The Brooklyn Nets looked like a team needing as much construction as the Gowanus Expressway in 2013, but have cruised up the Eastern Conference standings like a driver in the HOV lane in 2014 as I outlined in my previous column. Meanwhile, the New York Knicks have made it easier for Carmelo Anthony to consider leaving in free agency. Before the Knicks and Nets hit the hardwood on Friday, I joined “Between the Lines” on WPRB 103.3 FM in Princeton, N.J., with
Scotto: Nets Navigating Fast Lane on Way to Playoffs
By the end of 2013, the Brooklyn Nets looked like a team needing as much construction as the Gowanus Expressway. Since the start of 2014, Brooklyn has cruised up the Eastern Conference standings like a driver in the HOV lane. [Read more…]
PODCAST: Michael Scotto on Carmelo Anthony’s Free Agency Plans
The New York Knicks are making it easier for Carmelo Anthony to walk away in free agency with every lackluster effort and loss down the stretch as I outlined in my latest column. After a 23-point loss to the Golden State Warriors on Friday, I joined Chicago’s 670 The Score and host Joe Ostrowski to discuss Anthony’s free agency decision, potential destinations, the sorry state of the Knicks and the landscape of the Eastern Conference. Here’s the podcast in its entirety: Current Basketball
Scotto: Knicks Making Melo’s Free Agency Decision Easy
Who needs the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus to come to town when you have the Knicks at Madison Square Garden? Just when you think it can’t get worse for the Knicks, it does. Carmelo Anthony appears more tired than ever of being the ringleader. Before facing the Miami Heat on Thursday night, Anthony told the media which factors he will consider when making his free agency decision – and it’s not good news for the Knicks. “A lot of things
Scotto: Midseason Report Cards for Knicks and Nets
Before the season, championship expectations were attached to both the Knicks and the Nets. The Knicks were coming off the team’s first season with at least 50 or more wins and a trip to the Eastern Conference semifinals since the 1999-2000 campaign, when Jeff Van Gundy patrolled the sidelines, Patrick Ewing wrapped up his final season in New York and Allan Houston was in the prime of his career. The Nets were coming off their first trip to the playoffs in six years
Scotto: Woodson Could be Fired by All-Star Break, Sources Say – UPDATED
Mike Woodson and several assistant coaches on his staff fear they will be fired by the All-Star break, multiple league sources tell SheridanHoops.com. Herb Williams is the leading candidate to replace Woodson on an interim basis for the remainder of the season as The Bergen Record first reported. Sources say the All-Star break would be the ideal time for the Knicks to make a midseason change, if they elect to do so. The move would allow a new assistant coaching staff and
Scotto: Durant Atop MVP Discussion with Historic January
BROOKLYN – Kevin Durant treated the league like a game of NBA 2K14 on a nightly basis in January. Durant is a 7-footer with the handle of a guard, the shooting ability of a sniper, the leaping ability of a kangaroo and the rebounding ability of a power forward. Basically, he’s the player we all created from scratch in a video game as kids with the ratings boosted as high as possible. Recently, Durant added “Slim Reaper” to his list of nicknames
Scotto: Is Carmelo Anthony Stuck in New York? — UPDATE
It took seven words from Carmelo Anthony to bring hysteria to New York before the season started. “I want to be a free agent,” Anthony told The New York Observer. Since then, the $129 million question hovering over the Knicks – like the Chase Bridge at Madison Square Garden – is whether the franchise can re-sign Anthony to a maximum contract this offseason. On the surface, it appears less likely Anthony will remain in a New York state of mind by summertime