A New York Turn Around- Knicks MyLeague

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New Knicks Struggle, Blown out By Bucks


We get off to a bad start early on, but bounce back by the end of the first to cut it down to 2. They beat us up for the other three quarters. We tried to come back a few times, but the closest we ever got was 8. Every run we had, they answered. They killed us on the offensive glass in the first half getting 13 offensive rebounds. In the second half the Greek Freek was killing us cutting to the rim as he went 9-11 from the field. We struggle to get into a groove offensively as we try to implement all the new pieces.

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Player of the Game: Giannis Antetokounmpo 25 points 6 rebounds 4 assists 2 steals 9-11 FG

Around the League:
D'Angelo Russell shoots 5-21(2-12 from 3) in his NBA debut as the Pistons beat the 76ers
38 from Durant and 29 points 6 rebounds 8 assists and 4 steals from Russel Westbrook as the Thunder beat the Bucks 136-105
32 from Kevin Martin and 28 from Wiggins lead the Twolves to a blowout over Dallas
Cousins score 32 and Okafor puts up 16 in 20 minutes in his NBA debut, but the Nuggets beat the Kings 124-105 behind 32 and 8 from Lawson and 25 from Gallo.
Drummond puts up 23 and 17 as the Pistons beat the Bulls
The Splash brothers combine for 69 points, but lost 128-117 to the Blazers behind 33 from Aldrige and 27 from Lillard
Griffin scores 37 as the Clippers blow out the Lakers
The Thunder get 31 points 9 rebounds and 9 assists from Westbrook as they beat the Bulls
The Warriors lose Bogut for 6-8 weeks

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Knicks Bounce Back with Convincing Win over Denver


We got off to a strong start opening up a 6 point lead in the first quarter led by 10 by Melo, and 6 each from Gasol and Calderon. Our defense was strong, the only person for Denver who could get anything was Gallo who put up 13 points. The second quarter was played almost even and we went into the half with a 8 point lead. Midway through the third both teams were still going back and forth. We bought in our second unit of Ennis-Hardaway-Green-Mirza-Towns. They were hot from the field and they blew the game open. By the end of the third quarter we had a 20 point lead. The Nuggets made a few bursts, but we opened it up to 25 at one point. We never went back to our starters and our third unit played the last 5-6 minutes of the game. They were chipping away as we just tried to run out the clock. The only reason the score looks so close was that they left their starters in, and Gallo scored 8 points in a row in the last minute when the game was clearly in the bag. It was a very nice bounce-back win.

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Player of the Game:
Towns 19 points 10 rebounds 2 asissts 2 steals 6-14 FG, 2-4 3PT


Around the League:
25 and 10 from Dwight Howard leads the Rockets over Memphis
Cousins and Okafor combined for 50, but the splash bros combine for 58 and the Warrors blow out the Kings.
The Hornets get 36 from rookie Kelly Oubre, but fall to the Celtics lead by 29 from Thomas
D'Angelo Russell goes for 29 and 9-18 from the field(4-11 from three), but the Hawks used balance(6 in double figures) to beat Philly
Wiggins(21 points) and the Twolves beat Okafor(24 points) and the now 0-4 Kings
22 from Favors, and 20 from both Burks and Hayward lead the Jazz over the Warriors 97-95
Bulls sign Jeremy Tyler and the Magic sign Kenan Sipahi

[ewing6]

Thunder Overwhelm Knicks

We hung around for most of the first quarter, but the Thunder went on a run at the end to open up a 26-17 lead. We played pretty well on defense, but struggled on offense. Gasol led us with 8. Melo had 4 points and 4 assists despite 0-3 shooting. The Thunder killed us with balance. They had 9 guys score, but none more than 4. In the second the Thunder blew it open outscoring us 29-20 to get a 16 point lead at the half and they outshot us 52% to 39%. Gasol was the only Knick who could buy a shot as he finished the half with 18 points and 8 rebounds on 9-11 from the field. Westrbook had 12 points and 7 assists. Adams had 10 and 6 and Ibaka had 9 and 6. Durant only had 6 on 3-5 shooting. Melo was 0-5 from the field in the half. The Knicks came out and tried to rally in the third, they put up 32 in the quarter on 14-22(64%). Gasol put up 10 more and Matthews added 8. The problem is they still could not stop the Thunder as they put up 36 points on 60% from the field and they made 10 free throws to the Knicks 0. As a result the Thunder went into the 4th with a 20 point lead. The Knicks tried to get back into the game for much of 4th by leaving their starters in, but the Thunder were too much to handle and the Knicks lost. They aren't ready to play with this type of team yet.

