N.Y. Knicks: Opportunity to Move Porzingis and Hardaway is a Godsend

From the desk of:  DUTCH PANTS CAN'T JUMP

TAXI..!!!!

New York Knicks: The Two Decade Old Rebuild Continues ...

Don't get me wrong, the Knicks lose me with Jimmy Dolan Steve Mills.  He's been a constant throughout this ongoing crisis we call the Knickerbockers.  Moreover, I wouldn't trust Scott Perry to mail a letter for me, much less build a contender.  In light of the big trade, my opinion of them has not changed.

However, I'd be a hypocrite if I said I didn't agree with their decision to trade Kristaps Porzingis.  Because when the situation calls for a full blown rebuild, I firmly believe in stripping things to the bone.  That means all assets must go.  So bravo to them, because no not only do I agree with trading Kristaps, I applaud it.

I acknowledge the manner in which the game is played has changed.  Be that as it may, I never saw the use for a seven foot three-point shooter.  He doesn't rebound, nor was he going to turn around a 10-41 team by himself.  In fact, I contend freeing themselves of both Porzingis and Hardaway is a godsend.  They're what I call net asset zero salary cap suckers.  Besides, seven-footers with feet/leg issues are historically known to be NBA taboo.  So whether he wanted to be in New York or not is irrelevant to me.

Mike, you idiot!  When healthy he  ...

No.

Dallas Mavericks get:

• Kristaps Porzingis
• Tim Hardaway, Jr.
• Trey Burke
• Courtney Lee

New York Knicks get:

• DeAndre Jordan
• Wesley Matthews
• Dennis Smith, Jr.
• 2021 #1 pick
• 2023 #1 pick *top ten protected

They'll be far better served with two first round draft picks versus anything Courtney Lee or Trey Burke brought to the table.  Let's be real.  Before the trade, the Knicks were effectively void of players not named Kevin Knox worthy of retention.  But they must draft smartly.

... and there's the rub.

As I sit here watching Zion Williamson and Duke destroy St. John's, it dawns on me the only way this season's tank-a-thon truly pays off is either through pure luck, or if Commissioner Silver fills the Knicks' ping pong balls with helium.  Otherwise, amassing high drafts picks is the next best strategy.

"The person who does not select Zion Williamson at number one in the upcoming draft, will go to sleep each night embarrassed over what they passed up!" - loosely paraphrasing college basketball god Dick Vitale during Saturday's St. John's/Duke game.

With regards to rumors of Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, or other big name free agents coming to town, anticipate nothing.  Yes, Mills and Perry created an intriguing amount of cap space.  But you can't be disappointed with what you do not expect.  High profile players say they love playing at Madison Square Garden.  But  how many of them actually say they want to play for the Knicks?  Therefore, I'll believe it when I see it.

In the meantime, bringing in DeAndre Jordan serves as yet another slap to the face of Enes Kanter.

Taxi..!

Battle of the Boroughs: Knicks Complete Season Sweep Over Nets

From the desks of: 

THE HOOPS OF FLATBUSH  and  DUTCH PANTS CAN'T JUMP

Battle of the Boroughs

Knicks win series 4-0

I - NYK 107; BKN 86

II - NYK 111; BKN 104

III  NYK 119;BKN 104

IV - NYK 111; BKN 95

New York Knicks: Tweet This!  Enes Kanter's Double-Double Buries Brooklyn.

That's a wrap. 

The New York Knicks win this year's season series four games to none.  It's their first sweep of the Nets in seven years.  In fact, the games weren't even close.  The Knicks won each contest by an average margin of 16-points.

Kristaps Porzingis led all players with 28-points Tuesday night at the Garden.  He was 9/19 (47%) from the floor, and a perfect 4/4 from the line, but inflicted most of his damage from beyond the arch, connecting on six of nine attempts.

Enes Kanter, however, wins the coveted employee of the night award.  Double-Zero scored 20-points and dominated the boards with 15 defensive rebounds and 20 overall, with all but five rebounds coming at the defensive end.  It was his 21st double-double of the season in 48 games played.  For the moment, he is averaging double-digit rebounds for only the second time in his career, and is also averaging a career high .607% from the floor (fourth best in the league). 

Did I also mention he tied with a team-high five assists as well?

None of this bodes well for the disgruntled Joakim Noah - nor should it.  Simply put, Kanter, the third overall pick of the 2011 draft, is winning the day.

