Pacers Path

Posted on April 28, 2012 by wcornblatt

When the playoffs come around, there are those teams that you just don’t take seriously. I love Al Jefferson, but the Jazz have as good a chance at making a run as Brock Osweiler has at starting for the Broncos next season. And last year, the Pacers were one of those teams. They talked a lot, and Tyler Hansbrough pissed the Bulls off as much as he pisses off anybody who has to watch him play, but in the end their competitive play was nothing more than a team playing as hard as they could when faced with season-ending elimination. This year, things are different!

The Pacers play a Magic team ready to rollover without Dwight Howard. The Magic’s offense is centered around spacing the floor, creating open shot opportunities for their marksmen, but without Dwight the double-teams dwindle and J.J. Redick has to shoot with a hand in his face.

If Indiana can win a series that they should easily, they’ll face either the Heat or Knicks, it’d be an ironic series, really. The east coast metropolises with major superstars facing a cohesive but low-key unit stationed in a small city in the Midwest. Overlooked and underrated, the Pacers would go into the series an underdog to either team. Do you really believe that LeBron James or Carmelo Anthony take the Indiana Pacers seriously? After three victories in four games against each other, the Heat wouldn’t even leave LIV to watch game film on the team. If the Pacers are lucky, LeBron will let Paul George jump with fluorescent shoes to drink form his gigantic ace of spades bottle.

That being said, it’s this sort of arrogance thatt got the Heat in trouble last year. The clever jokesters that made fun of Dirk Nowitzki for being sick just can’t resist provoking opponents and audiences with general hateable behavior. The Heat and Knicks will be a great series, and Miami is in no way a lock, but either of these teams will have their hands full with the Pacers. It’s been a while since that kind of statement actually held weight.

N.Y. Likes New Mike: Knicks Seem Content With Woodson

Posted on April 1, 2012 by OneManFastbreak.net

Mike Woodson has a reputation as a good coach around the NBA.

He was a solid head coach in Atlanta where he took over a team that won 13 games in his first season in 2004-05, but he was able to turn around the Hawks and had them making three straight playoff appearances by the time he was fired in 2009-10. Atlanta decided he wasn’t capable of taking them any farther and decided to let him go on May 17, 2010, after the Hawks lost to Orlando in the second round of the playoffs. It was the second straight year they had lost in the second round.

However, Woodson didn’t stay unemployed for very long. He missed out on the Detroit Pistons head coaching position when the team hired Lawrence Frank, but he was hired on Aug. 29, 2011, by the New York Knicks primarily as a defensive coach.

The Knicks needed a coach who would hold the players accountable. The Knicks players had been reportedly tuning out Mike D’Antoni and he had no choice but to resign. He saw the writing on the wall in Gotham.

The Knicks have now won nine of their last ten games with Woodson as the head coach. Sandwiched in there was a lazy loss to the Raptors, but in this shortened 66-game season, those will happen. In the ten games since Woodson has taken over, N.Y. has allowed 79 points four times and is allowing just 84 points per game. On Monday, they allowed just 80 points to the Bucks, who are led by the dynamic backcourt of Monta Ellis and Brandon Jennings. And on Wednesday, they pulled off a huge win when they beat Orlando, 108-86. The Knicks job got a little harder with Amare Stoudemire sidelined indefinitely with a bulging disk.

The Knicks had a winning streak earlier in the season with Amare and Carmelo Anthony out when “Linsanity” Jeremy Lin took off. However Lin will now miss six weeks after tearing his meniscus and requires surgery. Melo had 28 points and 12 rebounds in the game against Milwaukee. He also had 26 points and five assists against the Magic. Maybe, he will finally realize his potential as a leader and take charge of this team. Other players will need to step up and perform under pressure, but with a coach who is preaching defense, this just might have a chance at working. Iman Shumpert had an excellent game against Orlando with 25 points, seven rebounds, and four assists. Steve Novak also continued his breakout season with 16 points on 6-of-11 shooting.

The players are responding to Woodson in a positive way and they are just 2.5 games out of first place in the Atlantic Division. The Sixers have nine of their last 11 games on the road and the Celtics have a killer schedule to close out the regular season with games against Miami, Chicago, San Antonio, Indiana, Orlando, and Atlanta. Coaching changes are always awkward in the middle of the season, but this move might be just the move the Knicks needed to make. And so far, the players certainly have shown a passion and fire they lacked under the other Mike.

Brought to you by OneManFastbreak.net

Linning and Losing: The New Jersey Nets Dilemma

Posted on February 20, 2012 by Glen G

Tonight’s Knicks-Nets matchup features two teams that appear to be going in opposite directions. While the Knicks have recently caught fire under the guidance of rookie sensation Jeremy Lin, the Nets have simply looked lost all season. When you look past the consistent play of point guard Deron Williams and the potential of rookie MarShon Brooks, the team from New Jersey hasn’t looked like a team at all. In watching them play a handful of games this season (the Nets get full season coverage in NY on the YES network) I’ve often wondered what’s going on with this team. I’ve thought many times that this can’t possibly be the best product they can put on the court….and it isn’t. The reason for that is one that some may find smart, and others (like myself), may not believe in. The reason for the Nets struggles over the course of this year (and last year) can be attributed directly to their commitment to landing a superstar, in particular Dwight Howard. Although Dwight is by leaps and bounds the most dominant center in the game today, I find it to be extremely risky to wait on one guy; if you need proof New Jersey look no further than last season’s Carmelo Anthony sweepstakes….where you lost out.

