JR-STAR
Following the announcement of the All-Star reserves last week, Knicks fans reacted in one of two ways (if not both) – 1. Good for Tyson, it’s about time he got in… what an absolute joke that he is not a starter. 2. “How in the hell is JR Smith not on this list”.
When news broke that Rajon Rondo would miss the all star game with a torn ACL, many JR fans held their breath, hoping a late substitution would bring #Tape8 to Houston. But alas, the self-proclaimed Basketball God, one David Tyrannical Stern, bestowed the honor upon Brooklyn Nets Center, Brook Lopez.
As they so often do, Knicks fans took their outrage to twitter: (For example) -
2013 Knicks Mid-Season Awards
With 41 games behind the New York Knicks in this 2012-2013 campaign, it’s officially mid-season time and the Knickerbockers stand at a solid 28-15 record, good for second best in the East. Time to take a look back at which players surprised us, which storylines boggled our minds, and other random things that we can all share a laugh about. Enjoy.
Recap: Sixers 97, Knicks 80
This one was over before both team’s starters could even break a sweat. The Philadelphia 76ers embarrassed the Knicks last night, routing them by a score of 97-80. Sixers first time All-Star Jrue Holiday led Philly with a career high 35 points while dishing out six assists and grabbing five rebounds. Carmelo Anthony led the Knicks with 25 points but shot just 9-for-28 from the field.
Paul Pierce Struggle Face
This deserved its own post.
The New York Knicks Are NBA’s Most Valuable Franchise
Today, Forbes has updated their annual NBA franchise evaluations. The New York Knicks are now the NBA’s most valuable franchise, coming in at a valuation of $1.1 billion – a 41% increase from last year. To put that in perspective, the average NBA team is worth $509 million.
The Knicks had a revenue of $243 million and an operating income of $83.2 million, which is leaps and bounds above the rest of the field, as the Lakers come in at second with an operating income of $47.8 million.
Forbes breaks down the valuation into four parts: Sport, Market, Stadium and Brand. The sport is worth $185 million, market is worth $477 million, stadium worth $310 million and the brand is worth $134 million. The 41% year-over-year change in overall valuation is mostly due to the renovation at Madison Square Garden, as well as a drop in overall player salary, as the portion of the BRI (basketball related income) that the players received dropped from around 57% to closer to 50% after this past lockout.
Iman Shumpert: Just What the Doctor Ordered
It may be hard to focus on Iman Shumpert’s basketball with his hair stealing the show, but his return to the Knicks yesterday will have a huge impact on the team. Shumpert’s return came at the perfect time and he really is the kind of player who the Knicks have lacked this season.
Shumpert scored eight points in 15 minutes in his first game back from a torn ACL and meniscus that he suffered in the playoffs last season. He hit two corner three-pointers, had a nice steal and layup and had an athletic dunk attempt that he barely missed. Shumpert looked like he had no limitations, which is a very good sign since this is his first game in nine months.
An In-Depth Look at the Knicks’ Shot Selection
Ian Levy of Hickory-High.com has developed an intuitive new statistic for the use of all, and today I will be using it to view a better and clearer picture of the New York Knicks’ shot selection, player by player. This statistic formulated by Levy is called Expected Points Per Shot, or XPPS. This is based on the league average points per shot from a specific area on the court, and when used alongside an individual’s Actual Points Per Shot, it can determine who is taking shots from the most effective areas, who isn’t and how efficient they are, or should be. Using this, we can see how statistics match-up to popular theories such as how good of a bad-shot taker J.R. Smith really is, or if Raymond Felton is settling too much from the perimeter. Let’s do it.
The Answer to Anthony’s Shooting Woes
The Knicks as a whole have struggled lately, apparent in their three-game losing streak that was just snapped in a blowout win over New Orleans. There are an abundance of themes in these games that are troubling to have to watch, even in this past win. One being Carmelo Anthony’s abysmal shooting. This comes as a surprise to Knicks fans, possibly the biggest of all in this regression that goes far past a few consecutive losses. In their first ten contests, the Knicks held an 8-2 record. The next ten? 7-3. The next 6-4, and finally we arrive to these past seven games, where the Knicks have a record of 3-4.
Novak Reacts To Nate Robinson’s Mocking of Him
Last night, Nate Robinson did the Steve Novak Discount Double-Check after pulling up on Steve Novak, as well as a few other times throughout the evening. After the game, Tina Cervasio asked Novak for his thoughts on Robinson’s mocking of him, and, well, Novak fired some shots of his own. Take a listen.
Recap: Bulls 108, Knicks 101
The Knicks fell to the Bulls by seven, 108-101, in a game that was not nearly as close as the final score indicates. The Knicks fell behind by 21 at halftime and the Knicks could not recover from that. Luol Deng was outstanding, as he scored 33 points on 13-18 shooting. Carmelo Anthony scored the quietest 39 points you will ever see, as 19 of them came in garbage time in the fourth quarter and he only shot 14-32 from the field.
J.R. Smith’s Top Three Dunks This Season
I present to you J.R. Smith’s top three dunks this year.
Three:
Two:
One:
Knicks Would Be Wrong To Bring On KMart
With the Knicks somewhat reeling (5-6 record in their past 11 games) and injuries hurting the team, rumors have surfaced that the team is interested in bringing free-agent power forward Kenyon Martin on board. Martin (career averages of 13 points, 7.1 rebounds and 1.2 blocks) has not played this season after appearing in 42 games last season for the Los Angeles Clippers and after beginning his career with four seasons as a New Jersey Net and seven seasons as a Denver Nugget. While he’s been a talented and quality player throughout his career, bringing on KMart doesn’t really help any of the Knicks current issues.