Now, if only KP and Kanter had a point guard.

About that ...

In 20-minutes, Jarrett Jack had four assists and just two points off four attempts.  Meanwhile, rookie Frank Ntilikina scored eight points with five assists in 26-minutes off the bench.


Brooklyn Nets: Wet Paint ... Do Not Touch.

At this point, why waste oxygen decrying the defense?  It's an issue ... a huge issue ... one that Enes Kanter put on full display Tuesday night at Madison Square Garden.

The Nets are allowing an average of 108.8 points per game this season - seventh most in the league.  However, they were particularly generous against their cross-river rivals, as the Knicks averaged 112-points in four games against the Nets.

For a team that doesn't necessarily have a problem scoring, per se, the Nets only averaged 97-points per game against the Knicks which is eight points shy of their 105 points per game average.

Jahlil Okafor's 25-minutes were his most since coming to the Nets.  He accounted for 13 rebounds, but was only 2/7 from the floor with five points off the bench.

N.Y. Knicks: LeBron's Tour de Force

From the desk of:  DUTCH PANTS CAN'T JUMP

Attention Passengers: Please Pay No Mind To LeBron James

FINAL

Cavaliers  104

Knicks       101

New York Knicks: LeBron James Takes A Day Long Bite Of The Big Apple.

At some point prior to his arrival in town, LeBron James decided he was going to take a day-long bite out of the Big Apple, chew it, and spit it out upon our sidewalks.

What inspired this?  I don't know.

The day started with unsolicited, and very pointed remarks made by LeBron James directed towards Phil Jackson, his draft selections, and the New York Knicks in general.

After Cleveland's early shoot-around, LeBron and Company then decided to make a live social media appearance aboard the NYC subway system.  At one point admitting he'd previously been on the Philadelphia system, but never the MTA.  That was only too obvious, because he fails to realize we see clowns like him on the trains damn near every day.

Man, I wish I could have been there to lend them directions ...

LeBron's subterranean adventure seemingly turned out well, because he made it back to Madison Square Garden for Monday night's game unscathed.  Something, though, must have transpired to sour his disposition, as he showed up on the court looking to play and posture like some sort of tough guy; pushing and bumping with this one, and jawing and jabbing at that one. 

You know the routine.

In the midst of all that, he led the Cleveland Tourists to a come from behind 104-101 victory.  King Shame led his fellow tourists with 23 points, a game high 12 assists, and just missed a triple-double with nine assists.

The game did go down to the wire.  So, good job by the Knicks.

Kristaps Porzingis scored 20 points, while Tim Hardaway Jr. and Enes Kanter both posted double-doubles.  Hardaway Jr. led all scorers with 28 points, while Kanter scored 20 and grabbed a game high 16 rebounds.

The Knicks limited Cleveland to 13 points in the 2nd quarter, and took a 51-38 lead into halftime.  They even widened their lead over the Cavs by 15 points, leading 76-61 after three quarters.

Cleveland then kicked into another gear during the fourth, outscoring the Knicks by a 43-25 margin.

On his way out of town, LeBron leaves us with the memory of a Monday loss.

What the hell did we do?

N.Y. Knicks: The New Alpha Claims His Turf

From the desk of:  DUTCH PANTS CAN'T JUMP

Welcome To The House of Kristaps

New York Knicks: There's a New Ball Hog in Town, and His Name is Kristaps Porzingis.

I'm not a big fan of playing people out of position.

The Knicks demonstrated over the course of the previous two seasons that having two feature power forwards and only one ball was problematic.  But that goes for any team.  There can only be one alpha at any position.

That's why I call this season a perfect example of addition by subtraction.

Do you think that if Carmelo Anthony were still here, Kristaps Porzingis would be scoring the way he's been through the first nine games of the season?

I don't.

Over his last two seasons with the Knicks, Melo averaged 22.1 points, and 6.8 rebounds, in 34.7 minutes per game.  As a rookie and sophomore, Porzingis averaged 16.2 points, and 7.25 rebounds, in 30.6 minutes per game.

Melo is presently averaging 20.6 points through nine games for Oklahoma City, with 5.7 rebounds, in 32.2 mpg.  Those stats come with a grain of salt, of course, as Melo is now 33 years old, and is surrounded by a new and superior supporting cast.  Therefore, he is not being required to carry as much of a load as was necessary here in New York.

