After about a month of NBA Playoff basketball, the teams have narrowed down to four. The Miami Heat, the Indiana Pacers, the San Antonio Spurs, and the Memphis Grizzlies. One of these teams will be crowned a champion and I am pretty sure that the only team expected by everyone to be here is the Miami Heat. Last time I made predictions, I went 2 out of 4 predicting that the Heat would win against the Bulls in 6, they won in 5 and that the Grizzlies would beat the Thunder in 6 games, they won in 5. The ones I got wrong was that I thought the Warriors would win in 6 games, but the Spurs won in 6 games. I also thought that my Knicks would win in 7 games, but the Pacers won in 6 games. I went 2 out of 4 in my 2nd round predictions. Let's see how I do in the Conference Finals predictions.
Let's start in the West with the #2 seeded Spurs going up against the #5 seeded Grizzlies. I think the Grizzlies will win in 6 games against the Spurs. The reason why is because I think the Spurs are too old and I think the Grizzlies are too good at defense and are much younger. I think that Mike Conley is too much for the Spurs and if Zach Randolph and Marc Gasol are playing well then it is over, and the Grizzlies are going to the NBA Finals in my opinion. I, once again, believe that the Grizzlies will defeat the Spurs in 6 games. Now the Eastern Conference, where the #1 seeded Heat will go up against the #3 seeded Pacers. I think the Heat will win in 7 games. I think that each team will defend home court. I cannot really say any more about it. I just think that Miami will win in 7 because of the home court advantage. If these are both correct, the Grizzlies will play the Heat in the NBA Finals. That would be exciting to watch. Again, I think the Heat will defeat the Pacers in 7 games. My predictions for the Conference Finals are the Grizzlies win in 6 and the Heat win in 7. These are only my predictions but what do you think? Do you think differently? Tell me in the comments. Please comment. Thanks for reading!
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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. Hi everyone, today I am going to talk about the race to the playoffs because the playoffs are right around the corner. Let us start off with the Eastern Conference. In the east, the Miami Heat won 27 straight games (2nd longest in NBA history) to clinch the 1st seed in the Eastern Conference which gives them a home court advantage all the way to the Finals. So there is nothing to say about them. Anyway, let’s talk about the battle for the 2 seed which is between the Knicks, Pacers, and even possibly the Nets. Most likely it will be the Knicks or Pacers. I honestly hope and think that the Knicks can get the 2. This is critical because if both teams advance to the Conference Semi-Finals, then one of these teams will have home court advantage against each other and the Pacers have not done well at the Knicks stadium and the Knicks have not done well at the Pacers stadium. So, basically in my opinion I believe that whoever has home court advantage out of the Pacers and Knicks will win the series. Now the battle for the last home court advantage spot is between the Nets, Bulls, and Hawks. I think that the Nets will hold on to this position because they are doing so well right now on their 8-game road trip. I think they will hold that and probably play the Bulls in the 1st round and that will be fun to watch. For the rest of the East conference, I think that it will stay the way it currently is and nothing else will change. Now the Western Conference. Unlike the Eastern Conference playoffs, the West has a battle for the 1 seed between the San Antonio Spurs and the Oklahoma City Thunder. I think that the Spurs will hold this position because they have done so for the past 2 years and somehow, they figure out how to keep that seed. This means that Oklahoma City will finish in 2nd place. Another great battle to look at is the battle for the 3rd and 4th seeds. The Nuggets, Clippers, and Grizzlies are all up for these opportunities. I think the Nuggets will end up with the 3rd spot because they have played so well and I think that George Karl has figured out this team. If they get this seed, it would be huge because of the high altitude in Denver which the other teams are not used to. I also think the Clippers will get the 4th seed because of the great combination with Chris Paul and Blake Griffin. The last race I want to talk about is the race for the 7th and 8th seed between the Rockets, Lakers, Jazz, Mavericks, and Trail Blazers. I think the Rockets will get the 7th spot because of the way James Harden has played this year. I think that either the Jazz or the Lakers will finish in the 8th spot. I cannot make a choice between them because I think they are so equal. These are my predictions and the races that I am most interested in for the playoffs. I