Coaching the Pros

[Myles Nelson]

KNICKS EVALUATIONS

Bosh: 20.6 ppg, 11.6 rpg, 2.9 apg, 1.6 bpg, 51.8%. Bosh is just flat out better than he was last year and much better than anyone on this team this year. GRADE: A

Gallinari: 16.5 ppg, 3.6 rpg, 1.2 spg, 50%, 43.7% from 3. He's made a marked improvement over last year and his defense is actually quite decent. GRADE: B+

Lee: 15.8 ppg, 8.8 rpg, 3.8 apg, 1.1 spg, 50.5%. His production has stayed pretty consistent, I was hoping to see some improvement but at least he's more efficent. GRADE: A-

Henry: 12.6 ppg, 2.2 apg, 2.4 rpg, 1.2 spg, 46.6%, 40.8% from 3. He's also stayed very consistent with what he did last year, which is good. His defense has improved a lot though. GRADE: B

Chandler: 11.1 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 42.8%. Seeing almost everything drop a bit was expected as he lost his starting job and moved to a 6th man's role, but he's still producing decently. GRADE: B-

Ridnour: 10.5 ppg, 6.2 apg, 3.3 A/TO, 52%, 38.2% from 3. Ridnour is still a great offensive PG, and despite the fact that he turned 30 this summer, he's improved on almost every number. GRADE: B+

Walker: 8.4 ppg, 55.1%, 45.1% from 3. Fantastic shooter. Nails a 3 a game off the bench. He took Shannon Brown's spot and is a much better player than Brown was last year. GRADE: B

Livingston: 6.5 ppg, 4.3 apg, 49.2%. I gave Livingston a few more minutes per game this year and he has responded well. GRADE: B-

Dalembert: 4.1 ppg, 3.0 rpg, 1.0 bpg, 46%. He'll get a few more minutes per game, probably upwards of 16, because his defense is key in the middle. GRADE: C

Douglas: 4.1 ppg, 54.4%, 43.3% from 3. His ball handling may be erratic, but he comes in, shoots well, and plays solid defense. A good backup combo guard. GRADE: C

Borman: 2.4 ppg, 1.9 rpg, 50%. I'm looking to cut his minutes and give Dalembert more. I know the youngster should play but he's just not contributing this year. GRADE: C-

[Myles Nelson]

@ Cleveland: 121-109 L
Vs. Clippers: 111-97 W
Vs. Indiana: 115-101 L
Vs. New Jersey: 102-82 W
@ Portland: 113-109 L
@ Phoenix: 100-78 W
@ Golden State: 120-94 W

Beating the Nets is always a good feeling. We head into the All Star Break at 33-19, in 4th place and 10.5 games back.

Jamario Moon and Arron Afflalo won the Slam Dunk Contest and the 3-Point Contest, respectively.

The Sophomores between on the Rookies, 137-106, led by John Wall with 22 points and 12 assists.

Marshall Yarbrough, the 14th overall pick last draft, is one of those players who keeps getting sent down to the D-League unfairly. He's started all 19 games he has played with the Pacers, but he's currently in the D-League. In the games he has played in the NBA, he's averaging 14.4 ppg, on 53.5% shooting from the field and 47% shooting from downtown. If the Pacers don't want him, can we have him?

East beats down on West in a 138-112 blowout. Bosh is named a starter again, and goes off for 23 points and 12 rebounds, getting All-Star MVP. Durant had 23 for the West in a losing effort.

[Myles Nelson]

Trade Deadline Analysis

Thunder trade: 2012 1st Round Pick
Pistons trade: Rodney Stuckey
Analysis: For the 2nd year in a row, the Thunder give up their 1st round pick for a young player. They have him slotted in at SG, where previously they had George Hill. This creates a good young backcourt in Westbrook/Stuckey/Hill/Harden and perhaps Stuckey will turn the ball over less in an off-ball role. This pick will probably be a middle of the round pick, but Detroit is now able to hand the keys to the offense to rookie Okelley.

Winner: Thunder. They gave up little for a talented player.

Mavericks trade: Eduardo Najera, 2012 1st Round Pick
Rockets trade: Aaron Brooks
Analysis: With Jason Kidd getting old and Rodrigue Beaubois not the point guard of the future, the Mavericks had to get a young PG who could take over for Kidd next year. They think Brooks is that guy. The pick is a low pick, and Najera was just an expiring contract. The Rockets wanted rookie Osei Bedard and sophomore Terrico White to get the minutes at PG and Brooks was the roadblock.

