Results tagged “lebronjames”

You know that the Yankees are thrilled to be in the World Series, but the Knicks should be equally thrilled that the Yankees made it. The World Series is distracting attention from their miserable start. Last night may have included a great fourth quarter comeback, but the fact remains that the Knicks allowed Philadelphia to shoot an astounding 61% from the field. Even the most optimistic Knicks’ fan has to realize the bitter truth- LeBron isn’t going to come to this team unless something radical changes.

After three-week vacation, The Daily Show with Jon Stewart came back last night. Cleveland Cavaliers star LeBron James was the interview guest, and Stewart made a plea from suffering Knicks fans, hinting that King James could come to New York and enjoy the splendors of Shake Shack and the American Museum of Natural History. Oh, and an "I Love NY" mug.

The Nets have made a bold move hours before the NBA draft, agreeing to trade Vince Carter to Orlando for three players. The move sets the Nets up to be a major force in the 2010 free agent frenzy. In addition to Carter, the Magic will receive Ryan Anderson. In return the Nets receive Rafer Alston (a Jamaica, Queens native), Tony Battie and Courtney Lee. Alston, who is known as "Skip to My Lou" for his streetball skills, and Battie are free agents after the upcoming season; meaning New Jersey has cleared about $18 million of their cap after 2010. Combine this trade with the approval by the MTA of the revised Atlantic Yards deal and it is clear the Nets will be doing everything they can to get LeBron James to come and join them in Brooklyn.

As soon as LeBron James huffed and puffed his way off of the court following the Cavs' elimination from the playoffs Saturday night, you may have noticed a spike in the humidity with the collective panting from Knick fans now eager to begin luring the megastar toward Madison Square Garden with one year remaining until he is eligible for free agency.

      

With none of the Knicks getting invited out to Phoenix to play in today's All-Star Game, New York's own Nate Robinson used his under six-foot status to play the role of underdog and swipe the Slam Dunk Competition crown away from Orlando's Dwight Howard. Howard won 2008's contest by donning a Superman cape that would see a reprisal last night—this time accompanied by the heightened theatrics of Howard busting out of a phone booth toward his dunk march. But Nate came prepared with a costume of his own, making the most of some leftover Knicks St. Patty's promotional gear and donning all green (surely to the delight of contest sponsor Sprite) to become "Krypto-Nate." Not since the 2000 3 Doors Down tour have so many fans found themselves on the side of Kryptonite as Robinson eked out Howard in the final round by a fans' text messaging vote count of 52 to 48 percent. It was Robinson's second victory after a win in 2006.

     

During last night's Cleveland Cavaliers victory over the Knicks, the crowd at Madison Square Garden gave a "swelling ovation" for Cavaliers star LeBron James, the subject of rumors about a 2010 trade to New York. James said of the ovation, "It's humbling to have fans ... in the mecca of basketball."

Cleveland 119 Knicks 101: Hopefully, LeBron forgets about this game when he thinks about signing with the Knicks in July 2010. New York didn’t play defense and didn’t take care of the ball as the lost a game much worse than the score indicates. The Knicks may have also lost Nate Robinson who collapsed to the floor with a groin injury. LeBron was cheered by the crowd and got the fourth quarter off because the game was such a blowout.

It wouldn’t be the Knicks if they didn’t add some drama to everything. Friday’s trade of Zach Randolph to the Clippers for Cuttino Mobley and Tim Thomas has hit a snag. The Knicks are sending Cuttino Mobley for more tests on his heart after his initial physical raised concerns. The teams have until 6:30pm today to finalize the trade or all the players will return to their original teams. Would the Knicks really void a trade that saves them money and puts them in position to go after LeBron James? It seems highly unlikely; instead this is probably an attempt to wrangle a draft pick from the Clippers.

The Knicks’ plan is clear, wait until July 2010 and then sign LeBron James and possibly Chris Bosh or another superstar as well. The problem is there is a lot of work left to be done to realize that plan. The Knicks will enter the 2010-11 season with four players under contract: Eddy Curry, Jared Jeffries, Wilson Chandler and Danilo Gallinari. That gives the Knicks plenty of space under the salary cap, but it is hardly the makings of a good team and that is what is most important to LeBron.

All along it has been clear that Donnie Walsh is positioning the Knicks for a run at LeBron James after the 2010 season and Friday he made his boldest move towards that goal yet. The Knicks are sending Jamal Crawford to Golden State for Al Harrington. Crawford is the better player, but with a contract that runs through the 2011 season, his contract is a problem. Harrington is currently hurt and adds another forward to the mix, but his contract expires at the right time (after 2009-2010) for the Knicks to make a run at LeBron. And, the Knicks might not be done, as there are multiple reports that Zach Randolph could be headed out of town as well. Trading his two highest scorers on the same day would be a bold move for Donnie Walsh, but for Knicks’ fans who have waited years for a coherent plan to come out of MSG it is worth it. UPDATE: In addition to sending Crawford to Golden State, Zach Randolph and Mardy Collins are also heading to California. The two have been traded to the Clippers for shooting guard Cuttino Mobley and forward Tim Thomas, clearing even more salary for 2010. In other crazy Knicks news, they may have to dress Stephon Marbury tonight to have the 8 players required by league rules.