hope you enjoyed reading this. Please comment on what YOU think will happen in the playoffs. Thanks for reading! Please Comment.... The New York Knicks have surely had an up and down season this year with them going on their opening 6 game winning streak which was then ended by the Grizzlies. Then they were 18-5 and all this crazy stuff happening with Carmelo getting injured and Amar'e Stoudemire with his injuries. Also, right now Tyson Chandler is out for 1 week with knee and neck problems. It has been crazy! After that, we had no forwards or centers. We then signed Kenyon Martin to a contract for the rest of this year and I think he will be valuable to us because we need a rough player so that no team will want to mess with NYC! However, with Kenyon Martin getting signed in the middle of the season be still has to get used to the plays that the Knicks run and their style of play. Because of this, we had a 5 game road trip on the West Coast with no Melo, Stat, Chandler, or Rasheed Wallace. We lost the first four and then JR Smith and Kurt Thomas stepped up to the plate to get the Knicks back on track by beating the Utah Jazz to end the West Coast road trip. That set the Knicks back on track and they were back to their style when Carmelo came back for the game versus Orlando at the Garden and since then the Knicks have been winning many games with a current 4-game win streak. Now they have clinched a playoff spot and have now won more than 40 games and if they win about 7 or 8 more to close the season they could end with 50 wins and a possible 2 seed which would have them play Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, or Milwaukee right now. The reason why I think that the Knicks have this chance is because Kenyon Martin is getting more used to the team and Carmelo is getting back to full form and even Tyson Chandler is getting ready to return. When Tyson returns, I think that he will need to get used to the flow and the rhythm of the Knicks game play. I also think that when he comes back, he will be a bit hesitant and it will take 2 or 3 games to get back to a fully healthy 100% Tyson Chandler. The Knicks upcoming schedule holds the Celtics (whom they beat last night), Grizzlies, Bobcats, and the Celtics again at the Garden to end out March and then opening up April will be the big time streaking Miami Heat at their home. I think we can end the streak if it is not ended already when we face the Heat. We are still winning the season series against them 2-1 and one of those wins was without Carmelo and with Felton leading the way we won by 20+ points. Anyway, I think that all 5 of these next games could be in the win column for the Knicks which would have the Knicks with about 47 wins and I for sure would think that out of their last 9 games they could at least win 3 to get them to 50 wins. There is Chicago, Oklahoma City, and Indiana in those 9 and those are winnable for us as soon as we figure out what to do to beat the Bulls. Also, if you do not remember we lost to the Thunder at the Garden by 1 without our superstar Carmelo Anthony and I think we did very well with JR Smith being our leading scorer. Also we usually have no problem playing Indiana at home and that is why it is so critical that we get the 2 seed because if we get past the 1st round and play the Pacers in the Conference Semifinals and we have home court advantage then we should win all our home games and they should win their home games because we have played terribly in Indiana this season, we would win the series 4-3 and most likely play the Heat in the Conference Finals and that would be a good spot for us to be in. Anyway, there are some easy wins like Charlotte twice, Washington, and Cleveland which we should win and if we win win a good amount of the tougher games then we probably will end with 50 or more wins and that is why I think that we can do it. I think this because we are a team that is capable of beating the tougher teams and that makes us different then all the other years. This is why I think that the Knicks will end with 50 or more wins this season. Thanks for reading! Please comment. With the trade deadline fast approaching, rumors are all over the place. By now, you’ve probably heard the Knicks trade rumor of Shumpert on the trade block. I’ve been thinking about what the Knicks should do, and my answer may surprise you because in the past I’ve been desperate for the Knicks to take action. But this time, I don’t think they should do anything! Absolutely nothing! That’s right. The Knicks have shown a lot of heart this season. I think the squad they have now will keep winning and they just need to stay focused…and rested. I know what you’re thinking as you read this…the Knicks have been losing lately. But it’s really just a slump. This team is older and they are tired. Their older bodies need a rest and the all-star break came just in