New York Knicks Blog – Page 76 – NBA Blog

Bill Walker signs with Austin Toros in D-League

The Austin Toros today announced they have signed small forward Bill Walker. Walker will meet the team in Iowa tomorrow for back-to-back games on Thursday and Friday against the Energy.

Walker (6-6, 235, Kansas State) was the 47th overall pick by the Washington Wizards in the 2008 NBA draft. He was then traded to the Boston Celtics. While on the Celtics roster, Walker was assigned to the NBA D-League, playing for the Utah Flash in 2008 and the Maine Red Claws in 2009. In February, 2010 Walker was part of a trade deal that sent him to the New York Knicks. In three seasons (09-10 to 11-12), Walker played 120 games with the Knicks. Walker averaged 5.9 points and 2.5 rebounds in 19.4 minutes played his final season with New York.

In his 2007-08 season at Kansas State, Walker averaged 16.1 points and 6.3 rebounds in 31 games. After graduating high school, Walker played on the undefeated (5-0) USA White team at the 2005 USA Youth Development Festival.

Walker will wear jersey No. 11 for the Toros. Fans can watch the Toros-Energy matchup Thursday and Friday night on NBADLeague.com powered by YouTube at 9:00pm Central. The teams will play at Cedar Park Center this Sunday, February 24th at 3:00pm.

Rasheed Wallace ready to return to practice for Knicks

Carmelo Anthony and Tyson Chandler return today from Houston, and Rasheed Wallace returns from oblivion.

The Knicks reconvene for the first time since the All-Star break, with their defensive power forward expected to participate in practice for the first time since suffering a stress reaction in his left foot in mid-December.

Wallace will not be ready to play tomorrow in Indiana, and how long he’s able to stay healthy is anyone’s guess. In the best-case scenario, he becomes the final piece to the Knicks’ championship push. If Wallace suffers a setback and breaks his foot, the Knicks could cut him and sign a free-agent forward, such as Kenyon Martin or Lou Amundson.

— Reported by Marc Berman of the New York Post

2015 NBA All-Star Game location may be New York City

The All-Star Game appears to be headed back to the Big Apple.

The Knicks and the Nets have both applied to host the All-Star Game, and deputy commissioner Adam Silver said last night that it’s likely that one or the other will be hosting the event in 2015, the next year that is available.

When Silver was asked if that was the case, he responded with a simple, “Yes.”

New Orleans is hosting the game next year.

Silver, who is set to take over for commissioner David Stern next February, said that the league would still have to make sure it could secure the proper logistics, including hotel space and availability at the Javits Center for its Jam Session.

— Reported by Tim Bontemps of the New York Post

Carmelo Anthony expects to play in NBA All-Star game

Carmelo Anthony arrived in Houston yesterday, and a league source said the NBA has been told the Knicks’ injured superstar is expecting to play in Sunday’s All-Star Game.

Anthony injured his right biceps during Wednesday’s 92-88 loss to Toronto during which he shot just 5-of-24. Anthony said he was bothered by the injury, though he finished the game and took 10 shots in the fourth quarter.

An NBA bylaw stipulates if a player shows up for the All-Star Game and does not play, the league has the power to forbid the player from competing in the next game after the break. That is designed as a deterrent to players who exaggerate injuries to get out of the game.

Anthony, who was voted to start in the Eastern Conference frontcourt with LeBron James and adversary Kevin Garnett, called the injury a “contusion.”

— Reported by Marc Berman and Tim Bontemps contributing, of the New York Post

J.R. Smith wants better Knicks defense

It seems that everyone, from Mike Woodson on down, is searching for ways to clean up the Knicks’ porous defense.

On Wednesday night, J.R. Smith offered his take, hinting that the Knicks’ need to improve on D.

“We haven’t been that defensive team that we started off the season as. We were aggressive. Everybody was communicating. Everybody was excited to play. It just hasn’t been like that the last 10, 12 games,” Smith said after the Knicks’ loss to Toronto.

He’s right, by the way.

Over the last 10 games, the Knicks rank 23rd in opponent field goal percentage (47 percent) and 20th in defensive efficiency, a measure of points allowed per 100 possessions. They ranked sixth and fourth, respectively, in those categories after the first nine games of the season.

— Reported by Ian Begley of ESPN New York

Raptors beat Knicks 92-88 for 4th straight win

Reserve Alan Anderson scored 26 points in one of the few good offensive performances for either team, and the Toronto Raptors beat the New York Knicks 92-88 on Wednesday night for their fourth straight victory.

DeMar DeRozan added 20 points for the Raptors, who overcame a 4-for-21 performance from Rudy Gay because Knicks star Carmelo Anthony was just as bad. Anthony finished with 12 points and 12 rebounds but shot 5 of 24 for the Knicks, who dropped their final two games leading into the All-Star break.

J.R. Smith led the Knicks with 26 points. Raymond Felton had 16 but shot 3 of 9, while Amare Stoudemire was 4 of 13 and had one particularly ghastly miss from right at the basket on his way to 10 points.

Gay finished with 11 points one night after hitting the go-ahead basket with 4.9 seconds left in a victory over Denver. That was his second such basket in three games since his trade from Memphis, but the Raptors had to look elsewhere this time for someone to pick them up in a game that was poorly played and poorly officiated.

