Category Archives: NBA for SNY.tv
Thanks to the economy, this is easily the strangest NBA offseason I’ve ever 
witnessed. As far as the Knicks are concerned, the obvious plan is to improve for this season without compromising the ultimate goal of 2010.It seems that the organization is intent on improving and what’s on top of Mike D’Antoni’s wish list. Judging by the interest in Jason Kidd, Andre Miller and Steve Nash from afar, those desires include an upgrade at point guard to share time with Chris Duhon. The Knicks’ actions also have made clear that D’Antoni doesn’t want the ball in the hands of Nate Robinson to make decisions during possessions.
Robinson, as well as David Lee, are hanging out in no-man’s land trying to figure out what their next career step will be. As restricted free agents, both have said the right things about wanting to be Knicks. But it’s hard to envision them being comfortable with the organization, especially when their futures in New York are as clear as driving in a blizzard.
And it has to frustrate them. Yes, they are well-paid and they play basketball for a living, so it’s hard to feel too bad. But all the hard work they put in last offseason was to put themselves in position for a big chunk of the pot of gold that is free agency, which has all but disappeared thanks to a rotten economy. You have to imagine that it’s affecting their focus in becoming better basketball players both physically and mentally. It has to be like studying for the bar exam and coming a few points short because the bar made the test harder to filter the number of new practicing lawyers.
That said, they are professionals. You’d like to think that, if both came back on one-year contracts, they would play hard. But where do you draw the line in saying what’s best for the team and what’s best for oneself? Both have reportedly said to confidants that they feel disrespected by the events of the summer thus far. So in all seriousness, have the Knicks reached the point of no return with them? More.
Give Mark Bartlestein credit, the guy knows what being an agent is all about. 
Rumors have swirled that the agent for David Lee has been campaigning to try and get his client top dollar. In essence, that’s his job.
At the same time, what you have to love about Knicks president Donnie Walsh is his patience, and the gamesmanship between the two has been something to watch over the past year. Walsh’s experience, it would seem, has given the Knicks great positioning.
Walsh knew that his focus when he took the job in New York was going to be clearing cap space so the team could be players in the 2010 free agent market. He also knew that he had some talent here, particularly in Lee and guard Nate Robinson, and his job was to evaluate them moving forward. Without question, their play — along with their free agent positioning — would have an impact on the Knicks.
But let’s stick with Lee. They guy is a workhorse who brings the energy that you need to make it in this league. He’s got all the tools to be a real player in this league year in and year out.
Almost.
Lee is the type of player fans can grasp on to, as in someone who you know will give you an effort even if the team loses by a ton. It’s that effort that sometimes disguises his weaknesses and often gets ignored by fans who are fascinated by stats and double-doubles.
Lee is a solid player on a championship team. His agent is kidding himself if he thinks he’s a player who puts teams over the top for a championship. Is Lee the missing piece in Cleveland or Orlando? Is he the guy that gets Denver over the rocky mountain? The answer, it would seem, would be no.
In this economy and this market, the fact that no team has reportedly given Lee an offer he can’t refuse tells you all you need to know. Granted, Lee has said all along that he wants to be here and I don’t think, in the end, that he’d be upset if he comes back here for far less than what his agent is asking for.
Advantage Walsh.more.
Poor free-agent signings, bad draft picks, awful trades for brutal contracts. Sure, there are 
plenty reasons the Knicks have missed the playoffs in almost every year this decade. Having to watch the playoffs sans the Knicks really stings, and for a Knicks fan who still need a hoops fix, nothing should bother you more than having to watch Phil Jackson cruise towards an NBA record 10 championships.Jackson was a Knick and always seemed interested in some day coming back to the Garden when he was done in Chicago. Phil famously flirted with the Knicks in 1999 before the Knicks made a historic run to the NBA Finals. Isiah Thomas even called Jackson back in 2005, but they — and you may find this hard to believe since Isiah was involved — never seemed to reach the stage of seriousness.
As a famous Knick once told me on the golf course one day, Jackson is no dummy. His legacy is often wrapped around Tex Winter’s triangle offense, much like Mike Ditka’s Super Bowl defense is descended from Buddy Ryan’s innovated 46 approach. And as we know, especially his doubters, Jackson has had supreme talent throughout his career. Even his supporters will admit that he’s not really an X’s and O’s guy as much as he is a kindred spirit that gets the most out of the best. Heck, anyone remember when Michael Jordan was shown drawing up a last-minute play during the NBA Finals?
But this is not to knock Jackson; he’s a great coach. This is an attempt to give credit to former Knicks coach Jeff Van Gundy, who went toe-to-toe with the then-Bulls coach both on and off the court. Both men have a sense of humor and an even greater sense of how to needle people (see Van Gundy’s calling Jordan a “con artist”. Their constant bickering was a big part of the Knicks-Bulls rivalries from 1995-1997. I remember listening to the comments from both coaches where Van Gundy would constantly refer to Jackson as “Big Chief Triangle” and Jackson, in obvious disdain, couldn’t seem to manage to get Jeff’s name right, instead referring to him as “Gundy.”
