Tag: New York Knicks

Will Kristaps Porzingis play in the NBA Finals or is the Celtics star big man still injured?

Porzingis hasn’t played since April due to a calf injury.

Update: Kristaps Porzingis will be available off the bench for the Celtics in Game 1 of the NBA Finals, according to The Athletic’s Shams Charania.

 

Perhaps no player in the 2024 NBA Finals has had a more interesting road to get to where he is today than Boston Celtics big man Kristaps Porzingis.

Once the No. 4 overall pick in the 2015 NBA Draft, the Latvian-born center was named an All-Star in 2018 while on the New York Knicks. It seemed like the beginning of a promising career in New York, but after various injuries, it did not work out for him on the Knicks.

He has since bounced around to other teams, including the Dallas Mavericks, before eventually finding a home with the Celtics. If he he is at full health, he is one of the most important players in this series.

It is rare for someone his size to shoot as well as he can for Boston.

Porzingis, however, has not played since April 29 as he continues recovering from a calf injury that has kept him sidelined during the postseason. But he is expected to return for Game 1 of the NBA Finals against the Mavericks.

It is unclear, though, if he is 100 percent recovered from the lingering injury.

If he plays well, he is a “matchup nightmare” for Dallas and a potential X-factor for Boston. But if he struggles, the Celtics will have to rely on depth in their frontcourt.

Expect to see Porzingis give it a go as the series begins before the medical staff eventually decides if should continue with the rest of the NBA Finals or not. But given his road to get to where he is today, it’s not surprising that he’ll at least try.

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Jared McCain, Kyle Filipowski go to Eastern Conference playoff teams in new NBA mock draft

Jared McCain and Kyle Filipowski won’t be teammates next year, but if the new Yahoo Sports mock draft is true, they might meet in the playoffs.

Yahoo Sports NBA draft analyst Krysten Peek paired former Duke basketball stars [autotag]Jared McCain[/autotag] and [autotag]Kyle Filipowski[/autotag] with two Eastern Conference powerhouses in her latest mock draft on Tuesday.

Peek slotted McCain to the Philadelphia 76ers with the 16th pick before giving Filipowski to the New York Knicks at 24th overall.

Both teams made the playoffs this year, actually facing off in the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs. The 76ers, led by 2022-23 MVP Joel Embiid, fell to Jalen Brunson and the Knicks in six games.

Peek praised McCain for his 3-point prowess (41.4% 3-point shooter as a freshman last season), and the pairing with the 7-foot Embiid would create nightmarish floor-spacing problems for Sixers opponents.

Filipowski, the All-American 7-footer who averaged 2.8 assists and shot 34.8% from three last year, would help the Knicks replace center Isaiah Hartenstein, who hits free agency this offseason. Hartenstein may yet stick with the Knicks, but his defensive play and rebounding presence make him one of the top options on the market.

Zach LaVine floated among potential Knicks offseason targets

Could the New York Knicks take Zach LaVine off of the Chicago Bulls’ hands?

The Chicago Bulls want to move on from Zach LaVine. They are reportedly focused on finding a trade for him this summer, but what they get in return with depend on which teams actually want him. Andy Bailey of Bleacher Report recently floated LaVine as one of the New York Knicks’ potential offseason targets.

“Zach LaVine isn’t as good as Mitchell. He also comes with more questions about his health. But he’s probably a better fit for the Knicks for a few reasons,” Bailey wrote. “For one thing, his size (6’5″ with a 6’8” wingspan) makes him a more natural wing. And spending the last few seasons with DeMar DeRozan has helped LaVine acclimate to not being a No. 1 option.

“As a floor spacer and secondary creator playing off of Brunson and Randle, LaVine could dominate opponents’ second or third best perimeter defenders.”

LaVine’s shot creation could help take the load off Jalen Brunson, but his lack of defensive talent might hurt New York’s style of play.

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Would it make sense for the Nets to trade for Julius Randle?

Would it make sense for the Brooklyn Nets to trade for New York Knicks forward Julius Randle? Nets Wire breaks down this speculation.

The Brooklyn Nets have been one of the teams that could be dabbling in the trade market if they decide to speed up their rebuilding process. One of the players that has been a key part of Brooklyn’s trade speculation is Mikal Bridges and who he’s traded for could be from a rival team.

There have been some people within the NBA space that have suggested that the Nets should trade for New York Knicks forward Julius Randle in exchange for Bridges. This speculation is less evident at the time of this writing than it was just less than 24 hours ago with Fred Katz of The Athletic reporting that the Knicks are “not trying to” trade Randle.

