What To Watch For: Chicago Bulls vs. New York Knicks

The New York Knicks open up their 2014-2015 season at Madison Square Garden Wednesday night against the Chicago Bulls. It will be the first time to see the Knicks in the Triangle Offense in a game that matters. That is just one of many things to keep an eye out for tonight when the two teams take the court to get their seasons started. Here are some other things to keep an eye on tonight in the matchup between the Knicks and Bulls.

-Head Coaching Debut

Derek Fisher will be making his head coaching debut on the biggest stage in basketball at Madison Square Garden. It will be a tough task for Fisher to get a currently flawed Knicks roster into the postseason, but he is as ready as anyone to head the Knicks as he is a natural born leader. Fisher’s suit game has also been a talking point, and something to keep an eye on as his dressings are already among the tops in the league according to some people.

-Who Starts For Knicks?

No one is 100 percent sure who Fisher will be starting in the season opener, but strong indications are that it will be Jose Calderon, who looks to be okay after a calf injury in the preseason, Iman Shumpert, Carmelo Anthony, Jason Smith and Samuel Dalembert.

That means Amar’e Stoudemire will be coming off the bench along with J.R. Smith and Tim Hardaway Jr. The rest of the rotation will be worth watching as well, as the backup point guard spot is one that has yet to be decided upon for the long run. Shane Larkin got plenty of run during the preseason, but it would be hard to imagine veteran Pablo Prigioni being pushed to the side so easily.

-Bulls Add One, Lose One

Tonight will be the much anticipated return for former MVP Derrick Rose. Rose, who has suffered long term injury after long term injury the past couple of seasons, has not played in nearly a full season since 2010-2011. After playing with team USA in the summer, Rose looked to be coming around with preseason winding down, pouring in 30 against the Cleveland Cavaliers in 24 minutes and then 27 against the Minnesota Timberwolves to end the preseason.

While Rose’s return will be great for the Bulls, they already are suffering from another injury to a player, this time Jimmy Butler. Butler, who is dealing with a sprained left thumb, will miss the season opener. Butler is hoping to be ready for the Bulls’ next game Friday against LeBron James and aforementioned Cavaliers, but that is up in the air. Bulls head coach Tom Thibodeau said Butler may miss two-four weeks, but quickly turned around and said maybe one-three. No matter what the timetable is Butler will definitely not be in the lineup for the Bulls against the Knicks Wednesday.

-New Schemes

The Knicks are revamping everything in the organization, from the top to the bottom. On the court, they will be deploying a new offense and different scheme on defense than they have played recently. It will take some time to get things rolling, and it will be interesting to see how they look against a strong team in the Bulls right off the bat.

The Bulls have one of the best defenses in the NBA, and how the Knicks run the Triangle Offense against them will be worth watching.  It will be a tall task, and fans cannot overact depending on what happens, but it will be a nice challenge to see how they react.

On the defensive end of the court, the Knicks are also a work in progress. They have to abandon the tendencies they have used under Mike Woodson the last couple of seasons, which is proving easier said than done. The Knicks have played a defense some would consider lazy, constantly switching and putting themselves in poor defensive positions. They were weak at the point of attack, as Raymond Felton was a revolving door at the top of the defense.

Under Fisher, there will be no switching. He is preaching defense and that the players stick with their man. The scheme is to push ball handlers to the outside of the court, trying to avoid letting teams attack the paint at will. So far the Knicks have struggled during the preseason, as their roster isn’t full with players that like playing defense. It will be a work in progress, but if the Knicks are to contend for a playoff spot this season, their defense will have to carry them to start as the offense comes around.

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New York Knicks Trade Tyson Chandler, Raymond Felton To Dallas Mavericks For 4 Players, 2 Draft Picks

Written by Kenneth Teape (@teapester725)

Photo Via ESPN

Since taking over as President of the New York Knicks, Phil Jackson has been biding his time for the right move. That move came Wednesday afternoon, as Jackson executed his first big move as lead man for the Knicks, executing a trade with the Dallas Mavericks. The trade, just waiting NBA approval, will send Tyson Chandler and Raymond Felton to the Mavericks for Samuel Dalembert, Jose Calderon, Shane Larkin Wayne Ellington, and the 34^th and 51^st picks in the draft Thursday night.

It is quite a haul for Jackson and the Knicks, as Felton was looked at as a player that would be tough to move after struggling mightily last season with injuries and off-court issues. But the Mavericks coveted Chandler after losing this season in the first round to eventual NBA Champion San Antonio Spurs, and were willing to take on what is becoming an albatross contract in Felton. Chandler will be reunited with the team that he helped to defeat the Miami Heat in 2011 NBA Finals in the first season of the ‘Big 3” era.

For the Knicks this is something new to see. Usually they are on the end of a trade with the less attractive pieces coming aboard, but for once it can be argued they won this trade and handedly.

Seeing the Knicks receiving draft picks is one of the rarest sights in recent NBA memory. Prior to Jackson coming aboard, the Knicks treated draft picks like candy on Halloween, just handing them out to whoever asked. But Jackson seems to be changing that philosophy, and seemed hell-bent on getting into this draft. The Mavericks gave the Knicks that opportunity, sending the 34^th and 51^st picks. They are only second rounders, but a pick that high in the second round could net the Knicks a valuable player. One person being mentioned is Florida big man Patric Young, whom the Knicks had in for a workout. He would bring plenty of toughness to a Knicks frontcourt that is lacking in that department to put it nicely with the likes of Andrea Bargnani (When he isn’t facing off against Kevin Garnett and the Brooklyn Nets).

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For starters, Calderon and Dalembert are an upgrade over Felton and Chandler. Calderon is an outstanding fit in the triangle offense with his deadly accuracy from the perimeter and limited turnover rates. The triangle offense makes the need for a top flight PG less important, but a player like Calderon should thrive there as a spot up three-point shooter.

