Troy from The Knicks Recap joins us to talk about talk Julius Randle, the recent Donovan Mitchell ‘news’ and RJ Barrett’s looming contract extension.
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recap
Episode 547: First Week Recap
Marc and Jay talk about the first three games of the season and give their thoughts on each player on the roster so far
Episode 440: Robinson and Trier are Draft Steals
Marc and Jay talk about the last four games, who to cut because the Knicks are clearly keeping Trier, what the lineup will look like when Knox and Porzingis come back, and much more
Episode 398: First Week
Marc and Jay talk about the first week of the season, the Thunder and Pistons game, Hernangomez, what is and isn’t working, around the NBA, 10 minutes with a die hard Knicks fan, and more
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
Overview of the Knicks 2017 Season
Overview of the Knicks 2017 Season
The New York Knicks are a far cry from the perennial powerhouse they used to be in the days of Patrick Ewing in the early to mid-90s. Today, they are consistently ranked towards the bottom of the Eastern Conference and haven’t made the playoffs since the 2012-2013 season. Over the last decade, they’ve made the playoffs three times, while that may not seem all that bad, it is when you consider that the team made the playoffs every single season in the 90s.
Today’s New York Knicks are led by Carmello Anthony in his 14th season in the league, and is the Knicks’ biggest star player with his 21.8 points per game average. They also made some moves that were viewed a blockbuster moves when they acquired former MVP Derrick Rose from the Chicago Bulls during the offseason, as well as another former Bull, Joakim Noah.
Entering the season, the New York Knicks had plenty to be optimistic about. They had added two solid players in Rose and Noah, and already had what they thought to be a solid core to build around in Carmello Anthony. It simply didn’t click up to expectations for the Knicks this season as they currently sit 8 games out of the final playoff spot with the season coming to a close early next week. To add insult to an already disappointing season, the Knicks lost Derrick Rose for the remainder of the season after he tore his meniscus in his left knee a few days ago. A recent NBA analyst discovered that handicapper Jon Price made over $375,000 from wagering against the Knicks in the month of March alone. He takes into account arbitrage betting strategies and trends and this year the Knicks have been his friend.
One can’t help but to see the Knicks as a perennial disappointment in today’s NBA. They have suffered through mediocrity for years, changing general managers and head coaches multiple times, and even did what they could in free agency, but the players don’t seem to pan out as well once they come to New York. The Knicks had as much hype entering the 2016-2017 season as any Knicks team in the last ten years, and they disappointed greatly.
Some are already looking to the next draft and saying that the Knicks need to draft a guard to provide insurance for an injury-prone Derrick Rose, or to potentially even replace him. Rose had an average performance in 2016 and 2017, but missed games again this year due to injuries. He finished his season averaging 18 points per game, which is a point below his career average. Still better than how the acquisition of Joakim Noah worked out for them, as he only played in 46 games and averaged 5 points per game in those contests.
With the 2016-’17 NBA Season coming to a close, it’s safe to say this year was another disappointment for the dynasty that used to be the New York Knicks. Now they’re left with more questions than answers as they enter an offseason with a lot of uncertainty around Derrick Rose and the overall performance of their team.
They’ll look to bounce back and grow through the draft, in time for the 2017-’18 NBA Season.
New York Knicks vs Indiana Pacers – 3/14/17 – Game Recap
New York Knicks vs Indiana Pacers
March 14, 2017
Knicks 87, Pacers 81
Written by Eric Weinstein – @ericcweinsteinn
flagrant2blog.blogspot.com
The Indiana Pacers aren’t fans of snow, apparently.
The blizzard in New York City couldn’t keep the basketball out of MSG tonight as the Indiana Pacers came to town to wrap up the season series against the Knickerbockers. In a season without many bright spots, the Knicks put on an excellent performance in their building, to give the fans something to cheer about. Kristaps Porzingis was the biggest story tonight, as he left the game with a leg thigh contusion, because this season can’t have a high, without delivering a low immediately afterwards.
After the exit of the unicorn, it was Carmelo Anthony and Willy Hernangomez who put the Knicks on their back in the fourth to lead the Knicks to a win, 87-81. Anthony and Hernangomez were scoring, defending, and rebounding at an incredible rate, as both men pulled down double-digit rebounds for their respective double-doubles. Carmelo scored 22 to lead the Knicks, and Hernangomez scored 13 points and grabbed 16 boards. Derrick Rose also scored 16 points and continued to knock down mid-range jumpers.
