MySports Today

Good news Knicks fans – - you won’t have to see this image anymore at the Garden during Knicks games.  The New York Knicks and disgruntled guard Stephon Marbury finally agreed to part ways this week.  The 2 sides agreed upon a buyout of his contract which was set to expire following the 2009-2010 NBA season.  He was set to make $20.8 during the 2009-2010 NBA season.

Marbury’s last official games was January 11, 2008.  Marbury took a leave of absence from the team in December 2007 following the death of his father.  He returned for a short time thereafter, but had season-ending ankle surgery after that January 11, 2008 contest.  Marbury reported to training camp and was present on the Knicks bench during the early part of the season, but refused to play for the Knicks.  He did not log any minutes during the current season, and Knicks President Donnie Walsh finally ordered Marbury to stay away from the team in early December.

It brings a sad end to an awful display of sportsmanship by the troubled Marbury.  The Brooklyn-born Marbury could have made his stay in New York City a memorable.  Instead, because of feuds with coaches and his refusal to practice or play in games, Marbury leaves the Knicks a bitter man and an NBA pariah.  There are rumors that the Celtics are set to pounce on Marbury once he clears waivers, but if I was the Celtics (or any other NBA team for that matter), I would run away as fast I could.

After pulling off a nice trade the day before (Drew Gooden, Andres Nocioni, Cedric Simmons and Michael Ruffin to the Sacramento Kings for Brad Miller and John Salmons) Chicago Bulls GM John Paxson made a “what are you thinking” trade just before the trading deadline on Thursday. The Bulls sent disgruntled guard Larry Hughes to the New York Knicks for Tim Thomas. The Bulls acquired Larry Hughes at the trading deadline last year in a move to unload Ben Wallace. Hughes has never fit in on the Bulls roster (often refusing to pass the ball to Derrick Rose while in the game), which forced Bulls head coach Vinny Del Negro to bench Hughes since January 12th. Hughes is averaging 12.0 points and 3.1 rebounds per game. Tim Thomas is averaging 9.6 points and 3.5 rebounds per game in about 20 minutes of play per game. This will be Thomas’ second stint as a Bull. Back during the 2005-6 NBA season, the Bulls acquired Thomas from the Knicks. Thomas played only 3 games and 30 total minutes for the Bulls before the Bulls sent him home that December for not fitting in with the team.

One positive on the deal – Del Negro has played with Thomas in Milwaukee and was familiar with him as an executive while in Phoenix. Del Negro will clearly spell out Thomas’ role with his new team and expects Thomas to be professional and contribute to the team on a nightly basis. Good luck with that Vinny…

Lebron James couldn’t bear to hear the news! In Wednesday’s 107-102 Cavaliers’ win over the New York Knicks, Lebron James was credited with his 21st career triple-double – 52 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds. However, following the game, league officials reviewed certain plays in the game, and ruled that James was awarded a rebound with 39.3 seconds left in the game that should have been credited to Ben Wallace. Corrected statistics now show James with 9 rebounds and Wallace with 2 rebounds. Say bye-bye to your triple-double Lebron.

Now James has only 20 triple-doubles in his career – including 3 during the 2008-9 NBA season. The last time a player scored 50 or more points with a triple-double was Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in 1975.

Well it definitely lived up to the hype. For the 2nd time this NBA season, the Lakers ended a double-digit Celtics winning streak, this time on the Celtics own home court in Boston. It was a back and forth game all night long, with the Lakers leading by 3 points after the 1st quarter and the Celtics leading by 1 and 4 points, respectively, after the 2nd and 3rd quarters. In the end, it took 2 free throws by Lamar Odom and 2 missed shots by Paul Pierce and Ray Allen in order for the Lakers to preserve the win.

Kobe Bryant led the Lakers with 26 points, 10 rebounds and 5 assists. He also hit three 3-point shots in the final quarter to help the Lakers tie the game. Pau Gasol also stepped up the plate in a big way – Gasol scored 24 points and grabbed 14 rebounds. Lamar Odom scored 20 points and had 6 rebounds, while Derek Fisher also chipped in 13 points, 5 assists and 3 steals.

For the Celtics, Rajon Rondo just missed a triple-double in one of his best performances of the year – 16 points, 12 assists and 8 rebounds. Ray Allen led the Celtics with 22 points. The Celtics dynamic duo – Paul Pierce (21 points, 8 rebounds and 5 assists) and Kevin Garnett (16 points and 6 rebounds in only 33 minutes) had efficient nights, but they weren’t enough to lift the Celtics over the Lakers.

