![]() Don’t be surprised if you hear basketball fans in New York humming Pharrell Williams. After all, there are three great reasons for them to be very happy right now. First off, the Knicks are on a winning streak and every single win has been by 10 or more points. Secondly, Phil Jackson has become the President of Basketball Operations for the Knicks. Lastly, Selection Sunday is today, which means March Madness is right around the corner. Let’s begin with the Knicks and their continuous winning streak to push for the playoffs. They finally started winning! We have a chance to make the playoffs now as long as the Hawks lose some games. At this point in the season, it was do or die. At least they are making a good run for it and there is still hope for the playoffs. They are moving the ball, Hardaway Jr. is playing great, Melo is being Melo, and everything has clicked for them. They beat Minnesota 118-106, Utah 108-81, Cleveland 107-97, Philly 123-110, Boston 116-92, and Milwaukee 115-94. Fortunately, this streak seems to be gaining momentum, and if we become extremely consistent, we can hopefully win most of our last 15 games. Let’s go New York Knicks! Phil Jackson is coming home. It’s about time they did something like this!!! Phil Jackson is with the Knicks once again. OMG! Let’s talk some history with him. He was a member of the champion 1969-70 and 1972-73 New York Knicks squads. Crazily enough, those were the only two championships the New York Knicks had ever won. He coached the Bulls from 1989-1998 and in 1991, ’92, ’93, ’96, ’97, and ’98 the Bulls were champions (thank you Michael Jordan). He then went to the Los Angeles Lakers as coach from 1999-2011. In these years, his team would be victorious in 2000, ’01, ’02, ’09, and ’10. Off of these teams he has had 11 championships as a coach and 2 championships as a player. Because of the great history of Phil Jackson, I am excited for the future with him as the President of Basketball Operations for the Knicks. Happy reason #3. Onto the thing that all NCAA basketball fans have been waiting for, Selection Sunday is today. I am curious to see where all of the teams turn out and I hope to see a lot of energy and excitement from these young players. I’m mostly a NBA fan but I know of many names in the college game such as Andrew Wiggins, Jabari Parker, Marcus Smart, and Doug McDermott. I think that Witchita State can do pretty good in the tournament, possibly get to the Final Four. I hope that every game is down to the wire and that my bracket is right. Even if I don’t get a perfect bracket, I can hope right? How about you? Are you as happy as I am to be a Knick fan right now? It’s been a long, hard season so it’s nice to be able to smile again. Please comment and thanks for reading!
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![]() Happy Martin Luther King Jr. Day everyone! Hope you had a good day celebrating a man that would back down from nothing to stand up for what he believed was right. If you think about everything that Martin Luther King Jr. has done for this country it is phenomenal. I look up to him because of his strength, leadership and compassion for people. He has helped make this country better for people of all ages. Thank you Dr. King for all your well doings and happy birthday! On such a special day, I had a phone interview with J.R. Inman to ask him about how feels about Dr. King and of course, basketball! Read below for my Q&A session with J.R. Inman. As always, I welcome your comments. ![]() Mike: Well, today, being Martin Luther King Jr. Day, how did Martin Luther King affect you? JR: Well, I think that Dr. King not only affected me, and obviously the other minority people of color, he affected our whole society -- people from various cultural backgrounds, that have different upbringings and come from different ways of life. More than anything, I think that Dr. King represented unity. I believe that as a nation, as a country, and as a people --because of people like Dr. King-- we’ve been able to be a stronger nation, we’ve been able to get many things accomplished, and it speaks volumes about the type of person that he was. His message of nonviolence in a time of civil disobedience is something that I not only respect, but I use that as motivation for all of my endeavors, because in the 1960s, there were a lot of things going on in our country. What he was able to accomplish was incredible. So, certainly given the roadblocks that he had, if he can make those accomplishments during his life in the 60s, certainly we should be able follow him and do the same thing in 2014.
