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December 23, 2011 · 12:46 pm

Daily Rounds 12/23

Last night was the Knicks second and final preseason game, both against the New Jersey Nets soon to be of Brooklyn, and the Knicks won 88-82.  Frank Isola said that the Knicks will need their BIG 3 to step up all year long in order for them to be successful.  Mike Vaccaro likes this Tyson Chandler and says that Tyson Time (my own unique-but-not-really nickname) is off to a rousing start.  Barbara Barker wrote about the newly renovated frontcourt making its debut in the newly renovated MSG.

Just a few quick notes that I took from this game:

– Sloppy.  Its to be expected though considering that the Knicks barely had a training camp AND had to work in several new players including two rookies and a new starter.  Amar’e Stoudemire’s shot was off and he didn’t even play a single second in the second half which shows you how concerned D’Antoni is in keeping him healthy throughout the season.  What that means in the regular season will be interesting but Amar’es shot wasn’t falling and yet he basically sat throughout the second half while Avery Johnson kept his entire starting 5 out on the court for the final quarter.  Carmelo seemed to be the only one with a semblance of a good, consistent game.  Pick and rolls need to be worked on and so does alot of the defensive spacing but I like in general where the Knicks are going.

– Defensive prowess-  I’m not trying to use Clyde lines but you can’t help but try and talk like him after a Knick game.  There was definitely more effort on the defensive front.  My All-Defensive Knick team would be Toney Douglas, Iman Shumpert, Carmelo Anthony (yes,), Renaldo Balkman and Tyson Chandler.  I love the effort these guys give on defense and Carmelo when he’s into it, can DEFINITELY excel at it.  How much effort he wants to give is completely on him.  As long as during crunch time he shows forth that effort to lock down his guy I’m ok with him giving not max on other plays.  Sounds like I’m advocating for taking plays off but for guys as talented as Melo, it can appear he’s taking plays but he’s still giving more effort than less skilled players.

Alot of that communication came from….

– The Tyson Chandler Effect.  Chandler has been a revelation on the court.  On the bench.  In warm up.  In practice.  Just his whole demeanor and leadership that he’s brought to this team is awesome.  It reminds me of….Amar’e from last season when he came.  Amar’e was a vocal leader prodding his underachieving, underrated line up.  The Knicks were a legit threat with all their supposed “non-talent” they didn’t have to trade for Carmelo Anthony.  What Tyson does is bring a presence in the middle of the paint which has long been a freeway for opposing offenses.  He’s so good at keeping communication open while he’s on the floor AND EVEN on the bench.  HIs biggest thing is keeping confidence up and keeping everyone loose.  I LOVE Tyson Chandler and I’m ready to get his jersey.  He looks like the real deal and a great fit.

– Questions about the bench are going to rise but I LOVE our bench.  One major bit of news that came out of D’Antoni’s post game presser, is that he’s going to use a rotation of 10,11 maybe even 12 guys to keep everyone fresh.  That would be awesome.  Aside from the starting five, expect minutes from Iman, Jorts, Balkman, Devin, Novak when he arrives, Baron Davis and Mike Bibby.  It would be completely out of character for D’Antoni and maybe he goes back to his old ways of riding his 8 man rotation out during the course of a season but you have to take a man at his word.  I believe that things like a good supporting staff are important as having superstars on your front line.  That’s why the Mavs won the title and the Heat didn’t.  If you’re top heavy its almost impossible to win titles because eventually the tops wear out because they are human.  The Knicks need to get alot of production from their bench and eventually their second unit is going to have to play above and beyond the call of duty.  I like that Jorts does NOT hesitate shooting that three and I’d like to ask Renaldo Balkman to NEVER chuck up threes like that.  I think Balkman’s cutting to the hoop is underrated and teams need to be wary of that especially if Carmelo is handling the ball.

– Knick rookies stepping up-  Jorts and Iman are the two guys who will have a large hand in determining how far the knicks go.  Jorts is definitely just an energy guy off the bench meant to spell Tyson Chandler and also provide defense and rebounding.  He still needs to work on getting proper boxing out techniques but I think he can improve.  Iman is a combo guard and for him that means chucking up the shot every five seconds.

One of the best bit of reporting I heard was that Baron Davis went up to the neophyte and told him that Deron Williams is laying off him on purpose to bait him to shoot.  Iman listened to him and began driving to the hoop which really helped the Knicks.  I would like for Iman to drive and kick out and pass.  He has a nice stroke but he has to know when he has the hot hand and when he doesn’t.  Last night’s 2 for 10 meant he didn’t.  At one stretch he began chucking up shots at the beginning of the 24 shot clock.  That’s not effective nor efficient if you’re not making them.  Toney Douglas began heating up after going a whole half without scoring.  Iman should’ve looked for Toney on some of those plays but instead tried to find his own shot.  I get that he is listed as a combo guard and I get that his athleticism makes him an excellent one AT THAT, but he needs to know WHEN he’s on and when he’s not and I think at 6’5 if he can make the transition to point guard it would be the best thing for the Knicks in the long run.  I dont want OJ Mayo 2.0 on my team.

Don’t get me wrong, on the defensive end the man is a tireless worker and trust me that jump shot is going to come, but I’d like for him to really work on driving and passing and understanding that.  I realize it may not happen this year and the shortened schedule will force the Knicks hand in giving him a ton of playing time, add into the equation that Toney Douglas may struggle a bit going forward and Knick fans will want Shump to play but I see that as a good thing.  Hopefully the Knicks move forward trying to push the idea to Shump that he needs to find the open man.

– Melo as a passer-  Man am I excited to see him run the point at times on this squad.  He’s such a gifted passer/scorer/everything offensive that we sometimes undervalue how good he is.  I mean the guy can do it all.  He had probably the best assists and he’s got the mind of a savant when he’s playing basketball.  His ability to pass will throw defenses for a loop and he’ll give his teammates really easy baskets and once the defense lays off him, this will give Carmelo tons of easy possessions and plenty of one on one opportunities which he’ll certainly take advantage of.  He’s really a pleasure to watch.

