Brooklyn Nets: Spencer Dinwiddie Makes His Point

From the desk of:  THE HOOPS OF FLATBUSH

Two Player's Injuries Are Another Man's Opportunity

Brooklyn Nets: Spencer Dinwiddie Apparently Loves Playing Jazz; Drops Career High 25 Points Against Utah.

I'm no third man in; I'm Spencer freakin Dinwiddie!

At least that's what I would be saying ...

With Jeremy Lin out for the season, and D'Angelo Russell undergoing surgery on Friday, the Nets are obviously compromised at point guard.  Just don't say that around Spencer Dinwiddie, who started at point Friday night against the Utah Jazz, and led all scorers in Brooklyn's 118-107 victory at Barclays Center.

It was a payback victory for Brooklyn after falling 114-106 last Saturday in Utah.

Signed as a free agent, Spencer Dinwiddie, 24-years old, saw limited action during his first two seasons with the Detroit Pistons.  In 14 games so far this season, he is averaging 11 points and 5.6 assists per game, and is shooting 44% from beyond the three.  He's been averaging about a minute more per game this season over last, but that will surely continue changing in the games to come.

In Friday's start against the Jazz, Spencer led the team with a career high 25 points, grabbed a team high eight (all defensive) rebounds, tied for team lead with five assists, while playing a team leading 31:00 minutes.  He was 9 of 14 (64%) from the field, and 6 of 10 (60%) from long range.

His last two games, Tuesday against Boston and this last game against Utah, mark the first time all season Dinwiddie has played thirty minutes in back to back games.  He hadn't previously played thirty minutes since Oct. 29, and only posted his first thirty minute night two games prior to that, making it four times in 14 games to date.

D'Angelo Russell was leading the Nets with 20.9 ppg, and 5.7 assists through 12 games.  He was also limited to 63 games last season while with the Los Angeles Lakers due to an unrelated knee injury.

Unlike Jeremy Lin, the team expressed confidence D'Angelo Russell will return later this season.

N.Y. Knicks ~ Kidd and Pay

From the desk of:   DUTCH PANTS CAN'T JUMP

NEW YORK KNICKS:  The Luxury Tax on a Potentially Ridiculous Contract for Jeremy Lin, or, Bailing Out Jason Kidd - Which Will the Knickerbockers Pony Up For?


Even though Carmelo Anthony was right, you still don't touch another man's money.  That being said, the money Houston loaded into Jeremy Lin's offer is most definitely linSANE.  Now it is settled.  He is definitely not worth that money.  I wouldn't let this guy smash the cap like that.  But hey, more money, more problems.  Either way, Jeremy Lin is going to cash in.  And as far as Lin's agent, what a play!  However, great work by an agent or not, the Knicks should be drug tested if they match that offer.  Wait..., did I say drug tested?


How about a breathalyser?  C'mon man!  That's why Jason Kidd came back to New York City? - To get filled up with idiot juice in the Hamptons, get behind the wheel of a car, and become the scourge of the telephone company?  We're sorry, but the party you are trying to call has a drunk driver on their lawn.  Please hang up, and try your life again.  C'mon man!


And now..., and now the Knicks are in a bind.  Jeremy Lin might be headed to Houston, And Jason Kidd might be heading to jail; or not.  But...C'mon!


Talk about your mid-life crisis.  Pfft!




Mike.BTB

N.Y. Knicks ~ 'Bockers Trying To Get Their Point Across

From the desk of:   DUTCH PANTS CAN'T JUMP

NEW YORK KNICKS:  Jeremy Lin is Now a Point of Contention.  Knicks on Verge of Pointing Him Towards the Nearest Exit.


Many have been clamouring for the return of Ray Felton ever since he found favor with fans prior to the Carmelo Anthony acquisition.  Now, based on circulating reports, you may have him again Knick fans.  And with Jason Kidd in the fold, it looks a lot like the Age of LINsanity is all but over.  Jeremy Lin signed his offer sheet with the Houston Rockets, and now the Knicks will have 48 hours or so to match.  But do they want to?  If you're reading into the Knicks' moves, the answer is, No.


