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! 

Knicks look for Bargnani to Step Up Big to Stop the Slide

via Fansided.com

The Knicks wrap up their home and home series with the Charlotte Bobcats Friday looking to snap a three game losing streak. The first half of the series took place on Tuesday, a game most Knicks fans hope to quickly forget. For the second straight game the team came out lethargic and let their opponent score at ease. Even more disastrous was the news that came out Wednesday, defensive anchor Tyson Chandler will be out at least a month with what the team is calling a fractured right fibula. Chandler is the Knicks best defender and only real defensive presence down low. Going into Charlotte it will be interesting to see who is going to fill that void at center for Coach Mike Woodson. Jeremy Tyler is reportedly close to joining the team, but has yet to begin rehab. Amar’e Stoudemire had a rough game Tuesday, but what a time it would be for STAT to shut up naysayers and come up big. Kenyon Martin played decent on Tuesday, but with a minutes limit on both him and Stoudemire it’s hard for either to get in rhythm. Seven-Footer Cole Aldrich would make the most sense to at least get a couple minutes at center as Aldrich has yet to take off his warm-ups.

For the Knicks to snap this losing streak the perimeter defense has to be exceptional so expect a lot of Pablo Prigioni and Iman Shumpert on Kemba Walker and Gerald Henderson respectively. Woodson has opted to go with Andrea Bargnani at the five (UHH OH), so Carmelo Anthony will have to be a monster on the boards which he has shown he can do. On the offensive end the Knicks are still a work in progress and waiting for J.R. Smith to return from suspension. For Friday expect Tim Hardaway Jr. to get a lot more minutes as he has proven that he can score when given the opportunity. Raymond Felton will have to get the offense moving early in the game and keep the pace high so they cannot get exposed in the half court with no real center. Bobcats marquee free agent signing and low post monster Al Jefferson didn’t play Tuesday and didn’t play on Wednesday against the Raptors. If he ends up sitting out again it gives the Knicks the upper hand. In the end the key for the Knicks will be effort. If they come out firing they will be in good shape, but if they come out dragging their feet and letting people in the paint like EZ-Pass it’s going to be a long night.

Knicks Take on the Hot T-Wolves Tonight at MSG

via thehoopdoctors.com

On Sunday the Knicks welcome the red hot Minnesota Timberwolves to The Garden, led by star power forward Kevin Love and their flashy Spanish point guard Ricky Rubio. The T-Wolves come into the game a perfect 2-0, coming off an impressive blowout of Kevin Durant and the OKC Thunder on Friday. If the Knicks plan on staying in this game they will have to give Tyson Chandler help on the boards especially with Love and center Nikola Pekovic averaging a combined 23 boards a game per NBA.com. The Bulls were able to take advantage of the ‘Bockers on the boards outrebounding them 48-42 on Thursday. Look for Coach  Mike Woodson to use a lot of Kenyon Martin especially with Amar’e Stoudemire out against the T-Wolves big front line that is going to keep Chandler and company busy all night. It will also be interesting to see if Woodson opts with going small and playing Carmelo Anthony at power forward against Love or will he go big with Bargnani at power forward and Melo at small forward. The Knicks have had more success going small, but Love might be a lot for Anthony to handle over the course of the game.

The guards will also have their hands full with the crafty Ricky Rubio creating for Minnesota coming in averaging 10 assists. Look for Pablo Prigioni and Raymond Felton and maybe even Iman Shumpert late in the game to switch off trying to corral the red hot point guard and limit his opportunities. On the offensive end, the Knicks are still looking for that second scorer after Melo with reigning Sixth Man of the Year J.R. Smith still serving his five game suspension. Bargnani started to find the range in the second half of the Bulls game would be the most viable candidate if he can use his length to his advantage. Both Shumpert and rookie Tim Hardaway Jr. are other candidates who both hit their shots on Thursday and will be needed down the stretch to help Melo close. The most interesting storyline of this game will be what happens when the game is close late and the Knicks are forced to score in the half court, will Coach Woodson have an offensive set aside from give Melo the ball and stare at him. If the Knicks hope to compete in the postseason their late game offense actually has to improve drastically. After Rose hit the floater on last game everyone in the building knew Melo was getting the ball and his teammates would just watch. For Woodson to run a half court set someone will have to prove they can knock down shots down the stretch, look for Shumpert to fill this void if given the opportunity.

Expect this game to be very competitive throughout the game, with the winning team being the one that can control the glass and keep the opposing team star under control. The T-Wolves held Kevin Durant to 13 points on Friday so for the Knicks to pull this one out Shumpert, Felton and Hardaway Jr. all must hit shots help free up Melo when it counts.

Tip-Off is at 7:30pm on MSG Network.

Chandler Shines but Knicks Fall to Bulls on a D-Rose Circus Shot

AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh

In their first road game of the year the Knicks turned in a trick or treat type of performance, showing flashes of a team that can make noise in the East and looking like a team with no identity in others. Sporting their new orange alternate jerseys they took on the Bulls in Derrick Rose’s first game in Chicago since he tore his ACL against the Sixers in the 2012 playoffs. The story of the first half was the same for the Knicks; turnovers, turnovers and more turnovers. Andrea Bargnani continues to look lost on both ends of the floor racking up a remarkable three offensive fouls something he probably couldn’t replicate if he tried. Amar’e Stoudemire got his first action of the season and looked rusty to say the least scoring one basket on two attempts in limited minutes. Rookie Tim Hardaway Jr. was one of the few bright spots for the Knicks in the first half scoring seven points including one from downtown and a nice lay-in. Tyson Chandler continues to be the only constant for Coach Mike Woodson on the defensive end pulling down eight boards and scoring four points at the half. The Bulls continued to bully the Knicks in the paint with Chandler on the bench and took advantage of sloppy passing in transition buckets. Woodson has yet to get a viable back up for Chandler as Kenyon Martin is still getting his legs underneath him after not playing the whole preseason.

Both Carmelo Anthony and Bargnani started to find the range combining for 16 in third period helping the Knicks stay in striking distance heading into the fourth. The Knicks got fire at the five minute mark going on a 12-0 run sparked by Anthony and Hardaway Jr. to take a 78-76 lead. Chandler was a beast on the boards for the second consecutive night pulling down a monster 19 rebounds not including a number of his patented tip outs giving the Knicks second and third chances. A key review with 26 seconds left gave the Knicks the ball which resulted in a Noah foul on Chandler that gave the Knicks a 81-80 lead, then D-Rose acted like D-Rose sinking the game winner with five seconds left after a last minute Anthony heave was off the mark as the ‘Bockers fall 82-81 in Chi Town.