New York Knicks Blog – Page 142 – NBA Blog

Knicks sign Jon Bender

New York Knickerbockers President of Basketball Operations Donnie Walsh announced today that free agent forward Jonathan Bender has been signed to a contract. Per team policy, terms of the deal were not disclosed.

InsideHoops.com assumes that the deal is a nonguaranteed contract for one season.

“Jonathan has worked extremely hard in preparing himself for a return to the NBA,” said Walsh. “I know him to be a young man of the highest character from my relationship with him that dates back 10 years to his rookie year and I think he will be a fine addition to our team both on and off the court.”

Bender, 7-0, 230-pounds, has career averages of 5.6 points, 2.2 rebounds and 15.0 minutes in 237 games (27 starts) over seven NBA seasons, all with Indiana. The Picayune, MS-native was selected out of high school by the Toronto Raptors with the fifth overall selection in the 1999 NBA Draft and was acquired by the Pacers on Aug. 1, 1999 in exchange for Antonio Davis.

Bender enjoyed his most productive NBA season in 2001-02 when he averaged career-highs of 7.4 points, 3.1 rebounds and 21.1 minutes in a career-high 78 games. Injuries forced Bender to miss 172 games over the next three seasons before he was forced to stop playing due to chronic knee pain on Feb. 4, 2006, after playing in just two games in 2005-06.

Bender founded The Jonathan Bender Foundation in New Orleans that has adopted elementary schools, taken on real estate ventures, offered free finance classes for some of New Orleans’ poorest residents and run free basketball clinics for teens in the New Orleans region. He also founded a construction company called Kingdom Homes that buys and restores flood-damaged properties in New Orleans’ most disadvantaged neighborhoods.

Read fan reaction and share your own opinion in this forum topic.

Nate Robinson in the doghouse

New York Knicks guard Nate Robinson is good at providing sparks and bursts of scoring, but also tends to show questionable decision-making. And although he recently unleashed a wild scoring display late in a game against the Orlando Magic, the tiny leaper is on coach Mike D’Antoni’s bad side.

Mitch Lawrence of the New York Daily News reports:

Donnie Walsh didn’t give Nate Robinson a $2 million raise to have him turn into a non-playing reserve, but the Knicks’ president has no problem with Robinson being demoted six weeks into the NBA season.

“Mike is in charge of that,” Walsh said Saturday, referring to coach Mike D’Antoni. “I’m supportive of whatever he does. I think it’s been difficult with this team to come up with a rotation. I think he’s given everybody time, so at some point he’s got to come up with a rotation to win with. If a guy’s not in it, he’s not in it.”

With Robinson losing his minutes to rookie Toney Douglas, largely because of his showboating and other on-court antics, the Knicks have split their last two games. Since that’s what passes for success these days at the Garden, D’Antoni is not about to change his rotation for today’s home game against the Nets.

This season, Robinson is averaging 10.9 points and 3.2 assists in 22.0 minutes per game. He’s shooting a decent 44.3 percent.

The Knicks face the Nets Sunday in New York.

Knicks City Dancers comic book

The Knicks City Dancers are unveiling the first-ever NBA dance team comic book at two autograph signing sessions held at Madison Square Garden, Sunday, Dec. 6. Members of the team will be on hand during “Knicks Kids Day” in the Expo Center before the Knicks take on the Nets and again in the Double Teamed Store during halftime. During the second session in the Double Teamed Store, the dancers will provide an autographed copy of their comic book to all fans with the purchase of any item from the arena stores, while supplies last.

The Knicks City Dancers are “Keeping the Rhythm of New York” in their 19th season as one of the premiere dance teams in the NBA. The squad embodies the talent, energy and diversity of New York City and have branded their “Super Hero” costume (featured on the cover of the comic book) to represent the empowered and classy “super women” of New York. Each dancer is profiled in the comic book to give their fans an up-close look at their favorite dancer, while providing them with an exclusive collectable item. Throughout the season, the dancers appear at all home games and serve as team representatives at numerous community events.

New York Liberty hire Anne Donovan as head coach

Hall of Famer Anne Donovan has been named head coach of the New York Liberty, it was announced today by team President and General Manager Carol Blazejowski. As per team policy, terms of the contract were not released.

“There’s no question that Anne is one of the most respected coaches in our game. Her experience and leadership skills as both a player and a coach will be invaluable as we battle to get the franchise back to its proper place at the top of the WNBA,” said Blazejowski.

After taking over as the Liberty’s interim head coach halfway through the 2009 season, Donovan compiled a 7-10 overall record. A Ridgewood, New Jersey native, she is the fourth head coach of the franchise. She joined New York as an assistant coach on April 28, 2009.

“I am very excited to be returning to the Liberty and look forward to the challenges that lie ahead and have confidence that our team will be back on track next summer,” said Donovan.

