Nate's Putback vs Celtics

Bucks vs Knicks

Here are tonight's lineups and rotations thanks to TheKnicksBlog.com:

When: 7 P.M.
Where: MSG
Watch: MSG
Starting Lineups:
Bucks(11-16)
PG: Luke Ridnour
SG- Michael Redd
SF- Richard Jefferson
PF-Luc Richard Mbah a Moute
C- Andrew Bogut
Rest of rotation: Ramon Sessions, Charlie Villenueva, Charlie Bell, Dan Gadzuric

Knicks (11-14)
PG: Chris Duhon
SG: Quentin Richardson
SF: Wilson Chandler
PF: Al Harrington
C: David Lee

Rest of Rotation: Nate Robinson, Tim Thomas, Malik Rose

Injuries:
Bucks: N/A

Knicks: OUT: Eddy Curry (conditioning/fatness) Danilo Gallinari (back) Jared Jefferies (leg 1 week)

Knicks vs Lakers

Thanks to TheKnicksBlog.com for tonight's lineups and rotations:

When: 10:30 P.M.
Where: Staples Center
Watch: MSG
Starting Lineups:

Lakers (20-3)
PG: Derek Fisher (10.2 PPG, 47% 3PT, 95 % FT)
SG- Kobe Bryant (24.9 PPG, 46 % FG, 4.3 APG)
SF- Luke Walton (2.3 PPG, 38 % FG)
PF- Pau Gasol (18.0 PPG, 9.4 RPG, 56 % FG)
C- Andrew Bynum (13.1 PPG, 9.0 RPG, 2.0 BPG)

Rest of rotation: Trevor Ariza, Jordan Farmar, Lamar Odom, Sasha Vujacic

Knicks (11-13)
PG: Chris Duhon (11.8 PPG, 8.5 APG, 88% FT)
SG: Quentin Richardson (11.9 PPG, 5.5 RPG, 33 % 3PT)
SF: Wilson Chandler (14.6 PPG, 5.9 RPG, 44% FG)
PF: Al Harrington (21.3 PPG, 7.1 RPG, 40% 3PT)
C: David Lee (14.2 PPG, 10.5 RPG, 57% FG)

Rest of Rotation: Jared Jeffries, Nate Robinson, Malik Rose, Tim Thomas

Injuries:
Lakers: PROBABLE: Sasha Vujacic (hand)

Knicks: QUESTIONABLE: Jared Jeffries (leg); OUT: Eddy Curry (conditioning/fatness), Danilo Gallinari (back)

Al Harrington Wins Player of The week

Congrats to the first Knick in a while to win Eastern Conference Player of the week. This past week he average over 30 points a game and has averaged over 25 points in his 11 games as a Knick. At this rate, the Knicks may also have their first all star since 2000 also.

"Feels like this was sent from God," Harrington said of the Nov. 20th trade that appears to have resurrected his career. "I couldn't have scripted it any better than this and I just want to take full advantage of it." Harrington knew it would work from the first conversation with his new coach.

"He kept it simple," Harrington recalled. "When he first called, I was in L.A. in a hotel, and he told me he was excited to have me and that he just feels I have a lot of skills that he's going to be able to utilize.

"He left it just like that. No promises or expectations as far as doing this, that or the other, but he just knew with my skills and versatility that I'll be able to do a lot of things on the basketball court. He's allowing me to do it. He's given me that freedom to allow my game to blossom."

NBA.com for the Full Story

Knicks vs Suns

Thanks to The Knicks Blog, here are tonight's line ups and rotations:

When: 9:00 P.M.
Where: USAir Arena
Watch: MSG

Starting Lineups:

Suns (14-10)
PG: Steve Nash (15.2 PPG, 49% FG, 8.4 APG)
SG- Jason Richardson (18.9 PPG, 4.1 RPG, 2.6 APG)
SF- Grant Hill (9.3 PPG, 4.6 RPG, 48 % FG)
PF- Amare Stoudemire (22.3 PPG, 8.6 RPG, 56 % FG)
C- Shaquille O’Neal (15.4 PPG, 8.4 RPG, 57% FT)

Rest of rotation: Leandro Barbosa, Matt Barnes, Jared Dudley, Robin Lopez

Knicks (11-12)
PG: Chris Duhon (12.0 PPG, 8.4 APG, 88% FT)
SG: Nate Robinson (14.1 PPG, 4.1 RPG, 4.1 APG)
SF: Wilson Chandler (14.6 PPG, 5.9 RPG, 44% FG)
PF: Al Harrington (21.1 PPG, 7.1 RPG, 40% 3PT)
C: David Lee (14.1 PPG, 10.4 RPG, 56% FG)

