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05-03-2012, 02:45 PM
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Rookie
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The New York Knicks Experiment
 OCT-NOVEMBER 2010 NEW YORK KNICKS Madison Square Garden - New York City, NY Overall Record: 10-10 November Record: 8-9 Overall: 12th (--) Power Ranking: 14th (--) Division Rank: 1st (--) Conference Rank: 8th (--) Team Chemistry: 51% (--) The newest and perhaps brightest era in New York Knicks history began on October 27th against the Toronto Raptors, in Toronto. A new coach, in offensive wiz-kid Mike Dantoni, and three completely new offensive weapons, in Carmelo Anthony, Amar'e Stoudamire, and Chauncey Billups. The media was just as rampant on promoting the Knicks as they were as LeBron James' and Chris Bosh's first season in Miami alongside franchise man Dwyane Wade, and team to be compared to for the rest of their times. The media got off to a hot start criticizing the team after their first loss to the Raptors by 11 points. Although 34-year old Billups looked great with 20 points and 10 assists, while Melo and Stat put up 19 and 17 respectively in their first regular season game, the team's defense was of speculation, giving up 28 to both Leandro Barbosa and Jose Calderon. That heat quickly died off when the team was able to win their first matchup against longtime franchise rival, the Boston Celtics. The big trio whom igniting the latest trend in NBA transactions and free agency, and NBA champions, roughed it out with the Knicks all the way to the end. With the game tied 88-88 with 1:15 left, Anthony was able to rub out an awkward hook shot down in the post, with a wide open Amar'e anticipating anxiously, the past to slam it down. That didn't happen, but they got back on defense, and watched a Rondo floater jump back out onto the court, snatched up by Melo himself. The man would bring it up letting the clock drain, until drawing in the defense down low. Gift wrapped it off to Stoudamire, who dribbled once, pump faked, and drew Rondo from the top. A top point dish out to Billups saw the crowd go silent with Mr. Big Shot's three to make it 93-88. With a timeout called, the Celtics were down five, and although Ray Allen was able to make it a one shot game with his patented corner three, it wouldn't be enough as free throws fell and sloppy play consumed until the end. Carmelo would finish off with 27 points and 10 rebounds, while Amar'e had 25 points and 8 rebounds, to solid performances. Billups would finish with 13 and 6, but also the game's most essential bucket. Unfortunately, the rest of the roster was very mediocre, and will have to play better in order to really compete in the East. Saturday night, however, saw the team's first game in the Garden. The team's live performance on TNT was entertaining from the start, as they hosted the Portland Trailblazers, certainly an odd schedule matchup. Although things started a bit slow, the team would go on an 8-3 run in the final minute and a half of the first, with great shots from both Melo and the team's starting shooting guard, rookie Landry Fields. The second quarter was also close, but after halftime the team got rollin', putting up 27 while holding the Portland Trailblazers to 20 in the third. The fourth saw the team break out for a dominating 72-100 victory, putting up 30 points while strong performances from Melo, Billups, and Fields. A much bigger home game dawned soon after, as the Knicks hosted the most dominant big man in the East, Dwight Howard, and his Orlando Magic. The Howard/Stoudamire matchup was continually hyped up, and it was clear who the winner was. Stat was able to dominate his opponent by holding Howard in 7 points, while putting up 25 of his own. Although he allowed Howard to snatch a grand total of 16 rebounds, those catches were worthless as the Knicks would go on to win 99-107. The Knicks were dominating by the start of the fourth, but the Magic's attempt at a comeback wouldn't be enough to topple the impressive Amar'e and his well-playing teammates Billups and Anthony. Another big game in the East followed two days later, but were sufficed to a 22 points game from point guard Derrick Rose, who was also able to hold Billups to only 12 points, nearly half of his season average. Although the fourth quarter was an entertaining affair, with the Knicks putting up 36 to the Bulls' 30, but the new lineup would fall short 96-100 to Chicago. Stoudamire had a particularly criticized performance, scoring only 6 with 13 rebounds, while his counterpart Joakim Noah completely dominated the paint, with a career night scoring 16 with 18 rebounds. Thankfully, the Knicks would get two more wins in their next two games, first beating the Washington Wizards and their new superstar John Wall, and second defeating the Philadelphia 76ers, who now have more competition in the Atlantic Division alongside the new Knicks team. For some reason, however, the rest of their month wasn't so impressive following the team's 5-2 start. A 20-point loss would take place against Milwaukee as the entire Bucks team was offensively on key. Next the Knicks got a victory against the visiting Golden State Warriors, but would lose once again on the road, this time in Minneapolis against the T'Wolves. The