Hello everyone, I’m here today to show you how I thought the each Knick player individually did throughout the season and throughout the playoffs because there were players that were different in the season than they were in the playoffs. I thought that some people did better in the season than they did in the playoffs. This is why I decided to make to separate grades, playoffs and regular season. We will start off with the reserves on the Knicks. Quentin Richardson and Earl Barron do not qualify.
James White-Regular Season-D, Playoffs- DNQ. What a disappointment! I thought this guy could play! It turns out that all he could do is dunk. I think he only had one highlight the whole season. What more can I say, Knicks, please get rid of this guy! He did absolutely nothing this season except get in the dunk contest and get one highlight! Kurt Thomas (When he was on the Knicks)-Regular Season-D+, Playoffs- DNQ. He did well for his role which was a bench warmer but if he had gotten more minutes, then this grade could have been judged more fairly. Rasheed Wallace (Before Retirement)-Regular Season-C-, Playoffs- DNQ. Rasheed had a good final year of his career this year with the Knicks for the time when he was not injured. He did well for his time, but he could not stay away from injury. So, Rasheed have a good life outside of basketball. Alright! Marcus Camby-Regular Season-C-, Playoffs- DNQ. Camby had some pretty solid work with the Knicks this year and I think that he gave it all he got. If we could get him next year, I would love to have him back! Those were my grades for the reserves, if you do not agree on something, come talk about it with me in the comments because I like to see what other people think about stuff. Anyway here are the role players and the sixth man of the year. Steve Novak-Regular Season-C-, Playoffs-DNQ. Novak was having a fine season for his role at the role player and I thought that we should stick to the same strategy throughout the playoffs. We did not. This guy played about 2 minutes in our whole NBA Playoffs when in a regular season game he had been playing a good 10-15 minutes. Why would Woodson change the strategy? If you are winning, keep doing what you are doing. Don’t fix what is not broken! Amare Stoudemire-Regular Season-C, Playoffs-DNQ. Stoudemire again had troubles with injuries for the second straight year and I think it is time to consider trading him. I gave him a C because he is still dunking out there with all the pain on him. I give him credit because after every injury he went through he toughened it out and came back out on the floor and for that I give him credit. Jason Kidd-Regular Season-C+, Playoffs-D-. Jason Kidd was one of those players that had a great regular season and lost it all in the NBA Playoffs, I cannot even remember if he scored in the playoffs against the Celtics or Pacers. Please write in the comments below if you remember this man making a shot in the Playoffs. In the regular season, however, the whole thing is a different story. He did very fine in the regular season and I thought he was a great addition to the team. Then, the playoffs arrived and all matters with Jason Kidd were downhill. Anyway, he did retire at 40 years of age and is now the Nets head coach and I wish him the best of luck with that. Chris Copeland-Regular Season-B-, Playoffs-B-, Was this guy a shock to us all or what? Nobody even thought he would be on a team this year and it turned out that he is actually a very fine player who hits shots when you need them. Copeland did show up in the playoffs and played the way he did in the regular season. He gave us a huge boost in the season and in the NBA Playoffs, he was phenomenal. Copeland, this is your team stay with us! Kenyon Martin-Regular Season-B, Playoffs-B+. Kenyon Martin was a solid player for the Knicks in both the regular season and the playoffs. He would dunk the ball and give the Knicks the momentum that they needed to win. Then, he would scream at the crowd when he blocked a shot or dunked it and the crowd would jump up and down and they would go crazy. I remember sitting at home watching this guy get me out of my seat going nuts. Point is, Martin thank you for helping us with a great season! JR Smith-Regular Season-A-, Playoffs-C+. Choke in the playoffs! I’m sorry JR but you did not help us after that elbow on Jason Terry in Game 3 of the 1st round. After that happened, JR could not do anything, he was missing shots that he would usually make all the time and he is one of the reasons why I think we got out by the Pacers in the playoffs. In the regular season, though, I could never stop applauding you. Making every shot, putting an incredible dunk in every single night. Awesomeness! If you had only shown up in the playoffs it would have been a totally different story. If it was my choice though I would still get JR back for next season because he did well in the regular season and the Knicks could use someone like that this year. These were my grades on the role players, do you think I was correct or do you think different comment about it below and I can see what you think. Now, the starters and the coach. Raymond Felton-Regular Season-B+, Playoffs: C-. In the playoffs this man was failure. Our starting point guard in one of the playoff games against Indiana scored 4 points! Are you kidding me? That is the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard of before. Felton is supposed to be the second scoring option behind Carmelo in the starting lineup and he is giving us 4 points in the whole game! Sorry, Felton but you deserve a C- for that performance in the playoffs. In the regular season he was better but still struggled. At least he did not have 4 points in a game on a consistent basis. Pablo Prigioni-Regular Season-B+, Playoffs-B+. Another shocker right here. Nobody thought that 35 year old Pablo Prigioni was going to be on an NBA roster for his first year in the NBA. He shocked the world, the steals, the threes, the veteran, he had everything. He helped the team so much this year and he was one of the reasons why we even got to the 2nd round and got to six games in that second round. He truly played his heart out and I cannot thank him enough for giving the Knicks another big boost. Thanks Pablo! Tyson Chandler-Regular Season-A-, Playoffs-C. Here is a player who did not show up for the 2nd round of the playoffs. Tyson Chandler got owned by Roy Hibbert in six straight games, oh wait that was the whole series against the