![]() Mike: How would you characterize your experience in the D-League so far? JR: It’s been quite an experience. I have had the opportunity to play with, and against, current and former NBA players. So, you know, they talk about the Developmental League being a farm-seeded link, some even say a direct link, between amateur basketball and basketball at the highest level, the NBA. Personally, it has given me the opportunity to play in front of NBA scouts every night and to build some relationships and networking opportunities with some of the biggest people in the business. Mike: I see that in 6 games you averaged a double-double with 11.5 PPG and 10.0 RPG. How long do you think you can keep up this level of play? JR: Well now, that statistic was dating back, but now I’ve played around 15 games. Right now I am actually currently inactive, which means I am still practicing with the team, I’m still on the roster, but I am not playing in the actual games. For instance, we have a game today that I will not be playing. We have about 12 or 13 guys on the roster currently, and for game day situations you can only play or suit up 10 guys, so it is a situation where I would hope to get back on the floor as soon as possible. Mike: To date, what would you say would be your highlight of the season? JR: My highlight of the season? I can only speak on the best statistical game I had where we played against the Fort Wayne Mad Ants and I had 18 points, 10 rebounds, 2 blocks, and 3 assists. I was scoring in multiple ways, inside, outside, really showing my full skillset and it was an exciting game. It was a pleasant experience because it was so far, and my signature game that I had, in terms of efficiency. ![]()
![]() Mike: There have been various times this season where you have been moved to the center position and you have had to play against bigger and stronger guys but you have been able to contain them. What gives you the momentum to go up against these bigger and stronger guys and being able to stop them? JR: I think that my experience playing in the Big East basketball conference, combined with my professional experiences abroad, have equipped me with the skills and the knowledge to be able to play against big guys. If you look at the NBA all-time defensive centers, like Ben Wallace, who at 6’9” was the defensive player of the year at the center position, being able to guard guys like Shaq and you say how does he do that? Defense is about desire and discipline, but it is also about technique and leverage. If you can simply get lower than your man, and you can hit him first to initiate contact, even if he is bigger and stronger than you, you can counter balance his strength with your technique. It’s science. Basketball, more than anything is a science, and that is why I have been able to do what I do when I play against guys who are bigger and stronger than me. I use my speed and I use my leverage to try to get lower, and I also initiate contact to push him out of the paint so he doesn’t have easy post position. Mike: You have started 14 of your 16 games this season, and have really made an impact on the court. Your efficiency rating has been at +11.62, which is the third highest on your team. How are you keeping yourself so consistent? JR: Overall, I am just trying to find my game. A lot of times, especially on this level, when guys are trying to make the NBA, sometimes people are overly aggressive and they try to do things that they are not overly comfortable with to try to impress scouts. In reality, a scout that is looking at you is either going to like your game or not. And at this level, if they are even looking at you, they have some interest in you. It does add some pressure but I just go out and play my game and not worry about trying to impress anybody, but it is actually very interesting that you just told me that stat that I had the third highest efficiency rating in the team. There are so many aspects and there are so many variables that go into each and every game, each and every player being out on the floor that, no, it is not always the best guy, it is not always the most team-oriented guy on the court. There are so many factors that can determine the outcome of the game, the outcome of a team, and its construct. It is just important not to focus on those factors and just to focus on readiness and being prepared and waiting for your opportunity. Mike: That is all I got. Is there anything else that you would like to add? JR: I would like to say that we have been struggling in terms of win/loss however, this is an experience that I will never forget. I am appreciative, but you know, I came a long way, I was the 8th round draft pick in the D-League draft. I went from being the 8th round pick to starting 14 of my 16 games. Most players that we drafted are not even