Posts Tagged ‘The New York Times’

Anthony, Knicks On A Familiar Path?

April 1, 2013  ·  9:38AM



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HANG TIME HEADQUARTERS – Carmelo Anthony and the New York Knicks could win 48 straight games and Anthony would still have critics who could find something wrong with his game.

That’s just the world we live in and the one Anthony has had to survive in since he came into the league with LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh and others in the celebrated NBA Draft class of 2003.

A league-best eight-game win streak, in the wake of the Miami Heat’s 27-game streak and the Denver Nuggets’ 15-game streak, would normally be plenty to be excited about. Anthony and the Knicks, however, are taking it all in stride. A rugged playoff road lies ahead and they know it. But the potential to dispel notions about who and what this team is about, to redefine who Anthony is as a player, in relation to his Draft class peers as well as the larger scope of the league, could be on the horizon.

With his contemporaries enjoying loads more playoff success than he had during his career, this Knicks team in particular offers Anthony an opportunity to close that gap a little.

For years, Anthony’s critics have made their case … that Anthony’s not an elite leader, he’s not a big-time playoff performer (as the Prime Minister likes to remind me regularly) and that he wasn’t willing to sacrifice what he does best (score) for the greater good. I’ve always argued the other side, that those teams he led in Denver were never quite as stout as they appeared on paper.

The one time they had all of the required parts healthy and ready to go in the playoffs, they made their run to the 2009 Western Conference finals, where they fell to Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers in six games. The Lakers, of course, went on to win the first of back-to-back titles that year.

Those championships, sans Shaquille O’Neal, helped redefine Kobe’s legacy.

Might Anthony be on a somewhat familiar path to redefining his own legacy this season? At least one observer thinks so. Harvey Araton of The New York Times makes the case for Anthony following in the transformative footsteps of Boston Celtics enigma-turned-superstar Paul Pierce, whose image and reputation changed dramatically after the Celtics broke through and won a championship in 2008 with Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen:

With the Knicks poised to displace the Celtics as Atlantic Division champions after beating them, 108-89, on Sunday night at Madison Square Garden, this would be a propitious time to present Pierce as Exhibit A in the case for Anthony’s potential growth into no-questions-asked superstardom.

Anthony’s critics, including me, have never underestimated his combustible package of size, strength and first-step speed. But his teams in Denver and in New York have produced poor playoff results, and he has admitted to failing to fully grasp the essence of collective elegance until last summer’s Olympics.

Isn’t it fair to say that when it comes to winning at the highest level, Anthony is still an undergraduate student trying to complete a master’s program?

Pierce captured his championship in 2008 after he sacrificed more than 5 points off his scoring average from the previous season to accommodate Allen and Garnett. He also embraced the defensive tenacity brought by Garnett and preached by Tom Thibodeau, who then was an assistant to Doc Rivers.

“You may need that one person in someone’s life, or something to happen off the floor in that person’s life, family-wise, or something,” Rivers said before Pierce gave him 24 points, 15 rebounds and 5 assists, not enough against the streaking Knicks, winners of eight straight. “You just never know what triggers a player to play and do all the right things.”

Before their title season, the Celtics’ best playoff run with Pierce was in 2002, when they were beaten by Jason Kidd and the Nets in the Eastern Conference finals. Pierce was 24, the same age Anthony was when his Nuggets lost in the Western Conference finals to Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers in 2009.

A coincidence, for sure, but the Pierce-Anthony comparison of 20-something high-octane, low-team-grade forwards is no novel concept. While Anthony was contriving his endgame in Denver two and a half years ago, reporters and bloggers noted the same crossroads that Pierce had reached in Boston after the 2006-7 season, and how he had warned the Celtics to improve the roster, or else.

The Celtics delivered and, to his everlasting credit, Pierce responded. Although Anthony chose a different path, forcing a trade, he is approaching his 29th birthday, on May 29, with still much to prove, and gain, similar to Pierce at that age.

Unlike Pierce and the Celtics, there is an Eastern Conference and NBA juggernaut standing in the path of Anthony and the Knicks. The Heat aren’t going anywhere any time soon. And much like those Bryant-led Lakers teams that were always blocking the way for Anthony’s Nuggets teams, these LeBron-led Heat teams will likely be in the way now and for at least the foreseeable future.

That will make things substantially tougher for the Anthony to complete his career rewrite, but that doesn’t mean it’s impossible …


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Hang Time Podcast (Episode 106) Featuring Howard Beck Of The New York Times

February 27, 2013  ·  5:50PM

HANG TIME HEADQUARTERS – With roughly two months to go in this NBA regular season we are still trying to sort through the contenders and pretenders in the Eastern Conference.