team was able to recover at home against the Houston Rockets, but their next game was much bigger, especially for one player. April 16th saw Carmelo Anthony return to the Denver Nuggets, who traded Melo's final season of his luxury contract during the summer. The crowd wasn't too pleasing to Melo, while he still had a solid group of supporters. The crowd was more enticed by the end of the game, when the score was 97-97. The Knicks had held the lead most of the game through, although the battle was close. However, they allowed a Nuggets comeback to commence, with the support of a super-supportive audience. The performance of Anthony himself was absolutely dismal, scoring only 9 points, shooting 2 of 14 from the floor. One unsuspecting player was able to step up and do what Melo wasn't able to that night, and that was bench guard Corey Brewer. He would make the fairly open shot as the defense was drawn towards Stoudamire, leaving :01.3 left on the clock, and no time for the Nuggets to get off a contending shot. And what looked like a good momentum push for the Knicks, led to a dismal five straight games, starting off with an 86-108 loss to the Sacramento Kings at the Arco Center. Their west coast road trip continued with a tough loss in Oakland to the Warriors, 132-134, as Melo failed to hit a game-winning opportunity, to more scrutiny from the media. Another two point loss would take place at the Staples Center against the new look Clippers, 105-107. The team looked like it would recover three days later in a home game to the Charlotte Bobcats, but the Bobcats were playing great basketball, and proved themselves in two straight games against the Knicks. They would shock the Knicks at home, 82-79 at first, and then lure them back to Charlotte the next day only to add insult in injury with a 99-111 back-to-back win. Somehow the Knicks recovered with a 102-104 victory at home against the Atlanta Hawks, although Melo only played 13 minutes with a twisted ankle. An embarrassing loss would follow at the Palace of Auburn Hills, failing to finish off a comeback in the fourth, losing 93-94. And finally, the team would suffice an evening out victory putting them at 10-10 so far, defeating the Nets at home by a 25 point margin.
League News for the Months of Oct-November ♦ The two most impressive players in their conferences took home the Player of the Month awards for their respective conference, that being LeBron James and Kevin Durant. ♦ Sacramento Kings' guard Tyreke Evans would officially write his name in the history books of the Nationals Basketball Association, when he was able to shoot an incredible 29 free throws out of 34 attempts, while finishing the a win hosting the New Orleans Hornets with 44 points. ♦ The Utah Jazz signed a 1yr/$2.28M contract with veteran shooting guard Larry Hughes. ♦ The Phoenix Suns picked up point guard Flip Murray with a 1yr/$1.64M contract. ♦ The Chicago Bulls signed Darington Hobson to a 1yr/$1.35M contract. ♦ The Toronto Raptors decided to fire their head coach Jay Triano halfway through the month of November, and named assistant coach Stephon Bosh as interim-head coach. ♦ Late in the month, the Golden State Warriors agreed to a 1yr/$1.72M contract with center Eddy Curry. ♦ The Memphis Grizzlies look a big loss when it was announced Marc Gasol would be out of the season with a torn MCL suffered early on in the year. It's a big hit the Grizzlies who felt Gasol would improve vastly this year as he emerged in the league as a real franchise big man. ♦ Poor Luke Walton also suffered a torn MCL as the Los Angeles Lakers will have to replace his 4 minutes off the bench. ♦ Broken arms were rampant in the month with Yao Ming, Steve Nash, and Jason Terry all out 4-6 weeks with a case of the disease of bad fortune. A certain sense of sympathy was felt for Yao Ming who is continuing to suffer bad injuries throughout the season. ♦ The Boston Celtics have been without Kevin Garnett and Rajon Rondo, as Garnett broke his foot in a game against the Wizards ,while Rondo tore one of his hamstrings in a battle against the Bobcats. ♦ Other news sees Milwaukee's Michael Redd out for 4-6 weeks with a broken shooting hand, which will certainly hamper his performance for the rest of his aging career. Chicago also lost small forward Luol Deng to a sprained neck for nearly the rest of the month. |
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05-03-2012, 02:56 PM
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#2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Rookie
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Re: The New York Knicks Experiment
