Tag: Carmelo Anthony

The ugliest thing on TV since Sarah Jessica Parker

~ Dave Ettinger ~ 2 Comments

What an ugly game!! This game was sloppy to say the least. NO check that, this was literally the ugliest basketball game I’ve ever watched. Even when the Knicks got to the basket they forgot how to make layups!! I’ve never seen a professional basketball team miss so many layups. It was embarrassing. This was by far the Knicks worst loss of the season.  In case you missed the game, they lost to the Toronto Raptors 92-88 on their own court.  On top of the horrid performance, the officials in this game were horrible!! Do you want to know how you can tell the officials had an off night? When there are FIVE technical fouls given out in one quarter, that’s how. See, what happens when you let the “players play” is the game gets physical. And when the game gets too physical, it gets out of hand. That’s what took place in the 3rd quarter of this game. Frustration also set in with Carmelo Anthony. Melo became upset in the 1st quarter when he took the ball to the hole on two separate occasions looking to attack the basket. The defender attacked his arm instead, but the refs let each play go. From then on Melo became his own worst enemy. He proceeded to pick up a technical foul(his 10th if the season), and his rhythm and shooting stroke were both negatively effected. Do you know what Melo blamed for his worst game of the year(5-24 from the field)?!?!? He said he was playing with a dead arm. What the hell does that mean?? Everyone has been talking about his maturity, and is overall improvement this season. I have to be honest I don’t see a difference between 2013 Melo and 2008 Melo. He is still making excuses for his poor play. And if he really had a legitimate injury, then he shouldn’t have taken so many damn shots. He could have tried this thing, it’s a new concept called relying on your teammates. I know, that sounds wild. The bottom line is if he has really changed he would have stood up to the microphone and said, “I stunk it up tonight. This is my team so I put the blame for this loss totally on my shoulders. If I play better, we win, period.” That’s what I want to hear from the “new and improved” Carmelo Anthony. On a quick side note, where did Jason Kidd go and who is this guy wearing his jersey? This guy has been awful! I haven’t seen shooting this bad since Shaq at a free throw line. If there is one positive that can be taken away from this game it is that Iman Shumpert’s intensity seemed to be sky high. He played solid defense, attacked the boards(grabbing 7 rebounds in only 21 minutes), and pushed the ball nicely up the floor. The only question is why Mike Woodson isn’t playing him more than Jason Kidd??

I’ve been telling everyone for weeks that the Knicks are not as good as their record. That certainly is coming to fruition. Nothing has gone right for the Knicks as of late, and this break couldn’t come at a better time. The Knicks need to take some time off, clear their heads, and be ready to kick up their intensity. This will get them back to their winning ways. By the way, Melo is an underrated passer I just don’t think he knows that yet. He draws a double team virtually every time he gets the ball inside 18 feet. Like I wrote in my blog weeks ago, the best play I’ve seen from the Knicks is when Melo is penetrating and dishing to wide open players. Melo is still going to get his 20 shots a night, and believe it or not when you start passing more it opens the floor up for better looks for you too, not just your teammates. Then maybe they will have a balanced attack. I put the majority of the blame though on Coach Woodson’s shoulders. If you want to play a style of basketball that calls for a collaborative effort on both ends of the floor, then you better get your players to buy into that concept real quick. Come on Mike, do you want to take a trip to the NBA Finals, to be coach of the year, and to get a nice pay raise next year?? Then you better earn it!!

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Mid-Season NBA Awards

~ Dave Ettinger ~ 3 Comments

It’s that time of year again. We’ve played about 50 games so far, and it’s time to gear up for the All-Star Game. It is also time to dish out some mid-season awards. The awards to be given out are MVP, Sixth man of the Year, Defensive Player of the year, Most Improved Player, Coach of the Year, and Rookie of the Year. Some of these races have clear cut winners at this point in the season, and some are so difficult to differentiate a front-runner that we need to delve further into each category. I am here to clear up any confusion as to what you’ve seen thus far in the 2012-2013 NBA season.

Let’s start with the easiest debate, Rookie of the Year. If the season were to end today, the obvious winner for this award would be Damian Lillard of the Portland Trailblazers. There are some other nice rookies this year(Anthony Davis, Bradley Beal, and Dion Waiters come to mind), but Damian is head and shoulders above everyone else right now. He has started every game this season for the Trailblazers. In those games he is averaging 18.2 points on 42% from the field in 38.5 minutes per game(not to mention he’s shooting an impressive 85% from the charity stripe). That is the easiest award to give out, but the rest are a little tougher. Don’t be scared. Just close your eyes, count to three, and rip off that band-aid.

Let’s move on to Sixth Man of the Year. For me this is a two man race between Jamal Crawford and JR Smith. Both have been instant offense off their teams bench. They have both been an integral part of their teams success this season. As much as I love the Knicks, this award has to go to Jamal Crawford. Not only did he outplay JR this past Sunday in a head to head match up, but he has been the better player all season, barely.