Winner: Mavericks. Like the Thunder, they gave up very little for a talented young player.

Hornets trade: Grevis Vasquez, Rafer Alston
Bucks trade: Ersan Ilyasova
Analysis: The Hornets needed to get rid of one of their PGs, not two. This leaves them without a backup PG and forces CP3 and Collison (who's starting at SG) to play more minutes than they might be able to handle. Ilyasova slots in as backup PF on a team with 5 PFs now. Milwaukee finally has some PG depth.

Winner: Bucks. They got PG depth and traded away an excess PF while the Hornets are now stuck with 5 PFs and 1 PG.

Lakers trade: Lamar Odom
Raptors trade: Nenad Krstic
Analysis: When Pau went down with a broken wrist, the Lakers decided putting in LO to replace him wasn't good enough, so they downgraded to Krstic. Bad move for the Lakers here.

Winner: Raptors.

Magic trade: Brandon Bass, Mickael Pietrus
Bobcats trade: Stephen Jackson
Analysis: Jackson wanted out and to a winning team, and the Magic happily agreed to take him. Bass is a young promising PF who could blossom given the PT, and Pietrus will take Jackson's spot on the wing.

Winner: Magic. They retooled for their playoff run and added a dangerous 20 point a game scorer.

[Myles Nelson]

Vs. Dallas: 109-101 W
Vs. Boston: 90-78 W
@ Boston: 121-93 L
Vs. Cleveland: 100-95 W

Henry's back! Our whole team is healthy for once!

Vs. Miami: 103-93 W
Vs. Philadelphia: 109-99 W
@ Charlotte: 93-86 L
Vs. Washington: 118-95 W
Vs. Orlando: 124-114 L
@ Toronto: 121-96 W
@ Chicago: 103-92 L
@ Detroit: 105-98 W
@ Oklahoma City: 109-77 L
@ Indiana: 117-104 L
Vs. Toronto: 133-95 W
Vs. Lakers: 99-92 W

David Lee broke his elbow. Done for the year. Like Wilson Chandler last year, if he's lucky he makes it back in time for the 2nd or 3rd round of playoffs, if we make it that far.

Chandler slots in at PF, Dalembert is going to pick up heavy minutes. Luckily our first game after the injury is against the Heat.

@ Miami: 108-87 W
Vs. Miami: 119-71 W
Vs. Golden State: 103-93 W

Henry has taken it upon himself to step up in Lee's absence. 29, 28, 21 points so far since the injury.

Vs. Houston: 101-90 W
@ Orlando: 104-90 L
@ Utah: 119-115 L
@ Denver: 131-110 L
Vs. Boston: 120-110 W
@ Boston: 116-101 L
@ Milwaukee: 116-97 L
Vs. Detroit: 100-97 W
@ Miami: 108-97 L
@ Charlotte: 117-107 W
Vs. Toronto: 104-85 W

We stumbled a bit down the stretch, going 5-6 in our last 11, but 7 of those were on the road and we had some decent opponents. At least we finished the year on a 2 game winning streak.

[Myles Nelson]

End of 2012 Regular Season Review

Eastern Conference
1. New Jersey Nets (71-11)
2. Orlando Magic (53-29)
3. New York Knicks (51-31)
4. Cleveland Cavaliers (49-33)
5. Boston Celtics (45-37)
6. Chicago Bulls (45-37)
7. Milwaukee Bucks (41-41)
8. Philadelphia 76ers (40-42)

9. Washington Wizards (35-47)
10. Atlanta Hawks (34-48)
11. Indiana Pacers (33-49)
12. Charlotte Bobcats (30-52)
13. Miami Heat (27-55)
14. Toronto Raptors (25-57)
15. Detroit Pistons (16-66)

I'm surprised the Pacers finished where they did considering they signed Randolph this offseason, had a good center/wing combo like Hibbert/Granger and had breakout rookie Marshall Yarbrough. However, injuries limited Randolph to 48 games and stupidity placed Yarbrough in the D-League for too much of the season, limiting him to 37 games at the NBA level.