on our team anymore. In fact, we only have four players currently, from the original training camp roster, that are still with us. So, the fact that I was able to defy the odds by going from an 8th round pick to becoming a starter in just a month span, it speaks volumes of my work ethic and I just think that is something in itself and an example for young children to understand. Some kids, especially in the high school level, they may say, "Oh coach doesn’t like me because I don’t get much playing time" but where you are at today has nothing to do with where you will be at tomorrow or the next day. As long as you put your best foot forward each and every day, you can continue to work hard to reach your goals and aspirations. I believe there is a saying that the crane always rises to the top and that is what happened with me and the 87ers. Thanks for reading and please comment! Hello everyone, today I am going to make my
predictions for the NBA Draft which goes on tonight. I am really excited to see who goes where in the draft, especially the Knicks who have the 24th pick in the first round of the draft. I am going to do only the first round for my mock draft. I have done my research and I am ready to get these picks started. How about you? Here are my first round picks. Cleveland Cavaliers R1N1: Otto Porter (Georgetown) Orlando Magic R1N2: Nerlens Noel (Kentucky) Washington Wizards R1N3: Cody Zeller (Indiana) Charlotte Bobcats R1N4: Ben McLemore (Kansas) Phoenix Suns R1N5: Anthony Bennett (UNLV) New Orleans Pelicans R1N6: Trey Burke (Michigan) Sacramento Kings R1N7: Victor Oladipo (Indiana) Detroit Pistons R1N8: C.J. McCollum (Lehigh) Minnesota Timberwolves R1N9: Shabazz Muhammad (UCLA) Portland Trail Blazers R1N10: Alex Len (Maryland) Philadelphia 76ers R1N11: Kelly Olynyk (Gonzaga) Oklahoma City Thunder R1N12: Steven Adams (Pittsburgh) Dallas Mavericks R1N13: Shane Larkin (Miami) Utah Jazz R1N14: Michael Carter-Williams (Syracuse) Milwaukee Bucks R1N15: Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (Georgia) Boston Celtics R1N16: Sergey Karasev (Triumph Moscow) Atlanta Hawks R1N17: Dennis Schroeder (Germany) Atlanta Hawks R1N18: Rudy Gobert (France) Cleveland Cavaliers R1N19: Allen Crabbe (California) Chicago Bulls R1N20: Mason Plumlee (Duke) Utah Jazz R1N21: Isaiah Canaan (Murray State) Brooklyn Nets R1N22: Gorgui Dieng (Louisville) Indiana Pacers R1N23: Giannis Adetokunbo (Greece) New York Knicks R1N24: Tony Mitchell (North Texas) Los Angeles Clippers R1N25: Tim Hardaway Jr. (Michigan) Minnesota Timberwolves R1N26: Jamaal Franklin (San Diego State) Denver Nuggets R1N27: Jeff Withey (Kansas) San Antonio Spurs R1N28: Reggie Bullock (North Carolina) Oklahoma City Thunder R1N29: Glen Rice Jr. (NBA D-League) Phoenix Suns R1N30: Ricky Ledo (Providence) These are my first round picks. Do you agree with them or do you disagree? Tell me in the comment section who you think should be changed up. Did you think that someone who was not mentioned here should be here? Tell me! Anyway, thanks for reading and please comment. 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! The loss of our most recent playoff game, when the Knicks fell to the Pacers 82-71, still has that stinging feeling from it. This was a huge loss for us because game 4 still gives them home court advantage. Moving into game 4 on Indiana’s soil makes it that more challenging and that more important for the Knicks. They need to tie the series now and regain winning momentum. One sure way to win game 4 is to let Carmelo loose and let him do what he does best. I’m expecting 40+ points from him to help us secure the win. It’s do or die time. This is what all the hard work during the season is for and Carmelo needs to shine. So far, each playoff game that the Knicks won this season, Carmelo has averaged 29.8 points per game and led the team in scoring. He is key to our success in this next game. He has to show he is clutch and can lead us back to MSG in victory. Another big factor in my opinion for game 4 is Raymond Felton. What happened to him in game 3? He had 6 points, shot 1-8 from the field and only dished out 2 assists in game 3, but he gave us 34 minutes. That added up to 34 minutes of wasted time in the game because he didn’t show up. Come on, man! You can do this Raymond!!! #1: Melo must have a great scoring night. #2: Felton must be more involved and show up for game 4. #3: Stop Paul George. Paul George is clearly the best player on the Pacers and will be very difficult to shut down. I think the way to stop him is by putting our best defender on him, Iman Shumpert. He has to work hard and frustrate George. If we stop him, I say a win for the Knicks. The Pacers in game 3 were certainly working hard like they always do and a lot of their shots were dropping. I mean, come on, everything was