Author: Jim Cavan

The following is the first in a regular series of dispatches from Father Knickerbocker, our early 19th century Dutch-American correspondent, commentator, and moralist about town.

According to multiple sources that probably wouldn’t get something like this wrong, JR Smith has been suspended five games for violating the NBA’s substance abuse policy. The NBA says Smith’s suspension will commence from whenever he is deemed physically able to play. Smith is currently recovering from a pair of minor knee surgeries conducted in mid July. As multiple-game suspensions are typically only wielded after a player has failed multiple drug tests, logic has it that JR botched his wiz quiz at least three times. Which naturally invites the question: Is that decision made by league doctors, or team doctors? …continue reading

PlayerID FLName Year Tm PER TS_P eFG_P PTS ORB TRB AST STL BLK TOV 0 J.R. Smith 2013 NYK 17.6 .522 .484 19.4 0.9 5.7 2.9 1.3 0.3 1.8 0.054 Leandro Barbosa 2010 PHO 14.0 .526 .485 19.1 0.5 3.2 2.9 1.1 0.5 2.1 0.058 Greg Ballard 1982 WSB 17.9 .519 .479 18.2 1.7 7.7 3.1 1.7 0.3 1.5 0.061 Michael Finley 2001 DAL 18.2 .521 .487 18.5 1.1 4.4 3.8 1.2 0.3 2.0 0.063 Juan Dixon 2006 POR 14.6 .516 .474 17.5 0.6 3.3 2.8 1.1 0.1 2.1 0.070 Harvey Grant 1993 WSB 16.1 .523 .488 18.1 1.8 5.6 …continue reading

PlayerID FLName Year Tm PER TS_P eFG_P PTS ORB TRB AST STL BLK TOV 0 Pablo Prigioni 2013 NYK 13.0 .595 .575 7.8 1.2 4.1 6.7 2.0 0.1 2.5 0.331 Danny Ainge 1995 PHO 14.3 .596 .552 15.0 0.7 2.9 5.5 1.2 0.2 2.1 0.336 Jason Kidd 2009 DAL 16.9 .550 .522 9.1 1.1 6.2 8.8 2.0 0.5 2.3 0.396 Scottie Pippen 2001 POR 15.3 .541 .505 12.2 1.2 5.6 5.0 1.6 0.6 2.6 0.414 Anthony Johnson 2010 ORL 12.4 .543 .500 11.5 0.7 4.3 5.6 1.0 0.1 2.3 0.453 Jon Barry 2005 TOT 13.4 .570 .534 10.9 0.6 3.8 …continue reading

In a move that may well bookend a surprisingly busy offseason, the Knicks appear poised to sign veteran point guard Beno Udrih to a one-year, veteran’s minimum contract, according to Coach Mike Woodson. In the wake of Jason Kidd’s departure, landing a third point guard to supplement Raymond Felton and Pablo Prigioni — re-signed to a three-year, $5 million, partially guaranteed deal on July 10th — was of paramount concern for the front office. Mission accomplished. That the Knicks were able to land Udrih marks a small but not insignificant coup: At 31, the Slovenian point guard has plenty left …continue reading

PlayerID FLName Year Tm PER TS_P eFG_P PTS ORB TRB AST STL BLK TOV 0 Rasheed Wallace 2013 NYK 16.7 .484 .465 17.8 1.3 10.1 0.7 1.6 1.8 1.2 0.211 Hakeem Olajuwon 2001 HOU 20.7 .526 .498 16.1 2.9 10.0 1.7 1.6 2.1 1.9 0.287 Kevin Willis 2001 TOT 14.6 .478 .441 14.2 3.5 10.5 1.0 1.1 1.0 1.7 0.305 Patrick Ewing 2001 SEA 12.9 .478 .430 13.0 2.1 10.0 1.6 0.9 1.6 2.6 0.400 Jerome Kersey 2001 MIL 12.9 .473 .464 10.7 1.2 6.7 2.2 2.1 1.2 0.9 0.459 Robert Parish 1992 BOS 18.9 .571 .535 17.6 3.5 11.1 …continue reading