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Around the League:
Kelly Oubre puts up 29 and Kemba scores 24 as the Hornets beat the Hawks
Kaminsky gets 18 points and 7 rebounds to lead the Suns over the Rockets
Twolves get 27 from Wiggins in a win over the Pistons
Cousins scores 37 and Okafor adds 19 as the Kings blow out the Clippers
24 from Rose leads the Bulls over the Cavs
Blazers lose Affalo for 1-2 weeks
Celtics lose Kelly Olynyk for 4-6 weeks
Kings lose Bynum for 1-2 weeks

[ewing6]

What's wrong with Melo? Can he lead the Knicks anymore?

Through the first four games, the new look Knicks are 2-2. They have had struggles and some good moments, something natural for a a group that hasn't played together. Towns and Gasol have shown flashes of being a potent frontcourt. Calderon and Matthews are veteran role guys, who can still perform these rolls well. The younger bench unit has provided solid energy and occasional scoring punch(which is all we are really looking for from them). This roster was constructed around Melo. Melo has played solid all-around in nonscoring categories. He has a capable roster around him, but he is still the center piece, it is an ideal situation for him. It is his time to shine. Over the first four games he has shot 23-61, a pitiful 37%. He has looked quick and explosive going to the rim, but his midrange where he makes his living, and three point shots have been off, and look flat. Melo is going to be the guy to carry this team, but can he do it? Have all the minutes wore him out? Is he getting too old to lead a team? If the Knicks want to get back to relevance they better hope the answer to these questions are NO.

[ewing6]

Knicks Hold off 76ers, Pull Away Late for the Win

The first quarter was back and forth and ended with Philly holding a 3 point lead. Melo and Gasol led us with 8 and 7 each. Russel(7 points) and Covington(6) led the Sizers.Nerlens Noel pulled down 9 rebounds in the quarter. Calderon had a solid all-around quarter with 3 points 3 assists and 2 steals. Philly got off to a strong start in the second quarter opening up a 9 point lead against our second unit on a balanced effort by their team. We went on a run before the half to take a one point lead into the half thanks to 5 points in a row by Towns, 4 in a row by Gasol, and then Melo scored the last 7 Knick point of the quarter to finally get us in the lead. Melo(15) and Gasol(11) were the only Knicks in double digits. Towns had a strong half getting 7 points 6 rebounds and 2 blocks. The 76ers backcourt of Russell and Canaan combined to shot 6-16, but they did combine for 20 points. 2nd round pick Mickey had a solid half picking up 7 points and 9 rebounds. The third quarter was ugly. We outscored them 18-16 to hold a 3 point lead going into the 4th. We shot 33% and they only shot 30%. The teams combined to go 1-10 from three and 2-6 from the line. The only players who could muster anything consistent in the quarter were Melo(5 points) and Towns(6 points). The 4th quarter continued to be back and forth action. Gasol(9 points) and Russell(8 points) led the way We had a 4 point lead with 2 minutes left after a Covington layup/ Calderon hit a three, got a steal, was fouled on the break. He spilt the free throws, but forced a turnover on a scramble for the rebound. This put us up by 8 and ran time off the clock and allowed us to hold on for the win.

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Player of the Game: Marc Gasol 19 points 11 rebounds 2 steals 1 block 8-16 FG

Takeaways:
-Rebounding- We got destroyed on the glass today, have to be better in that area. Giving up 20 rebounds to a second round pick is not acceptable, despite this Gasol and Towns have been strong
-Melo- Numbers where there, shooting was better, but not great yet, hopefully he starts to get hot


Around the League:
Spurs beat the Pelicans despite 39 from AD
36 from Lillard leads the 5-0 Blazers to a win over Dallas
Howard scores 35 and Harden goes for 26 points 8 rebounds and 9 assists as Houston beats Denver.
Frank Kaminsky puts up 25 points and 13 rebounds as the Suns beat the Warriors
27 from Derozen leads the 6-0 Raptors to a win over the Bulls
Spurs sign Bernard James to a 1 year deal