Without trying to detract from Jeremy Lin's arrival on the scene, and playing so well before getting hobbled by injuries, I was never completely sold on him.  The key word there is SOLD.  I'm not insinuating he can't be a good player.  I just do not see the upper body strength from him, and watched him get pushed around last season after the brilliance wore off his introductory flash, and lighting the city on fire.  Once teams started taking the body against him, LINsanity headed to the LINfirmary.  In his defense, he almost always made good decisions on the court.  But can he endure a whole season of bumping bodies in the lane?  I do not think Knicks fans will be finding out up close.  For answers to that quandary, check in on him while he plays in Houston.


With Jason Kidd on board however, the Knicks now have that alpha-point guard who will dictate the direction of the ball, and more specifically, direct traffic between Amare Stoudemire and Carmelo Anthony.  Whether it is going to be Lin, or Felton, I look for the soon to be forty year old Kidd to be splitting playing time down the middle.  In that case, Jason Kidd should be very reliable, not to mention effective while playing twenty-some minutes per game.  Whether he is on the court during the last six minutes like he says he wants to be, will get itself worked out.  That's Mike Woodson's problem for now.


With Jason Kidd on board, I think we'll be seeing a very different version of Carmelo Anthony.  Of the players he'll share the court with, Carmelo Anthony stands to benefit the most from Kidd's arrival.  For a guy I'm not too particularly enamoured with, Kidd just may help out Melo's game immeasurably.  I still do not think Jeremy Lin has the cache to demand the ball back from Melo.  But Jason Kidd does, and will.  And if Melo doesn't fall in line, a veteran like Kidd knows how to send on-court messages to his team mates through selective ball distribution.  Whatever in-game time the old man needs to refresh his legs and catch his breath, will be provided by Ray Felton or, possibly Jeremy Lin, or even both.  Being a starter means stepping out on the court first.  After the initial tip-off, being a starter means nothing.  So, I don't care who steps out first.


If acquired, can Ray Felton recapture the flare and effectiveness he played with his first time here?  He better lose some weight first.  That's just fact.  He's the third coming of Round Mound right now.  Ray may need boot camp instead of training camp later this summer.  In any case, expect him to get a loud ovation the first time he takes to the Garden floor this Fall.  But just keep in mind, he couldn't win a starting job in any of his landing spots after he got traded.


I'm not lost on Jason Kidd's age.  But for twenty to twenty-three minutes a night, I think he'll be just fine, and key to any Knicks' success next season.  What Ray Felton can contribute remains to be seen.  But we already have a feeling we know what we're getting.  And I'm sure Amare Stoudemire is OK with the deal too.  If Stoudemire's body holds up, prepare yourselves for a return of the Amare from the 2010-2011 season.


Marcus Camby's age is also not lost on me.  But to back up Tyson Chandler and play some forward, I think he's marvelous.  And the more players willing to play defense, the better.  It will be nice to see Camby in a Knicks uniform again.




Mike.BTB

N.Y. Knicks ~ Total Exposure

From the desk of: DUTCH PANTS CAN'T JUMP




NEW YORK KNICKS:   The Stench Across the Street From Bayside Isn't From Dead Fish Washing Up on the Shores of South Beach.  It's the Knicks.


I told you, the narrative doesn't change with this team.


If I were in the Miami Police Dept., I would have arrested the Knicks for trespassing.  Don't ask me what they were doing there.  I think Game One was the worst forty-eight minutes I watched the Knicks play in the last thirty-five years.  Once Miami gets through with us, we will have gone twelve years without winning a playoff game.  Yeah, they'll dispatch us that quickly.  I expect nothing from this team.  The Knicks do not have any tricks of their sleeves.  And they just got totally exposed.


With a healthier Tyson Chandler (flu) on the floor, playing in his right mind instead of giving LeBron James whiplash, maybe we only lose Saturday by twenty-five points.  But without Iman Shumpert, (what a tough break for the rookie!) expect more of the same thing we saw in Game One - Blowouts.  Because Tyson Chandler is going to be playing defense by himself.


With Shumpert out, that means Landry Fields will be recalled from his exile in a black hole.  It's already been proven, he and Carmelo Anthony have mixed as well as vinegar and oil together.  So good luck with that.


