Summing Up February 15-25 for the Knicks

I was vacationing in Miami all last week, but I wasn't living under a rock. A lot of stuff happened with the Knicks while I was in Florida, and I'm gonna write about all of it.

Feb. 15: Knicks beat the Kings 100-85.
-I didn't pay a lot of attention to this game because I assumed the Knicks would win it, and they did. Their win streak improved to 7 and Jeremy Lin (of course) had a good game. Lin had a double-double (10 points and a career-high 13 assists). Landry Fields also had a double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds and Steve Novak scored 14 off the bench.

Feb. 17: Knicks lose to the Hornets 89-85.
-This was the first speed bump in Linsanity. The Hornets snapped the Knicks' winning streak at 7 games. Instead of getting mad, I looked at the positives. They just went on a seven-game winning streak. Also, Amar'e Stoudemire had a great game (26 points, 12 rebounds). The Hornets played a good game and got somewhat lucky in crunch-time. When Marco Belinelli banked in a three in the 4th quarter, I knew things weren't going well for the Knicks.

Feb. 18: Knicks sign J.R. Smith, waive Renaldo Balkman.
-I loved the Knicks signing Smith. I think he's gonna be a great player for the team and help out with his scoring. However, I was upset about the Knicks releasing Renaldo Balkman to do it. He was the 4th-highest paid player on the team and was due to make over a million dollars next season. They should have traded Bill Walker or Jerome Jordan (or both) to a team for a second-round draft pick or cash. Now that the Knicks waived Balkman, they have to pay him all of what he was scheduled to make and it hurts their cap space. Plus, I liked Balkman. I don't think Knicks fans ever gave him enough credit. Here is his Twitter post after being waived by the Knicks:Feb. 19: Knicks beat Mavs 104-97 in J.R. Smith's debut.
-Lin was the obvious star in this comeback win for the team (28 points, career-high 14 assists, career-high 5 steals). J.R. Smith was the team's second-leading scorer in the game and finished with 15 points in his debut with the team. This was a great game for the team. They beat the defending champions.

Feb. 20: Knicks lose to Nets 100-92.
-Deron Williams got revenge on Jeremy Lin by outscoring him and leading the Nets to victory. I wasn't mad about this loss because it was the second game of a back-to-back. Also, Baron Davis made his belated debut for the team and Carmelo Anthony made his return after a groin injury. Davis didn't play too many minutes, but I liked what I saw from him. I think he'll be a great back-up to Lin. Melo didn't play overly well, but he was returning from an injury.

Feb. 22: Knicks beat Hawks 99-82.
-Like their win against the Mavs a few days before, this was a great win for the Knicks. Against the Hawks, a team who they could face in the playoffs, the Knicks beat them and everybody seemed to have a good game. These two plays sum up how well the Knicks played:





Feb. 23: Knicks lose to Heat 102-82.
-This was a disappointing loss for the team. Lin played his worst game as a starter, Baron Davis went 0-7 from the field, and only two Knicks shot better than 50% from the field (Novak & Jeffries). Melo led the team in scoring, but they still lost. Here's an interesting statistic: When Jeremy Lin leads the team in scoring, the Knicks are 6-1. When Carmelo Anthony leads the team in scoring, the Knicks are 5-8. Lin should be controlling the ball, not Melo.

Feb. 24: Jeremy Lin scores 2 points in Rising Stars game.
-I didn't watch much of it. I didn't even see Lin when he was in the game. Honestly, who cares about the Rising Stars game anyway?

Feb. 25: Iman Shumpert drops out of dunk contest, Jeremy Evans wins it.
-Even though I'm a Knicks fan, I'm glad that Shumpert didn't participate in it because if he did, he would have won it too easily. Jeremy Lin was gonna assist him and he was from the biggest-market team out of all of the contestants. Remember last year when everyone knew Blake Griffin was gonna win the dunk contest? That's what would have happened with Shumpert. Without him, the dunk contest was more fair and even than most years. Evans won with only 29% of the fan votes.

