The New York Knicks are set to take on the Brooklyn Nets on Friday night, as news and rumors ramp up for both teams as the season kicks into high gear.
Check out the latest buzz below.
Knicks Set to Take on Nets
The New York rivalry is set to take place on Friday night, when the Knicks travel to the Barclays Center to play for the ninth time since the Nets moved to Brooklyn.
Both teams are struggling to gain momentum after losing pieces in the offseason and getting new coaches, which includes learning new schemes.
But the rivalry is alive and well and the teams will be gunning for the win.
“It’s definitely grown every year, as we’ve gained more fans throughout the city and Brooklyn,” Deron Williams told the New York Post.
“It’s taken on life. We definitely get up to play those guys, and I’m sure they get up to play us. We’re looking forward to it.”
Carmelo Anthony said that the Knicks will need to get better playing the triangle offense before they move forward.
“We can’t move forward until we get the basics (of the triangle) down. Some nights, we seem like we have it down and some nights we don’t,” Anthony told ESPN.
“It’s going to be a little inconsistent from that standpoint until we get the foundation of the system down.”
Jarrett Jack noted that Anthony isn’t the only player the Nets need to worry about.
“We can’t just fall into, ‘Let’s stop Carmelo,’” he said. “They have other players that can go out there and put the ball in the basket and carry them to a win as well. We have to go out there knowing he’s a guy that can have a big game for them, but they have other guys that can be successful, as well.”
Smith Breaks Into Starting Lineup
Jason Smith became the third player to start at power forward for the Knicks, in the 98-95 loss to the Detroit Pistons.
Smith isn’t as good of a rebounder as Amare Stoudemire or Quincy Acy but is a better shooter and fits into the triangle offense well.
Smith grabbed only three rebounds but scored 17 points on 7-of-8 shooting.
“Just trusting the offense, guys hitting me for open looks,'' said Smith, who signed a one-year, $3.3 million deal for the mini mid-level exception.
“Detroit was letting us run certain sets. You go with what the defense gives you.'’
Coach Derek Fisher envisions Andrea Bargnani as the starter, but Bargnani has been injured and is out indefinitely.
Acy, who has started two games, is also battling an injury.
Jackson Won’t Make Trade Until December
Buried in a larger article about a potential J.R. Smith was the revelation that new team president Phil Jackson doesn’t want to make any trades until December.
A source told the New York Post that Jackson has no plans to make any deals until Dec. 15 — a key NBA date as 2014 free-agent signees and 2014 draft picks are eligible to be traded.
Smith, Iman Shumpert, and Tim Hardaway Jr. are among the Knicks players that have been involved in some trade rumors.
Amare Stoudemire and Andrea Bargnani--two players whose contracts expire after this year--could also conceivably be shipped off.
Knicks Have High Hopes for Antetokounmpo
The Knicks snagged three players in the draft, but only one is currently on the roster.
However, one of the two players not on the roster, Thanasis Antetokounmpo, is certainly in the team’s future plans.
Antetokounmpo, the older brother of heralded Milwaukee Bucks second-year player Giannis, was convinced by Jackson to take a smaller offer to join the Knick’s D-League team instead of taking a lucrative offer on the table from a European team.
“That was major,” Antetokounmpo told ESPN of Jackson’s phone call to him. “It’s my dream to be here with the Knicks,” Antetokounmpo added at the team’s media day. “The Knicks gave me the opportunity to be here. They drafted me and I think they trust me.”
All Houston, the general manager of the D-League’s Westchester Knicks, said that Antetokounmpoe has a lot of upside. “His impact on the game is high. He finds a way to leave an imprint,” Houston said.
NBA Tickets Up 3.4 Percent; Knicks Cost the Most
The average price of an NBA ticket increased 3.4 percent this season to $53.98.
According to Team Marketing Report on Friday, the Knicks have the highest average at $129.38, followed by the Los Angeles Lakers at $102.25, the Chicago Bulls at $82.33 and the Miami Heat at $78.30. Among those four teams, only the Bulls raised prices.
New Orleans ($30.20) and Charlotte ($30.60) had the lowest averages. The Los Angeles Clippers had the steepest increase, 24.3 percent to $78.43. Detroit dropped its average 3.2 percent to $38.80.
