TD gets Delonte T'd off

Saturday November 7, 2009 12:10 AM By Alan Hahn

With 6:02 left in the fourth quarter, as the Knicks were making a late spirited run (read: making the score respectable) against the Cavaliers, Toney Douglas was called for a foul while playing some tenacious defense against Delonte West.

After the whistle, West, who has plenty of issues on his mind right now, threw the ball at Douglas, was called for a technical foul and had some choice words for the Knicks rookie. Choice enough that Douglas wouldn't repeat them after the game.

"No comment," he said. "I'm not looking for any drama."

Whatever West did say, LeBron James felt compelled to go over to Douglas, who went to the bench after the foul.

"He just said to keep my head up," Douglas said. "That I'm all right."

* * *

James also made it a point to talk to another young Knick. After the game, he and Danilo Gallinari, who had 17 points and made 4 of 8 from three-point range, met on the court.

"He told me to keep working, keep doing my thing," Gallinari said, "and keep working on my back strength."

It's interesting that James would make note of Gallinari's back situation. Is it a clear sign that James is paying close attention to things here in New York?

"It's a good feeling that he respects me," Gallinari said. "That's already a good thing."

LeBron often has done this with young players. In fact, a few seasons ago he stopped Nate Robinson on the court after a game at the Garden and offered him similar encouragement.

* * *

Donnie Walsh before the game said he is expecting Eddy Curry back on the court "pretty soon now."

It seems most likely that Curry will be reincorporated during a four-day break between games following the Nov. 13 game against the Warriors. Walsh raved about what he saw when he evaluated Curry on Thursday. "When you see him, he's totally different," Walsh said.

How much weight has he lost? "A lot," he said.

It may sound as if Walsh is merely trying to promote nothing but positives about a player he'll likely try to trade to clear cap space, but a few other people I spoke with who have seen Curry say Walsh isn't embellishing.

We'll see.

* * *

Walsh also almost conceded that he and his staff made a mistake in passing on Brandon Jennings, the rookie PG who is off to a great start with the Milwaukee Bucks. "Going into the draft," Walsh said, "I did not have a feel for Brandon Jennings' game."

We'll get a feel for it Saturday when the Knicks face Jennings and the Bucks in Milwaukee.

Walsh explained that he went to Italy for the Eurobasket camp expecting to see Jennings, but Jennings did not participate in the camp. The Knicks had Jennings in for a predraft workout and, from what I heard at the time, he more than held his own against Tyreke Evans. But Walsh admitted that the lack of scouting information the team had on Jennings, the high schooler who skipped college for a pro year in Europe, was the issue.

"I had him in and he looked good," Walsh said. "But he looked yuong and had a lot ahead of him. But then when I went to Vegas and I saw him play, I thought, 'Wow, this guy could be very good.' I still am glad we took Jordan Hill, but I think Brandon Jennings is going to be a good player. And he's getting an opportunity to play, so it's a tough comparison now because Jordan is not."

Hill did finally get off the bench tonight against the Cavs. He played 4:46 and scored six points with two turnovers, all in the second quarter.

Open (Gym) Letter to New York

Friday November 6, 2009 2:59 PM By Alan Hahn

From LeBron James and Nike. It's a great gesture.

LeBron: 'My parade starts at 8 o'clock'

Thursday November 5, 2009 10:27 PM By Alan Hahn

LeBron James isn't giving the short answers like Dwyane Wade. He's not scoffing at the repeated questions like Chris Bosh.

You wanna talk 2010? Sure, he'll talk 2010. He'll even talk it before the game before the game in New York.

"There will be a lot of intensity," he told reporters before tonight's game against the Bulls. "The fact that we only play there once, there's going to be a lot of energy to the see the team and see us and see me. July 1 is right around the corner so it's going to be really exciting."

New York will already be a-buzz from the Yankees championship stroll down the Canyon of Heroes. LeBron's appearance at the Garden later that night will be like the afterparty.

"My parade," he said, "starts at 8 o'clock tomorrow night."

No, it'll be more like novena from the people of the basketball mecca.

LeBron certainly has done little to quell the anticipation. He has left a contract extention offer from the Cavs on the table and made it abundantly clear he will consider everything come July 1, 2010. That is enough to keep him the main story here in New York while the team plays through the remaining 77 games until the payroll flips to the new fiscal year and that bottom-line number finally goes black.