I missed a bunch of extensions signed earlier in the year(I did edit some that were too low). Here is a list:
-Mike Conley 3 years 32.15 mil
-Jeff Green 3 years 27 mil
-Isaiah Canaan 3 year 5.70 million dollar deal
-Thaddeus Young 3 years 21 million dollars
-Brook Lopez 2 years 22 million
-Cory Jefferson 2 years 3.41 mil
-Arron Affalo 2 years 15 million dollars
-Gerald Henderson 2 years 4.38 mil
-Kevin Love 3 years 45 mil

[ewing6]

Knicks Offense Struggles Against Heat

Carmelo Anthony finally had a big game going off for 32 points, but it wasn't enough as the Knicks fell to the Heat. The Heat gained control early and locked us down on defense for the rest of the game to hold their lead. They got strong balance from their strong starting five. Noone besides Melo could muster anything on offense. The Heat had control the whole game, as the inconstancy of this new group continues.


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Player of the Game: Whiteside 13 points 17 rebounds 5-5 FG 1 steal 1 Block

Takeaways:
1. Strong Defense- We had some breakdowns, but we showed some flashes of being a decent team on defense holding the Heat to only 88 points.
2. Melo-Hopefully these last two games will get us going.
3. Offense- We need the guys around Melo and Gasol to make more of their shots and to take some pressure off the stars.

Around the League:
Spurs lose Cory Joseph for 4-6 weeks
Raptors lose James Johnson for 4-6 weeks
Wizards lose Otto Porter for 2-4 weeks
25 by Brook Lopez leads the Nets over the Bulls
27 from Harden leads the Rockets over the Cavs
The Blazers improve to 6-0 with a blowout over the Kings. Lillard gets 37 and 12 asissts andAldrige gets 35 points and 9 rebounds.
28 poiints, 9 rebounds, and 8 assists by Westbrook and 27 by Durant lead the 6-0 Thunder to a win over the Hornets
Despite a career high 30 from Russel Philly falls to 0-7 with a loss vs the Magic
Double doubles from Gallo, Faried, and Jaiteh lead the Nuggets over the Warriors
32 points, 10 rebounds and 6 assists from Derozen lead the 7-0 Raptors over the Celtics
27 from Wiggins leads the 6-1 Twolves over the Bucks
The Blazers also get win number 7 in a row by blowing out the Jazz behind 39 from Aldrige and 27 from Lillard

[ewing6]

Gasol, Melo Lead Knicks over Suns

Both teams shoot well in the first. They have the edge(53%) to our 45%. Both teams were balanced. Bledsoe lead the charge with 5 points, 4 rebounds, and 4 assists. Kaminsky and Thorton each put up 4. Melo led us with 6 points 3 rebounds and 2 assists. Calderon scored 5. Gasol and Matthews each added 4. Our offense clicked in the second quarter. The second unit spread the floor, hit their threes, and ran a little bit. We opened up a 9 point lead at one point. We shot 55% from the field and 6-11 from three. The Suns only shot 39%, but hung around thanks to going 9-11 from the line. They cut it down to 2, but Hardaway hit a half court shot at the buzzer and we go into the half with a 5 point lead. Green(8 points), Town(7 points), and Melo(6) all had strong offensive quarters. We reverted back to our bad offense in the third scoring only 13 points on 6-21(29% shooting). The Suns were able to keep up their solid offense scoring 27 on 48% shooting to grab a 9 point lead going into the 4th. Bledsoe led the way with 8 in the quarter. 7 for Melo and 5 for Gasol led us on a 14-4 run to start the 4th and gave us a 80-79 lead with 8:17 left. After that the game was going back and forth, with no team gaining more than a brief four point edge. With 2:21 left two Marc Gasol free throws put us up 5. Their next postion Kaminsky drew a foul and hit his free throws to cut it to 3. No one scored until there was 55 seconds left and Melo hit a jumper over Morris. Morris drilled a midrange shot off a pretty drive and ditch by Bledsoe to cut it to three. We traded stops and the Suns got the ball back with 20 seconds left and a chance to tie. Instead of going for the three they went for a 2. Gasol deflected an entry pass for Kaminsky and Matthews came up with the lose ball and was fouled. He spilt the free throws. With 6 seconds left Tucker hit a tough three off the inbounce play to cut it to 1. Melo was fouled on our next possign but only was able to hit 1 out of 2. The Suns had 6 seconds and a chance to win, but no timeouts. The Knicks denied Bledsoe the ball and forced Thorton to try and beat them. He got up a contested half court shot, which fell way short, Gasol grabbed the rebound and we won. The key to the game was Marc Gasol. We ran our offense through him in the post and Kaminsky could not stop him. He picked up 15 points in the quarter and only missed one shot. Melo's 10 points were also key in the quarter.

