Struggling Knicks Welcome Pacers to the Garden...Uh Oh

via NY Daily News

As the world continues to collapse around them, the Knicks try and right the ship yet again tonight at MSG against the class of the Eastern Conference, the Indiana Pacers. Coming off an embarrassing loss last night in Detroit where Rodney Stuckey looked like the second coming of Isiah Thomas, Coach Mike Woodson is starting to look like he has no answer for this Knicks team. Effort has been at a premium with the team showing signs of life only in spurts. Enough is enough. With a restless owner, fed up fan base and a head coach fighting for his job, tonight is a must win for Knicks

The Pacers are coming into the Garden with the NBA’s best record (tied with San Antonio) at 9-1 and with tons of confidence. It was only a couple of months ago these Pacers cancelled the Knicks’ date with Miami in the Eastern Conference Semis. Tonight the Knicks will face a Pacer team that is bringing back all the starters from that team and with a reloaded bench of Luis Scola. C.J. Watson, and former Knick Chris Copeland.

Andrea Bargnani and Kenyon Martin have a long night ahead them as Roy Hibbert has finally takenthe leap and become one of the top centers in the league and resident tough guy David West who is no walk in the park. It is unknown if Amar’e Stoudemire is set to play, but if he gets minutes let us pray that he at least looks at the person he is defending. Paul George and Lance Stephenson have also made huge leaps and are not the same players the Knicks saw in May...they are both vastly improved.

Carmelo Anthony will have to put on a similar show he did against Houston when he was an absolute monster putting up 45 points, 10 rebounds and 4 assists. Outside of Anthony, and recently Bargnani, no Knick has consistently put the ball in the hoop. With Raymond Felton out it will be interesting to see the ball movement or lack there of on offense. Woodson’s offense has been unwatchable at times with one player dribbling and the other four just watching. This would be a great time for the Knicks to give rookie Toure’ Murry some burn at the point. Murry was impressive in the preseason and might give the Knicks the spark they need to get going. Another player in need of a spark is J.R. He continues to struggle from the field, which leaves Anthony to carry the load by himself. If Smith can get going and Shumpert can shake off the trade rumors and get back to his usual form the Knicks can definitely get an edge on Indy. 

If Bargnani continues to score and lure Hibbert out of the paint to make room for Anthony and company and Martin can out-tough West that leaves Anthony vs. George and Smith vs. Stephenson two matchups I have faith in the Knicks winning. If Murry and or Shumpert hold George Hill from launching 3’s the Knicks are in business. Unfortunately all of this means nothing without effort; hopefully the Garden is jumping and infuses much needed energy. Let’s see what type of team comes out tonight.

Shump Trade Rumors: Denver, Pacers in the Mix

via Getty Images

It seems like déjà vu all over again. Another Knick might be heading to Denver. Or will it be Indy? News broke yesterday that the Knicks are in trade talks with Denver to acquire Kenneth ‘The Manimal’ Faried in exchange for Iman Shumpert. There have also been several other reports that numerous teams have inquired about Shump. One source points to the Pacers as a landing spot for the energetic guard, which for many would be heart breaking. Indy without Shump looks dangerous, but with him they could be the league's elite. 

However, the move that seems most likely and is being talked about around the blogesphere is the swap with the Nuggets. Frank Isola of the Daily News reported that Shumpert who was taken ahead of Faried in the 2011 Draft has fallen out of favor with both Coach Mike Woodson and owner James Dolan. If indeed this trade happens, is this a good move for the Knicks?

Case for Faried

The team gets a much needed front court presence that’s good for 10 rebounds a night and someone who goes 100 miles per hour every minute he’s in the game. With Tyson Chandler out he immediately becomes Knicks best rebounder and fills that huge void as defensive interim captain. When Chandler returns he and Faried have the potential to be one of the top frontcourts in the league. Most importantly it saves Melo from the punishment of having to fight with the likes of Z-Bo and Kevin Love night in and night out. Financially the Knicks get a cheaper contract in Faried helping lower that salary cap for room to re-sign Melo and clear more room for Jim Dolan’s grand spending spree in 2015.

Case for Shumpert

Shumpert is more than just a starting shooting guard for the Knicks. He is one of the leaders on this team. He is a huge fan favorite as one of the founder of the #Knickstape moniker to being out in the community. On the court Shumpert is no doubt the best perimeter defender on the team. He is virtually the only line of defense when players like Derrick Rose, James Harden and Kobe come to town. He has shown improvement on offense, developing a three-point and mid-range shot. If it is true that Shump has fallen out of favor with James Dolan and Coach Woodson it will be interesting to see how Melo takes this. When rumors swirled about Shumpert being traded to the Suns Melo was not happy. The Knicks have to keep in mind they have to please Anthony with his impending free agency and dealing a player he is high on is not the best way to woo someone.

