Is It Time for New York Knicks to Start Over?
After falling to the Indiana Pacers four games to two in the Eastern Conference Semifinals, it’s clear that the New York Knicks lacked the firepower and the wherewithal to make a championship run this spring.
A mountain of pressure was put on Carmelo Anthony to carry the club, especially in this physical second-round series. He gave it his best effort, but it fell short, and he didn’t get enough help.
Indiana exposed New York on many levels, chief among them being an overreliance on the jump shot and an inability to handle a paint-oriented opponent that possessed size.
Mike Woodson’s veteran guards were overmatched, his energy post players Tyson Chandler and Kenyon Martin were too one-dimensional, and the isolation-based play of ‘Melo and J.R. Smith was often detrimental.
Entering this offseason, the Knicks must take a good, hard look in the mirror and ask whether the team as its currently comprised can challenge for a title in the near future.
Changes definitely need to be made, but how much and at what positions?
Chief among the dilemmas is whether to keep J.R. Smith long term, and whether to hang on to many of the veteran role players.
He put together a brilliant regular season to help the Knicks earn the No. 2 seed; however, his incredibly inefficient shooting ruined New York’s chances to advance past Indiana.
Signing the veteran reserve to a few more years would likely cost more than they’re paying him now, and I don’t know if the New York brass is ready to commit to a volume scorer who’s quite one-dimensional.
If you’re asking me whether keeping him is going to help them win a championship within the next couple seasons, the answer is no.
Smith was an exciting scorer and a handy guy to have around during ‘Melo’s brief injury absences. However, his style of play is part of the reason New York struggled to topple the underdog Boston Celtics and failed to upend the Pacers.
The decision to let him go is only part of the equation.
There’s also the question of what to do about guys like Jason Kidd (signed through 2015), Marcus Camby (signed through 2014) and Pablo Prigioni (restricted free agent in 2013).
Not all of them can stay, and they certainly can’t be a major part of the team’s future plans. Although Kidd and Prigioni were effective for much of the season, they were exposed in the playoffs and are both miles past their primes.
The main obstacle that makes New York’s offseason alterations and potential additions so difficult is the massive percentage of payroll consumed by Anthony and Amar’e Stoudemire.
‘Melo is obviously going nowhere. Amar’e is the star Knicks fans would love to shed. General manager Glen Grunwald would get rid of Stoudemire in a heartbeat if he could find a good deal for him.
Good luck with that.
Stoudemire is owed more than $45 million over the next two seasons, and since the Knicks already used their amnesty clause on Chauncey Billups in 2011, the only way to unload him is via trade.
That’s a tall order, because his bloated salary and injury-plagued past aren’t attractive to anyone. Most NBA trades need to match up financially, and it’s just not worth it for potential suitors.
Ultimately, New York’s front office needs to deliver another offseason of tricky maneuvering in order to make the club better in 2013-14. Can it add an affordable forward like Elton Brand or DeJuan Blair to bolster the roster, or will it come up empty-handed?
Change is necessary, because the current composition of the squad can’t lift the Knicks through the East.
Follow Daniel on Twitter for more NBA coverage: @DanielO_BR
Read more NBA news on BleacherReport.com
View full post on Bleacher Report – NBA
Scottie Pippen Takes LeBron James over Michael Jordan Via Chatty Alonzo Mourning
Alonzo Mourning has no problems telling you what’s on Scottie Pippen’s mind.
Daily Backcourt spotted the most intriguing portion of a recent Microsoft store opening in Miami featuring the former NBA center.
As their report states, the 43-year-old spoke about “how important it was for Microsoft to stay a part of the community and translating that to the world of basketball.”
That’s all well and good, but I’m just concerned with the lack of Rony Seikaly at a Miami-area store opening.
The seven-time All-Star big man began fielding questions, which inevitably turned to LeBron James and Michael Jordan. That’s when Mourning decided to do some much-needed gossiping about his latest chill session with Jordan’s former teammate, Pippen.
Mourning, knowing his audience, brought the house down with the following: “I’m gonna tell you what Scottie said. Scottie said that LeBron would kick MJ’s ass.”
Mourning went ahead and agreed with Pippen’s assessment, so we have to think there is a two-on-one game being planned by Jordan at the moment.
Of course, these are the kinds of sound bites that happen a few times a year and spark the usual Jordan vs. (insert latest superstar name) discussions. Phil Jackson provided his own debate ice breaker with recent statements in his new book about Kobe Bryant and Jordan.
Now, from the middle of a Microsoft store opening, comes yet another wave of the Greatest Of All Time against the world.
Sound off in the comments section below, because I am confident you have thoughts. I am still trying to figure out who would win between Zo and Larry Johnson. I have my money on Grandmama.