Then there's Amare.  Amare Stoudemire clearly has nothing to offer.   He's a compromised cager.  He  played a majority of the game and was a complete non-factor.  Is there any reason to speculate?  I'm not a big "IF" fan  So, no.  His body has the better of him and ailments like his do not clear up over night.


Jeremy Lin might make it back in time to play in the elimination game.  And even if he played last Saturday, he wouldn't have helped.  I don't believe that.  And I do not believe he can help this team now.  Not with mounting injuries.  If Lin and Chandler were both healthy and playing Saturday, then maybe we only lose by fifteen.


So now that leaves us with Carmelo Anthony.   In Game One's debacle, the Knicks' star was dim. Miami kicked South Beach sand in Melo's face, and big man on campus offered no response.  His eleven points were just wimpy.  But he did have a good game rebounding.  I cede him that.


Hmmm, who's left?  J.R. Smith and Baron Davis?


So like I was saying...., I seriously doubt the Knicks will have a response tonight.  They are a poorly constructed team in the Dolan ideal.


Let's just get on with this.

NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION

PLAYOFFS

Quarter-Final Round

TONIGHT

GAME TWO

NEW YORK KNICKS

vs.

Miami Heat

From,

Some Arena They Can't Sell Out

in South Florida

Mike.BTB

N.Y. Knicks ~ Melo Brings Own Sizzle to South Beach; Game One

From the desk of:   DUTCH PANTS CAN'T JUMP

2011-2012

NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION

PLAYOFFS

EASTERN CONFERENCE QUARTER FINALS

TODAY

#7 - NEW YORK KNICKS

vs.

# 2 - Miami Heat

From

The Land of Pink Flamingos

Miami, Florida

NEW YORK KNICKS:  Dolan, Melo, and the Knicks City Players Taking Their Gig to South Beach.

When it comes to the Knicks and I, the narrative hasn't changed much.  It's Melo's world.  We just live in it.  I'm not going to be a hypocrite and start extolling the wondrous exploits of Carmelo Anthony now.  I have made it plainly clear in this blog, I'm not his biggest fan.  But I'm willing to work through my skewed view of the forward for the sake of getting on with this.


I'll start this way - In a text message exchange with my cousin, he lamented over not being able to play Chicago in the first round and instead drawing Miami.  And I said for what?  Putting off the inevitable?  I totally get why Knick fans share his sentiment.  I'd otherwise be right there with you.  But as of now, I feel there is no difference between losing in the first or second round, when I am already confident they will not make it to the Eastern Conference finals.


Can we get by the Heat?  Perhaps.  Can we get by the Bulls?  Maybe.  But in the Knicks present state, can they get through both?  I doubt it very much.  The Knicks played competitively against both teams in the regular season.  There is definitely cause for optimism.  I just do no think they will last a series, much less two, against the Conference's elite teams.  And to be even more honest with you, elite is a very loosely used term.


At guard, I'd prefer if Coach Woodson didn't commit to either Bibby or Baron Davis.  I believe an equal dose of both will work better and keep them fresher as the series wears on - because I do think this series can go six games.  Miami owns only a slight advantage here.  While it's still undetermined if Tyson Chandler plays tonight, ideally, he, Amare, and Melo will all be on the floor again.  If the Knicks are to exorcise their disharmony from the point in Jeremy Lin's absence, Mike Bibby and Baron Davis need to figure out how to incorporate Amare and Chandler while still adhering to the mandates of playing in Melo's World.


But then, which Amare Stoudemire are we getting?  Last season's weak-side-shot blocking, and dunking machine?  Or will we be getting the guy who settles on perimeter shooting with no attempts to rebound?  Of course everything hinges on the health status of Amare's back.  No pain will be the Knicks' gain.  Anything less, it will be the Melo System, or bust.


Tyson Chandler is no stranger to the Heat.  They remember him well from last season's championship series.  This year, he's been everything the Knicks wanted since they signed him, and more.  He is the undisputed defensive leader of this team.  No Tyson Chandler on the floor equals no strong will of the Knicks to play defense.  He's the one guy on the Knicks that keeps Melo from utterly dominating the court.  Like gravity does, Chandler exerts a force that keeps the Knicks and Melo's World somewhat in orbit together.  And even though he was third-in after Amare and Melo's arrival, without Tyson Chandler, there are no playoffs.  If his knee doesn't hold up, the Knicks are surely done.