Rest of Rotation: Jared Jeffries, Quentin Richardson, Tim Thomas

Injuries:
Suns: OUT: Alando Tucker (knee)

Knicks: OUT: Eddy Curry (conditioning/fatness) Danilo Gallinari (back)

Mike D'Antoni Leads Knicks into the Desert for a Mirror Match

This is a match up i've been waiting for since the Knicks hired Mike D'Antoni. While it is still unfair to compare the Knicks to the established yet 'crumbling by the minute' Phoenix Suns, tonight should be very interesting. Everyone in Phoenix with the exception of two front office people Robert Sarver and General Manager Steve Kerr loves and adores Mike D'Antoni. Especially, Steve Nash. Instead, the two gentlemen that I previously named have decided to treat the Coach like his name was Isiah Thomas and rid the team and it's city of all of D'Antoni's pieces. Just last week, the Suns traded two of D'Antoni's favorite players, Raja Bell and Boris Diaw much to the dismay of Steve Nash.

Marc Berman reported:

If Knick fans would like to send a Christmas card to the Valley of the Sun, address it to Sun owner Robert Sarver, whose lack of appreciation for D'Antoni led to a bitter divorce and D'Antoni's Knick hiring.

In one season, D'Antoni's Knicks have gone from disgrace to dangerous. They enter tonight's showdown versus coach Terry Porter's Suns riding a 3-1 stretch.

With a respectable 11-12 record, the Knicks are tied with Chicago for the last playoff spot at No. 8.

If the Knicks do win tonight, D'Antoni will have delivered the Suns and Steve Nash one of the most humiliating defeats in franchise history, before a fan base still smarting that Sarver allowed their beloved coach to take his run-in-the-sun style from the desert to Broadway.

The Suns have become nondescript, at 14-10. If the season ended today, Phoenix would be out of the playoffs. It's even cold here, 50 degrees and cloudy.

In Friday's Peter Vecsey column in The Post, D'Antoni bemoaned that Sarver didn't appreciate D'Antoni's accomplishment of averaging 58 wins in his four full seasons.

On Phoenix's KTAR radio, Sarver fired back, saying his remarks "hurt," and adding with a dig, "I don't know if he's just frustrated because he's on a team that's not winning."

Considering the Knicks' roster shuffle and injuries, D'Antoni has done well in getting the Knicks one game from .500.

In four years, D'Antoni made the Western Finals twice. Last season, his Suns were bounced in the first round by San Antonio, resulting in his war with Sarver and GM Steve Kerr.

The Spurs ousted the Suns in three of D'Antoni's four seasons.

"There was a lot of frustration over losing to San Antonio again, it builds up," D'Antoni said. "Maybe I didn't handle it right. Maybe I should've stepped back and let it settle down."

In Friday's Post, D'Antoni said it really burned him that he posted four sterling years, yet the Suns' attitude "was like we didn't win a championship, we didn't win nothing."

D'Antoni said yesterday he "regrets" expressing those sentiments so bluntly.

"I probably should've been quiet," he said.

D'Antoni likely will get a big ovation from the Phoenix crowd, which has complained the club has grown dull under Porter.

Nash, who lives in Manhattan in the offseason, hasn't sounded happy for a while, leading to speculation he'll sign with the Knicks as a 2010 free agent.

"As soon as I can detach myself from here emotionally, which will be soon, then I'll watch them like anybody else," D'Antoni said. "But right now, it's pretty tough.

"I just thought it just got to a point that I didn't think it was fair to the players, myself or the fans that this is not going to end well," D'Antoni said.

"It didn't end great, but it didn't end in the middle of the season, as it could've."

NYPost.com/MarcBerman

Next Year: Nash's Knicks?

It would be complicated as well as somewhat of a miracle but it is possible. An unhappy Steve Nash could wind up in a Knicks uniform before the 2010 free agent frenzy according to Mitch Lawrence from the Daily News.

His all-time favorite coach, Mike D'Antoni, is in New York. His best friend, Raja Bell, was just banished to Charlotte.

These definitely aren't fun times for Steve Nash in Phoenix.

But who says they're going to continue next season?

Nash could be leaving the Suns after this season, if the team decides it wants to continue to move away from D'Antoni's style, and comes up with a sensible solution to replacing one of the greatest players in franchise history.

