank
1 Anthony, Carmelo 1 good game and 3 shooting performances that would make Kobe cringe.  If he wasn’t getting to the line and if he weren’t 2nd on the team in assists I’d already have lowered him in the rankings. 1
2 Galloway, Langston I mentioned last week that Galloway was a keeper if he could find his shot.  Well look who just went 9-12 from the 3 last week! 5
3 Grant, Jerian He plays defense, hits some shots and has the two highest assist games of the season for the Knicks at 7 and 5.  Kind of the opposite of our starting PG. 4
4 O’Quinn, Kyle Tied for 8th on the team in minutes played but 2nd in rebounds.  He’s a high energy guy like Acy was last year, only good. 3
5 Lopez, Robin Solid defense, decent on offense, would like to see more rebounds though. Continue reading →

Episode 303: Summer League

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Marc and Jay talk about the newest additions to the team, Bargnani joining the Nets, the first summer league game, and more

Download Episode 303

Knicks Rookies Join NBA Player Props Betting Mix

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New York Knicks fans in attendance at the recent 2015 NBA Draft at Barclays Center in Brooklyn reacted with disappointment upon the announcement of the Knicks’ much anticipated first-round selection.

While the fan faithful anticipated their club picking a familiar name like Justise Winslow of the Duke Blue Devils or Willie Cauley-Stein from the Kentucky Wildcats, many were surprised when the Knicks took relative unknown Kristaps Porzingis with the No. 4 overall selection.

The 7′ 1” Latvian spent the past three seasons with Seville of the Spanish Liga ACB, where he was heavily scouted by a number of NBA clubs that discovered a versatile and physical big man who can consistently hit from three-point territory.

The 19 year-old is expected to have an immediate impact on the Knicks fortunes next season and joins a fellow Knick prospect on the NBA player props betting odds as an intriguing 25/1 bet to earn NBA Rookie of the Year honors next season.

Jerian Grant took a much less direct route to a Knicks uniform on Draft Night.

The 22 year-old point guard, who earned Consensus first-team All-American honors last season while leading the Notre Dame Fighting Irish to the ACC Tournament title, was taken by the Knicks with the No. 19 selection after New York acquired the pick as part of a three-way deal that saw Tim Hardaway leave the Big Apple for the Atlanta Hawks, and No. 15 pick Kelly Oubre go to the nation’s capital.

The announcement of the acquisition of Grant was met with a roar by Knicks fans in attendance and puts two New York players in the 2016 NBA Rookie of the Year mix.

Indeed, the older and more experienced Grant holds the edge over Porzingis in NBA online props betting, with 22/1 odds.

Jahlil Okafor leads the way in early NBA rookie betting, pegged as a 15/4 favorite.

Selected third overall by the Philadelphia 76ers, the 6′ 11” center was named ACC Player of the Year last season before leading the Blue Devils to a national championship at this year’s March Madness.

Okafor is closely trailed by second overall pick D’Angelo Russell. The Los Angeles Lakers point guard was a standout for the Ohio State Buckeyes a year ago and is a strong 4/1 bet to be the top rookie in the NBA next season.

First overal pick Karl-Anthony Towns rounds out the front of the betting pack with 11/2 odds at the online sportsbook.

Taken by the Minnesota Timberwolves, Towns played a key role in Kentucky’s undefeated regular season, earning SEC Freshman of the Year honors.

The Denver Nuggets’ Emmanuel Mudiay, who played last season with the Guangdong Southern Tigers of the Chinese Basketball Association sits at a strong 7/1, followed by Winslow, who was eventually taken by the Miami Heat, at 9/1.

Episode 301: More Draft Reactions

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Marc and Jay get more in depth with their reaction to the draft and address all of their listener questions and concerns. And there are a lot of them.

http://traffic.libsyn.com/thenewyorkknickspodcast/Episode_301.mp3