“No Finish In Us” [4-1] • W2: Half-Empty Energy Tanks

[kibaxx7]

Presentation great as all ways, and a good read.

Thanks man. Went through some of my previous stories and I always made long previews, so I went with a shorter read, to sum it up.

Why does it look that nice?

Damn you, anyway. Great team choice, love it. Hope you have a blast.

I always try different things with graphics. Thanks man, Amar'e and Melo make a killer combo.

GREAT GRAPHICS!!!

First games to be posted soon!

[Houndy]

Do you expect Iman to give you a scoring boost or a defensive?

[KidJustin]

trade Melo for Maggs...

its a no brainer!

[shadowgrin]

Went through some of my previous stories and I always made long previews, so I went with a shorter read, to sum it up.

NEW YORK -- Now that the new CBA has signatures from both sides, everybody's on board and we can watch basketball. Wrapping up last year's regular season at 42-40, the New York Knicks barely jumped past the Philadelphia 76ers to take the sixth seed in the Eastern Conference standings. In the draft, with the 17th overall pick, New York selected Georgia Tech's Iman Shumpert, the most likely to make a significant contribution during his rookie season -- apart from the lottery selections, of course. With the mismatcher of Carmelo Anthony on board right from the beginning of the season, will the Knicks be middle-of-the-pack again, or will they go up the rankings and cause a shift in the balance of power in the East?

To do that, and reach homecourt advantage in the first round of the postseason, the team will need interior defense and better rebounding -- the biggest weaknesses last season. To address that in the short term, the team drafted Kentucky's Josh Harrellson with the 45th overall pick, but that just tells they could use a little more help. Beginning with Anthony and Amar'e Stoudemire, the city's two marquee players, and continuing right on down the rest of the roster, this squad has a major need for chemistry. That -- the fans hope -- is just a matter of time, with the offseason kicking off next week. But as any team with weaknesses, they have their strengths: their offense was one of the NBA's best last term and should only get more efficient with time to come together. While the frontcourt defense is having a tough work to accomplish, the addition of Shumpert to the backcourt is excellent. Along with Toney Douglas and Landry Fields, they have the potential to really get under their opponents.

With coach Mike D'Antoni leading the pack, this team is on the rise, and this season they look to confirm that the previous one was no fluke. The organization hasn’t vaulted to a status granting the franchise an invite to the Eastern Conference’s upper echelon, but they’re close to ringing the doorbell. They’ve got a solid foundation to build upon, one that repeatedly puts them in playoff contention. As long as Anthony, Stoudemire and Chauncey Billups keep themselves off the Inactive List and role players like Fields, Douglas and Renaldo Balkman (coming from a gold medal with Puerto Rico in the Pan American Games) post regular contributions, New York will be in contention in the East.

Back to the business side, there's negotations going on with the organization's vacant general manager spot. Interim GM Glen Grenwald was relieved of his duties today, for what the team called a “chemistry” issue between Grenwald, team owner James Dolan, and Dolan's associate, French billionaire Thierry Tirieux. “This move admits and recognizes that things haven't worked out lately,” said Dolan. “We're going to go out and find the executive who is the best fit with the needs of our franchise. That chemistry and connection is critically important.” This morning, Dolan and Tirieux met in France to discuss the future of the team's front office. Tirieux looks to have all the numbers in the raffle. The prize? Take over the reigns of Madison Square Garden.

SERIOUSLY?

[The X]

Sexy graphics as always

Trade for Nash this season, then get Paul once Nash is done

Looking at team needs, you need a starting centre and shooting guard. I love Landry Fields, but he cries out perfect 7th or 8th man to me. I hope you have Renaldo Balkman in your 12.

Get rid of Derrick Brown, Roger Mason Jr, Toney Douglas, Shawne Williams, Shelden Williams, Josh Harrellson, etc.

