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Jeremy Lin was the starting point guard for the Knicks on Monday against Utah, while the player expected to inherit the position had a recent medical setback.
Baron Davis revealed that he stopped his workouts because of an infection in his right elbow. Davis, who hasn’t played this season because of herniated disk in his back, hasn’t practiced since that happened on Jan. 26 in Miami and it’s unknown when he will return.
— Reported by the Associated Press
Hazell Stoudemire, the older brother of NBA star Amar’e Stoudemire, died early this morning in a car accident in Florida … TMZ has learned.
The accident happened on Route 27 in Lake Wales. According to the Florida Highway Patrol, Stoudemire was driving at a “high rate of speed” when he collided with the rear of a tractor trailer.
He died on the scene.
— Reported by TMZ
The NBA’s average ticket price increased for the first time in three years, up 1.7 percent to $48.48, the Team Marketing Report said Wednesday in its annual survey.
New York Knicks’ tickets cost more than double the league’s average and five times as much as seats for the Memphis Grizzlies.
Knicks tickets averaged $117.47 after a 32.5 percent increase – and these figures don’t even include premium seats.
The Los Angeles Lakers were second at $99.25 after a 4.2 percent hike, and Boston third at $68.55 while leaving its average flat. Chicago was fourth at $68.37 with a 3.3 percent increase, followed by the Miami Heat at $67 following a 10.7 percent jump.
— Reported by the Associated Press
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Baron Davis missed shoot around on Tuesday due lingering soreness in his back, according to Mike D’Antoni.
“I don’t think it’s a set back but it just needed a little bit more time to calm down,” he said.
Davis, who also missed practice on Monday, probably won’t suit up for the Knicks until next week at the earliest.
The Knicks have four games this week. After Tuesday night’s home game against Detroit, they play three games in three nights, beginning with Thursday’s home against Chicago.
“I think next week’s looking more like it … The sooner the better, but I don’t know for sure,” D’Antoni said.
— Reported by Ian Begley of ESPN New York
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According to a league source, the Sixers have inquired about Amar’e Stoudemire, though it was categorized as “due diligence.” Nothing is said to be imminent or even in the early stages other than just talk, the source said. Nevertheless, in past seasons the Sixers were reportedly discussing trade scenarios with the Phoenix Suns in order to acquire Stoudemire. Whether or not the Sixers can afford Stoudemire, of course, is an issue too. Stoudemire is the ninth-highest paid player in the NBA after signing a five-year, $100 million contract before the 2010-11 season. He earns $18.2 million this season, $19.9 million next season and approximately $45 million between 2013 and 2015.
Incidentally, the Knicks are also paying a similar five-year deal out to forward Carmelo Anthony, a player whose arrival in New York snubbed out those M-V-P! chants for Stoudemire.
— Reported by John Finger of CSN Philly (Blog)
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Carmelo Anthony is hurting, and the struggling New York Knicks are going to be without their leading scorer for at least a few days.
Anthony will not play Friday night when the Knicks visit Miami because of an array of thumb, wrist and ankle problems, and is not expected in the lineup when New York heads to Houston on Saturday.
“I’ve just got to be smart,” Anthony said Friday morning. “I think I was trying to be a superhero and trying to prove to my teammates that I can play hurt, trying to hide it. But at the end of the day me doing that, it wasn’t really doing nothing but hurting the team. … Me being limited out there on the court, it wasn’t doing anything for me, for my psyche, for my body. It was just making it worse.”
Potentially making matters even worse for the Knicks on Friday: Heat guard Dwyane Wade may return to Miami’s lineup, after going through the team’s morning shootaround practice and getting several sessions of on-court conditioning in this week while trying to recover from a sprained right ankle. Wade has missed Miami’s last six games because of the sprain.
— Reported by Tim Reynolds of the Associated Press
The insinuations of basketball inadequacy are potentially harmful for the Prudential Center, if only because the city of Newark — which owns the arena — wants to lure a permanent NBA team once the Nets leave.
According to a source familiar with the situation, Newark Mayor Cory Booker and former Newark resident Shaquille O’Neal have spoken several times about the subject and are in the process of arranging a meeting with the league.
One potential obstacle is the Nets, who don’t want a team just 13 miles away from the Barclays Center so soon after their own transition.
As a response to the various comments from the Nets, a spokesperson for the Prudential Center released a statement lauding the arena’s history — which included “more basketball games (last year) than any other arena in the U.S. but for Staples Center,” thanks in part to WNBA and NCAA Tournament games — while strategically mentioning the Barclays Center’s competition in midtown.
“Like Staples, the Garden and other new, big-city arenas, the Rock is a state-of-the-art facility meant to host all kinds of world-class sports and entertainment events. That’s why we have become one of the 10 busiest arenas in the world.”
— Reported by Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News
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One point.
That’s what Carmelo Anthony scored last night in a stunning — and perhaps telling — result. With Anthony muted, the Knicks bombed the Bobcats, 111-78, last night at Time Warner Cable Arena to break their six-game losing streak.
Anthony’s one point was a career low, and it was the first time he failed to sink a field goal since Nov. 28, 2005.
“I needed a night like this, where I didn’t have to do too much and we still won the game by a lot,’’ Anthony said. “We just had it going. Everybody had it going. I needed a night like this when I score one point and we win by 20. We all got tired of losing.’’
Anthony, who has been in a massive shooting slump and vowed to pass the ball more, did just that. But he went 0-for-7 as injuries continue to affect his shot. His lone point came on a free throw off a technical foul in the third quarter after going scoreless as the Knicks built a 52-42 halftime lead.
With Anthony nonexistent offensively, slumping Amar’e Stoudemire and center Tyson Chandler each played their best game in two weeks with rip-roaring performances.
— Reported by Marc Berman of the New York Post
New York Knickerbockers Senior Vice President, Basketball Operations and Interim General Manager Glen Grunwald announced today that the team has recalled center Jerome Jordan and guard Jeremy Lin from the Erie BayHawks of the NBA Development League.
Jordan, 7-0, 240-pounds, appeared in two games for Erie, averaging 18.0 points, 7.5 rebounds and 2.00 blocks over 32.5 minutes. For the Knicks, he has scored eight points and grabbed eight rebounds over 29 minutes in six games.
Lin, 6-3, 200-pounds, posted a triple-double in his lone game with Erie, recording 28 points, 12 assists, 11 rebounds and two steals over 44 minutes in the Jan. 20 win at Maine. For the Knicks, he has recorded nine points, recorded two assists and two rebounds over 16 minutes in five games.
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Deron Williams can’t crack the cold and uncomfortable Rock, so he’s waiting for a better home in Brooklyn.
After another horrendous shooting night for himself and the Nets in Newark, Williams expressed displeasure with the team’s stopgap home court at the Prudential Center, essentially calling it inadequate for basketball.
“I don’t like this arena one bit. It’s a good thing it’s not our arena next year,” he said matter-of-factly after shooting 5-of-18 in an 84-74 loss to the Thunder Saturday night. “Even last year, it just doesn’t feel like our home arena, I don’t know why.”
“It just doesn’t have good visual. The depth perception is not there.”
The Nets (4-12, 1-5 at home), who are scheduled to move to the $1 billion Barclays Center next season, shot a paltry 31% overall, and just 3-of-23 from beyond the arc — leaving the team with a 38% shooting percentage at home and 43% on the road.
— Reported by Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News
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