Highlight Performances: Jarrett Jack, NO– Following a disappointing night in Sacramento, Jack caught fire Monday night, scoring 27 points and dishing out 11 assists. Jack is having an impressive season averaging 16.5 points a game to go with 8.0 assists, however his value, especially scoring, figures to take a slight hit with the imminent return of Eric Gordon. Carmelo Anthony, NYK- Nobody has ever questioned Melo’s ability to score, so his 35 point/11 reb. game was not too out of the ordinary.
Tonight’s best game: New York at LA Lakers
For a six-game night, there are some nice matchups. The Nets are visiting the Magic, which means the New York metro area media will be zoning up Dwight Howard. There should be a relay race in Portland, where the Blazers entertain the Nuggets. And on TNT, the Mavericks try to figure out their myriad issues as they travel to take on the Thunder, where Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook are bickering. But the best game is the back end of TNT’s
Hamilton column: D’Antoni on hot seat
NEW YORK — The city that never sleeps is also the cauldron that never cools. At least, that’s the case when Knicks fans don’t have your back. Welcome to the world of Mike D’Antoni. After three full seasons as the coach of the New York Knicks, D’Antoni is 103-143, has one playoff berth, zero playoff wins, and the hottest coaching seat in the NBA. Maybe even in all of professional sports. From day one, Knicks fans have never fully embraced D’Antoni or his
Hamilton column: With Baron Davis, Knicks will win the Atlantic
NEW YORK — Earlier today, news began to trickle out from various media outlets that Baron Davis has agreed to join the Knicks. He will officially sign with the club on Monday and is expected to accept their one year “room exception” offer of $2.5 million. Marc Berman of the New York Post was the first to report Sunday that Davis agreed to join the Knicks and echoed my Friday sentiment—he will play sooner rather than later. According to Berman, the Knicks’
Hamilton column: Baron Davis willing (and more able than believed) to join Knicks
NEW YORK — It’s been a long seven days for the New York Knicks. After their bold and surprising move to land Tyson Chandler last Thursday, interim general manager Glen Grunwald has been hard at work trying to build a formidable team around New York City’s newest skyline. As it stands, the projected starting lineup will feature arguably the league’s best front court, but a somewhat inexperienced backcourt. Toney Douglas—the third year pro—is expected to begin the season as the starter,
‘Melo Can Empathize With Chris Paul
GREENBURGH, N.Y. — Carmelo Anthony can relate to Chris Paul. A year ago, the ‘Melo Drama hung over the NBA like a dark cloud. Now, the Paul sweepstakes –along with the Dwight Howard affair — threatens to dominate the NBA headlines for the upcoming season. Yet while Anthony was only involved in one successful trade, to the Knicks, Paul has already been involved in a failed trade to the Lakers and another stalled trade to the Lakers’ poor stepchild, the Clippers. The Clippers have reportedly offered center Chris Kaman, backup guard Eric
Gibson Column: Basile puts Cantu in Top 16; Bulls’ Mirotic killin’ it; ‘Melo crossed over by Bodiroga
BARCELONA — They say you should act like you’ve been there before. With a Euroleague-best 396 career 3-pointers, Cantu’s Gianluca Basile had been there plenty. Still, with the clock racing toward triple zeroes and the game tied at 64 in Bilbao, nobody thought Basile’s 35-foot heave would turn into number 397. Then it did, and some 8,000 Bilbao supporters sat in stunned silence. The scoreboard told them that Cantu had taken the lead 67-64, and that in one-tenth of a second their
Bernucca column: 10 guys on the spot
Free agency starts Friday, and we can guarantee that by Sunday night, your head will be spinning. Coming out of the last lockout in January 1999, teams made a staggering 100 deals in the first two days. There were 67 transactions on the first day and another 33 on the second day. And that total doesn’t include waiving players or renouncing rights to create cap room. Unless you become a shut-in, spend the entire weekend in front of your computer and continually