Category: New York Knicks Blog

Knicks guard Jose Calderon remains out

Here’s the New York Post reporting on a key member of the 13-52 Knicks:

Derek Fisher allowed for the possibility that Jose Calderon won’t make it back this season despite the point guard’s ardent wishes to return.

Calderon has a tricky left Achilles tendon strain, and before the Knicks’ 125-94 loss to the Warriors on Saturday night, the point guard was ruled out for the remainder of the western trip. He will miss his 10th straight game Sunday when the
Knicks finish their five-game journey in Phoenix.

The Knicks appear a little more cautious since Trail Blazers shooting guard Wesley Matthews ruptured his Achilles tendon earlier this month. Matthews, who probably will miss training camp, is a free agent the Knicks covet.

Private funeral for Anthony Mason attended by various former Knicks

Here’s the New York Daily News reporting on the funeral for a beloved former New York Knick:

Anthony Mason got one last pep talk from his old coach Friday as friends and former teammates said farewell Friday to the former Knicks power forward.

Pat Riley was among those who spoke at Mason’s funeral, a private sendoff that was attended by his former teammates Patrick Ewing, John Starks and Herb Williams, and other retired NBA players like ex-Knick John Wallace and Jayson Williams, who played for the New Jersey Nets.

“The four years I coached him in New York and the one year in Miami, he’s one of the best players I’ve coached,” Riley told the Daily News after the service at the Greater Allen A.M.E. Cathedral of New York in Queens.

“He had something that was special and unique, and not many players had it. He engulfed all of that in his competitiveness desire to win and to separate himself from the pack.”

Andrea Bargnani getting buckets for Knicks

Here’s the New York Post reporting a bright spot for the Knicks lately:

Andrea Bargnani insists his recent surge is all about being aggressive — and shedding rust. He has scored double-figure points in six straight games (15.7 ppg) and has scored 61 (20.3) in his last three, including 19 against the Raptors.

“Just be aggressive, do what I do,” Bargnani said, noting the rust is coming off after his long inactivity — plus the games Friday and Saturday were his first back-to-backs since Jan. 16 and 17 of last year.

“I feel good, pretty good. This is the first back-to-back in 13 months for me,” said Bargnani, who has shot 21-of-45 (47 percent) in those last three games. “I’m happy we won both games so that’s pretty good.”

Here’s ESPN New York reporting on the Knicks and Andrea Bargnani, who has played in just six games this season, averaging 7.7 points on 39% shooting in 17.5 minutes per outing:

With Carmelo Anthony’s scoring punch on the shelf for the season, Phil Jackson sees one player on the Knicks roster who might be able to shoulder some of the scoring load.

Jackson thinks Andrea Bargnani can help offset some of the 24.2 points per game lost with Anthony. At the very least, Bargnani should be able to replace Amar’e Stoudemire’s 12 points per game — provided he can remain on the court.

Of course, Bargnani has been a 7-foot walking injury as a Knick.

“Now that we have a gap in scoring, this is a guy that is a natural scorer,” Jackson said last week when asked before the trading deadline what could happen with Bargnani if he isn’t dealt. “I think the coaching staff would like to have him on the court and be competitive with his scoring capabilities.”

Carmelo Anthony played through injury most of this season

New York Knicks forward Carmelo Anthony is out for the season after averaging 24.2 points, 6.6 rebounds and 3.1 assists in 35.7 minutes per game this season. He played in 40 games, starting all 40. Here’s the New York Post reporting what he was dealing with along the way:

Carmelo Anthony played most of the season with a partial tear of the left patellar tendon, The Post has learned.

In new details, the debridement part of Thursday’s surgery was to clean out the calcium deposits that formed within the partial tear, so the tear could be repaired.

If Anthony had suffered a full tear of the patellar tendon — also known as a rupture — he could not have played on it this season. Ex-Knick Antonio McDyess suffered a full tear in 2000, as did the Giants’ Victor Cruz last season.

No big moves for Knicks on trade deadline day

Here’s the New York Post reporting on the Knicks, who are without Carmelo Anthony’s services for the rest of the season due to knee surgery, and face an even rougher final few months of the season with a mostly gutted roster:

Knicks president Phil Jackson’s first trade deadline passed quietly, with the club getting beaten out again by Miami president Pat Riley for the top prize — Suns point guard Goran Dragic.

Adding insult to injury, the free-agent-to-be Dragic will be at the Garden Friday night — possibly in a Miami uniform — when the Knicks resume their catastrophic 10-43 season following the All-Star break against the Heat.

As expected, Jackson dealt on-the-block point guard Pablo Prigioni to save a smidgen of cap space while netting two second-rounders (2017, 2019) from Houston and 6-foot-6 shooting guard Alexey Shved, a fringe player with an expiring contract. The deal will save the Knicks $300,000 in cap space in 2015. That’s the guaranteed amount of Prigioni’s $1.7 million pact next season.