Can the Knicks Win without Lin

Posted By Dan Dragicevich.

The Knicks are inching closer to the playoffs but they will have to continue to do it without Lin.

The Knicks are inching closer to the playoffs but they will have to continue to do it without Lin. The New York Knicks have looked like a team that has been on a mission to end the season the right way, by making the postseason. Carmelo Anthony has stepped up big lately which is a good sign since his normal all-star stats have been missed dearly these past couple weeks. It seems as if Anthony is starting to take things a bit more personally and he is really picking his game up. In the Knicks last game against the Bulls, Anthony had 43 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal, and 1 block including the game tying shot at the end of regulation and then the game winning 3 pointer at the end of overtime.

Besides Anthony’s stellar play of late, the biggest headline that might be coming out of New York is still centered around Jeremy Lin. The one who is responsible for bringing Linsanity to the world has been sidelined for the past few games because of a knee injury. He even went as far as to say that he will not be able to able to participate in the first round of the playoffs if the Knicks happen to qualify for it. Is this a crushing blow for the Knicks now that their point guard is out? Or does it just mean that someone else will have to step in once again for this Knicks team?

Jeremy Lin is no doubt the savior of the New York Knicks this season but is his absence really a big deal for the Knicks? Since Lin’s massive eruption to the NBA, he is averaged below 15 points a game and his assist numbers have been reduced to a mere 5 a game. He is still their floor general on the floor but there is another young gun who has taken some of the pressure off of the starting point guard role. His name is Iman Shumpert and he has been producing numbers across the board.

Iman Shumpert is a rookie who has had limited minutes throughout the season where he has shown signs of emergence every now and again but has not stayed consistent. With the injury to Lin, Shumpert has been able to get quality minutes and has worked that to his advantage. He has gotten his numbers up around 10 points a game with 4 rebounds, 4 assists, and almost 3 steals a game. Now I know this may not seem like huge numbers, but the way he has worked his way back into the 8 man rotation has really provided a spark for this Knicks backcourt. As I said earlier, he is known to be inconsistent which isn’t necessarily a bad thing because for a back to back game stretch he erupted for 25 points.

The New York Knicks have found a solid two man rotation at the point guard spot but because of injuries there is a reason for Knicks fans to be weary. With the postseason approaching quickly and the Knicks only holding a half game lead for the 8th spot in the East, The Lin injury could be worse case scenario. If the Knicks hold onto their 8th spot in the East they will most likely be going up against the Chicago Bulls who have the league’s best point guard in Derrick Rose. Without a healthy Lin, the Knicks could find trouble slowing down Rose and the strong willed Bulls team. This means that Shumpert will have to take over and have to contain Rose to a reasonable amount of points. I have seen crazy things but you never know what can happen. That’s why they play the game, folks.

Flip-Flop Howard

Posted By Dan Dragicevich.

Dwight Howard was the center piece of the NBA trade deadline even though he failed to be traded.

After digesting this story, I decided to write about it because Dwight Howard, who is loved and is seen in a positive light by many people in the NBA and the public, has been in troubled waters. Last week was arguably the most interesting week the NBA has had since it returned to play after their lockout. The focus was on the trade deadline and who could possibly be traded to another team. There were many interesting possibilities with names like Deron Williams from the Nets being moved and Pau Gasol from the Lakers; but no other player was more looked at then Dwight Howard of the Orlando Magic.

Dwight Howard

For a while now there had been rumors about Dwight Howard wanting to leave the Orlando Magic because he believed that the coaching staff and front office personnel weren’t doing enough to bring in new talent and to contribute to a championship caliber team. For as long as Dwight Howard pleaded for that to happen it never did and Howard’s trade seemed eminent.

Days before the trade deadline, ESPN analysts had been discussing different options as to where Howard could end up as if to say that this is definitely going to happen. The Orlando Magic however, weren’t going to just let their franchise center leave without trying to retain him. By doing this they pretty much begged him to stay by saying that if you stay we will make sure we bring in new talent. This isn’t Howard’s first rodeo though and he said he would not be coming back to Orlando next season. This is where things took a turn for the worst for Howard.