Some believe he's merely teasing the desperate people of Gotham and is really just another free agent using New York as leverage elsewhere, but the Cavs have already offered him the maximum extension. There's not much more, financially, that he can get.

"I don't tease," he said. "I have never teased the New York media by saying I was coming to New York or playing for the Knicks. I say the same thing every time. When July 1 gets here, I'm going to approach it like a businessman and approach it the best way for LeBron and his family, but I've been a Cav for seven years now and I've never given any indication of leaving."

But, as he typically has done, LeBron made sure to balance his statement.

"For me to say I'm not going to be a Knick or I'm going to be a Cav, or I'm not going to be a Cav and be a Knick, I'm not going to say that right now because I did a three-year contract for a reason. I want to keep my options open."

And while he does, New York will keep its arms open, too.

LeBron visits Canyon of Zeroes

Thursday November 5, 2009 11:53 AM By Alan Hahn

What a way for the Knicks to prepare for a rare moment on the big stage, with LeBron coming in Friday for an ESPN game at a Garden that will be electrified by not only King James' presence (and the anxiousness for the 2010 recruiting season), but also buzzing like an afterparty for the Yankees championship parade earlier in the day.

There is some karma here, no? We discussed in last Sunday's NBA Hot Shots that LeBron is a big believer in karma. So the congruence of his only visit to New York and the Yankees championship parade has some special value. James has only seen New York love opponents such as himself and Kobe Bryant as they come into the Garden and own the stage while the home team plays the role of the Washington Generals.

He has never felt this building roar at the opposing star, who, when it matters most, is viewed only as a villain. Reggie Miller, Michael Jordan, Tim Hardaway  . . . they brought it and felt the wrath. And they loved playing here for that reason.

LeBron? All he can recall is a star-struck fan running out on the court to give him a high five. Or knuckle-touching with celebrities along the front row, such as Jay-Z, who has a stake in the other team in this area that is trying to lure LeBron to the Apple.

But on Friday, thanks to the Yankees (one of LeBron's favorite teams), he'll get the chance to see how New York throws a championship party and adores its winners.

The Cavs play tonight against the Bulls (on TNT) so they'll get into New York kind of late. They probably won't hold a shoot-around in the morning at the Garden, which would be right around the time the parade is scheduled to begin.

Would LeBron join another one of his platinum-member friends, CC Sabathia, on a float? Highly-unlikely. But you have to believe he'll at least tune in from his hotel room.

And, perhaps for a second, wonder, "What if . . ."

But what if the Knicks found a way to be good without him? What if they built another way -- and they might have to -- and the team grew into a contender and LeBron became one of those villains?

Sure, as Magic Johnson said, New York needs a star player. The NBA needs a superstar in New York. Patrick Ewing was a star, not quite a superstar, and so often on the losing end that it took away a lot of the shine.

And while the Yankees dynasty is build on "The Core Four" -- homegrown products Derek Jeter, Andy Pettitte, Jorge Posada and the indomitable Mariano Rivera -- they aren't celebrating No. 27 without landing megawatt free agents such as CC Sabathia and Marx Teixeira, who were lured to New York from smaller market teams.

Of course players come here because that Core Four is already in place with rings on their fingers. Right now, the Knicks core consists of young players who couldn't win a summer league game last July and surrounded a cast of expiring contracts; most of whom won't be around when LeBron puts pen to ink.

Come to New York? The question will have to cross LeBron's mind -- even momentarily -- at some point on Friday, as the ticker tape cascades downtown over the World Champions. Maybe he'll hum his buddy Jay-Z's latest hit as he floats temporarily into an Empire State of Mind.

* * *

Some of last night's debacle against the Pacers must have infected my computer, because twice I tried to post a blog over the past 12 hours and both times the system crashed.

Speaking of systems, offense was never supposed to be an issue for a Mike D'Antoni team. In fact, he came into this season preaching defense because that was the weak point. Even on the grease board in the locker room before the game was this confident message:

"We will score at will if we run and move the ball."

But one doesn't happen without the others. So a glance at the stat sheet shows just two fast break points -- TWO -- in the entire game last night against the Pacers.

Moving the ball? The Knicks recorded 20 assists on 34 field goals (58.8 percent), but the fourth quarter had very little offensive flow.

