Wizards head coach Ed Tapscott served in the Knicks front office for nine seasons (1991-2000). He was named Vice President of Player Personnel in 1997 after stints as Director of Administration and Vice President of Administration.
Jared Jeffries played the first four years of his career in Washington, playing 256 games for the Wizards with averages of 6.1 points and 4.8 rebounds per game after the club selected him 11th overall in 2002.
Wizards President of Basketball Operations Ernie Grunfeld played with the Knicks from 1982-83 to 1985-86 and served as the Knicks General Manager from April 23, 1991 through April 21, 1999. His son Dan Grunfeld went to training camp with the Knicks this past summer before being waived on October 23.
Jared Jeffries’ Indiana Hoosiers lost to Juan Dixon’s Maryland Terrapins in the 2002 NCAA National Championship Game in Atlanta, Georgia. Dixon scored 18 points and had five rebounds and three assists and Jeffries posted eight points and seven rebounds.
Chris Duhon and Wizards forward Darius Songaila were teammates in Chicago during the 2005-06 season.
Tim Thomas played in Philadelphia for parts of two seasons (1997-99) when Wizards assistant coach Randy Ayers was an assistant under Larry Brown.
Rookie forward Ryan Anderson made his first career start vs. Oklahoma City on 1/12. He tallied six points and a career-high tying nine rebounds in 27 minutes. Anderson, 20, was the third youngest Nets player to start in franchise history. Below are the five youngest players to start for the Nets in franchise history including Anderson’s expected start tonight.
The Arlington Heights Daily Herald (Mike McGraw) reports: Defense aside, Derrick Rose’s offensive performance has also slid recently. He’s averaged 13.0 points and shot 40.7 percent so far in January, compared to 18.9 points and 49.6 percent in November. His assists are up slightly, from 6.1 in November to 6.7 in January. The most obvious answer for Rose’s struggles is defenses have ganged up on him, trying everything possible to prevent him from driving all the way to the basket and daring the other Bulls to beat them. The Bulls are 16-22 heading into tonight’s game at Toronto, so the schemes have been successful more often than not. “I notice teams are playing a little bit different, trying to get the basketball out of his hands, like they did (Monday) night,” Del Negro said. “You could see the difference of his improvement compared to when we played (the Blazers) early in the season when they were pressing us to how he handled it (Monday).”
The Bulls have been without their captains — Drew Gooden, Luol Deng and Kirk Hinrich — for sustained stretches. Deng has missed the last eight games with a sprained ankle and might be back tonight, when the Bulls host Portland. Hinrich (thumb surgery) has targeted Thursday against Cleveland as a possible return date. Gooden, who has posted double-doubles in all three games since an eight-game absence because of a sprained ankle, said there was no need for a players-only vent session. ”It’s no time right now to press a panic button where we need to have a mandatory meeting and stuff like that,” he said. ”Guys know what they need to do. Any time a meeting needs to be called, it will be called.” Coach Vinny Del Negro said the players need to take more ownership of the team.
The Atlanta Hawks (22 wins, 14 losses) were smoking hot from December 12 and on. They had won nine of 10 games, including wins against the Cavaliers, Pistons and Nuggets. But lately they’ve taken a dive, dropping four of their last five games. It doesn’t help that key big-man Al Horford is out indefinitely with a bone bruise in his right knee – likely a short-term injury.
The Rocky Mountain News (Chris Tomasson) reports (via blog): After more than four years, Allen Iverson finally has been toppled from his throne. With the Detroit guard scoring just 11 points Saturday night at Utah, he relinquished the career active scoring average lead he had held since early in the 2004-05 season. The NBA’s active career scoring average is now Cleveland forward LeBron James, averaging 27.36 points per game. Iverson’s average dropped Saturday to 27.35. Early in the 2004-05 season, Iverson, then with Philadelphia, seized the active scoring average lead from Shaquille O’Neal, then with Miami. O’Neal had taken it over after Michael Jordan, the all-time leader, retired following the 2002-03 season.
The New York Knicks are fun to watch this season. Win or lose, fans get their money’s worth. Madison Square Garden has energy. And on the road, the Knicks are enjoyable. It’s thanks to Mike D’Antoni’s high-paced offense. In my ideal basketball world, every team in the league would play this way.
The Philadelphia 76ers are awful at hitting three-pointers. They’re currently tied with the Washington Wizards for the lowest three-point shooting percentage in the league at 30.3%. There are probably fans in the stands who have never touched a basketball that, on a good day, might be able to match that.