Nash, who faces the Knicks Monday when D'Antoni makes his return to Phoenix, has a final year remaining on his deal after this season. But according to the terms of his contract, if the Suns waive him by June 30, 2009, a little more than half of his $13.5 million for next season is guaranteed, and he would become unrestricted on July 1.

The possibility of Nash leaving Phoenix early resulted from a compromise during his signing with the Suns in 2004. Nash wanted a six-year deal when he left Dallas. But after Mavs owner Mark Cuban raised concerns about Nash's ability to stay healthy, the Suns took that as a red flag and decided they didn't want to go past five years. They settled on the team option, with just under $7 million guaranteed if Nash were to be waived.

So Nash, no longer an MVP-caliber player but certainly still among the league's top point guards as he approaches his 35th birthday in February, could be on the move in a matter of seven months.

In that scenario, New York looks like the logical destination because of his close relationship with D'Antoni. But the Knicks don't get their cap relief until the following summer, in 2010. But who's to say that Nash, who already has a Manhattan residence he uses in the offseason, wouldn't agree to take less at the outset, with the understanding he'd be taken care of later?

Nash was too upset to talk to Phoenix reporters about his future after Bell and Boris Diaw were sent to Charlotte on Wednesday for Jason Richardson. But clearly, he misses playing for D'Antoni.

Under Steve Kerr's direction and Terry Porter's coaching, the Suns are going with a more conventional halfcourt system that doesn't play to Nash's strengths. That, of course, doesn't mean they'll exercise the option at season's end and let him walk. Before doing that, they'd need to have a viable replacement.

"The way things are going in Phoenix now, it's unlikely that Steve would sign an extension," a person close to Nash said the other day. "They won't trade him because they would just get killed by their fans. But it will be interesting to see whether he'll be under contract for next season."

DailyNews.com

Linas Kleiza For David Lee...No Thanks Denver

In a recent report, Alan Hahn said that the Nuggets are trying to cut a deal with the Knicks swapping David Lee for Linas Kleiza.

In an attempt to land David Lee and offered forward Linas Kleiza, whom the team tried acquiring last season.

Walsh refused.

Thanks but no thanks on that one.

Hahn also notes that the Lakers may be interested in Sasha Vujacic who is available.

TheKnicksBlog.com

Mobley to Retire

Shooting Guard 'Cat' Cuttino Mobley will announce his retirement today according to the NyPost. He did not play a single game for the Knicks and was involved in the seemingly infamous trade that will bring the Knicks under the salary cap for the 2010 free agency frenzy. The Knicks will apply for Mobley's remaining $9M to come off the salary cap for next season die to the fact he had a career ending health issue.

Here is more from TheKnicksBlog.com

The Knicks will hold a press conference this afternoon at 12:30 for newly acquired shooting guard Cuttino Mobley to announce his retirement due to a heart condition.

Sometimes we get caught up in treating professional athletes as non-humans, but this heart condition known as hypertrophic cardiomyopathy is the same condition that affected Hank Gathers and Reggie Lewis. It was reported by the New York Post that Mobley’s four previous teams all knew of the condition and made him sign a waiver to play.

Mobley, a 2nd-round pick of the Houston Rockets in the 1998 NBA Draft averaged 16 points per game over an 11-year career in which he played for Houston, Orlando, Sacramento, and the L.A. Clippers.

Chandler's Consistency Will Come With Improved Shot Selection

Wilson Chandler will be 22 in May of next year, but he is growing fast. The Knicks' starting SF is getting more minutes than he is used to and at times looks inexperienced as he should.

"This is pretty much his rookie year in terms of getting minutes,"

An inconsistent shot selection is what keeps him from being the prolific scorer he should be. through 21 games he is shooting 43% and scoring just under 15 per game. With the type of athleticism that Chandler is blessed with the fact that he takes 1.9 free throws per game is...(my favorite word)...pathetic. 6 foot 8 inches, 220 pounds and great leaping ability should enable him to at least take 5-7 free throws per game. While he shoots at a clip just under 80%, one would have to imagine this would get him up to the 17-19 points per game range.

Chandler said. "Last year I didn't play much and now I'm playing a lot. We have a new coach and new president and I'm learning. I've been a little inconsistent."

Wilson still has time, as i mentioned he is still only 21 years old. Something that worries me about him is his knee. He wears a brace and sometimes runs gingerly on it, this could also be what has hindered his aggressiveness going to the basket.