Consider these possessions after Al Harrington's FTs made it an 89-87 deficit with 5:35 left in the game:

4:48 - Shot clock violation (turnover)

4:22 - Duhon miss 15-foot jumper

3:51 - Lee moving screen offensive foul (turnover)

3:28 - Harrington miss 3PT

2:46 - Harrington loses ball on post up to Hibbert (turnover)

2:01 - Gallinari miss drive

1:59 - Lee miss tip

That was the bow on the giftwrapped W for the desperate Pacers, who came in winless and in the second game of a back-to-back and were playing without Mike Dunleavy and Troy Murphy.

But throughout the game, the Knick offense came up small in big moments. Early on, when Indiana was a lifeless team going through the motions, the Knicks jumped out to a couple of eight-point leads. They just were unable to manufacture any momentum.

Really, it looked like a complete absence of the desperation to get the W, which was evident against the Hornets on Monday.

Defense remains a problem for this group, though they are showing some improvement over last season. Interior defense will be the biggest issue mainly because you can't make David Lee into a shot blocker. And 6-10 Jared Jeffries is really a better perimeter defender than he is a stopper in the paint. Darko Milicic doesn't play enough to make that much of a difference, but, really he is only averaging 0.9 blocks per 48 minutes so far. Even Lee has more at 1.1 per 48.

Overall, the Knicks are still one of the worst defensive teams in the NBA statistically-speaking with 114 points-per-game against (second worst), allowing 49.9 percent field goal percentage (third worst) and a defensive eFG (effective field goal percentage) of 53.2, which ranks fifth-worst.

D'Antoni said he wanted that last number to be in the top 15. They are barely top 25. Out of 30.

(And the numbers are skewed because of the overtime and double-overtime games. The Double-OT loss in Charlotte was a 102-100 final. The OT loss to the 76ers was tied at 122 after four quarters.)

But, again, offense wasn't supposed to be a concern. Sure, they are averaging 105.2 points per game, which ranks eighth overall in the league, butthe eFG is a very weak 47.1 percent, which ranks 19th in the league.

While I believe D'Antoni needs to be held accountable for some decisions, I blame the collection of players, not the system, for the problems with the offense. Harrington scores a lot of points, but he does so mostly at the expense of the system. He is more of a traditional half-court player and though he gives great effort and determination (he was the only Knick that even tried to get to the line against the Pacers big, but soft front line), he is just not right for what the system demands on the court.

Danilo Gallinari clearly isn't ready to step into a primary role, but he shows so many flashes of brilliance that it teases you into believing he can. But Gallinari goes stretches without even touching the ball and then D'Antoni pulls him out of the game, mainly because it's clear the kid isn't locked in anymore.

It might be asking too much, too soon from the 21-year-old. But there is a noticable difference in the offense when he's got it going.

Overall, the performance against the Pacers was alarming because of the aforementioned lack of intensity and determination to take a Dub that was there on the table for them. You can't talk to me about wanting to be a playoff team after a game like that one against an opponent like that one.

* * *

A few other notes:

* - D'Antoni made some interesting remarks about lottery rookie Jordan Hill's place outside of the rotation, which I reported in the Knicks notebook for the print and online editions. D'Antoni said that Hill -- who has only played in garbage time of the season opener in Miami while several other rookies taken after him in the draft (Brandon Jennings, DeMar DeRozan, Terrence Williams and Ty Lawson, to name a few) have made immediate impacts with their respective teams -- is stuck behind veterans in the front court. D'Antoni said that Hill's "potential is there, but he has not convinced me that he's better than those five guys right now."

* - Berman mentioned that Donnie Walsh said Eddy Curry will be evaluated on Sunday and expects to have him back on the court practicing by Tuesday. It's been a month since Curry's fitness exile began and I've heard varying reports about his progress. One story is that he's under 310 pounds and worked hard. Another is he knows the team wants to trade him and is hardly motivated to assist them in clearing his salary from the 2010 books so they can potentially offer two max contracts next summer. We'll find out which one is more accurate on Tuesday.

Live chat with Alan Hahn

Tuesday November 3, 2009 10:01 AM By Mike Rose

Alan Hahn talks Knicks and answers your questions today in a live chat at 11 a.m.

CP situation mirrors KG

Tuesday November 3, 2009 9:33 AM By Alan Hahn

Exhibit A of why salary cap flexibility and asset collection is so vital to the Knicks rebuild plan was on display last night at the Garden, where Chris Paul's despondence seemed the most noticable quality of the start point guard's usually dynamic game.

After a quiet first half, in which he had just three points on two field goal attempts, CP seemed more content with setting up others (8 assists) , which was a futile exercise, even against these Knicks.

