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This Week In Knicks: NY Knicks 2013 Mid-Season Awards

Jonathan Fishner

Published Feb 14, 2013

Modified Feb 14, 2013

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Jonathan Fishner

Published Feb 14, 2013

Modified Feb 14, 2013

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The All-Star break couldn't come any sooner for the Knicks. After a five-game winning streak, they went on the road and got worked by John Wall and the Wizards (say that three times fast,106-96) and needed a heroic fourth quarter from Carmelo Anthony to overcome a six point deficit and beat the Timberwolves (he had twelve of his 36 in the fourth and the Knicks won 100-94.)

The Knicks returned home for a highly-anticipated matinee with the Clippers but didn't show up for the tip, losing 102-88. And they closed the week and the unofficial first half of the season with a hideous performance in a loss to the Raptors (92-88), coughing up a five-point halftime lead by shooting 4-21 in the third quarter and giving up any chance they had of winning by missing multiple layups in the fourth quarter. The Knicks' terrible performance against Toronto might be excused somewhat by the right arm contusion Melo sustained in the first quarter (he shot a shocking 5-24) but that doesn't explain the 26-point torching journeyman Alan Anderson put on them.

The Knicks limp into the All Star break at 32-18 and in second place in the Eastern Conference, no doubt happy with the totality of their performance but concerned about their recent play.

Lucky for them we've got something to brighten their spirits: midseason awards!

The That Settles That Award: Team MVP Carmelo Anthony. To the extent there were any doubters left, Anthony's made clear that the decision to deal half the 2010-11 Knicks for him was indeed the right one. Anthony's second in the league in scoring at 28.6 points a game and is shooting a career-best 41% from the three point line. Playing power forward most of the time, he's toyed with opposing fours by blowing by them when they crowd him, and pulling up when they play him to drive. When teams play him with small forwards, he takes them down low and plays bully-ball. And although it's wavered at times, Anthony's shown a willingness to move the ball that hasn't always been a part of his game. That's a big part of why the Knicks have the league's third-most efficient offense. Melo's aversion to breakfast cereal also led to one of the oddest NBA altercations of the last few years. Points for humor.

The Change The Game Award: Tyson Chandler, who for the second year in a row has been the Knicks second most important player, is averaging 11.4 points and 11.1 rebounds per game. But it's a lot more than numbers: Chandler anchors the Knicks defense with his rim-protecting and showing on the pick-and-roll. He also anchors the Knicks offense with his screening and rolling to the rim. Not only that: he impacts the game with his ridiculous habit of tapping his teammates' misses out to halfcourt where they can be easily recovered for offensive rebounds. Chandler, who doesn't get credited with a rebound for his trouble, has started a trend: lanky bigs at all levels of hoops have picked up on the Chandler Tip. Watch for it during March Madness, the McDonald's All-America game and summer pickup games at West 4th.

The Welcome Back Award: Amar'e Stoudemire, who missed the season's first thirty games, and Raymond Felton, who returned from being traded to Denver in the Carmelo Anthony deal. Felton's been the perfect point guard for the Knicks, pick and rolling his way to 14.9 points and 6.3 assists per game. Felton was able to pick up the slack for the Knicks in some of the games Carmelo missed in December but the Knicks struggled to pick up the slack for Felton when he missed twelve games after injuring his pinky on Christmas.

Stoudemire has more or less picked up where he left off...two years ago. After an initial adjustment period, Stoudemire's coming off the bench to average 15.3 points, 57% shooting and 5.7 rebounds in just under 24 minutes a game this month. He still gets lost defensively and it isn't clear how the Chandler-Stoudemire-Anthony lineup will work against the league's best teams, but the Knicks couldn't have expected anything more from STAT than they've gotten so far.

The Linchpin Award: Jason Kidd. When Kidd was playing like a 37 year-old, the Knicks were better on offense than they'd been in decades. But now that he's slid back to playing his age (39), the Knicks offense just hasn't had the same mojo. The decline began when Raymond Felton was lost to injury on Christmas, but Felton's been back for ten games now and Kidd hasn't picked it back up as he's struggled with back issues and fatigue. (Felton was injured on Christmas. Kidd shot 44% from three in November and December; he's making just 27% in January and February.) Tellingly, he went scoreless in 31 minutes in their disappointing loss to the Raptors on Wednesday night.

If the Knicks, an average defensive team, are going to have a deep playoff run, they need to be an elite offense. Kidd's three-point shooting and playmaking at shooting guard are key to that.

The I Have A Vague Recollection Of Him Award: Jeremy Lin. Sorry.