Western Conference
1. Los Angeles Lakers (63-19)
2. New Orleans Hornets (61-21)
3. Denver Nuggets (52-30)
4. Los Angeles Clippers (52-30)
5. Dallas Mavericks (50-32)
6. Oklahoma City Thunder (49-33)
7. Portland Trail Blazers (44-38)
8. Sacramento Kings (44-38)

9. Golden State Warriors (42-40)
10. Minnesota Timberwolves (38-44)
11. Utah Jazz (38-44)
12. San Antonio Spurs (37-45)
13. Houston Rockets (30-52)
14. Phoenix Suns (19-63)
15. Memphis Grizzlies (16-66)

Breakout Players
Arron Afflalo - ATL - 19.5 ppg on 51% shooting, led the Hawks in scoring.
Patrick Patterson - CHA - 12.6 pgg, 6.0 rpg, 51% shooting in his sophomore campaign.
Stephen Curry - GSW - 19.5 ppg, 7.5 apg, 1.2 spg, 50% and 44% from 3.
Blake Griffin - LAC - 17.5 ppg, 9.6 rpg, 54% in his sophomore season.
Darren Collison - NO - 20 ppg, 4.5 apg, 49.5% as a SG next to CP3.
Evan Turner - PHI - 20.7 ppg, 4.8 rpg, 51.8% in his sophomore season.
John Wall - WAS - 17.9 ppg, 6.6 apg, 45%.

Scoring
1. LeBron James - CLE - 30.3
2. Kobe Bryant - LAL - 27.3
3. Carmelo Anthony - DEN -26.1
4. Danny Granger - IND - 26.0
5. Kevin Durant - OKC - 25.5
6. Dwight Howard - ORL - 24.9

Assists
1. Chris Paul - NO - 10.1
2. Rajon Rondo - BOS - 9.3
3. Deron Williams - UTA - 9.0

Rebounds
1. Dwight Howard - ORL - 15.5
2. Andrew Bogut - MIL - 13.0
3. Yao Ming - HOU - 12.0
4. Chris Bosh - NYK - 11.7

Blocks
1. Ekpe Udoh - MEM - 4.1
2. Andrew Bogut - MIL - 3.8
3. Dwight Howard - ORL - 3.8

Lesson? Don't drive to the paint on any of these guys. Udoh's looking like the next Mutumbo.

Steals
1. Tyreke Evans - SAC -2.3
2. Monta Ellis - GSW - 2.2
3. Dwyane Wade - NJ - 2.0
3. Chris Paul - NO - 2.0
3. Trevor Ariza - HOU - 2.0

Rookie Report
SF Joe Merfeld - PHI - 14.7 ppg, 4.5 rpg
SG Marshall Yarbrough - IND - 13.9 ppg, 1.4 spg
PG Lloyd McBride - TOR - 13.7 ppg, 4.8 apg, 4.2 rpg, 1.2 spg
PG Ashley Okelley - DET - 11.6 ppg, 5.1 apg, 1.2 spg
PG Trey Bains - MIA - 10.7 ppg, 6.7 apg, 1.0 spg
SF Matt Rivers - PHX - 10.6 ppg, 4.6 rpg, 1.3 bpg
C Tim Thompson - NJ - 7.0 ppg, 6.0 rpg, 1.5 bpg

I think the ROY has to go to McBride. He started 63 games at the point and had the most complete game of the top rookies. He was also a much better shooter than fellow PGs Okelley and Bains.

Playoff Matchups
New Jersey vs. Philadelpha - NJ 4-0
Orlando vs. Milwaukee - ORL 4-1
Cleveland vs. Boston - CLE 4-3

Lakers vs. Sacramento - LAL 4-1
New Orleans vs. Portland - NO 4-0
Denver vs. OKC - OKC 4-2
Clippers vs. Dallas - DAL 4-3

[Myles Nelson]

We face off with the Bulls in the 1st round, a good matchup for us in my opinion. I think we've got a chance against them. We don't have Lee for another month, which will definitely hurt us, but I think we've still got a shot. We split the season series.

Let's see what Yahoo! Sports thinks.

Point Guard
Luke Ridnour vs. Derrick Rose
Ridnour has emerged as one of our steadier offensive hands. He shot 53% from the floor and had a 3.5 A/TO ratio. His defense is suspect but his offense has been great.

Rose is one of the best point guards in the league. He averaged 24 points and 8 assists this year, and he'll torch Ridnour. He plays great defense, and will be a nightmare for Ridnour all game long.

Advantage: Bulls

Shooting Guard
Xavier Henry vs. Kirk Hinrich
Henry surprised a lot by really taking off after David Lee's injury. In the 14 games after the injury, Henry scored 20 points or more in 8 of them. He's an explosive scorer who's capable of lifting the Knicks to a victory.

Hinrich is the kind of defensive stalwart who could slow down Henry. He's good offensively as well, but his real purpose this series will be to shut down Henry.

Advantage: Even

Small Forward
Danilo Gallinari vs. Luol Deng
Gallinari is another wing scorer who has cemented himself as a great shooter. His percentages all went up this year and he's a fairly consistent scorer, night in and night out. He won't play much defense, but his offense makes up for it.