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Player of the Game: Marc Gasol 25 points 14 rebounds 2 assists 1 block 10-17 FG

Around the League:
27 from Rose leads the Bulls over the Bucks
24 from Russell leads the Sixers to their first win against the Magic
27 from Louis Williams leads the Lakers over the Rockets
25 from Horford leads the Hawks over the Blazers
The Cavs get 7 guys in double figures as they blow out Denver
Hayward puts up 26 points 6 rebounds and 9 assists as the Jazz beat the Blazers
Oubre continues his incredible rookie year putting up 26 as the Hornets blow out the Blazers. He is averaging 24.6 PPG in 27 minutes per game through his first 8 NBA games
Joe Johnson gets a 1 year 8 million dollar extension from the Nets
Ryan Anderson gets a 2 year 12 million dollar extension from the Pelicans
Twolves lose Lorenzo brown for 2-4 weeks
The Suns lose Marcus Morris for 2-4 weeks
Jazz lose Favors for 1-2 weeks
Pelicans lose Withey for 2-4 weeks
Warriors lose Brandon Rush for 2-4 weeks

[ewing6]

Clippers Run Away from Knicks in 4th Quarter

It was a poor start for the Knicks. Melo was off going 0-4 and Fisher decided to take him out early on. The Clippers opened up a 5 point lead early. Griffin led the charge for them with 8. We bounced back led by aggression on offense by Calderon. He scored 11 points, he went 3-3 from the field, 2-2 from three, and 3-4 from the line. Additionally he drove and kicked it out to Hardaway who hit a corner three at the buzzer to give us a 5 point lead going into the second. Coach Fisher was talking about pregame how he wanted Calderon to be more aggressive since he is such a good shooter and he got his wish in the first quarter. The beginning of the second quarter featured a unit of Ennis-Hardaway-Green-Melo-Towns. They got hot early on, they were getting stops and getting out in transition and opened up a 10 point led for us at one point. The Clippers answered with a 10-0 run to tie the game as our defense started to struggle. Back and forth action for the rest of the half resulted in a 3 point Clipper lead at the break. Melo scored 8 points in the quarter and finished the half 4-11 from the field. Calderon(11) and Gasol(9) led us at the half. Reddick and Hawes led the Clippers with 8 each in the first half. Chris Paul also had a strong half going for 8 points 3 rebounds 6 assists and 2 steals on 50% shooting. The Clippers came out hot in the third and shot 10-17(56%) for the quarter. We were only able to muster 41% shooting. They open up a 13 point lead and Fisher went to the second unit(with Towns at center). They forced the Clippers into 7 turnovers for the quarter, but wasted several chances to make a major dent into the lead. A Mirza three and a Green dunk on the break cut it down to 8 heading to the 4th. Chris Paul lead the way for the Clippers in the quarter putting up 8 points. Hamilton put up 6. The forth quarter was not even close they ran us right out of the gym and we were going to our bench warmers midway through the quarter. The only positive was a strong second half by Wes Matthews(who led us with 17) which will hopefully help him get out of his shooting slump.

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Player of the Game: Paul 22 points 11 assists 2 steals 10-17 FG 1-3 3PT

Around the League:
The Rockets beat the Warriors thanks to 26 points 11 rebounds and 9 assists from Harden and 21 and 13 rebounds from Dwight Howard
21 from Ross leads the 8-0 Raptors over the Mavs
26 fromVucevic and 23 from Stanley Johnson is enough to overcome another 25 from Oubre as the Magic beat the Hornets
25 from AD leads the Pelicans as they hand the Raptors their first loss
20 from Deng led the Heat over the Cavs 83-79
33,7, and 7 from Rus and 28 from KD lead the 8-0 Thunder to a win over Memphis
Nicholas Batum gets a 3 year 27 million dollar extension from the Blazers
Gallo gets a 2 year 13 million dollar extension from Denver
Nets lose Joe Johnson for 2-4 weeks