After hearing that Howard didn’t want to come back to Orlando the following season, front office management decided to throw out all the stops and offer him total control of the team essentially. The Orlando Magic came back with a statement saying that if Howard stays, he has the ability to decide the fates of Coach Stan Van Gundy and the General Manager of the team…. I’m sorry but is that really necessary? I understand that Howard is a franchise player but are you really going to let him have full control of this organization and allow him to make personnel decisions? To me if a player like that wants to leave bad enough then you trade him and get as much value as you can out of him. Howard has been there his entire career and has been to the finals and has not been able to close out a championship. I say you start new and bring in a bunch of new talent and see where that takes you. There is no way I would allow a player to have so much control where he should be able to decide the fates of coaches and GM’s.

After hearing this news Howard decided to stay and said he believes there is enough talent on the team to make another championship run; this was days after he said he didn’t want to be a part of the organization anymore. Unbelievable.

For all I know he could have even flip-flopped again just because he wanted to have fun with the media who knows. Dwight Howard is a standup guy and is loyal to his team but this story just blew me away and he should have talked with some PR people before blabbing away to the media.

Fantasy Playoffs

Posted by Dan Dragicevich.

A few tips to keep in mind as you approach your playoffs matchup…. If you made it.

It has been a long and tiresome season for fantasy basketball owners and all that hard work is about to pay off as the playoffs approach. Depending on what type of league you are in depends on how many people are able to reach the playoffs. For most leagues, it is usually just 4 teams; the top 2 teams in each division and then 2 wild card teams with the best records. For those lucky few teams your decisions will either make or break you and will determine whether you advance or not. For those poor souls who spent hour after hour on the waiver wire trying to improve their teams but just couldn’t; don’t fret because there is still the consolation ladder.

First off the best way to handle the playoffs is to act like it is just another week. Don’t stray away from the norm and stay with what has gotten you there. Just because a player or two is not putting up the numbers they are capable of doesn’t mean you have to drop them and try and pick someone up who has had a few good games in a row. Stay with what works and what has gotten you there and you should be in the fight.

Another thing that most people forget is that the playoff matchups are two weeks long rather than the traditional one week matchup. What this means is that you can afford to be extra patient and if someone has an injury that has kept them out of a game or two and they are an important piece to the team then you can sub them out if you can but there is no need to drop them, just wait.

A third thing that most people forget is that since this is the playoffs, one absence of a player could be the difference so you need to make sure that you are consistently checking your lineups every night in case of an injury or someone is out on rest. This sort of thing really comes into play when you have a full lineup and there are still players on your bench who have a game that night. One thing that can kill you is if you have someone sitting out and you have a fully capable player on the bench who you forgot to sub in.

Basically, the key to winning the playoffs or the consolation ladder is to make sure you are checking your lineups every night and to not worry if someone is playing poorly because more than likely they will pick it up for you. Good luck and may the best team win.

Wilson Returns

Posted by Dan Dragicevich.

With Wilson Chandler back, the Denver Nuggets have a lot of options at the shooting guard and small forward positions.

As the Denver Nuggets keep pace in the Western Conference at (25-21) it seems as if they have been missing a piece to the puzzle that could be them over the top; enter Wilson Chandler.

Wilson Chandler

Before Chandler went overseas to play in China while the NBA was in their lockout, he played for the Nuggets and participated in 21 games. In those games, Chandler averaged 12.5 points, 5.0 rebounds, 0.7 steals, 1.1 blocks and 1.2 three pointers. Considering how many games he played in those are pretty solid numbers. He also is a valuable asset because he creates a lot of mismatches for opponents because of his ability to step back behind the 3 point line.

The fact that Denver signed him to a brand new five-year deal means they are preparing to build a core group of players. Those couples of players are Wilson Chandler, Danilo Gallinari and a young point guard in Ty Lawson. Unfortunately the Denver Nuggets are still a dominant big man away from being a top team in the Western Conference. I would have been tempted to say that Nene was their big man who could get them over the hump but management decided to trade him away and retrieve JaVale Mcgee. Now Mcgee is a solid big man who can throw down and play some pretty good interior defense but his problem is that he is too inconsistent in too many ways. Some days he can go off for 25 points, 20 rebounds and 5 blocks and other days he can go for 5 points, 8 rebounds and 0 blocks. Right now Denver’s case is you get what you trade for and right now they are getting inconsistency.

Now that Wilson Chandler has resigned he will be looking for a lot of minutes and to be a big part of the offense. With the injury trend seeming to happen with Gallinari; Chandler will fit right back in and be getting steady minutes. Hopefully for him it will be like he never left.