Donovan is one of the most accomplished female players and coaches in basketball history. She was a Naismith Award winner and three-time All-American selection as a player at Old Dominion and won gold medals with the 1984 and 1988 U.S. Olympic teams. She served as an assistant coach in the 1998 and 2004 Olympics, helping the U.S. capture gold medals both times. In 2008, Donovan coached the U.S. Women’s National team to gold in the Beijing Olympics. She began her WNBA career with the Indiana Fever as the interim head coach in 2000, followed by head coaching positions with the Charlotte Sting (2001-2002) and the Seattle Storm (2003-2007). In Seattle, she compiled a 93-77 record with four post-season berths, including the 2004 WNBA Championship title. Donovan was inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 1995. She was one of the twenty-six inductees in the inaugural class of the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame in 1999.

Carmelo Anthony scores 50

Friday night in Denver the Nuggets edged the New York Knicks 128-125 in a wild shootout that featured one member of the losing squad, Al Harrington, come off the bench to shoot 14-of-24 with four three pointers and 9-of-13 free throws for 41 points and 10 rebounds.

While Harrington’s individual scoring output would normally be the best in the league on any given NBA basketball night, it was second best in this game as Nuggets small forward Carmelo Anthony erupted for 50.

Chris Dempsey of the Denver Post reports:

As if turkey wasn’t enough, [Carmelo] Anthony gorged himself on a diet of open shots provided by New York. And he made them count. The Nuggets forward knocked down 17-of-28 shots to finish with a career-high 50 points.

“It feels good,” said Anthony, whose previous career high was 49 at Washington in 2008. “I have not been (to 50 points) a lot of times, and never got over that hump (in the NBA).”

Anthony had 10 in the first quarter, 14 in the second, 15 in the third and 11 in the fourth.

And a shot chart full of filled-in circles.

Anthony, so far, is having the best season of his career. MVP chants are becoming common in the Pepsi Center, and they revved up again in the fourth quarter when Anthony stepped to the free-throw line.

The AP reports:

With the game in the balance, the crowd chanting “MVP! MVP!” and Anthony’s sights set on an offensive milestone, the Nuggets forward sank a pair of free throws with 16 seconds remaining to finish off a career-high, 50-point performance and help Denver beat the New York Knicks 128-125 Friday night.

“They might have been the two toughest free throws I’ve shot in a while,” Anthony said. “We’ve got the game on the line, 50, you’re right there and you want to get it. If I didn’t say I wanted to get it, I’d be lying to you. I’m right there. But most importantly they were two big free throws.”

Matt Gagne of the New York Daily News reports:

“He’s got the total package right now,” Al Harrington said after the Knicks finished 0-3 on their West Coast swing and dropped to 3-13. “He’s hitting threes, he’s got a mid-range jumper, he can get to the free throw line whenever he wants to. Whenever you’re playing a guy like that, there’s nothing you can do. “I think our guys did a pretty good job, because if we didn’t, he would’ve had 70.”

Including Friday’s games, Melo leads the entire NBA in scoring with 30.9 points per game. Kevin Martin (Sacramento Kings), who is injured and has played in just five games this season, is at 30.6 ppg. Kobe Bryant (Los Angeles Lakers) is at 30.1 ppg, followed by LeBron James (Cleveland Cavaliers) with 29.4 ppg and Kevin Durant (Oklahoma City Thunder) with 27.5 ppg.

Read fan reaction and discuss your own opinion in this forum topic.

George Karl doubts Knicks plan

Denver Nuggets coach George Karl is often quite outspoken about his opinions and it’s always worth listening to what he has to say. In this case, Karl casts doubt on what the New York Knicks are trying to do.

Marc Berman of the New York Post reports:

Nuggets coach George Karl said the Knicks master plan of tanking two seasons to get to the 2010 free agency usually does not work and believes it’s been grossly unfair to coach Mike D’Antoni.

Last week, Karl recommended to D’Antoni that signing Allen Iverson would be a boost, but added a caveat. Karl, who coached Iverson in Denver for nearly two seasons, told D’Antoni to sign Iverson only if he plans to start him exclusively.

With the current roster, Karl said he thinks D’Antoni has no shot of having success and believes Knicks team president Donnie Walsh should make him a front-office executive who runs practices, but has an interim coach to absorb the losses on the resume. Karl thinks a coach in D’Antoni’s situation is being “thrown to the wolves.”

It’s definitely unfair to blame Mike D’Antoni if a rebuilding team that is trying to start from scratch loses, but as long as the owner and upper management understands that is the situation, I think D’Antoni is safe. But a problem could result if the team doesn’t at least play hard and look properly coached.

Late bus delays Knicks in L.A.

Marc Berman of the New York Post reports:

The Knicks couldn’t beat the L.A. traffic or the world champion Lakers last night at Staples Center.

The night started with a bad omen when half the team — and coach Mike D’Antoni — showed up to Staples Center just 45 minutes before tip-off, nearly an hour late.

