Marc and Jay talk about the last two weeks of games, Baker getting cut, Kanter getting ejected and whining on Twitter, and then make a trade proposal with every other team in the league
ron baker
2017/18 Knicks Roster Power Rankings – Week 5
| A 2-1 week that should have been a 3-0 week. If you told me the Knicks would be ahead of the Cavs in the standings 14 games into the season and LeBron was healthy I would have asked you to share whatever drug you were on. Oh and farewell to Kuz. We hardly knew ye. | |||
| Rank | Player | Comments | Last weeks Rank |
| 1 | Porzingis, Kristaps | Porzingis efficiency was down a good amount this week. I hope it doesn’t have to do with his elbow as that probably won’t get better any time soon. The good news is that even with lower efficiency KP still averaged 25 and 7. | 1 |
| 2 | Lee, Courtney | Lee had a great week, especially agains the Kings. He’s been an underrated part of the Knicks success. | 7 |
| 3 | Hardaway Jr., Tim | Hardaway had monster games against the Cavs and Jazz, which makes up for the turd he layed against the Kings. He’s showing some good signs like improved defense and passing. If he can get his consistency up he’ll be worth his contract. | 3 |
| 4 | Ntilikina, Frank | Not only did Frank have 6 steals against the Cavs, he stood up to LeBron. He’s going to be really good. Dennis Smith Jr. who? | 4 |
| 5 | Kanter, Enes | Kanter can score and he can rebound. What he can’t seem to do is defend and that was exposed against the Cavs and Jazz. Still, he’s an emotional presence. Standing up for Frank like he did in the Cavs game is important. | 2 |
| 6 | Jack, Jarrett | Jack averaged over 5 assists per game this week. I’ll take it. | 9 |
| 7 | McDermott, Doug | No one on the bench really stood out this week. Doug was the only one to have a positive +/- in all 3 games. | 6 |
| 8 | O’Quinn, Kyle | Quiet week from KOQ. Not terrible, but not as good as the last few weeks. | 5 |
| 9 | Thomas, Lance | I’m glad I didn’t bow down to the pressure and issue a Lance apology. | 8 |
| 10 | Dotson, Damyean | Dotson looked really good against the Kings and then played 1 minute over the next 2 games. | 10 |
| 11 | Beasley, Michael | Has the Beasley experiment come to an end already? | 11 |
| 12 | Noah, Joakim | Coach said he’s bringing back Noah slowly. Zero minutes over the first two games is an excellent pace if you ask me. | 16 |
| 13 | Hernangomez, Willy | Now that Noah is back I think the only way Willy is getting on the court is if he leaves hundreds of marbles in the locker room in the hopes of multiple sprained ankles. | 13 |
| 14 | Baker, Ron | Baker is out of the rotation. At least we’re paying him twice market value! | 12 |
| 15 | Sessions, Ramon | I remember really wanting Sessions on the team. That was about 7 years ago but still. | 14 |
Episode 389: Hi Steve Perry
Marc and Jay talk about Steve Perry, Ron Baker, the Melo situation, cap space, and a ton of other stuff. You’ll love it!
Recap: New York Knicks vs Golden State Warriors
New York Knicks vs Golden State Warriors
March 5, 2017
Warriors 112, Knicks 105
by Eric Weinstein
We almost saw the impossible.