Banking on one player to come in and revive a franchise is dangerous because of the message it sends to your franchise (and to its fans). It essentially admits that the team (as is) is incapable of winning, however admitting this truth (and this is a fact with this NJ squad, leave no doubt about that) could pave the path to change.

In today’s “Free Agency Era” a team as bad as the Nets could become title contenders by next season. One must give New Jersey credit for sticking to their plan (even though I don’t agree with it personally) of bringing in one or two more star players; but for their sake it better pan out. Howard has already made it known that he wants to be part of the move to Brooklyn, but those rumors have really calmed down over the past few months. Adding D12 would be a huge move for this team, but not adding him would now be a disaster. The team’s successful transition into New York seems hedged on the fact that the franchise will have at least two marquee players to sell merchandise and to help them compete as they are ushered into the new Barclays Center in the 2012-2013 season.

Should Dwight Howard decide to change his preference, the smooth transition becomes anything but, and will place an enormous amount of pressure on the Nets Management. To justify these past 2+ seasons of abysmal basketball, the Nets must make a splash in one way, shape or form. The fear I have is that should Dwight opt out of coming to New Jersey, and the Nets are unable to find another true star player, they may end up paying “star money” to just a good player in an effort to keep fans happy. A signing like a Joe Johnson (six years, $119 million) won’t begin to save this team, and will kill their only asset: their financial leverage. Having cap space and an abundance of draft picks to play with should make the Nets big players in the upcoming trade deadline/offseason free agency market, meaning they should remain patient until they can land true franchise changing talents.

The Knicks went from a similar position to being contenders through a formula of aggressively pursuing free agents (getting Amare Stoudemire and Carmelo Anthony), making smart acquisitions (Tyson Chandler and J.R. Smith are two great pickups) and getting a little lucky (unless they knew Jeremy Lin was this good all along).

The Nets are a team that are really only one or two good players away from being in contention. They must not rush the process, but they must be aggressive in going after a star now! Tonight’s game between the Knicks & Nets should be nothing more than a way for Jeremy Lin to add to his fame and impressive stat line, and should help keep the Knicks’ (7-1 since they made Lin their starting PG) dominance going. Hopefully the Nets can pull their act together and by this time next season we will be talking up a Knicks-Nets showdown as the heated rivalry that it should be.

Are You Surprised By Lin’s Recent Success? What Should The Nets Do To Get On The Map? Let Me Hear It!

Jeremy Lin is the Top NBA Fantasy Basketball Guard

Posted on February 11, 2012 by Robert Dereme

Straight out of obscurity and into a serious playing role, Jeremy Lin of the New York Knicks has been as good if not better than every guard in the NBA. Friday night, February 10th, 2012, Jeremy Lin proved it by going toe to toe with Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers, and flat out beat him.

Kobe had 34 points, 10 rebounds, 1 steal and just 1 assist, while Linsanity had 38 points, 4 rebounds, 2 steals and 7 assists. Best of all, Jeremy Lin lead his team to victory and their 4th straight win. The New York Knicks were definite underdogs going into Friday’s game and Lin was the leader of their winning effort. No Carmelo Anthony! No Amare Stoudemire! No Problem! Jeremy Lin out gunned a gun slinger like Bryant, and he did it in style. In actual NBA basketball or in fantasy basketball, a 38 point game is a high performance from a guard and is always a team booster.

Jeremy Lin is only going to improve. He is getting more and more experience and more and more playing time. Carmelo Anthony will be back in a week and Amare Stoudemire will be ready to play this Tuesday when the Knicks play the Toronto Raptors. Amare provides a great receiver for the passes that Lin has been feeding to the beneficiaries such as Tyson Chandler and Jared Jeffries. Chandler’s play has been elevated since the pick n’ roll savvy Jeremy Lin joined the rotation, and Stoudemire has been missing the pick n’ roll ever since Raymond Felton, who ran it so smooth with Amare last season, was traded. Bottom line is Amare will be a much more productive and dangerous option for Jeremy Lin to pass to around the basket than Jeffries, and Lin will just pile up that many more assists. When Carmelo returns to the Knicks lineup, will he be able to play unselfish basketball and allow Lin to continue to be a force? The answer is absolutely. Melo will benefit a great deal from being able to receive more passes in better positions to take good shots, and make more baskets as opposed to having to try and create and force shots.

With the impending return of Melo and Amare to the New York Knicks, Jeremy Lin’s play as a fantasy basketball player is only going to improve. Lin is the real deal! He has scored 89 points in his first 3 starts, the most since the NBA merger in 1976. For Daily Fantasy Basketball, go with Jeremy Lin at guard to win.