That's a lot of Melo Bashing.  I know.  To paraphrase a previous post of mine:

Melo has been The Man over the last month due to a simple matter of attrition.  The same problems the Knicks had before, will be revisited once Amare comes back, or, tries to come back, and will worsen should the Knicks still be playing by the time Jeremy Lin gets back.  In the mean time, with everyone out of his way, including Mike D'Antoni, Melo is free to rule his world as he sees fit. Because outside of guys like Amare and Chandler, Melo's team mates know exactly where their bread is being buttered now.

That's not to say Melo hasn't been doing everything he can to help his team win lately; to include playing defense.  He has.  He has been every bit the star he is advertised to be.  He most definitely carried this team through April.  But it took the elimination of a few players from the floor in order for the real Melo to take effect.  It also took the elimination of a stubborn coach - stubborn only when it came to Melo that is.  Carmelo is in full effect now and leading the Knicks - his way.  And that's where I have a problem.


My hang-ups aside, that doesn't mean he, Iman Shumpert, and J.R. Smith haven't stumbled upon some cohesiveness and effective play together.  Because they have.  And if Shumpert and Smith play big, well then the Heat will definitely have a problem on their hands.  Those two are the Knicks' x-factors.


I do no think anyone will be leaving Steve Novak all alone anymore.  When he steps on the court, it is for one reason only.  So when he does enter games, Miami will guard him.  Landry Fields still has not returned any one's calls.  Last seen, he was circling around the perimeter of a galactic black hole.  His game has long since been torn apart at the seams.


That's just the way I see things.


Last point - Dwayne Wade and LeBron James can be dealt with.  But do the  Knicks have an answer for Chris Bosh?  Maybe Tyson Chandler changes things in a seven game series.  But Bosh, like Ray Allen in last year's playoffs against the Celtics, have been the real phantom menaces in the Knicks recent encounters with either team.  Playing in the background for most of the game, both of them have been fourth quarter killers against the Knicks.  I'd be paying him serious attention late in games this series.


Let's Go Knicks!





Mike.BTB

N.Y. Knicks ~ Amare's Back is Knicks Pain

From the desk of:   DUTCH PANTS CAN'T JUMP

NEW YORK KNICKS:  Amare's Back and Knicks Season Bulging With Concerns.  MRI Reveals Bad News.


Wonder Twins Powers - deactivated.  If it wasn't Melo's team before, it certainly is now.  And guys like me, who aren't exactly on his side, need to grasp that.  The Knicks' remaining regular season and their playoff aspirations now lie singularly in his hands.


An MRI revealed Amare Stoudemire has a bulging disk in his lower back.  The Knicks said he will be out indefinitely.  Naturally, Amare is headed to Miami for a second opinion.  But I think you can pretty much etch this one in stone.  He'll be lost for a considerable time.  MRI's like this are pretty cut and dry.  And plus, you never know with backs.  Once compromised, a bad back never seems to go away.  And I think Amare's first inclination is to treat this without surgery.  As this is only day one of the news, I guess we'll learn more as we go.


Two local players come to mind when thinking about this type of injury; Don Mattingly, and former Knick Larry Johnson.  Before back problems and before becoming a Knick, Larry Johnson was Grand Mama for the then, Charlotte Hornets.  After back surgery, Johnson continued his career as an effective player, and helped the Knicks reach the Finals.  But he had to drastically alter his style of play in order to do it, as he was no longer able to elevate and ceased to be a thunderous dunk waiting to happen.  He became a mid-range perimeter shooter, and a (I hate saying finesse..) creative, multiple-move player, down in the low post.  His ability to drive the basket with power however, was all but gone.  Grand Mama had become, Mr. Lay-Up.


Who knows if that's what's in store for Amare Stoudemire.   But many aspects of Amare's game this season come into better focus now.  There have been nights with nary an attempted rebound on his part, and on other nights, he could hardly jump at all.


