Last week, the Knicks were still out west to play their final 2 games of that 4-game Western swing. But, what was talked about more than the games were the swirling Carmelo Anthony trade rumors.
Housekeeping:
Record: 22 – 17
Streak: L2
2nd place in Atlantic Division
6th place in Eastern Conference
Team Leaders:
Points: Amar’e Stoudemire, 26
Rebounds: Amar’e Stoudemire, 9
Assists: Raymond Felton, 8.8
Steals: Raymond Felton, 1.9
Blocks: Amar’e Stoudemire, 2.4
Last week’s games
Last week the Knicks visited Portland, Utah and were home for Sacramento, and only managed to beat the Blazers. In a rare occurrence, the Knicks took less 3s than their opponent (18 t0 12) when they were out in Portland. The Knicks have hung their hat on long distance shooting this year but decided to dial it back against Portland. While they barely shot any 3s (compared to what they normally do), they were still able to score 100 points which goes to show just how dynamic their offense can be. They can score in other ways, especially since Amar’e leads the entire NBA in point in the paint – just as he did last year. Turiaf started this game because Gallo is still injured. That won’t be the case when Gallo gets back, but for the time being, I like Turiaf starting at the 5. I could live with that.
The game against Utah was an absolute track meet. The Jazz won 131 – 125 as neither team seemed that interested in playing D. The 131 was the most points that the Knicks have given up all year. Them dropping 125 isn’t that unheard of since they lead the league in scoring, but they need to prevent teams for scoring as much as they do (more on that later).
I can’t explain the 93 – 83 home loss to the 9 -29 Kings. I just can’t. For whatever reason, the Kings have won at the The Garden 4 consecutive times. The Knicks were playing catchup the entire night to a team that they are clearly more talented than. They scored 24 points below their season average and were under 100 for the first time in more than a month. You can point to the fact that they could be “tired” because of travel since they just came back from the West Coast, but I think the “West Coast hangover” excuse is just that, an excuse. I just think the Knicks played down to the competition and before you know it, it was too late to turn it up. I won’t over analyze that one. I was just a bad outing. I’ll leave it at that.
The Carmelo rumors
The ‘Melo rumors are starting to pick up significantly. Especially since the trade deadline is next month. Detroit, New Jersey and New York have all been rumored. Last week brought a new team into the mix: The Grizzles. The Knicks have reportedly been told by the Nuggets that they don’t have the personnel that would interest them in a trade for ‘Melo. Therefore, the Knicks brought Memphis into the equation. O.J. Mayo began coming off the bench this year in Memphis and it appears as if they wouldn’t mind dealing him. The Knicks wanted to use O.J. in a 3 team trade to land ‘Melo. One problem: The Nuggets aren’t interested in Mayo. So back to the drawing board.
I really like ‘Melo, but as I said earlier, the Knicks are #1 in scoring, so they don’t necessarily need anymore help putting the ball in the basket. They are 3rd from the bottom in allowing points, so that’s where they could use some help.
I’m all for getting ‘Melo, but it depends on what you have to give up. The Knicks will apparently have to part with either Gallo, Wilson Chandler or Landry Fields. They are the Knicks’ best young wind players and are all under the age of 25. Chandler’s play has made him extremely valuable this year and it looks like he would possible be the one who has to go. If I’m Donnie Walsh, I do everything in my power not to move Chandler. He can score, albeit not as good as ‘Melo, and plays D as well. I would move Gallo and would begrudgingly move Fields (who leads all NBA guards, not just rookies, in rebounding). Later in the week I plan to go into more detail why the Knicks should keep Chandler. That deserves it’s own topic.
If you’re looking for your everyday, predictable basketball talk, then go somewhere else, because Kevin Burke of The Kevin Burke Project brings provocative, thought provoking content about basketball as only he can. Kevin also hosts The Hoop Doctors weekly podcast show, which you can subscribe to for free on iTunes. Follow Kevin on Twitter and Facebook