 DECEMBER 2010 NEW YORK KNICKS Madison Square Garden - New York City, NY Overall Record: 20-13 December Record: 10-3 Overall: 8th (+4) Power Ranking: 3rd (+11) Division Rank: 1st (--) Conference Rank: T-4th (+4) Team Chemistry: 67% (--) The month of December was executed with relative perfection, despite a hiccup loss in Washington against the Wizards, and two final losses at the end of the month. Besides that, the team looked great starting off with a win against the New Orleans Hornets, followed by a win in Toronto against the Raptors, and then back home next day to watch Carmelo Anthony put up 39 in an 86-125 routing of the Minnesota Timberwolves. That entire week was one of Carmelo's best, as the next game saw him put up 42 points once again facing the Toronto Raptors, this time at home where fans were delighted to watch him light up the show. Unfortunately, there was one down moment of the game which saw Corey Brewer helped off the court and from the game, where he was diagnosed with a sprained neck during post-game, and won't be able to return for 2-4 weeks. This, coach Mike Dantoni said, would result in more minutes for his starters and some extra for shooting guard Kelenna Azubukie, who is known to play small forward as well with his size. The next game saw Melo put up another 40 points, but the rest of his team would do jack-squat as the Wizards were able to steal a win in Washington from a much-better, but out-of-zone New York Knicks team. Luckily for the guys, they were able to win their next six games starting with a victory against the Denver Nuggets, which saw point guard Chauncey Billups continue his above-average play with a career high 42 point performance against his former team. Their home stand would continue with two important games, the first being an 83-117 smackdown of the Boston Celtics, certainly sending a message to the veteran, but aging squad with two straight wins against the Celtics this season. Having faced much criticism for his recent performances earlier in the month, Amar'e Stoudemire came out with a solid 37 point, 18 rebound performance, dominating the game from start to finish with his presence in the paint. It seemed as though Amar'e was peaking at the right time, but his next game would only be a 9 point, 8 rebound performance. Thankfully, the rest of his team was above-par, and were able to keep the high times going with an 87-102 victory against the Miami Heat in Madison Square Garden. The entire affair was a heated battle, with LeBron James receiving the loudest chorus of boos the Garden's seen in sometime, and most consistent, for every time James touched the ball, the arena would quickly rise up in anger. Things didn't seem to faze "the King" however, who put up a team-high 33 points while getting to the line eight times. Unfortunately, the Knicks got off to too hot of a start, and were determined to keep the lead throughout the rest of the game. Chauncey Billups continued to emerge as a team leader and certainly won the hearts of New York after his 37 point game in which he dished out 9 assists and hit all five of his three point attempts, lighting the Garden on fire with every swish. Melo also played a solid game, scoring 23 with 10 rebounds, 4 assists, 4 steals, and 2 blocks, scoring every free throw all five times he was at the line. The very next day the time ironically had to travel to Cleveland, where they settled a deal with the Cavaliers giving the Knicks at 99-81 victory. At this point, the Knicks had three days to prepare for a Wednesday night showdown with the Oklahoma City Thunder, and it was there the Knicks were able to come out victors for a fifth straight game, 74-93. The week was short with only another game Christmas night, primetime against the Chicago Bulls in New York. And much like the Heat, the Bulls couldn't handle the atmosphere, as six New York players finished in double-digit scoring, highlighted by a 12 point performance from Roger Mason, who was 6-6 from the free throw line, and 2 for 3 from beyond the arc. Once again Billups was able to lead the team with 28 points and 11 assists, while Derrick Rose led the Bulls with 23 points in a 99-126 blowout at the Garden. Merry Christmas to all Knicks fans! With Sunday and Monday off, the Knicks were preparing for another grand showdown against the Heat, this time down in the tip of Florida. And this time, the Knicks didn't fare as well. Although they were able to comeback in the third quarter after giving up an eleven point lead after the first, the Heat wouldn't allow this one to get away from them, and closed out the finish, outscoring the Knicks by ten in the fourth quarter to secure the home win. The big three of Miami were essential to their victory, each scoring over 20 points, while Amar'e was as clutch as ever, putting up 40 in a disappointing performance from the team. To make matters worse, the team couldn't recover in their final game of the year of 2010, against the Orlando Magic. The Magic's game plan was executed well enough, as the Magic walked out of their stadium winners 94-101. No one man on the Knicks team had an incredible impressive performance, which was necessary for the scoreboard to lean their way. As for December, the team looked great. Things were going all well until two losses against the Heat and Magic, two teams the Knicks are going to have to consistently beat in order to contend for an NBA title, the ultimate goal of this experiment. As for the rest of the team, the only player unhappy with his role on the team is Renaldo Balkman, who feels he isn't getting enough playing time since making his way back to New York (where he was drafted.) Unforunately, the team is more impressed with the performance of Shawne Williams, who is getting 0.6 more minutes on the court per game, and averaging a straight 5.0. The team overall, is not impressed with the was Balkman has been performing all year, and may be pressed to move him out in exchange for another player or draft pick.