I guess this is the time when we start asking ourselves if his off-season work-out regimen might have been a contributing factor?  Amare himself described his off-season strength conditioning program as new, and intense.  While that's speculative, this certainly shouldn't strike us as a surprise.  Everyone questioned whether Amare Stoudemire's body would hold up over the course of Commissioner Stern's post lock-out compressed schedule.


So here we are.  As I watch tonight's game, the Knicks are a game and a half ahead of Milwaukee for the eighth playoff spot.  And with a sub-.500 record I might add.  But dare I say the Knicks job just got easier?  At least now, we know exactly who's getting the ball.  The game goes through Melo by necessity.


All the debate about what Coach Woodson would do differently, etc. etc,.. are all moot points now.  Time and time again, sports reminds us things have a way of working themselves out.  Injuries usually play a large role in that.  If anything, I'm looking for Tyson Chandler to pick up a lot of the slack in Amare's absence.  I'm actually expecting Melo, Chandler, and the three-headed monster at the point, to mesh even better now.  And none of that should be a knock on Amare.  It's just without him, things get simplified somewhat.  Just like when Melo was hurt and Jeremy Lin became unleashed.  Winning without Melo, was again, just a matter of having things simplified somewhat.


The Knicks bench is an entirely different story.


After the way Amare came to town last year and took a bunch of unknowns under his wing, and made the Garden a fun place to be again, I have nothing but compassion for the man, and wish him a speedy recovery.  Amare Stoudemire is definitely one of the good guys.




Mike.BTB

Nets vs. Knicks ~ The Night LINsanity Took Over the City

From the desks of:   THE HOOPS OFF FLATBUSH  and  DUTCH PANTS CAN'T JUMP

TONIGHT

NJ/BROOKLYN NETS

vs.

NEW YORK KNICKS

From,

The Arena at 33rd Street and 7th Avenue

that Jimmy Dolan is furiously trying to renovate ever since

the Nets started building Barclays Center in Brooklyn.

This whole LINsanity thing started when the Knicks and the Nets last met at the Garden on February Fourth.  I guess Happy Anniversary is in order.  Aside from the Knicks winning that game, that's the night Coach D'Antoni sent Jeremy Lin on the floor in a last ditch attempt to create something; anything.  The Knicks, and Coach D'Antoni, were desperate.  Jeremy Lin then proceeded to completely break down Deron Williams and damn-near broke his ankles.  And for tonight at least, it makes for a good revenge factor if you're the Nets, and perhaps we get a fun President's Day game as a result.

But since that night, Jeremy and the Knicks have been on a tear. And not just against the NBA's middle of the road teams like the Jazz; T-Wolves; Kings; and Raptors. They've beaten some of the League's elite. Add Dirk Nowitzki and the defending champions Dallas Mavericks to a list that includes Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers.

The Knicks' February fortunes came on the heels of two games to open the month, where they played Chicago and Boston down to the final buzzer, but lost.  They'd rebound the following night against New Jersey.  Only now (what's a great story without revisionist history?) that last game in MSG against the Nets gets marked as the night when the Knicks mercilessly unleashed LINsanity upon the League.

Hey man, don't get me wrong.  No one around here believes in things like pot luck.  This is a show me town.  That's why incredibly, there isn't a fan in the house who'd get caught looking this gift horse in the mouth.  Everybody seems All In with Jeremy Lin.  And why not?  Jeremy Lin is making believers of almost everybody ever since he busted up D-Will's ankles two weeks ago.  The Knicks are 7-1 since that night and the city has been LINsane ever since.  Even more remarkably, they've done this without Melo.  While Carmelo is another story, it's freakin' true.  All hail Jeremy!  And I'm the eternal pragmatist..., remember?

You watch him and think, why can't everyone do this?  He plays like coaches teach.  What he's doing is so fundamentally sound it screams Notice Me!  And now that he's got every one's attention, he's still going out there and performing with damn-near textbook execution.  Does he get that from attending Harvard?  Because he's also proving himself to be incredibly smart on the floor.

