5 minute read
Sports
The Knicks continue to tumble as COVID adds to their troubles
By JAIME C. HARRIS AmNews Sports Editor
On a night at Madison Square Garden when the basketball world celebrated Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry setting the NBA’s new all-time 3-pointers made mark, it was a somber occasion for the Knicks. The 105-96 defeat on Tuesday night was the Knicks’ fourth in a row and seventh in their last eight, dropping them to 12-16, 5-10 at home and in the 12th spot in the 15team Eastern Conference.
Right now they are a shell of the team that went 41-31 last season and were the No. 4 seed in the conference. Weakened as many teams across the league have been by players being placed in COVID-19 health and safety protocols, the Knicks were without guard RJ Barrett, forward Obi Toppin and rookie guard Quentin Grimes, who scored a career- and teamhigh 27 points on Sunday at MSG in his first regular season start in a 112-97 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks.
The Knicks ended their loss to Golden State with NBA rankings of 25th in points per game (105.5), 16th in opponents points per game (107.3) and a telling 28th out of league’s 30 teams in assists per game (21.4). Their last victory (121-109) came 10 days ago in San Antonio versus the Spurs and they are back in Texas tonight to face the Houston Rockets.
Rotation changes and schematic alterations by head coach Tom Thibodeau have yielded positive outcomes. A reasonable summation suggests the Knicks lack enough high impact players to reverse their current trajectory. The one glaring deficiency of the team that has been problematic for the better part of the past decade is a top-tier, two-way lead guard. The Knicks failed to successfully address the position this past off-season and it has manifested in the offense being stagnant and the defense left vulnerable at opponents’ point of attack.
Team president Leon Rose hoped to squeeze a good year out of Kemba Walker and signed the 31-year-old Bronx native to a two-year, $17.9 million deal in August. But Walker was removed from the starting lineup and rotation by Thibodeau due to minimal production at the end of November, and apparently will be anchored to the bench as long as he is a Knick.
If they have any intent on competing for a playoff spot, the Knicks’ decision makers, namely Rose, must strongly consider a trade to acquire a difference-
making point guard long before the Feb. (Bill Moore photo) 10, 2022 NBA trade deadline. The Sacramento Kings De’Aaron Fox is a player long-rumored to be a primary target of the Knicks. As for Curry’s historic night at the Garden, the irony was inescapable. The Knicks were set to draft the transformative point-guard with the eighth overall pick in 2009 but instead he was scooped up by the Warriors at No. 7. Twelve years into his career, the remarkable 33-year-old babyfaced basketball assassin has reshaped how the game is played. The three-time NBA champion and two-time league MVP has made the 3-point shot the most dangerous weapon in the game. Dropping five of 14 attempts against the Knicks on Tuesday, Curry broke the all-time record at 7:33 of the first quarter when he netted Knicks Forward Obi Toppin remained in the NBA’s COVID-19 health and safety protocols when his team lost by 105-96 to the Golden State Warriors at MSG on Tuesday a 28-footer. It was his 2,974th, surpassing Ray Allen who was in attendance. Reggie Miller, who held the record before Allen, was also in the building as part of the TNT broadcast team. “I had great support here,” said Curry during an interview with TNT after the game. “This arena, I can’t express how much of an honor that was for the reaction here on the road and the appreciation for this milestone…a very, very, very special night.”
The Nets stay on a winning track despite health and safety obstacles
By VINCENT DAVIS Special to the AmNews
With games versus the Dallas Mavericks, Houston Rockets, Atlanta Hawks, Detroit Pistons on the road from Dec. 7-12, taking three out of four, the only loss (114104) coming against the Rockets, the Nets returned to the Barclays Center this week for a five-game homestand.
It began Tuesday night with a 131-129 overtime win over the Toronto Raptors, improving their record to 20-8, the best in the Eastern Conference. The victory was the Nets’ third in a row and sixth in their previous eight games. It was an impressive example of the Nets overcoming adversity as they had seven players, including star guard James Harden, in health and safety protocols due to COVID-19. In addition to Harden, LaMarcus Aldridge, DeAndre’ Bembry, James Johnson, Jevon Carter, Bruce Brown and Paul Millsap were also unavailable.
But they had Kevin Durant, the league’s leading MVP candidate, who is dealing with right ankle soreness, to carry them as he has all season. Durant had 34 points, 13 rebounds and 11 assists versus the Raptors, this coming off a 51point performance against the Pistons in a 116-204 win on Sunday. Durant’s teammates stepped up to give him solid support in holding off the Raptors.
Guard Patty Mills had 30 points and rookie forward Kessler Edwards, a second round pick (No. 44 overall) out of Pepperdine by the Nets in last summer’s draft, contributed an important 17 points and 10 rebounds off the bench. Undrafted rookie rookie guard David Duke Jr.,
a product of Providence College, had 10 points and 13 rebounds in a starting role. “It was a team effort in everything we did tonight,” said Durant, who played 48 minutes. Put into a starting role due to the absences of the AMNEWS usual first unit players, center Nic Claxton added 16 points and for10/07/21 0 74470 22784 7 ward Blake Griffin 13. Kessler, who is on a two way contract, splitting his time between the Nets and the G-League, said head coach Steve Nash encouraged him to “trust yourself and have fun with it.” After taking on the Philadelphia 76ers tonight in Brooklyn, the Nets will host the Orlando Magic on Saturday, the Denver Nuggets on Sunday and the Washington Wizards next Tuesday before a Christmas Day matchup with the Los Angeles Lakers on the road.
01414
AMNEWS 10/07/21 AMNEWS
10/14/21 0 74470 22784 7
01424
AMNEWS 10/14/21 AMNEWS
10/21/21 0 74470 22784 7
AMNEWS 12/02/21 AMNEWS 12/09/21
AMNEWS Nets guard Patty Mills has been a mainstay of the 12/16/21 team’s rotation this season, having appeared in all 28 games heading into last night’s matchup in Brooklyn versus the Philadelphia 76ers (Bill Moore photo)
0 74470 22784 7 01494
AMNEWS 12/02/21
0 74470 22784 7 01504
