Author Archives: tweingar

Busy week for the Knicks leading into the playoffs

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Locking up the 2 seed, getting a healthy roster, and a scoring title, are the accomplishments the Knicks have made the past week.

The Knicks beat the Pacers Sunday afternoon, 90-80, to clinch the 2 seed in the East. It was an important win as they were able to secure the victory with Carmelo Anthony riding the bench for most of the fourth quarter, with a sore left shoulder.

But Anthony finished the game with 25 points, which was enough for him to maintain his lead for the scoring title. Anthony hasn’t played the Knicks last two games against the Bobcats and Hawks. Kevin Durant who finished second behind Anthony for the scoring title didn’t play in the teams final game today.

Carmelo Anthony Scoring Champion

The Knicks have also been making some personnel changes as well just before playoff time. Just today Rasheed Wallace announced his retirement, after playing just a few minutes against the Bobcats, Monday night. With the retirement of Wallace the Knicks signed center Will Barron.

Earlier in the week the team also signed Quentin Richardson for his second stint with the team. The Knicks have made these adjustments to help add even more of a spark off the bench.

After clinching up the number 2 seed, the Knicks have taken the opportunity to rest their star players as much as possible to assure a healthy team for the playoffs. They square off against the Boston Celtics this Saturday in Game 1 of the series.

The Knicks won the regular season battle against the Celtics edging them 3-1.

Statement game for Carmelo and Knicks

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The Knicks entered the Chesapeake Energy Center Arena in Oklahoma City, on an 11-game win streak. The two teams are both currently in second place in the standings of each conference. But they also have the two leading scorers in the NBA, Carmelo Anthony and Kevin Durant.

Kevin Durant defending Carmelo Anthony

Durant has won the scoring title three consecutive years, with the potential for a fourth. But Anthony is putting up a late season push for the title. In the past four games he has scored 167 points, including a 36 point performance against the Thunder, Sunday.

Anthony captured the scoring lead after this performance against Durant himself. The race for the scoring title is close between the two and will likely come down to last game of the season. It would be hard to imagine Anthony not finishing strong especially with the way he has been playing in the month of April till this point.

After struggling the past couple months, Anthony and the Knicks have found their groove. They also picked a great time to find it, right before the playoffs. The Knicks have only 6 games left in the season to continue their streak. They are also one win away from winning their first Division title since 1994.

But this was an important game for the Knicks who needed to prove themselves and show that they are here to contend.

People questioned them after squeezing by a wounded Heat team that didn’t see Lebron James or Dwayne Wade take the floor. This game was crucial and showed the rest of the teams in the Eastern Conference that they are here to take care of business. The teams next game is against the Wizards on Tuesday at the Garden.

J.R. Smith earns player of the week honors

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The Knicks are in the middle of an 8-game win streak, in part behind J.R. Smith. And because of his efforts he was given Eastern Conference Player of the Week today.

This past week the Knicks have gone 4-0 beating Boston twice, Memphis, and Charlotte. During this span Smith has been averaging 29.8 points, 7 rebounds and 1.5 steals a game. He had three straight games with 30-plus points, a franchise record.

J.R. Smith

He has evolved into a solid second scoring option for the Knicks behind Carmelo Anthony. Anthony returned from an injury just before the Knicks started this win streak. Smith has taken his game to the next level this season becoming a more consistent player.

Smith has had trouble in the past with his coaches, George Karl of the Nuggets to name one. He has admitted to doing certain things back in Denver just to make Karl mad. But he doesn’t feel the same way about current coach Mike Woodson. He told Newsday,

More than anything, if I go out and do something I’m not supposed to be doing and not preparing right for the game, not only do I feel like I let my teammates down, I feel I let my coach down. It’s the first time in a long time I really care about not letting my coach down.

When he is as locked into the game and everything that comes with it as he is right now he can make these types of things happen.

With Ama’re Stoudemire currently sidelined for what looks to be the remainder of the regular season, Smith needs to keep up his play. His productive play and energy off the bench is needed for the Knicks to make any sort of noise in the playoffs.

The Knicks look to keep their momentum going full steam ahead behind Smith as they play the Heat in Miami tomorrow night. Look for Smith to continue his hot play as he’s making his way into the sixth-man of the year conversation.

