Knicks offseason preview and predictions

The Knicks have not made the 2013-14 playoffs they had a terrible season with injuries and still managed to almost make the playoffs, testament to them and the luck of the three ball going in. The season was chock full of terrible events. The most memorable were Mike Woodson not calling a timeout when the Knicks were down to get the ball to midcourt, allowing the time to tick of clock when they went up the court. As well as the now infamous "I believe I can fly" Andrea Bargnani failed dunk; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V9dX6IhU2tM and the Andrea Bargnani shooting the ball with the knicks up with the clock ticking down; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p7b5wHb6htM.THe Knicks hired Phil Jackson, the NBA legendary coach with 11 NBA titles, coaching and playing.

What has happened so far this offseason:
The Knicks traded fired head coach Mike Woodson and hired former Laker and Thunder Derek Fisher. They also traded center Tyson Chandler,and point guard Raymond Felton for point guards Jose Calderon, Shane Larkin, center Samuel Dalembert, shooting guard Wayne Ellington and the 34th and 51st pick in the draft. They used  those picks on Wichita State power forward Cleanthony Early, the "Greek Freak"'s brother shooting guard Thanasis Antetokounmpo from the Delaware 87ers in the NBA D-League. After watching a video from Draftexpress I posted on facebook a scouting report of Cleathony Early. He looks like he is big and strong, and can muscle his way into the paint. I also like the hustle back on D, his scoring looks good,but if he could develop an outside game, he would improve, his handle needs to be closer into his body, it won't survive so far out in the NBA. He looks good at spot up jumpers but all the highlights are when he has tons of space, NBA defenders do not usually give tons of space, so he needs to work on his outside and step back and spot up game with defenders in his face, pressuring him,not letting him get an inch.Cleanthony only had 0.8 blocks per game, last year, that needs to improve tremendously, he needs to get smarter with the shots he takes, needs improvement on playing vs the big men in the paint, he needs to improve his awareness and stop standing around watching when his man does not have the ball. Early needs to work on getting out of double teams and not forcing shots when double teamed; he has bad court vision, and peace of mind to develop a play before it happens.He suffers from lackluster passing at times, and that is putting it nicely.Cleanthony  needs to have a more consistent shot, take his time, not shoot it as soon as he gets it, get set, he's only 207 needs to bulk up to 215 to push in the paint.He is already 23 years old, which could be a concern, he needs to take less stand up jumpers and incorporate more step back jumpers, he needs to adjust to the NBA three as he had trouble toeing the line in college. Overall he looks good not great in his highlights and atrocious in his lowlights. I was more impressed by Thanaisis Antekumpo's highlights. He averaged 11.7 ppg last year in Delaware. He is good in transition because of his size. The first highlight of him, he grabs the rebound dribbles all the way up the court and then takes off for the one handed slam in the paint.Upon a second viewing of that he could've passed it to his teammate who was wide open in the corner but  I will take the dunk, as long as he is not a ball hog.He succeeds in taking advantage of the defense giving him space and slashing it with a good first step to the basket for a layup or dunk. He plays well above the rim and getting the ball to go in when he is right under the basket.He has a high motor so his ceiling on defense his high. He had 1.3 steals per game last year. As a result of his long arms, he can deflect inbounds passes easily. He can get back on defense if his team turns the ball over or a simple change of possession and swat the ball away. He is a big energy guy that can come off the bench and provide the Knicks with a shot in the arm when they are down late in a game. He also plays very hard, which I like in a player. One highlight shows him pressuring the ball hander to lose control before getting it back and getting it past Thanasis and then Thanasis getting back to the ball and blocking the shot; forcing a turnover. He can sometimes struggle on the offensive glass. He is very good at the little things that do not appear on sportscenter or the box scores, like boxing people out, or hustling down the ball to save a turnover etc.. One thing that can be negative and positive about him, is he shows a lot of emotion, when he dunks the ball or forces a turnover he gets amped up about it. His mechanics are not consistent. Sometimes he shoots the ball while on the way down. He is a shoot first ask questions later type of player so when he is not square and with the right mechanics he does not take two seconds to fix it, he immediately puts one up. He struggles mightely shooting off the dribble, out of his 67 jumpers last year only two were off the dribble. He is lacking in basketball IQ. Thanasis does not get his teammates involved enough. He forces plays which result in turnovers. Per 40 minutes he averages 3.3 turnovers. He does not create well in Iso or pick and roll situations. His ball handle in poor, which leads to turning the ball over 25% of the time in iso and pick and roll situations. The Knicks drafted two, "long term projects" in my mind, which is what second drafts usually are. 