A sellout crowd at Madison Square Garden welcomed in the Golden State Warriors on a cold Sunday afternoon in the City. Most Knick fans, including myself, figured this game would be over quickly, but that wasn’t the case at all. The Knicks rose to the challenge and played some of their best basketball in a long time, albeit in a losing effort. I’m not one for the, “moral victory” but the Knicks should be proud of their effort on both ends of the floor. Granted, they gave up 112 points, but this is the most explosive offensive team in the NBA, so that could’ve been a lot worse. Kristaps Porzingis snapped out of his seemingly endless slump in a big way, going for 24 points and 15 rebounds, along with a couple of blocked shots. Derrick Rose was in vintage form as well, scoring 28 points and getting whatever he wanted on the offensive end. I’m ignoring his defense of course, but Rose was a blur offensively. Those two weren’t enough to stop the two time defending Western Conference Champs, however, as Steph Curry and Klay Thompson proved to be too much. The Splash Brothers (hate that name) combined for 60 points and continued to be the best backcourt in the NBA. Continue reading
2016/17 Knicks Roster Power Rankings – Week 14
| The Knicks went 2-2 since the last rankings. If they keep up a pace like this it’ll be enough to just miss the playoffs while also ensuring we don’t get any of the 4 amazing PG’s in this years draft. Knicks! | |||
| Rank | Player | Comments | Last weeks Rank |
| 1 | Anthony, Carmelo | Melo continued his hot streak on offense this week. He’s been very good..on offense. Offensively Melo is really good. | 1 |
| 2 | Rose, Derrick | Rose is also really good on offense. Well not so much the passing aspect, but he can take it to the hole at an elite level. | 2 |
| 3 | Hernangomez, Willy | You might have noticed that I’ve been ignoring the word defense. Since the Knicks ignore it I figured I should too. Anyway (B)Willy lit it up the 2 games he got actual minutes. No reason Noah should be getting more minutes than (B)Willy at this point. | 9 |
| 4 | Holiday, Justin | Hi, my name is Justin Holiday. You might recognize me as the guy who digs the starting lineup out of a 10+ point defecit literally every single game. Might have something to do with that D word the guys in the top 2 spots hate so much. | 5 |
| 5 | Lee, Courtney | Lee got way too much flac for not taking the final shot against the Wizards. There was literally a guy standing right next to him on the court yelling and waiving his arms. You’d think that was another player too. | 7 |
| 6 | Baker, Ron | You might look at Bakers numbers and wonder why he is so high on the list. It’s not that he’s a great defender, but he does look like Gary Payton compared to Rose and Jennings. | 3 |
| 7 | O’Quinn, Kyle | O’Quinns minutes have been all over the place lately, but in his lone start of the week he was really good. | 8 |
| 8 | Jennings, Brandon | Jennings plays juuuust good enough to keep his spot in the rotation, but that’s just because the Knicks backcourt is a flaming dumpster fire. | 10 |
| 9 | Porzingis, Kristaps | Porzingis has looked pretty bad. He had a 1 rebound game this week. Playing injured or sophomore slump? | 11 |
| 10 | Kuzminskas, Mindaugas | Pretty bad week for Kuz, but I have a feeling he’ll bounce back. He looks pretty confident when he’s on the court. | 4 |
| 11 | Noah, Joakim | Hi, I’m Joakim. I’m hot garbage at everything except rebounding. I airball free throws. I also start over 2 guys playing way better than me. | 6 |
| 12 | Plumlee, Marshall | Given a few more minutes Marshall could end up being the 3rd center on this team who is better than Noah. | 13 |
| 13 | Thomas, Lance | Now that Lance has been out I realize just how little I miss him. | 12 |
| 14 | Vujacic, Sasha | It’s a good thing we have Sasha taking up space on the bench instead of taking a chance on guys like Chasson Randle. | 14 |
| 15 | Ndour, Maurice | Same comment as above but replace Sasha with Maurice. | 15 |
New York Knicks vs Atlanta Hawks – 1/16/17 – Game Recap
New York Knicks vs Atlanta Hawks
Game 40: January 16, 2017
Hawks 108, Knicks 107
Written by Eric Weinstein – @ericcweinsteinn
flagrant2blog.blogspot.com
Can your heart break if it is already broken?
The annual MLK Day Matinee at Madison Square Garden saw the New York Knicks take on the Atlanta Hawks. The Knicks, who showed little effort against Toronto in the previous game, came out fighting against the Hawks. The biggest story from this one was the insertion of Ron Baker and Mindaugus Kuzminskas into the starting lineup, and both of those two delivered. Baker scored 12 points, all three pointers, and Kuz had 14 points. Carmelo Anthony delivered 30 points on an efficient 10/16 shooting, but missed a key put-back at the end of the game. Dennis Schroder scored 28 points for the Hawks, and former Knick Tim Hardaway Jr scored 20 points.