But now that Kristaps is out from Melo's shadow, he is averaging 30.2 points this season, with 7.8 rebounds in 33.4 minutes per game.

Moreover, Melo has averaged seven-plus rebounds for a season five times in his 14-year career, but not since the 2010-2011 season.  During that season, he averaged 7.6 rebounds in 50 games for the Denver Nuggets, but slipped to 6.7 rebounds in his final 27 games of the season playing with the Knicks.

Kristaps Porzingis, now in his third year, has consistently averaged seven plus rebounds throughout his 147 game career with the Knicks.

Still only 22-years old, Kristaps is perhaps the only thing Phil Jackson did right prior to receiving his separation papers (although Frank Ntilikina looks promising).  We know the truth, though, how Pozingis really fell into Jackson's lap at #4 overall in the 2015 draft.  And in truth, some Knicks fans weren't all that thrilled at the time with the selection.

Just goes to show even a blind squirrel can find a nut once in a while.

Nuts, however, is a good way to describe the atmosphere this season at Madison Square Garden.  Look no further than at the Latvian Nightmare as the main reason why.

A week ago today, Porzingis dropped 38 points on the Denver Nuggets, then one-upped himself with a career high 40 points against the Pacers at the Garden on Sunday.

Porzingis has now scored 30-points or better in seven of the Knicks first nine games of the season.

The team is off to a 5-4 start, but are 5-2 when Kristaps tops 30 points, and 0-2 in the games he has not.

That could spell trouble down the line.

Just not tonight.


UPDATE: Per SNY-TV

Most points to start first nine games of season:

• Kristaps Porzingis 272 (2017)
• Bernard King 264 (1984)
• Patrick Ewing 261 (1989)
• Willis Reed 243 (1967)
• Patrick Ewing 241 (1990)
• Carmelo Anthony 239 (2011)

N.Y. Knicks: Triangulation Exacerbation

From the desk of:  DUTCH PANTS CAN'T JUMP

Another deflating moment in the Knicks 16-year rebuilding process.

New York Knicks: Derek Fisher turned into just another social misfit lost in a Triangle of love.

There was little justification for hiring Derek Fisher in the first place, so, firing him was a layup.

He was brought in to help teach Phil Jackson's triangle offense, but instead became ensnared in a bizarre love triangle gone public.  As coach, his affect on the team was just as ineffective - and as we're learning, maybe even toxic.

For a change, there's no dumping on Carmelo Anthony for this one.  He's clean.  In fact, Melo has been more of the solution this season, than the problem.  His willingness to work with Kristaps Porzingis and the rest of his newer mates elevated the Knicks into a .500 team (to date) - not Derek Fisher's coaching per se, or lack thereof.  Lest we forget the Knicks were a woeful 17-65 last season.

Therefore, all this (and Kurt Rambis) must be taken with a grain of salt.

I've seen more prominent coaches torn apart by this town's media, for exercising greater command of their craft, and committing much lesser offenses than those of which Derek Fisher was essentially given a slap on the hand for.  It goes without saying he has Phil Jackson to thank for his initial employment, as well as any benevolence experienced from said media.

Luckily for Derek Fisher, Phil Jackson is the alpha.  All eyes are on him, and always were.  Everyone looked at Fisher, but saw Phil Jackson.

Hiring Fisher was not as negligent as generally characterized.  Giving Derek Fisher an opportunity to get his feet wet was a nice gesture on Jackson's part.  Sure, it came at the Knicks expense, but, the team was in do-ever mode again, and going nowhere.

So what becomes of this acute Triangle now?

Phil Jackson's next hire will go a long way towards answering that question.  We're also going to learn, one way or another, how stubbornly committed he is to this twisted geometry of his.

At some point, this system, or Phil Jackson himself will have to go.  And it's my opinion that Phil Jackson knows exactly when the latter will happen.

Knicks vs. Nets: Battle of the Boroughs - II

From the desks of:

DUTCH PANTS CAN'T JUMP  &  THE HOOPS OF FLATBUSH

Mikhail Prokhorov slams on the brakes;

Major roadwork ahead.

WEDNESDAY

New York Knicks

vs.

Brooklyn Nets

FROM

Barclays Center

FLATBUSH AVENUE

BROOKLYN NETS: Borough's notorious apathy settling in; seats are emptying, and Mikhail Prokhorov knows it.