Deng is another Hinrich: a solid scorer who's real strength is his strong defense. He'll be counted on to score a decent amount of points, but more so to stop Gallinari from scoring at all.

Advantage: Even

Power Forward
Wilson Chandler vs. Taj Gibson
Chandler is forced to fill in at PF for Lee, but he's done well enough so far in his time there. He's averaging about 12 points and 5 boards per game, but his best work has been on the defensive end so far.

Gibson is like Chandler, an undersized forward. Gibson is a better rebounder, but nowhere near as good as a scorer.

Advantage: Even

Center
Chris Bosh vs. Jarvis Varnado/Omer Asik
Bosh is the heart and soul of this team, carrying the Knicks to victory after victory. He improved on last year's numbers and will look to dominate in this series to make up for last year's failures.

Varnado is forced to fill in for the injured Asik, but when Asik comes back it still won't matter. Neither one of these players are anywhere near as good as Bosh, and will get punished on both ends.

Advantage: New York

Bench
Bill Walker, Shaun Livingston and Sam Dalembert vs. Avery Bradley, Hakim Warrick and Ryan Hollins
Walker replaced Shannon Brown and has outperformed all expectations, becoming one of the best outside shooters in the league. Livingston is a good facilitator, and Dalembert brings toughness and defense to the Knicks. Bradley and Warrick are erratic shooters, but Bradley is one of the best defenders in the league. Warrick and Hollins are okay rebounders and inside shooters and that's about it.

Advantage: Even

Final Thoughts
If the Knicks had David Lee, this series would be an easy win for the Knicks. Unfortunately, Lee is out for the series, and the Knicks face a tougher battle than hoped. In the end, home court advantage will give them the extra boost they need.
Prediction: Knicks in 7

Game One
We have to start off on a good foot and win our first game. Rose struggles from the floor and Gallinari and Bosh make Chicago pay for it by combining for 56 points. We take the game in a blowout.
Chicago 99 New York 116

Game Two
We only shoot 41.6% in this game, and Bosh especially struggles, scoring only 12 points. But our defense actually steps up for once, and we hold the Bulls to 39% from the floor and 87 total points. For the second game in a row Rose can't hit a bucket.
Chicago 87 New York 101

Game Three
If we can get one of the two in Chicago, I will feel so much better about this series. That win comes here in game three, as Rose still can't score. He's shooting an abysmal 38% so far. Gallinari has another big game and Henry keeps up his hot postseason as we push Chicago to the brink of elimination.
New York 105 Chicago 92

Game Four
A year after getting swept by the Cavs, we are on the brink of sweeping the Bulls. It doesn't happen though, as every player on the Bulls digs deep and shoots at an insane clip. We allow 60% shooting and even big games from Gallinari, Bosh and Henry can't bring us back.
New York 106 Chicago 118

No teams can complete the sweep.

Game Five
Elimination game at home, we HAVE to win this. I don't want to go back to Chicago. Luckily, there's nothing to worry about. We jump out to an 8 point 1st quarter lead and a 19 point lead at the half, and we take this game running away. Henry was unusually quiet but big games from Livingston and Dalembert offset that. Gallinari has another great game.
Chicago 90 New York 112

Along with us, New Jersey, Denver, Dallas and the Lakers close out their series in 5 games.

The Bucks, Celtics and Trail Blazers all force a game 7.

Orlando, Cleveland and New Orleans close out the series at home and hold off the upset. The only team to upset was Dallas over the Clippers, but as a 4/5 matchup its not much of an upset.

[Myles Nelson]

Now we have the Magic in the 2nd round, a tougher team than the Bulls that we just faced. Led by big man in the middle Dwight Howard, and flanked on the wings by explosive scorers Vince Carter, Stephen Jackson, and Jameer Nelson, they will be tough. Luckily, Jackson is a severe ankle sprain that will keep him out for part of the series.

Let's see what Yahoo! Sports thinks.

Point Guard
Luke Ridnour vs. Jameer Nelson
Ridnour's scoring was down in that series, largely in part due to the fact that he had Rose hounding him. He still managed to shoot 55% and drop 5 dimes a game.

Nelson is a steady hand at the helm for the Magic. He does everything asked of a point guard, scores a good amount of points, distributes the ball well. His defense is even worse than Ridnour's, but he's much better offensively.

