Tag Archives: new york knicks

Steve Kerr Meets with Phil Jackson to Discuss Knicks’ Coaching Job

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According to reports, Steve Kerr met with Knicks President Phil Jackson on Friday and Saturday to discuss the Knicks’ open Head Coach position. The Knicks fired Mike Woodson and the rest of their coaching staff on Monday and Kerr, who won 3 titles as a player under Jackson in Chicago, is considered to be the frontrunner for the job.

Jackson wants to run the triangle, and Kerr certainly knows it. He also seems like a good basketball mind, and if Phil trusts him (which he does: Kerr had also been in line for a coaching job under Jackson in Seattle had Chris Hansen successfully managed to move the Kings there), then I trust him.

But the Knicks might want to be patient. There will be many coaches on the market this summer. Jeff Van Gundy, Stan Van Gundy, George Karl, Lionel Hollins, and others are all jobless. Mark Jackson and Frank Vogel might be next. The Knicks could try to somehow pry Tom Thibodeau from the Bulls. And who knows… with the Donald Sterling fiasco happening in LA right now, an apparently unhappy Doc Rivers might ask to be let out of his contract. From what Jackson said in his press conference a few days ago, it sound like he will take his time. Which he should.

But Kerr is the favorite right now, and now that he has met with Jackson in person to discuss the job, that might not change anytime soon.

-Tommy Rothman

BREAKING: Carmelo Anthony Has Tear In Shoulder, Out For The Season

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Knicks star Carmelo Anthony has a small tear in the labrum of his right shoulder and will miss the final two games of the season, the team announced. 

Anthony played through a more serious shoulder injury in the playoffs last year, but with the Knicks already eliminated, there is no reason for him to take any chances. Carmelo made the choice to skip surgery last summer, but it remains to be seen what he will do this time. This is not the same shoulder Anthony injured last year. Melo will be re-evaluated in about a month.

Carmelo’s injury came at the worst possible time for the Knicks, costing them at least one and probably two games last week as the Knicks were eliminated from playoff contention. After struggling against the Wizards and Heat, Anthony looked pretty good against the Raptors and Bulls, but again, now that an MRI has revealed a tear in his shoulder, it is smart of him to just call it a season. We can only hope that we haven’t seen the last of Carmelo Anthony in a Knicks uniform.

-Tommy Rothman

Postgame Reaction: Knicks Beat Raptors To Stay Alive… For Now

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The Knicks (34-45) beat the Raptors (46-33) by a score of 108-100 in Toronto. 

Carmelo Anthony led the way for the Knicks, scoring 30 points, grabbing 8 rebounds, and notching 3 steals.

Amar’e Stoudemire was fantastic as well for New York, pouring in 24 points and pulling down 11 boards. 

Iman Shumpert had another solid game, with 11 points, 5 rebounds, and 2 steals.

It was nice to see Carmelo have one of his usual games tonight, after having 2 awful games against Washington and Miami. His shoulder looks much healthier after 4 days of rest. 

Stoudemire’s resurgence has been the best story of the 2nd half for this Knicks team. After all he has fought through, seeing him get back to being a force on the offensive end is inspiring. Hopefully he can finish the year strong, and contribute again next season. 

The Hawks won last night. This simplifies things. If the Knicks go 3-0 (against the Bulls, Nets, and Raptors), and the Hawks go 0-3 (against the Heat, Bobcats, and Bucks), the Knicks will make the playoffs. In any other scenario, the Hawks would make the playoffs. If the Knicks go 2-1 and the Hawks go 0-3, or the Knicks go 3-0 and the Hawks go 1-2, the two teams would finish tied. But even though they split the season series 2-2, the Hawks have the tiebreaker (which is ridiculous, but I’ll write about that later). So if the Knicks lose again, or the Hawks win again, it’s all over.

 

We need the Heat to help us out by beating the Hawks tonight. Then we need to keep the pressure on Atlanta by beating the Bulls tomorrow. 

-Tommy Rothman

Pregame Report: New York Knicks @ Miami Heat

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The New York Knicks (33-44) will visit the Miami Heat (52-23) this afternoon. Gametime is 1 PM.

Projected lineups:

 

New York: Felton, Smith, Anthony, Stoudemire, Chandler

Miami: Chalmers, Douglas, James, Haslem, Bosh 

OUT: Martin, Bargnani (New York)… Wade, Oden, Andersen (Miami)

 

The Knicks play the Heat and the Hawks play the Pacers. The Knicks are in the unfortunate position of needing a win in a seemingly unwinnable game. However, with Miami banged up and New York’s ability to beat any team when they are on their game, this matchup could get interesting. 