The biggest story from this game? Defense. The Knicks played excellent defense tonight, and you read that correctly. The Knicks ACTUALLY played tough defense against a decent opponent. Credit to these guys to playing hard all game long and showing fight in another lost season. The Knicks could have easily played down and crawled to the finish, but they hung tough to give the paying customers what they traveled through the snow to see.
Now, I know what you’re thinking, how could the guy who has been one of the biggest advocates of the tank be okay with a win against a playoff team? I’ll tell you why, it’s because even though it goes against what I really think the Knicks should be doing, I love this team too damn much to not be happy about a win. During the 17 win season, the Knicks won a few games at the end of the season that knocked their draft position back a few spots, but I don’t see a win like this mattering too much. Everyone has to accept the fact that New York will land somewhere between the 6-10 pick range, and that should be just fine for everyone. This team isn’t bad enough to get to the top-5 mark with such little time left in the season.
Knicks are back in action against the tank-a-licious Brooklyn Nets in another riveting battle for New York City. Get your popcorn ready, this one will be brutal. 27-41.
New York Knicks at Detroit Pistons – 3/11/17 – Game Recap
New York Knicks at Detroit Pistons
March 11, 2017
Pistons 112, Knicks 92
Written by Eric Weinstein – @ericcweinsteinn
flagrant2blog.blogspot.com
Same game, different day.
In what will be the final time the Knicks face the Pistons at the Palace of Auburn Hills, the Knicks once again failed to show up on the road. New York came out flat and allowed the Pistons to jump out to an early lead, one that was too much to overcome. New York showed fight and cut the deficit over the next three quarters, but were blown out at the end of the fourth.
Kristaps Porzingis led New York with 18 points to go along with 6 rebounds and 4 assists. He set up Willy Hernangomez on a number of nice bounce passes while set up in the post, passes that become possible through the triangle offense. Carmelo Anthony was invisible for another game, only scoring 13 points on 4-9 shooting, to go along with 4 assists. Chasson Randle made great use of more extended minutes to score 12 points, pull down 3 rebounds, and dish out 3 assists. The Knicks may have found something with this kid and he needs to see the floor more as the season comes to a close. Long Island product Tobias Harris led Detroit with 28 points, and Andre Drummond scored 24 points and grabbed 15 rebounds.
It’s just more of the same with the New York Knicks as we keep rolling along here, with the team not being committed on defense, as well as having difficulty with an often stagnant offense.
When Carmelo has nights like tonight, where he doesn’t seem to even be interested in the game, really, it’s going to be tough for the Knicks offense to get going. When the top gun struggles, the team will struggle.
I turned the game off midway through the fourth quarter. It’s just too painful.
After today, the Knicks are currently six games back of Milwaukee with Charlotte, Miami, and Chicago ahead of them. Barring a miracle, this team is not making the playoffs, and that’s easy to see. It makes sense for the Knicks to go into this last stretch of the season seeing what they have in some of the guys who don’t play much. Guys like Randle, Ron Baker, Mindaugus Kuzminskas, Marshall Plumlee, among others, should all be playing more than they are. The Knicks know what they have with guys like Derrick Rose and Courtney Lee, so why not see if these other guys have a future with the team? It’s an easy answer, one that the Knicks don’t seem to understand.
Another back to back situation on Sunday, as the Knicks fly home, but will need to hop on the subway to Brooklyn for a Sunday evening affair with the Brooklyn Nets. This game should be renamed the tankapalooza, considering the participants. Chin up everyone, it’ll all be over soon.
26-40.
New York Knicks vs Toronto Raptors – 2/27/17 – Game Recap
New York Knicks vs Toronto Raptors
February 27, 2017
Raptors 92, Knicks 91
Written by Eric Weinstein – @ericcweinsteinn
flagrant2blog.blogspot.com
Once Rose got switched on DeRozan, you could see the end result coming.
An old school, defense first, Eastern Conference matchup took place at the world’s most famous arena tonight when the new-look Toronto Raptors came to town. Both teams would be without important players tonight, with Kristaps Porzingis out for the Knicks, and Kyle Lowry out for the Raptors. The Knicks were also without Joakim Noah, who will miss the rest of the season, and Brandon Jennings, who was waived earlier in the day. Chasson Randle replaced Jennings on the roster, and he did not see any action tonight. This was a battle of all-stars as DeMar DeRozan had another game where he could show off just how gifted an offensive player he is. DeRozan finished with 37 points on 25 shots, including the game winner over Derrick Rose with 1.9 left in regulation. Carmelo Anthony had a tough shooting night, but led the Knicks with 24 points on 9/26 shooting.