Knicks News for the Month of December ♦ The Knicks appear to be shopping around forward Renaldo Balkman, who has recently been heard complaining about his minutes with the Knicks. Sources say Balkman isn't seriously requesting a trade as of now, but many feel that his grumblings will only continue to boil over and eventually erupt into problems between Balkman, his agent, and the front office. Unfortunately, offers the Knicks are considering don't seem the be in the team's best interest overall, and it may be worth more to up Balkman's minutes to keep him happy and playing well. ♦ One player the organization appears to be targeting is their 2008 1st Round draft pick Danilo Gallinari. The 22-year old was traded to Denver in the deal which saw Chauncey Billups arrive to New York, but he is already extremely unhappy with his position in Denver, where Wilson Chandler is responsible for consuming the small forward minutes. The Knicks, however, feel they are short on trading pieces, while the only talked of trades see Corey Brewer and at least a draft pick going to the Nuggets for Gallinari. The chances of a deal being done at this point stand around 20%. ♦ Coach Mike Dantoni has clearly had success with his recent emphasis placed on the team's defense. He's repeated message is that defense is the cut throat between title and no title. He has enough faith in their offense to allow more focus on the team's defensive formations and formulas. The statistics prove his success, as the Knicks have the 8th fewest PAPG at 95.8, while the offense is fourth in the league in scoring at 103.8. The team is also second in the league in blocks per game at 5.2, right behind the Oklahoma City Thunder, who are one place above the Knicks in differential. Leading that stat are the Miami Heat, who are also playing on a high level. League News for the Month of December ♦ This time it would be Derrick Rose taking home the Player of the Month award for the East, and Dirk Nowtizki taking it home for his team in the West. ♦ The Cleveland Cavaliers agreed to send point guard Ramon Sessions to the productive Golden State Warriors in exchange for the Warriors' 1st Round draft pick for this upcoming draft, and veteran shooting guard Charlie Bell. ♦ Greg Oden has found a new home, as the Portland Trailblazers agreed to send him alongside big man Joel Pryzbilla to Los Angeles Clippers in exchange for Chris Kaman and Willie Warren. The Trailblazers are said to have made the move because Oden had requested a fresh start somewhere else, while Pryzbilla may have been the only piece they could have moved to Los Angeles to get Kaman, who requested a trade from the team citing problems with management and the direction of the organization. ♦ The Oklahoma City Thunder agreed to a 1yr/$781k deal with multiple-time champion and veteran shooter Michael Finley. ♦ On the flip side, the Washington Wizards looked for some more veteran presence in the locker room, signing an odd 1yr/$856k deal with very old but respected Jerry Stackhouse. ♦ Midway through the month, another team said goodbye to their head coach, as Kurt Rambis was released from his contract with the Minnesota Timberwolves, who know have Todd Houston serving as their general on the floor. ♦ The Boston Celtics agreed to a 1yr/$1.58M deal with free agent Jarvis Hayes. ♦ The Detroit Pistons decided to sign Chris Hunter to a 1yr/$937k contract. ♦The Los Angeles Clippers added a veteran point guard by signing Rafer Alston to a 1yr/$1.60M deal. ♦The New Orleans Hornets signed Mike Harris to a 1yr/$1.44M |
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05-03-2012, 02:59 PM
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Rookie
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Re: The New York Knicks Experiment
 JANUARY 2011 NEW YORK KNICKS Madison Square Garden - New York City, NY Overall Record: 30-18 January Record: 10-5 Overall: 13th (-5) Power Ranking: 7th (-4) Division Rank: 1st (--) Conference Rank: 4th (--) Team Chemistry: 77% (+10%) New York started the month off hot with a dominating win over Indiana in the Garden, 100-134. This win was a very good sign for fans worried about a potential playoff matchup with Indiana, and that they mustn't be worried at all since Carmelo Anthony's season high 46 points and the rest of the team dominated throughout. The team would go on to host the Spurs at home, and defeat them in a solid matchup, 89-104. This game would see Corey Brewer return with a healed neck, but he would only score 6 while shooting a poor 3 for 10 from the field. A big west coast road trip would follow, and the team would start off strong with a victory in Phoenix, while Amar'e Stoudemire returned to lead the Knicks with 21 points while five of his teammates finished with double-digit scoring as well. That game would see Kelenna Azubukie come up strong, scoring 11 off the bench. However, a big Sunday night matchup would see the team fall to the Lakers at the Staples Center, 91-116 as the Lakers ran away with the game from the start of the fourth quarter. Both Pau Gasol and Kobe Bryant finished with 28, while the Knicks' offense sputtered throughout, as Melo led his team with only 22 points. This loss would seem to shake the team's confidence, as they would fall to the Trailblazers in Portland, 70-96. The next day saw a 90-97 loss to the Jazz in Utah, but once home again, they played host to the Sacramento Kings who were making their rounds on the east coast, and would blow out the young west coast offense with an 87-134 showing, as Melo scored 44 going 15-17 from the