Carmelo Anthony rolled his ankle during Tuesday night's Knicks victory over the Celtics.  His availability for Wednesday's contest in Brooklyn will likely be a game time decision.

Shame too ... fans in Brooklyn needed something for their money.

Count it!  ...and the foul!

Truth of the matter is that necessity is the mother of all invention.

Sweeping changes are indeed underway at Barclays Center.  Brooklyn's dismal 10-28 record this season alone justified owner Mikhail Prokhorov's decision to rethink his strategy for success.

At the Nets recent presser, Mr. Prokhorov reasoned that by initiating changes now, he avoids having to rush through the replacement process ahead, and that this time, a well conceived plan focused on mid-level to long term success is now in order.

Behind the scenes, Mr. Prokhorov revealed the NBA stated their desire to have the Nets and Barclays Center consolidated under single ownership (versus the off-setting holdings shared between Mikhail Prokhorov and Bruce Ratner).

That was the out Bruce Ratner wanted all along.  Hence, Mr. Prokhorov recently became full (100%) owner of both the Nets and Barclays Center.  Prokhorov said the deal was good for him, while Forest City is gladly out of the loop.

As sole owner, Mikhail Prokhorov reminded all he is indeed a businessman, and that if interested parties feel inclined to make a bid (for the team and arena) he will indeed listen, but then quickly assured the room he has no inclinations to sell.  In simple but very effective terms, he expressed an even greater determination to get this process done right, and resolved to delivering Brooklyn a championship caliber club.

To that end, he said, "I'm all in."

Now that all his rubles are in one basket, he better be.

As expected the Nets ranked dead last in attendance during their last season in New Jersey.

During their inaugural season in Brooklyn, the Nets ranked 16th in the league.  In year two, they slipped to 17th in the league.  Last season, Nets attendance dropped to 20th in the league.  In each of their first three seasons in Brooklyn, however, Nets average attendance remained above 17,000 per game.

This season, the Brooklyn Nets are one of four NBA teams averaging less that 15,000 fans per game, ranking 28th in a circuit of 30 teams.

That's bad business, and no one knows it better than Mikhail Prokhorov.

His team enters Wednesday's game losers of 5 straight.  On Monday, they dropped their 10th straight game at Barclays Center, this time against the San Antonio Spurs.


NEW YORK KNICKS: Melo's team oriented play endures an untimely twist of fate.

The Knicks defeated the Boston Celtics 120-114 at the Garden Tuesday night.  They are winners of 5 of their last 6 games, and enter Barclays Center this evening at par with a 20-20 record.

Kristaps Porzingis led all Knicks Tuesday with 26 points, as Carmelo Anthony set out the 2nd half.   Arron Afflalo picked up the slack scoring 20 of his 24 points in the 2nd half.

During much of the early going, Kristaps Porzingis' polished play, and Arron Afflalo's impact were frequently leading stories.  That's why Carmelo Anthony couldn't have rolled his ankle at a worse time.  His fine team play this season was finally getting the recognition it rightly deserves.

If you're talking about the 2015-2016 season, you're definitely talking about a different, more cooperative Melo, even wiser Melo.

The results on the floor speak for themselves.

Wednesday Final

KNICKS  104

NETS       110

A Victory Grows in Brooklyn:

Despite 31 points from Derrick Williams, the visiting Knicks failed to break through the .500 mark.   The Knicks were playing on the back end of consecutive nights, and without Carmelo Anthony whom twisted his ankle Tuesday against the Celtics.

Kristaps Porzingas struggled, shooting only  5 of 17 from the field, but still posted a double-double with 12 points and 10 boards.

By the 4th quarter, the Knicks were clearly spent, as the Nets coasted to 36 points in the final quarter, en route to a 110-104 victory.

Brook Lopez led the Nets with 20 points, while Thaddeus Young went double-double, with 19 points and 11 rebounds.

The victory snapped the Nets 5-game losing streak, and more importantly, their 10-game losing streak at Barclays Center.

Knicks Victorious in Season's First Battle of the Boroughs

From the desks of:

DUTCH PANTS CAN'T JUMP  and  THE HOOPS OF FLATBUSH

Friday Final

Nets        91

Knicks  108

Knicks rookie backs up his words.

Add trash talkin' New Yorker to his resume...

As a lead-in to the season's first East River showdown, the freshly minted Eastern Conference Rookie of the Month said Europeans know the Knicks well, but the Nets, not so much.

