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Via Marc Stein:

“…The New Jersey Nets are on the verge of naming general manager Kiki Vandeweghe as the replacement for fired coach Lawrence Frank, according to NBA coaching sources.

Sources told ESPN.com that Nets president Rod Thorn wants Frank’s replacement in place before Tuesday’s practice, and the word sweeping through league coaching circles Monday night was that Vandeweghe would take over for the rest of the season with longtime NBA coach Del Harris hired as a virtual co-coach.

Sources said Vandeweghe did not want to move to the bench, given his lack of head coaching experience, without a seasoned assistant. Harris was named NBA Coach of the Year in 1995 with the Los Angeles Lakers and has successful stints in Houston and Milwaukee as well. He served in a similar lead assistant/mentor role in Chicago last season to first-year Bulls coach Vinny Del Negro…”

I heard from a source yesterday morning that this would be the case, on the heels of AW’s report on Yahoo. There was initial interest in Mark Jackson, but it never got anywhere. The team also discussed, I was told, analyst Mike Fratello, because of his ability to handle young players but have settled on the ex-Knick Vandeweghe.

And again, should the Mikhail Prokorov situation go through, a source has told me that Ettore Messina may be his long term solution at head coach making him the first European head coach in NBA history.

David Blatt has been rumored for years to be a leading candidate to coach in the NBA as well, but has not been mentioned in these conversations.

Via Zagsblog:

“…GREENBURGH, N.Y. — Knicks president Donnie Walsh said injured center Eddy Curry could potentially play in Tuesday night’s game against Phoenix at Madison Square Garden.

“I think we’ll know something tomorrow [Tuesday],” Walsh told SNY exclusively after practice Monday.

“He got banged in his knee and there was fluid in there so they wanted to give it a couple of days. I think he’s going to try it tomorrow [Tuesday] and then we’ll find out.”

The 6-foot-11 Curry has been inactive for three games with a sore left knee and hasn’t competed since playing about six minutes in a Nov. 24 loss to Los Angeles.

“It’s still a little puffy and swollen and they’re trying to get it down,” Knicks coach Mike D’Antoni said. “As soon as they get it down, he’ll be able to play.”

Curry could help the Knicks’ interior defense. The team is currently the third-worst defensive team in the NBA.

The Knicks are also hoping to showcase Curry, who played just three games last season, in order to potentially trade him to open up space for the free agents of 2010.

Follow Adam Zagoria on Twitter…”

Notes: D’Antoni was asked if he still was paying attention to what the Suns were (14-3) doing and if he thought they were still “his team”: (more…)

Knick legend Patrick Ewing has not been contacted by anybody in Jersey’s front office, but he told the Post that he would welcome the opportunity to lead the young Nets back to respectability.

“Knicks legend Patrick Ewing, an NBA assistant coach for the past seven seasons, told The Post yesterday he would love to coach the Nets and hopes to be considered whenever they decide to fill the position permanently.

“Of course,” Ewing said after his Magic beat the Knicks, 114-102, at the Garden. “I would be back home. I still live in New Jersey. I just want an opportunity. Yes, I would love to coach the Nets.”

My gut reaction to this is “who cares, I hope the guy gets it.”  But the truth of the matter is, as much as I love Ewing and want him to succeed no matter where he goes, I would be bitter if he were traipsing the sidelines out in East Rutherford.

Ewing will always be a Knick to me, and I continue to hold out hope that one day he will triumphantly return to the Garden and be a part of a NY championship.

Just another pipe dream?  Maybe so.

Such is the life of a Knicks fan these days…

Big C…

BOX SCORE

By BRIAN MAHONEY
Posted Nov 29 2009 8:49PM

NEW YORK(AP) Rashard Lewis scored 13 of his season-high 26 points in the third quarter, and the Orlando Magic beat the New York Knicks 114-102 on Sunday night for their sixth straight road victory.

Dwight Howard had 24 points and 16 rebounds for the Eastern Conference leaders, who capped a perfect three-game trip over the holiday weekend that started with an impressive win at division rival Atlanta on Thanksgiving. Orlando improved to 50-14 in November the last three years, best in the NBA.

Reserve Nate Robinson scored 24 points for the Knicks, who lost their fifth straight in the opener of a difficult stretch of four games in six nights against teams playing .700 ball. They host Phoenix on Tuesday, visit the Magic on Wednesday and travel to Atlanta on Friday.

Orlando needed a big second-half rally to pull out a 100-98 victory at Milwaukee on Saturday night, but seized control of this one midway through the third quarter.