field. Next came another challenge from the Phoenix Suns, this time in New York where they would fall to the Knicks 96-114. And with that the team was back on the road, this time starting in Houston against the Rockets, where they took on a team now led by David Lee, whom they acquired from the Warriors earlier in the month. The Knicks would be too much though, walking away victorious at 101-89, while their next game would see a continued success against the San Antonio Spurs, coming in and swiping a 108-89 win. Unfortunately the team was faced with another tough task the very next day, taking down the ruthless Oklahoma City Thunder in OKC. Not surprisingly, the Knicks fell short, 90-97, as the entire team shot well but not one man stepped up to give the big time performance necessary to snatch the win. This game would also see Stoudemire go down with a strained quad, having the leave the game in the fourth quarter, certainly hurting the team's presence in the paint for the game. While it's always tough to see Stoudemire go down, it was announced he would only be affected by the injury for 1-2 weeks while there was confidence he would continue to at least pump out 20 minutes a game with the injury. Thankfully the team could get a win against the Wizards at home, as Melo hosted John Wall and his ragtag crew to a 45 point performance for fans in the Garden. However, they were more concerned about their game three days later, hosting the Miami Heat once again. With a strained quad on Stat and revenge on the mind of the big three in Miami, most were counting the Knicks out, but they proved to pack a bigger punch that anticipated. The crowd helped knock Miami out of grabbing a victory, as the Knicks' bench was able to step up, along with a 19-point game from Landry Fields, seemingly igniting the crowd with every one of his buckets. New York loves rookies, and New York loves when their teams win. They were certainly more than satisfied as their team was able to defeat the Heat once again, this time 97-101. There may have been too big of a hangover, however, as the team traveled to Atlanta the next day where they lost and unprepared game to the Hawks, 99-103. Clearly the, Stoudemire was not producing as well, and the team was trying to adjust to life without their big man, but everyone seemed to have a hand in the defeat of the Detroit Pistons in their final game of the month, winning 88-111 at home. This win would put them one win over their record last year, certainly a fantastic improvement considering the All-Star Break hasn't even commenced.
Knicks News for the Month of January ♦ A decision was made to give forward Renaldo Balkman a more expansive role on the team, creating a role playing spot for the productive defensemen and rebounder. Balkman was said to be at breaking point with the team, but the front office has sources saying with confidence they feel Balkman will be satisfied and they gave the forward what he had been wanting. A win-win, in most cases. Offers were made from by the Washington Wizards and Philadelphia 76ers, but none were entertaining the front office. League News for the Month of January ♦ Once again, Derrick Rose was able to take home the Player of the Month award in the Eastern Conference, while Kevin Durant was back at it in the Western Conference. ♦ The Golden State Warriors to a big risk trading their power forward David Lee to the Houston Rockets in exchange for Terrence Williams and Jared Jeffries. The move faced much criticism for the Warriors, considering David Lee was considered to be their big signing during the last summer. Now Lee is reportedly unhappy with his sixth man role taken on the Rockets, while Williams on the Warriors is said to be unhappy with his playing time. All-in-all, nearly nobody has been able to make sense of this trade. ♦ A day later a trade was made between the New Orleans Hornets and Phoenix Suns, as the team from Arizona sent Josh Childress to Louisiana in exchange for Marco Bellinelli and Marcus Banks. ♦ The Hornets would then go on to sign Matt Janning to a 1yr/$1.55M contract. ♦ The Golden State Warriors would end up signing shooting guard Rashad McCants to a 1yr/$1.56M contract. ♦ The Orlando Magic attempted to improve their defense down low for the playoffs, but acquiring center Ben Wallace from the Detroit Pistons, while sending Quentin Richardson and their upcoming 1st Round draft pick this coming summer. ♦ The Indiana Pacers signed Troy Murphy to a 1yr/$3.10M deal, picking up a guy already familiar with the Pacers game plan and their organization. ♦ Portland's Wesley Matthews suffered a broken patella putting him out of action for the rest of the season. ♦ Chicago was stiffed by a broken foot happening to their power forward Carlos Boozer. ♦ Charlotte was forced to lose one of their high-octane scorers in Stephen Jackson, as he broke his ankle putting him out of action for the next month. |
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05-03-2012, 03:01 PM
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Rookie
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Re: The New York Knicks Experiment