going in for them last game. Three-pointer is good by Hill. Paul George with an outstanding move. Hibbert tips it is again! We heard those three sentences A LOT in game 3! Things have to change moving forward. I believe we will win game 4 in a nail biter decided by 6 or less points. I would prefer to blow them clear out of Indiana but I will settle for a win of any score. That is, of course, if the refs haven’t decided the game before the first jump ball. Some of their calls have certainly been questionable. I remember one specific play where Shumpert got pushed out of bounds but he was on defense, and then Hansbrough got the ball and barely got touched and they called a foul. Shumpert had been guarding Paul George and George drove down the lane and became wide open because Shumpert got pushed out of bounds and he passed it to Hansbrough where he missed the shot, barely got touched, and a foul was called against the Knicks. It was just unbelievable. So, hopefully the referees will be a little bit less lopsided and let the teams play ball. Only time will tell…Tuesday at 7pm New York time to be exact!! Let me know what you think? Are we going to tie the series on Tuesday? Finally, after a long 2 or 3 weeks of 1st round playoff basketball, we have finally made it to the second round. My predictions on the first round were pretty good I think, I predicted that the Heat would beat the Bucks in 5, they won in 4. I predicted that OKC will beat the Rockets in 6, they did just that. Then my prediction was that the Knicks win in 5, they won in 6. Next, I thought the Spurs would beat the Lakers in 5, they beat them in 4. Then, I figured that the Pacers would sweep the Hawks, but the Pacers won in 6 games. The other 3 vs. 6 seed was my first predicted upset, and I was right. I predicted that Golden State would beat Denver in 7 games, they won in 6. I then predicted that the Bulls would beat the Nets in 6 games, the Bulls won in 7 games. Lastly, I predicted that the Grizzlies would win in 7 games against the Clippers, they won in 6. I went 8 out of 8 on my prediction. 100% baby! Now, enough talking about my predictions from the 1st round. That’s old now! Let me make some new predictions for the 2nd round and see if I will do as well as the 1st round. First, we will start out West with the 1 vs. 5 seed battle which is between the #1 Oklahoma City Thunder and the #5 Memphis Grizzlies. This matchup in my opinion is sending Oklahoma City home. I predict that the Memphis Grizzlies will move to the Conference Finals by beating Oklahoma City in 6 games. Some of you might be going, what is he talking about? This is what I really think, without Westbrook the Thunder are done. With defensive specialists, Tony Allen and Tayshaun Prince guarding Durant, I do not think that the Thunder can score without him making his shots. Tony Allen and Tayshaun Prince’s defense are too much defense for Durant’s offense. The Thunder still have some other decent players who could occasionally get 10 points in a game, but that will not be enough if Mike Conley is going and if Z-Bo and Marc Gasol are going. Once again, I believe that the #5 seeded Grizzlies will beat the Thunder in 6 games. Next, we go to the East where the #1 seeded Heat will go up against the #5 seeded Bulls. I think that the Heat will win this series in 6 games. The reason why I think this is because LeBron, Wade and Bosh are just too much for the extremely sick Chicago Bulls. I think that the Bulls can pull out 2 games because the Bulls split the season series with them 2-2. Now with many people out on the Bulls, it will be hard for them to win a series against the talented Miami Heat on their home court, but they did win a game on Miami’s home floor so, I do not know. My prediction still remains the same. I predict that the Miami Heat will win the series against the sick Chicago Bulls in 6 games. Then, we go back to the West where the #2 seeded San Antonio Spurs will have a battle will Mark Jackson’s #6 seeded Golden State Warriors. Again, I will go with the Warriors to win in 6 games. Is he crazy?? No, I am not crazy, I really think that Stephen Curry is good enough this extremely tough feat, making the Conference Finals. I think he could do it, though. With help from, Andrew Bogut, Harrison Barnes, Carl Landry, Klay Thompson, and more, I think that this team is stacked with young talent. Just imagine how good these guys can become. In fact, look at them right now. I think that because their lineup is so young, they could run San Antonio right out of the building on fast break points. In this matchup, I am simply going with the younger ones over the older ones. Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili, Tony Parker, you guys have had your moments. Now, it is the Warriors turn. Once again, I think that the Warriors will defeat the San Antonio Spurs in 6 games and go to the next round, the Conference Finals. Lastly, I will talk about my #2 seeded New York Knicks going up against the #3 seeded Indiana Pacers. Before I talk about this series, I’ll talk about the Knicks vs. Celtics series. When we went up 3-0, I thought, “Yes we won the series!”, but no not yet. Somehow, the Celtics pulled out games 4 and 5, to make it 3-2, but thank the Lord that we won game 6 to finish out the series because I would not have wanted to go back home again to play in game 7. Anyway, back to the 2nd Round series. My prediction is that the Knicks will win this series in 7 games. The reason is simply because the Knicks beat the Pacers twice, which were both at home, and because the Pacers won both of their home games against the Knicks. This split the season series at 2. There is not really that much more to say about this series. I think that both teams will win their home games. That is why home court advantage was so important to me. Again I say that I believe that the Knicks will win in 7 games because of their home court advantage. My 2nd round predictions for the NBA Playoffs is that the Grizzlies will beat the Thunder in 6 games, the Heat will beat the Chicago Bulls in 6 games, the Warriors will beat the Spurs in 6 games, and finally I believe that the Knicks will beat the Pacers in 7 games. These are my 2nd round predictions but I want to know yours. Who do you think will win? Do you disagree with me on something? Please comment and tell me what you think. Thanks for reading! With the NBA Playoffs starting, I was thinking about which team would win each series in the playoffs. Of course, there are a lot of exciting things going on right now in the playoffs, so it was hard for me to think of which team would win series and in how many games would that team win it in. It was very hard making these choices, and of course some were easier than others. Plus, these are truly who I think will win, not necessarily who I want to win. So, anyway, let me start off with the easiest ones that I could think of with the 1 seeds vs. the 8 seeds. In the East, the #1 seed is the Miami Heat and #8 seed is the Milwaukee Bucks. My predictions are that Heat will win in 5 games. I really truly think that the Bucks can pull off one game on their home floor, but the Heat are too good and too talented for the Bucks, who had a losing record this year, but I think the Bucks could pull off one of those two home games because of their backcourt duo which is Brandon Jennings and Monta Ellis. So, my prediction for that series is that the Heat will win in 5 games. In the West, however, the #1 seed is the Oklahoma City Thunder and the #8 seed is the Houston Rockets. My predictions are that the Thunder will win in 6 games. The reason why I think Houston will pull out two games is because of two words, “The Beard”. James Harden can definitely bring two games home to Houston, in my opinion. The Rockets did pull out one game out of three against the Thunder by two points. However, I think that the Thunder will win this series because of the dominance of Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, and Serge Ibaka. Anyway, I think the Thunder will win in 6 games. Next, we have the 2 seeds vs. the 7 seeds. In the West, the #2 seed is the San Antonio Spurs and the #7 seed is the Los Angeles Lakers. My predictions for this series are that the Spurs will win in 5 games. I think that the Lakers cannot pull out this series against the Spurs without Kobe Bryant, plain and simple. I think that the Spurs have more talent than the Lakers because of Parker, Ginobili, and Duncan. Even though the Lakers have D-12, I just don’t think they can do it. In the East, the #2 seed is the New York Knicks and the #7 seed is the Boston Celtics. I think that the Knicks will win this series in 5 games. I think this because Boston will definitely win a game on their home court, in my opinion. I think the Knicks will win this series for sure if Raymond Felton plays well and he has so far so keep it up, RAY! After that, we have the 3 seeds vs. the 6 seeds. In the West, I come to my first upset prediction. The #3 seed is the Denver Nuggets and the #6 seed is the Warriors. My prediction is that Golden State will win in 7 games. I think that the Warriors have enough talent to pull this off. With the dominance of Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson from beyond the arc, I think that the Warriors will win. However, I think that the Nuggets will make it close because of their backcourt in Andre Igoudala and Ty Lawson. In my opinion, this will be a great and fun series to watch. Again, I think that Golden State will win in 7 games. In the East, the #3 seed is the Indiana Pacers and the #6 seed is the Atlanta Hawks. This was one of the easiest