Wisecracks or not, every time the Knicks and Bulls got together, to me, it was always a battle of the extremely prepared, well-coached Knicks versus supreme talent and execution, which, more often than not in all sports, seems to win out.
Granted, the Knicks lost to the Bulls in five games with a depleted team in 1995-96, but I still maintain that the next year’s edition would have beaten the Bulls had it not been for what I call the “flip and nitpick” in Miami where the P.J. Brown/Charlie Ward incident led to an NBA overreaction. To this day, I still wish I could do anything to see that Knicks-Bulls series. Anything. more.
Brandon Hoffman of realgm.com shares relatively similar sentiments as yours truly 
when it comes to Lebron James’ supporting cast.
“…Two years ago, I was fairly certain that James would sign with the Knicks or Nets in 2010. Now I’d say there’s a 70% chance he stays in Cleveland. But there’s one thing that everyone seems to overlook when trying to predict James’ future. Yes, the Cavs have surrounded James with a championship-caliber supporting cast, and the Knicks and Nets are still toiling away in mediocrity. But the Cavs aren’t built for the future. They’re built for this season and next. Ben Wallace and Zydrunas Ilgauskas are running on fumes. Neither player will have much left in the tank beyond this season, which means Cleveland will have to replace two of their top three frontcourt players in order to remain in title contention. Minus James, and without Wallace and Ilgauskas, do the Cavs really possess more talent than the Knicks or Nets? Don’t underestimate Wallace and Ilgauskas’ importance to the Cavaliers. Wallace is a terrific team defender, while Ilgauskas may be Cleveland’s best mid-range jump shooter.
It’s not as if James will be faced with the option of walking away from a young, talent rich team like the Lakers or Blazers. Are Mo Williams and Delonte West enough to keep James in Cleveland? (Williams and West will be free agents in 2011.) Or will the Cavs have to sign someone like Chris Bosh? If there’s one thing the Knicks or any other team hoping to sign James must possess, it’s a strong commitment to defense. LeBron has continually praised his team’s effort on that end of the floor this season. He’s also been quick to credit Coach Mike Brown for establishing a defensive-minded culture…”
Now I think chemistry has a lot to do with it and it’s a funny thing. Sometimes I don’t think there’s anything as overrated as adult, professional players being asked to come together for a common goal. Other times I believe that players who are very tight together can overcome any obstacle. In the end, I think it comes down to trust and execution and that’s occurred plenty of times where players didn’t speak to each other.
I mean, Kobe and Shaq couldn’t share the same locker room even when they were destroying teams.
That said, without Lebron, this Cavs team is barely a playoff team in the east. With him, they have the best on-court cohesion I think I’ve ever seen.
You can’t underrate that, nor can you place a time table on when it disappears.
The more Andrew Bynum struggles to find consistent minutes for the 
Lakers, the greater the chance the Cleveland Cavaliers have of winning the NBA championship in June.And if that happens, Knicks fans should feel really good about the chances of LeBron James landing in New York.
All year long I truly believed that, if Bynum could give the Lakers the inside presence they lacked against the Celtics last year, they would win it all. But even after the Lakers dismissed the Jazz in five games, Bynum has been limited to just 15 minutes per game and seems out of sorts. Big men always take longer to get back in the swing of things, so I’m not sure if Phil Jackson can bring Bynum along at a snail’s pace and hope that he contributes in a few weeks should the Lakers get to the Finals.
Advantage: Cavs. More.
As we reported the other day, Lawrence Frank will return to the Nets as 
head coach, according to a report on WFAN. The note was published in the Post yesterday.
I understand people not familiar with TKB may have found it strange that such a note would appear on a “rival” blog, but when I sent the note to SNY, where my NBA column appears, it was linked to here.
What we knew, and was confirmed by our source is that Rod Thorn is a big fan of Frank’s, although not everyone in the organization is. But the fact that they would have paid Frank a buyout may have been the overriding factor in the decision to keep him. Plus, it’s Thorn’s call.
Frank, who’s weathered the storm as the Nets try to position themselves to add some talent after trading both Jason Kidd and Richard Jefferson, has a roster that consists of plenty of young talent including Brook Lopez and Ryan Anderson so the organization must feel Frank is the right coach at this time.
In watching the first round of the playoffs, two players who have stood out 
for me are the Celtics’ Rajon Rondo and the Lakers’ Trevor Ariza. Both players have elevated their games in a way that few people, particularly draft scouts, ever imagined. Both of those players have been surprises primarily because of the biggest question that teams ask when they look to draft either a point guard or a small forward: “Can they shoot?”