 FEBRUARY 2011 NEW YORK KNICKS Madison Square Garden - New York City, NY Overall Record: 36-22 February Record: 6-4 Overall: 6th (+7) Power Ranking: 3rd (+4) Division Rank: 1st (--) Conference Rank: 4th (--) Team Chemistry: 86% (+9%) After a solid month in January, the team got off to a bad start against the Dallas Mavericks in February, dropping the game 90-85 at home. Next the team was on the road in Philadelphia, where the squad got romped by a 76ers squad that put up 113 and was led by Andre Iguodala with 24 points, 7 rebounds, and 9 assists on the night. The most impressive stat, however, came from Amar'e Stoudemire, who would set a franchise record with his 11 blocks on the night. Those two teams would actually face off for a second time in a row two days later, this time with a match in New York, where it was announced power forward Amar'e Stoudemire would be back to normal minutes with his strained quad completely healed. Stoudemire made a statement in the game, coming back with 16 points and 16 rebounds while the Knicks were able to get the vengeful victory. Two more losses would come their way, each against a team from Los Angeles. Both teams came into Madison Square Garden with a tough task, and both teams were able to fight it out for the victories. First, the Clippers won 105-95, thanks to a 29 point, 12 rebound game from their franchise man Blake Griffin. Next up, the Lakers won by an even slimmer margin, 97-91, as the Knicks just couldn't hit their shots in the fourth quarter. Thankfully, the team recovered with a win the next day in New Jersey, 108-104, as the team scored 39 points in the fourth quarter to come back and snatch the victory. The comeback was led by Carmelo Anthony who would score half of his 28 points in the fourth quarter. The Knicks were then left with one more game before All-Star break, and they would close things out with a solid 96-106 over the Atlanta Hawks in New York, featuring a 29-10 game from Stat, 23-14 game from Melo, and 13-14 game from Chauncey Billups. This would lead into an All-Star Game which featured both Knicks' Anthony and Billups, while a snub was given to their big man Stoudemire. A crazy All-Star Game would see the West All-Stars walk away winners, 101-103, as Melo had 7 points and 4 rebounds, while Billups had 9 points and 7 assists. After the break, the team got back to playing winning basketball. They were back on the mark with an 80-110 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks. Next in line were the Cleveland Cavaliers, who couldn't keep up with the Knicks in the Q, losing 132-108. Finally, this left New York with one more game of the month, and who else would they play besides the Miami Heat. This game was in Miami, and this time, both teams were on point as the regulation game had to go into overtime. LeBron James played a great game scoring 32 with 10 rebounds and 7 assists, but his effort in the final minutes of overtime, along with his partner-in-crime Dwyane Wade, wouldn't be enough. Instead, the Knicks would outscore the Heat 13-9 in overtime, resulting in the 116-112 win on the road, giving the team plenty of momentum heading into the crucial month of March.
Knicks News for the Month of February ♦ No trades were made before the deadline for the Knicks, as the front office feels their players have been unfairly looked down upon by other NBA franchises, and were having trouble the whole couple of weeks before the deadline to get any sort of trade going. With no new pieces into the fold, the Knicks understand their roster heading into the playoffs, while all players must go ahead and sink into their roles with ease and comfort. ♦ The team prays that no injuries happen heading into the playoffs, where they feel the team stands a strong chance of making it to the Eastern Conference Finals and defeating whoever is in front of them, with most experts predicting a Miami Heat showdown in the conference finals. League News for the Month of February ♦ Players of the Month awards belonged to LeBron James in the East and Russell Westbrook out West for the month of February. ♦ The biggest trade of the year took place between the Boston Celtics, and Phoenix Suns, who clearly were reshaping their entire organization. The Celtics made breaking news by agreeing to get future Hall of Famer Steve Nash, as well as young big man Robin Lopez, while trading the measly duo of Nate Robinson and Jermaine O'Neal to the Suns. While Celtics fans were ecstatic about the trade, many Phoenix fans felt their front office got ripped off when dealing their franchise point guard, but were happy Nash was going to have a real chance at a title. ♦ The Miami Heat and Los Angeles Clippers came to an agreement, which sent the Clippers' most recent member of their roster, Rafer Alston, sent to Miami where he would become an essential part to their championship formula, all in exchange for point guard Eddie House and Miami's 1st Round draft pick in the upcoming draft. ♦ The Phoenix Suns also made a move with their recent signee, sending veteran point guard Flip Murray and their 1st Round draft pick this coming summer to the Boston Celtics in exchange for young point guard with potential, Avery Bradley. ♦ The Milwaukee Bucks and Atlanta Hawks decided to trade some players, as the Bucks sent shooting guard John Salmons and veteran point guard Earl Boykins to Atlanta, while receiving Marvin Williams and Maurice Evans. ♦ The Phoenix Suns made another trade, saying goodbye to small forward Grant Hill as well as forward Hakim Warrick, sending them to Toronto in exchange for Amir Johnson and Julian Wright. ♦ The Milwaukee Bucks stayed busy with another trade, this time sending Carlos Delfino and Drew Gooden to the New Jersey Nets in exchange for Dan Gadzuric and Quinton Ross, the latter of which has already been traded once this season. ♦ The Memphis Grizzlies decided to fire their coach Lionel Hollins, and named Johnathan Reynolds as the team's new head coach for the rest of the season. ♦ The Los Angeles Clippers also let go of their head coach, Vinny Del Negro, and named assistant Chip Dennis as the team's new coach for the time being. ♦ Mike Bibby of the Atlanta Hawks was put out of action for the season with a torn Achilles. ♦ Right after being traded to the Nets, forward Carlos Delfino suffered a broken ankle, putting him out of action for all of March and most of April. ♦ The Portland Trailblazers also lost Chris Kaman for most of the season, thanks to a torn hamstring. Last edited by SKA; 05-03-2012 at 03:06 PM. |