time. They will now be well rested and ready to start claiming victories again. In fact, I think the all-star break couldn’t have come at a better time for the Knicks. And speaking of the All-Star weekend, did you catch some or all of it? Thanks to my DVR, I was able to watch the entire weekend. Here are some highlights that I truly enjoyed: · Seeing two Knicks, Carmelo Anthony and Tyson Chandler, both in the all-star game. The best part about it is that they both showed they were all-stars because Carmelo led the East in points and rebounds, getting 26 points and grabbing 12 rebounds. Tyson Chandler did not shine as bright as Carmelo had a decent glow, putting up 7 points and grabbing 8 rebounds. · Watching the Denver Nuggets’ Kenneth Faried nail 40 points and grab 10 rebounds as well as 10 dunks all in the BBVA Rising Stars Challenge. He also won the MVP for that competition. · Rewinding the plays of Kyrie Irving of Cleveland, breaking the Piston’s Brandon Knight’s ankles two times in the Rising Stars Challenge. He crossed him over 3 times, and he fell twice. Once he did that, it became a 1-on-1 contest in Houston. It was so much fun to watch. Also, Kyrie Irving was in the 3-point shootout and got 23 out of 30 possible points. He won that competition with style and also competed in the All-Star game. · Enjoying the All-Star game. It especially was a pleasure to watch was CP3 in the all-star game. He lit up 20 points and dished out 15 assists leading the West to a victory against the East. Also, Chris Paul won MVP for his phenomenal performance in Houston, Texas. Anyway, thanks for reading my latest blog posting and I hope you liked reading it. Also, respond to me about what YOUR favorite highlights were from all-star weekend and post what you think the Knicks or any other team should do trade-wise. Thanks for reading! Please comment. Now from that title you are looking at I know you must be thinking that there is no way that the title is real. Well, I have come to tell you that you that it is surprisingly real. Exhibit A: Friday January 25th 2013, Utah Jazz vs. Lakers, Assists Leader: Kobe Bryant 14 assists. Exhibit B: Sunday January 27th 2013, Oklahoma City Thunder vs. Lakers, Assists Leader: Kobe Bryant 14 assists. I’m starting to see a pattern. Exhibit C: Tuesday January 29th 2013, New Orleans Hornets vs. Lakers, Assists Leader: Kobe Bryant 11 assists. By the way, in all three of the Lakers games, against the Jazz, Thunder, and Hornets, Kobe had 11 or more assists and they won all three of these games. I think that either Steve Nash told him something or he finally figured out what he has to do to help the Lakers win some games and so far it is working. Also, he got double-doubles in all three of these games with points and assists. However, he was not sleeping on the boards either; he ended up with 9 rebounds against Utah, 9 rebounds against the Thunder, and 8 rebounds against the Hornets. He has been doing incredible! Many people who have heard or seen Kobe do these phenomenal performances are saying to compare him to the great Earvin “Magic” Johnson. I can agree with that, if he had done this for 20 to 30 games! I mean, I know it is impressive that he has nearly gotten three triple-doubles in the last 3 games, but he still has to prove that he has become a different person than we remember him being. You cannot just have a rookie join the NBA and get 20 points, 8 rebounds, and 10 assists in one of the games in his young career and compare him to Magic Johnson getting triple-doubles. Right? I know that Kobe is not just “some rookie”, but he still needs to prove more that he has changed. After he does that, then, we could get Kobe into the Magic Johnson triple-double conversation. Now I liked Kobe the way he was before hitting all these ridiculous shots and doing something that we all will never forget, scoring 81 points against the Toronto Raptors on January 22nd, 2006. However, I do not think that those crazy, insane numbers will come from Kobe ever again. Anyway, the Lakers are currently, starting on Wednesday, January 30th, 2013, will be going on a 7 game road trip starting in Phoenix. I think they can win all 7 games if Kobe plays the way he is playing right now. The biggest thing about this is that they need to win these games because their record is 20-25 and they are 10th in the Western Conference which means that they are not in the playoffs right now and the Lakers know that they should have a playoff seed and I believe that they will fight to try and get that seed. Anyway, back to Kobe. If he keeps this basketball where he is playing like a teammate, he can be considered as one of the top five players in all of basketball and could, once again, take the Lakers far in the playoffs. But the big question is: Can Kobe Bryant keep up the passing? Find out on ESPN at 10:30 PM ET on Wednesday, January 30th, 2013 when the