There is no doubt that someone like Faried is needed right now; but what about a year from now? Or two years? The Knicks supposed grand plan is to go after Kevin Love in 2015 so where would Faried go? Why not wait out Tyson’s injury and sign a cheap free agent?  These are interesting questions that General Manager Steve Mills has to answer before he makes his first big move since taking over for Glen Grunwald. 

JR's Back At It: #THERETURN

Love him or hate him he’s entertaining and on Sunday the reigning Sixth Man of the Year J.R. Smith returned to the court.  We all know and rather not speak about the massacre that was the Spurs game, one that saw the Knicks down by almost 40 points in a performance that hasn’t been seen in the Garden under Coach Woodson’s watch. Smith had little impact in his first game back going 1-for-9 from the field for five points and team high four turnovers per NBA.com.  It would be foolish to get carried away with Smith’s less than spectacular performance. If anything is consistent about J.R. is that he will look like the second coming of John Starks on some nights and other nights look like Stephon Marbury 2.0.

The key thing to take away from Smith’s return is the countdown to the possible exit of fan favorite and virtually the team’s only asset sans Carmelo Anthony; Iman Shumpert.  Frank Isola of the Daily News thinks Shumpert might be closer towards a Garden exit than the starting lineup. In his the column he reports “The rest of the league seems to value Iman more than the Knicks do,” said one Eastern Conference executive. “And his value is high.”

It will be interesting to see how Woodson uses Smith, Shumpert and neophyte Tim Hardaway Jr. The early success of the rookie has made someone available and it will be interesting to see how it unfolds. It’s no surprise that Woodson and Smith have a great relationship and Woodson has gotten the more out of Smith than any coach he has had while in the league. These factors set up for an interesting next couple of months. If Smith plays like the reigning Sixth Man than adios Shumpert, but if Shumpert flourishes both Smith and Woodson might be given a pink slip at year’s end.  Damn it’s great to have J.R. back! 

5 Questions Going into the Season - Part 2

Is James Dolan the Problem?

Dolan looking sad and confused...

After a long and somewhat confusing offseason the curtains will soon be raising on the upcoming season for the Knicks. The Knicks were very busy during this offseason with the additions of such names as Metta World Peace and Andrea Bargnani along with Beno Udrih and Tim Hardaway Jr., who look to bolster NY’s bench. However, James Dolan continues to fly by the seat of his pants when it comes to the managing of his front office when he reassigned Steve Mills to the GM/President position.  This seemed to be somewhat of a panic move as Brooklyn stole many of the offseason headlines with their acquisitions of Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce. However, it’s tough to blame former GM Glenn Grunwald for seemingly ‘losing’ the offseason to the Nets. The mobility in terms of salary cap limits until they can get out from underneath Amar’e’s behemoth of a contract in the summer of 2015. Patience is a virtue and Dolan needs to start showing patience when it comes to the managing of his front office. The only time we saw Dolan display any type of patience was during the Isaiah years and it is still unclear what kind of spell Isaiah put Dolan under.

There seemed to be patience under Donnie Walsh when the Knicks went all in on trying to lure LeBron three years ago. It is unfortunate that Dolan essentially forced out Walsh, who is now working for the Pacers front office, because again there seems to be little in terms of a long term plan for the Knicks.  The one long term plan that there is for the Knicks is to resign Carmelo Anthony but as Grantland’s Zach Lowe points out;

“if the Knicks sign Anthony to that five-year max deal, they'll have about $41 million committed in salary for 2015-16 once you factor in player options for Smith and Felton, the ballpark cost of New York's 2015 first-round pick, and roster charges for empty spots. That figure does not include cap holds for any of New York's outgoing free agents that summer, a group that includes two valuable players: Chandler and Shumpert. Their holds alone would vault New York over the cap.”

The Knicks are going to be in the playoffs this year no doubt about it. But will they will be able to repeat as a two seed again as Derrick Rose is back, the Pacers continue to improve and the Nets look to make a leap up? The Knicks cannot become the Joe Johnson led Hawks who had decent regular seasons, got mid-level playoff seedings, only to be knocked out in the second round. All us Knick fans are desperate for a championship, however I am beginning to feel that Dolan has no long term plan in mind. Let’s hope Mills attempts to implement a plan – which I believe he will – that has the Knicks set up for long term success, and that championship trophy.