Hit me up on Twitter, especially if you have answers: Follow @gabezal
Read more NBA news on BleacherReport.com
View full post on Bleacher Report – NBA
Video: Tayshaun Prince with the throwdown over the Oklahoma City Thunder
It was not supposed to go down this way.
The Oklahoma City Thunder and the Miami Heat were supposed to do battle in the vein of the epic sequels that made Ali vs. Frazier so mighty.
How does the saying go?
That is why they play the game.
Please click here to read/watch this story.
The post Video: Tayshaun Prince with the throwdown over the Oklahoma City Thunder appeared first on Players View.
View full post on Yardbarker: NBA
Paul Pierce’s career with the Celtics might be over
For the past 15 years, Paul Pierce has been a Celtic. He’s been the face of the franchise for over a decade, and the leader for a Celtics team that has been a title contender ever since the arrival of Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen in 2007.
His final game this year was a rough one, an 88-80 series clinching loss to the Knicks in which Pierce scored only 14 points on an abysmal shooting performance, going 4-18 from the floor and 1-9 from three point range.
That might be Pierce’s final game in a Celtics uniform, depending on how GM Danny Ainge decides to move forward.
Pierce has said that he would prefer to stay with the Celtics under his current contract, which would pay him approximately $15M next year.
Ainge, on the other hand, is reportedly considering releasing Pierce and using the amnesty clause, or possibly trading him. That’s what Pierce thinks will happen, regardless of what he actually wants.
This could create a domino effect of sorts, as Kevin Garnet…
View full post on Yardbarker: NBA
Young stars bolster Spurs in Game 5 win over Warriors
The Spurs led 54-51 at halftime, but took an 83-72 lead heading into the fourth.
View full post on USATODAY.com Feed
Kawhi Leonard Dunks over Harrison Barnes on the Break
Golden State Warriors rookie Harrison Barnes has dazzled the Bay Area faithful with a playoff performance that has all but extinguished any long-term projections after his solid (i.e., not spectacular) regular season.
In his first 10 postseason games, he matched his regular-season total of 20-point games (three) and missed that mark by a single point on two other occasions.
But San Antonio Spurs sophomore Kawhi Leonard reminded him that he’s not the only young, athletic wing causing havoc in this Western Conference semifinal.
With San Antonio nursing a 62-58 lead midway through the third quarter of Game 5 on Wednesday night, Danny Green snagged a loose ball on the Warriors’ end and raced down the floor. Carl Landry stepped in front of the charging Green, who quickly gathered himself with a pair of dribbles.
Then Green spotted a streaking Leonard racing down the right side of the floor and hit him in stride with a one-handed lead pass. Leonard grabbed the pass at the right elbow, cleared himself for departure with two steps and soared toward the basket.
Barnes was there to contest the dunk, but a ferocious finish from Leonard meant the rookie’s only reward was a future poster appearance:
And Barnes just got put on a POSTER!
— ESPN First Take (@ESPN_FirstTake) May 15, 2013
Barnes has the narrow lead in the individual scoring battle with Leonard, 19-14, but the Spurs have since opened up a commanding 13-point lead, 89-76, in the early stages of the fourth quarter.
Read more NBA news on BleacherReport.com
View full post on Bleacher Report – NBA
Kobe Bryant’s relatives split over memorabilia auction
Kobe Bryant’s mom says he lied in attempt to block auction of keepsakes.
View full post on USATODAY.com Feed
Video: Harrison Barnes lifts Warriors to OT win over Spurs
The Golden State Warriors fought back on Sunday to tie their Western Conference semifinals series with the San Antonio Spurs 2-2.
The resilient group did it with on the back of a big game from rookie Harrison Barnes who double-doubled with 26 points and 10 rebounds.
Video: Harrison Barnes propels the Warriors to victory over the Spurs
The post Video: Harrison Barnes lifts Golden State Warriors to OT win over San Antonio Spurs appeared first on Players View.
View full post on Yardbarker: NBA
OKC Thunder Choosing Serge Ibaka over James Harden Proving to Be Wrong Choice
The James Harden-less Oklahoma City Thunder are changing the way NBA teams need look at superstar ultimatums.
Sans Russell Westbrook, and left to rely on Serge Ibaka and Kevin Martin to assist the undoubtedly exhausted Kevin Durant, the Thunder are no longer in the position of power they hoped to be in against the Memphis Grizzlies.
Oklahoma City has found itself in a 2-1 hole against one of the best defensive teams in the league and its offense has bordered on anemic. The Thunder have failed to eclipse 100 points in three consecutive games, which is now their longest streak of the season.
To be fair to the Grizzlies, they were 2-1 against the Thunder during the regular a season and held them to under 100 points in two of those three contests. It’s difficult to score on them. Their rotations are flawless, they guard the three-point shot well and both Mr. T and I pity the fool not named Kevin Durant who attempts to attack the rim with Marc Gasol safeguarding the paint.
