NBA News 2012: Heat sign former Knick Harrellson

English: Kentucky Wildcats center Josh Harrellson (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Josh Harrellson tweeted a few weeks back that he was headed to Miami, hopefully for the entire season. What the former Knick big man was heading to in reality was a one-week tryout with the team.

That tryout went well enough for him to get another one — this time at training camp.

The Knicks have inked Harrellson to a non-guaranteed contract, the team announced (hat tip to Ira Winderman). That means Harrellson comes to training camp but he has to earn his way onto the roster. Harrellson, Mickell Gladness and Jarvis Varnado will be fighting to make the roster, but of that group Harrellson should be the frontrunner. Joel Anthony is a lock to make the roster and Dexter Pittman has a guaranteed contract, but that doesn’t rule out a disappointed Heat buying him out.

Harrellson, the former Kentucky player, looked pretty solid for a rookie for the Knicks last season but was pushed out in a numbers game there.

Harrellson should be the frontrunner to make the roster because he provides the kind of versatility in positions that Erik Spoelstra likes in his offense — he shot 33.9 percent from three but has the bulk to body guys on the low block (on both ends of the floor). It was the amount of bulk that first made the Heat cautious — they wanted Harrellson to work on his conditioning — but he seems to have made some stride there.

How many minutes Harrellson can get remains to be seen, the Heat are going small with this year with a lot of Chris Bosh at the five and Anthony behind him. But it’s a roster spot and a job.

http://probasketballtalk.nbcsports.com/2012/09/17/heat-sign-former-knick-harrellson-to-non-guaranteed-deal/

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NBA News 2012: Knicks decline to match Fields

Landry Fields of the New York Knicks during an open practice session at the Madison Square Garden in October 2010. {| class="messagebox" style="margin: 0.5em auto; width: 100%; background-color: #f8f8f8; border: 2px solid #e0e0e0; padding: 5px; direction: ltr;" |align="center"| link=|25px → link=|25px | : File:Landry Fields laughing.jpg. |align="center"| 100x100px|original file |colspan="3"| |} Category:Extracted images (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
The New York Knicks decided Saturday night not to match the Toronto Raptor’s offer sheet to restricted free agent guard Landry Fields.

The Raptors signed Fields, 24, to a three-year contract worth nearly $20 million Fields on Wednesday. The Knicks had until Saturday to match it.

The 2010 second-round draft pick from Stanford averaged 8.8 points and 2.6 assists last season.

The final year of his new deal reportedly includes a sharp pay increase, similar to what the Houston Rockets offered restricted free agent Omer Asik, who played with the Chicago Bulls.

The Knicks reportedly also may not match the offer sheet given to popular point guard Jeremy Lin by the Houston Rockets.

http://www.hoopsworld.com

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NBA News 2012: Woody on playoff win: 'It's about time'

NEW YORK, NY - MARCH 14: (R) Mike Woodson the interim head coach of the New York Knicks talks with (L) Carmelo Anthony #7 of the New York Knicks during the game against the Portland Trailblazers at Madison Square Garden on March 14, 2012 in New York City. (Image credit: Getty Images via @daylife)
The New York Knicks' organization had waited 4,024 days for this.

New York snapped an NBA-record 13-game playoff losing streak -- which spanned 4,024 days -- on Sunday when it pulled out a thrilling, 89-87, win over the Miami Heat in Game 4 of their first-round series.

"It’s about time. This team is good enough to win [playoff] games," interim coach Mike Woodson said. "There’s no doubt. We’ve proved we can beat anybody in this league."

The win may have been doubly significant for Woodson. The fact that Woodson won a playoff game will no doubt factor in to the Knicks' decision on whether or not to bring him back next season.

But that's a decision for another day.

On Sunday, the Knicks soaked in the screams of the sold-out Garden crowd after Dwyane Wade's potential game-winner bounced off the rim.

"The fans were tremendous tonight," Carmelo Anthony said after scoring 41 points -- 12 in the fourth quarter -- to lead the Knicks. "Despite all the stuff that is going on with our team, for us to come together and win this playoff game tonight, it was a great feeling."

Amare Stoudemire complimented the fans, some of whom had endured 10 seasons without a playoff win.

Stoudemire played a key role in the win by scoring 20 points and grabbing 10 rebounds against Miami.

http://espn.go.com/blog/new-york/knicks/post/_/id/18913/woody-on-playoff-w-its-about-time

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NBA News 2012: Lin-sanity has given way to Melo Mania for playoff hungry NY Knicks fans

NEW YORK, NY - FEBRUARY 29: (R) Carmelo Anthony #7 of the New York Knicks and (L) Jeremy Lin #17 of the New York Knicks during the game against the Cleveland Cavaliers at Madison Square Garden on February 29, 2012 in New York City. (Image credit: Getty Images via @daylife)The New York Knicks squeaked by with a 113-112 win in Atlanta this afternoon over the Hawks. On the final play of the game, the Hawks’ Marvin Williams missed a dunk that would not have counted as time ran out before the ball left his hands, while being harassed in the air by the Knicks tandem of Carmelo Anthony and Amar’e Stoudemire. Melo had 39 points and grabbed 10 rebounds in a hotly contested game between two teams that have already clinched playoff spots. The Hawks shot 15-23 from 3-point range to keep the game close throughout, with Williams finishing with 29 points and 11 rebounds.

In his second game back in action, missing 13 games over the last month after suffering a bulging disc back injury, Stoudemire had 22 points and 12 rebounds. Landry Fields showed up big for the Knicks which they’ll need in the playoffs, shooting well and scoring 18 points. Lack of a second consistent scorer probably cost the Knicks a win a week ago against their likely opponent in the playoffs’ first round, the Miami Heat. Anthony had 43 points against Miami, but with the game on the line the Heat’s three star players, Lebron James, Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh overcame a Knick 4-point lead early in the fourth quarter to regain and maintain the edge the rest of the way. Atlanta occupies the 5th seed and is likely to play the Boston Celtics in the opening round.

There has been no mention thus far as to whether Jeremy Lin will be able to return for the playoffs, although he reportedly had stitches removed from knee surgery early last week. With no Lin or Stoudemire, Anthony has virtually carried the team to playoff eligibility by finally playing in New York like a superstar, with an all-around floor game, especially over the past three weeks. However, there is a glaring need for consistent point guard play if New York is going to be a force in playoff competition. Ironically, that has been their Achilles heel all year, except for the brief period that “Lin-sanity” reigned over the metropolitan area. Their opponents obviously knew that and started to play rough against Lin, whenever he came inside, penetrating the paint whether attempting to score or pass.

http://www.allvoices.com/contributed-news/11993425-linsanity-has-given-way-to-melo-mania-for-playoff-hungry-ny-knicks-fans?utm_campaign=Outbrain&utm_source=Outbrain2Cents

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