Melo will start in the NBA All-Star game tonight. Knicks fans should tune in for that.

The Knicks play the Cavaliers next. They've had some trouble against them recently, but I expect them to come out with a win. When the Knicks develop more team chemistry, they're gonna be scary good. Mark my words.

Have any thoughts on the Knicks? Leave a comment below and tell me what you think.

Lin Goes for 27 and 11 as Knicks Beat Raptors 90-87

Jeremy Lin has done it again. The Knicks have won their 6th straight game thanks to J-Lin coming up in the clutch and hitting a three with less than a second left in the game to secure a comeback win.

This was Amar'e Stoudemire's first game back since February 4 vs. the Nets and he didn't disappoint. He scored 21 points, grabbed 9 rebounds, and seemed to play well with Lin. Tyson Chandler and Landry Fields also had great games. Chandler made all of his field goal attempts and and put up 13 points and 9 rebounds. Landry Fields had a stellar all-around game and finished with 8 points, 7 rebounds, and 7 assists.

I couldn't watch the game because I have Time Warner Cable, but my brother told me that the Knicks were down by 5 with less than 2 minutes left in the game. It looked as if Linsanity was going to hit a speed bump if the Knicks were going to lose to the Raptors. But no. Of course Lin hits a three to win it and finishes with a double-double (27 points, 11 assists). If scoring 38 against Kobe's Lakers doesn't validate him, this does. There's no denying that Lin is a great young player with a very bright future in the NBA.

Next, the Knicks will play the Sacramento Kings at home tomorrow and will look to extend their win streak to 7 games.

(Photo Courtesy: Yahoo Sports! - "NBA: New York at Toronto - Feb 14, 2012" http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/games/2012021428/gallery/im:urn:newsml:sports.yahoo,ap:20050301:nba,photo,ap-201202141921697007739:1)

Have any thoughts on the Knicks beating the Raptors and winning their 6th straight game? Leave a comment below and tell me what you think.

What the Knicks Need To Do To Win The Championship This Season

Jeremy Lin has saved the Knicks from a disappointing season and has led the Knicks to 5 straight victories. A big factor of this is that he did it without Amar'e Stoudemire and Carmelo Anthony. This means that when they come back, the Knicks could be crazy good. Good enough to win a championship this season. Here's what they need to do:

When Baron Davis is healthy, keep starting Jeremy Lin. Davis is still out, but when he comes back, Mike D'Antoni should play him off the bench as Lin's back-up. Lin has proved that he can make a significant difference in games when given the minutes and is hot right now. Davis is a former All-Star, but is 32 years old and injury-prone.

Melo needs to utilize himself properly. Melo has had a lot of big games this season, but his excessive isolation plays haven't helped the Knicks win games. The Knicks have won when Lin is controlling the ball and they have lost when Melo controls the ball. Anthony needs to play a slightly smaller role and take fewer shots if the he wants the Knicks to keep winning when he comes back.

Center the offense around Lin, Stoudemire, Anthony, and Chandler. Here's how an average Knicks offensive possession should go: Lin brings the ball up and Chandler sets a pick. Then Lin can either drive to the hoop, shoot a jumper, throw an alley-oop to Chandler, or pass it to Stoudemire or Anthony. Amar'e and Melo could drive or shoot when the ball is passed to them. Sometimes, Amar'e could set the pick and have an oop thrown to him by Lin. Melo can still do isolation plays sometimes and bring the ball up and shoot a 3 once in a while. The Knicks should have no problem getting a high-percentage shot off every time down the floor.

Don't play Iman Shumpert at point guard. Iman Shumpert is a great young player with a lot of potential, but he is not a good point guard. He is best utilized at shooting guard with small forward being his secondary position.

Keep passing to Steve Novak. Novak doesn't do much besides shoot 3's, but he's damn good at it! When open, Novak will make a three-pointer every time. Defenses still leave him open from downtown sometimes, so whichever Knick has the ball should always look to see if Novak is open for three.