People will point out that Calderon actually has a contract longer than Felton did, but depending on what direction the Knicks take from here that should not be much of a problem. Flipping Calderon at a later date, if the need arises, should not be tough for the Knicks. He is more than serviceable point guard that a team would be willing to take on if the need for a point guard is apparent.

Calderon could also help the Knicks in recruiting, as Marc Gasol becomes a free agent next summer. Calderon and Gasol are close from their time playing with the Spain National Team, and his presence on the Knicks should entice him to come to New York to play alongside Calderon.

Dalembert may be a downgrade according to some people, but he should be able to hold his own in the middle of the defense. Like Chandler, he does not possess much of a face-up offensive game, which hurts his value in the triangle offense, but he is a better offensive rebounder at this point than Chandler, and is also a more efficient finisher. But it is worth repeating, Dalembert will not be playing for his offensive prowess, if he even makes it to the court at all as a Knick.

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Dalembert’s contract for the upcoming season is actually not fully guaranteed, meaning the Knicks could just cut him and save even more money. As it currently sits, the Knicks should save about $3 million but that could reach as much as $5 million depending on what is done with Dalembert and because he has a 15 percent trade kicker. It is also worth noting, if he does play, that he actually had better per 36 minute stats last season than Chandler, averaging 11.8 points, 12.1 rebounds, and 2.1 blocks compared to 10.4 points, 11.5 rebounds and 1.4 blocks for Chandler.

The other pieces the Knicks made could also come in handy. Ellington offers another contract the Knicks could offer up if other moves are to be made, but on the court he will help in an area the Knicks had a severe drop off last season; perimeter shooting. In his career, Ellington is a 38.6 percent shooter from behind the arc, shooting 42.4 percent last season and 39.6 percent in 2013. He should be able to carve out a role similar to what Steve Novak thrived in during the Knicks successful 2013 season.

The big piece and x-factor in this trade is Larkin. The 18^th overall pick in the 2013 NBA Draft, Larkin was a player the Knicks had actually had on their radar. He is undersized at 5’11” and 176 pounds, but he has great athleticism, holding the highest vertical jump for a point guard at the NBA Combine with a 44” leap last season. He did struggle last season as a rookie, like plenty of people in that draft class, but SCHOENE projections has Larkin pegged for being a very good backup at the very least by the time his rookie contract comes to an end.

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The Knicks may not be the team that sees that jump in production though, as rumors already have been swirling that they were looking to flip Dalembert and Larkin to another team barely after this trade became official. No one is sure yet what this trade means in the big picture for the Knicks other than Jackson himself, but you can be assured this will be a much more active summer for New York than people originally thought. Jackson fired off his first move today, but smart money would be on this not being the last.

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Nets Pull Out Overtime Victory in Dallas

By Nick Ziegler (@Ziggy26x)

March 23rd, 2014

Brooklyn Nets vs. Dallas Mavericks Post Game Recap

Final Score: Nets 107 Mavericks 104

The Brooklyn Nets were able to turn their momentum that they have been riding at the Barclays Center into a huge road win against the Dallas Mavericks on Sunday night. The overtime win has given the Nets a (37-31) record on the season, but with the Toronto Raptors coming back to beat the Atlanta Hawks on Sunday afternoon they are still 1.5 games behind them in the Atlantic Division.

Player of the Game: Marcus Thornton

Coming off the bench for the Nets was the difference maker in the comeback victory; as Marcus Thornton continues to make the trade that Billy King did at the trade deadline a great one for the Nets. Thornton didn’t lead the Nets in scoring, but was their most efficient scorer in 24 minutes of play, as he scored 20 points on seven for 11 shooting, which included him going four of seven from behind the three-point line. Thornton also did a great job helping out on the glass, as he tied for the team-lead in rebounds for the game with seven.

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Positives:

Scoring was a real struggle for the Nets on Sunday in the win, especially in the starting lineup, but Joe Johnson was able to come through with a good game shooting from the field. Johnson led the Nets with 22 points on eight for 16 shooting in 37 minutes of play. Johnson came up big in the clutch for the Nets, as he had the game tying lay-up with less than 10 seconds to go, and then in overtime scored six of his 22 points to help lock up the win.

On defense the Nets really stepped up against one of the better offensive teams the NBA has to offer, which included them really shutting down the future Hall of Famer Dirk Nowitzki. Nowitzki was held to easily one of his worst games of the season, as he scored just 10 points on a surprisingly bad two for 12 shooting. Nowitzki wasn’t alone in the Mavericks shooting woes, as their bench really struggled as well. Two former Nets in Devin Harris and Vince Carter both shot the ball poorly against their former team off the bench. Harris went four of 15 from the field with just 11 points, and Carter shot four of 13 from the field with 12 points.

Negatives:

The Nets small lineup was noticeable against the Mavericks with their two starting seven footers in Nowitzki and Samuel Dalembert, as Dalembert was able to produce a big double-double and was a major factor on the defensive end. He finished with 12 points on four for five shooting to go along with 15 rebounds and seven blocked shots. This was defiantly a game where the Kevin Garnett injury hurt the Nets, and why they need him back.

Shooting Guard Monta Ellis was the main gun for the Mavericks on Sunday night with basically everyone else on the team struggling. Ellis finished with a game-high 31 points on 11 for 24 shooting. In overtime Ellis hit two three-pointers, which along with some Nets missed free throws gave Ellis a chance to tie it u if he was able to make three straight, but he couldn’t pull off buzzer beater.

Next up for the Nets will be the second half of a back to back against the red hot Anthony Davis and the New Orleans Pelicans.

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