– Toney Douglas and Landry Fields worry me-  I realize they didn’t have terrible games but they disappeared for stretches throughout yesterday and it has to bug you that both of them are NOT having great training camps but nobody really is.  Everyone’s struggling and coming to grips with the fact that the NBA season is beginning Sunday, a measly two weeks after training camp started. They will need to work hard because Iman Shumpert is there and gathering steam.  He looks like the more active athlete, and the guy they want eventually taking over either spot (my vote is for point guard), but I think that D’Antoni would rather have these two succeed.  In the end, I think both of these guys would benefit coming off the bench instead of starting but that’s all depending on how quickly Baron Davis recovers and if the Knicks have anyone to play shooting guard.  Again, I’d rather Shump NOT pick up habits like wanting to score all the time like he already does, but hey, there’s always the hope that he picks up better habits like using his slashing, driving style to dish the ball out.

– Why all the hate towards Kris Humphries- Gotta love New York fans.  That’s all i’m going to say.

– Clyde Frazier is already in midseason form- “The only green I like is money” and “Where’s the Kardashian guy?” I’m ready to go!

Here is today’s list of Knick stories including Marc Berman’s contention that the waiting for a team to be built is over for the Knicks.  NOW is the time for Knicks to go out and win a title.  Amar’e Stoudemire says that the Heat are not ready to climb for the title but the Knicks are ready to contend against Miami or whatever that means.  Frank Isola of the Daily News tries to explain.  Speaking of the Heat, Tom Haberstroh of TrueHoop did an excellent report on Erik Spolestra going to Oregon to study the offensive scheme of the Ducks, the college team who made it to the national championship game last year and have been perennial contenders under the guidance of Chip Kelly.  Also, Seth Walder gives you the low-down on pricing of MSG tickets if you wanted to sit courtside.  

Not lacking confidence is a good thing and frankly a welcome thing in these parts.  For years the Knicks and its fan base have had to be very quiet, patiently waiting for a winner to be built.  Well, the Knicks told everyone to open their eyes.  The Knicks are here and this is what the contender looks like.  Sure, there are still a few pieces to be added midseason.  The Knicks still have the $2.5 million room exception which can be used on someone like, say, a Kenyon Martin, but the Knicks know that in order for them to compete they have to go through Miami who almost certainly WILL get that number one seed.  Speaking of the Heat, that article scared me because of what it contained.  It looks like Spolestra was determined to make an offense that was part Showtime, part Amoeba, part crazy offense where Lebron and Co. will be playing a lot of smaller line ups to take advantage of their quickness and elusiveness.  Again, I dont know how it will work but I expect this shortened season to REALLY be the best thing for the Heat because if anyone is built for this kind of crazy schedule its young teams with very capable superstars.  Do I think the Heat will win the East this year?  Yes.  Do I think the Heat are better than the Knicks?  yes.  Do I think Lebron is the best player in the East?  Yes.  Do I think Dwayne Wade is better than Carmelo Anthony?  No.  I think its a tie but that’s only if Melo comes to play on the defensive end because Wade does.  Again, for the Knicks to contend I think Berman put it correctly, that Melo playing Point Forward HAS to work out and Melo has to play at an MVP like level.  I expect Amar’e AND Melo to bring 50-52 PPG and about 18-21 RPG.  I really hope that all goes well and they remain healthy and D’Antoni IS serious about a heavy rotation of players.

The Mets are officially in trouble says a brand new book by Mets blogger Howard Megdal who recently released an E-Book titled Wilpon’s folly.  According to Jeff Bradley of the Star Ledger, it talks about how much debt that the Wilpons have and how even with the investors they claim will purchase the necessary amount of shares to make $200 million that the Wilpons will be forced to sell the team.  Josh Kosman of the Daily News says the book made a claim that the Wilpons used their friendship with Bud Selig to make him look like the bad guy so if David Einhorn, who wanted to invest in the club and in effect take majority ownership SHOULD the Mets not be able to pay him back, ever tried to sue him the Wilpons could say that it was Major League Baseball’s decision not to approve ownership and not his.  According to Anthony Reiber, the Mets are cutting their GCL team in a cost-cutting move further developing fears within Major League circles that the Mets are indeed in a very seriously dire financial situation. 

Look, I’ll say it again: The Coupon family WILL NOT sell this team willingly.  It will take a bank robber and a ski mask and a machine gun to sell and even then they may take a few minutes to weigh death.  I hate what they have done to this team but in the back of my mind I believe they have had good intentions the whole way.  Have they made some poor investments?  Sure.  Have they embarassed the Mets enough?  Hopefully.  Is it the darkest before the dawn?  Scientifically I have no idea.  But I do believe that the Wilpons are true fans.  Unfortunately the team they root for no longer occupies Brooklyn but Southern California and they have been trying to get Jackie Robinson to play second base for their team for years and just can’t find a suitable contact number for him.

The Coupons are major league owners which should give the rest of us some hope that one day we could be total fuck ups and still enjoy the luxuries of owning a Major League franchise.  I think that the Mets are in a deep shithole and won’t be able to get out of it and this season’s ticket sales will be an issue.  Do I think the Mets can get enough investors to make the $200 million goal?  Yes.  Unfortunately business people will look at the Mets as a great investment considering they play in the biggest market and having an ownership stake in a franchise is huge for guys who are rich but not wealthy.  Remember kids there’s a difference.

But how much longer before they are asking those guys to invest more money in and how much longer before the math comes back to the Coupon family that they no longer own a majority share?  Again, these are questions that the Coupons really hope they don’t have to answer in the long run but its impossible to ignore.

A semi cool thing.  Ok its a major cool thing.  If you haven’t heard about Louis CK you’re living under a rock but if not check this article out on the New York Times about his come up- and his new comedy special which is coming out in a very unique way.  

Howard Beck of the New York Times also looks at how Brook Lopez’ stress fracture could ultimately deal a very big blow to the Nets chances at landing Dwight Howard.  Self explanatory but for those who want the elaborate answer.  