Happy 40th birthday to Jason Kidd

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Yesterday, Knicks guard, Jason Kidd turned 40 years old. He spent the day playing against the Toronto Raptors for the second night in a row. Teammate Chris Copeland sang Kidd a song before the game in front of the home crowd.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=atOq-dPYKqI

While Kidd didn’t start the game he played 23 minutes and had only 3 points, 3 rebounds, and 2 assists. While it wasn’t his most productive performance the Knicks pulled out the 110-84 victory.

Kidd has been a great veteran presence for the Knicks whether in the starting line up or coming off the bench. Age is just a number to him while he is still competing with those younger guys in the league.

Jason Kidd

He started his career with the Dallas Mavericks after being drafted with the 2nd overall pick in 1994. Kidd has bounced around as of late playing with the Mavericks the past 4 seasons including their championship run  in 2011.

His game has developed as he as aged from how he used to play back in his rookie year, 18 years ago.

Kidd has since become a knock down shooter from behind the arc and still gives some of the best passes. But is age has kept away from the paint compared to his early day but he is still a threat on the court.

He plays a very crucial and important role to any playoff run the Knicks hope to have this year. When he was playing well in the beginning of the season, so were the Knicks. Coincidence? I think not.

A depleted Knicks team puts a stop to their 4 game skid

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The Knicks entered Monday nights game against the Utah Jazz, on a 4 game losing streak. All of these loses have come on the road and have been embarrassing to say the least.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5id5ML9HJwk

The Knicks had faced the Warriors, Nuggets, Trailblazers, and Clippers previously. They had lost all of these games by an average of 20 points. For a team that was once right behind Miami in the East, the Knicks have now slipped to third behind the Pacers.

There is no denying the fact that this severe drop off as of late is due to the lack of star power. The Knicks are without Carmelo Anthony, Ama’re Stoudemire, and Tyson Chandler. Coach Mike Woodson has been forced to adapt and play around with the starting line up.

Last night the starters for the Knicks were Raymond Felton, Pablo Prigioni, Iman Shumpert, Chris Copeland, and Kenyon Martin. Not the lineup you expected to see on the floor for the Knicks to start a game before the season started.

Chris Copeland and Woodson

Chris Copeland finished last nights game with 14 points and 6 rebounds. He has started to emerge as a real scorer for the Knicks in the absence of Anthony and Stoudemire. Copeland, a rookie out of Colorado, has shown flashes of promise for the team.

While he might not be the most efficient scorer, he has been able to score when needed.

The Knicks will need production out of players like Copeland not only until the stars comeback, but for the rest of the season. The more firepower off the bench for the Knicks better. What they can’t afford is another losing streak.

Madison Square Garden

The seasons end is near and the Knicks are in danger of dropping lower then just to the 3 spot. They head back for a much needed game at home against a struggling Orlando Magic team tomorrow night.

Knicks lose second superstar in the past week

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Knicks are now playing without Carmelo Anthony and Ama’re Stoudemire. Anthony went down with an injury Monday March 4th against Cleveland.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A9vw7X2JAhQ

After going down in the second quarter of the game, Anthony has yet to return to the court. He has been diagnosed with a form of knee tendonitis, that he says he has been dealing with throughout the season.

The Knicks managed to comeback to beat the Cavaliers and have gone 3-2 with Anthony out of the lineup. Now the Knicks learned that they will be without their other superstar for an extended period of time.

Stoudemire will be out for 6 weeks, the remainder of the regular season. While this is his second knee operation this season alone, one has to question what state he will be in if he returns.

The Knicks are in an important stretch of their schedule where they are on the road. They need to keep winning in order to make sure they don’t drop in the Eastern Conference standings.

Anthony and Stoudemire

Knicks suffer first loss to Heat this season

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Entering last nights game at Madison Square Garden, the Knicks had beaten the first two meetings this season. But that could only last so long against a team that is now on a 14-game winning streak.

After taking a 14-point lead into the half the Knicks felt extremely confident. However the second half was a different story. While scoring only 34 second half points the game still managed to come down to the end.

A big part of this blown lead late for the Knicks was turnovers and their inability to knock down shots from behind the arc. The Knicks are the best team when it comes to turnovers however they turned it over 17 times yesterday. Including a steal by LeBron James which led to a dunk at the other end to seal the Knicks fate late.