Smart and capable are only the beginning.  Now he's showing us he's going to be tough too.  What I've seen over the last four games were the opposition's first two adjustments designed specifically for Jeremy Lin.  And I've watched them both fail.  Teams tried forcing Lin to his left.  When he outplayed that plan, I then noticed teams trying make him pay the price for entering the paint.  Strike two.  He outplayed that plan also.  He just maintains his dribble and distributes well with a good awareness of where the other four bodies on the floor are.  That's not to be confused with passing well, which he does.  And this has all been possible because he's popping from the outside.  In nine short games, he's commanded his own respect because of his ability to penetrate the lane and either dish or finish, as well as take any open shot they dare him to take, and bury them in key moments.

It is what it is.  So, I don't just see a player riding a hot streak, or a wave.  Jeremy Lin is actually paving his own way through the opposition like a capable point guard can.  Even with all his turnovers, and missed shots, he's outplayed his mistakes so far, and has been nothing but money in the fourth quarter.

What now?  Just continue playing the game.

Mike.BTB

N.Y. Knicks ~ Jeremy Lin and the Art of the Win

From the desk of:   DUTCH PANTS CAN'T JUMP

Driggs Street Mural

NEW YORK KNICKS:  What's Saving the Knicks is Not Some Ancient Chinese Secret.  Jeremy Lin is a Damn Near Modern Day Miracle!


Once is a flash in the pan.  It's an - on any given day - kind of thing.  Twice can still be considered a coincidence.  But three times?  Now we're talking about a trend.  Four times?  That's usually when patterns start.

Okay, so who predicted the Knicks would beat the Lakers without Stoudemire and Melo?  I suspect, no one.  And don't say you did either unless you yourself are that one-in-one-thousand guy of Asian decent, who studied at Harvard, and excels at basketball as well.  Because as far as we all know right now, there's only one guy that fits that description.  As a matter of fact, no one even knew who Jeremy Lin was a week ago.  But he's lit up The Garden with fireworks reminiscent of local Chinese New Year traditions celebrated around the city just a few weeks ago.  And every team is playing a compressed schedule.  Therefore I'm not interested in hearing the Lakers were tired or anything of the kind.

You know debuts like this aren't supposed to happen.  That's why he's turned this into such a hot time in the Garden lately.  And now suddenly everything seems possible again.  It's been a great story and to his credit, he's made a lot of friends of Knicks Fans in a very short time.  He's turned a ticket to The Garden into an invitation to Enter the Dragon.  And I'll also give the kid credit for electrifying  MSG unlike the place has been jolted in over a decade; save last years pre-Melo trade when Felton was still here, and then again in the playoffs.

But what are we to really make of Jeremy Lin?  For starters, he understands the position and is very patient yet decisive with the ball.  He's shown a knack for the pick and roll.  He penetrates the lane exceeding well, and either kicks back out or finishes strongly to the hoop.  He keeps his dribble and hits the open shot when teams seem content with giving it to him.  Then Saturday against the T-Wolves/Muskies, he saved the Knicks again this time at the free throw line.  Yes, in four games he's pretty much shown he can do it all.  To summeraize, he's fundamentally sound and confident.

My only concern is can he sustain this?  But I will say, I believe in giving people the ball, or giving them opportunities, and letting them work and learn through both good and bad times.  With more games we'll learn more about Jeremy Lin.  And the Knicks have nothing to lose.  Let him start and let whomever play back-up.  At the same time, a little depth with give the Knicks a slight boost off the bench.

In Melo's absence however, the stark differences bewteen selling-out to the Star System, versus playing a team oriented game have never been more apparent.  The biggest question looming for the Knicks now is what happens to Lin once Melo comes back.  The arrival of Melo has meant the disappearance of Landry Fields; just as a matter of reference.  Truth is, he's never been the same since.

But maybe Jeremy Lin is just what Carmelo Anthony and Amare Stoudemire need.  If Jeremy Lin can find ways to consistently feed those two the ball, and be an effective traffic cop for them and still find ways to incorporate Tyson Chandler down low, then the Knicks really do have a revelation on their hands.

The Knicks take to the court again on Tuesday.  We have a few days to soak in and enjoy what Jeremy Lin has brought to the team.  Take a few days to sit on a victory against the T-Wolves, not to mention Kobe Bryant, who didn't even know who Jeremy Lin was just a few days ago.  After Friday's game however, he knows who Lin is now.  Enjoy the wins.  Next tip-off is Tuesday.




Mike.BTB