Knicks Morning News (Monday, Dec 26 2011)
December 26th, 2011 by Mike Kurylo | @KnickerBlogger | Comments | Permalink |
Carmelo Anthony scored 37 points as the Knicks defeated the Celtics in the N.B.A.’s belated return after a long, strange off-season.
The Lakers blew a 6-point lead in the final minute against the Bulls, falling in the N.B.A. season opener and marking the 10th loss in their string of 14 annual Christmas games.
LeBron James scored 37 points and Dwyane Wade had 26 as the Heat put on a devastating show of dunks and defense, routing the defending champion Mavericks.
Aided by 30 points from Kevin Durant, the Thunder defeated the visiting Magic, which looked like a team that was still dealing with the distraction of Dwight Howard’s trade demands.
Iman Shumpert, the 17th pick in the June draft, sustained a right knee injury Sunday that will leave him on the sideline for up to a month.
“Pound the Rock” is written on the walls of the team’s practice gym and in the locker room.
While Dirk Nowitzki and the Dallas Mavericks were on the court celebrating the championship they won over LeBron James and Dwyane Wade last season, the Miami Heat were gathered in another part of the building.
Prize acquisition Chris Paul had 20 points and nine assists in his much-anticipated Clippers debut, Blake Griffin added 22 points and seven rebounds and Los Angeles beat the Golden State Warriors 105-86 on Sunday night to spoil Mark Jackson’s opener as a first-time coach.
Kevin Durant scored 30 points to help the Oklahoma City Thunder win their season opener with a 97-89 victory over the Orlando Magic on Sunday night.
By Simon Evans
Derrick Rose scored 22 points and hit a short go-ahead jumper with 4.8 seconds to play, and the Chicago Bulls rallied from an 11-point deficit in the final four minutes for an 88-87 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday.
NBA Commissioner David Stern opened his lockout-delayed season by hearing boos from Mavericks fans.
Carmelo Anthony and the Knicks know it will never be easy against the Celtics.
A truncated season is under way, but the players association director Billy Hunter says it is too soon to ascertain the labor conflict’s winners and losers.
The Knicks’ victory against the Celtics came on an opening day featuring traditional rivalries and some of the league’s biggest stars.
Carmelo Anthony scored 37 points, including two free throws with 16 seconds left, as the Knicks survived a seesaw season opener against the Celtics.
A look at season-opening games played in Dallas, Los Angeles and Oklahoma City.
When the Knicks acquired Tyson Chandler via a sign and trade earlier this month, his addition was hailed as a smart move for a team that hasn’t always appeared keen about playing defense.
Iman Shumpert was told by his Knicks teammates there would be some bumps in the road of his rookie season. But he never envisioned those bumps would occur in his NBA debut and possibly keep him sidelined for one month.
The first of the Knicks’ Christmas presents arrived in t he Garden at 10:40 on Sunday morning, wrapped in a crisp blue pinstripe suit and a red tie:
When Boston’s Paul Pierce arrived at the Garden and announced that his injured right heel would keep him from playing, it figured the Celtics would miss him. When they missed four of their five shots in the final two minutes of a 106-104 loss to the Knicks, there was the proof.
The Knicks gave their hoops-starved fans the ultimate Christmas gift Sunday, eking out a heart-stopping win over the Celtics in the season-opener at Madison Square Garden.
Carmelo Anthony saved Christmas for the Knicks. Anthony scored 17 fourth quarter points as the Knicks overcame a 10-point deficit and opened the NBA season with a 106-104 victory over the Boston Celtics.
Bill Walker said perhaps if it weren’t Christmas yesterday, there would be a score to settle with Kevin Garnett and indicated the Celtics forward is known for his dirty antics.
Walker, an ex-Celtic, got into a heated scrap with Garnett after the final buzzer of the Knicks’ 106-104 victory…
Carmelo Anthony began his first full season in New York yesterday by saving Christmas.