The team bus got caught in a massive traffic jam on the L.A. freeways and then the Lakers jammed them 100-90. Even worse, center Eddy Curry, after an ineffective first half, sat out the second half with a sore knee – an ailment that plagued him all last season. The Knicks, who play in Sacramento tonight, dropped to 3-11. Curry may not be available.

Kobe Bryant shot 14-of-20 against the Knicks, finishing with 34 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists (but 4 turnovers) and 3 steals. Andrew Bynum and Ron Artest each scored 17 (though Artest had 6 turnovers), and Pau Gasol added 11 points with 16 rebounds.

Lots of Knicks players struggled, including Wilson Chandler (5-of-20, 15 points), Chris Duhon (2-of-9) and Al Harrington (2-of-7).

Share your opinion on the InsideHoops New York Knicks forum.

Garnett game-winner leads Celtics over Knicks

An overtime thriller in Madison Square Garden ended on a Kevin Garnett game-winning, buzzer-beating jumper from the top of the key as the Boston Celtics beat the Knicks 107-105 in overtime Sunday in New York.

The packed Garden crowd, loaded with a celebrity roster including Will Ferrell, Brooke Shields, Mark Wahlberg, Rosie Perez and Spike Lee, was treated to the most thrilling Knicks game so far this short season.

“He’s that type of player,” said Celtics forward Paul Pierce about Garnett, who shot badly all game until it counted most. “You’re talking about a Hall of Fame player.”

Boston had six players score double-digits. Their star today was Pierce, who delivered 33 points (9-of-17, 6-of-7 three-pointers), nine rebounds and six assists.

Also for Boston, center Kendrick Perkins shot 6-of-7 for 16 points, 13 rebounds and 4 blocks. Point guard Rajon Rondo was one rebound short of a triple-double: 14 points (just 5-of-13), 9 rebounds, 10 assists and 4 steals.

Struggling today for the winners were Ray Allen (just 3-of-13 for 13 points) and Garnett (just 4-of-15 for 10 points).

Off the bench, Rasheed Wallace had more technical fouls (1) than points (0, on 0-of-6 shooting), though his defense was solid and he finished with four steals.

The Knicks were led in scoring for the third consecutive game by Al Harrington, who came off the bench to contribute 30 points and 9 rebounds. David Lee was terrific with 22 points and 15 rebounds, though he had five turnovers. Nate Robinson was huge as a bench scorer, scoring 19. And to the delight of Mike D’Antoni and Knicks observers, all his shots were at the right basket today.

The starting Knicks backcourt couldn’t throw a rock into the ocean today. Chris Duhon and Larry Hughes combined to shoot 3-of-17 for 7 points, with 10 assists.

Madison Square Garden recorded its fifth sellout in eight home games. They entered the game ranked fifth in the league in home attendance with an average of 19,626 fans per game.

No Allen Iverson for Knicks

The Memphis Grizzlies and guard Allen Iverson recently came to an understanding that things simply weren’t going to work out. Iverson was waived, and became a free agent.

There have been rumblings that the Knicks were strongly considering adding the former All-Star and league MVP, but apparently it isn’t going to happen.

Howard Beck of the New York Times reports:

The Knicks’ pursuit of Allen Iverson is dead.

In an abrupt reversal, Knicks officials decided late Thursday not to offer Iverson a contract, putting an end to their brief flirtation, according to a person close to the deliberations.

Although team officials were highly intrigued by Iverson, a four-time scoring champion, they finally decided that he posed too great a risk because of his long history of problems on and off the court.

Team officials spent three days weighing the potential merits and pitfalls of signing Iverson, and alternately talked themselves into and then out of making the move.

Iverson is obviously seen by most teams as more trouble than he’s worth right now, but it still made sense for the Knicks to consider adding him. Although he’s best as a scorer, Iverson could have been used as a starting point guard, since Chris Duhon and rookie Toney Douglas are best suited as reserves. The Knicks currently aren’t winning very often. And they don’t really have a lot of top-level youth that would be affected by Iverson being there.

But, Iverson reportedly won’t be heading to New York.

Read fan reaction and discuss your own opinion in this forum topic.

Knicks off to worst start ever

Marc Berman of the New York Post reports:

If LeBron James is crazy enough to take the leap this summer, he must realize he could join the worst team in Knicks history — Team Titanic version 3.0.

The franchise was born in 1946. Last night, the deplorable 2009-10 Knicks set the mark for worst start in franchise history. The pitiful Knicks fell to a humiliating 1-9 after another loss, 121-107, to the dysfunctional Warriors, after which they got booed leaving the Garden court.

No Knicks team has ever been as bad as 1-9 after 10 games. They genuinely appear on the way to post the worst record in franchise history. Afterward, coach Mike D’Antoni called his team “zombies.”

Even if LeBron James doesn’t come in 2010, the Knicks objective — to clear the roster out and start the team anew — makes sense and needed to be done. So, as bad as this season looks, the team is now bad for the right reasons.