The Why Aren't You Adrian Peterson Award: This one goes to Iman Shumpert, whose return from ACL surgery in April is still a work in progress. Thirteen games in, Shumpert's still in the early stages of his comeback (by way of comparison, Derrick Rose, who tore his ACL on the same day as Shumpert, has yet to play) but as of yet he's been underwhelming. Shumpert's defense - his calling-card - hasn't been up to snuff and he's looked tentative on offense, shooting just 34% from the floor and scoring 5.3 points a game.

Although he's currently the Knicks' starting small forward, Shump's name has been floated in trade rumors this week, a development that has fans of his game, his hair and his social media presence petrified. The Knicks need Shumpert's ability to stop opposing point guards badly. But if they can't get it from Shump they may have to move him for someone who can.

The Social Media Award: JR Smith, the Knicks microwave sixth man, has Twitter and instagram profiles that aren't appropriate for people as old as Jason Kidd. Smith hasn't quite crossed the line but he's come pretty damn close. And it isn't always what he's tweeting, it's when: if you stay up too late you can count on @therealjrsmith staying up with you, although he'll be setting something up with a groupie while you wait for an elevated train in the freezing cold. All the tweeting might be an issue were Smith not having the best season of his career: 16.2 points, five rebounds and 2.8 assists a game.

The Face On The Milk Carton Award: Steve Novak's basically been missing since the Knicks-Heat series during last year's playoffs. Novak's numbers, quite similar to last season's, don't tell the whole story. Advance stats, however, tell the same story that the eyes do: Novak just hasn't gotten it done against good teams and the shots he has hit haven't had a significant impact.

The Anthony Bonner/Tony Campbell Award: Chris Copeland and James White. The 1993-94 Eastern Conference champion Knicks employed quite a few small forwards, most infamously Charles Smith. They also started Anthony Bonner and Tony Campbell for a combined 49 games. Old-school Knicks fans have a soft spot in their hearts for Bonner while Campbell was traded for Derek Harper before the trading deadline. Current Knicks fans can only hope Copeland and White, who have started ten games between them, suffer the same fate: one becomes a fans-in-the-know favorite and the other gets dealt for a cagey veteran. Right now, doesn't matter which is which.

The Sounds About Right Award: Rasheed Wallace and Marcus Camby, whose bum legs and feet have kept them out since mid-December and mid-January, respectively. Wallace and Camby are important defensive pieces for the Knicks and before he was injured Wallace showed he remembered how to score in the low post too. While it isn't surprising either 38 year-old who is about eight inches taller than humans are designed to be is injured, that both of them have missed so much time with what seemed like minor injuries has been a disappointment. Wallace, working his way back from a stress fracture in his foot, is expected to return to practice after the All Star break. Camby's return is still up in the air. Still, it may all be worth it for the "ball don't lie" incident.

The Why Is Your Quiet Neighbor Playing Point Guard For The Knicks Award: Everyone's got a quiet neighbor they never see. Right now in the City of New York, unbeknownst to them, people are living next door to a man they never see who moonlights as the Knicks 6'2", 35-year-old rookie backup point guard from Argentina. Although the Knicks may look to upgrade the position before the trade deadline, Pablo Prigioni (who plays fifteen crafty minutes a game at point guard) has been a pleasant surprise and has allowed them to play Jason Kidd at shooting guard, a position for which he's much better suited at this point in his career. He's also found some chemistry with Amar'e Stoudemire.

The Unsung Heroes Award: Mike Woodson and Glen Grunwald. Woodson's done a great job: he's adapted Mike D'Antoni's offense to the Knick personnel better than D'Antoni was able to during his time in New York, has reached JR Smith and Carmelo Anthony, and has smoothly reintegrated Amar'e Stoudemire. Most importantly, he has the Knicks operating as a cohesive unit, even if they do switch too often on defense and have abandoned their pick-and-roll offense lately.

Grunwald, who never speaks and is rarely spoken of, did a nice job of building the Knicks despite limited cap room this offseason. Keeping Woodson was clearly the right choice. Felton's been the right guy, Kidd showed what he can bring the Knicks early in the year, Prigioni's been useful and JR Smith, back for a song, has been one of the league's best bench players. Jokes aside, the Knicks do not miss Jeremy Lin, certainly not for $25 million. The decisions haven't been perfect: trading two second round draft picks and filler for Marcus Camby if Camby isn't going to play was a mistake, doubling down on old age with Rasheed might have made it worse and free agent signing Ronnie Brewer is out of the rotation. Still, Grunwald's nibbling around the edges of the Knicks roster is a big reason why a trip to the Eastern Conference Finals isn't out of the question. There may be another move or two out there before the deadline too. One way or another, you know the Knicks are in good hands.

Up Next: James White and Steve Novak participate in the dunk contest and three-point contest as part of the All-Star Saturday Night festivities, and Melo and Chandler will be playing in the game Sunday. The Knicks get back to business next Wednesday in Indiana against the Pacers.

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Jonathan Fishner

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