The Celtics were without Paul Pierce. The Knicks were without a killer instinct. They blew a 17-point first-half lead and sweated it out until the final ticks as Anthony willed them to a season-opening 106-104 nailbiter…
The ball was in Kevin Garnett’s hands, and that meant Madison Square Garden was fully, loudly engaged since Garnett has quickly become something of a Bond Villain here over the past two years. Garnett had shaken free of Tyson Chandler, and now he had Bill Walker in his face…
Iman Shumpert is now going to be dealing with the same thing as Giants rookie Prince Amukamara â?? getting hurt at the start of his rookie year and hurting his development.
Shumpert, the Knicks’ impressive first-round pick, suffered a sprained right MCL in yesterday’s 106-104 season-opening victory over the Celtics…
To Tyson Chandler, the story of the Knicks’ scrappy, season-opening win over the Celtics was written all over his face.
“It’s not going to come easy with them,â? the new Knicks center said after the 106-104 Christmas victory yesterday at Madison Square Garden. “You can see my face. My…
Amar’e Stoudemire performed his good deed early on Christmas, staging a 9:30 a.m. breakfast party yesterday morning for a few hundred Garden employees forced to work on the holiday.
“They work here but never get a chance to see the players â?? the janitors, cooks, ushers,” Stoudemire said…
Rajon Rondo has heard his name bandied about in trade rumors for the past few weeks. When he took the floor against the Knicks yesterday, the point guard played like he wanted to show the Celtics why they would be better off keeping him.
Rondo was spectacular, almost single-handedly carrying…
Mike Kurylo is the founder and editor of KnickerBlogger.net. His book on the 2012 Knicks, "We’ll Always Have Linsanity," is on sale now. Follow him on twitter (@KnickerBlogger).
great W vs Celts – WhooHoo!!!!
i wonder about Action ‘Helicopter’ Jackson. A very convincing spkr. has gift of gab. If Warriors have 40 losses after 50 games then what?
http://nbaplaybook.com/2011/12/26/carmelo-anthony-and-the-pick-roll/
if the “gift of gab” means consistently sounding like an idiot, then he sure does have it. I would be rooting for him to fall on his face as a coach, except that would mean we would probably have to hear him in the broadcast booth again (Chris Mullin was ten times better in his first game than Fatass Jackson ever was).
I think the Warriors are gonna stink, because they don’t play defense and their coach is an idiot. So far they look like crap and I’m not surprised.
Agree 1000%. I do happen to still enjoy watching David Lee, so I wouldn’t mind the Warriors turning into a surprise up-and-coming team. The added bonus would be solidifying Jax as a coach for a middling franchise and keeping him far, far away from the broadcast booth.
Seriously, what is up with the constant, non-stop adulation of his colleagues? They went on and on about Jackson’s debut last night, as if anybody would ever pay to watch the man coach. I started thinking to myself: they’re just talking him up as a coach because they ALSO don’t want him to ever return to broadcasting!
IMO, the Warriors are doomed until they shake up that back-court. I’d trade Ellis if I were them. I think the dude is a cancer, the sort of guy who has a negative effect on team play.
For what it’s worth I thought Mullin was awful, then again I thought he awful in studio as well. Less annoying than Jackson, though. I think the Warriors game will be a test for the Knicks as we don’t match up well with their guards esp. if Bibby gets a lot of minutes. If the Knicks don’t get back in transition better than they did against Boston, it could be a track meet which would give Golden State a great chance to get a win.
The Warriors are a tricky team. As many have noted, their three best players are all poor defenders. Plus both of their guards want the ball all the time. Really, Monta Ellis practically needs to be traded. Meanwhile, they need to pair Lee with a good defensive center who won’t clog the post so that Lee can roam. Last year, Biedrins was not that player and they got a lot better when Udoh was paired with Lee. However, they also have a very sparse bench, talent-wise. I could see them challenging for a playoff spot, but I think they’re still a year (and a few personnel moves) away.
It still makes me laugh to see Jax and Lee paired together. What a weird combo.
Their interior defense is laughably bad though. Biedrins is an okay defender I guess but he’s too skinny to play the 5 and ends up fouling all the time, leading to free throws also known as easy points. Lee is of course a joke as a defensive player and Curry and Ellis are just as porous. That team is like an Isiah Thomas team.
Yeah, that’s why Udoh and Lee were such a good pair last season (and why they were so obsessed with getting a Chandler-type to play center).