Quick Hits: What Carmelo has in common with Ewing

Carmelo Anthony became just the second Knick to score at least 37 points on opening day since the 1985-86 season. He joins Patrick Ewing, who scored 38 against the Charlotte Hornets in 1990. The Knicks won that first game in 1990 too, though they were ultimately swept in the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs by the Chicago Bulls.

Measuring Morrow

The Islanders inducted defenseman Ken Morrow into their Hall of Fame on New Years Eve. Morrow played his entire career on Long Island, getting into 550 games over 10 seasons.

His best season may have been 1981-1982, when he had 19 points (18 assists) with a plus/minus of 53. The only other Islander to have a plus/minus of at least 53 in a season was Denis Potvin, who did so three times: 1977-78 (57), 1978-79 (71) and 1983-84 (55).

Powerful pen

Whether they have a good bullpen next year or not is up for debate, but the Mets will certainly have some hard-throwing late-inning relievers in 2012.

With the addition of Frank Francisco, the Mets now have two of 2011's top 11 pitchers in average fastball velocity. Francisco ranked 11th with a 94.1 average heater and holdover Bobby Parnell was second with a 97.0 mph fastball. The Mets' pen ranked seventh last year in average velocity (92.4). Overall, however, the Mets pitching staff was last in average fastball velocity, posting at just 89.9 mph.

Good job, R.A. Dickey.