While the Knicks would love to acquire Bridges, as one every other team in the NBA, the important part to remember about this trade speculation is what each other would be able to offer. Presumably, the Knicks would be offering Randle along with some draft picks to bring Bridges to New York and the Knicks have a solid amount of draft capital to offer as well.

In a recent mock trade by Greg Swartz of Bleacher Report, the Knicks would be getting Bridges and the Nets would be getting Randle, 2024 first-round pick (via Dallas Mavericks), 2025 first-round pick (unprotected), 2025 second-round pick (via Brooklyn Nets), 2027 second-round pick.

With the news of the Knicks not looking to trade Randle, this trade speculation could be all for nothing unless New York has a change of heart in Randle being the second-best player for a Knicks franchise looking to make it past the second round of the playoffs next season.

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Pixar shared the perfect movie scene to playfully roast the Knicks for losing in the NBA playoffs

Even Pixar is roasting the Knicks for losing in the NBA playoffs.

After the New York Knicks lost a heartbreaking Game 7 to the Indiana Pacers in the NBA playoffs on Sunday, Pixar brought back up a joke from its 2020 animated film Soul.

The joke involved the generational misfortunes of the Knicks franchise, which stems in the movie Soul from some meddling in the soul realm.

A Twitter (X) user brought up the joke as having “aged like fine wine,” with the animation house sharing in response, “We apologize to the Knicks for 22’s behavior last night.”

That’s actually pretty funny, unless you’re a Knicks fan. If you cheer for New York, you might decide to ignore Pixar movies for a while and watch something from DreamWorks Animation instead.

Shrek doesn’t make fun of the Knicks, after all.

 

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Draymond Green is wrong: The Knicks are hardly a fluke after a magical season

You’re wrong, Dray. The future is bright in New York.

Let me start off with the disclaimer: I am a lifelong, diehard, bleed-orange-and-blue New York Knicks fan.

So, sure, I’m biased. No doubt about it.

But I like to think I know hoops. And what I know is this: Draymond Green’s take that the Knicks are the new 2020-21 Atlanta Hawks or 2018-19 Portland Trail Blazers is pretty wrong.

The Knicks lost to a feisty, young, deep Indiana Pacers team not because the team was flawed, but because the injury bug bit hard. OG Anunoby got hurt. Jalen Brunson wasn’t 100 percent. Josh Hart got hurt in Game 6. Bojan Bogdanovic and Mitchell Robinson both had season-ending injuries. We can’t forget about Julius Randle’s devastating season-ender, either.

And this rugged, tough team — the one that reminded us all of the mid-1990s squad that went to the NBA Finals — somehow went seven games with the Pacers despite basically playing a seven-man rotation.

Besides healing up, there’s a lot to love about the offseason (with the caveat that there are many ways to screw this up). The Knicks have a plethora of first-rounders to offer in a trade. Should they choose to go over the tax apron to re-sign Anunoby (they should) and breakout stud Isaiah Hartenstein (they should, although some team might throw more than the Knicks can offer at him), the franchise presumably can.

Should they go after a disgruntled star this offseason should one be available? I say no. The dream for so many of us is to bring in another Villanova star in Mikal Bridges, a perfect fit on a team in need of some more scoring and defense from the wing even if Anunoby stays.

Yes, I’m aware this could all go badly if the front office takes a wrong turn. The thing Green is right about is the Hawks and Blazers never figured it out after their respective runs. But maybe the Knicks have learned from those teams that sometimes the best moves are made by painting in the corners, not blowing up the core.

 

That’s why, when I was walking in my Manhattan neighborhood on Sunday after the Game 7 loss, I saw fans in Knicks jerseys everywhere with their heads held high. Maybe they were imaging a world in which injury luck went the other way, or like me, they were calculating what’s next in the offseason.

Because the future is extremely bright. Finally.

Former Warrior Donte DiVincenzo eliminated from playoffs in Knicks’ loss vs. Pacers in Game 7

Donte DiVincenzo led the Knicks with a 39 point effort in Game 7 against the Pacers on Sunday.

In the second game of Sunday’s pair of Game 7s in the NBA, a former member of the Golden State Warriors was on the floor with a chance to punch a ticket to the Eastern Conference finals.

After the Indiana Pacers blasted the New York Knicks in Game 6 to force a Game 7, the series shifted back to Madison Square Garden for a win-or-go-home contest on Sunday.

With multiple players dealing with injuries, including All-Star guard Jalen Brunson, Donte DiVincenzo took over for the Knicks. The former Villanova standout notched a game-high 39 points on 11-of-21 shooting from the floor with a  red-hot nine-made 3-pointers. DiVincenzo added four rebounds, two steals and an assist in 41 minutes against the Pacers.

Despite DiVincenzo’s explosive performance, the short-handed Knicks couldn’t keep pace with the Pacers on Sunday in Game 7. All five members of Indiana’s starting lineup tallied 17 or more points. Tyrese Haliburton led the way with 26 points on 10-of-17 shooting in Game 7.

Behind Haliburton, Pascal Siakam and Andrew Nembard, the Pacers secured a spot in the Eastern Conference finals with a 130-109 win over the Knicks on Sunday. The Pacers will meet the No. 1 seed Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference finals.

DiVincenzo exploded in the postseason, scoring in double figures seven times, including two games with over 30 points. In his first regular-season with the Knicks, DiVincenzo averaged 15.5 points on 44.3% shooting from the field to go along with 4.7 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game.

This post originally appeared on Warriors Wire! Follow us on Facebook and X! 

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Reggie Miller got the last laugh on the Knicks after Game 7 with ice-cold Instagram taunt

The Reggie Miller/Knicks beef is the absolute best.

It’s safe to say Reggie Miller came away with the win in this beef war with the New York Knicks.

Miller and the Knicks have had a long-standing rivalry dating back to the 1990s NBA playoffs and while New York fans made their presence known with some NSFW chants earlier in the second round, the current TNT announcer has certainly gotten the last laugh now. On Sunday, the Knicks fell to the Indiana Pacers 130-109, missing out on the Conference Finals in a tough Game 7 loss. After the game, Miller took to Instagram to throw one final dig the Knicks way, referencing his moment with Josh Hart earlier in the series.

“When the series changed!!,” Miller said, alongside the famous picture of him and Hart from earlier in the series. “Jalen Brunson you are a true BALLER, been the best player in these playoffs, but you and your boys can all heal up together on some beautiful beaches in Cancun, please enjoy!!”

That’s certainly one way to keep the rivalry going into next season!

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Jalen Brunson had a 1-word answer to sum up his feelings on the Knicks losing Game 7

Oof, poor Jalen Brunson.

It’s probably really hard to feel this way after losing a Game 7 at home, but this season legitimately was successful for the New York Knicks. They had their best regular-season record in a decade-plus. Perhaps more importantly, they were on the verge of an appearance in the Eastern Conference Finals despite a rash of injuries to several key players up and down the roster.

Jalen Brunson was one of those hurt players. He suffered a fractured hand during the Knicks’ 130-109 Game 7 defeat to the Indiana Pacers on Sunday. When asked if he thought the Knicks’ season was a success, given all the adversity they overcame, Brunson kept it simple.

He was (understandably) NOT happy:

Brunson would clarify his thoughts, centering them around the Knicks’ failure to win a championship. Again, I get it:

Unless you win the last game of the year, it’ll always be hard to reflect on a sports season as a success. But I have a feeling Brunson will eventually feel differently about this year for the Knicks. And he should.

Knicks offseason primer: Plenty still to come

The 2024 New York Knicks recorded the team’s first 50-win season since 2012-13, led by the excellence of Jalen Brunson, the best player in the franchise’s history going back even further than that. They made the playoffs for the third time in four …

The 2024 New York Knicks recorded the team’s first 50-win season since 2012-13, led by the excellence of Jalen Brunson, the best player in the franchise’s history going back even further than that. They made the playoffs for the third time in four seasons and made the conference semifinals for the second consecutive year. All of which is to say that, despite a loss in Game 7 of that series to the Indiana Pacers that ended their season, there is still plenty to come from this incarnation of the Knicks.

It is entirely fair to think that New York would have won that series had they not had to manage without their two-time All-Star big Julius Randle and their big mid-season pickup OG Anunoby. Consequently, if the Knicks do nothing this offseason except run it back and get healthy, it follows logically that next year’s team will be better. They will, though, obviously be hoping to do more than that, and the mid-season trade with the Toronto Raptors for Anunoby was a statement of intent that they feel they are ready to join the teams at the top of the league.

As for how much they can do to achieve that goal, their summer business will be largely shaped by what they do with important free agents, and what they have to spend on outsiders. With this in mind, here follows a look at the New York Knicks’ roster and spending heading into the 2024 NBA offseason.