The Lakers (40-9) are now 5-0 on their current road trip and now have a percentage points lead over the Celtics (41-10) for the best record in the NBA. The Celtics have a 1/2 game lead over the Cleveland Cavaliers for the top spot in the Eastern Conference and take on the New York Knicks tonight at Madison Square Garden. Will a Celtic player be able to score 50 points tonight to make it 3 games in a row in which a Knicks’ opponent scores 50 points? Stay tuned.

Just 2 nights earlier, Los Angeles Laker Kobe Bryant poured in 61 points against the New York Knicks setting a Madison Square Garden record in the process. Last night, Lebron tried to 1-up Kobe, and although he didn’t quite reach the 61-point mark, his better overall game helped the Cleveland Cavaliers win a close game in New York. Lebron contributed his 21st triple-double of his young career. He scored 52 points on 17 of 33 shooting from the floor (16 of 19 from the free throw line). He also dished out 11 assists and grabbed 10 rebounds. In 44 minutes, he only had 3 turnovers and he also had 2 blocked shots. In contrast, Kobe only had 3 assists and no rebounds in his performance at the Garden on Monday night.

The Cavs needed Lebron’s full effort in order to pull out the win against the feisty Knicks. The Cavs blew a 12 point 1st quarter lead, but held on for the 5-point victory with an efficient 25-point 4th quarter. Knicks forwards Al Harrington and David Lee were a formidable duo on Wednesday night. Harrington led the Knicks with 39 points and 13 rebounds, while Lee chipped in 12 points and grabbed 10 rebounds. But it wasn’t enough to take down the Eastern Conference’s 2nd best team.

Kobe Bryant and the Lakers take on the Boston Celtics in Beantown tonight in a rematch of the 2008 NBA Finals. Then the Celtics take on the Knicks at the Garden on Friday night in New York. Will a Celtic player score 50+ points to make it 3 games in a row in which a Knicks opponent has a player that scored 50 or more points at the Garden? Guess we’ll just have to wait and see if Paul Pierce has it in him…

Kobe, Kobe, Kobe. Kobe Bryant set the points record at the current Madison Square Garden with his 61-point effort against the Knicks on Monday night. The previous record was held by the Knicks own Bernard King when he scored 60 points on Christmas Day almost 25 years ago in 1984. The previous opponent player’s high score was Michael Jordan of the Chicago Bulls who knocked down 55 points in one of his classic games at the Garden.

Kobe scored 61 points and dished out 3 assists, but he had no rebounds. He was 19 of 31 from the field, and he also hit all 20 of his free throws. It was the highest scoring game by any player in the NBA this season. It was Kobe’s 5th 40-point game against the Knicks at the Garden and it was his 24th 50-point game in his career.

As for the game and some other “good” performances. The Lakers’ Pau Gasol scored 32 points and grabbed 14 rebounds. The Knicks’ David Lee turned in another great night – 22 points and 12 rebounds. Al Harrington led the Knicks with 24 points, while Wilson Chandler chipped in 20 points off the bench.

The Lakers are now 38-9. With the .809 winning percentage, the Lakers trail only the Boston Celtics by percentage points – 40-9, .816 winning percentage.

Don’t look now, but the New York Knicks are making a run at the Eastern Conference playoffs. The Knicks have won 8 of their last 11 games and have had 2 3-game winning streaks in that mix. With a win over the Lakers at the Garden tonight, the Knicks could even extend the current 3-game winning streak to a season-high 4-game winning streak. Scoring has been the key for the Knicks during the last 11 games. The Knicks have scored over 100 points in each of the 8 wins, but they have scored under 100 points in 2 of the 3 losses. The only loss was at Phoenix, when the Suns outraced the Knicks to a 116-110 win.

On Saturday night, the Knicks knocked off the Pacers 122-113. The Knicks are only 4 games under .500 right now, and trail the Milwaukee Bucks by only a 1/2 game in the race for the 8th seed in the Eastern Conference. In fact, they are only 4 games behind the Detroit Pistons and Miami Heat who are tied for the 5th and 6th seeds in the Eastern Conference. After you get past the Top 3 – Boston Celtics, Cleveland Cavaliers and Orlando Magic – the East is pretty weak, so anything is possible.

Two lesser know players are leading the Knicks of late. David Lee leads the team in scoring (15.9), rebounding (11.7) and field goal percentage (56.8). While Chris Duhon leads the Knicks in 4 other categories – assists (8.0), free throw percentage (86.8), 3-point percentage (41.7) and steals (1.1).

The Knicks will be tested at home this week. Tonight they take on the West’s best team – Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers. Wednesday night they face Lebron James and the Cavaliers and Friday night they face Paul Pierce and the Celtics. If the Knicks can somehow muster 1 win against the top 3 teams in the NBA, they should consider that a “moral victory”. Stay tuned…