Early on the New York Knicks looked like contenders, with Mike Woodson, Carmelo Anthony and Jason Kidd leading a team capable of competing with the reigning world champion Miami Heat in a playoff series.

The Brooklyn Nets took that baton and ran with it later, digging themselves out of a rut 30 games ago and compiling a 20-10 record under P.J. Carlesimo‘s watchful eye.

These days the Indiana Pacers are looking like the one true foil out there for the Heat, provided they don’t get into any more shoulder scuffles between now and the playoffs (they’ll need Hang Time Podcast fave Roy Hibbert, David West, Paul George, Danny Granger  and the rest of their rugged gang in uniform).

We’ll find out which of these three teams, or Atlanta or Boston, are ready to seriously challenge the Heat in the postseason. In the meantime, Howard Beck of The New York Times joins us on Episode 106 of The Hang Time Podcast to help us analyze the New York area members of the group.

We also break down what a real NBA scrap is supposed to look like, Kobe Bryant‘s hilarious Twitter habit (“Amnesty That!”), Derek Fisher rejoining the Oklahoma City Thunder, Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski not returning as coach of the U.S. Men’s Senior National Team (Phil Jackson anyone?) and a whole lot more on Episode 106 of The Hang Time Podcast:

LISTEN HERE:

As always, we welcome your feedback. You can follow the entire crew, including the Hang Time Podcast, co-hosts Sekou Smith of NBA.com,  Lang Whitaker of SLAM Magazine and Rick Fox of NBA TV, as well as our new super producer Gregg (just like Popovich) Waigand and the best engineer in the business, Jarell “I Heart Peyton Manning” Wall.

– To download the podcast, click here. To subscribe via iTunes, click here, or get the xml feed if you want to subscribe some other, less iTunes-y way.

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Knicks Keep Getting It Done

November 14, 2012  ·  10:14AM

HANG TIME HEADQUARTERS – Perfection doesn’t last forever. Not in the NBA. So this dazzling start to the season for the New York Knicks does have an expiration date.

That doesn’t mean Knicks fans shouldn’t enjoy the ride, though. They not only have the only unblemished (5-0) record in the league, but also a group that has the makings of a legitimate contender for a top-four playoff seed in the Eastern Conference.

Again, it’s early. And the true tests will present themselves in the coming days and weeks. Specifically, Thursday night’s tilt against the best team in the Western Conference (San Antonio) and a potential Friday night slugfest (in Memphis) will be key. The early overall returns, however, show a much-improved defensive team capable of winning even when their shots aren’t falling at a ridiculous clip.

Their effort last night showed us that they have the intestinal fortitude to come back from a late challenge as they dumped the the Magic in Orlando to preserve their perfect record. (And for you armchair historians out there, the last time the Knicks started a season 5-0 was the 1993-94 season — a campaign that ended in Game 7 of The Finals).

J.R. Smith's shot chart

J.R. Smith’s shot chart (through Nov. 13, 2012)

Credit for this turnaround should be spread all around, starting with Knicks coach Mike Woodson and All-Star forward Carmelo Anthony, who has embraced the change without so much as a hint of displeasure. Having the oldest team in the league doesn’t always translate to having the wisest crew. But veterans like Raymond Felton and, more specifically, Jason Kidd, bring an element of understanding to every game in the natural grind of a season that you don’t get from a younger and inexperienced point guard (like … don’t say it … Jeremy Lin).

All that said, perhaps no player epitomizes the Knicks’ mini-metamorphosis better than the oft-embattled swingman J.R. Smith, who has become a consistent force off the bench for the first time in his career while leading the league in 3-point shooting (72.2 percent). With Kidd on one end of the spectrum and Smith on the other, Woodson has found a way to make it all work, as Nate Taylor of The New York Times pointed out after last night’s game:

“At halftime, Coach really got on us about our defense,” J. R. Smith said. “We played harder, we got through the screens and we closed out on shots. I think that was the difference.”

Smith provided the Knicks with the offense they desperately needed, scoring 21 points (12 in the third quarter) and shooting 9 for 14. He also had 2 steals and 4 rebounds.

By playing more aggressively, the Knicks held the Magic to 36 points in the second half.

The Knicks have yet to allow an opponent to score more than 40 points in the second half.

“We have active hands,” Kidd said. “You have guys who understand where to be on defense. Sometimes it’s not always going to be perfect, but guys were making the second and third effort. That just comes with trust.”

Trust isn’t a word you heard tossed around a whole lot with these Knicks last few seasons. And it’s a word that will no doubt be tested when Amar’e Stoudemire returns from injury (knee). He’ll have to trust Woodson and his staff if and when they ask him to assume a role outside of the superstar one he’s used to playing.

But he’ll have to trust that they are doing what’s best for the Knicks if/when they ask him to come off the bench and work himself back into form with the reserves rather than starting and altering the chemistry for a group in a groove.