More Moves By Walsh and the Knicks Possible

In search for back court help the Knicks may wheel and deal some more before the end of this month. Some rumors are flying around about acquiring point guard help. According to Marc Berman of the NyPost:

Donnie Walsh is going to explore trade options for a backup guard using the two trade options that he received from the Renaldo Balkman and Mardy Collins deals. Berman claims that the exception figures to be in the $1 million range, or in the minimum wage vicinity. Essentially we are talking about a player who is buried on another team’s bench that another team would be willing to give up for cap flexibility.

Truthfully, I am unsure on exactly how the trade exceptions work, especially considering that I do not know the full amount of the exception. But that said, I looked around the league to find guards in the $1 million dollar range that are not finding minutes with current teams. The best I could come up with are Marcus Williams (Golden State), Morris Almond (Utah), Shannon Brown (Charlotte), and Javaris Crittendon (Memphis). Obviously I would like to have Crittendon the most, as he has the length to play the 2 but is a pure point. I highly doubt that Memphis deals him for roster/ cap flexibility. Marcus Williams, if the numbers work out, would be a good fit. Williams is a point guard who I still believe has good talent and could thrive under D’Antoni. For the trade exception, why not give him a whirl? If Walsh decides that none of these options work, Smush Parker is hanging around in the D-League. While not an ideal point guard, he does have legit NBA starting experience. He also appears to be playing well in the D League so far this year. Just a thought.

Blazers vs Knicks

Blazers, 12-6, haven't lost at home (7-0) but tonight they hit Broadway and take on the Knicks who are 8-8 overall. Portland's size will definitely be a challenge for the undersized Knicks, it should be interesting to see how they respond after a blistering performance on Saturday against the Warriors where they scored 138, 82 in the first half.

Thanks to TheKnicksBlog.com, here are tonight lineups:

When: 7:30 P.M.

Where:MSG

Watch: MSG

Starting Lineups:

Blazers (12-6, 5-6 on the road)

PG- Steve Blake (11 ppg, 4 assists)

SG- Brandon Roy (20.9 ppg, 5 assists, 46% FGs)

SF- Nicolas Batum (6.4 ppg, 2.8 rebounds)

PF- LeMarcus Aldridge (15.8 ppg, 6.7 rpg, 1.17 blocks)

C- Greg Oden (12 games 8.1 ppg, 7.7 rpg, 1.67 blocks, 53% FG )

Rest of rotation: Rudy Fernandez, Travis Outlaw, Joel Przybilla, Sergio Rodriguez

Knicks (8-8)

PG: Chris Duhon

SG: Quentin Richardson

SF: Wilson Chandler

PF: Al Harrington

C: David Lee

Rest of Rotation: Anthony Roberson, Malik Rose, Tim Thomas

Injuries:

Blazers: None

Knicks: OUT: Eddy Curry (conditioning); Danilo Gallinari (back); Jared Jeffries (leg); Cuttino Mobley (heart condition) QUEST: Nate Robinson (groin)

Marbury Shows Up Late to Meeting With Walsh; Nothing Accomplished

The Post reported that Stephon Marbury showed up 25 minutes late to his Monday meeting with Donnie Walsh and was leaving 20 minutes after he arrived.

Marc Berman from the NY Post reported:

Marbury and Walsh failed to come close to reaching an accord during yesterday's powwow at the Knicks' practice facility in Greenburgh, even taking a step back. The meeting also was attended by Players Association attorney Hal Biagas.

Marbury had a standing offer that he was willing to forego $1 million of his remaining wage. However, Marbury changed his stance after Walsh wanted him to take roughly $3 million less.

When asked about the $1 million offer, Marbury told The Post last night: "It's off the table."

The Post has learned the Players Association is looking into whether Walsh's ban of Marbury is appropriate under the Collective Bargaining Agreement. The order may need Marbury's consent, even though Marbury is still being paid. The Players Association may dispute Walsh's directive by filing a motion.

"After meeting with Stephon and his representative this afternoon, we have directed Stephon not to participate in practice or attend games until further notice," Walsh said in a statement. "We want to continue to meet with him to discuss a long-term resolution."

The Knicks desperately need Marbury's roster spot to sign a guard because they traded Jamal Crawford and Mardy Collins, Cuttino Mobley is out indefinitely, Nate Robinson is out with a groin strain and Chris Duhon is struggling with back spasms.

Crawford Still Doin' It

Even though he is no longer a Knick, I will continue to show love to one of my favorite players to watch in the league, Look what he did to Ray Allen: