The Bernucca List – Edition 30

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Really? Thirty of these already?

We started these about a year ago for two reasons. One was both editor-in-chief Chris Sheridan and yours truly both were big fans of The Spy List, which ran in Spy, a wonderfully snarky monthly magazine in the late 1980s and early 1990s. (It also did its fair share of good investigative reporting, by the way.)

The other reason we began running these was NBA commissioner David Stern and union chief Billy Hunter were remarkably unsympathetic to our basic needs. When you commit to building a better basketball site, it has a better chance for success if basketball is actually being played.

So what sort of started out as filler content during the interminable lockout now has become one of the longest continuous features on Sheridan Hoops. We’re kind of proud of that, even though coming up with fresh material occasionally presents a challenge.

More on that later. First, let’s settle up last week’s business. Edition 29 of The Bernucca List had been posted for less than 10 minutes before reader Dualie provided the correct answer, which was “Active coaches who have played for the teams they are coaching.” Nice job.

This week’s list is after the jump.

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Knicks trading for Felton, possibly ending Linsanity

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Linsanity is over in New York. Or is it?

We’ll know for certain within the next 72 hours.

With Lin signing a backloaded $25 million, three-year offer sheet with the Houston Rockets, the Knicks have gone out and found themselves a replacement — or a sidekick — for Lin, depending on who you want to believe.

That player is Raymond Felton, who will return to New York along with center Kurt Thomas in a sign-and-trade deal with the Portland Trail Blazers for Jared Jeffries, Dan Gadzuric and a second-round draft pick — and possibly more. (Felton was dealt to Denver two years ago as part of the Carmelo Anthony deal.)

Marc Berman of the New York Post said the recent developments “all but end the Jeremy Lin era prematurely and bitterly,” citing a source who insisted the Knicks will not match the offer sheet Lin renegotiated with the Rockets after New York told the point guard/global sensation they would.

Today’s back page of the New York Post

“The Knicks were furious the Rockets changed the offer sheet for Lin and upgraded it to a $25 million guarantee over three years, according to a source,” Berman wrote. “The Knicks were bitter because they told Lin immediately the club would match the original offer and Lin apparently shared the information with the Rockets. Lin and Houston then plotted to redo it. Lin secretly flew into Las Vegas without informing the Knicks to renegotiate the contract and sign it. The Knicks had been set to match Lin’s original offer sheet of four years, $28.9 million that had a $19 million guarantee before the Rockets threw a financial curveball that called for a $15 million third year that would have doomed owner James Dolan’s luxury-tax predicament. So this likely ended the Knicks’ endless blabber across the past two months, swearing they would bring Lin back and that he was a “big part” of “what we’re trying to do,’’ as coach Mike Woodson put it three days ago.”

But hold on a minute.

That sign-and-trade with the Blazers is not yet good to go, according to beat writers Jason Quick and Mike Tokito of the Oregonian, who report  ”the deal is not complete and includes several other components coming to Portland. The details of the deal are expected to be finalized today.”

RELATED CONTENT: Lin would cost Knicks $43 million in salary and luxury tax in 2014-15)

Howard Beck and Nate Taylor of the New York Times said Felton will receive a three-year, $10 million contract, and that the Knicks would include the rights to two overseas players: “It has been widely assumed that the Knicks would match Houston’s offer and keep Lin, despite a salary increase to $14.9 million in the third year of the deal. Team officials have said as much for weeks, both before and after the Rockets made the offer. Two reports late Saturday cast doubt on that assumption. The first came via the Twitter account of a South Carolina television reporter, Mark Haggard, who said that Felton had told him that the Knicks planned to let Lin leave for Houston. A short time later, Yahoo Sports reported that Lin “appears close” to joining the Rockets, in light of Felton’s deal. … Coach Mike Woodson said earlier this week the Knicks would not only match Houston’s offer, but that Lin would be the team’s starting point guard. He reiterated that point even after the Knicks signed Jason Kidd, a 10-time All-Star. Woodson said that Kidd would be the backup.

It appears one of those overseas players is recent draftee Kostas Papanikolaou.