The average NFL ticket price is $84.43 this season, and the NHL average is $62.18. Major League Baseball’s average was $27.93 this year.
TMR also calculated a Fan Cost Index — four average-price tickets, two small draft beers, four small soft drinks, four hot dogs, parking, two programs and two adult-size caps. The index rose 2.6 percent to $333.58 for the NBA. The Knicks were the high team at $676.42 and Charlotte the low at $212.40.
Monroe Leads Pistons Past Knicks
AUBURN HILLS, Mich.—A year ago, the Detroit Pistons might have let the New York Knicks walk out of the Palace with a comeback victory.
Not this time.
Greg Monroe had 23 points and 18 rebounds, and the Pistons held off the Knicks 98-95 Wednesday night for their first win of the season.
“I was worried, because we had been up 18 and they had it to two at the end,” Brandon Jennings said. “You can’t help thinking about all the games we let get away last season, but we found a way to get this one done. That means a lot, because we didn’t want to be one of the last teams without a win.”
Detroit’s top four scoring options — Jennings, Andre Drummond, Josh Smith and Greg Monroe — shot a combined 28 percent (15 for 53) from the floor. Many of those misses came inside: Detroit went just 17 for 47 in the paint.
But the Pistons (1-3) were saved by a rare display of accurate outside shooting. They went 1 for 17 on 3s in Sunday’s loss to Brooklyn, but Kentavious Caldwell-Pope hit their first three attempts Wednesday, and Detroit ended up with a season-high 11.
“It was great to see him get off to that great start, because it got us going, and then he hit another big one down the stretch,” coach Stan Van Gundy said. “We needed that, because I don’t think we could have missed more shots at the rim than we did tonight.”
Tim Hardaway Jr. scored 20 points for the Knicks (2-3), who lost at home to Washington on Tuesday night. They were facing a rested Detroit team that had two days off before the game.
“We played with better effort in the second half, and I know my teammates feel the same way. We have to play like that the whole game,” Hardaway said.
Carmelo Anthony had only 13 points on 5-of-21 shooting for New York.
“I’m not worried if he’s taking good shots, and I thought a lot of them were,” Knicks coach Derek Fisher said. “I think he was trying to do the right thing and not attack too early — that’s part of finding his balance. There will be nights that are better.”
Van Gundy had Drummond, Smith and Monroe in the starting lineup against New York’s big frontcourt. It caused some spacing problems on offense — the trio went 13 for 44 from the floor — but Detroit dominated on the glass.
Smith also kept Anthony in check. The star forward missed his first nine shots and didn’t score until the final minutes of the second quarter.
Jason Smith’s 17 points in the half kept New York in the game, but the Pistons pulled away behind a barrage of 3-pointers in the third, including two straight by Jonas Jerebko to make it 75-59 at the end of the third.
The Knicks rallied in the fourth, thanks to 14 points from Hardaway, and pulled to 94-90 on Anthony’s jumper with 35 seconds left. Monroe hit one of two free throws, and Anthony did the same.
Caldwell-Pope gave the Knicks a last chance when he missed two free throws with 6.5 seconds left, but New Yorkwasn’t able to grab the ball after Iman Shumpert intentionally missed his second shot from the line.
TIP-INS
New York: J.R. Smith was suspended for the game after elbowing Washington’s Glen Rice Jr. in the groin Tuesday night. ... With Jose Calderon (calf) sidelined and Pablo Prigioni leaving the game early with an ankle injury, theKnicks spent most of the night with Shane Larkin as their only healthy point guard.
Detroit: Josh Smith went 2 for 13 in the first half, including having dunks blocked by both Jason Smith and Cole Aldrich. ... Drummond, who has been in foul trouble in each of Detroit’s four games, knocked over a chair on the bench after being called for his fourth with 4:58 left in the third quarter.
RESTLESS FANS
Smith’s problems with outside shooting are well-documented in Detroit — he hit just 26.4 percent of 265 3-pointers last season — and the crowd groaned as he set up for two long jumpers late in the game. Smith missed both of them — one with the shot clock running down — and was booed both times.
STILL REMEMBERED
Hardaway, who helped Michigan to the 2013 national title game, was greeted with loud cheers when he entered late in the first quarter. His father is one of Van Gundy’s assistants with the Pistons.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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