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05-03-2012, 03:06 PM
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#5 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Rookie
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Re: The New York Knicks Experiment
 MARCH 2011 NEW YORK KNICKS Madison Square Garden - New York City, NY Overall Record: 46-29 March Record: 10-7 Overall: 11th (-5) Power Ranking: 10th (-7) Division Rank: 1st (--) Conference Rank: 3rd (+1) Team Chemistry: 91% (+5%) The New York Knicks really continued to look good until they approached the end of the month. After starting the end of April with three straight wins, they would continue to win their next nine of their first ten games of the month. Things started off with an impressive 109-85 victory in Orlando against the Magic, a team in similar playoff contention with the Knicks. The next day the team was back home where they laid out another solid defeat against the New Orleans Hornets. The Cleveland Cavaliers came to town after that, to no avail. The upcoming Sunday, the team went down to Atlanta where they suffered their first loss of the month, 91-122, allowing both Joe Johnson and Josh Smith to play above-average games. Thankfully, the team was able to recover against the Utah Jazz in the Garden, with a shaky 107-111 finish to the game. Memphis was the team's next victim, as the squad headed into Tennessee and delivered a 111-94 victory as the team was scoring at will and well-balanced. Next the Knicks went into Dallas and completely dominated the Mavericks, winning 85-79 despite giving up 36 points in the fourth quarter and scoring only 18. Two very important games were now next up, and they were against the same opponent both times, the Indiana Pacers. The team sat close to a high seed, much like the Knicks, but New York was able to snuff them out of any chance, defeating the Pacers at home 87-114. This game would see a complete performance from Carmelo Anthony, who put up 16 points and recorded a career high 18 rebounds. Two days later the Pacers had a chance to get back at the Knicks, hosting the team in Indianapolis, and although the game was much closer, the Knicks still walked away victors, 104-100. A Pacers comeback was short-lived, as both Melo and Chauncey Billups were able to silence the area with big shot after big shot. Unfortunately the team was hit with news it didn't want to hear. Although it wasn't any too severe, nobody wanted to realize that Amar'e Stoudemire was suffering from back spasms. The team decided to pull his minutes down drastically, until he played nearly no minutes the games coming up to a complete recovery. The doctors diagnosed his case only 1-2 weeks time, but the Knicks had the toughest part of their schedule coming up, and still needed Amar'e to keep things going. The Grizzlies were then given another shot at the Knicks, but failed to step up, losing 88-104 as the Garden was too much for the struggling team in the West to compete. However, the team's great run was cut short with a loss in Detroit against the Pistons, 87-121. This loss was the start of a serious downfall for the Knicks, facing heavy criticism at the end of their streak of losing six of their last seven games of the month. Following the loss to the Pistons, the team struggled on the road against the Milwaukee Bucks. After that, the new Steve Nash'd out Boston Celtics visited the Garden, and were able to silence fans for much of the game as they would end up with a 106-84 victory. Kevin Garnett was particularly impressive, showing the New York crowd he could still wreak havoc, scoring 26 and bounding 16 boards. After that showing, the Magic were able to come in town and his a game-winning three pointer for a 93-90 result. The Garden was once again hushed for a second game in a row, as Jason Richardson danced his way back to the bench and into the locker room. Two days later the team was able to sacrifice a victory from the Milwaukee Bucks, 97-99 in an embarrassing, but nonetheless close game. The Knicks didn't look in form as they still couldn't replace the production of Amar'e with any ease. But luckily the came out of the game victors. The very next day, Billups was able to put on his second career-high performance in scoring, putting up 45 in total against the Charlotte Bobcats. His effort was completely gone to waste, however, as the Knicks couldn't tame the Bobcats on the road, losing 102-107. After the game, Melo was also announced to have suffered a twisted ankle during the game, and would be plagued with that for the following 1-2 weeks. The team's long week of five games in seven days finally came to an end, and the team was able to rest up an entire week, where they would play one game against the New Jersey Nets. No one seemed to have their head in the game, and instead on the long break of a week heading into April. The team would lose 95-84 at home, while the New York media was finally getting riled up about the team's latest showings heading into April and the NBA Playoffs.