Next let’s talk about Coach of the Year. This is a tough one, so let’s throw all the potential candidates out there and then break them down until this makes sense. The candidates are Mike Woodson, Mark Jackson, Frank Vogel, and Tom Thibodeau. If you read my blog you know I am a die hard Knicks fan, and while Woodson has done a phenomenal job with the team so far, their most recent struggles against good teams might hurt him for now.  He did, however, do a great job right from the start of the season.  He was motivating Carmelo Anthony, JR Smith, Jason Kidd, and even Rasheed Wallace to maximize their potential out on the floor.  He had everyone buying into his concept of team defense and an uptempo offense.  It was working perfectly until Amar’e Stoudemire and Iman Shumpert came back from injuries.  I believe it will work out in the end for the Knicks, but there is definitely a growing period that the Knicks and Woodson are going through right now.  The final chapter for the Knicks will determine whether Woodson is the Coach of the year or not.  As of now, I say he is not.  As for Tom Thibodeau, he has impressed by continuing to succeed without his superstar.  For the second straight season Derrick Rose has missed a significant amount of time, yet the Bulls continue to put up winning records. His team plays a defense first, physical brand of basketball that creates nightmare match-ups for smaller teams and turnover prone teams.  It is also extremely impressive to win with Luol Deng as your best player(no offense to Luol he is a nice little player, but let’s be real, he is NOT a #1 guy). With all that being said Tom is still not the coach of the year. Who is? I’m getting there just calm down! The popular pick right now is Mark Jackson.  I like what Mark Jackson is doing with Stephen Curry and the rest of those boys, but his team is not good enough to push him to the top of this debate. While I always liked him as a player, and I personally always thought he would make a good coach some day(ahem, Jason Kidd, ahem), he is not the coach of the year at this point of the season.  My pick for coach of the year right now is Frank Vogel.  I bet most of you don’t even know what team he coaches. That is part of the reason why he is coach of the year right now.  He is a nobody to most people, and he is succeeding with nobodies.  Even his best player who is not playing right now due to injury is a nobody amongst the ranks of superstars. I like Danny Granger’s game, but he like Luol Deng is not a #1 guy. The only problem for the Indiana Pacers(ohhh that’s who Vogel coaches) is that Granger IS their #1 guy. Frank Vogel is my pick for Coach of the Year.
There could have been a nice segue into this next category, seeing as The Pacers have two candidates for Most Improved Player, George hill and Paul George. They have both vastly improved their games, but I think this award is a two man race. Greivis Vasquez and Jrue Holiday have both taken their game to the next level. They have both increased their points and assist totals tremendously from a year ago, and they both have bright futures ahead of them. No disrespect to Greivis, but Jrue Holiday has taken his game into another stratosphere. He has quickly become one of the premier point guards in the NBA, and the league recognized this by selecting him to his first all-star appearance. My award for most improved player goes to Jrue Holiday.
This next category is the toughest for me to choose. It is difficult to find a clear cut winner for Defensive Player of the Year. There are many worthy candidates so far this year that include: Tyson Chandler, Serge Ibaka, Larry Sanders, Lebron James, and Joakim Noah. Larry Sanders and Serge Ibaka will most likely be battling each other for this award for years to come. They are both physical presences underneath the hoop and both block approximately 3 shots a game. It is not due to their lack of defensive effort that they aren’t going to win this award, it’s because someone else on this list has managed to stand out above all the rest. This is me building suspense. Next, what else can you say about Lebron James? The guy is as physically gifted an athlete as anyone who has ever stepped foot on the hard wood. He can guard 4 positions at anytime while still managing to dominate on the offensive end. He is not going to win this award though(at least not this year), but don’t feel too bad for him I’m sure he’ll win another award real soon(hint hint). The reigning Defensive Player of the Year, Tyson Chandler, has yet again found his way into contention for this award, however when he played the Bulls earlier this season he learned why he isn’t going to repeat as DPOY(he would get my vote for the most intimidating man on the planet though if that was a real award). Joakim Noah has placed himself at the forefront of defensive forces in the NBA. Man is he ugly!! Anyway, as much as I dislike Noah, he does anchor the best defense in the NBA. When he’s on the bench they give up 10 more points then when he’s on the floor.  Joakim Noah gets my vote for Defensive Player of the Year.
Finally, last but not least, the MVP award. This is always a fun debate because people think it’s strictly about offense. It mostly is, but you really need to look at the overall skill-set of a player plus his impact on his team to measure the MVP. The candidates this year are: Lebron James, Kevin Durant, and Carmelo Anthony. There are two honorable mentions for this category, Chris Paul and Tony Parker. Parker is doing spectacular things that go mostly unnoticed, especially with a banged up Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobli on his team. Chris Paul will be in this conversation at the end of the year because he is clearly the best point guard in the NBA. For right now though he has missed too many games to be considered for this award. I love what Carmelo Anthony is doing this season, and I hope he can sustain his outstanding play throughout the whole season, but he doesn’t do enough of the little things to make his teammates better. Let me see if I can use an analogy that makes sense for this argument. Kevin Durant is like The Utah Jazz in the 90’s. If it wasn’t for that Jordan guy and the Chicago Bulls, they might have a couple of rings right now(sorry John, sorry Karl). Get it? Not yet? See, Kevin Durant has improved every facet of his game this year. The problem is that there is this guy named Lebron James in the NBA. As good as Durant is(28.9 points, 7.5 rebounds, 4.4 assists, 51% from the floor, 43% from three point range, and 90% from the free throw line), Lebron is better. Sorry Kevin, I know I’m pulling for you because I certainly don’t like Lebron “I can’t win a title without an all-star roster” James, but Lebron is on his way to another MVP.  As much as I don’t like Lebron, I must give credit where credit is due.  My vote for MVP and best player on the face of the earth is Lebron James.