 

 

And if the Knicks are adding cash to the deal, it can’t be more than $1.1 million, as they already sent $2 million to the Rockets in the Camby deal, and teams have only $3.1 million to use in trades before next July (Up $100K from last season).

Frank Isola of the New York Daily News reported a source familiar with the club’s thinking is confident that the Knicks will not match. Isola also notes that the GeriatKnicks (my word, not Frank’s), with Thomas and Camby, will now have two of the players who were on the roster the last time the team won a playoff series, in 2000 against the Miami Heat in the second round. Isola also tweeted this today:

 

Lin was a close friend of guard Landry Fields, who will be joining the Toronto Raptors after New York declined to match his $20 million offer sheet.

Monday’s NBA Post-Game Notes

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  • Brandon Jennings had 34 points, 7 rebounds, 7 assists, and 2 blocks in their win over the Nets. The lats player to post such a line was Alvin Robertson on January 16, 1990.
  • Kris Humphries scored a career-high 31 points, as well as pulling down 18 rebounds. His previous career-high is 25 points, and he also had 19 rebounds earlier this year.
  • A team has not scored 73 on the road and won since April 6, 2008. Every point scored by Charlotte in the 4th quarter were by reserves.
  • Luol Deng sat out his second consecutive game with inflammation in his left wrist.
  • Jared Jeffries missed the Knicks game with a sore left knee.
  • The Bulls have not lost consecutive games since February 5-7, 2011. This is a stretch of 75 straight games, a franchise record. They are also 30-0 when leading after three-quarters.
  • Manu Ginobili left the Spurs game in the third quarter with muscle tightness. He is listed as day-to-day.
  • Tim Duncan passed Clyde Drexler on the all-time scoring list, moving into 25th place.
  • The Clippers now have sold out all of their 19 home games this season.
  • Kevin Garnett passed Moses Malone on the all-time list for minutes played, moving into 11th place.
  • Panthers QB Cam Newton was in attendance for the Clippers game.

Bernucca: Melo should take the blame

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This is all on Carmelo Anthony.

Enough excuses have been made for a so-called superstar whose one-dimensional game arrived in New York over a year ago. There has been an initial acclimation period, an abbreviated training camp, a hole at point guard, an injury and another acclimation period due to a revamped roster.

In and of themselves, those excuses had some legitimacy when they arose. But there has been one consistent thread through Anthony’s tenure with the New York Knicks: When he is on the floor, typically they don’t win.

The recent small sample is not encouraging; the Knicks were 7-1 while Anthony was sidelined with a groin injury and are 2-6 since his return, with all of the positive vibe around the team generated by Linsanity completely evaporating.

You want a bigger picture? Since Anthony’s ballyhooed arrival, the Knicks are 26-36 when he plays. That includes the playoffs, a meek four-game exit that did nothing to satisfy the thirst of success-starved fans at Madison Square Garden, the mecca of basketball.

Asked why he has been unable to mesh with a group that displayed complete cohesion in his absence, Anthony said, “I don’t know. I really can’t answer that. I really can’t put a finger on it.”

That response is unacceptable. Superstars are supposed to have a greater understanding of the game. Superstars are supposed to find ways to leave a positive imprint. Superstars are supposed to be committed to winning above all else.

And the backlash has begun. During Wednesday’s Philadelphia-Milwaukee telecast, Bucks announcer Bill Paschke called Anthony “a tall Allen Iverson.” On Friday, Kings announcers Grant Napier and Bill Walton piled on some more, targeting him for the Knicks’ shortcomings.

You can dismiss those criticisms as distant observations from outsiders not close to the team. Or you can turn on the TV at noon and see for yourself.

What you will see is a player totally disengaged unless he has the ball. Anthony runs the floor primarily for himself and rarely to create openings for others. He stations himself on the perimeter and begins walking back on defense when the ball moves to the other side of the court, diminishing his ability to make an impact on the offensive glass.

When the ball does find Anthony, the offense clearly slows and occasionally stops. Too often, his attacks ignore open teammates freed up by vacating help defenders. Misses are sometimes followed by barking at officials, only adding to his consistently poor transition defense. And he is easily baited into 1-on-1 duels with opponents that ignore the true goal and only serve his overinflated ego.

And now comes word from colleague Moke Hamilton that Anthony would be in favor of a coaching change from Mike D’Antoni to Nate McMillan, who may get handed his walking papers in Portland.

The Knicks can’t trade Anthony, certainly not before Thursday afternoon’s deadline, which would be a complete admittal that surrendering half the roster for him was a massive mistake. Even an offseason deal rationalized by a second postseason flameout would be next to impossible, given his three-year, $63.5 million extension that hasn’t even begun and the harsher luxury tax of the new CBA.

In eight-plus years of empty adulation, Anthony really has done virtually nothing in the NBA besides establish himself as the poster boy for “my-turn” basketball. And now Knicks fans are stuck with him, again left to wonder when it will be their turn.

TRIVIA: Carmelo Anthony has played 50 career postseason games. How many has he won? Answer below.

THE END OF CIVILIZATION AS WE KNOW IT: Boston’s Rajon Rondo had the worst breakaway layup of the season vs. Houston on Tuesday – until the following night, when Washington’s Nick Young topped him.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK: New York Knicks coach Mike D’Antoni, asked about the offensive execution of the Boston Celtics that set up Paul Pierce’s contested, off-balanced 3-pointer that forced overtime:

“I don’t know if that’s execution. That’s having a horseshoe up your rear.”

LINE OF THE WEEK: Deron Williams, New Jersey at Charlotte, March 4: 38 minutes, 16-29 FGs, 4-11 3-pointers, 21-21 FTs, six rebounds, seven assists, one steal, one block, 57 points in a 104-101 win. Williams shattered his previous career high of 42 and set a franchise NBA mark with the highest-scoring game in the league this season. Of the four best individual scoring games this season, Williams was the only one who erupted on the road.

LINE OF THE WEAK: Vince Carter, Dallas at Sacramento, March 9: 17 minutes, 0-5 FGs, 0-2 3-pointers, two rebounds, two assists, two turnovers, zero points in a 110-97 loss. This was Carter’s second donut of the week and earned him a benching the following night in Golden State.

TRILLION WATCH: Until this week, the season podium belonged exclusively to Lakers forwards Devin Ebanks (9 trillion) and Jason Kapono (8 and 7 trillion). However, they will have to make some room for a pair of recent arrivals. Now sharing third place with Kapono are Knicks forward Jared Jeffries, who had a 7 trillion Tuesday at Dallas, and Thunder guard Reggie Jackson, who also had a 7 trillion Wednesday vs. Phoenix.

GAME OF THE WEEK: Orlando at San Antonio, March 14. Is this Dwight Howard’s last game with the Magic? They won at Chicago last week but have home tests vs. Indiana and Miami before visiting the Spurs, who have become vulnerable at home.

GAME OF THE WEAK: Charlotte at New Orleans, March 12. Worst in the East meets worst in the West. It’s the No-Star Game!