A real positive from this game was that the Knicks actually showed up to play this afternoon, but morale victories aren’t going to make this sting any less. Carmelo, one game after his comments about the rumors of him waiving his no-trade clause, showed up with a #VintageMeloGame and was scoring from all over the court. Three pointers, drives, pull ups, were all working for him today. Offense continues to not be the issue for the New York Knicks.
It’s the porous defense, most notably from the guards, that is killing the Knicks.
On multiple possessions, Derrick Rose and Brandon Jennings were letting Dennis Schroder get right into the paint and score at will. Schroder is a solid guard who can score, but he should have to work to get his points. It shouldn’t look like a layup line for him. On the other hand, the Knicks forwards were frustrating Paul Millsap for the entire game, as he scored 17 points on 18 shots. He had 6 assists, but he was constantly taking tough shots, as well as missing a few easy ones.
As for the final play of the game, it doesn’t matter whether Derrick Rose was fouled or not, that isn’t why they lost the game. The Knicks missed 8 free throws throughout the game, and shot 8-26 behind the three point line, which is good for 30%. Also, 18 turnovers for 18 points given up by the Knick offense today, which is too high of a number.
I don’t even want to mention this, but it needs to be said. Kris Humphries had 14 points and 3 three pointers tonight. Yeah, the dude who Kim Kardashian married for like 18 minutes was killing the Knicks in the third quarter. If that isn’t rock bottom, I don’t know what is. Perimeter defense needs to be the subject of every single practice from now until the end of the season, otherwise this thing will never get turned around.
The Knicks take on the Celtics Wednesday night at the Garden on the first game of a back to back, and the third game in four nights. Remember what I said about defense on the perimeter? Well, it’s really going to be a focus when Isaiah Thomas walks onto the Garden floor, because we all know that dude can fill it up.
Keep your heads up everyone, it’s almost time for pitchers and catchers to report. 17-23.
New York Knicks at Indiana Pacers – 1/7/17 – Game Recap
New York Knicks at Indiana Pacers
Game 39: January 7, 2017
Pacers 123, Knicks 109
Written by Eric Weinstein – @ericcweinsteinn
flagrant2blog.blogspot.com
If the Knicks don’t give up 120+ did they even play?
On the second night of a back to back, the Knicks spent the night in Indiana to take on the Pacers. New York has yet to win on a back to back, and that trend continued as the Knicks were defeated by the Pacers, 123-109. The Knicks were getting outplayed from the start in this one, and once again fell behind by double-digits early in the first half. Unlike last time in Milwaukee, the Knicks couldn’t muster up enough to complete the comeback. New York tried to make a game of it in the fourth quarter, but the deficit was just too steep. Brandon Jennings, after a rough game against the Bucks, led the way with Carmelo Anthony for 17 points apiece. Kristaps Porzingis finished with 16 points and 4 rebounds. The Knicks fourth quarter lineup of Jennings, Ron Baker, Mindaugus Kuzminskas, KP, and Willy Hernangomez was incredibly effective, with the other four starters watching from the bench. For the Pacers, Paul George and Jeff Teague each contributed with 19 points. Thad Young contributed 16 points for the Pacers.
Takeaways from this game:
New York Knicks at Milwaukee Bucks – 1/6/17 – Game Recap
New York Knicks at Milwaukee Bucks
Game 38: January 6, 2017
Knicks 116, Bucks 111
Written by Eric Weinstein – @ericcweinsteinn
flagrant2blog.blogspot.com
Finally, a win.
The Knicks finally ended the six game losing streak tonight against the Milwaukee Bucks After a heartbreaking loss on Wednesday thanks to Giannis Antetokounmpo, the Knicks returned the favor and took down the Bucks, 116-111. Kristaps Porzingis returned after a three game absence to score 26 points for New York. Carmelo Anthony led the way with maybe his best all-around game of the season with 26 points, 10 assists, and 6 rebounds. 17 assists in the past two games for Carmelo, which is the highest assists count over two games he has had in his career.
Most notably, we had a Ron Baker crunch time minutes extravaganza with him finishing 6 points and 4 assists, all in the fourth quarter. Bravo Ron, Bravo. Giannis Antetokounmpo and Jabari Parker both led the Bucks with 25 points each, and Greg Monroe had 19 points off the bench.
Takeaways from this game: Continue reading
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