Trade Bill Walker. Walker is not having a great season. Despite defending Kevin Garnett well in the final seconds of the first game of the season and that game when he made 7 three-pointers, he's been ineffective and hasn't helped the team. Walker plays shooting guard and small forward, but the Knicks are already pretty good at those positions with Melo, Iman Shumpert, and Landry Fields. Walker is only 24 years old and is capable of helping teams (he averaged 12 points a game in half a season with the Knicks in 2010), so there are teams that would trade for him, even if it's only for a future second round draft pick.

Give Renaldo Balkman more minutes. Most fans write off Balkman as someone who can't play and doesn't deserve a roster spot. But there's a reason he's been in the NBA since 2006. He helps teams win and is willing to do the dirty work. Plus, he's never given enough minutes or the ball enough on offense to show his value. With Lin's passing skills and the upcoming debut of Baron Davis, Balkman will be able to find ways to score if given the playing time. Remember when he scored 20 points on 7-10 shooting in the Knicks' first preseason game in only 20 minutes of play? He hasn't received that many minutes since. He deserves more playing time.

Do something with Jerome Jordan. Rookie Jerome Jordan has seen limited minutes and has been sent to the D-League this season. Mike D'Antoni should consider giving him more minutes to see what he can do. It worked for Lin. If not, they could trade him or send him to the D-League again.

Sign a free agent. There are still quite a few free agents that could help the Knicks win games. JR Smith has been putting up crazy numbers in China and might be an improvement at the shooting guard position over Landry Fields and Iman Shumpert. Allen Iverson would be an improvement from Mike Bibby or Toney Douglas. Signing Derrick Caracter or Earl Barron to a 10-day contract would provide depth at power forward/center position until Josh Harrellson is back.

If the Knicks play their cards right, they could be holding up the Larry O'Brien trophy in June.

Have any thoughts on the Knicks this season? Can New York win a championship this year? Is Jeremy Lin the real deal? Leave a comment below and tell me what you think.

Lin Scores 38 as Knicks Beat Lakers at MSG

If you were to tell me a week ago that the Knicks were gonna beat the Lakers without Melo or Amar'e, I wouldn't have believed you. However, it has happened. The Knicks beat Kobe and the Lakers at home, 92-85.

Jeremy Lin scored a career-high 38 points and dished out 7 assists. Jared Jeffries had 11 and 9 and Tyson Chandler had 9 and 11, but this game was all Lin. He also shot 13-23 from the field and had 2 steals.

Kobe Bryant (34 points, 10 rebounds) had more rebounds and less turnovers than Lin, but that was about it. Lin outscored him, had more assists, and shot better from the field.

The Knicks have won 4 games in a row and in each of those 4 games, Lin has scored at least 23 points and has dished out at least 7 assists. In these magical last 4 games, he's averaged 28.5 points, 8 assists, and 1.8 steals on 57.5 percent shooting.

I have to admit, I wasn't an instant believer in the Linsanity craze. During the first 3 games, I wasn't totally convinced that it wasn't a fluke. I knew Lin was better than people ever gave him credit for, but the Nets, Jazz, and Wizards weren't great teams and I wasn't ready to jump on the bandwagon yet.

Now, I'm a full-fledged Linsanity believer. This guy is good! He is my new favorite Knick and I'm way more excited about being a Knicks fan than I was these last couple of weeks.

I'm gonna go out on a limb here and say that the Knicks WILL make the playoffs. People are gonna say, "Remember when the Knicks started out 8-15 and then that Lin guy saved us."

(Photo Courtesy: Yahoo! Sports "NBA: LA Lakers at New York - Feb 10, 2012" - http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/games/2012021018/gallery)

Have any thoughts on the Knicks beating the Lakers at the Garden? Leave a comment below and tell me what you think.

Jeremy Lin's 25 and 7 Carries Knicks Over Nets

A lot of people, including myself, have been saying that the Knicks need a good point guard in order to win games. They're right. And last night, Jeremy Lin was that point guard.

