SH Blog: Amar’e Eyes Game 3 Return; So Does Derrick Rose? Paul George Earns His Stripes

• You would think being down 1-0 in the Eastern Conference Semis to the Indiana Pacers would be motivation enough to bounce back, but the New York Knicks are pulling it in from all over, including Twitter. Yahoo! Sports’ Kelly Dwyer has the scoop: “Knick legend Bernard King came through with some accurate and rock solid criticism of Anthony on Monday, discussing on his Twitter feed the various ways that Anthony could snap out of his isolation malaise and score efficiently on the Indiana Pacers in spite of his left shoulder injury. The Knicks, who employ King as an analyst for the MSG Network (to, you know, analyze the Knicks whether they win or lose), reportedly did not like King’s tweets in the wake of the team’s Game 1 loss to the Pacers, and King’s account has been shut down.”

Here, via the New York Daily News, are the tweets:

“If Carmelo’s shoulder is hurting that bad — work the paint — drive and dish — become a facilitator — it’s a TEAM game,”

[…]

“I was always taught — Take High Percentage shots — don’t force it — don’t be a one man show — don’t over dribble — ball movement.”
[…]

“The Knicks MUST move the ball more and take the open shots — must stop heaving up bad shots because the shot clock is running out.”
Shocking stuff!

• As for teams making noise outside of the playoffs, the Phoenix Suns have finally landed on a new GM, former Boston Celtics assistant GM Ryan McDonough. More from SheridanHoops’ Chris Bernucca: “The hiring puts interim coach Lindsey Hunter’s status in immediate jeopardy. Hunter was working in player development when he was installed by Blanks after Alvin Gentry was fired. Assistants Dan Majerle and Elston Turner, believing they were bypassed, resigned their positions. Hunter has not been retained or relieved. However, McDonough is almost certain to handpick his own coach as part of the rebuilding process. The Suns were 25-57 this season, the worst record in the Western Conference and second-worst in franchise history. McDonough, 33, is another young, new-age NBA executive cut from the same cloth as Daryl Morey, Sam Presti and Rob Hennigan. He has spent virtually his entire career in various roles of player evaluation and relies strongly on advanced metrics and stat analysis.”

• If you were not able to stay up late enough to catch the end of the thrilling Game 1 between Golden State and San Antonio, Yahoo! Sports’ Adrian Wojnarowski puts Stephen Curry’s brilliant 44 point and 11 assist performance into perspective: “Stephen Curry had gone for 44 points, had gone within a whisper of Kobe Bryant’s playoff record of 45 on the Spurs. Curry had gone wild on the Spurs, but he wouldn’t get the final shot, nor the final word on Monday night. When it was over, Curry walked down the corridor to his news conference and politely shut down a team official trying to console him with context. “Don’t blame the age,” Curry told him. He had destroyed the Spurs, had them at his mercy and somehow the Warriors let them go. In the postseason for the first time at 25 years old, Curry has been a dominant force in these playoffs, standing shoulder to shoulder so far with LeBron James and Kevin Durant and Carmelo Anthony.” 

• Also on the Suns’ radar this offseason is soon-to-be rookie forward Anthony Bennett out of UNLV, who many believe to be a top target of the Suns in this summers NBA Draft. Unfortunately for Phoenix, Bennett will miss all of his pre-draft workouts due to surgery today, according to ESPN’s Chad Ford: “UNLV draft prospect Anthony Bennett will have rotator cuff surgery on his left shoulder Wednesday, agent Jeff Schwartz told ESPN.com. Bennett will miss all NBA pre-draft workouts, the NBA draft combine and summer league, Schwartz said. The surgery could keep Bennett out of commission up to four months. Bennett is currently ranked No. 4 on ESPN.com’s Big Board and is projected as a Top 10 pick in the upcoming draft. ESPN.com spoke to two NBA GMs who said they think the surgery is unlikely to affect his draft position.”

“You always would prefer a guy is healthy, works out for you and can play in summer league,” one GM said. “However, I don’t think in this case that it will really matter. We got a good feel for his game. He’s one of the most NBA-ready prospects in the draft. I wouldn’t blink taking him in the Top 5 as long as the surgery is successful.”

• If you are still not familiar with the Indiana Pacers and their superstar-in-the-making, Paul George, James Herbert of SBNation provides an excellent feature on the new face of the franchise: “A relative unknown coming out of Fresno State when the Pacers picked him No. 10 overall in the 2010 draft, George’s emergence was unlikely. He saw himself as a Tracy McGrady-type and possessed promising physical characteristics at 6’8 and 214 pounds with exceptional leaping ability, but there is a lengthy list of athletic wings who never approached stardom. Shooting up two inches to 6’10 and expanding his game in the seasons since, he’s gone from a solid starter to the face of the Pacers, averaging 17.4 points, 7.6 rebounds and 4.1 assists per contest this year. He started the 2013 postseason with a 23-point, 11-rebound, 12-assist triple-double and led Indiana in all of those categories — plus steals — in its first-round series against the Atlanta Hawks. If you’re wondering how he got here, his never-satisfied attitude provides a hint.”

Ben Baroff is a basketball journalist who blogs for SheridanHoops.com. Follow him on Twitter here.