L.A. Lakers play the Phoenix Suns. Let’s see what he can do! Thanks for reading! Please comment. On Martin Luther King Jr. Day, the Knicks have their last battle of the regular season against the Nets at Madison Square Garden at 3:00 PM. The last time that these two teams played together at the Garden was on December 19th, back in 2012. Now it is 2013 and the Nets are doing great to start off the New Year only losing one game! That’s stupendous! The Knicks, however, have not been looking very good getting their first three game losing streak while having Mike Woodson as head coach during the regular season. I still think though that the Knicks and Nets will play some phenomenal basketball. In my opinion, I think that Carmelo Anthony will easily hit 30. The reason I say that Carmelo will get 30 points because against the Nets he averages 37 points per game. Here is how many points he scored in each of the battles: Part I: 35 points, Part II: 45 points, Part III: 31 points. I’m saying: Part IV: 30 or more points. This game should definitely be a very rough one, but still a close game. I believe that it might come down to the very final shot, maybe even at the buzzer of the 4th quarter. Just like Parts I and II of the battle. Part I: Overtime Thriller as Nets hold on to win 96-89, Part II: Jason Kidd hits a three pointer and the foul with around 15 seconds left, misses the free throw, but the Nets could not tie the game, Knicks win 100-97, Part III: Knicks win in blow out 100-86. As you can see, it will be rough, for neither team has gotten one point more than 100 in all three battles. That is some good defense and hustle! Raymond Felton will not play in the game because he fractured his right pinky finger on Christmas Day against the Lakers. Next up are the matchups. They are: Point Guards: Jason Kidd vs. Deron Williams. I think that it will be tough for D-Will to score on Jason Kidd because Kidd has an extremely high basketball I.Q. However, I think Deron Williams will win this matchup because he has speed over the 38 year old Jason Kidd. Also, as being one of the rising stars in the NBA, Deron Williams can hit contested shots over Kidd. In my opinion, the point guard matchup goes to the Nets. Shooting Guards: Iman Shumpert vs. Joe Johnson. I think that Iman Shumpert will play great defense on Joe Johnson, but has still not fully recovered from his big injury yet, so I think the shooting guard matchup goes to the Nets, as well. Small Forwards: Chris Copeland vs. Gerald Wallace. I know that most people are going to disagree with me on this, but I think Copeland wins this matchup. Chris Copeland shoots with such confidence over defenders and makes it in. He also has had about 4 or 5 games this year where he started and got 20 or more points. Gerald Wallace, on the other hand, gets injured way too much. That’s why they call him CRASH! In my opinion, the small forward matchup goes to the Knicks. Power Forwards: Carmelo Anthony vs. Kris Humphries. This is probably the easiest choice to make and I have got to go with Carmelo. I think this matchup goes to the Knicks. Centers: Tyson Chandler vs. Brook Lopez. I think that Brook Lopez is really overrated and Tyson Chandler is clearly better. The centers matchup goes to the Knicks. I think and hope that the Knicks win. I think that the Knicks can win the season series against the Nets as 3 wins and 1 loss. I cannot wait to see this game Brooklyn vs. Manhattan, Nets vs. Knicks. Happy Martin Luther King Jr. Day and please comment! On Monday, when the Knicks were facing the Celtics at the Garden, Jared Sullinger drove the lane and got stripped. It ended up being the Knicks ball. Sounds normal, right? Nope. As soon as that happened, Carmelo Anthony and Kevin Garnett started talking crazy trash to each other. It was not the first time in the game that that had happened. It was, however, the first time that the refs had reacted to it. The ref called a double technical. One on Carmelo, and one on KG. Carmelo during the game, said that he would see Kevin Garnett after the game. And he was not kidding! He was at the Celtics bus after the game trying to find Kevin Garnett. Garnett eventually came, and they both began, once again, to talk trash. Now, the NBA gave Carmelo a one game suspension because he went to the Celtics bus and tried to find KG. However, the NBA did not give Kevin Garnett a suspension. Here is what I tweeted when I first heard he got suspended...
In my opinion, I absolutely agree that Carmelo should be suspended, but I think that KG should have been suspended as well. I mean, even though Carmelo started it, they both kept it up. So, shouldn’t they both have suspensions?? Anyway, that is the past. The game that Carmelo is going to be suspended for is the game against the Pacers on January 10th at 7:30 PM. This is a game that I would not want Carmelo to miss, but you have to pay the price.
So, Carmelo should not have gone to the Celtics bus to talk with KG. It’s simple, he shouldn’t have done it. I love how he shows that he has so much passion for the game, but he needs to keep it on the court, not off the court. It was really not a good move for him, the sport of basketball, and the NBA. It really is just unnecessary. Anyway, I hope the Knicks can prevail in the game, Thursday, against the Pacers. Knicks against Pacers, no Melo, no Felton. GOOD LUCK NEW YORK KNICKERBOCKERS!!! GO KNICKS!!! 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. I know that everyone who predicted the winner of this game most probably went with the Knicks because the Kings were truly struggling this season. However, with superstar Carmelo Anthony and starting point guard Raymond Felton out, someone needed to step up. The starting lineup for the Knicks in that game was Jason Kidd, Ronnie Brewer, James White, Kurt Thomas, and Tyson Chandler. I thought this lineup was going kill the Kings lineup, but I was all wrong. The Kings started out beating the Knicks on every play and possession. Then the most embarrassing play of the whole game happened, but sadly it was not in the Knicks favor. Chris Copeland drove in to the basket very slowly and tried to bank it off the backboard and in to get 2 easy points. Then, when he placed it off the backboard 6 foot guard Aaron Brooks swatted it off the backboard for a rejection. He fell out of bounds, but saved the ball. Chuck Hayes got it and passed it to Jimmer Fredette for 3 and they got it in. Mike Woodson was not very happy at Copeland after that. The Kings looked like they had it in the bag pulling off a 27 point lead in one part of the first half. However, Jason Kidd hit a buzzer beater at the end of the half to symbolize that a comeback would happen. And it did. J.R Smith was going insane with his jumpers and layups. Tyson Chandler got 21 points and 18 rebounds which is very impressive. Jason Kidd was great too. Then the 4th quarter was going down to the wire and the clock was ticking down 4 minutes, 3 minutes, 2 minutes, and kept going. Jason Kidd hit a 3 pointer to give us the lead 103-101. Chris Copeland then hit a jump shot making the score 105-101. Isaiah Thomas on the Kings hit a big shot to make to score 105-103, Knicks are winning. Then, Kidd tried an alley-oop to Chandler but it was stolen by Cousins. He passed it to Isaiah Thomas who took a clean jump shot but badly missed. James Johnson got the rebound and tried to power up a shot but that was an epic fail. He got the rebound again and passed it to John Salmons in the corner with 3 seconds to go. Salmons saw James Johnson, who was the one who kept getting the rebound, and passed it to him. The Kings did not want to take a 3 pointer during that possession, but with 1 second left, James Johnson had no choice. Now, James Johnson before this shot was 0 for 11 on the season from downtown, but when he took the shot and the buzzer rang, the only 2 things you could here were the crowd cheering and the ball spiraling into the net. The Kings won the game 106-105. It was truly a lucky shot. Now, I, myself, cannot call this a true loss for the Knicks. I mean, Carmelo Anthony and Raymond Felton were both out and we only lost by one point. It just shows how good of a team we are. I guarantee that if Carmelo had played in that game we definitely would have won, possibly even destroyed them. Please comment! After yesterday’s game, I can’t help but talk about the Lakers. When the Lakers first started the season, they were doing terrible with Mike Brown being their head coach. So, the Lakers fired him. The Lakers were looking for someone to hire to be their new head coach, they could have possibly gotten Phil Jackson, one of the best coaches ever, they could have gotten former player, Brian Shaw, or they could have Mike D’Antoni, former Knicks and Suns coach. They chose Mike D’ Antoni. I thought that they were joking when I first heard about it. He was a terrible coach in the Knicks and the Lakers just picked him up. The Lakers record prior to last night’s games was 4 wins and 8 losses. Remember, this is the Lakers we are talking about. Then came last night’s game against the Knicks. Now, most people probably thought that it would be a blowout with the Lakers taking the game and Kobe scoring like 50 points. No way, they were wrong. The Knicks started the game out strong and went up by around 25 points. With Kidd on Kobe, there was no way Kobe was going to score too easily. D’ Antoni was upset at his team thinking they could do better and he was right, they could. The Lakers came back and then it was a trading baskets kind of thing. A two there, a three here, a two here, a two there, it was crazy. Then, the Lakers finally started making a comeback, but the only way they could do it was by injuring Carmelo who scored 9 of the Knicks first 11 points in the first quarter. Let me explain what happened if you didn’t see it and if you did, just relive the glory. Melo drove down the lane hard, tried to do a dunk and then Dwight Howard knocked him to the ground all body. After that, Carmelo’s leg landed and when his body came down it twisted back just a little bit too much. He left the game diagnosed with a sprained left ankle. No flagrant?!! I promise you if that was any other team that would have been a flagrant and for the Heat, Grizzlies, or Spurs it would be an ejection. Anyway, back to the game, the Knicks were up by 20, then 18, then 16, and it kept growing shorter in the 4th, until it was a 7 point game. I was now shivering when I was watching the game at this point. However, we pulled it off. The Knicks won 116-107 and Melo was the leading scorer for the Knicks! The guy gets injured early in the 3rd quarter and doesn’t return but is still the leading scorer with 30 points. That’s insane!! In my opinion, D’Antoni is a terrible coach, whether he is in the Knicks or Lakers. I just want to say to Kobe “Good luck with D’Antoni” because it is not going to be easy. There is one thing I am looking forward to, though. I want to see what happens when Steve Nash comes back because the only team D’ Antoni did pretty well in was the Suns with Steve Nash and Amar’e Stoudemire. So I am looking forward to seeing that, but that is a long time from now because Steve Nash is injured. Anyway, I’m just glad he is not with the Knicks! Thanks for reading my post. Please comment!! The Knicks definitely surprised many people with their 11 wins and 4 losses start this season. They surprised me too. I love the fact that they are still undefeated at home, with all their losses being on the road. I think this is one of the best starts for the Knicks in franchise history, certainly in my lifetime anyway. The real surprise is that it shows the team is up for a championship run this year so far. The only other times they started seasons like this was back in the 1970 season when they won their first of two titles, and in 1994 when they went to the finals, but lost to Hakeem Olajuwon and the Rockets.
The person that I am most impressed with is Carmelo Anthony. He leads the league in points per game in the first quarter with 10.5 points. Also, he is third in the NBA in points per game throughout the whole game, right behind Kobe Bryant and Kevin Durant. However, those are not the things I am most impressed with, what I am most impressed with is his passing of the ball. He is starting to drive in and bring the defenders in and then kick the ball out to the open man. That is called good basketball. Another player I am impressed with is Jason Kidd who has back spasms now. I did not even know he was third all time in three-pointers made. He is a very unselfish player and is clutch. Ronnie Brewer and J.R. Smith are also making their mark. Ronnie Brewer is starting to hit the three point shot. I thought that he was just a defensive player and was a good finisher in the lane but I was wrong, he is much more than that. He does everything from rebounds to assists to fantastical dunks, and I am just glad he is on the team. Also, J.R. Smith is probably having the best year of his career. Now, many people were saying that he is a big ball hog and he never passes, and they were right, in the beginning. Now, he is starting to pass more and is finding players like Steve Novak for three and finding Carmelo for the open jump shot. 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!! For six games, being wrong never felt so good! The Knicks started the season with a six game winning streak challenging my expectations for the older squad. And, as I said, I’ve never been happier being wrong in my life. But, all good things apparently come to an end. The refs made sure of that in the seventh Knicks game of the season against the Memphis Grizzlies.
With four technical fouls called against the Knicks and a whole bunch of other questionable calls, I can’t be the only one wondering if these were the same refs used in the Knicks versus Heat playoff games last season. Let’s be honest. We all have seen how refs can interfere with the outcomes of games…just look at the Heat’s run for the finals last year. I am surprised the refs didn’t just wear Heat uniforms on the court. But that’s a different story for a different time. Apparently, there is something to be said about experience, because the Knicks are on a 4-0 record start. The last time the Knicks did that was when they went 7-0 in 1994 and went to the NBA Finals to lose against the Rockets and Hakeem Olajuwon. Anyway, I believe that the Knicks are going to have a great season this year looking at their first four wins. The first one was against the Miami Heat and we crushed them 104-84 at Madison Square Garden. It was really fun to watch because everyone was getting the ball and getting an opportunity to score. The next two games were both against the Philadelphia 76ers, one at home and one away, and we won both. The home game that we played against the Sixers ended in another slaughter with the Knicks winning 100-84. The away game that we played was, for the third time in a row, a blowout, but this one was biggest of all. We won 110-88. The most recent game was on Friday night. However, this one was not a slaughter. When we started the game against the Dallas Mavericks, I actually thought that we were going to lose our first game. They were actually up by 11 points at one point in the 2nd quarter, but we would not give up. We came soaring back and in the 3rd quarter were up by one. I had to give it to O. J. Mayo though. He had a game that I did not even think that he could ever have. He was the main reason why the Mavericks were up by so much. Then, J.R. Smith, Carmelo Anthony, Tyson Chandler, Jason Kidd, and Raymond Felton kept the lead for us at the end of the 3rd and the rest of the 4th. We won by 10. The score was 104-94. Overall, I think the Knicks are having one of their best season starting records of all time. This is a very good sign. I cannot wait to see what will happen with the Knicks in the 2012-2013 NBA Season. So far experience is working for New York. Please comment. And remember, GO KNICKS!!!! Please Comment... The New York Knicks’ first two games in the 2012-13 NBA season made me want to watch more of it. It was beautiful. I think that Mike Woodson is taking this Knick team to a whole new level. It makes me feel excited to watch it.