Kristaps Porzingis then backed up his riff in so far as Knicks fans being better than Nets fans with 19 points and 10 rebounds during Friday night's 108-91 lopsided victory over Brooklyn at Madison Square Garden.

Indeed, twenty games into the Knicks season Porzingis has turned boos into cheers, and is easily the lead story in town.

His selection was met with resounding disapproval by fans at the 2015 draft, but a quarter of the way through his first season as a pro, he has won fans over with 13.8 points and 9.3 rebounds per game - but doing so with smoothness and skill.

Most importantly, Porzingas has Carmelo Anthony believing he's here to help expedite the rebuilding process, and elevate Melo's game - not hinder it.

Proof lies in the numbers.  The Knicks improved to 10-10 with Friday's victory.  This time last season, they were a mere 4-16, en route to a 17-65 regular season.

This time, they really, really mean it..

The Brooklyn Nets have become notoriously poor starters (among other things...).

The Nets were 11-9 after the first twenty games during their inaugural season, and were playing .500 ball in late December when they decided to fire coach Avery Johnson.  Under P.J. Carlisimo, the Nets posted a 35-19 record the rest of the way.

The Nets started 6-14 in the 2013-14 season, and posted an 8-12 record after twenty games last season.  Each time, they rebounded well enough in order make the playoffs.

This season, the Nets are 5-14 to date and appear really, really, determined to keep a steady course.

*

Friday night, the Nets had 15 assists for the entire game.  The Knicks Jose Calderon led all players with 10 assists by himself.  Joe Johnson led the Nets with four assists, and got ejected for a flagrant elbow foul late in the game.

Knicks and Nets: The Not Ready For Prime Time Cagers

From the desks of:  

DUTCH PANTS CAN'T JUMP  and  THE HOOPS OF FLATBUSH

If futility ignited rivalries, 

this one would be a 3-alarm fire.

Like Two Bottle Rockets in the New York Night...

Remember how Carmelo Anthony's haste for leaving the Denver Nuggets, and seeking a max-contract before the league's new CBA kicked in (that would have otherwise reigned in his earning potential as a free agent) almost got him traded to the New Jersey Nets?

Remember how the Carmelo Anthony tug-o-war between the Nets and Knicks unfolded, or rather, how James Dolan trampled over Donnie Walsh in his own haste to intercept Carmelo?

Both teams were prepared to show Melo the money, so to say.  But the Knicks ultimately offered more players than could the Nets, and so on Feb. 22, 2011, Carmelo Anthony became a Knick.

That seemingly set the next day's headlines in stone - until the Nets secured guard Deron Williams from the Utah Jazz under cover of night.  In an astonishing turn of events, the Feb. 23rd morning tabloids proclaimed New Jersey's trade for a top point guard trumped New York's acquisition of a high scoring small forward.

Then came the Nets move into Brooklyn (Knicks' turf, the land of Bernard King), and an inevitable clash between owners James Dolan and Mikhail Prokhorov.  You might say Prokhorov stuck Dolan with a hot cattle prod when he first purchased billboard space two blocks from Madison Square Garden, and again when he decreed the Brooklyn Nets would win a championship within three short years.

The hardwood battle, however, was supposed to feature supreme two performances - the respective abilities of Carmelo Anthony and Deron Williams in leading their respective teams, and boroughs, to postseason glory.

In 2012-2013, the city got a small taste of what could potentially still become a furious inter-city rivalry (perchance to dream....).  The Knicks and Nets finished one and two atop the Atlantic Division:

• Knicks (54-28); Carmelo Anthony led the league with 28.7 points per game.  His team advanced passed the Boston Celtics in the first round of playoffs, then bowed to the Indiana Pacers in Round 2.

• Nets (49-33); Deron Williams averaged 18.9 ppg. and 7.7 assists.  In their inaugural season playing in Brooklyn, the Nets fell to an undermanned Chicago Bulls team.

If you missed it, too bad, because that's as good as things got.  If futility ignited rivalries, this one would be a 3-alarm fire.

The Knicks quite literally fell off a cliff, forcing Dolan into somewhat out-of-the-box thinking.  Alas, he called on 1970's Knickerbocker hero/1990's Bulls nemesis Phil Jackson to help clean up the mess, despite a glaring lack of front office experience.