choices to make. I think that the Pacers will sweep the Hawks simply because of the dominance on both ends of the floor. With a lineup of George Hill, Paul George, Lance Stephenson, David West, and Roy Hibbert, I think that the Pacers are going to be very difficult to stop for the Hawks. I can see Josh Smith possibly winning a game for them, but I think it will be a sweep by the Pacers. Lastly, we have the #4 seeds vs. the #5 seeds. These two series are always the toughest to make, but I made predictions, so here we go. In the East, the #4 seed is the Brooklyn Nets and the #5 seed is the Chicago Bulls. In my opinion, I think that the Bulls will win this is 6 games. I think this because the Bulls won the season series 3-1 and I think that they have a much better defensive team and can stop the scorers like Deron Williams, Joe Johnson, and Brook Lopez. Another reason why I think the Bulls will win this series is because of the 2 young all-stars named Joakim Noah and Luol Deng. These two have so much talent, Deng can hit the open shot, Noah is a beast around the basket and getting boards. This is why I think the Bulls can win in 6. In the West, the #4 seed is the Los Angeles Clippers and the #5 seed is the Memphis Grizzlies. My last prediction for the 1st round is the Grizzlies win this series in 7 games. I think that Mike Conley is going to take charge and have some phenomenal games and get the ball to Zach Randolph and Marc Gasol for easy layups, dunks and jump shots. I also think that Zach Randolph is going to have a 35+ point game throughout the series and it will be fun to see. I cannot wait to see this series and I am sure it will be fun to watch. Again, I think that the Grizzlies will win against the Clippers in 7 games. These are my predictions, but I want to know what yours are. Please comment below on your predictions on the playoffs and who you think will go to the next round. I think the Heat, Thunder, Spurs, Knicks, Pacers, Warriors, Bulls, and Grizzlies will all play in the Conference Semifinals. Thanks for reading my predictions. Please comment! With March madness coming to a close tonight, I started thinking about the college players that have made this NCAA season so exciting and what they can do for the NBA. When the NBA draft rolls around this summer, here are five key college ballers that I would love to see play for the Knicks. I know it probably won’t happen because the Knicks won’t have a chance at early picks (thanks to the playoff run!) but a guy can dream, can’t he? Take a look at my top five and what I think they would be able to do for my Knicks next year. Compare them with your own top five. Do you agree? Who else should make the list? Why? Trey Burke – Trey Burke, the star of Michigan University this year, would be a dream pick for the Knicks, considering that he won the 2013 Naismith NCAA Basketball College Player of the Year award. Trey Burke is a player that I would love to wear a Knicks uniform because he averaged 18.5 points per game, 6.8 assists per game, and 1.6 steals per game. Also, many people cannot forget the miracle shot he took against Kansas to knock that #1 seed out of the tournament. He also had some big scoring nights this year putting up 29 against Penn State and 27 against West Virginia. He also got 4 double-doubles this season and the most impressive one was when he got 19 points and 12 assists against Iowa. Trey Burke would help the Knicks because he can help the backcourt and then Carmelo will have a person to pass it to if he is not open. Trey Burke showed how clutch he is in the game against Kansas to move on to the next round and he would be able to help with that if Carmelo is not making shots, we could give it to him and he could make them. This is why I want Trey Burke on the Knicks next year. Victor Oladipo – Victor Oladipo of the Indiana Hoosiers would be a very nice pickup for the Knicks because he is a momentum changer and I believe that the Knicks need that because we are the oldest team in the league. He is a great dunker and can fly to the sky when he wants to. He averaged 13.6 points per game and 6.3 rebounds per game. This season he also shot just under 60% from the field which is one of the best in NCAA basketball. If we draft him, I really feel that he can help New York in a game where the Knicks are down a lot and then he does a crazy dunk and changes the momentum of the game so the Knicks come back and win. This is why I want Victor Oladipo on the Knicks next year. Kelly Olynyk – Kelly Olynyk, a great player on Gonzaga, would be a great pickup for the Knicks next year because all of or big men for New York this season have been getting injured and Olynyk can be the big man that steps in for the older guys. On the season, Olynyk averaged 17.8 points per game, 7.3 rebounds per game, 1.1 blocks per