Anyway, to the first game the New York Knicks played an enormous rivalry for them the Miami Heat and what made it even more special was that it was at the Garden. With the Knicks having an older team I wondered how they would do against LeBron, Wade, Bosh, and the newcomer to the Heat Ray Allen. The Knicks played phenomenal against the Heat. Carmelo was hitting shot after shot after shot. Hitting 3 pointers, driving for and 1s, and getting the easy two points off layups and jump shots. Overall, Carmelo ended up with a nice amount of 30 points and 10 rebounds. Also, veteran Jason Kidd played amazing as well becoming the third most all time in 3 pointers made right behind Ray Allen and Reggie Miller. The countdown to the start of the NBA’s regular season is over and I think the Knicks season opener is going to be very exciting! Yet before we jump ahead, let’s take a look back and recap the preseason for the Knicks. In their first preseason game, the Knicks played the Wizards and won 108-101. The player that was best on the Knicks for that game had to have been Steve Novak. He was the leading scorer with 21 points and he also made all 7 three pointers that he took (impressive!). The next game was against the Boston Celtics, which the Knicks won in overtime 98-95. In my opinion, the main reason they won this one is because of backup forward Chris Copeland. He scored 21 points throughout the game and also got the game winning block. Carmelo also scored 23 points but that is to be expected from him at this point.
The third game, the Knicks faced the Toronto Raptors and lost 107-88. The Raptors were led by former Rockets point guard, Kyle Lowry. He had a phenomenal game with 17 points, 3 steals, 5 assists, and 4 rebounds. Carmelo and Amar’e combined for 42 points but it wasn’t enough. This game was followed by another game against the Celtics but the Knicks luck ran out this time. The Celtics claimed an 11 point victory, with the final score of 109-98. Chris Copeland had another phenomenal game for Boston, scoring 34 points. However, in my opinion, the reason why the Celtics won was due to the support of Jeff Green, who scored 25 points. In our second to last preseason game, the Knicks fell to Philadelphia, losing 98-90. The Sixers had the best preseason record in the league going into the game. Jason Richardson scored 23 points and Thaddeus Young scored 22 points. Finally, our last preseason game was the much anticipated game against the Brooklyn Nets. It was definitely the most fun game to watch for me in the preseason. Before I say who won, let me say that Tyson Chandler got injured in the beginning of the game. Gerald Wallace was trying to cut through the screen and he hit Tyson’s knee. Fortunately, it was only a bone bruise. As you probably know by now, the Knicks won against the Nets in overtime 97-95. MarShon Brooks went up for a layup at the end and missed. The Knicks then ran out the clock. NBA 2k13 out now! I got the game pre-ordered because my mom and dad were nice enough to get it for me. Anyway, it is a pretty sick game. Let’s get to the changes. What I figured out first was that the left trigger on defense helps you play more intense defense on the player that you are guarding. There is a way to flop like LeBron too. You hold B, release B, and then press B quickly. One last thing that they made new is the shot stick is not for shots anymore it is simply for doing spin moves. Another great thing that 2k added is that the songs were chosen by Jay-Z and now I am more familiar with the songs that play while I’m checking things out. These are some new things that 2k added.
