When the New York Knicks started their season full of hope and expectations, they probably did not circle March 26 on their calendars as an important night. Yet, they hold just a 1 1/2-game lead for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference as they prepare for one of the most critical games of the season against the Milwaukee Bucks at Madison Square Garden in Monday’s best game. Looking to reach .500 for the first time since beating Sacramento on February
There are a variety of ways to quantify a player’s worth to his team, with a myriad of variables with which to play. One way is by utilizing NBA.com/Stats’ PIE (Player Impact Estimate)*, which measures a player’s overall contribution to his team. Perhaps not surprisingly, the Miami Heat’s LeBron James leads the league in PIE at 23.2 percent, and is the lone player in the league with a PIE above 20 percent. James is on pace to set new career
Forget Linsanity. That’s soooo two weeks ago. The hot new trend is Ersanity. Ersan Ilyasova, the improving young big man of the Milwaukee Bucks, was named Eastern Conference Player of the Week for the period ending Sunday. Golden State Warriors guard Monta Ellis received Western Conference honors. The Bucks went 3-1 as they were powered by Ilyasova, who averaged 25.0 points and 10.8 rebounds while shooting 63 percent from the field and 90 percent from the line. He had 18 rebounds in a
In a nationally-televised game, sophomore Evan Turner scored 24 points and grabbed 15 rebounds to help the 76ers beat New York. Lou Williams poured in 28 in as many minutes. Can a bench player be a keeper in a 12-team league? Carmelo Anthony led the Knicks with 22 and Tyson Chandler returned, but Amare Stoudemire was quiet and Jeremy Lin off-target. The Garden crowd did not sound happy. Elsewhere MIL @ TOR: An ankle injury to Jose Calderon made Jerryd Bayless (16 & 6) the starting
Dating back to the 1977-1978 season, Jeremy Lin holds the record for most consecutive games with at least 6 turnovers with six straight, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. On a more positive note, his 28 points, 14 assists, and 5 steals against the Mavericks made him the fifth player in the past 15 seasons to record such a line. The Heat have won six straight games by 10 or more points, which is tied for the second-most in franchise history.
You knew the Knicks weren’t going to go unbeaten forever with Jeremy Lin, right? If you knew they would lose at home to the Hornets, you should be wealthy. Lin poured in another 26 points, added 5 AST and 4 STL, but 9 TO is a problem. Let’s hope that one weak spot in his fantasy game improves when Carmelo Anthony returns, probably tomorrow. For New Orleans, Jarrett Jack made a quiet return, coming off the bench behind Greivis Vasquez,
Before we look at last night’s games, you might want to add J.R. Smith to your team. It’s being reported that he will sign with the Knicks, and play on Sunday. It’s a great fit; instead of trying to guess between Bill Walker, Steve Novak and Iman Shumpert, you can be fairly confident that Smith will soon be the primary bench scorer. In addition to threes, he’s a decent source of STL and REB. Don’t go overboard dropping a productive
By Nick Gibson of EuroleagueAdventures.com BARCELONA — With the NBA set to resume labor talks on Tuesday, only one thing’s for sure: there will be a Euroleague box score from Monday night for the sides to check out, if they so choose, in their respective caucus rooms. It will include the names Ty Lawson, Andrei Kirilenko, Sonny Weems, Nenad Krstic and DeJuan Collins. The Euroleague opens Monday night with CSKA Moscow playing Zalgiris Kaunas, and Wednesday there are four more contests before six on Thursday. On Friday, a little dessert: Bilbao vs. Olympiacos. Mmm…my