game, and shot 62.9% from the field this season and was 3rd best in the league in field goal percentage. This year he also had 33 points against Santa Clara. He would be phenomenal in a New York uniform because the older guys on the team could teach him stuff and then he can use it in games and come up big for the Knicks. This is why I want Kelly Olynyk on the Knicks next year. Shane Larkin – Shane Larkin, the key player on the Miami Hurricanes, would be awesome for the Knicks because he is a great fast, young player who can put the ball in the hoop whenever he wants. He averaged 14.5 points per game and 2 steals per game for the 2012-13 season. One reason why I would like him in a Knick uniform is because our weakest area is the point guard and he could fill that role for the Knicks and get his points and up his assists average. This is why I want Shane Larkin on the Knicks. Shabazz Muhammad – Shabazz Muhammad the best player on UCLA would be a great scoring guard for the New York Knicks. The reason I say this is because he averaged 17.9 points per game and 5.2 rebounds per game this season. He scored 27 points against Fresno State and Missouri. I would love him on the Knicks because of his ability to score and that would up the Knicks scoring even more and he can also help the backcourt veterans with his quick ability to score. This is why I would love Shabazz Muhammad on the Knicks next year. These are the top 5 players I would like to see wearing a New York Knicks jersey next year. I know it is a longshot because of the Knicks run to the playoffs but I can still believe, right? Anyway, these are my top 5, what are yours? Who would you like to see wearing a Knickerbocker uniform in the 2013-14 NBA season? Anyway, I hope you enjoyed seeing my top 5 players I would like on the Knicks next year. So, thanks for reading! Please comment. After 16 years in the NBA, Kobe Bryant is feeling old. Or at least he is feeling that way about his team. The black mamba was quoted recently complaining that his team is old and tired and that is why they are losing games. Now, I may have let him slide if there weren’t other teams out there to prove him wrong. I think that age is not as important as attitude. Maybe, that is something that Kobe should think about. This is why. In the pre-season, I was worried about the age of the Knicks squad. I thought it was a doomed season because of the numerous veteran players acquired by the Knicks and their old age by NBA standards. Thankfully, I was wrong. What I learned is experience counts. And it counts a lot! The mature squad of the Knicks is now second in the Eastern conference and first in the Atlantic division. They have better records than much younger teams, such as the Charlotte Bobcats and the Orlando Magic. And don’t forget back in 2008, the Boston Celtics, who were considered old after acquiring Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen, went 66 and 16 and had the best single season improvement getting 42 more wins from the previous year. They also won the Championship that year! I like Kobe a lot. In fact, he is one of my favorite players but I think he needs to look beyond age for any problems that his team may be having. For example, the Knicks have more than 126 years of NBA experience with their current squad versus the Lakers 106 years of NBA experience. It seems to be working for the Knicks, so maybe it is time for Kobe to grow up a little. Please comment. On Monday November 26th, the basketball battle for New York will occur. I expect there to be some hard fouls and a lot of chanting from the crowd in the game of the New York Knicks going up against, the new team, the Brooklyn Nets. The Brooklyn Nets roster contains one of the best backcourts in the league having two all-stars named Deron Williams and Joe Johnson. For the Knicks though, they have Raymond Felton at the point guard and future hall of famer Jason Kidd. The point guard matchup, Raymond Felton vs. Deron Williams, I think is the key matchup. Raymond Felton has a lot to show in this game, for example, he has to show if he can stop the best player on the Nets, Deron Williams. Now to the shooting guard matchup, which is Jason Kidd vs. Joe Johnson. I think that Jason Kidd has to move those old legs fast up and down the court and get back to defend Joe Johnson because he is younger and quicker than the third oldest player in the NBA right now, Jason Kidd. Now the small forward matchup is Ronnie Brewer vs. Gerald Wallace. This I think will be an interesting matchup because Brewer is a good young defender and can handle Gerald Wallace, who is a fast and aggressive scorer and a big part for the Nets. I’ll definitely be looking at this matchup during the game. Next, the power forward matchup, Carmelo Anthony vs. Kris Humphries. This matchup I think is the least