Who knew Carmelo Anthony’s kryptonite was Grant Hill???

~ Dave Ettinger ~ 2 Comments

The Knicks weaknesses were highlighted very brightly in their loss to the Clippers on Sunday. We saw how bad the Knicks are in defending quick point guards. We saw how being out-rebounded by a taller front line effects the outcome of the game. And, if they don’t play team defense for 48 straight minutes they can’t beat good teams. Chris Paul has missed some action this season, but today was a prime example as to why he is just as valuable to his team as anyone in the league. Don’t be surprised when his name is in the mix for MVP with Lebron, Durant, and Melo. Carmelo Anthony as usual was fantastic, but when it mattered most he was shut down by the 40 year old Grant Hill. This goes to show you that if the Knicks don’t get production from JR Smith or Amare Stoudemire, they have a very hard time out scoring solid offensive teams. Raymond Felton played a solid game and continues to be a great orchestrator for the offense when Melo isn’t going one-on-one in isolation. One of the Knicks bright spots this season has been their depth and outstanding bench play. Today they were completely outmatched by the Clippers Bench. Eric Bledsoe and Jamal Crawford were too much for the Knicks to handle combining for 40 points(on 18-28 shooting). JR Smith and Amare Stoudemire usually bring instant offense off the bench, but today were nonexistent scoring a combined 15 points(on 5 of 18 shooting). A game like this against a top tier team in the NBA is sure to bring about a lot of questions about the Knicks. Are they as good as their record would indicate? Can they realistically make a run at a title the way their roster is built? These are all valid questions, and I think the answer can be yes to both of those questions but a lot of things would need to fall perfectly into place. The Knicks would need the entire roster to shoot lights out at the same time. The Knicks live and die by the three, and they would need to stay lights out from behind the arc while out scoring the opposition. I’d think this franchise learned from the Mike D’antoni era that you don’t win titles by trying to run up the score. Now in no way shape or form am I comparing Mike Woodson to mike D’antoni. Woodson is a defensive minded coach, but he needs some bigger bodies down low if he wants to succeed NOW. The other question that is being raised is whether the Knicks should look to make a trade for a low post presence? I definitely think they should do that but it all depends on what they would need to give up. If they can add a power forward who’s strengths are defense and rebounding without having to give up one of their top 5 players, they would be primed for a title run. The Knicks will look to get back to their winning ways Wednesday night @ 7:30 P.M. against the Toronto Raptors. This is their final game before the All-Star break.

They are who we thought they were

~ Dave Ettinger ~ 3 Comments

The Knicks continued their winning ways last night with another victory at Madison Square Garden.  They yet again steamrolled their opponent and have now won five straight games.  This was another solid team effort, and I’m starting to think that the Knicks are reading my blog this year and can contribute their success to my words of wisdom.  No seriously, they are buying what Mike Woodson is selling.  They are sharing the basketball, playing team defense, and showing a balanced offensive attack.  You know what they say, shooting is contagious.  I personally would like to see them jack up less three point attempts so they don’t have to rely on it come playoff time.  However, I’m a firm believer of, “if it ain’t broke don’t fix it.”

As for last night’s game, I know everyone is saying, okay great you beat the Pistons.  We can only play the teams that are on our schedule, and it’s only a positive that they continue to beat poor teams handily.  Carmelo looked like Carmelo and scored 27 points on 10 of 17 from the field.  Amar’e continues to impress with his scoring and most importantly his offensive efficiency(he had 20 points on 8 of 14 from the field).  Last but certainly not least, Tyson Chandler has been a beast on the boards ripping down 20 rebounds for the third straight game.  He became the first Knicks player since Willis Reed in 1969 to accomplish such a feat.

It’s all smiles in Knicks land of late, and they need to keep taking advantage of their easy schedule.  They will look to keep the ball rolling against the Washington Wizards, Wednesday night @ 7:00 P.M.