Predictions:

The perceived attitude of the Knicks was to scrap this upcoming season and wait till 2015 when NBA MVP Kevin Durant is on the market. However, with taking on 5 more million dollars in the Chandler to the Mavs trade they look like they will not do that. I think the Knicks might sign one or two more players to the veterans minimum and come off the bench to provide good minutes but I think it is highly unlikely that they will get enough free cap space to sign premier free agent Lebron James. I think Lebron will go to join Kyrie Irving and Andrew Wiggins in Cleveland. I think New York Knicks star Carmelo Anthony will join Joakim Noah and Derek Rose in Chicago. Phil Jackson is a genius and I'm sure he will all have it work out but I think they are done for next season and will settle for a lottery pick. I think in 2015 the Knicks will sign Kevin Durant and Chris Bosh. I think they will sign Chris Bosh because in Miami he is the third fiddle per say. The chain of command goes Lebron James-Dwayne Wade then Chris Bosh. However if he is a Knick, especially if Carmelo leaves he will be the first fiddle, and it makes sense for the Knicks too because Amare Stoudemire's contract is up at the same time and unless they are crazy, they will let him walk. I also think that the Knicks will work out a way to get Kobe Bryant to the Knicks because I think Kobe wants to win one last championship with Phil Jackson. 

United States World Cup 2014 Preview and Predictions

In the 2010 World Cup in South Africa the United States got past the group stage but lost to Ghana in the next round for the second straight World Cup. The United States soccer federation then fired head coach Bob Bradley and hired former West German star and World Cup winner Jurgen Klinsman, who immediately instituted a new coaching style, hopefully for the better. Then, was the World Cup Draw, the US was grouped in group G.Group G is the United States, Portugal headed by Ballon D'Or winner Cristiano Rinaldo, Ghana who knocked the United States out of the World Cup and Germany headed by Bastian Schweinsteigger who plays for top German club Bayern Munich. As if the United States being grouped in the "Group of Death" was not enough they also have the highest number of miles traveled out of any of the 2014 World Cup teams, going from Natal where the game time temperature is suppossed to be 86 degrees to Manaus in the middle of the rainforest, back to Reciefe which is south of Natal. Below is a map of Brazil, with the host cities marked.

Group G:

The United States opens against Ghana, the bottom left in Natal, then they go against, Portugal in Manaus, top right, lastly they go against Jurgen Klinsmann's former country Germany, top left. This group is commonly referred to as the "Group of Death" with many pundits announcing the United States not making it out of the group,  but the greatest United States soccer player of all time Landon Donovan said "It's the group of death because we are in it too". Which I agree with because I think even though soccer is not as big in the States as the other countries and the US does not have such an illustrious history as the rest of the countries in Group G, they have shown they can play and beat good teams, in a friendly last year the United States beat Germany, and great defense even caused the German keeper to have a mishap and an own goal to occur.

Portugal:

I think Portugal is beatable because I do not believe there is enough people around Cristiano Ronaldo for them to succeed. When Rinaldo for example, has a bad game they will probably lose. Portugal is ranked 4th in the world, but because of what I just said I do not think they will make it out of the group stage, so prepare for changes after this World Cup, probably because the coach always gets blamed, in the form of a managerial change.

Germany:

(credit A.J. Levine for the help)

The German team is the team I am most scared about in the Group of Death, they are filled with EPL and Bundesliga players, most of them play for top German club Bayern Munich, one of the best teams in the World. In the FIFA world rankings the Germans are ranked number two behind 2010 champions Spain. I think Miroslav Klose, Mezut Ozil, Bastian Schweinsteiger and Lukas Podolski will have the best tournaments for the German team. If the Germans are holding up the World Cup trophy in a month, it would not entirely shock me.


Ghana: 

The dang United States killers are back. The Ghanaian National team includes players from various different teams in the world, including Juventus, Orlando Pirates, and Schalke 04. I believe Ghana will not get out of the group and they will lose to the United States of America in the first game.

United States: 

The Underdogs from the United States of America. I am American so I am biased for this part, I think the United States will finally bury their demons and beat Ghana, I also think they will make it out of the group. The Americans will lose in the quarter finals to Argentina. The United States has players ranging from the MLS at home, to the EPL, to other European leagues.  I believe the results in the group stage for the States will be, the names after the scores denote the game winning goal scorer, or general goal scorer
US 3-1 Ghana, Mix Diskerud
US 1-1 Portugal, Clint Dempsey
US 1-4 Germany, Jozy Altidore
I think the United States will only get as far as Clint Dempsey can bring them, he is taking over for legend Landon Donovan, but Clint Dempsey is not a young inexperienced player by any stretch of the imagination, he is a hell of a player. I do not like however that Jurgen Klinsmann publicly stated them winning the world cup was "Just not realistic". I hate that because even if that is true and they are gonna be a colossal failure this year, they should not believe that they should believe that they are the best team in the world, and they can beat anybody they are up against.