Pacers, why would you betray us Tyson! Why? However, in the regular season he was a dominant force on the boards putting up two 20 rebound games and getting an alley-oop jam every single game. Good job by Tyson on the regular season, not so good in the playoffs. Iman Shumpert-Regular Season-A-, Playoffs-A-. Never let this guy go! Iman Shumpert tore his ACL in game 1 of the NBA 1st round against the Miami Heat, and it looked like it really hurt. He came back during this season and worked hard to get back to his normal strength. He played great in that elimination game in the playoffs with those 5 three-pointers and those clutch buckets. Also, how about that ferocious jam in game two of the Conference Semifinals, that was awesome. Shumpert has a lot of time to develop and can become a really solid basketball player when at full strength. Good season, Iman. Carmelo Anthony-Regular Season-A, Playoffs-A. Melo, you are going to win a championship one of these years, just keep working. Carmelo Anthony had one of the best regular seasons of his career averaging 28.7 points per game in the regular season and winning the scoring title, but if you think that is good enough. He averaged 28.8 points per game in the playoffs! Finally, a clutch performer! This is what a star has to do for his team, put up big numbers. Melo did some incredible things throughout the season including a 54 win season, a division title, home court advantage for the first two rounds, and the second seed in the Eastern Conference. Thank you so much Carmelo for everything you have done! Please do this next year and we will keep inching closer to that ring. Melo, next year is the one! Mike Woodson-Regular Season-A, Playoffs-D+. Big Difference! In the regular season, Woodson was up for Coach of the Year in the NBA and was almost able to coach the East All-Stars. He got the Knicks a division title, 54 wins, and the 2nd seed in the East. I give a lot of credit to Woodson for that and I applaud everything that he did in the regular season, but the playoffs were a whole different story. He was screwing up every game and that is why I gave him a D+ in the playoffs. If Iman Shumpert hits 4 straight three-pointers to end the 3rd quarter in an elimination game, would you take Shumpert out for the 4th quarter. Sounds stupid, right! Woodson thinks different, he subs him out in the 4th quarter and we lose the Knicks are now out of the playoffs. What do you think the main reason was? WOODSON!! Mike Woodson just needs to make smarter decisions and he will be fine. These were my predictions on each Knicks players grade, do you have a different opinion on what their grade should be? Tell me in the comments below. Please comment and thanks for reading!
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New York teams are like no other. And so is their press coverage. Just ask any New York coach…even when they take their teams to the playoffs, they can be given a ticket out of town. Just look at what happened in hockey with New York Rangers (ex) coach recently. The firing of the Rangers coach made me start thinking about the NY Knicks coach Mike Woodson and what his future with the Knicks should be. Mike Woodson had many good things happen for himself and his Knicks this year. First off, he led the Knicks to a 54-28 record and we got the 2nd spot in the Eastern Conference. We got home court advantage with the help of him and won the Atlantic Division title for the 1st time since 1994. He also was able to reel in the veteran players like Jason Kidd, Pablo Prigioni, Rasheed Wallace, Kenyon Martin, Kurt Thomas, and Marcus Camby. Also, how about Mr. Copeland, he had a phenomenal year this year. His first year in the NBA at the age of 29 and he was able to do what he did throughout the regular season and the playoffs. Wow! Woodson did just fine with Copeland for sure. This is pretty good for his first year as a head coach! I just hope he can build on his progress and get us further into the playoffs next year. In the regular season, he was a really good coach. In the playoffs, though, not so much. He coached well in the series against the Celtics, but the Pacers’ series was a bigger test and I think he failed. Still, overall I would give him a passing grade as head coach – not the best in class but definitely, passing the test. While there were some good things he did, there were some bad Woodson memories from this season too. During the season he did a respectable job, but I think he turned people of in the playoffs with some questionable coaching decisions. In the playoffs, we lost in 6 games to the Pacers in the Conference Semi-Finals. In our last game of the season for the New York Knicks, I can remember when Iman Shumpert had hit 3 three-pointers in a row to make it a one point game. He stayed making three pointers until the quarter ended. Then, for the fourth quarter, of all people, he takes Shumpert out of the game and when he comes back in later, he misses the three. Coach, I got to tell you something simple, if a guy is feeling from everywhere on the court, KEEP HIM IN THE GAME! That makes absolutely no sense! If your role player is making shots left and right you are not going to take him out are you? Uh, whatever…not your best moment Mike! Overall, I think Woodson has done pretty well with the squad he coached during the 2012-2013 season. But should he coach in the Big Apple again next year? Will the fans be as forgiving without a ring next year? What about the year after that? If I were the one making the decision, I would most certainly give him the chance next season. I think he has earned it in a town with die-hard fans and a level of press scrutiny like no other. He had to try and put a team together with a lot of older players in his first full year as a head coach. He did it. He led us to a 54-28 record, an Atlantic division clinch, the 2nd seed in the playoffs, guaranteed home court advantage for the first two rounds of the playoffs, and reeled in players like Chris Copeland. I think he had a decent first season as a head coach and regardless of what his contract is, I think that he should stay here again next year. What do you think? Different opinion? Tell me about it in the comments. Thanks for reading and please comment. |
Mike V.
My name is Mike V. I am an enormous basketball fan. I also am a die-hard Knicks fan. After graduating 5th grade, I started writing this blog at the age of 10 in the summer of 2012. Archives
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