TWO MINUTES: Ricky Rubio’s torn ACL really hurts Minnesota’s playoff chances because his absence forces Luke Ridnour to play point guard instead of shooting guard, where he has provided consistency that Wes Johnson and Wayne Ellington have not. With J.J. Barea sidelined with a sprained ankle, Ridnour has to run the offense. After consecutive double-digit games, Johnson was scoreless in 25 minutes in Saturday’s disconsolate home loss to New Orleans. That is what the Wolves are up against. GM David Kahn has until Thursday to upgrade the roster and has a nice trade chip in Michael Beasley. … Amid the Magic’s maddening inconsistency, which saw them lose to Charlotte and win at Chicago in consecutive games this week, Orlando somehow is 9-0 when leading after three quarters on the road. … There is no one who needs a change of scenery before Thursday’s trading deadline more than Andray Blatche, who has become the scapegoat for an awful season by the Wizards in which there has been plenty of blame to go around. He has never endeared himself to fans with his poor shot selection, terrible defense and questioning of authority, and earlier this season used his Twitter feed to criticize then-coach Flip Saunders and fans. After missing more than a month with a calf injury, Blatche returned this week and heard boos upon checking into games. Afterward, he admitted it was getting to him. “You’re home and people that’s supposed to have your back don’t have your back,” he said. “Instead of encouraging you to get better, they push you down and hope you do worse. Every time I touch the ball, I’m second-guessing. I’m trying to avoid the boos, trying to play a perfect game so I don’t have to hear it so I can help my team win.” Blatche has three years and more than $23 million left on his contract. … When Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and James Harden all scored at least 30 points in the Thunder’s win over Phoenix on Wednesday, it marked the first time the franchise had a trio of 30-point scorers since Tom Chambers, Dale Ellis and Xavier McDaniel did it for Seattle in 1988. As an aside, one of the few times in NBA history a team has had three 30-point scorers and lost occurred in Wilt Chamberlain’s 100-point game. … Utah’s Al Jefferson has been pretty much a black hole since entering the league in 2004. Until this season, he never had averaged more than 1.8 assists per game and has more career turnovers than assists. But he has been making an effort this season, averaging 2.3 assists. Earlier this week, he had consecutive contests with a career-high seven and five. “I’m trying to get Al Jefferson in the Skills Challenge,” Jazz point guard Earl Watson cracked. “Did you see him out there? That’s why he’s my client. I’m going viral with the campaign.” For his part, Jefferson knows that passing is a part of his game that could stand some work. “Hey, it’s taken me eight years to realize that if I pass the ball outside and guys hit open shots, it helps free me up,” he said. “I guess better late than never.” … This summer’s free agent class could include big names Dwight Howard, Deron Williams, Steve Nash, Ray Allen, Kevin Garnett, Jason Terry, Gerald Wallace, Chris Kaman, Chauncey Billups and Antawn Jamison. It also will include Bucks forward Ersan Ilyasova, who is becoming quite a player. The native of Turkey has either 15 points or 10 rebounds in his last 11 games, averaging 20.8 points and 11.8 boards during that stretch. The Bucks have over $38 million committed next season to Andrew Bogut, Stephen Jackson, Beno Udrih and Drew Gooden and have a huge extension looming for Brandon Jennings in 2013. Ilyasova is making $2.5 million and will command four times that in free agency. … The Suns are still on the fringes of the West playoff race, just two games in the loss column out of the final spot. One reason they are hanging around is health: In this unforgiving season, Phoenix has lost just four man games to injury, by far the lowest total in the league. The training staff, headed by Aaron Nelson, previously has been credited with revitalizing Shaquille O’Neal and prolonging the careers of Nash and Grant Hill, both of whom are still effective as they inch toward 40. It is doing the same with Michael Redd, who has had two torn ACLs. … Two long 3-pointer streaks ended Wednesday. Boston was 0-of-8 from the arc at Philadelphia, ending a run of 238 games with at least one triple dating to Jan. 22, 2009 at Orlando. And Miami was 0-of-10 vs. Atlanta, the first time in 455 games since April 6, 2006 vs. Detroit that the Heat was shut out from distance. … Philadelphia’s Evan Turner made just 14 starts as a rookie, when he averaged 7.2 points and heard some “bust” whispers as the second overall pick. He began this season on the bench behind shooter savant Jodie Meeks but was elevated to the starting lineup this week when coach Doug Collins felt a need to shake things up. In his first start at Milwaukee on Monday, Turner shot a horrific 1-of-12 but did contribute 12 rebounds and four assists. Things went much better from there as Turner had a career-high 26 and nine boards vs. Boston and 16, 12 and six assists vs. Utah, both wins. “He worked his tail off to be a better basketball player in the offseason and he was when he came back,” Collins said. “When he didn’t start, I know a part of him said ‘I should be.’ But he didn’t say anything. Evan has extreme confidence. He thinks he’s the best player on this team.” Now Collins has a different dilemma – a starting lineup that includes Turner, point guard Jrue Holiday and All-Star forward Andre Iguodala, who leads the team in assists. All are at their best when they have the handle. “Evan needs the ball,” the coach said. “He’s a totally different player when he has the ball. I have to find the right fit. I have to see how those guys play together over an extended period. They are our future.” … In Friday’s win over Portland that was pretty much garbage time for the last 30 minutes, Celtics center Greg Stiemsma managed to shoot 0-of-9, commit two turnovers and foul out. In case you’re wondering, he was ineligible for Line of the Weak because his team won. … Veteran Jerry Stackhouse spent the first month of last season with the Heat, when they were still sorting out the whole “Big Three” mix. Now with the Hawks and never one to bite his tongue, Stackhouse isn’t overly impressed by Miami and doesn’t believe the hype. “They put that team out there as a world-beater,” he said after the Hawks – missing starters Joe Johnson and Al Horford and reserve Tracy McGrady – pushed the host Heat to the final possession. “We came in here and competed with them just as well as anybody else and we felt we should have won the game.” Atlanta won at Miami in early January and lost a triple-OT game at home to the Heat three days later before taking a 20-point home beating in February. It would make for an intriguing playoff matchup. … When Rockets coach Kevin McHale was asked if his team’s slump could be attributed to the unrelenting schedule, he refused to give his players an excuse. “We’re playing basketball,” he said. “We’re not doing an eight-hour shift or 12-hour shift in the mine.” The Hall of Famer was born and raised in Hibbing, a mining town in the Mesabi Iron Range in northeast Minnesota.