Advantage: Magic

Shooting Guard
Xavier Henry vs. Vince Carter
Henry really stepped up against the Bulls, upping his points per game to 16. He'll have to be strong offensively again if the Knicks want to win this series.

Carter will have to match Henry point for point since neither one of these SGs want to play defense. Carter scored 19 points per game against the Bucks and will try to do the same here.

Advantage: Magic

Small Forward
Danilo Gallinari vs. Damion James/Stephen Jackson
Gallinari arguably was the best player in the first round for the Knicks. He scored 22 points a game on 54% shooting and kept up his strong play all series. He'll be counted on to be a game changer here especially since he has the far inferior Damion James against him for most of the series.

Jackson's not expected to return until Game 4, but if the Magic can stay in the game till then he might be the x-factor. James isn't shabby, but he's definitely outmatched against the Italian.

Advantage: Knicks

Power Forward
Chris Bosh vs. Rashard Lewis
Coach Nelson is going to try something different in this series. He'll move Bosh over to PF where he can punish Lewis and slot Dalembert in at center to frustrate Howard. Bosh can easily outplay Lewis on both ends.

Lewis is a tall small forward masquerading as a power forward. He can shoot from the outside but he can't defend and Bosh will definitely harass him all series long.

Advantage: Knicks

Center
Sam Dalembert vs. Dwight Howard
Dalembert will be counted on to play tough interior defense against Dwight, and contain him somewhat. Bogut stopped Howard in the first round, now Dalembert's job is to do the same.

Howard is an absolute beast who is the front runner for MVP this year. He is a fantastic player, and will look to dominate this series after his poor showing in the first round.

Advantage: Orlando

Bench
Bill Walker, Shaun Livingston and Wilson Chandler vs. Jason Green, JaVale McGee and Matt Bonner
The bench played a big role in beating the Bulls and they hope to do so again here. Chandler moves back to the 6th man spot and will try to bolster the bench. The Magic's bench is a non-factor.

Advantage: Knicks

Final Thoughts
The big factor in this series is going to be how Dalembert fares against Howard and the intense battle that will be Xavier Henry vs. Vince Carter.
Prediction: Magic in 6

Game One
Dalembert gave his best effort, Bosh destroyed Lewis, and it wasn't enough as Howard, Nelson and Carter all had big games to jump out to a good series start.
New York 94 Orlando 100

Game Two
YES! We stole a game on Orlando's court to give us home-court advantage. For once, our guards were the ones who killed it as Toney Douglas, Livingston, Bill Walker, and Luke Ridnour owned. It comes at a costly price as Bosh twists his ankle. He has to play though. We can't go without both Bosh and Lee.
New York 108 Orlando 99

Game Three
We're at home in MSG. We have the momentum. Can we hold on to it? Gallinari says hell yeah as he scores 22 points to lead the way to a big victory at home. Our defense stifles the Magic and we get the lead in the series now, 2-1.
Orlando 88 New York 109

Game Four
Stephen Jackson's back? Bosh doesn't even bother suiting up? Ridnour gets hurt? No problem. We get another resounding win behind the strong play of Gallinari, Chandler, Henry and Livingston as we take a 3-1 lead and send Orlando home facing elimination!
Orlando 93 New York 111

We're the only team to win 3 games so far, as all other series are tied up at 2-2.

Game Five
Elimination game on the road, a win here would be great. If we win, then Bosh, Lee and Ridnour can all rest up for the next series. Unfortunately, with only 8 players suiting up (Douglas is out with a sprained wrist) we can't get the job done on the road. Our team just isn't in sync and Jackson was unstoppable, scoring 32 points.
New York 87 Orlando 104

Game Six
This is a must win. We can't allow the Magic a game 7 at home, we have to finish it here at the Garden. We seem to have the lead at 107-105 but Jackson nails an 18 footer with two seconds left to tie the game. Walker has had the hot hand all night and the ball goes to him for the final shot. He launches one from 23 feet away... and NAILS IT! We're going to the conference finals!! Bosh has a heroic effort, giving us 25 minutes on one foot, Ridnour comes back to start, and Lee looks like he'll be back next week.
Orlando 107 New York 110

Every other series ends in 6. Wade and the Nets eliminate LeBron's Cavs in 6, Dirk beats Kobe in 6, and the CP3/Collison combo beats out Denver's Melo and Billups.

WE'RE GOING TO THE CONFERENCE FINALS!!!

[Myles Nelson]

"Word out of the Knicks camp is that power forwards David Lee and Chris Bosh are expected to play Game 1 of the series. Lee has come back from a broken elbow and Bosh is dealing with a twisted ankle. Coach Myles Nelson stated that both will be counted on in this series."