Rondo’s reputation coming out of Kentucky as the 21st pick in the 2006 NBA Draft was that of a combo guard who couldn’t shoot from the perimeter. In fact, despite shooting 50 percent from the field, Rondo only made 28 percent of his 3-point attempts. He also only cashed in 58 percent from the foul line and averaged just 9.8 points for his career in Lexington. To say he was known as a playmaker and defensive specialist would be an understatement; just ask the fans at Rupp Arena who would groan every time the kid let a shot fly.
That reputation caused him to fall behind the likes of Randy Foye and Quincy Douby in an otherwise weak point guard draft. Rondo’s skills eluded the scouting eye of then-Knicks president Isiah Thomas, who selected Renaldo Balkman right before Rondo was taken by Phoenix. The Suns would then ship the guard to Boston along with Brian Grant for a future pick.
Ariza, who Thomas plucked in the second round of the 2004 draft, showed signs of potential under Larry Brown in his brief stint with the Knicks. Ariza’s offense in the half-court set was a major reason as to why he couldn’t stay on the floor. He often would be left alone to knock down jump shots but instead would pass on them for a chance to make an ill-advised drive to the basket. Fast forward five years and Kobe Bryant is trusting Ariza to knock down 3-pointers.More.
Check out my awards for the season on sny.tv as they compare to those at 
Sports Illustrated where Ian Thomsen polled 6 NBA advance scouts. Apparently, none of them voted for Shane Battier or Stan Van Gundy.
“…Without further adieu, here are my 2008-09 NBA awards.MVP: LeBron James, Cleveland Cavaliers
It’s tough to argue this one. King James has led the Cavs to the best record in the Eastern Conference and the league’s best home record. When you look at LeBron’s team, you realize that he has the ability not only to make everyone around him better, but also to make them feel like they are championship-quality players. That’s a special power. Sure, Kobe Bryant has had an impressive year yet again, and Dwyane Wade was outstanding, but this is LeBron’s trophy. The two (Kobe and LeBron) will meet in the Finals in June. Count on it.
Rookie of the Year: Derrick Rose, Chicago Bulls
This guy is just going to keep getting better and better. He sees the floor, gets his teammates involved early and often and has recently developed a great relationship with Tyrus Thomas. But the most impressive thing about Rose is his wonderful combination of power and finesse.
Coach of the Year: Stan Van Gundy, Orlando Magic
SVG gets the slight edge over George Karl, who has done a fantastic job in Denver. Van Gundy is a masterful tactician regardless of what Shaquille O’Neal thinks. The Magic can beat you in a bevy of ways, and Van Gundy puts them in a great position to execute in the halfcourt of games down the stretch. That should serve them well come playoff time. The Magic have not missed a beat since losing Jameer Nelson thanks to the play of Rafer Alston, who Stan’s brother Jeff helped develop into an effective pass-first point guard in Houston.
Defensive Player of the Year: Shane Battier, Houston Rockets
This one was close because there are a handful of players who are special defenders in this league. I was going to give it to LeBron, who has a chance to block 100 shots, 19 more than he had last year. Dwight Howard was also a candidate. But in the end, it’s just hard to ignore how good Battier is. The guy is a coach’s dream and someone whose stats don’t tell the story. Not only is he a lock-down perimeter defender, he is easily the best weak-side help perimeter player in the game in terms of leaving his man, stepping in and taking charges. That, in essence, is as important as a shot blocker, as it deters players from attacking the rim. Throw Yao in the mix and you have a really solid defensive team, which Houston has been all year…”
Here is my first column on the NBA for SNY.tv, any feedback would be greatly appreciated.
“…Apologies to Hasheem Thabeet, who I don’t believe will have an impact on the NBA — if at all — for several years, but there is a simple reason why the art of shot blocking has become almost extinct. Look at Yao. The guy is a polished post player, but it took the tutelage of one Patrick Ewing to get him to be in a position to be a post dominator. Now, if Thabeet falls to the Knicks and Ewing doesn’t have an NBA head coaching job, well, pencil Ewing to a seat on the pine next to Mike D’Antoni…”
Just a few thoughts, also, on the Tournament.
I like Eric Maynor, and as Alvino noted to me he looks like Marbury a bit, but I was disappointed by his performance against UCLA. Then I realized that Jrue Holiday, once Darren Collison was out with fouls, spent a good portion of the night guarding him. Holiday is going to be something, although I hope for his sake he stays a year and learns more under Howland.
I’m not a huge Thabeet fan but if Ewing can get his hands on him fine. The question is, do the ties between Ewing and NY still exist, or does he get the head job in Washington? We’ll see.
I think Dejuan Blair could be a Craig Smith type. Undersized, no real position, but has a chance to be a solid NBA player.
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