When it got to winnin' time, however, Paul got it into gear. He scored 29 points in the second half and 18 in the fourth quarter. But it wasn't enough, not nearly enough, again, even against these Knicks.

And afterward, with the weight of the Rajon Rondo situation still on his shoulders, Paul's words sounded so similar to another star player who was stuck in a franchise that was crumbling around him on a shoe-string budget.

Remember Kevin Garnett before he came to Boston?

Yahoo! Sports' Adrian Wojnarowksi, among a few other national writers, talked at length with CP3 about his state of mind with the Hornets, a team clearly going nowhere and a franchise unquestionably headed in the wrong direction. (For instance, when asked about the loss of Rasual Butler, who was sent to the Clippers over the summer in an obvious salary dump, one Hornets staffer glumly replied with a terse, "No comment.")

Paul sounded so much like Garnett in his final days with the Timberwolves. Despite seeing the team go from a Western Conference Finalist to a team that missed the playoffs for three straight seasons, KG never talked about wanting to leave Minnesota. He would only talk about how to make the team a winner again.

Here's Paul doing his best KG, taking the classy, professional route, while a snot-nose like Rajon Rondo so brashly disrespects him. The league shouldn't need to review Paul's actions after that game on Sunday in Boston, when he and Rondo got face-to-face in a heated exchange. If anything, the fact that Paul didn't pummel Rondo right then and there showed amazing restraint.

And to not speak out as he sees the Hornets go in reverse while other stars of his generation -- LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony, Dwight Howard, Dwyane Wade, Brandon Roy and even Deron Williams -- have franchises earnestly building and maintaining a contender, says a great deal about the character of Chris Paul.

“I’m envious,” Paul told Wojnarowski and others, such as TNT's David Aldridge and CBSSports.com's Ken Berger. “I’m very envious. Those guys have been where I want to get to. This is my fifth year in the league, and I’m not trying to wait until I’m an old veteran in this league to win a championship. We’re trying to win now.”

It is only a matter of time before the Hornets are faced with the same decision the Timberwolves met in the summer of 2007. Garnett had an opt-out on his contract following the 07-08 season and speculation was high that he would test free agency. Paul's opt-out comes in 2012, so there still is some time.

The Celtics were set up perfectly to make the Garnett deal happen, because they had one talented young big man in Al Jefferson and several expiring contracts, plus the ability to extend Garnett's deal to lock him in.

[Bloghost note: And before we start with the "Nobody wants to play for the Knicks" argument, let's consider that the Celtics were in similar doldrums in 2006-07 and word was that Garnett initially turned down the move to Boston. Then Danny Ainge traded for Ray Allen, a New England guy, and with Allen and Pierce in the fold, Garnett changed his mind. Now everyone wants to rock the shamrock.]

Perhaps even more than LeBron James, Paul is the perfect player for Mike D'Antoni's up-tempo, spread system. As we saw in Phoenix with the Suns, it takes a dynamic point guard who primarily knows how to find open players and move the ball and yet, when he needs to, can score the ball. Put shooters and athletes around him -- just look at what he did for Tyson Chandler -- and Paul is one of the most dominant players in the league.

The Knicks have almost all of the above at this point, though they are lacking a young player they could send in exchange. (At least one they would be willing to part with, since Danilo Gallinari these days is as untouchable asBeyonce.) But Donnie Walsh still has a little bit of time while CP  bides his .... and bites his tongue. Maybe Walsh has to make a little more of an effort, since he never played on a championship team with Hornets GM Jeff Bower (like Ainge did with former T-Wolves executive Kevin McHale).

But as we saw with KG, there is an inevitable result coming. Will the Knicks figure out how to benefit this time, like the Celtics did in 2007?

Photo credit: AP

Harrington laughs off CP scrum

Monday November 2, 2009 11:49 PM By Alan Hahn

Al Harrington boxes in the summer as part of his training regimen. So a few knocks to the skull don't affect him they way it may affect others.

"I ain't like Jared, Jared's a bleeder," Harrington laughed as he pointed to Jared Jeffries, standing with a bandage over his right eye from an errant elbow. "That man goes to the hole and gets cut every single time. That's amazing."

Jeffries needed three stitches to close a gash opened by the elbow of Hilton Armstrong as Jeffries drove to the basket in the third quarter of the Knicks' win over the Hornets tonight at the Garden. Jeffries needed four stitches to close a cut over the same eye during a preseason game against the 76ers, when Elton Brand caught him with an elbow.

