Via Daily News:

Magic Speaks on Tyson Chandler:

"Tyson Chandler plays hard at both ends," Johnson said. "He can block shots and cause so many problems. That will really free up Carmelo (Anthony) and Amar'e (Stoudemire). Amar'e had to play the best opponent up front and sometimes the center and that's not his forte. But that is definitely Tyson Chandler's forte. Now Amar'e can conserve his energy." -Magic Johnson

 

"If Baron Davis is in shape ... the one thing the Knicks trainer and their medical staff have to do is get him in top shape and get him back to being the Baron Davis we saw with the Golden State Warriors," said Johnson, referring to the Davis of five seasons ago. "If he can return to 85-90 percent of that Baron Davis, that team can do something."-Magic Johnson

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The newest member of the Knicks, Baron Davis, discusses playing in New York and explains what he can bring to the team. Plus, Coach D'Antoni, Tyson Chandler and STAT express their excitement about acquiring the veteran point guard.

Props to MSG.com

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Via New York Post: The Knicks still want a backup forward and have the $1.4 million veteran’s minimum to dangle. They appear out of any chance of signing James Posey, but forward Al Thornton could be an option. Thornton, however, is mending from a knee injury and won’t be ready for four weeks."- New York Post

 

I think James Posey would be an excellent pick up. He can play tremendous defense and he can knock down the outside shot. When you talk about building a championship team every team would desire a player like Posey on it. The problem is the Celtics are also looking to sign Posey. It will be interesting to see if Posey signs with the Knicks or if he returns to his old ball club, the Celtics.

 

As far as Al Thornton, I have always loved his game. The problem is I do not know about signing another player that the Knicks would have to wait on to get healthy. Getting Baron Davis is one thing, waiting on two players to get healthy is a whole other story.

 

 

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AP NEW YORK, December 19, 2011 – New York Knickerbockers Senior Vice President, Basketball Operations and Interim General Manager Glen Grunwald announced today that the team has signed free agent guard Baron Davis. Per team policy, terms of the deal were not disclosed.

holds career averages of 16.5 points, 7.3 assists, 1.86 steals and 34.7 minutes in 806 games (677 starts) over 12 NBA seasons with the Hornets, Golden State, L.A. Clippers and Cleveland. The two-time NBA All-Star averaged 13.1 points, 6.7 assists and 1.34 steals over 28.4 minutes in 58 games (44 starts) with Los Angeles Clippers and Cleveland last season.           The Los Angeles, CA-native was originally selected by Charlotte Hornets in the first round (third overall) of 1999 NBA Draft. He appeared in 46 postseason games (42 starts) to average 19.8 points, 6.5 assists, 4.6 rebounds and 2.50 steals over 38.1 minutes.  -Knicks

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(Big C) It might be one game but I like what I saw from the Knicks’ new rookie Iman Shupert. We have seen his YouTube highlights and heard about his hard work at the Knicks training camp.  Fans and critics finally got a chance see him on the court. A lot of players only look good on highlights and never bring that performance to an actual NBA game. 

 

So far  Shumpert looks like he can  be a decent NBA player. Last night when Shumpert was put into the game he started off playing good help defense and man-to-man defense. He even got a steal from Deron Williams that lead to a fastbreak for an easy basketball.

 

On offense Iman Shumpert showed that he has a nice jumpshot in the midrange area as well as from the 3. What was more impressing was his calm demeanor and shot selection. In the game vs the Nets Shumpert took shots in rhythm coming off picks and isolating his man off the dribble.  Many rookie players either rush shots  or are trying  to do too much to impress the crowd.  So far that does not look like Iman’s thinking. Iman had a chance to throw the ball down and dunk the ball to showboat after he stole the ball from Deron Williams but he decided to lay it up for 2 points.

 

Fans already knew Shumpert was a defensive player based on how he played in college. However, in college Shumpert was labeled as a terrible shooter. In the NBA he will have a chance to prove doubters wrong. He will have opportunities to show he has enough range to not only shoot from 10 feet out but also from the 3 point range.

 

In college Shumpert would get double teamed and he would also have to shoot against opponents’ zone defenses and traps. Now that Shumpert is on the Knicks, alongside Amar’e Stoudemire and Carmelo Anthony, he will not be the focal point of the offense.  Shumpert is bound to get more chances to shoot because he will either be open for the shot or he will get one-on-one coverage by his defender.

 

As time goes on I would  like to see Shumpert develop in the following ways:

 

• be able to fight over picks
• improve on his dribble by keeping his dribble low and attack the basket instead of hesitating
• remain confident and keep up his aggression.

 

It’s  just one game, but so far it’s a good pickup by the Knicks.  We will see how this rookie improves as the season goes on.

 Iman Shumpert Highlights vs Nets

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 Follow Me on Twitter  Twitter.com/fromthebaseline

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"Baron Davis will officially sign with the Knicks Monday, according to NBA sources.
It is unclear if Davis will sign for the $1.4 million veteran’s minimum or the $2.5 million room exception. Davis became a free agent Friday night after clearing amnesty waivers and agreed to become a Knick over this weekend. The Knicks have reviewed medical reports regarding Davis’ back and are convinced he will be back on the court this season." -Marc Berman

 

If healthy you are talking about one of the best point guards in the league. Great move by the Knicks. Baron Davis, welcome to New York.