Trivia Answer: 16. … Happy 33rd Birthday, Elton Brand. … Judging from his Twitter posts, J.R. Smith’s lack of professionalism has reached its bottom.

Chris Bernucca is a regular contributor to SheridanHoops.com. His columns appear Wednesday and Sunday. You can follow him on Twitter.

Hamilton: Knicks need chemistry to contend

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NEW YORK – After Thursday night’s 102-88 loss to the Miami Heat, the New York Knicks have reached the All-Star break with a 17-18 record. They’re clinging to the Eastern Conference’s seventh seed and hardly resemble a playoff team, much less a championship contender.

Good wins.

Bad losses.

Injuries, disappointments, and pleasant surprises.

It’s been a long two months for the New York City Slickers. But for their sake, I hope they’ve been eating their Wheaties and taking their multivitamins, because the next two months will be even longer.

For Mike D’Antoni’s club, the 35 games they’ve already played might as well have been an extended preseason. Once the All-Star break ends, the new rotation pieces in D’Antoni’s offense will get some much-needed practice time.

And if you’ve given up on these Knicks or the notion that they are capable of winning the Eastern Conference, shame on you.

By the time they meet the Heat again on April 15, Thursday night’s shellacking will be a distant memory, just like their 17-18 record.

Although they’ve played more than half of their schedule, the Knicks simply haven’t had the time or opportunity to develop any cohesion or continuity. At this point, calling them a “team” would be disrespectful to the Memphis Grizzlies, San Antonio Spurs, Chicago Bulls, Miami Heat, or any other club that epitomizes the term.

And that’s not to say that the Knicks can’t get there. It’s just that they haven’t.

Carmelo Anthony and Amar’e Stoudemire have missed 11 and six games, respectively. Toney Douglas (9), Iman Shumpert (15), and Jeremy Lin (11) have all started games at point guard. Steve Novak was in San Antonio, Baron Davis was in the trainer’s room, and J.R. Smith was in frickin’ China.

This is the NBA, not Ocean’s Eleven. A hodgepodge of ingredients sandwiched together between two slices of bread might be a winning recipe for Subway and their five-dollar foot-longs, but not for basketball.

Winning basketball is a soup. The individual ingredients need to be combined with the right seasonings and allowed to simmer.

The Knicks will have their first opportunity to simmer when the All-Star break concludes; Josh Harrellson, Iman Shumpert, and Bill Walker are all expected to be available when the team reconvenes for practice Monday. They will practice on Monday and Tuesday before taking on the Cleveland Cavaliers at home on Wednesday. After that, they won’t play again until Sunday, March 4. On that day, they’ll travel to Boston to take on the Celtics in the opener of a four-game road trip.