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Presidential Politics: Obama’s ‘The Heat’ To Romney’s ‘Jeremy Lin’

September 3, 2012  ·  2:45PM


HANG TIME HEADQUARTERS – You knew it was only a matter of time before Presidential politics and the NBA crossed paths during this election season.

In a Sunday piece in The New York Times detailing President Barack Obama‘s ultra competitive nature, an unnamed aide to tells a story of the Commander-in-Chief (and No. 1 hoops fans) comparing his reelection team to the eventual NBA champion Heat and his opponent’s, Republican nominee Mitt Romney, to former Knicks sensation and current Rockets point guard Jeremy Lin:

This February, in an otherwise placid meeting with Democratic governors — routine policy questions, routine presidential replies — Gov. Brian Schweitzer of Montana asked Mr. Obama if he had what it took to win the 2012 race.

For a moment Mr. Obama looked annoyed, a White House aide said, as if he thought Mr. Schweitzer was underestimating him. Then he came alive. “Holy mackerel, he lit up,” Mr. Schweitzer said in an interview. “It was like a light switch coming on.”

No matter what moves Mr. Romney made, the president said, he and his team were going to cut him off and block him at every turn. “We’re the Miami Heat, and he’s Jeremy Lin,” Mr. Obama said, according to the aide.

We’ll know the start of the NBA season if President Obama is correct in his categorization of both sides. Election night will decide that.

Win or lose, President Obama will reign forever as basketball’s first and favorite Commander-in-Chief. He’s shown more love for the game than any of his predecessors.

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The World Weighs In On The Lin Decision

July 18, 2012  ·  9:12AM

HANG TIME HEADQUARTERS – The reaction to the news that the Knicks passed on an opportunity to keep Jeremy Lin in New York has been as one-sided as it has been swift.

Few people (fans, pundits, casual observers, cab drivers, finance experts, etc.) think it was wise for the Knicks to allow Lin to go to the Houston Rockets because they thought three years and $25.1 million (back-loaded in the third year for the Knicks) was a sum too rich for a guy who has started just 25 games.

That blowback from the public might have something to do with the Knicks’ history of being generous with their funds —  for example, Jerome James did collect $30 million from the Knicks for what amounts to a tiny crumb of the excitement Lin produced, on and off the court.

Dive in as the (media) world weighs in on the decision by the Knicks to pass on Lin …

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Report: The End Of (NYC) Linsanity?

July 17, 2012  ·  5:13PM

HANG TIME HEADQUARTERS – It appears we’ve seen the last of Jeremy Lin in a Knicks uniform.

The New York Times is reporting that Knicks’ brass has made their decision and they will not match back-loaded the three-year, $25.1 offer sheet from the Houston Rockets that Lin signed over the weekend.

The Knicks have until just before the stroke of midnight to make up their minds, but according to Howard Beck of The Times, they’ve all but made their decision:

The Knicks are not expected to announce their decision until this evening, and there is still a chance — albeit incredibly small — that it could be reversed. But as of 4 p.m. the decision had been made and was considered final by those with knowledge of the deliberations. Indeed, the deliberations were said to be over.

The Knicks have first-refusal rights on Lin and by rule have until Tuesday at 11:59 p.m. Eastern time to either match the offer or let him walk.

The decision was ultimately financial, not emotional, according to people briefed on the deliberations. The contract with Houston includes a third-year balloon payment of $14.9 million, which would have cost the Knicks another $35 million or more in luxury-tax penalties had they matched the deal. The so-called poison pill was designed to dissuade the Knicks.

The decision ends two weeks of suspense and speculation, which began when Lin became a restricted free agent on July 1. Now will come the inevitable backlash.

Lin saved the Knicks’ season in February and instantly became their most popular player in a decade, as well as a global phenomenon. Fans started at least two online petitions to keep him last weekend when it became apparent the Knicks were leaning toward letting him go. Twitter, blogs and fan forums have been filled with anguished comments for days.

Whatever outrage there is New York will be met with cheers from Houston, where the Rockets have been searching for a face of their franchise since Yao Ming retired.

Lin proved in his 25-game starting stint on Broadway that he had the chops for the job under the brightest of media spotlights. In Houston he’ll have to prove that there is substance behind the hype.

If his debut was any indication, the next three years should be a wild ride … on Rockets fans will enjoy from the front row and one Knicks fans will have to watch from afar, wondering what might have been had the franchise matched that offer.

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NBA Types Weren’t First To Miss On Lin

February 13, 2012  ·  1:55PM





HANG TIME HEADQUARTERS – Jeremy Lin‘s underdog story has been well documented recently, with the Knicks star rising from relative (or perhaps complete) obscurity to the first name on the minds of NBA fans everywhere in roughly one week of action.