         

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Click to watch video

 

 

Click to watch highlights

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Via ESPN:

"The Knicks, sources say, prefer Baron Davis to Arenas and are trying to convince BD to sign with them in the next 48 hours.

But the most interesting scenario I've heard all weekend is the idea that both Davis and Arenas could wind up in New York. One source close to the situation, in fact, says that the two Angelenos have discussed this concept.

Would the Knicks dare bring them both in? Seems unlikely with Mike Bibby already in New York, but you can make the argument that -- given the bargain prices involved -- Davis plus Arenas is at worst an intriguing option in the Knicks' quest to develop a guard rotation on a par with the frontcourt power trio of Carmelo Anthony, Amare Stoudemire and Tyson Chandler. " -Marc Stein

I really doubt the Knicks would sign Gilbert Arenas. Arenas has made it known before that he would love to play in New York. However, I don't think the Knicks feel the same way. 

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(Big C) Finally, NBA basketball is back and Knicks fans got a taste of the new New York Knicks.   Even though this was just a  preseason game there are many things that looked good for the Knicks.  Despite players starting off the game looking rusty, the first thing I noticed was the Knicks’ defense.

 

If your biggest complaint about the Knicks last year was something about their interior defense, rest assured that will not be an issue this season. It looks like the Knicks have already shown that it will be difficult for opponents to get to the paint with Chandler in the middle.

 

Previous Knicks teams often lacked communication on the defensive end of the court. Against the Nets the Knicks were speaking to each other on the court with Tyson Chandler leading the charge.  The starting lineup for today’s game was Amar’e Stoudemire, Tyson Chandler, and Carmelo Anthony in the frontcourt and Toney Douglas and Landry Fields in the backcourt.

 

In the beginning of the game the Knicks started off slow.  That can be expected because in preseason games teams do not want to show their opponents what they really plan on executing during the regular season.  Even though the offense had a slow start, things picked up when Mike Bibby, Relondo Balkman, and Iman Shumpert came into the game.

 

Amar’e Stoudemire

 

Amar’e Stoudemire looked a little rusty. However, he did have a few nice plays. To be honest it looks like Amar’e is saving his energy for the real season.  The most impressive areas of Amar’e’s game tonight was his passing and rebounding. Amar’e was looking for the open cutter and he was going after the boards hard.  I’m sure he’ll crank up the offense when the season starts.  10 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists.

 

Mike Bibby

 

Bibby played a smooth and calm game when he was on the court. Bibby hit a nice foul line jumper and  hit a nice 3 point shot from a pass from Renaldo Balkman. If Douglas slips Bibby will be there to start.

 

Douglas

 

Douglas had a good game on the defensive end of the court. However, he has work to do trying to set up his teammates, mainly Tyson Chandler. As he gets to know his teammates better this will improve.

 

Tyson Chandler

 

Chandler had a good game from a defensive point of view. Players on the Nets were not dunking all over the place. Chandler was communicating well telling his teammates where they needed to be and to watch out for cuts. I like what I saw from Chandler. Chandler also caught a nice pass from Carmelo that led to a nice dunk.  However, I felt he was open the whole time he was on the court but he never received passes.  Chandler’s teammates have to do a better job of finding him. Hopefully that will improve as we go further into the season.

 

Carmelo Anthony

 

He started the game off looking rusty but finished strong. Carmelo got a few nice shots and a nice dunk off a pass. Besides Melo scoring at ease  against the Nets he also made great passes. One of his passes was to a cutting Renaldo  Balkman for an easy dunk. If players cut this season it is clear that Melo will give them the ball.  (17 points, and 3 assists)

 

 

Imam Shumpert

 

Shumpert played like this was the game of his life. It seems that nothing is going to phase this rookie in the NBA. Shumpert showed  his jumpshot from 3 point range and from midrange. He also showed that he has a knack for getting to the hoop. On the defensive end of the game he got a nice steal off Deron Williams that led to  an easy layup. If he keeps this up this will be a great year for the rookie.

 

Josh Harellson

 

Knicks new rookie Josh Harrellson made a big impression with fans shooting a deep 3 point shot right in the face of Brook Lopez. Harrellson also showed that he can also go up strong in the paint with the big boys. He made a  play going up strong to draw a foul.  This season if he gets real minutes expect him to be a guy that will mix it up in the paint and from the outside.  ( 7 points, 2 steals, and 3 rebounds.)

 

Renaldo Balkman

 

Renaldo Balkman was the star of the show with his new found jumpshot and his ability to cut to the hole. In today’s game Balkman had a relaxed demeanor and was scoring with layups.   He proved that a player does not have to dribble or force shots to score. Balkman played what I like to call “Smart Basketall”.  (20 points, 1 steal, 4 rebounds, 1 assist)

 

Landry Fields

Fields had a quiet game. However, he did get some good rebounds and 2 steals.  (7 points, 7 rebounds, 2 steals)

 

Overall, good preseason game. Who’s up next?

 

Follow me on Twitter  Twitter.com/FromtheBaseline

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