Still, more was expected of the Thunder. To be more specific, more was expected of Ibaka and Martin.
Through the first three games of the series, Ibaka is averaging 9.7 points and 6.7 rebounds on 30.8 percent shooting. This comes after he averaged a career-high 13.2 points and 7.7 rebounds on 57.3 percent shooting during the regular season.
Martin hasn’t been much better. He’s averaging 14.7 points on 38.1 percent shooting a night. He is knocking down 40 percent of his three-point attempts, but that has meant very little.
And so, once again, we’re left wondering if the Thunder didn’t make the wrong decision retaining Ibaka over Harden.
I pondered the answer to this very question while Oklahoma City attempted to stave off an epic meltdown against the Houston Rockets. I came to conclude that the Thunder made the right decision. If they had to pick one—I still maintain they could have kept both—Ibaka filled a need, and Martin could replace much of Harden’s scoring.
To a large extent, I still believe just this. Had the Thunder known that Westbrook would tear his meniscus, of course they would have held onto Harden. But they didn’t know. How could they? No team in the NBA is capable of making those predictions. And you can’t build your team in fear. If you did, you’d find a reason not to do just about everything.
In conjunction with not being able to foresee the unpredictable, there were numbers to support my claim. Statistically speaking, the Thunder were better on both ends of the floor this season than they were last, numbers that I won’t get into detail with here because they’re nearly irrelevant here (you can take a gander at them here, though).
Much of Oklahoma City’s increased (numerical) success had to do with Durant and Westbrook evolving. Without Harden, the two were forced to take their games to the next level, a transcendence they may not have undergone had their second-unit safety-net not been sent to Houston. Knowing how well Ibaka (and Martin) had played during the regular season in association with the team’s not-so-subtle advancements only served as further proof that the Thunder made the right decision.
As we watch Ibaka play like he ate the bones, though, I’m compelled to reconsider my original stance.
I still believe the Thunder made the right decision—based on how they were thinking. They didn’t deal Harden because they thought Ibaka had a higher ceiling; they just understood that Ibaka filled a need, and Harden was a luxury.
So their flaw wasn’t in their logic, it’s how they got there. The Thunder chose satisfying a need over a more prolific talent—please don’t even attempt to argue that Ibaka has more potential—when they perhaps should have chosen the latter over the former.
Again, Oklahoma City couldn’t have predicted that Westbrook would go down. But when dealing with an ultimatum that the Thunder themselves imposed, you have to consider the move from all angles.
From there, you have to ask: Who would you rather build around?
The answer? Harden.
Ibaka is talented, without a doubt. But he’s not someone you build your team around. He’s a complementary piece who capitalizes off the presence of superstars on the offensive end. Which isn’t an insult.
Very few big men are capable of carrying teams on their own nowadays. The three-point shot has changed things; stretch forwards have changed things. It’s a guard/wing’s league now.
Over the course of the regular season, the Thunder were able to withstand the subtle disadvantages that came with being Harden-less. Come the playoffs, when the rotations are shortened and, yes, when a top-10 superstar goes down for the season, they’re not able to be cloaked as easily. Or even at all.
With Harden, the Thunder would be in a better position to beat the Grizzlies, to contend for a championship, than they are now. Harden can’t be removed from the offense the way Ibaka can. He creates his own shot and makes plays for his teammates while Ibaka isn’t known for doing either.
Ibaka—the league’s leading shot-blocker—is more talented defensively, but Oklahoma City isn’t known for its defense. The Thunder ranked fourth in defensive efficiency during the regular season, but their success is predicated upon the ability to score. Harden can do that better than Ibaka (and Martin).
Did the Thunder’s depth chart need Ibaka more than it did Harden?
Absolutely. And by that account, the Thunder made the right decision choosing Ibaka over Harden.
After watching how the Thunder have—how Ibaka has—struggled in the face of adversity, however, it’s become clear that Oklahoma City may have just been providing the right answer to the wrong question.
*All stats in this article were compiled from Basketball-Reference unless otherwise noted.
Read more NBA news on BleacherReport.com
View full post on Bleacher Report – NBA
Video: Andrew Bogut with the big Game 3 slam over San Antonio
The San Antonio Spurs dominated the Golden State Warriors in Game 3 of their Western Conference semifinals series.
Tony Parker and Tim Duncan combined for 55 points Friday, to lead the veteran Spurs unit to a statement 102-92 win.
Despite the loss, the play of the night came in the form of a huge jam from Andrew Bogut.
Video: Andrew Bogut with the big slam over San Antonio
The post Video: Andrew Bogut with the big Game 3 slam over San Antonio appeared first on Players View.
View full post on Yardbarker: NBA