They found it in Anderson, who finished a point shy of his career high. Kyle Lowry and John Lucas III both had 12 points, Lucas playing most of the second half after Lowry was ejected.

The Knicks shot 35 percent and settled for an ugly finish to their best first half in 16 years. They lost three of their final four games and take a 32-18 mark to the All-Star break…

Anthony said he was hurt early in the game when he was hit by DeRozan’s elbow, causing a deep contusion that caused numbness. He said he will wait to see how it feels before determining if he can start as scheduled in Sunday’s All-Star game.

— Reported by Brian Mahoney of the Associated Press

Suns may seek trade for Iman Shumpert from Knicks

Iman Shumpert was not his usual boisterous self after the Knicks’ 102-88 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers on Sunday. He spoke softly, sometimes responding to questions with one-word answers. Shumpert spent a majority of his time in the locker room with his head down.

Shumpert knows he has had a difficult week. He has been trying to find his rhythm on the court and his niche with the Knicks. And on Saturday night, he became the subject of a trade rumor. The Phoenix Suns were said to be interested in making a deal for Shumpert, a second-year guard, in exchange for Jared Dudley and a possible first-round pick before the Feb. 21 trade deadline.

Shumpert, who returned to the court less than a month ago after having knee surgery in the spring, met with Coach Mike Woodson on Saturday.

“He said don’t worry about it,” Shumpert said. “Rumors are rumors. I don’t really care. I just have to play ball. I can’t control that anyway. It’s nothing to worry about. I just have to go out there and play.”

— Reported by Nate Taylor of the New York Times (Blog)

Chris Paul scores 25, Clippers beat Knicks 102-88

Chris Paul preserved the big lead that Jamal Crawford helped build, then they both looked elsewhere for the key to this Clippers victory.

”I think the game ball goes to Grant Hill,” Paul said.

Hill led the defensive effort that limited Carmelo Anthony to one basket in the fourth quarter, and Los Angeles pulled away for a 102-88 victory over the New York Knicks on Sunday.

Anthony scored 42 points in his fifth 40-point game of the season, but took only two shots in the final period while defended by the 40-year-old Hill, who didn’t even play in the first half but was on the floor for the final 15:21…

Paul scored 25 points in his second game back from injury and Crawford, a former Knicks guard, had 27. Blake Griffin finished with 17 points and 12 rebounds for the Clippers, who bounced back from a 22-point loss in Miami on Friday to win for just the fourth time in 12 games. They finish off their eight-game Grammys road trip Monday in Philadelphia…

Raymond Felton scored 20 points for the Knicks, who lost for the second time in eight games and wrap up their successful first half Wednesday against Toronto. J.R. Smith was only 1 for 9 from the field, getting badly outplayed by Crawford in a matchup of top NBA reserves…

Paul added seven assists and six rebounds after being held to a season-low three points Friday in Miami. He had missed nine straight and 12 of the previous 14 games with a bruised right kneecap, and an excellent Clippers season hit a rocky patch without him…

The NBA’s three oldest active players were at Madison Square Garden: the Knicks’ Kurt Thomas, who turned 40 in October, Hill (a day younger) and the Knicks’ Jason Kidd (who turns 40 next month).

— Reported by Brian Mahoney of the Associated Press

Knicks defense can use improvement

John Wall torched the Knicks on pick-and-roll plays in the Wizards’ win over New York on Wednesday. The Bucks and Magic backcourt scored at will against the Knicks in the first half of recent home games. And Jeff Teague (27 points) and Jrue Holiday (35 points) had big scoring nights against New York, thanks to pick-and-roll success.

“When you’re playing quick point guards like that you have to stick to the game plan and if the game plan doesn’t work, then you have to make adjustments,” Tyson Chandler said last week. “We had problems in accomplishing either.”

The Knicks have relied heavily on switching against the pick-and-roll play, rather than having the player guarding the ball handler fight through the screen. This has led to favorable mismatches for the opponent. It’s also forced the Knicks into defensive rotations that oftentimes have created fissures in coverage.

“We’ve got to stop begging for help,” said Woodson, whose team has another tough test on Sunday against Chris Paul and the Clippers.

— Reported by Ian Begley of ESPN New York

Wizards end Knicks 5-game winning streak

Though the Washington Wizards have just 13 victories, five are against leaders of the six NBA divisions.

John Wall had 21 points and nine assists, Trevor Ariza scored a season-high 20 points, and the Wizards snapped the New York Knicks’ five-game winning streak with a 106-96 victory Wednesday night.

Washington held the Knicks, who had won the last 10 meetings, to just nine 3-pointers. In the previous two games, New York had 33.

The Wizards have also beaten Miami, Oklahoma City, the Los Angeles Clippers, and Chicago, which was leading the Central on Jan. 26. San Antonio is the only division leader to beat Washington.

”I’d like to play our best against everyone,” Wizards coach Randy Wittman said.

Washington had six players score in double figures for the fourth time this season. Martell Webster added 19 points, Nene had 13 points and 10 rebounds, Emeka Okafor scored 12 and Chris Singleton 10.

— Reported by the Associated Press