Knicks News for the Month of March ♦ Corey Brewer has really emerged in the last month as an important part and productive part of this Knicks team. Coming off the bench Brewer has been able to provide the team with much needed energy sparks, and has been a productive scorer throughout the entire month, including a high performance of 22 points in their big loss to the Detroit Pistons. League News for the Month of March ♦ March is an impressive month to win the award, as Derrick Rose and Kobe Bryant were named Players of the Month in their respective conferences. ♦ March was a month of hirings and firing for coaches, as the season itself had a handle full already. The Detroit Pistons were the first to pull the trigger, not being afraid to let go of their former new-guy John Kuester, and picking up the recently released Vinny Del Negro, whom they feel was too good of a coach to let get through their hands. ♦ On the other side of the ball, the New Jersey Nets decided to pick up the recently fired John Kuester, and said goodbye to their coach Avery Johnson. ♦ The Philadelphia 76ers were next up, firing their head coach Doug Collins and picking up former Grizzlies coach Lionel Hollins. ♦ The Phoenix Suns were the final team to say goodbye to their coach, firing Alvin Gentry and picking up in his place, Lonnie Madsen. ♦ The other player acquired in their trade with the Milwaukee Bucks, Drew Gooden was declared out for the season for the New Jersey Nets, with a torn ACL midway through March. ♦ The Los Angeles Lakers were also forced to place Matt Barnes on IR after he suffered a torn MCL in a game against the Sacramento Kings. ♦ Oklahoma City was disappointed to hear that they would be without Thabo Sefolosha for 6-8 weeks, heading into the playoffs, thanks to a torn hamstring. ♦ Only three players seem to be up to win the Most Valuable Player award, with LeBron James being the number one choice amongst most experts, with both his teammate Dwyane Wade and rival Kobe Bryant behind him. |
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05-03-2012, 03:09 PM
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#6 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Rookie
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Re: The New York Knicks Experiment
 APRIL 2011 NEW YORK KNICKS Madison Square Garden - New York City, NY Overall Record: 52-30 April Record: 6-1 Overall: 6th (+5) Power Ranking: 2nd (+8) Division Rank: 1st (--) Conference Rank: T-2nd (+1) Team Chemistry: 98% (+7%) As the short month, or long, depending on how you look at it, got under way, the team prepared themselves for a game against the Cleveland Cavaliers, which would feature a 100% healthy Carmelo Anthony just in time to close things out on the rest of the league. April went picture perfect, with their only loss coming to the Celtics at the end when Melo, Amar'e Stoudamire, and Chauncy Billups played a minimal amount of minutes. After the 39 point game from Melo against the Cavs, the Knicks took down the Toronto Raptors, 103-116 at home as well. The next day the Knicks stole a 94-91 win in Philadelphia against the 76ers who will certainly be missing out on the playoffs after another disappointing season. The New Jersey Nets were the team's next victim, getting held to only 64 points while the Knicks put up 98 of their own. Another solid win would follow, this time going 99-83 in Indiana against the Pacers. One more win against the Chicago Bulls would lead to the lame duck game against the Boston Celtics, as the team prepared itself for the NBA Playoffs awaiting them.
Knicks News for the Month of March ♦ The New York Knicks were finally able to clinch a playoff spot for the first time since their season in 2003-04, where they were quickly eliminated by a lethal New Jersey Nets team. Now, the Knicks are a strong seed, finishing the season tied for second in the Eastern Conference, and with a solid amount of confidence heading into the playoffs, and the perfect amount of team chemistry, developed and sustained throughout the entire season. A new era of the Knicks organization has officially arrived, because it's the playoffs when heroes are named and moments are made. League News for the Month of March ♦ The Toronto Raptors decided that their interim-head coach, Stephon Bosh was not going to fill the job, and in the final week of the season, announced that next season their team would be coached Kurt Rambis, who was previously let go by the Minnesota Timberwolves. ♦ Thankfully, no teams enter the playoffs with any sudden serious injuries to hamper their chances, besides the ones previously reported.
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05-03-2012, 04:35 PM
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#7 |
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Pro
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Re: The New York Knicks Experiment
__________________
MLB: Cincinnati Reds NBA: Boston Celtics NFL: Cincinnati Bengals NCAA: Indiana Hoosiers |
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05-03-2012, 08:53 PM
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#8 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Rookie
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Re: The New York Knicks Experiment
Anyways, I like the way you're presenting this. Keep it up. Hopefully you can bring a championship to New York! |
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