Carmelo Anthony is the player to watch today. He was horrible on Friday, and we need to hope he is healthy enough to make a positive contribution. If he can’t help the team, he should sit.

LeBron James cannot be stopped. The Knicks will have to attempt to contain him to a reasonable extent, and then key in on Bosh and Miami’s shooters (including ex-Knick Toney Douglas). 

Let’s hope the Knicks can pull out a win today, and let’s hope that Indy helps us out a bit by beating the Hawks.

-Tommy Rothman

Postgame Reaction: Knicks 89, Wizards 90

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The New York Knicks Knicks lost a nail-biter to the Washington Wizards on Friday night at the Garden, coming up short in the final seconds and suffering a 90-89 defeat. 

J.R. Smith had an amazing game for the Knicks, scoring 32 points and hitting eight three-pointers. However, his off-balance, contested shot in the final seconds was off the mark. 

Amar’e Stoudemire got off to a slow start for New York, but turned it around after halftime and finished with 16 points.

Raymond Felton struggled for most of the night, but did dish out 7 assists and pull down 5 rebounds. Raymond also hit a huge three to put the Knicks ahead in the final minute. 

Pablo Prigioni and Iman Shumpert both looked very solid on both ends of the floor. Pablo had 7 assists and Iman had 3 steals.

Carmelo Anthony was horrible in this game. Melo finished with 10 points on 5-14 shooting, and turned the ball over 9 times. He was also unable to hold on to the ball on his drive to the rim in the final seconds, and as a result, JR Smith was forced to take a ridiculously difficult shot (which he almost made, of course). Melo appeared to be hurt throughout the game, and after the game Anthony said that there were times where he couldn’t use his arm. Melo was diagnosed with a strained right shoulder, and plans to play through it in Miami on Sunday. The Knicks have to hope that this injury doesn’t take a huge hit on Melo’s level of play going forward, but Anthony was very disappointing tonight, and perhaps Woodson should have called a play for Smith, rather than, as Felton spilled to reporters after the game, simply telling the Knicks to “give the ball to Melo”. Anthony did have 8 rebounds, 5 assists, and 4 steals, so there are some positives, but overall, it was a very poor game for the Knicks’ superstar.

The Hawks won tonight, so they have a 1 game lead (really a 2 game lead, because they have the tiebreaker) over the Knicks for the final playoff spot. The Knicks have a chance to make the playoffs, but it is a long shot. New York has lost several games that they should have won, and now they need to hope that Atlanta will return the favor in the final 2 weeks of the season. And at the end of the day, the Knicks will probably need to steal a win or two against teams most people don’t think they can beat. 

Tough loss, but it’s not over yet. Let’s see what happens.

-Tommy Rothman

Pregame Report: Washington Wizards @ New York Knicks

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 The Knicks (33-43) will host the Wizards (39-36) on Friday night at Madison Square Garden. Gametime is 7:30 PM.

The Knicks know this is a huge game for them and must do whatever it takes to get a win. As always, keys to the game include ball movement, knocking down open shots, and effort (especially from Tyson Chandler).

The Wizards have the quickest point guard in the league; John Wall is a matchup nightmare for the Knicks. Raymond Felton can’t guard him. So Raymond Felton shouldn’t guard him. It’s up to Mike Woodson to make the obvious and correct decision to have Iman Shumpert— who did a fantastic job on Deron Williams Wednesday night— guarding Wall whenever they are both on the court. It will be Shumpert’s responsibility to avoid committing foolish fouls that keep him off the court.

The Knicks were unstoppable on Wednesday when they were moving the ball, but allowed the Nets to make a bit of a run in the 3rd quarter when Carmelo Anthony and his teammates started looking to play 1-on-1 ball. This can’t happen tonight. The Knicks need to be unselfish throughout the game.

Chandler did a solid job Wednesday, but his effort level has been inconsistent this year, so it’s anybody’s guess whether he will show up tonight. The Knicks need their starting center to provide energy and leadership tonight.

Washington has some pretty good shooters, including Bradley Beal. Beal and Martell Webster torched the Knicks when the Wizards came to the Garden in December, and that can’t happen again tonight.

The Knicks enter tonight tied for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. If the two teams finished tied at the end of the season, Atlanta would win the tiebreaker. New York, at 33-43 has 6 games left, while the Hawks, at 32-42, have 8 games remaining. Atlanta plays the Cleveland Cavaliers tonight. If the Knicks can play a good game, they can put a lot of pressure on the Hawks. Let’s see if we can get a win tonight.

-Tommy Rothman

Wizards’ unconfirmed Starting Lineup: Wall, Beal, Booker, Ariza, Gortat

Knicks’ unconfirmed Starting Lineup: Felton, Smith, Anthony, Stoudemire, Chandler

Tickets for the game: Here