In other words, once the team reconvenes after the All-Star break, the Knicks will have their full roster available with five full days of practice. They will have one home game against a less than stellar opponent and – finally – a point guard that seems to be capable of running the show.

That type of team-building opportunity is rare during a normal NBA season.

During this lockout-truncated season? It’s unheard of.

For D’Antoni? It’s almost unprecedented.

During his tenure in New York, D’Antoni has coached more than 60 different players. His rosters have been continually turned over in the name of cap flexibility and pie-in-the-sky scenarios involving maximum-salaried players.

After acquiring Stoudemire and Anthony, the Knicks seemed to have some stability, but ended up returning only six players from last year’s team— Anthony, Stoudemire, Douglas, Fields, Walker and Jared Jeffries. And of course, there wasn’t much of a training camp to introduce them to their new teammates.

You can thank the lockout for that.

So, it won’t be until after 35 games in that these Knicks will have an opportunity to focus on getting healthy and learning how to play and win (and Lin) together.

Overnight, the Knicks seemingly went from being a very thin group to one that has depth at just about every position. Certainly, in terms of sheer talent, this is probably the best team Knicks fans have seen since the squad that went to the NBA Finals in 1999.

That team had a much better commitment to defense but faced similar chemistry issues after trading John Starks and Charles Oakley for Latrell Sprewell and Marcus Camby. It also built chemistry on the fly during a lockout-shortened season. With about two weeks to go, the Knicks were 21-21 and needed to win six of their final eight games just to get into the playoffs.

At the time, Jeff Van Gundy was the coach and – like D’Antoni – also in the final year of his contract.

After sneaking into the playoffs, upsetting the Miami Heat, and making a run to the Finals, Van Gundy was rewarded with a two-year contract extension.

There is nothing to suggest these Knicks are capable of doing anything as great. And there is also nothing to suggest that D’Antoni is the caliber of coach that Van Gundy is. But what this does suggest is that it is possible for a team to build chemistry on the fly, find its identity, sneak into the playoffs and do something special.

All too easily, the diehards in the Big Apple lack perspective. When the Knicks beat the Los Angeles Lakers back on Feb. 10, I heard some suggest that the Knicks might be better off without Anthony. I heard others say that Smith – despite having skills that the Knicks sorely need – was not worth the $2.5 million room exception because he was too much of a risk.

And just 10 days later after a loss to the Nets, some were ready to proclaim that Anthony and Lin couldn’t work together because of this silly notion that Anthony is only an effective scorer in isolation situations.

So it comes as no surprise that after an awful showing by Lin in Thursday’s loss to the Heat that some are beginning to wonder how good the Knicks can really be with him running the show.

Some seem to think that Lin suddenly isn’t capable of leading the Knicks through a playoff run because he looked awful against the team that has the two of the top four players in the league and just so happens to be favored to win the championship.

Come on. You’re better than that.

Under Lin, the Knicks have gone 9-3 in their last 12 games. He is essentially a rookie and will only improve. Rome wasn’t built in a day.

After getting dropped by the Heat, some seem ready to give the Knicks an F for their season.

The more appropriate grade? I, as in Incomplete.

As constructed, the Knicks have everything they need to win. They have reliable playmaking off the dribble in Lin and Davis, shooters in Smith and Novak and finishers in Chandler and Stoudemire. They have a player they can feature in the half-court in Anthony, and two wings – Fields and Shumpert – who bring a wide array of skills and talents to the floor. They have guys who will hustle and do the dirty work in Jeffries and Harrellson.

The only thing they don’t have is chemistry.

But that’s because they haven’t had time.

And now, they’ll have that, too.

There’s no way of knowing how things will end. But what we do know, is that for all intents and purposes, the waiting is over. The Knicks finally have a somewhat talented roster, focus on the task at hand, and an opportunity to attempt to build some chemistry and cohesion.

At this point, the appropriate grade is an I. Although the Knicks have played 35 games thus far, somehow, this is only the beginning.

Moke Hamilton covers the New York Knicks for SheridanHoops.com and is the Lead NBA Writer for CHARGED.fm. For the latest on the New York Knicks and all things NBA, follow him on Twitter.