Lewis’ 3-pointer tied it at 57 early in the period, kicking off a 14-4 run during which he added another 3 as Orlando opened a 68-61 lead. He followed Danilo Gallinari‘s free throw with another 3-pointer, and the Magic led by as much as 11 in the period before settling for an 82-73 advantage after Mickael Pietrus’ basket at the buzzer. more.

On a separate note, sources close to the Nets told me that Rod Thorn was really torn about ultimately letting Lawrence Frank go. Remember, TKB was the first to report that it was Thorn’s faith and respect in the now-former Nets coach, which was the reason he brought him back this season.

As reported by Adrian Wojnarowski, I’ve also heard Kiki Vandeweghe is the likely short term predecessor while the ownership situation is figured out. People are telling me that, should Mikhail Prokhorov take over, he will have a heavy hand in selecting the coach, and he will most certainly look to bring in a European.

Where: MSG

When: 6 PM

Starting Lineups:

Orlando (13-4)

PG- Jason Williams

SG- Vince Carter

SF-Mikael Pietrus

PF-Rashard Lewis

C- Dwight Howard

New York (3-13)

PG- Chris Duhon

SG- Larry Hughes

SF- Wilson Chandler

PF- Danilo Galinari

C- David Lee

Notes:

If there was a game to play Darko Milicic, tonight might be it.  Even he probably won’t be enough to stop Howard and the Magic.

Jason Williams, who Donnie Walsh claimed off waivers over the summer, has played well since the injury to Jameer Nelson.  I guess the reports of him being in game shape over the summer were true, right?

Anyway, tonight will be a tough one for the Knicks to handle.  I see the Magic as the class of the East and favorites to return to the finals (based on what I have seen thus far).

Let’s go Knicks.

ESPN.com is reporting that the Nets are poised to fire Lawrence Frank.  Frank, the coach of the winless Nets, started out with a bang in NJ, but has coached mediocre teams the last couple of seasons.

Frank has had a tough job over the last couple of seasons.  Once the trio of Carter, Jefferson, and Kidd started to sour, all three were shipped off, one by one.  With injuries and just a lack of proven talent, Frank has not been able to get his team a win thus far this season.

I only write about this because I am very much interested to see who the Nets ultimately bring in to coach.  Unlike some other jobs, the Nets’ coaching vacancy has the potential to be a very interesting one.  If the Nets do in fact move to Brooklyn, then what coach would not want to be a part of that?  Much like the Nets can do this summer with free agents, they have the chance to make a serious move here and bring in a well-respected, quality head coach.

I happen to like Lawrence Frank.  I respect what he has been able to do.  But 0-16 is 0-16.  I think Frank will catch on elsewhere soon.

If the Nets bring in a well-known coach, that might help them in bringing in a well-known talen this summer.

Via Hahn:

“…Carmelo Anthony was asked by Alan Hahn if he has begun giving any thought to his 2011 free agency, especially if LeBron James decides not to come to New York.

“Noooooo,” he said with a laugh. “Not yet. I ain’t ready to start talking about that. That’s two years from now.”

All indicators have Anthony signing an extension with Denver.

“We love him,” Anthony said of how the NBA’s stars feel about Mike D’Antoni. “Offensive players love him. I can tell you that…”

Hopefully doubters can look at Anthony’s comments and feel okay about the fact that this season hasn’t impacted D’Antoni’s league-wide perception. Although, it just sounds as if many fans have soured on their coach.

Again, I’ve said this a million times. I don’t think, contrary to what many fans think, that this season means anything in terms of recruiting a star. Again, the players on the roster who will be here are good young pieces, plus the team can add 2 more 2nd rounders in what should be a loaded draft. Second rounders from this year’s draft have had some impact, most notably Chase Budinger, DeJuan Blair, Marcus Thornton and Jodie Meeks.

If they can make a deal and shed salary then maybe you can include a first rounder.

Bottom line is when people say stars want to come to winners, it’s more of a situation where, with flexibility, players will join them from other places.

On the other hand, George Karl doesn’t agree with the plan.

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When: 3PM

Topics: Knicks, D’Antoni, overall NBA, get after Tommy Dee

Yes, I know.

The Knicks are losing, the system stinks, no one is ever going to come here, the rookies should play- the complaints have all been registered.

Some games Al Harrington lookes like an all-star, David Lee has some games where, offensively, he makes a ton of shots and gets to the foul line.

What you witnessed last night, and again what you saw against Boston, is the difference between having a star, and not having a star, in this league.The Knicks, aside from missed FT’s, played a pretty flawless offensive game last night.

Yes, Billups was great, and JR Smith is a perfect fit banging down open threes. Let’s face facts here, Gallinari will be a more efficient player than Smith once he gets stronger and plays along side a star (or two.) Gallinari is a player that stars can have great success with. Smith fed off Melo’s momentum all night and got WIDE open looks. And that’s not because the Knicks play poor defense, it was that they had to identify Melo and Billups.