If you’re somebody who wants the Knicks to tank on the rest of this disappointing season, then this was the perfect game for you to watch. An entertaining, down to the wire game was just what the tank enthusiasts were looking for, just for entertainment value alone. Games like this can almost make the idea of tanking again, bearable.
There were positives all over this one, starting with Lance Thomas, who was once again inserted into the starting lineup to replace the injured Kristaps Porzingis. Lance put up decent numbers, he scored 12 points and pulled down 6 rebounds, but the intangibles he brought to this game were what the Knicks wanted when they resigned him this past summer. Diving for loose balls and solid defense was the key to Lance’s game tonight, and that’s something to watch moving forward. Along with Lance, Courtney Lee continued to prove he was worth the money as well, and he finished with 16 points, 3 three pointers, 5 steals, 3 rebounds, and 3 assists. Lee also drained a three pointer late in the fourth quarter that gave the Knicks the lead before DeRozan took it back from them. Lee and Thomas were the two best players on the court tonight for New York, and these guys will be important for next years team.
The real problem for the Knicks tonight, and this season, has been a lack of killer instinct. Once again, the Knicks had a 17 point lead over their opponent, and weren’t able to finish the job and leave with a win. The Knicks did everything right on the defensive side of the ball, holding a talented Raptors squad to just 92 points, which is well below their seasons average of 108.5.
They were hustling and sticking with their man, and showed the type of fight we’ve all been looking for all season, and it still wasn’t enough. Credit to Toronto to the moves they made last week, because the acquisitions of PJ Tucker and Serge Ibaka are going to do wonders for their team defense. To see those guys every night and have to deal with them defensively is going to be tough for any Eastern Conference team in the postseason.
Depending on what side you’re on, you left this game with a sigh of relief, or a broken heart.
Knicks and Magic, Wednesday at 7 PM. Talk to you all soon.
By the way, if you like college basketball, seeing Ron Baker and Fred VanVleet defending one another was pretty cool. Those guys were a lot of fun to watch at Wichita State, and they played in a ton of big games. Shoutout to the Wheat Shockers.
New York Knicks vs Philadelphia 76ers – 2/26/17 – Game Recap
New York Knicks vs Philadelphia 76ers
February 26, 2017
Knicks 110, 76ers 109
Written by Eric Weinstein – @ericcweinsteinn
flagrant2blog.blogspot.com
Melo to the rescue… I guess?
The Philadelphia 76ers strolled into MSG tonight to face the struggling New York Knicks in an Atlantic Division matchup that turned quite interesting. New York had a 17 point lead in the third quarter, but squandered it and needed some late game heroics from Carmelo Anthony to defeat the 76ers, 110-109. We had another vintage Melo game tonight, and he led the way with 37 points to go along with 6 rebounds. Derrick Rose, who was not in Chicago like he joked about yesterday (not cool Derrick), finished the game with 18 points. The heavily shopped Jahlil Okafor had an excellent game with 28 points and 10 rebounds. Dario Saric, another talented young 76er, finished with 19 points, 15 rebounds, and 5 assists. That guy can ball. The Sixers have a ton of young talent, and we didn’t even see Joel Embiid tonight, who was out with an injury.
Joacim Noah and Kristaps Porzingis were out as well.
This game was Carmelo saying he wont go down without a fight. He knows that this season went south real fast, but he is going to do whatever he can to get this team into the postseason.
Here’s the problem, the Knicks had to beat an Embiid-less 76ers team on the last play of the game. Without Embiid, this team is just what they’ve been over the past four years, and that’s bad. A game winning shot is nice and all, but to blow a 17 point lead against this team? Not good.
There were some bright spots in this game, of course. Willy Hernangomez and Kyle O’Quinn proved to be an effective front court pairing once again, and Lance Thomas filled in admirably for the injured Kristaps Porzingis. Lance had one of his better games tonight, and he even had a four point play. Mazel Tov, Lance. As well as those guys, Justin Holiday hit some big shots down the stretch, and he continues to bring solid defense off the bench. Holiday is playing himself into a tie contract from the Knicks, but I bet the Knicks let him go to sign Jerry Stackhouse or something.
This was a nice win, and it was cool to see Carmelo once again put the team on his back like he’s done so many times before. I know we’re all firmly on the tank bandwagon once again, but a win every once in a while could be fun. Not that we would know that, since we like the Knicks.
The Knicks take the Garden floor on Monday to take on the new look Raptors in another Atlantic Division matchup. This will make the tank enthusiasts happy, as the Raptors continue to prove that they are one of the elite teams in the Eastern Conference. Talk to you all on Monday. 24-35.
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