The game against the Hornets also saw Harrington come up admittedly "woozy" after he and Chris Paul tangled on the floor for a loose ball. Harrington dove and knocked Paul's legs out from under him. It appeared Harrington then grabbed Paul's leg to hold him down and Paul retaliated with a few quick jabs on Harrington's head.

The officials clearly didn't see it because nothing was called.

"He didn't punch," Harrington said. "When I dove, his knee -- my head hit his knee."

He then added, "He might have slipped a couple of jabs in there, but it didn't affect me. I fight in the summer so it's all good."

Paul, who is already in enough hot water with the NBA for his altercation with Rajon Rondo in Sunday's loss to the Celtics in Boston, said he and Harrington talked about the situation and were "fine". By Paul's explanation, Harrington "really hit his head on the ground when he dove."

Will the league see it that way? A league official confirmed last night that the Stu Jackson was, indeed, reviewing Paul's altercation with Rondo on Sunday. During the game the two were tangled up under the basket and then afterward Rondo approached Paul, who went to the Celtics bench to shake hands with Paul Pierce.

Rondo and Chris Paul had to be separated and later Paul took a sarcastic shot at Rondo, who yesterday signed a five-year, $55 million contract extension, by saying he is “a lucky guy” to play with Pierce, Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett. When asked if that was a slight at Rondo, Paul replied, “No, no. He is a great point guard and he's a champion. It's my hope to achieve that.”

There were reports yesterday that Paul had to be restrained from going after Rondo into the Celtics locker room and that he also exchanged words with Celtics assistant Tom Thibodeau. On his twitter account on Monday afternoon Paul wrote, “jus to clear this up I never came close to the Celts locker rm last nite . . .also me n coach Thibodeau never got in a shouting match, we talked...2 much respect for him, crazy how its twisted.”

Hornets coach Byron Scott said he heard Paul say of Rondo, “He’s going to respect me as a man,” but didn’t hear what Rondo said to upset his all-star guard.

“Obviously,” Scott said, “Chris took exception to it.”

Knicks-Hornets: D'Antoni shuffles lineup again

Monday November 2, 2009 7:13 PM By Alan Hahn

The Knicks will have yet another change in their starting lineup for tonight's game against Chris Paul and the New Orleans Hornets. Mike D'Antoni before the game announced that Larry Hughes, who is coming off a strong 18-point performance in Saturday's overtime loss to the 76ers, will start at the shooting guard position and Jared Jeffries will move to the bench.

The change, which is the third in four games this season, will also allow D'Antoni to move Wilson Chandler out of the two-spot -- where he clearly isn't comfortable -- and put him back to where he was used most of last season: at the four.

The Knicks will start Chris Duhon, Hughes, Danilo Gallinari, Chandler and David Lee.

Hughes will get the defensive assignment against Chris Paul. And with Nate Robinson out with the ankle sprain, you can expect to see more of rookie Toney Douglas, who did not play in the home opener Saturday. It will be interesting to see Douglas go up against CP3, as well as fellow rookie Darren Collison, the former UCLA guard.

Another matchup to watch is Peja Stojakovic against Danilo Gallinari.

Use the comments section to share your thoughts with fellow Fixers throughout the game and, as always, follow me on twitter (twitter.com/alanhahn) for in-game observations and random musings.

Enjoy the game.

Harrington fined $25K

Sunday November 1, 2009 7:31 PM By Alan Hahn

The NBA fined Al Harrington $25,000 for his criticism of the foul called against him in the final seconds of the double-overtime loss to the Bobcats in Charlotte on Friday night.

Harrington said the foul called on him when he blocked D.J. Augustin's drive was "a terrible call." The foul resulted in the game-winning free throws by Augustin with 2.5 seconds left in the second OT. Harrington's defense -- "I let him go right by me, he jumped back into me and I blocked it on the glass," he said -- probably wasn't as much of an issue with Stu Jackson as was what followed:

"I guess people was ready to go home."

The league regularly punishes coaches for criticizing the officials and less frequently they'll punish a player who takes it too far. Harrington's words weren't terribly harsh and mostly out of frustration. But saying anything that suggests that a referee made a premeditated call in the wake of the accusations in disgraced referee Tim Donaghy's unpublished book is likely to cause those in Olympic Tower to react quickly.