But back to D’Antoni. I was watching his show on MSG and he said something that I really respected. Breen asked him why he leans on the vets versus the younger players and D’Antoni said something along the lines that he cares about the guys on expiring deals because he’d like to see them extend their careers. He also said that rookies have to “take out” a veteran if they want to see minutes.

Now, I feel that Toney Douglas has shown enough and there have been many occasions where Jordan Hill should have seen the floor,  but I see his point…and I respect it.

I don’t see this as lip service either. I’ve seen the coach deal with the media many times, and he’s an honest man. And frankly, there are plenty of people in that locker room who don’t think he’s the cause of the teams struggles at all.

But fans always make the best coaches. We know this. I think not giving up a foul was a poor choice, and I would have liked to see them with a better designed play at the end of last night’s game. At the end of games, and getting a bucket to stop another team’s run, is where an NBA coach earns their keep.

Get after me if you want, and of course feel free to continue and question the coach’s rotation and decisions, but my thing is there have been several games this year where the players haven’t shown the same amount of respect for the coach by playing hard, and that’s very much on them. Role players have off nights, stars rarely do. Role players who take nights off simply just aren’t that productive per minute, which results in blow outs. (more…)

BOX SCORE:

By Michael Kelly, for NBA.com
Posted Saturday November 28, 2009 1:24AM

DENVER (NBA.com exclusive) — Carmelo Anthony toed the foul line with 16.7 seconds left and a heavy burden on his shoulders.

The Nuggets’ star had 48 points, but more importantly his team held a precarious two-point lead on the feisty Knicks. With the game on the line and the first 50-point game of his NBA career in sight, the pressure was magnified.

“They might have been the two toughest free throws I’ve shot in a while,” Anthony said. “We’ve got the game on the line, 50, you’re right there and you want to get it.”

Anthony didn’t flinch. He swished both free throws and the Nuggets held on for a 128-125 win Friday night.

After coming close to 50 a couple of times — he had 49 against Washington two seasons ago — he finally got the magic number, and his teammates couldn’t be happier.

“That was a treat,” said Chauncey Billups, who had 32 points and eight assists. “He got real close, had 49, but couldn’t get over the hump. That’s one you remember for a lifetime.”

Getting the win will help keep the memory pleasant, but it wasn’t easy. Despite their 3-12 record coming into Friday’s game, the Knicks were formidable, battling Denver to the final buzzer. Al Harrington came off the bench to score 41 points and pull down 10 rebounds and David Lee had 23 points and 10 rebounds.

“I felt like we played hard and took a step forward,” said Harrington, who now has three 40-point games in his career. “If we play like this against most teams we can win our fair share of games.”

They nearly pulled out Friday’s game. After trailing for most of the first half, Denver rallied and took an eight-point lead on Anthony’s three-point play early in the fourth quarter. But New York’s shooters closed the gap, and Nate Robinson tied it at 100 with a five-foot hook with 7:56 left.

Denver appeared to take control again when Billups nailed a 3-pointer to push the lead to 118-112 with 2:26 left, but the Knicks never quit. They had a chance to tie it with a 3-pointer in the last 4.4 seconds but Larry Hughes couldn’t get off a shot.

“They are a difficult team to play,” Billups said. “They have so many shooters, they run a great system [Mike] D’Antoni has, and when they have that many guys scoring it’s going to take an unbelievable effort to beat them. If their scorers had played that well the first 15 games they’d probably be over .500.” More…

According to the Fanhouse, Darko Milicic figures to be heading back to Europe to continue his career.

To be honest, I am not really sure what happened to the big man this season.  I for one thought he played well enough to have a spot in the rotation, especially considering he is the only big man that we have on the roster who can hold his own in the paint defensively.  Think about all of the games where the Knicks were dominated in the paint.  Milicic never got the chance to stop the bleeding. 

Again, it seems like simple logic to me for Milicic to have played in some of those games.  If you get killed in the paint, then why not put your best interior defender in to help?  I am not an NBA coach, so perhaps I shouldn’t speak to this subject, but for some reason I think he could have helped.

Oh well. 

Well actually, I guess the reason why Milicic doesn’t see any time is the simple fact that the Knicks are too good of a team to be able to give a 24 year old 7 footer a chance.  That must be the reason.  The same probably goes for our lottery pick Jordan Hill.

Sorry for the lack of a preview, but here is a game thread for tonight’s game against the Nuggets.  The Knicks are off to a good start.  Hopefully they keep it up.

Enjoy.