Jason Kidd

Jason Kidd was the leading scorer for the Knicks coming off the bench making his first 4 shots from behind the arc. Kidd has been struggling for the Knicks and it has clearly effected the play of the team. The team was playing great basketball at the beginning of the season, and so was Kidd.

Kidd was the only one to shoot well from behind the arc. The team as a whole was 8 of 29, or 27.6% from 3-point range. That is incredibly low for a team who was shooting the ball so well a the beginning of the season.

If the Knicks want to contend for a championship and get back on track they need to start hitting the 3-pointers again.

3-pointers

Knicks end 4-game skid behind another big game by Stoudemire

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Both the Knicks and the 76er’s entered Sunday, on a 4-game losing streak. Only one of them could put it to an end. The Knicks came out victorious behind a solid performance from Amar’e Stoudemire off the bench.

Amar'e Stoudemire

In 22 minutes of playing time, Stoudemire scored 22 points on 9 of 10 shooting from the field, to go with his 5 rebounds. He continues his productive play off the bench for the Knicks where it looks as if he might stay for the rest of the season. According to Coach Mike Woodson, Stoudemire is on a minutes limit because of the health of the Knicks superstar.

However the game Stoudemire put together wasn’t the only buzz about the game Sunday night. A skirmish between Tyson Chandler and Spencer Hawes in the third quarter, that Carmelo Anthony seemingly started was much of the talk.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mML7s0eOZaI

However this afternoon it was announced that there will be no suspension handed down by the league to Anthony. The Knicks can’t afford to lose Anthony for any games this season as he is their leading scorer. They follow this win with another one against the Golden State Warriors on Wednesday, February 27, 2013.

Last minute moves before the deadline for the Knicks

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As the trade deadline ended this after at 3 pm Eastern Time, the Knicks made only a single move. Their had been talking leading up to the deadline regarding guard Iman Shumpert. But he stays with the team as Ronnie Brewer was traded to the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Ronnie Brewer

The Knicks didn’t simply trade Brewer away for nothing, in return they received a second-round pick in the 2014 draft. Brewer had started the Knicks rotation as a contributor off the bench. But as the season wore on Brewer saw his minutes drop significantly. Part of the reason is because of the return of Shumpert into the Knicks line-up.

This was the only trade the Knicks made before the deadline, but not the only move of the day. By trading away Brewer for a draft pick it created a space available on their roster to add a player. The Knicks went ahead and took advantage by signing veteran forward Kenyon Martin to a 10-day contract.

The hope is that when Martin joins that Knicks, he is in shape and ready to play. The Knicks are in need of rebounding and some added defense off the bench. This will also allow center Tyson Chandler to play less minutes and be more rested for the remainder of the season.

Most important part about these moves is the added and much needed depth that they were lacking for their second unit. This move could potentially give the Knicks that last little punch they need off the bench to compliment J.R. Smith and Amar’e Stoudemire.

Knicks finish the weekend strong even without a win

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Last nights NBA All-Star game in Houston, was definitely a high scoring affair to say the least. Carmelo Anthony and Tyson Chandler represented the Knicks well, proving why they are All-Stars.

Carmelo Anthony

Although the East couldn’t defeat the West, Anthony led the team in scoring finishing with 26 points. He also had 12 rebounds and 3 assists to go with his scoring explosion. If the East had won the game, Anthony definitely would’ve been talked about as the MVP.

Anthony showed no lingering effects from the ‘dead’ arm that he received against the Raptors on Wednesday. Knicks fans have to be ecstatic that Anthony continued his hot shooting through the All-Star game. This will hopefully allow him to continue his pursuit of the MVP award and an NBA championship.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yS7_h5lmVm4

Chandler had a game similar to what he has during the regular season. He posted a 7 point and 8 rebound effort in his limited role off the bench. His highlight of the night was an alley-oop thrown to him in transition by Dwayne Wade.

Both Knicks played strong in the game and put up a better showing then James White and Steve Novak did the previous day. The Knicks enter the second half of the season ranked second in the East behind the Heat.

Look for the Knicks to continue their strong first half play and solidify themselves in the East. The road to the championship is just beginning.