So my version of your team looks like this:

C- Workhorse rebounding & defence big (TBD)/Turiaf
F- (It's) Amar'e/Turiaf/Balkman
F- Melo/Fields/Balkman
G- Walker (will become backup once you get your real starting SG)/Fields/Rautins
G- Billups (soon to be Nash/Paul)/Shumpert

No need for thanks, just honour your first title to me

[kibaxx7]

Do you expect Iman to give you a scoring boost or a defensive?

I'm using him more on defense. I have Melo and Amar'e to score.

trade Melo for Maggs...

its a no brainer!

That's something to consider.

SERIOUSLY?

Lol, yeah! Look at this, this or even the previews I made here. I think this one is a great resume of what happened with the Knicks lately.

Sexy graphics as always

More coming in the recaps.

Looking at team needs, you need a starting centre and shooting guard. I love Landry Fields, but he cries out perfect 7th or 8th man to me. I hope you have Renaldo Balkman in your 12.

Played a couple of games already and I've been struggling with Billups. Fields has been the third scoring option, I really like him. If I do get a better SG, then yeah, one of the first to jump from the bench. Turiaf has been scoring too. Balkman is in, but he sucks on offense, I use him for defense...

Get rid of Derrick Brown, Roger Mason Jr, Toney Douglas, Shawne Williams, Shelden Williams, Josh Harrellson, etc.

Douglas is staying, for me he's the perfect backup guard. Steals and 3s. The rest is expendable...

First game against the Heat. Incredible finish.

[The X]

I got no issues with Fields starting, I'm a big fan of his. In grand scheme I think he's a great role player (ala Shandon Anderson) but on a team of scorers, he probably fits in well in starting lineup.

Give Billups a chance & can understand Toney doing well for you. Balkman is only there for defence & garbage points.

[nbaman1]

Finally I can follow an association from the beginning. Good luck with this. I'm going to wait till the lockout ends to start mine (if it does end).

[Valor]

Haha haven't been on in a while and just saw this. As others say, presentation is awesome as usual
You gonna be keeping your Spurs one going? Tough to run two at the same time with the level of work you put into each recap...but if you can do it it'll be great. Good Luck buddy

[The X]

Not the team I think we were all hoping for but good luck with this nonetheless

I'm pretty sure you guys wanted me to take the Raps, but no worry, they are on my future plans (when I finish the Spurs)

Didn't reply to this, but just to let you know that Knicks are better choice than Raptors. I actually think they're a better choice than Spurs. It will be interesting to see what you do with them

[Justine.]

Just saw this one. Superb presentation as usual. Good luck man

[kibaxx7]

Preview | Recap | Game Info | Full Play-by-Play | Boxscores (MIA :: NYK)

NEW YORK (2011, November 2) -- It was a feel-good night for the Knicks organization as the formal introduction of the new managing staff took place earlier in the day at a restaurant near Madison Square Garden. Just a couple of hours later, chairman James Dolan and new general manager Thierry Tirieux visited the locker room before the game to wish the team luck. For one night, at least, they could feel satisfied; New York's victory over Miami would put the rest of the league on notice. Carmelo Anthony scored 25 points and the New York Knicks survived a late Miami Heat rally, almost losing a 12-point advantage with less than 3 minutes left, for a 97-94 win. It was a win New York nearly let slip away; leading 93-81, Chauncey Billups had two careless turnovers in the Knicks' next three possessions. Poor decisions by Billups and Toney Douglas gave the Heat a chance, cutting the lead to 94-92 with 34 seconds left in the game. An And-1 by Amar'e Stoudemire gave the team its final lead, 97-94; Udonis Haslem added a consolation jumper.