The Knicks failed to reach the playoffs in each of the last two seasons.  In 2013-14, they posted a sub-par 37-45 record.  Then came last season's record breaking disaster, in which the Knicks posted a 17-65 record, that some might argue was solely authored by the man (Phil Jackson) whom help the Knicks win their last championship over 40-years ago.

On July 13, 2014, the Knicks ponderously re-signed Carmelo Anthony to another max-pact, which totally flew in the face of Phil Jackson's rebuilding effort.

Brooklyn's rate of regression wasn't as shocking as that of the Knicks, but has been no less methodically painful to watch.  The Nets made the playoffs in 2013-2014 with a 44-38 record, and again last year with a sub-par 38-44 record.

While Melo was in full effect at Madison Square Garden, Deron Williams was incredibly ineffective during most of his time with Brooklyn.  Never able to shake the injury bug, he struggled mightily after accepting the role of franchise player.

On July 11, 2015, Deron Williams was mercifully waived by the Nets.

Like two bottle rockets on a mid-summer night, the fireworks demonstration over the East River anticipated by Manhattan and Brooklyn alike fizzled out.

Even the owners stopped taking cheap shots at each other.

Now what?

Brooklyn Nets: The unraveling realm of Billy King.

As noted, the Nets are in regression.  After posting 49 wins during their inaugural season in Brooklyn, they slipped to 44 wins in year two, to only 38 wins last year.

Brook Lopez and Joe Johnson are still here, but the player formerly known as the franchise, is not.   Deron Williams plays for Dallas now, waived by Billy King.  He follows Gerald Wallace, Paul Pierce, Alan Anderson, Kevin Garnett, and the seemingly hundreds of other players Billy King has brought in and out of Kings County.

With Williams gone, Jarrett Jack takes over the lead point guard role this season, but will not be available when the Nets host the Bulls in Wednesday night's season opener at Barclays Center.  Until Jack's hamstring gets jumping again, Shane Larkin will open the season at point.

Mason Plumlee is gone too.  Not happy about that!

Re-signing Brook Lopez was one small step for the Nets, but two giant feet of trouble for Brooklyn-kind.  The free agent opted to stay with the Nets - the only team he's known since 2008.

Brook played 82 games in each of his first three seasons, but not since.  His history of on and off again foot issues screams beware in 2015-2016.  He was limited to just 5 games in 2011-2012, then followed up with 74 games in 2012-2013.  He only appeared in 17 games during 2013-2014, then followed up again with 72 games played last season.

Will this turn into another problematic season for Brook and the Nets?

While his feet say one thing, Coach Hollins says another.  Remember how Lionel Hollins effectively benched Lopez?  Last season marked the first time Brook failed to start in any game which he played going back to his rookie season.  Last year he only started 44 of his 72 games played.

Joe Johnson is entering the final season of his contract.  That's nice, but the upcoming season won't be.

Lionel Hollins will make them play defense, but this does not strike me as a top eight Eastern Conference team.

That said, can someone explain to me why Billy King is still in charge?

New York Knicks: Carmelo Anthony, Phil Jackson, and Derek Fisher; a Triumvirate of Dysfunction.

Either they change the Knicks narrative together, or not at all...

Why re-sign Carmelo Anthony?  Last season, he played with a knee injury that would ultimately require surgery.  He played injured since opening night, yet only cared long enough in order to play in the all-star game before shutting down his season.

The Knicks entered the all-star break with a 10-43 record.  They ranked either last, or next to last on both offense and defense.  So why was he playing in the first place?

Exactly!

Robin Lopez gets to playing the same city as his brother, though.  That's nice.

Not so nice - Carmelo Anthony's reaction to Phil Jackson drafting Kristaps Porzingis.  Way to make the kid feel welcome.  If Melo knew the Knicks were in rebuilding mode, why re-sign with them?   I'm sure it had nothing to do with the Knicks ability to pay more than all other suitors...

Exactly!

This is still Melo's World.  We just get to live in it and watch.  Although, I'm still terribly interested to see who prevails as Knicks alpha-male - Phil Jackson or Carmelo Anthony.  Coach Fisher will be their battleground personified.

Team projections?  Don't make me laugh.  The Knicks will be lucky to win 25 games.

This non-burgeoning rivalry is still in search of better days.  

Their Dec. 4 clash will be nothing more than a pillow fight, 

as both contend for a second division participation trophy.