Tag / New York Knicks

by Christopher Powell

#Starting 5 NBA All-Star Edition 


1) What is the biggest storyline of the NBA season thus far?  

– As the Knicks Turn: One of the most historic NBA franchises have made more headlines off the court , than on the court. Carmelo Anthony trade rumors, Phil Jackson vs Carmelo Anthony, and last but not least James Dolan vs Charles Oakley storylines have dominated the NBA landscape thus far. 

2) Which team is the biggest overachiever at the All-Star break?

-Washington Wizards 34-21

3) Which team is the biggest underachiever at the All-Star break?

– Dallas Mavericks 22-34

4 )Who you got for?……..


MVP: James Harden , Houston Rockets 


-James Harden has excelled in the Mike D’Antoni’s offense. Harden is leading the leauge in Assists and he’s on pace of being the 1st guard to ever lead the league in Double-Doubles plus , the Rockets are 40-18( no one seen this coming).


Rookie of the year:  Joel Embiid, Philadelphia 76ers – In a year where no rookies are averaging more than 10 points per game, 6 rebounds per game or 1 block per game the obvious choice is Embiid, which he averages 20.2 PPG, 7.8 RPG, 2.1 APG)


Sixth Man of the year:   Lou Williams, Los Angeles Lakers – Generally the sixth man award goes to guy who contributes on a winning team, but when you’re averaging 17.8 PPG it’s definitely getting my nod. I expect that Lou will be traded to a contender. 


Coach of the year: Mike D’Antoni, Houston Rockets – Its strange to say this , but Mike D’Antoni is the odds on favorite to be the coach of the year. The Rockets sit at 40-18 (3rd in the Western conference) and the biggest reason of that is due to D’Antoni’s ability to retool his offense to suit his players. 


Most Improved  Player:   Giannis Antetokounmpo , Milwaukee Bucks – The Greek freak has arrived. The Greek freak is the 1st Bucks player to start in the All-Star game since Sidney Moncrief in 1986. Giannis is averaging 23.7 Points per game, 8.8 Assists & leads the Bucks in all 5 major statistical categories, which he’s the only player in the league to pull off that feat! 

Defensive player of the year:  Kawhi Leonard, San Antonio Spurs – The best perimeter defender in the leauge no question…. Draymond Green is a close 2nd , but Kawhi is the Lebron-Stopper lol.


5) Team under .500 to make the playoffs?  

-Currently there are 3 teams ( Bulls, Pistons & Nuggets)that if the season ended today would make the playoffs with a below (.500 )record. There are several teams that I can see making the playoffs that wouldn’t make it today. In the East I can see the Miami Heat (25-32 :2 games out of 8th place)& in the West I can see the Portland  Trailblazers (23-33: 2 games out of 8th place). 


by Christopher Powell

Slave Master Mentality with a Kick!!  

When you though the Knicks drama was dying down, then comes Draymond Green to add an extra kick( Pun Intended).


 The  Golden Warriors All-Star added his opinion on Knicks owner & the lead singer of “JD and the Straight Shot” James Dolan. Green, the pride of Saginaw Michigan sounded off on his “Dray Day Podcast” and stated the following: 


“No. 1 — (Oakley) is a legend. Treat him as such,” Green said. “Why is (Oakley) buying a ticket to a game, first off? … It wasn’t a problem when (Oakley) was speaking out (when he played in the 1990s). It wasn’t a problem when he was protecting (the Knicks’) superstars then. So if it wasn’t a problem then when he was doing it for y’all, why is it all of a sudden a problem now when he speak out on something that he don’t like, and now you want to disown him from your entire organization? … That’s a slave mentality. A slave master mentality. That’s ridiculous.

“It was all fine and dandy when he was laying people out, taking fines, and all this stuff for your organization. But now all of a sudden, when he say something that he feels, it’s a problem. I disagree with that. I definitely think, like I said, that that’s a slave master mentality.”

Green went on the assumption that Oakley played while James Dolan was the Knicks owner, which Oakley was long gone once Dolan took over the Knicks. Green also discussed the handling of the Dolan as he stated that Oakley may have a substance abuse issue by stating: 


“How, as an organization, can you come out and say ‘we hope he get help?’ Get help with what?” Green said. “… That’s not something that you say to the world. That’s not classy at all, because at the end of the day, if he does have an anger problem and he was OK with the world knowing that, he’d be speaking out about it. He’d be on boards of anger management type things. So it’s not OK for you to go say that to the world, as a multi-billion dollar organization.”


Here is my take… so Draymond has a compelling case (in my opinion) , but in this day in age using the word “slave owner mentality “is loaded yet dangerous.  I’m not 100% on board on calling James Dolan a slave master, it’s more like Dolan is entitled with the I can say or do what the hell I want to do attitude!