Now I’ll talk about the teams and graphics of NBA 2k13. The graphics are phenomenal they have every single player exactly right. It is amazing! The Brooklyn Nets’ logo is really cool and the Bobcats changed their logo as well. I got to say, it is really cool. Then, they added some new legendary teams like the 2k13 Celebrity team with players such as Sean Kingston and Justin Bieber, they have the 1992 USA Olympic Dream Team with MJ, the 2012 Olympic squad with Kobe, LeBron, and Durant. They also have “The Answer”, AI, Allen Iverson in the 2001 squad when he took the Sixers to the finals. Also, they changed the My Player setup and skill points. They now have your My Player on the home screen and if you click on him it does not bring you to start your career. They now have a new section called My Career, it is the same thing as My Player from 2k12 but it is called a different name, My Career. Another thing with my player or my career is that instead of getting Skill Points you get Virtual Currency coins. You get a certain amount each game. They also have a mode called My Team where you will be given a certain amount of players at a rookie skill level and you can play online against people with your squad versus their squad. That is another really cool feature! Now I will talk about All-Star Weekend. You can only get all-star weekend if you pre-ordered the game. I was fortunate to get it pre-ordered because my parents got it for me by surprise. First, there is the All-Star game. It is the same as last year with the same all-stars just in the conference that they are supposed to be in like Dwight Howard is in the West All-Stars. Second, we have the Rising Stars Challenge. They have the sophomores and rookies go head-to-head in a fearsome battle. Third, we have the Slam Dunk contest. They allow you access to the legends like MJ, Dominique, Clyde, and even Spud Webb. They also allow you to put NBA players up against the legends like you can have LeBron, Blake Griffin, MJ, and Dominique go at it. Another thing about it is that your my player is able to be in the dunk contest as well with the NBA and legends. Even if your my player cannot dunk he is able to dunk in the contest. Anyway, back to the dunk contest, the way you activate a dunk takes some getting used to. What you have to do first is choose a section like through the legs or 360s or windmills. Then, once you choose a section you have to choose what kind of way you are going to do it like for the props section you can choose the dunk up and over where you jump over a car. You have 3 dunks per player and 4 players. The highest score you can get in the dunk contest is a 100. The last part of all-star weekend is the three point contest. Your my player will be featured in this as well. There are 6 players and 2 rounds which means that the top 3 scores go to the final round. If you have NBA 2k11 this is the same thing as the blacktop three point contest except it is in the Rockets stadium. You will have lots of fun with this feature if you pre-ordered it. If you’re an NBA player nearing retirement age, no need to worry, the Knicks have a home for you. The Knicks now have the oldest squad in the league, with veteran players like Jason Kidd, Marcus Camby and our most recent recruit, Rasheed Wallace, listed on the roster.
The Knicks appear to be using a new strategy, if that is what you want to call it. It is about the same as calling the team’s upcoming season as “interesting”. My guess is the Knick management decided something like this: “Let’s try to gather as many players past their prime as we can, and we’ll tell everybody that we meant to do that. We won’t admit that we didn’t make any awesome trades this summer and that we planned to get rid of Lin anyway. We will say that we wanted these guys all along and we succeeded in getting them on our team. We’ll say we wanted to go with ‘experience’ and that youth is not all that great after all. I mean sure the other teams will have more energy, speed, endurance, and prime talent but we got experience.” Well, there’s more criticism out there for the Knicks dynamic duo. This time the chemistry between Stat and Melo comes under fire from former Knick, Stephon Marbury, who has new found fame as a basketball superstar in China. Marbury, who played with Stoudemire on the Phoenix Suns back in 2003, believes the two Knicks stars are a complete mismatch. He thinks Stat needs someone who is a pass first point guard, like Steve Nash. Carmelo is a shoot first, ask questions later (oh, you wanted me to pass?) type of player, so I can understand Marbury’s point of view. Still, I think that Stat and Melo have no choice but to make it work if the Knicks are to have any real success this season. There has to be some give and take in adjusting both of their games, which means Mike Woodson has his work cut out for him. For now, what I think they should do during the games is put Carmelo at power forward with Stat on the bench, and then alternate Stat at power forward with Melo on the bench. They will both be given their own time to shine on the court. It’s not ideal but until they learn to come together, or until the Knicks learn how to put together a winning team worthy of New York in its name, it’s what we are left with right now. I expect more people will weigh in on the dynamic duo and their ability to make it work as the season draws near. Well, I hope they surprise everybody, including me. I still love the Knicks and will continue to root for them. Do you think they have it in them? Please comment. The former Houston Rockets star, Hakeem Olajuwon, was helping the Knicks forward Amar’e Stoudemire by teaching him post moves in the paint, such as the “Dream Shake”. Now he is coming to New York to help out Carmelo Anthony, Tyson Chandler, and Marcus Camby improve their post game as well as helping Amar’e a little bit more.
With Hakeem training these four Knicks players, I think the Knicks will have a much better chance, better than expected for this season anyway. Hakeem can make the Knicks so much better because Olajuwon is absolutely one of the top 15 greatest players of all time. He was so good at making ball fakes and tricking his opponents by using lots of different post moves. I can’t wait to see how much more dominant the Knicks will be with Carmelo dominating the post with Stoudemire doing the same on the outside. I think he will make a difference in how this two players work together. I also think that Tyson Chandler will become a better offensive force with Olajuwon teaching him how to use his height to his advantage. He will, in my opinion, average around 15 points per game. Lastly, let’s talk about Marcus Camby. Camby may be old but I believe that with Olajuwon will be able to help him regain some of the dominance he used to show on the floor. 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. |
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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