exciting because Carmelo Anthony is a complete superstar and can beat Kris Humphries any day he wants. Plus, Kris Humphries is not having his greatest year this year either. The only possible way for Humphries to win the matchup against Carmelo is that he will have to guard him like Thabo Sefelosha guards Kobe Bryant. That’s the only way. Finally, we have the center matchup, which is Tyson Chandler vs. Brook Lopez. This will also be a very interesting matchup because Brook Lopez is having one of the best years of his young career and averaging 8.5 points in the first quarter, right behind New York Knick player Carmelo Anthony who averages 10.5 points in the first quarter, but Tyson Chandler won Defensive Player of the Year last year, so it will be very interesting. I think this game will come down to the wire and it will be a very close game, but I really want the Knicks to win. What do you think is the key matchup? Do you think this will be a very close game at the end? I want to know your thoughts, so please comment!! HELP WANTED: Shooting guards needed to play for an NBA team in the top city. Qualified candidates must have good ball handling skills and excellent passing abilities. Must be able to have a good view of the court to find the open man. Exceptional shooting skills are required, with the ability to nail any outside shot, while still being able to drive strong to the basket. Must be able to start immediately!!!!
I thought I would help the Knicks start looking for the guards needed to complete their backcourt since last year’s starting backcourt is gone. As of now, their starting point guard will likely be Felton with Kidd coming off the bench. We have JR Smith as a backup shooting guard but putting him in the starting line-up takes away their fire power off the bench. I think we need some starting shooting guards badly. The Knicks need more than a new uniform. They need leadership both on and off the court. All the way from the back office to the players on the court, we need a team that will live up to the excitement of the city that never sleeps. C’mon, we are New York!
I think that the new New Yorkers, the Brooklyn Nets, have a better understanding of what being in New York means. Over the summer, they took some serious action. They beefed up their squad with Joe Johnson and resigned Deron Williams and Gerald Wallace. I think they probably now have one of the best backcourts in the league outside of Kobe and Nash on the Lakers. During the same summer months, the Knicks lost Lin and Fields, their starting back court. They reunited with former Knicks Marcus Camby and Kurt Thomas while also bringing Jason Kidd onboard. All three veterans are nearing the end of their career so I am not sure how the Knicks management thinks this is a step in the right direction. We also acquired Ronnie Brewer who still has time to develop his skills, however we only signed the 27 year old to a 1 year contract. It leaves me wondering if the future New York fans will look to the Nets to represent their great city. When I talk about the ’92 Dream Team, I also think about the USA team today. Sometimes I even think about having the best players from ’92 and ’12 and putting them together to make an all-time USA Team. Today, that is what I will be talking about. Let’s get this started! Chris Mullin and Christian Laettener are out of there following with Tyson Chandler and James Harden. Scottie Pippen and Russell Westbrook are out as well. Jordan, Magic, Bird, LeBron, and Kobe are in that team. D-Will shouldn’t be in there at all. Kevin Love and Andre Igoudala are not in there. John Stockton and Charles Barkley are definitely in it. Cp3 and Carmelo are in. Anthony Davis is no way no how going to be in this team. I have to make a choice to eliminate someone and Ewing is a no go for me. Also, Kevin Durant is, as well. The Admiral, Clyde “The Glide” Drexler, and Karl Malone finish out the remaining spots.
One Knicks opportunity is lost almost as quick as it was found. Jeremy Lin, the sophomore star of the New York Knickerbockers, took the Big Apple by storm for 25 games in February. I cannot imagine how the Knicks would just let him go after such an amazing run that he had scoring 38 on Kobe, hitting the game winner in Toronto, and dunking it on the Wizards. The Houston Rockets offered Lin a 3YR/$25.00M contract, with the last year of his contract earning 14.8M out of the 25M. At first I thought to let him go, but then I looked back at some of the highlights with Lin doing incredible moves around people, and then I thought that he was definitely worth it. According to James Dolan, owner of the Knicks, he truly was not enough.
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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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