Sources say the New Jersey Nets will trade forward Richard Jefferson to the Milwaukee Bucks for Yi Jianlian and Bobby Simmons. ESPN says the Nets will be able to save $10 million longterm and continue to re-shape their team for the future--possibly with LeBron James in 2010. Further, the Chinese government will be thrilled Yi is in a big media market (that was China's grumble when Yi was drafted last year).

There's a thin line between being a fan and being obsessed, and Anthony Erskine may have crossed that line on when he went onto the court to meet his idol, LeBron James.

That was because the best player on the floor took over the game. LeBron ended up with 50 points and 10 rebounds, scoring almost at will when he wanted to. It’s a good thing the Knicks don’t want a player like that.

Isiah Thomas thinks he deserves more time. Not that much more, just two weeks, but time to show he can turn this club around. Of course, he has had four years already, but at this point who is counting? Maybe Isiah noticed that the next two weeks contain six games, but only two of those teams currently have winning records. The two-week timeframe came up as Thomas was asked what he would do to a coach with his record as GM. His response: "That's a better question in a couple of weeks. Not today, but in a couple weeks, that would be a fair question. We'll see if we can come out of this. If we can't come out of this, then those are fair questions. There's still a lot of basketball left in the season. There is time to turn it around."

Nets 100, Cavaliers 79: With Cleveland's triple-double machine LeBron James on the bench, the Nets' Richard Jefferson played king for a day. Only he's been doing this all season long. Tuesday's totals: 36 points, 11-of-18 shooting, 13-of-15 from the line. Lines don't get much better than that. The Nets don't want to get too cocky, however. Shannon Brown led the way for the short-handed Cavaliers. When someone who average five points stepped up with 20,...

Jay-Z Around Town With a new, critically acclaimed album out and a refocused approach to his craft, Jay-Z took the stage twice this week in the Big Apple. For the relatively intimate events at Hammerstein and The Apollo, there was no shortage of friends and guests out to show support for Hov's return to form. Diddy, Nas, Lil Wayne and...Lebron James (?!?) all made appearances between the two shows. Lebron skipped a game to attend...

Cavaliers 110, Knicks 106: Throughout his tumultuous summer, Isiah Thomas seemed to want to use basketball to shield himself from sexual harassment lawsuit he eventually lost. If he was devoting any amount of energy to preparing his team for its first game against Cleveland, he failed miserably. His team looked out of sorts as it got the season off on the wrong foot. Letting LeBron James score 45 points is understandable. Choosing not to guard...

Tonight, the Yankees will face off against the Cleveland Indians at Yankee Stadium, and many hope the Bronx Bombers can avoid the sweep (and mayflies) and claw their way back to winning this first round of playoff games. Since things are so nerve-wracking, we thought some Yankees fans - and even haters - might be find this Village Voice story funny.

SNL is back! Not sure if the exclamation point is necessary, but their 33rd season kicked off this past weekend with some good stuff. LeBron James was host and Kanye West was the musical guest -- West actually showed up in a good sketch, though oddly enough not this musical one. The below is a ballad to the President of Iran called "Iran So Far" delivered by Andy Samberg and Maroon 5's Adam Levine. "You can't deny there's something between us. I know you say there's no gays in Iran, but you're in New York now, baby!"

A look at some noteworthy television this week:

Happy Father's Day! For those of you who have dads, are dads, or know dads, this one's for you, from all of us at the Gothamist network."

• Yankees 8 Rangers 2: It’s amazing what some pitching can do for you. For the second night in a row and for only the 5th time in 31 games, the Yankee starter pitched seven innings. Tuesday night Andy Pettitte scattered seven hits while striking out four.
  Continue reading "Last Night's Action: Another Quality Start"

After taking a 1-0 lead with just over three minutes left, the Rangers needed to play defensive hockey, so why did Jagr even hit the ice? Blair Betts and the fourth line had shutdown the Sabres all night, so why weren’t they used more at the end of the game?

-Nets 106, Celtics 103: Vince Carter hit two free throws in the game's final seconds to seal the Nets' win and help end a six-game losing streak. The three-point lead Carter's gave the Nets was their largest all game; New Jersey outscored Boston, 30-19, in the fourth quarter. Hassan Adams' 16-point contribution should not be overlooked, and neither should the importance of this victory. November matters little in the NBA season, but the Nets have to be pleased it ended on a bright note.