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Showing posts with label Knicks. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Knicks. Show all posts

NBA: Why Amare Stoudemire's Unmovable Contract Signed the New York Knicks Out of Championship Contention

Amare Stoudmire and New York Knicks. Photo credit NBA 
by Mattman

There are almost 100 million reasons why the New York Knicks signed themselves out of a foreseeable NBA Championship when they picked up Amare' Stoudemire in the 2010 NBA offseason, and it all starts with his famously "unmovable" contract.

Although the Knicks' 5-year, 99.7 million dollar (uninsured) investment in Amare' Stoudemire sounded like a great start for an NBA franchise that was looking to streamline their squad into an NBA

NBA Lessons from Comedy Central's "Workaholics" PT. 1: Let's Get Weird

Comedy Central's "Workaholics," might be more than just a satirical, hippied-out, sarcastic dedication to today's working class (Who knew?).  Between the drugs, drinking, and controlled substances that Anders, Blake and Adam consume on a daily basis, the troubled trio manages to spit out some important (and strange) life lessons; lessons that the sport of basketball (NBA included) have recently come to admire, adhere to, and even practice.

Bare with me here (pun intended).



Lesson 1:  "Let's Get Weird"
-It shouldn't be a surprise to anyone that the first three weeks of this NBA season have been as odd as they come.  First things first, the Lakers have a worse record than the Bobcats, the Hornets, the Warriors, and a number of other less-talented teams, and they selected Mike D'Antoni over ex-Lakers Head Coach, Phil Jackson, to be the chosen figure that will solve their multitude of problems and lead them to the promised land. 

For a team that's "championship or bust" most analysts assumed that Phil was the easy and obvious choice between the two coaching candidates.  However, Jerry Buss and the Lakers' management went with D'Antoni instead who is arguably the most gifted NBA offensive mind over the past decade.  The downside is that he's not known for his defense (he's an average defensive strategist at best), and he's never been to an NBA Championship as a Head Coach whereas Phil owns 11 championship rings. 



If I wanted a championship this year, I probably would've gone another direction, aka the " Phil Zen Way."  However, it seems like the Lakers are hellbent on out-scoring their opponents rather than locking down defensively; a strategy that rarely pans out favorably. 

Also, when was the last time that the Knicks were the best team in the league?  1999? Maybe 1973? (the Dave Debusschere, Earl Monroe, Willis Reed, and yes, Phil Jackson playing days).  Regardless, at this exact moment Melo's squad is balling out of control (Jim Jones' Dipset style) and tearing apart the competition one team at a time. 

What's more is that Amare' Stoudemire's absence from the active lineup is arguably the prime reason for their recent success.  That's right, the Knicks play better without one of the game's most dynamic forwards of the past ten years.  Also, for a team that's older than a good 99% of the league (avg. age is 31), they are out-running and out-gunning teams to the tune of 103+ ppg.  Plus, JR Smith is having the best season of his career thus far, with insane off-the-bench averages of 18 points and 5 boards a night on 72% shooting from downtown!  However, the most impressive statline for the Knicks right now is their stifling defensive numbers.  Their defense is allowing the league's least amount of points per game (87.8ppg), and they are leading the league in defense per 100 possessions (only giving up 96 points).  Also, they are forcing opponents into a very pedestrian FG% (42%).  If they keep this up, they might as well just bench Amare' for the remainder of the season because you shouldn't try and fix something that's not broken.



Frankly, the Knicks and the Heat may be the only NBA Championship contenders from the Eastern Conference.

Also, how long has it been since the 6th man of the year was up for NBA MVP bragging rights?  Since the creation of the 6th man of the year award in 1982, no reigning 6th man of the year has ever been considered a top MVP candidate the following season, but James Harden deserves to be in this year's MVP conversation.

You have to give credit where credit is due folks. 



In all my years of basketball research and analysis, I've never seen a player as instantly explosive as Harden.  He's ready to score the second the game starts, and his ability to fight through double teams and make intelligent basketball decisions in only his first season as an NBA starter is uncanny.  The only other "James" that might be more explosive than Harden is King Lebron (who's currently ranked #1 in ESPN's MVP rankings).  In his first season as a starter, Harden's averaging 26 points, almost 5 boards, and close to 5 assists per game, and he's turned his Rockets into a legitimately competitive team that recently gave Lebron and the Heat fits in Houston a few nights ago (it took a 38 point effort from LBJ to get MIA a "W").  I don't know what's more strange: the fact that he's averaging the 3rd most points per contest in the league as a first-time starter on a new team, the fact that he stole the spotlight from Jeremy Lin, or the fact that he's a credible MVP candidate the year after he won the 6th man award.

Right now, the Thunder might wish that they hadn't wasted their max contract on Westbrook last January because Harden is worth franchising and he's worth every penny of his 5 year, $80 million max deal in Houston.


He's just scary good.


Tune in this weekend for some more NBA lessons from the "Workaholics."



Thanks for stopping by,

The Mattman

Playing in the Red: The New NBA

As a Dallas Maverick fan, I have to wonder why teams like L.A., Miami, New York, and even Brooklyn can acquire the players that they have under the new collective bargaining agreement, yet a team that has operated well above the salary cap since Mark Cuban took over can not. Those teams have made a decision to operate in the red and a NBA championship is worth it.

The new agreement was supposed to level the playing field by requiring a much higher luxury tax for teams over the salary cap. What has happened is the plane between contender and non-contender has grown exponentially. At the start of the 2012-13 season, the number of teams with a legitimate chance of winning it all is few and far between. Struggling franchises are finding it hard to attract top free agents and additional revenue streams to compensate for increasing their payroll. The original thought that low salary cap teams will be the go-to destination if a superstar wants to make big money was totally wrong. Lebron is not going back to Cleveland, Dwight is not going to Charlotte, and Chris Paul is not requesting a trade to Milwaukee. The NBAPA forgot that teams have low salaries for a reason; the owners don't want to spend the money.

The league on the other hand is different situation. David Stern and company have decided to help the big market teams get bigger. Recently, the league office allowed teams to place advertisements on game jerseys. An ad on a Knicks or Lakers jersey will be quadruple the price of an ad on a Timberwolves jersey. The Knicks and Lakers also have local TV deals that help balance financial spreadsheets. They also have merchandise sales blow smaller market teams out of the water. The bigger the market, the bigger luxury tax you can afford to pay.

To Mark Cuban's credit he knew this was going to happen before the new agreement was signed. There are reports that he wanted to have a hard cap, meaning that a team can't go over the cap and pay a luxury tax. Imagine the parity of the NBA if that was true. Instead of 5 teams with a chance to win, there would be 20. Cuban has made a good decision to let the dust settle. For the first time his franchise will operate under the cap which gives him great flexibility to do anything. His new challenge is to play the cap game and win another title using the flexibility to his advantage. He already has proven the other way works.

Point Guard Jeremy Lin Possibly a Rocket.

        The former New York Knicks point guard, Jeremy Lin, is currently a free agent, after having a "Cinderella" type of year! He came out of know where and got his chance to start for the Knicks in mid-season, and shined! He started out averaging over 20 ppg, then once teams starting adjusting to him, and his play style, he only scored about 14 ppg.
                                                     The 23 - year old Lin has a decision to make. The Houston Rockets have offered him a 3yr 25 million dollar contract, but the Knicks have until midnight tonight, July 17, to offer him a contract, or he will most likely end up going to the Rockets. The Knicks have recently signed point guard Jason Kidd, and they traded to get point guard Raymond Felton from the Portland Trail Blazers.
                                                        Carmelo Anthony would "Love" to see Lin get re-signed with the Knicks. “I would love to see him back, honestly, I would definitely love to see him back. But knowing the business of basketball, it’s kind of a tough situation, kind of for both parties. With Jeremy, I know he definitely would want to be back in New York, and with the team, (owner James) Dolan definitely wants him back. But it’s just a matter of figuring it out," said Anthony after an interview on Sunday, July 15. Now it's all in the Knicks hands' now to see whether Lin goes to the Rockets or not.


                       
                                                          Do you think Jeremy Lin should go to the rockets or re-sign with the New York Knicks if they offer him a new contract? Where do you think is the right fit for Jeremy Lin?

STEVE NASH IS A LA LAKER; 3 YEARS $25 MILLION

Words are only words...right. After Steve Nash gave a radio interview saying that he was "old school" and thought it would be to hard to wear a Lakers jersey, he will now join the team next season.

Nash, a two-time NBA MVP, will replace Ramon Sessions who opted out of his final year to pursue free agency. This will definitely help the Lakers stay title contenders in the Western Conference.

Nash turned down a lucrative deal from his home country Toronto Raptors of $36 million for the same 3 years. Lakers acquire Nash through sign and trade with Phoenix using a trade exception from Lamar Odom's deal.

Nash was also being pursued by his old team the Dallas Mavericks, NY Knicks, and Miami Heat also.