Yeah, you heard right. I got my guns back. Nets can suck on that.

With that said, here's the Yahoo! preview.

Point Guard
Luke Ridnour vs. Devin Harris
Ridnour, despite being hampered by a sore knee, still managed to shoot over 55% again from the floor. His point and assist totals dipped but that was due to his limited minutes in round 2. He'll be back at full strength and ready to go for this series.

Harris is a bit more of a wild gun. He'll score and assist more, but he'll also miss more shots and turn over the ball more. If Harris can control himself, he'll be a problem for Ridnour, but he could just take himself out of the series as well.

Advantage: Nets

Shooting Guard
Xavier Henry vs. Dwyane Wade
Henry delivered in Round 2 as well. His shooting was a bit erratic but his scoring went up to 17 points per game. He's also been defending well, keeping Carter under control in that six game series. He has quite the battle ahead of him, but he could step up.

Wade is the best shooting guard in the East. He's averaging 23 points per game in this postseason, and look for him to continue his domination with a good series over Henry.

Advantage: Nets

Small Forward
Danilo Gallinari vs. Andre Iguodala
It would not be an understatement to say that Gallinari has been the savior so far this postseason. With injuries to Bosh and Lee, someone had to step up big time, and that was Danilo. He had some big games, and he'll be counted on again this series.

As good as Iggy was with the 76ers, on the Nets he's the 4th leading scorer. He's struggled to find his place in the offense, and it's no secret he hates his team and his role on it. Defensively he's strong, and if he can shut down Danilo then he'll have done his job.

Advantage: Knicks

Power Forward
David Lee vs. Drew Gooden
How will Lee shake off the rust? He hasn't played a game since March 23rd, and that could show in this series. Prior to his injury, he had been averaging 17 points and 9 rebounds, great numbers. His performance here will probably decide this series.

Gooden is accepting of his role of the 5th man in this starting group, the guy who collects rebounds and gets his points on put backs and defensive mistakes. He's not a guy who can create his own shot, or really own on defense. He's pretty much just an average power forward.

Advantage: Knicks

Center
Chris Bosh vs. Brook Lopez
Bosh will be slowed by his twisted ankle, but look for him to still have a big series. In Game 6 against the Magic, about a week after he originally twisted it, Bosh put up a 19 point, 8 rebound effort. With a few more days of rest and a weaker opponent in front of him, Bosh should be able to have a monster series.

Lopez is a great center. He's overcome his early weaknesses as a rebounder and a defender, and is averaging a beastly line of 19/14/2.5 in these playoffs. This will be a battle of epic proportions down low. Something to keep in mind though is that Lopez posted these numbers against Matt Duckrey and Al Harrington, two terrible post defenders. Can Lopez repeat these numbers against an All-Star?

Advantage: Even

Bench
Wilson Chandler, Bill Walker, Sam Dalembert, Shaun Livingston vs. Courtney Lee, Tim Thompson, Terrence Williams
Both benches have quite a bit of talent on them. Chandler is a versatile swingman who can score and rebound, Walker is one of the best shooter/scorers in the game, Dalembert is a defensive monster, and Livingston had a big series against Orlando. Lee is one of the best perimeter defenders in the game, Thompson provides defense down low, and Williams lets the starters get a breath. The Knicks bench is deeper and better.

Advantage: Knicks

Final Thoughts
While the Knicks are the deeper team, they have too many question marks. Lee and Bosh are the big ones, but also, how will Henry fare against Wade? Will Gallinari continue his hot shooting? There's too many question in New York to see them advance.
Prediction: Nets in 5

Game One
I really dislike not having home court advantage. To have to start off by playing two games in enemy territory... it just sucks. We gave our best effort but it wasn't enough in this loss. Lee was clearly hampered, only scoring 6 points. He'll have to step up.
New York 98 New Jersey 119

Game Two
Lee stepped up, scoring 14 points this time around. I know when we get back to MSG we'll be beasting. As of right now, we're down in a 2-0 hole. Henry dropped 28 points this game, but it wasn't enough.
New York 96 New Jersey 102

Game Three
I told you getting back home was gonna be the trick for this team. David Lee showed he was back with 25 points, 10 rebounds and 7 assists. The starting 5 played their butts off, Ridnour had 20 points, and we beat these Nets.
New Jersey 102 New York 112

Game Four
Three headed monster. David Lee, Chris Bosh, Xavier Henry each score 20+ points and we make this a series. Taking both games at home is perfect and we head off to New Jersey with all the momentum!
New Jersey 104 New York 119