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December 21, 2011 · 2:13 pm

Daily Rounds 12/21/2011

The Knicks play their second and final preseason game, both against the New Jersey Nets soon to be of Brooklyn (yes that’s what I’m calling them), and will make their professional debut in the new revamped Madison Square Garden.  Marc Berman goes over some of the structural changes of the new Garden including, the infamous Willis Reed Tunnel being gone and being replaced by a corner entrance.  The biggest story to watch tonight will be in the backcourt.  The Broadway Bigs as they are being called are set in stone in the line up and have their names written in ink while the back court has their names written in pencil.  Marc Berman, Alan Hahn , and Howard Beck of the New York Times  weighs in the tenuous nature of the back court of the Knicks.  Also, contained within those reports is this little nugget:  Steve Novak of the San Antonio Spurs will be claimed by the Knicks IF no one else does after he was waived by the Spurs yesterday.  The 28 year old 6’10 big is more known as a three point specialist, and yesterday tweeted (before being deleted) “Next stop, NY”.  Mike D’Antoni also revealed that they would NOT be pursuing James Posey which means Posey decided to sign elsewhere and he’ll make that known soon.  The K nicks retain that $2.5 million room exception to use on some other player since Novak will only be paid the league minimum.

It was all good just a year ago.  Last year with limited expectations, Landry Fields burrowed his way into the starting line up and began earning rave reviews for his rebounding prowess (led the league in rebounding for guards) and ability to mesh in the system and hit the occasional three point shot.  After the Carmelo trade, he hit the rookie ceiling and noticeably struggled.  Worse, he struggled mightily in the playoffs looking overmatched and gun shy and confused amidst the glare of the playoff atmosphere.  Douglas meanwhile was a reserve the entire year, first behind Raymond Felton and second behind Chauncey Billups but he looked good coming off the bench.  What I like most about Douglas is that the moment doesn’t scare him or make him play the game differently.  He plays good defense and almost every advanced defensive metric showed that he was the best defender the Knicks had.  While that may not be saying much, that defense coming off the bench is key and vital.  He will now be starting at point guard for the Knicks and with that brings certain responsibilities that Mike D’Antoni still doesn’t feel Douglas is prepared to handle.

Take for instance his announcement that he’d like the offense to run through Carmelo Anthony much like Larry Bird did with the Celtics.  Great offensive players, both passing and scoring, can make teams better with the different facets of their game.  In the first preseason game, we saw Melo do some nice pick and roll with he and Amar’e and then he and Chandler.  This of course leaves you wondering whether Mike D’Antoni really feels confident giving the keys to the team over to the young point guard.  Of course, Douglas will be tested early.  IF the Knicks don’t play well out of the gate and struggle mightily, the back court will be blamed almost immediately and maybe without just cause.  The front court has two very good scorers and another guy who gets his buckets via the alley oop OR put backs.  The pressure is on the front court to succeed.  Think about the players the Knicks picked up: Mike Bibby, Baron Davis.  The player they were rumored to be in on, Chris Paul.  What do they all have in common?  They all play the point guard position so Douglas knows that the pressure is on to make Knick fans forget that Chris Paul is no longer an option and that they shouldn’t be putting a countdown for the Baron to emerge on Broadway’s biggest stage in anything but a tailored suit.

Other than Landry and Douglas a few other things to watch for in tonight’s final dress rehearsal before the Christmas day game against the Celtics:

1. How good is the Knicks defense?  We’ve all heard about how Tyson Chandler will shore up the defense for the starting five.  That’s a lot of pressure for one man to do.  Minus Tyson the Knicks will revert back to a defenseless group if you believe the experts.  I’m going to watch the entire starting five’s defense.  How well do they play in Mike Woodson’s system?  Woodson, despite D’Antoni’s insistence that he wasn’t brought in to coach up the defensive side of the ball, is THE GUY who will draw up that side of the ball and it will be interesting to see the on the ball defense that Anthony and Amar’e play.  Everyone keeps telling me that now that Amar’e can play the power forward that he’ll be better on the offensive end.  Meanwhile, Kevin Garnett plays PF, David West will play PF, Chris Bosh pla….wait, that was a joke.  Point being there are plenty of REALLY GOOD power forwards.  How exactly are the Knicks protecting Amare?  Offensively he will be game against all of those guys without a doubt.  Defensively is where I worry.  I’ve seen Melo play D, and I don’t mean the matador D he usually plays.  HE CAN play when he exerts himself at that end.  Remember the Celtics comparison from a few weeks back?  When the Celtics brought in Tom Thibodeau, and KG to shore up that end of the ball suddenly Paul Pierce played defense like never before.  HOPEFULLY, Tyson Chandler can have a KG like effect on Melo.  We all know what Melo can do on the offensive end, its up to the defensive end.  Finally, Landry Fields I’m praying for you man.  NO ONE ELSE is hoping you succeed more than me.  BUT, he’s a liability on the defensive end.  He doesn’t switch well and he has very limited lateral range and can’t trail really quick shooting guards in the league.  He’ll get beaten on one on ones which means the Knicks may have to commit another guy to him and then may have to sit him in crunch time.  He can’t be slow if he’s guarding the likes of D-Wade and co. and he HAS to learn to body up and play one on one defense if he wants to stay in the starting line up because….

2.  IMAM SHUMPERT is finally in the house-  The heralded rookie is making his MSG debut and if its anything like last week the Knicks will have a really good problem on their hands.  Shump seems to take a liking to the defensive side of the court which is good for that second team which is a huge question mark.  He and Mike Bibby play in that second unit and are first in line to get the starting gig if Landry and Toney struggle.  I need to see more of Shump, and so tonight will be huge for me.  Tonight will be bigger for me than Sunday because I will understand if Shump isn’t ready for opening day.  He’s not used to NBA competition on a nightly basis and frankly many won’t be ready for the shortened season.  Maybe he can show us a thing or two.