Head coach Mike D'Antoni defended his team’s play, giving credit to the Heat for its comeback, but making a focus on the final score above everything else. New York has lost countless games just like this one in recent years, so there was no room to make a discussion over details. But the former Phoenix Suns coach could not contain his nervous energy during the contest, as he paced by the Knicks’ bench before tip-off and spent most of the game standing and hollering along the sideline. “There were some crazy things going on. I could have just said, ‘Oh well, we played well and then we couldn't keep up with them,’” said D'Antoni, “but the players kept grinding, and we won.” The Knicks couldn't make a single shot from 3-point land, as Anthony shot 11-of-16 from the field and Stoudemire added 20 points (10-of-11 from the charity stripe). The Knicks won their first home opener since 2008-09 -- also against Miami (120-115, 29 points by Jamal Crawford, 20 by Zach Randolph).

Landry Fields had 17 points and Ronny Turiaf 10, and Billups shot 2-of-8 for six points for the Knicks. “We got a win. It was ugly, but we'll take it. We got a win, move on,” commented Billups. LeBron James scored a game-high 27 points -- one of only three Heat in double figures -- to go with nine rebounds, six assists, three steals and three rejections. In front of an upbeat squad, Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said that “the guys worked hard and showed grit. It was a heck of a comeback but we needed that last touch.” Dwyane Wade posted 20 points while Chris Bosh added 13. “We pretty much let them get anything they wanted in the third quarter,” said Bosh. “We didn't play any defense. They picked us apart.”

[kibaxx7]

I got no issues with Fields starting, I'm a big fan of his. In grand scheme I think he's a great role player (ala Shandon Anderson) but on a team of scorers, he probably fits in well in starting lineup.

Give Billups a chance & can understand Toney doing well for you. Balkman is only there for defence & garbage points.

Yeah right now Fields is the best SG. He had a great game against the Heat, but I couldn't make one single trey. I want Billups to prove himself, he didn't have a good night. Balkman sucks

Finally I can follow an association from the beginning. Good luck with this. I'm going to wait till the lockout ends to start mine (if it does end).

Thanks man. The lockout will end sooner or later, I'm sure of it.

Haha haven't been on in a while and just saw this. As others say, presentation is awesome as usual
You gonna be keeping your Spurs one going? Tough to run two at the same time with the level of work you put into each recap...but if you can do it it'll be great. Good Luck buddy

Thanks V. I want to give the Spurs a title, I may retire them after that. This Knicks will be like your Panthers

Didn't reply to this, but just to let you know that Knicks are better choice than Raptors. I actually think they're a better choice than Spurs. It will be interesting to see what you do with them

Great then Thanks X!

Just saw this one. Superb presentation as usual. Good luck man

Thanks man, what happened to your story?

[Mavs4Life]

No individual did anything big, but the team definetly showed the NBA, they're no joke this season. The Heat are now 0-2 in season openers with the Big 3.

[hova-]

Decent win, as always, lovely presentation. This Knicks team cannot really be strenghtened by trades if you ask me. You rather need to sign some veterans, since you ain't got much to make deals with.
I'd love to see Camby in a Knicks jersey for example. Just came to my mind right now since you're pretty thin on the five spot.

Keep this one going. Although I am not online that much lately, I will follow as good as possible

[The X]

Agree, Cambyman back to NYC would be sweet

Nice win. Can't believe game only has you as 18th ranked team Maybe to do with lack of depth at some spots.

One downside, I tried to push the arrow on the gif so that I could shuffle through pics quicker

[shadowgrin]

[The X]

What's worse is that even after doing that and knowing it was a gif, I still had the audacity to push the zoom icon

FAIL

[LegoLand]

Good win. I hope this year Knicks will go to the finals !

Follow this association, good luck.

[Valor]

What's worse is that even after doing that and knowing it was a gif, I still had the audacity to push the zoom icon

FAIL

Love the narrow victory of the Heat, surprising to see you almost choking it away as opposed to the Heat choking it away...at least you held on

[Martti.]

Great presentation as always and a good win, don't really like the result though.

[Houndy]

Amar'e and Melo need that one piece *cough* Chris Paul *cough*

[Mark.]

Top win there dude. Looks good. I will be following.

[hova-]

You can't push the buttons? I was pretty sure I did the slide by myself

[Lamrock]

Congrats on winning your opener.