But we’re here today to take the heat off of NBA scouts, coaches and executives who missed on Lin coming out of Harvard. All they did was continue a trend started by their college counterparts.

Mark Viera of The New York Times tells an intriguing tale of a player that has embodied the underdog role from the very start, and we’re talking about all the way back to his high school days:

The story of Lin’s college recruitment illustrates how talent evaluators overlooked his ability even when Lin was young. It is something that was repeated in the professional ranks as he moved from Golden State to Houston to New York, where he has infected Knicks fans with Linsanity, becoming a sensation over five transcendent games.

… All of that would have been hard for some college coaches to have predicted while watching film of Lin as a skinny, average-shooting guard at Palo Alto High School, even though he was a standout for the modest program, leading it to a 32-1 record and an upset of the powerhouse Mater Dei in the 2006 California Division II championship game.

“He was a good student, a good player and, yeah, it’s amazing what he was doing,” said Steve Donahue, now the coach at Boston College, said in a recent telephone interview. “But he didn’t look that athletic and he didn’t shoot it all that well. Even after his freshman year at Harvard, you didn’t give it a second thought that we made a mistake.”

Now we’re not suggesting that Lin’s surprising rise is cause for a complete restructuring of the scouting process. It’s going to take more than one stunner to do that.

But it should be a lesson to college recruiters and NBA scouts alike, to trust more than the measurables when evaluating talent. If nothing else, Lin will make them pause the next time they see a guy that doesn’t fit the mold.

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Horry: Phil Created Shaq V. Kobe …

January 23, 2012  ·  2:47PM


HANG TIME HEADQUARTERS – There’s nothing like news from Russia that the Shaquille O’Neal-Kobe Bryant feud that fueled the Lakers all those years was the creation of Phil Jackson.

Stunner, huh?

Not exactly. But when Robert Horry weighs in on the topic, from Russian website Sports.Ru (translation courtesy of  Alexander Chernykh and his Rush’n Hoops blog):

I think Phil Jackson started that feud. It happened many times that after team practice he would say, “Kobe said this about Shaq, and Shaq said that about Kobe… We couldn’t believe how could that happen, because just the day before we saw them together, jumping on one another. Phil liked it when there was conflict of some sort.

I always tell people; if you look at those championships, you’ll see who were the closest players on the team. Normally those are the guys who are the first to hug each other. And when we were winning, it was always Shaq and Kobe who hugged. I think this will answer your question. Later it was blown out of proportion by the media and both players started doing something that didn’t make sense.

We’ve already heard from two people who were around the Lakers from the start of that run until ended that dispute the origins of the feud and insist that Jackson only fanned the flames that were already there.

Both Roland Lazenby and Howard Beck of The New York Times, a beat writer for the Los Angeles Daily News during the Shaq-Kobe era, dispute the claim that Jackson started the feud.

In his own defense, Horry tweeted that the translation was, a bit scattered, to say the least.

I know Jackson is considered a wizard in many circles, but even he would have a hard time starting one of the greatest beefs in the history of sport before he ever showed up to coach the two players involved.

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The NBA’s Concentration Of Power

December 2, 2011  ·  5:04PM

– For the latest updates check out: NBA.com’s Free Agent Tracker

HANG TIME HEADQUARTERS – We stopped counting the number of so-called “winners and losers” columns concerning the lockout when we ran out of fingers and toes here at the hideout.

Oddly enough, no two lists had the same bunch of winners and losers. Designations might not be necessary if some of the things being rumored actually transpire during the league’s condensed free agent frenzy and abbreviated 66-game season.

The big winners, as always, will be the league’s biggest stars and the teams willing to do whatever it takes (within the rules of whatever collective bargaining agreement is in place) to make sure they acquire said superstars.

If you don’t believe, just look at the big names (Dwight Howard, Chris Paul) being tossed around right now as potential trade pieces headed to bigger markets.

Howard Beck of The New York Times highlights a startling concentration of power in the league:

If Paul forces his way to New York and Howard ends up with the Brooklyn-bound Nets — who are pursuing him — it would leave eight of the N.B.A.’s top 20 players concentrated among just three teams (Knicks, Nets, Heat).

Add the Los Angeles Lakers (Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol), the Oklahoma City Thunder (Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook) and the Boston Celtics (Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, Rajon Rondo), and 15 of the league’s top 25 players would be spread among just six teams.

Until you see it in that context, it doesn’t really register. Carmelo Anthony and Amar’e Stoudemire on the Knicks and LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh on the Heat. That is a downright mind-boggling assembly of talent on just six teams.

So maybe all that fighting the small market owners were reportedly doing within their own caucus during the lockout actually made sense after all.

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