New York Knicks Blog – Page 85 – NBA Blog

Melo returns to Syracuse for first time as Knick

Melo returns to Syracuse for first time as a Knick

Carmelo Anthony said he had to prepare himself mentally for his return to the Carrier Dome, but it didn’t stop a flurry of emotions Sunday.

“A lot of memories come back into play,” he said. “Walking out the tunnel, walking into the arena, just being on the court, seeing all the banners and just seeing that orange and blue brings back a lot of memories.”

Melo-palooza began with Knicks practice at the dome Anthony called home and continued with a visit to Syracuse’s practice facility, which bears his name. Anthony, who led Syracuse to the 2003 national championship, donated $3 million to the university to help build the Carmelo K. Anthony Basketball Center.

On Monday night, the Knicks face Philadelphia in the Carrier Dome. It’s considered a home game for the 76ers, who started their basketball lives as the Syracuse Nationals, but Anthony will be feted like a conquering hero.

— Reported by Al Iannazzone of New York Newsday

Knicks forward Amare Stoudemire out 2-3 weeks

Amar’e Stoudemire left the Knicks on Sunday to get an MRI that revealed a ruptured cyst on the back of his left knee. The affliction is known as a Baker’s cyst or popiteal.

Stoudemire will be out two to three weeks and miss the season opener in Brooklyn on Nov. 1.

Stoudemire made his preseason debut Friday in Montreal, scoring 18 points against the Raptors after missing the first two games with a bruised knee.

— Reported by Marc Berman of the New York Post (Blog)

Read NBA fan reaction or share your opinion in this basketball forum topic.

Landry Fields happy for fresh start with Raptors

The Knicks had 18.7 million reasons not to bring back Landry Fields. But Fields had his own reasons for not wanting to return.

Fields, now a Toronto Raptor, said he needed a change and that he lost his confidence and comfort level after Carmelo Anthony was acquired.

“It was a fresh start,” Fields said before Friday night’s Knicks-Raptors preseason game at the Bell Centre. “I think I needed that. It couldn’t have come at a better time for me.

“It was an accumulation of things. I probably lost some confidence in myself. I couldn’t really adjust as well as I’d like to. Don’t want to put the blame on anybody else. It really was me; just couldn’t get it done.”

— Reported by Al Iannazzone of New York Newsday

Landry Fields no longer has the couch Jeremy Lin slept on

Everything has changed for Landry Fields as he took his fledgling career across the border. He now wears his black Raptors jersey proudly, changing from “6” to his college No. 2.

Worse, Fields no longer even has the famous couch that former Knicks teammate Jeremy Lin slept on in his apartment the night before his initial bust-out game vs. the Nets on Feb. 4 that spawned Linsanity.

“It was a rental couch,’’ Fields said at the morning shootaround before facing the Knicks Friday night at the Bell Centre. “I had to give it back. I wonder if they even know (the history). It’s probably boxed up.’’

— Reported by Marc Berman of the New York Post (Blog)

J.R. Smith to miss Knicks 3-game road trip

J.R. Smith has been given the boot on this upcoming road trip.

Smith, now wearing a protective boot, didn’t practice Thursday and will not make the Knicks’ three-game preseason road trip that starts Friday night in Montreal vs. the Raptors.

Smith missed Saturday’s game in Hartford with what the Knicks termed a sore ankle but Smith told The Post it was an Achilles injury.

Smith practiced Tuesday, but was shut down Wednesday.

— Reported by Marc Berman on the New York Post (Blog)

Knicks exercise third-year option on Iman Shumpert

The New York Knicks like guard Iman Shumpert and as expected, will keep him around for the near future.

Knicks Executive Vice President, Basketball Operations and General Manager Glen Grunwald announced today that the team has exercised its third-year option on Shumpert.

According to Alan Hahn of MSG Network, the third-year option is worth $1.7 million.

Shumpert, 6-5, 220-pounds, averaged 9.5 points, 3.2 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 1.71 steals (seventh in NBA) over 28.9 minutes in 59 games (35 starts) last season en route to being named to the NBA All-Rookie First Team. He was selected in first round (17th overall) in 2011 NBA Draft.

Shumpert is currently injured and will miss some of the regular season while he heals.

Marcus Camby not close to return for Knicks

Camby, who has a calf strain, didn’t practice Tuesday and Knicks coach Mike Woodson admitted he isn’t sure if he will be back next week and make the Knicks upcoming three-game road trip to Montreal-Albany-Syracuse. The Knicks announced Camby’s injury 10 days ago.

Camby, the Knicks backup center is in his second stint with the team at age 38. His first stint also was marked by injuries.

“I can’t say he’s getting close,’’ Woodson said.

— Reported by Marc Berman of the New York Post (Blog)

Jeremy Lin playing, but still recovering from knee surgery

Tough times for everybody’s favorite point guard. Everybody but James Dolan, that is.

More than six months after undergoing surgery to repair a torn meniscus, not exactly a catastrophic injury by any stretch, Jeremy Lin continues to cite problems with his left knee for his early struggles with the Rockets.

“My speed and my explosiveness and my agility (are not) there yet,” Lin said the other day.

So it was hardly ideal circumstances when the ex-Knick made his Houston debut against the Thunder’s Russell Westbrook. even if Lin had two completely healthy knees, that’s a mismatch, going up against one of the NBA’s top athletes.

Predictably, in his first action since injuring his knee last March against Detroit at the Garden, it got ugly in a hurry. Lin made only one shot and couldn’t stay with the fleet Westbrook, who went for 19 points in 16 first-half minutes.

— Reported by Mitch Lawrence of the New York Daily News

Stoudemire out of Knicks preseason opener with bruised knee

Amar’e Stoudemire will sit out Thursday night’s preseason opener in Washington with a bruised knee, the Knicks announced at their morning shootaround.

Kurt Thomas, 40, will start at power forward in his second stint with the Knicks.

During Wednesday’s practice, Stoudemire banged knees with a teammate and developed swelling.

— Reported by Marc Berman of the New York Post (Blog)

J.R. Smith stars in music video

And now Smith has added a new layer of intrigue. He’s starring in a new music video called “How Deep Is Your Love,” which features Grammy award-winning reggae artist Sean Paul and popular R&B singer Kelly Rowland. Smith, who plays the love interest, said he didn’t even have to audition for the role.

“They just came to me and asked me to do it,” he told ESPNNewYork.com on Saturday. “From listening to the song, they just said I was the perfect person to play it.”

Smith said that Paul and Rowland filmed their own scenes in Los Angeles, and his was a one-day, six-hour shoot in NYC. While the experience made him want to continue acting, he’s not jumping into it again so fast.

“It’s hard,” he said. “A lot of people underestimate it. Acting is definitely a tough gig to have.”

— Reported by Jared Zwerling of ESPN New York

“How Deep is Your Love” video, featuring J.R. Smith