Game Five
We take the momentum with us to Game Five in New Jersey, but then, they had the momentum when we went to New York for Game Three. Dalembert is out for the rest of the series with back spasms, which really doesn't help, but Bosh and Lee are back at full strength. We use that to force twenty turnovers and take the game in New Jersey! 43 points combined from Lee and Bosh and the Nets are reeling!
New York 109 New Jersey 94

Game 6
Like the Orlando series, and the Chicago series, I want to finish this at home. Finish it in Madison Square Garden. Let the fans bask in the glory of going to the Finals for the first time since the 1999 season. It's a promising start as we lead by 13 at the end of the first quarter, and the Nets never make it a close game. This is a wire-to-wire blowout as we beat the Nets at home. Bosh puts Lopez in foul trouble all game long and Xavier Henry destroys Wade to the tune of 34 points. We're going to the Finals!!
New Jersey 96 New York 116

Bosh put in work all series long, Lee came back in a big way, Ridnour and Gallinari were steady and Henry, although torched by Wade, went back at him on offense all series long. We now face a Hornets team that is well rested after sweeping the Mavs. I'm just so happy!!

[Myles Nelson]

New Orleans and New York. These two teams bring entirely different styles to the field. New Orleans focuses on their insanely good backcourt of CP3 and Collison. New York's frontcourt does all the work, with Lee and Bosh up front. It's all a matter of who can control the tempo, who can win the matchups, and of course, who scores more points.

Point Guard
Luke Ridnour vs. Chris Paul
Ridnour has stayed strong during the playoffs, even performing decently well through injuries. The Knicks are just hoping that Ridnour can keep up his level of play.

However, he can't come close to matching the star power that is Paul. Paul is having his way with every team so far, and it looks like he'll continue his domination.

Advantage: New Orleans

Shooting Guard
Xavier Henry vs. Darren Collison
Since being drafted in 2010, Henry has been nothing but productive. He's stepped up big when needed, and in the four wins against New Jersey, Henry produced at an insane rate. He'll need to do that again here.

Collison is the second part of this great backcourt, and he'll be counted on to torch the Knicks. He's faster than his counterpart, but gives up a lot of height. We'll see how he fares against the taller Henry.

Advantage: Even

Small Forward
Danilo Gallinari vs. Gordon Hayward
Gallinari is one of the better shooters in the league, and he should be able to continue to shoot the lights out here in the Finals.

Hayward is a productive offensive player but by no means a focal point of this offense. He's a spot up shooter who can create his own shot, and he's a decent enough defender.

Advantage: New York

Power Forward
David Lee vs. Troy Murphy
In his four games since coming back at full strength from the injury, Lee averaged 23 points and 9 rebounds a game. That's much better than he was doing during the regular season. Consider Lee 100%.

Murphy is a good scorer, but a mediocre rebounder and defender. He won't be able to contain Lee one bit, which doesn't bode well for this Hornets team.

Advantage: New York

Center
Chris Bosh vs. Al Horford
Bosh started off a bit slow this postseason, and had his ankle injury to deal with, but he's rebounded to average 17 points and 11 rebounds a game. That's solid numbers for the captain of this team. If the Knicks want to win this series, Bosh will have to excel.

Horford is a solid center, who will score points, grab rebounds, and play decent defense. He's one of the better centers in the league, but not anywhere in the league of Bosh.

Advantage: New York

Bench
Bill Walker, Wilson Chandler, Sam Dalembert, Shaun Livingston vs. Ersan Ilyasova, Grant Hill, Julius Hodge
The bench of New York has remained one of its stronger points thus far, with Chandler and Walker counted on to score, and Livingston and Dalembert to bring passing and defense, respectively. New Orleans bench doesn't play or produce much. Hill is the most productive and even he is a non-factor most games.

Advantage: New York

Final Thoughts
In a war between a loaded-backcourt and a loaded-frontcourt, the team with the most depth will win. That is New York, who will stop the reigning MVP from getting his first ring.
Prediction: New York in 7

Game One
I seriously hate not having home court advantage. Something about playing the first game on the road sucks. I don't know what happens, but my vaunted front court didn't even show up tonight. Bosh and Lee combined for 21 points. We play no defense and they take advantage.
New York 98 New Orleans 126

Game Two
If we can steal homecourt advantage I'd feel a whole lot better about this. Again, Bosh and Lee hardly play. They were on the court a whole lot but had nothing to show for it. I'll switch the matchups around for game 3, try Lee at center more, see how that works out. Cause right now, it's not working.
New York 89 New Orleans 120