Lin had the best game of his career on Saturday and finished with 25 points and 7 assists off the bench, both career-highs for the second-year player. Tyson Chandler also had a good game, putting up 17 points and 9 rebounds.

However, Amar'e Stoudemire and Carmelo Anthony didn't play too well. Melo only scored 11 points on 3-15 from the field. Stoudemire had 17 points and 9 rebounds, but he should be playing better than that. He's scored 20 or more points in only 3 of the team's last 14 games. Another thing I noticed is that Melo and Amar'e never seem to both put up good stats in a given game. There's only been 6 games this season out of 24 when they both have scored 20 or more points.

Iman Shumpert and Landry Fields also had underwhelming performances, both scoring less than 10 points and shooting less than 50 percent from the field.

What does this game mean? It showed that Jeremy Lin can play and should be given more minutes. Last night was the first game of his career that he was played more than 24 minutes and he certainly showed that he can deliver. Another key about Lin's play was that he got Tyson Chandler involved in the offense and threw a few alley-oops to him.

I think the Knicks should start Lin at point guard at least until Baron Davis is healthy. Toney Douglas is having a rough season, Mike Bibby is old, and Shumpert isn't a point guard. It's a no-brainer. And even when Davis comes back, Lin should keep getting consistent minutes. Remember when Lin was sent to the D-League? He scored a triple-double (28 points, 12 assists, 11 rebounds) in his only game with the Bayhawks!

To see the highlights of Jeremy Lin's big night, follow this link:
http://www.nba.com/video/games/knicks/2012/02/04/0021100345_njn_nyk_recap.nba

(Photo Courtesy: Yahoo! Sports - NBA: Jeremy Lin http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/players/4795/photos;_ylt=AnuBdin7t7GDpVIzaMpW8X.kvLYF#photoViewer=urn%3Anewsml%3Asports.yahoo%2Cap%3A20050301%3Anba%2Cphoto%2Cap-201202041958718951720%3A1)

Have any thoughts on Lin helping the Knicks beat the Nets? Leave a comment below and tell me what you think.

Trade Rumors Circulate Around Knicks

Despite their win against the Pistons last night, the Knicks are still off to a disappointing start and trade rumors are circling around the team because of it. Let's review some of the rumors:

Amar'e Stoudemire (and maybe Tyson Chandler) to Magic for Dwight Howard

If the Magic would take an overpaid Tyson Chandler with Amar'e, I would go for this trade. But the cons are that D12 could still opt out of his contract after the season ends and the team chemistry would have to be reset again.

Amar'e Stoudemire to Nets for Deron Williams

It could work, but the team would have to rework their team chemistry again and the Nets might try to play hard-to-get. It also puts Baron Davis in a difficult spot and pretty much kills the option of Steve Nash coming to New York.

Amar'e Stoudemire to 76ers for Andre Iguodala

If the Sixers would offer Jrue Holiday with Andre Igoudala, then I would make this trade in a second. If that trade happened, the team would become younger and better. Melo and Amar'e obviously are not playing well together and adding Jrue and Iggy would make the Knicks a better team.

Steve Nash to the Knicks

There has been some talk of the Knicks trading for Nash, but most rumors have him signing with the Knicks when the season ends. If Nash still has enough gas in the tank for next season, it could be a really good move for the Knicks. He has a history with Amar'e and D'Antoni and could still give Melo enough touches.

Kenyon Martin or J.R. Smith to the Knicks

Most of the talk has been about K-Mart, but Smith has been putting up some monster numbers in China. Either one would help the team.

Rafer Alston to the Knicks

Hear me out. Skip 2 My Lou is trying to make a comeback, he's from NYC, and the Knicks need a good point guard. It's an idea.

To sum it up, I think a trade could help the Knicks if we can get a younger and better player in exchange for Amar'e and/or a team to take on Tyson's huge contract.

Have any thoughts on the recent trade rumors revolved around the Knicks? Should Amar'e be traded? Do we have a chance at D12? Leave a comment below and tell me what you think.