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Philippines, 18 May 2024 |
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NBA -- Gotham City may be a hoops mecca again By Julius Romero PhilBoxing.com Sun, 29 Sep 2013  NEW YORK -- - As tomorrow's training camp looms at their practice facility in the small town of Greenburgh in Westchester County, this city's staple NBA franchise -- the New York Knicks -- hopes to recapture that old hoops pride and fervor with new faces and infused energy. Riding on the crest of last season's drought-ending playoffs wins, the Knicks brought back excitement in the Big Apple. It's the kind of rush that hearkens back to the days of Bob Cousy, Lew Alcindor, Red Holzman, Patrick Ewing, Stephon Marbury, Jamaal Mashburn, Mark Jackson, Kenny Smith as well as other legendary names who have made New York earn the monicker as basketball's Mecca. After the Ewing-led Knicks lost to the Spurs in the 1999 NBA Finals, the Knicks haven't come close to the Larry O'Brien trophy. Their glory years were championships in 1970 and 1973 when premier players such as Walt Frazier, Bill Bradley and Earl "The Pearl" Monroe led the Knicks alongside famous teammates that included Phil Jackson and Pat Riley. The Knickerbockers staged a comeback last season and captured the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. They chalked a decade-best 54 wins while Carmelo Anthony won the scoring title with a 28.7 points per game average. Armed with a mix of young and old talent to support Anthony, the Knicks flourished. J.R. Smith was named Sixth Man of the Year, Tyson Chandler former Defensive Player of the Year handled the paint with aplomb, point guard Raymond Felton showed flashes of brilliance at the point guard slot, Pablo Prigioni was terrific off the bench while Amare' Stoudemire's knees held up enough to make decent contributions here and there. Also in factor in last season's success was the leadership of Jason Kidd, who finished his stellar 19-year NBA career with the Knicks. Kidd has since retired and subsequently named head coach of the Knicks' cross-town rivals, the Brooklyn Nets. The last postseason saw the Knicks ranked No.2 behind the Heat in the East, giving New York through two exciting rounds against the vanquished Boston Celtics (4-2) and the Indiana Pacers, who eliminated the Knicks in six games. This season is going to be one of renewed energy and expectations. The hope is to breed a new star or stars, such as Linsanity, who took the city by storm with a winning surge. But that is unlikely. The expectation this year will be from the resulting transformation and rebuilding through Coach Woodson, his staff and the Knicks front office during the past year and a half, after taking over from coach Mike D?Antoni late into the 2011-2012 season. The Knicks will be coming in with possible solutions to almost every opposing NBA team equation this year: Beefed up Front Court After getting a beat down from the Pacers? front court in the post-season, the Knicks have acquired a crew of bruisers led by the never-dull, local New Yorker Metta World Peace (6?7?, 270 lbs), who can also be a prolific low-post scorer, but more importantly as a monster defender and rebounder. Towering versatile center Andrea Bargnani (7?0?, 256 lbs), veteran Kenyon Martin (6?9?, 240 lbs) and lean starter Tyson Chandler (7?1?, 240 lbs) comprise a more complete battle-ready front court. Explosive Back Court This team?s back court has been fortified this summer since the retirement of one of NBA?s most talented point-guards and future Hall of Famer, Jason Kidd. Raymond Felton will be given most of the reins and will direct and set plays alongside a deeper more versatile back court lineup with Pablo Prigioni, Iman Shumpert, J.R. Smith, his younger brother, rookie Chris Smith, and another familiar-sounding name, rookie Tim Hardaway, Jr.. Both rookies can hold their own court, and are well-known scoring threats as they led their NCAA Division I teams (Smith for Louisville with a career 40% FG avg, and a 35% 3-pt avg; and Hardaway Jr with a career 42% FG avg, and a 32% 3-pt avg for Michigan) to the Big Dance this year. A cast of experienced, very talented NBA stars with still very reliable legs will form the core of this year?s Knicks: Olympians Carmelo Anthony, Tyson Chandler and Pablo Prigioni, veteran player Kenyon Martin, whose experience proved pivotal in beating the seasoned Celtics in the first round of the playoffs this year, Metta World Peace and Amar?e Stoudemire, all have winning experiences in the world stage of basketball. They will bring basketball intelligence, motivation and classic skills into this team. JR Smith, Iman Shumpert, Raymond Felton and Andrea Bargnani will bring consistent energy and plays for the team. Coach Mike Woodson will be retaining his coaching staff and will report to a new GM , Steve Mills, who replaced Ernie Grunfeld this year. Ahead of training camp and the regular season, all the right ingredients for an explosive, exciting New York basketball are in. While it is too early to discuss playoffs, this regular season will unequivocally bring in immediate star power from a deeper, more explosive, more talented starting lineup and bench. Jason Kidd?s Brooklyn Nets will be lurking not too far behind at the Barclays Center to create a second plot to this drama with a team comprised of familiar faces from Beantown. But that?s another story in the making?meanwhile, the Knickerbockers are coming in to fire up Gotham City this year. The Garden will be loud. This team may lead their fans and this city back to being a basketball Mecca again... Is a world title next? Stay tuned. (JR) Click here to view a list of other articles written by Julius Romero.  |
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