Game Three
Switching Lee and Bosh didn't help. Horford is one of the best defensive centers in the game, and he limits Lee this time around. I don't know what to do. Paul and Collison are running circles around us and I can't figure out what to do to get Lee and Bosh going.
New Orleans 103 New York 91

Game Four
Finally we show some life. Our offensive attack is very balanced but this win really came from forcing turnovers. We forced twenty of them total. Bosh and Lee combined for 23 points. That's seriously depressing.
New Orleans 90 New York 103

Game Five
Luckily, since this is the NBA Finals, we have three straight games at home, so maybe we can take that last win and turn it into some momentum. Or we could shoot 42% from the field and give away the game in the 4th quarter. That's cool too. At least we weren't swept this time.
New Orleans 103 New York 98

At least we made it to the Finals. But losing in the Finals hurts just as much as getting swept in the 1st round. If not more.

[Myles Nelson]

Three Burning Questions

What will happen to Gallinari, Chandler and Ridnour? These main pieces to this team are all unrestricted FAs now. Gallinari and Chandler will almost certainly get raises, but Ridnour could be retained at about the same price. What will Walsh decide to do?

Will the Knicks be players in this year's FA? They have approximately 18M in cap, and if they play it right, they could get a player at around 7-8M and still have enough to resign the three players whose bird rights they own. It's also possible that they sign a player on a max deal and don't resign either Gallinari or Chandler.

Will the Knicks acquire some defensive talent? Yes they got Dalembert, who helped lower the teams PPG allowed down to 22nd in the league. They'll need some more defenders if they want to be a championship team.

NBA LOTTERY

14. Golden State (0)
13. Minnesota (0)
12. Utah (0)
11. San Antonio (0)
10. Washington (0)
9. Indiana (-1)
8. Charlotte (-2)
7. Miami (-2)
6. Phoenix (-3)
5. Detroit (-3)
4. Memphis (-3)
3. Toronto (+1)
2. Houston (+5)
1. Atlanta (+8)

Big win for Atlanta here, sucks to be Memphis/Detroit/Phoenix.

2012 NBA Awards

MVP
Dwight Howard - ORL - 24.9 ppg 15.5 rpg 3.8 bpg

Defensive Player of the Year
Dwight Howard - ORL

Sixth Man of the Year
Jose Caledron - TOR - 14.1 ppg 5.3 apg

Rookie of the Year
Joe Merfeld - PHI - 14.7 ppg 2.8 apg 4.5 rpg

Coach of the Year
Avery Johnson - New Jersey Nets (71-11)

Ekpe Udoh got robbed for DPOY. He averaged the same amount of steals per game and over 4 blocks per game.

All-NBA First Team
Chris Paul - New Orleans Hornets
Kobe Bryant - Los Angeles Lakers
LeBron James - Cleveland Cavaliers
Chris Bosh - New York Knicks
Dwight Howard - Orlando Magic

All-NBA Second Team
Derrick Rose - Chicago Bulls
Dwyane Wade - New Jersey Nets
Kevin Durant - Oklahoma City Thunder
Blake Griffin - Los Angeles Clippers
Andrew Bogut - Milwaukee Bucks

All-NBA Third Team
Stephen Curry - Golden State Warriors
Evan Turner - Philadelphia 76ers
Carmelo Anthony - Denver Nuggets
Josh Smith - Atlanta Hawks
Yao Ming - Houston Rockets

All-Defense First Team
Chris Paul
Dwyane Wade
LeBron James
Josh Smith
Dwight Howard

All-Defense Second Team
Rajon Rondo - Boston Celtics
Kobe Bryant
Andre Iguodala - New Jersey Nets
Ekpe Udoh - Memphis Grizzlies
Andrew Bogut

Udoh was the best defender in the NBA this year, hands down. He got robbed.

All-Rookie First Team
Trey Bains - Miami Heat
Jason Green - Orlando Magic
Joe Merfeld - Philadelphia 76ers
Cedrick Harrell - Boston Celtics
Tim Thompson - New Jersey Nets

All-Rookie Second Team
Lloyd McBride - Toronto Raptors
Loren Rogers - Memphis Grizzlies
Germayne Gallagher - Sacramento Kings
Cy Landry - Milwaukee Bucks
Michael Claxton - Detroit Pistons

The Pistons had the first two picks of the draft this past year and only one of them even made it to an All-Rookie team. That's sad. Also, Lloyd McBride should have been ROY, not stuck on the 2nd Team. Horrible call by the voters.