3. How does Tyson Chandler fit into the offense?  We know where he stands defensively.  Offensively I want to see some pick and rolls and see him cutting to the rim.  One of the biggest things I saw from the first preseason game was: Renaldo Balkman always cut to the rim when the defense converged on Melo or Amare.  Its up to those guys to look for the open man and its also up to the guys on the court to converge to the basket and try and get easy buckets.  Layups and dunks will be available and that is Tyson’s specialty.  It isn’t inconcievable that Chandler will average 12 pts and 12 rebounds this year.  Throw in 2 blocks a game and play solid can’t-see-it-in-a-stat-line-defense and you have the makings of a super signing.  Hopefully a ton of free easy baskets and a few plays designed to get Chandler those buckets instead of him having to get those buckets on his own.

4. How do Amar’e and Carmelo co-exist on offense?  Look, I get that last season was a trial run and there was very little time to mesh but this past offseason troubled me for two reasons:  Melo hung out with his boy Chris Paul because they probably assumed he would wind up in a Knick jersey while Melo wasn’t recruiting him.  Secondly, he and Amar’e didn’t even come together for the opening of training camp because Amar’e preferred to work out on his own down in Florida.  You know, with the name that shall not be mentioned around Madison Square.  I get that they run in different circles, but as a Knick fan I’d like for them to be closer.  I’d like for them to want the other to score 30 points every game and I’d like for the both of them to look for the other on offense.  THEY will have to carry this team together.  Last season the Knicks had their most success when they did a rotation of Melo playing with one unit and then Amar’e playing with another unit and then both playing crunch time minutes.  As good as that success was, it did nothing for the ultimate goal which is to have BOTH comfortable playing with each other.  What’s the point of having two superstars if they can’t play on the same court at the same time?  Everyone will compare this to the Miami Heat situation where three superstars are looking at the prospect of sharing ONE basketball after being THE GUY on their own teams.  I’d like to think that half a season and a small mini-training camp have worked out those issues for the Knicks but they haven’t and I don’t expect them to.  This first month of basketball will really try my patience and I’m prepared for that.  I just would like to see my team’s two superstars which the Knicks haven’t had since the days of Earl the Pearl and Walt Clyde Frazier (by the way 70’s basketball player nicknames>Today’s players nicknames) be a more cohesive unit.  YES, that’s what I’d like Santa!

5. How bad is the Knicks bench?  We’ll know.  Steve Novak impending arrival notwtihstanding.  The Knicks have Jared Jeffries (D’Antoni favorite for who knows why) and Bill Walker (both are inactive tonight due to injuries) and are mostly unreliable options.  Novak, Bibby, and Shump are really your only other options.  Novak is a specialist so you can’t count on him on a nightly basis to provide you with scoring off the bench.  He’s either on or he’s not and D’Antoni isn’t a proponent of too many bench players.  He likes a steady 8 man rotation and rarely ever veers from that.  I’m really hoping that D’Antoni has a reason to shed that plan and go with a steady 11 man group because he HAS to know that keeping his guys fresh over the haul of this season will be important.

6. Who’s the third option on offense?  We know who one and two is and you can debate as to the positioning.  But that third option is key.  The Heat have a steady three and so do the Celtics, the teams the Knicks are chasing.  Depending on Melo and Amar’e every night to lead the way is reasonable but not something you want to base your game on everynight if you truly think this team is ready to be title contenders.  They need someone to step up.  I like how confident Shump is on the offensive front but he was known as a bit of a ball hog in college, I hope he knows that he’s at best the third option on this team for a while.  Unless Shump is the second coming of D-Wade or Lebron I need him to pick and choose the timing of his shot and drive more and kick out to the open guys.  Antoni’s system is about spacing and having good shooters and from what I see currently the Knicks have three guys currently on the roster that shot over 40% from the field.  The Knicks will have to get higher percentage shots and need guys cutting like Balkman did all night.  In fact I’d like to see Balkman get some playing time today and see if that one game wasn’t a fluke.  I mean I’m pretty sure I know the answer to that question but I still want to reserve judgement.

Ok, so who’s ready for some Knick basketball?

Janis Carr of the Orange County Register is reporting that Mike Brown used his big boy voice and said some things about the Lakers lack of defense during their preseason loss to the Clippers and Kobe was ok with it.  You know, for now.  

I can’t help but editorialize on this one.  Let’s just say that Kobe puts up with this whole Mike Brown as Head coach thing that the Lakers have here.  Let’s just say that he listens to him for some time preach about defense because in all candidness, Mike Brown is a really good coach.  He comes from the school of Popovich and knows how to create a really good defensive scheme but Kobe is still Kobe.  Some of that classic Kobe ego is beginning to pop up again.  He’s 33, going through a divorce that I’m not sure is going to be as messy as people think it is but he’s still a human being and it WILL affect him.  The great ones feed off the negativity and always wind up prevailing.  Remember that stretch where he was flying in and out of Utah and in for games?  He dominated.  Of course he dominated the basketball but he was a great offensive force and played like he never had.

But now he’s coming off an experimental knee procedure where the jury is still out on how effective it will be.  IF the Lakers are really going to be great they are going to need Kobe to step it up.  I’m not going off the deep end when I think that the Lakers will STILL be better than the Clippers this year.  BUT, in the off chance that the Clips DO come together and get some depth which they sorely are lacking, TRUST ME, Kobe’s ego will be on full four (w)heel drive and he will run the Lakers into the ground.  Its no koinky dink that as soon as Pau Gasol turned into the Tin Man, the Lakers had no shot of beating the Mavs.  If that Gasol shows up after being bandied about in trade rumors and I’m going to venture to guess that he’ll remain there until this Dwight Howard sorry ass saga ends, trust me when I say that Kobe will destroy and shed to pieces any last bit of confidence he has.

Jordan’s teams always had a revolving door of teammates that he played with and for.  Paxson, Kerr, BJ Armstrong, Horace Grant and even Scottie Pipper for a time could not STAND Jordan and you either crumbled under his oppressive ways OR you emerged.  Its completely on the Laker team if they are going to be stomped on by Kobe Goliath or if they rise up to play the way Kobe wants:  You know, clear out and let him shoot about 30 times.  JUST KIDDING KOBE FANS!

As if Pennsylvania sports couldn’t get any more insulting and vile, out comes a report that not only are the coaches vile, but so are the sportswriters.  Even their hall of fame ones.  Reports indicate that during the 1970’s Hall of Fame Sports writer Bill Conlin of the Philadelphia Daily News is accused of sexually molesting four underage teens including his very own niece.  Conlin abruptly retired following the surfacing of these allegations.  But that isn’t the biggest one to come out.  Monta Ellis is being charged with sending sexual photographs to a former female Golden State Warriors employee and texting her for two months and there are several Golden State Warrior executives also being named in the suit.  

Ok, so both photos aren’t flattering of these two knuckleheads.  BUT if its true, then there needs to be some sort of study done on sexual dominance that men feel when dealing in sports.  What makes men feel that they have any right to do this to little kids OR to females?  I’m not nearly intelligent to comment on the why’s or how comes.  BUT, I do have some defenses for the two that their lawyers may want to look into before they go in with the usual “MY CLIENT IS NOT GUILTY” or ” WAIT TILL ALL THE FACTS COME OUT” arguments.

First off, Colonel Sanders may have had too much grease in his system and made him lax on his moral ground, which he stood upon on a daily basis in Philadelphia when he was a writer there, and thereby he saved all his good citizenry for his columns AND NOT for his own daily life.  Maybe, being under the employ in the same state as Jerry Sandusky made him use the ol “when in Rome do as the Romans do” life model.

As for Monta Ellis, maybe he was sending the employees pictures of his genitals because he felt like she could give him better medical advice than the training staff with the Warriors?  You know those medical professionals: they don’t know ANYTHING!  OR maybe he wanted to show off how good those ExtenZe pills were working out for him.  MAYBE those text messages he sent her were sent under the wrong guise.  Sometimes I save a number under the wrong name.  Maybe he meant to send it some other employee.  DID SHE EVER THINK ABOUT THAT?  But his real defense SHOULD BE that he looks 14 and if anything she was coming on to him and trying to sexually entice him which would be illegal cause that would be raping of a minor and let’s just say that’s NOT the crime you want to be involve din in sports.  By the way, I can’t wait to read up on the facts of this case because it looks like Isiah Thomas and the Knicks vs. Anucha Brown-Sanders part two.  Also, can we please try and harass a REALLY HOT girl this time?  Anucha looked like a big ol bag of Ducha to me.  Atleast Brett Favre had some taste when he decided to step out of the circle of marital bliss.  Which reminds me of another defense that Monta could have:  That wasn’t even his penis.  That was a stunt dick that she saw! SO HA!

Here are the miscelaneous links:

Richard Dietsch released his NBA 2011-2012 broadcasting guide including his favorite group and his must see games on each network.  Its one of those bookmark me articles.  

Here’s a story that needs no punchline:  New York Post revealed that Rex Ryan likes to get together for ice cream socials with the Jets offensive players.  Ahh, the offense, Rex’s favorite guilty pleasure.  Ok fine, I didn’t need to say that but it was right there!

Maybe it was the altitude still kicking in but I’m with John Hollinger (who has them rated as his second best team in the Western conference), I agree that the Nuggets are a contender and I wrote as much a week and a half ago.  Dave Krieger looks at their crazy offseason.  

Ok, more to come later including the NBA preview edition coming soon.  Expect a post tonight about the Knicks after their final warm up!

Enjoy Sports fans!

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December 20, 2011 · 12:51 pm

Daily Rounds 12/20/2011

 

Baron Davis’ signing brought some very interesting news.  He was expected to sign for the $2.5 million exception that the Knicks had at their disposal.  But contained within this report, its now known that he signed for the veteran’s minimum of $1.4 million which gives them room to sign another free agent.  Perhaps James Posey?  Peter Vecsey writes that everyone has an opinion on the Baron Davis signing but he’s a fan of the signing.  Alan Hahn says that despite the Baron Davis signing Toney Douglas will do whatever is asked of him.  Baron Davis says that the Knicks have the pieces to contend according to Frank Isola of the Daily News.  

Forget that Baron took less money to sign with us signaling a huge shift from years past where the Knicks had to overpay to get talented players.  Its that James Dolan did the convincing according to sources.  JIM DOLAN!  Somehow, someway he has been doing things that I NEVER thought in a million years he was willing to do as Knick owner.  Not only has he given Verizon FIOS customers MSG HD so that we can now enjoy our Knicks and Rangers games in beautiful, stunning HD, he  is now proving to be quite the recruiter.  I have always said this and I will continue to say this: a motivated Baron Davis makes him a top 10 PG in our league capable of taking over games which means the Knicks would have 3 capable scorers in crunchtime.  Ideally having 3 options which the defense would have to spread itself out would be something dream worthy but if those three prove to be ball stoppers and would rather want to create their own shot instead of looking for the open man (unless they are the open man of course) then that advantage gets nullified.

I’m not signing off on this signing yet but I can promise you that the Garden’s energy will be needed everytime Baron is out on the floor.  I remember watching that Warriors/Mavs series and seeing Davis’ play rise proportional to the crowd’s noise level so there’s that element to wonder about.  The Knick crowd is an intelligent and very aware crowd.  IF you don’t show the right attitude and aren’t diving for loose balls and playing lackadaisically, they will call you out and boo you.  But this deal depends solely on Baron.  Solely on whether he comes to practice hard and play harder.  Keeping him motivated for that long will be difficult but the bigger the stakes the bigger his game gets and you’d like to think that the Knicks are positioned to be playing in several big games.

Last year the Knicks slogged through injuries and the sort to some of their top players and in the end it was Carmelo Anthony and a bunch of stiffs trying to beat the battle tested Celtics.  Conditioning will be important and that’s what’s troubling for the Knicks.  IF the Knicks hope to enjoy ANY kind of success this season keeping Baron, Amar’e and Melo away from the trainer’s table will be of the utmost importance.  Let’s see how it all plays out.

The Yu Darvish sweepstakes is over and the winner is…..The Texas Rangers.  According to several reports, the Rangers posted the winning bid believed to be in the neighborhood of $51.7 million which would make it the highest posting bid in the history of MLB.  Darvish is the 25 year old Japanese phenom that had several teams bidding for his services.  Darvish is the son of an Iranian father and Japanese mother.  Last year he compiled an 18-6 record with a 1.44 ERA and 276 strikeouts.  Jean Jacques-Taylor said that the Rangers proved, with this move, that they are indeed a big market team.  Scott Miller of CBSSports.com writes that this bid may be the start of a bigger war for the AL West between the Rangers and the Angels.  Meanwhile Jon Morosi of Foxsports.Com writes that with the Yu Darvish posting news over its time for Scott Boras to make his move.  

Darvish is another in a long line of Japanese born pitchers slated to arrive in the US and revolutionize the art of pitching.  He apparently features a 7 pitch repertoire that has people drooling.  He throws in the mid 90’s and has excellent control.  That’s the miniature scouting report.  As for what he will actually do, well that’s the question mark.  There’s NEVER a sure thing especially pitchers who come from different leagues and different hitters.  Darvish will be afforded the benefit of playing for a Rangers team that will score him plenty of runs.  The experts still put the Rangers with the best offense in that league and rightfully so.  Even with Pujols’ entry into the AL West war, the Rangers have the deepest line up in that division and pending the Yu signing will have a 6 man rotation, a problem that GM Jon Daniels (Bayside, Queens stand up) is happy to have.  Of course the Rangers are still linked to Prince Fielder though if you do the math, apparently Yu wants a 5 year contract at an annual rate of $15 million, Yu will cost the Rangers slightly more than $125 million.  I don’t know how likely it is that they sign Prince for his reported asking price of $200 million.

Prince is repped by Boras who will get the highest dollar figure and the Rangers are too smart and savvy to play that game.  So Boras may start searching elsewhere.  One team he may want to check in with?  The Toronto Blue Jays.  They attacked twitter announcing their disappointment that their team could NOT get Yu.  Alex Anthropolous the boy wonder GM of the Jays may have to make a move being so flush with cash.  Don’t be surprised if he gets involved in not only Prince (rumors are that the Jays have a ton of money to spend) but also swing a trade for Gio Gonzalez or Matt Garza.  Both pitchers are available via trade though it will cost several high priority prospects which teams may regret giving up.

The Matt Latos deal by the Padres shows that teams will have to pony up the big boy prospects in order to pry loose a young talented pitcher who has arbitration controlled years left.  Gio Gonzalez won’t be a free agent till 2016 and so his value coming off an 18 win campaign is NEVER going to be higher so credit Brad Pitt, I mean Billy Beane with trying to extract as much as he can.  Beane knows that it will be years before the A’s will be able to move to a better facility and will be flush with cash to compete with the likes of the Angels and the Rangers and so he’ll have to continue trying to turn water into wine.

An interesting note for Met fans is that the Blue Jays loss in the Yu sweepstakes opens the door for them to trade Jon Niese who’s another team controlled player that the Jays have interest in.  If it means getting Travis D’Arnaud for him it may be worth it.  As a Met fan expect very little and you won’t get hurt.  This is all depending on IF Sandy Alderson is motivated to trade him which I believe he is.  He’s listening to all offers and if it brings him back D’Arnaud and a pitcher the Mets will jump to trade Niese whom the Aldersons of the world have all but made their mind up on.

Finally, a story that should tickle your funny bone.  A sprinter who was caught tested positive for performance enhancing drugs will be trying again for his chance to compete in the 2012 London Olympics.  Story is here in the NYTimes.  He was caught thanks to a high dosage of Extenze in his system.  Yep.  THAT Extenze.  

For those interested in hearing Rex Ryan’s mouth and former Giants players response here you go.  

Finally, Gene Collier of the Pittsburgh Post Gazette writes that the Steelers went dark.  

Not buying the win by the 49ers.  Big Ben was hobbled and he really needs to sit out the next few games because its bad and running him out there every week is pointless.  Then again, that’s the kind of player Antrell Rolle would want to play with right?

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December 19, 2011 · 2:58 pm

Daily Rounds 12/19/2011

After being away for two days, I come back to you to bring you Tebow down to earth, the Jets and Giants limping into their showdown on Christmas Eve.  The Baron Davis experiment.  And some fun links to get you through yet another Monday.  ENJOY!

On a day where neither team could ill afford a let down game, BOTH New York area football teams gave their respective fan bases the kind of game that can come back to haunt

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them in their quest to make the playoffs.  The Giants lost at home to the Redskins 23-10 while the Jets got blown out in Philly 45-19.  Gary Meyers said yesterday’s performance was indicative of so many Tom Coughlin teams.  They face the indignity of elimination at the hands of the Jets if they win and the Cowboys beat the Eaglehan city-wide pride.  If that’s not enough for you, in yesterday’s post game press conference Antrell Rolle called out his teammates who didn’t partake in practice during the week and Tuck answered by saying “its easy when you do it with another man’s body”.  

Here it is for Giant fans.  Win the next two games and there’s no discussion.  The Giants will win the division.  Lose next week and then beat the Cowboys and hope the Eagles lose one of two and they win the division.  EITHER WAY, that week 17 matchup comes up to be huge.  I dont know what to say about yesterday’s effort by either team but I will say this.  I’ve never been a fan of Antrell Rolle and the microphone together, but yesterday he said something that needed to be said.

I get that Justin Tuck is hurt and if he is.  If he’s really hurt, then he needs to sit out some games.  Tuck has shown me NOTHING through the last six games that he’s played that would lead me to believe he has much of anything in the tank and that’s probably due to his neck stinger.  He’s been called out all year by former teammates and now by current ones.  That has to be troubling to the defensive captain and frankly, I dont care.  Tuck has been sensitive and sissy like when it comes to addressing concerns regarding his health.  Look, I’m not a medical expert but if he’s really hurt then he needs to be handled that way.  He needs to sit out and not take up space.  He’s a valuable member of the defense but NOT at 60% which it looks like he’s playing.  Offensive linemen are handling him on one on one situations and yesterday’s game he was being tossed aside like a rag doll and the Giants were not getting any kind of pressure.  No Osi, and virtually no Tuck which leaves ONLY JPP as the real threat for the defense and he again was the only guy who seemed to play like he cared.

Rolle’s astute observation aside, this coverage unit is a liability at this point.  They were horrendous in tackling as well.  Prince Amukamara fell for virtually every single move that any receiver he was facing was throwing at him.  The kid will get better, but he was being burned at every available turn and deserved the half time benching knowing that this was basically a game they HAD to have.

IF the Giants and Jets won yesterday, Saturday’s game may not have meant as much.  The Giants have had plenty of games like that where they could’ve won.  They were on their way to victories over Seattle, the Niners and the Eagles.  Three wins that IF they had back, they could’ve clinched the division by last Sunday.  But the Giants have not played a full game where all three facets of the team have come together.

Speaking of three facets of the team not coming together, the Jets got beat up and down by the Eagles who by the way aren’t done in the NFC East race either.  SHOULD they win out and all three teams wind up with an 8-8 record, yes it will be the Eagles winning the division by virtue of a better divisional record and making all the experts look like geniuses.  Thankfully there is a very remote chance of that happening but yes, that CAN happen.  So don’t rule it out completely.  In fact, I think that’s probably the most likely scenario given how the Eagles absolutely HANDLED the Cowboys in their first meeting and how the Eagles have looked in the past two weeks: you know like the dominant team everyone expected them to be.  Either way the biggest take away from this game for the Jets: they had better fix the secondary immediately.  I mean the third level where the safeties are.  Brodney Poole is a liability in coverage and they have NOBODY there to match up with the tight end.  David Harris doesn’t have the speed and Bart Scott has quietly had one of the worst seasons of his career.  The Jets will have to figure that out quickly.  They are now in a tie for the Wild Card.  The Jets control their fate.  Win out and they are in.

All in for Saturday.  It will be interesting to see how this goes.

In the other major game yesterday, the Tim Tebow led Denver Broncos were brought down to earth by competition that they were not better than yesterday.  The Patriots, coupled with the Jets loss, also clinched the AFC East crown for the 9th time in 11 years.  What happened?  Greg Bedard says that the defense, which sunk to depths they didn’t know existed, changed the course of the game.  Dan Shaughnessy said that it was just routine for these AFC assassins.  Tebow time didn’t get a chance to start up thanks to a few costly turnovers says Don Banks of SI.com.  Judy Batista of the New York Times said that yesterday restored order to conventional wisdom that says that Tim Tebow and the Broncos can’t be successful.  Woody Paigesaid that despite the luck that seemed to hover over the Broncos for the last two months wasn’t there at Mile High, the Broncos still received help thanks to a poor showing by the Raiders who lost a lead and the game against the Lions.  Mark Kiszla of the Denver Post hit the nail right in the head when he said

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“while Tebow has earned the right to operate this team in 2012, the offense must evolve to the point where Denver can play more than one way.”  Finally, Mike Silver of Yahoo Sports said it best: Tim Tebow learned a valuable lesson at the hands of the master.  

Look, nobody’s a bigger fan of this guy than me.  As a football fan I’ve never seen anything like Tim Tebow.  I think that goes for everybody else.  But I saw this coming a mile away.  But those who want to point to Tim Tebow as the reason they lost may want to think again.  Yes, this showed that Tim Tebow can NOT keep up with a high flying offense.  This showed that unless they work out his throwing motion and develop him more as a pure pocket passer, the Broncos won’t be able to sustain good performances against good teams.  But let’s forget all that for a minute.

In a span of 9 offensive plays, the Broncos fumbled three times.  Twice they were recovered by the Patriots and they scored 10 points off those turnovers.  One of the fumbles also resulted in a three and out which wound up being a field goal.  That’s thirteen points that the Broncos GAVE the Patriots.  Take those points away, and its 16-14 heading into the half.  Then you put that seven on the board from the third, the Patriots are up 21-16 heading into the fourth quarter.  Imagine that game going into the fourth quarter with Tebow just a touchdown away from winning it.  You have to entertain the possibility because when the team is close, they believe.  They have unending faith.  That’s what I’ve seen from the Broncos in those fourth quarters.  They have undying faith that they will win the game and so that quarter could’ve gone either way.  If the Patriots had gained the momentum and not put that 20 spot in the second quarter, the Broncos and Patriots go into that fourth and it turns into a different game.  Who knows, the Patriots may have won but yesterday was not a shoot out.  No.  Yesterday was not about Tom Brady and the Patriots scoring more points than the Broncos by just sheer machine like efficiency.  No, it was the Broncos giving them opportunities deep in their own territory and now giving the offense a chance by keeping it close.

Most teams in the NFL won’t do that and can’t recover from that.  And that in the end is the point folks.  Let’s start looking at this team from a reasonable point of view.  Let’s not differentiate them and put them in a different class.  That they are not.  The premise behind that is wrong and is what gives talk show heads so much to talk about.  Yes, everybody is different in their own special way.  But Tebow should not get more credit for running this unconventional (by pro-standards) offense anymore than Tom Brady gets overvalued in my estimation for the Patriots Super Bowl victories.  Yes, he won them but let’s be real, he never led touchdown drives to win games, he led drives that ended up in field goals and Adam Viniatieri kicked the Patriots into history.

The fact is, this is JUST another NFL quarterback.  He’s JUST another second year QB.  And that’s how he should be evaluated.  Free from the emotion of what he represents.  He’s a great story but every story has an end.  Was yesterday the end?  I dont know.  Tebow has proven that he can answer the critics and the critics have no answers for the way he seemingly pulls games out.  No one can dispute ths 7-1 record but most want to dispute the fact that he is a viable NFL Quarterback.  But they are looking at him from the narrow minded view point of traditional drop back passers like Tom Brady.  And that’s how they should be.  There is no comparative player in this generation.  Even the Fran Tarkentons weren’t built like Tebow.  No way could Fran ever have pulled off that 9 yard TD run that Tebow pulled off in the first quarter.  But if the Broncos ever needed a wake up call from this hallucinogen that the Tebow saga has had them on, this was it.

Brady was simple.  Brady was precise.  Brady was everything we expected.  He was probably the anti-Christ in this game but he was the anti-dote for the Broncos.  They need to wake up from this dream that everyone has been swept up in.  Yes he’s a great player but there’s work to be done and now most are beginning to see it.  There’s a game against Buffalo next week IN Buffalo that will surely have people ranting and raving about him again.  The Bills have packed up and gone home and then they finish off the season against the Chiefs.  Those perfect season ruining Chiefs.  They are in the drivers seat thanks to the Lions beating the Raiders in comeback fashion.  The Broncos need only win out and then its the playoffs and if Tebow has proven ANYTHING is possible.

But yesterday was their first taste of something real.  Every week seemed to have something set up so that they would be victorious.  The Bears minus Cutler and Forte.  The Vikings minus Adrian Peterson. The Jets minus an offense and oxygen to the head on that final play.  The Broncos had victories seemingly served up and give them credit, they accepted the hand outs and rode the wave.  But anyone who didn’t see yesterday’s game coming was drinking heavily from the communion wine.  Tom Brady was not going to let Tebow have the crown and all the fun.  Brady reminded us all that it takes more than just one man to win games.  He passed, he scored and the entire Patriot team came together for that win and now they stand at 11-3.  Masters of their own fate and able to win out and get that first round bye.  Of course they will need Pittsburgh to lose tonight.  But yesterday was a dose of reality for a Bronco team that needed it desperately.

If the Broncos want to win, it will be imperative that they improve Tim Tebow.  He has all the intangibles and he’s got all the stuff that people like you or I can’t see or explain.  Now its time to see tangible results.  Things that can help the argument:  Tim Tebow is a good NFL Quarterback.  Lord knows that most Tebow-supporters have prayed for that day to come.

Baron Davis will join the New York Knicks and make it official by today.  Marc Berman says that the initial diagnosis of 8-10 weeks was meant to scare off teams that may have bid for the Baron’s services.  Knicks medical staffers took a look into his medical reports and decided that he would be able to play in about a month.  Davis only wanted to play for three teams: his hometown Los Angeles Lakers, the Knicks and the Heat.  All three of those teams would NOT have been able to bid during the amnesty auction due to their cap situation.   Also contained within this report is that the Knicks still have the veteran’s minimum of $1.4 mil to dangle and perhaps Al Thornton will be a good fit as they have spoken to his representatives.  In this report, Berman (who’s been the biggest news scooper this side of Alan Hahn for Knick fans) also says that Spike Lee began to plant the seed early on for Tyson Chandler’s free agent welcome to New York.  Mitch Lawrence is a little less than enthused by the Baron Davis signing, saying that it speaks more to what the Knicks don’t have than their trust in what Baron Davis DOES have.  

I’m in the latter category.  The Knicks have a solid core.  Yes, I don’t like Mike Bibby because he’s a liability on defense.  Then there’s Toney Douglass who’s a liability on offense.  Then there’s Imam Shumpert who outside of one impressive preseason game has nothing to show for himself.  And so the Baron Davis experiment begins albeit only by around MLK day as the Knicks are telling it.  The Knicks are a promising team.  They have a front court that makes others drool but their second team is a huge question mark and in a shortened season where they will need to rest their guys especially Amar’e for long stretches on those tough back to back night games which will be early and often, the hope here is that something pans out from that second group.  They will be counted on.  Which is why teams that are 8-10 deep are probably assured of the most success while teams that are top heavy will find the road the hardest.

The Knicks are top heavy.  Unless they get some scoring from Bill Walker and Bibby turns back the clock some, and the rookie shows more than just flashes in a preseason game, the Knicks will be woefully thin and they will be forced to play games where they will need huge performances from their superstars to maintain.  The Knicks don’t have that much size but if what we saw from Jorts Harrleson is true, then the Knicks may have some depth on the other end.  D’Antoni after the Nets game made a very interesting point: Carmelo Anthony may be their best passer.  Which tells you what you need to know.  The Knicks will lean more on Anthony to lead the team.  Amar’e is the heart and soul of this team and we give him that.  He’s the guy who came to NY when no one else would.  He led the renaissance last year.  But Carmelo is by far the best player on the team and he needs to take that next step in his evolution.  Running the offense through him will be better and give the Knicks more opportunities.  The best pick and roll I saw from the Knicks was the one he and Amar’e ran and that’s the kind of easy offense the Knicks can have when those two superstars are working in tandem.

I will get more into that in my season preview on Friday.

But this move was made, in my opinion, more as an indictment of what we don’t have than what we do have in the back court.  Baron Davis comes with huge question marks, bad back not included.  There are questions of chemistry.  Of work ethic.  Of motivation.  His defensive ability.  Of his overall ability declining.  But talent like his comes along rarely.  When motivated, Davis is a beast.  A threat to throw down 20 points dish out thirteen assists including four or five wow alley oops to willing partcipants: Amar’e and Melo (though you may want to add Shump to that list because he looks like an athletic freak too).  BUT the big question is which Baron will show up and how often will good Baron be the one that puts on the uniform and how long this love fest will last.

I’m not holding my breath.  My hope is that Toney Douglas improves as the season progresses and Shump has a monster season and proves the Knick draftniks right when they drafted him so that Davis’ presence will only be peripheral and not in the main view of the Knicks vision which currently is on a championship.

Howard Beck of the New York Times says that a New York rivalry can be revived at the drop of a Dwight, i mean Dime should the Nets make a huge acquisition themselves.  The Clippers deal for CP3 shows how quickly a city can come alive for that. 

Mark Heisler wrote one of the funniest mock letters to Donald Sterling pleading with him NOT to mess this up.  

Sending out a Praise God for the news of Celtic Jeff Green who had an aortic aneurysm treated thanks to a last minute check up.  The condition will sideline Green for the season, an unfortunate set back but wonderful news considering what could’ve been had they not discovered it.  

Ben Bolch looks at the fascinating life that IS Metta World Peace.  Thug.  Humanitarian.  Bench player for the Los Angeles Lakers.  

Just click this link Lebron Haters and enjoy.  Thanks Dallas Fort Worth Telegram.  

 

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