The United States 23 man roster going to Brazil:

Goalies: 

#1- Tim Howard-Everton FC, England
#12-Brad Guzan-Aston Villa FC, England
#22-Nick Rimando-Real Salt Lake, United States

Defenders: 

#2- Deandre Yedlin- Seattle Sounders FC, United States
#3-Omar Gonzalez- LA Galaxy, United States
#5-Matt Besler- Sporting Kansas City, United States
#6-John Brooks- Hertha BSC, Germany
#7- Damarcus Beasley- Puebla, Mexico
#20-Geoff Cameron-Stoke City, England
#21-Timothy Chandler- Eintracht Frankfurt, Germany
#23-Fabian Johnson- Borussia Monchengladbach, Germany

Midfielders: 

#4-Michael Bradley- Toronto FC, Canada (part of the United States, MLS league)
#10-Mikkel (Mix) Diskerud- Rosenborg, Norway
#11- Alejandro Bedoya- Nantes, France
#13- Jermaine Jones- Besikitas, Turkey
#14-Brad Davis- Houston Dynamo, United States
#15-Kyle Beckerman- Real Salt Lake, United States
#16-Julian Green-Bayern Munich, Germany
#19-Graham Zusi- Sporting Kansas City, United States

Forwards:

#8-Clint Dempsey (C)- Seattle Sounders FC, United States
#9-Aron Johannson- Az Alkmaar, Norway
#17-Jozy Altidore- Sunderland FC, England
#18-Chris Wondolowski- San Jose Earthquakes, United States

New York Rangers 2014 Offseason Plan

I was wrong, I'm sorry I really thought the Rangers were the team of destiny and they would end their 20 year drought and win the cup; I really did. From the outside looking in a 4-1 series win looks like the series was not even close especially when the series was 3-0; however that was not the case; 3 out of the 5 games went to OT and 2 of them went to double OT. If the Rangers got a bounce here or there and a call here or there, I could be writing about how happy I am that the Rangers lifted the cup etc.. But, That is not the reality of the situation, the reality is the Rangers did not get the bounces or the calls, and lost the series to frankly, a better team. The Rangers hit the post more times than I care to count in the total 6 overtimes, in 3 games, but that is life. I will stop dwelling on that and actually talk about what this article is about, which you know from the title. For certain stretches in the postseason the Rangers could have changed their name to the Henrik Lundqvist's because he played brilliantly, while other players cough cough Rick Nash did not show up. The Rangers will buyout Center Brad Richards, because of the retirement cap penalty and the lack of the quality of play in comparison to the amount of money he is making.

Free Agent Situation: 

The Rangers have five restricted free agents and another seven unrestricted free agents, some of which I think they should resign and some of which I do not think they should resign. The UFA's are Brian Boyle, Benoit Pouliot, Dominic Moore, Daniel Carcillo, Anton Stralman and Raphael Diaz. Out of that crop I would resign Dom Moore to a three year deal worth 1.5 million dollars and Brian Boyle to a one year deal worth 1 million dollars. Now to the RFA's, Derick Brassard, Chris Kreider, Mats Zuccarello, Justin Falk, and John Moore. I think it would be very very unwise of Rangers GM Glen Sather to let Mats Zuccarello walk. I would resign Zuccarello to a 5 year deal worth 6 million dollars because of his improvement from a player only to be used in a shootout to one of the Rangers best players, far and away. I would also resign Kreider, Brassard and John Moore because I think Chris Kreider will only improve with time, and Brassard is also a good center man. John Moore is also a good 3rd D-Line pairing. The Rangers also should sign former captain Ryan Callahan to a 4 year 3 million dollar deal, they also should sign Paul Stastny from the Colorado Avalanche using the money from the buyout of Brad Richards for a 3 year, $1,250,000.00 deal.

Possible Trades:

If the Rangers want to be back where they were this year in the Stanley Cup finals they need to find a trade partner for Rick Nash, who had a terrible postseason scoring two goals in 26 games, needless to say that is not going to cut it. I would trade a first round pick and Rick Nash to the Ottawa Senators for Jason Spezza. However, Spezza has said he has 16 teams he does not want to go to but did not release the list, if the Rangers are one of those 16 i would call up the San Jose Sharks inquiring about center big bad Joe Thornton. A possible trade scenario would be Rick Nash and John Moore for Joe Thornton. I think this would be mutually beneficial to both teams because I think Rick Nash would be on the west coast and re find his game with Joe Pavelski and I think Joe Thornton could center the Rangers 3rd line, and checking line with Derek Dorsett at Left Wing and Dominic Moore at right wing. I say that because Joe Thornton is skilled but he would not fit on a speedy line like a line with the likes of Carl Hagelin, Marty St.Louis and Mats Zuccarello.


Possible Draft Picks:

The 2014 NHL Draft is on June 27th and 28th, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Rangers do not have a 2014 First round pick because it is in the possession of the Tampa Bay Lightning from the Callahan-St.Louis trade. The Rangers do however have the 59th overall pick, a second round pick. As a result, big name, big impact in 2014-15, and probably 2015-16 players will be off the board. So, the Rangers can pick a center out of Dexter School in Massachusetts, who has committed to Harvard for the 2015-16 season, named Ryan Donato, whose father was a Ranger, and is now the Head Coach at Harvard University. They could also get a defenseman named Alex Peters, out of the Plymouth Whalers. He had three goals this year.  The last person they could possibly get is Luke Phillip a center out of the Kootenay Ice in the WHL. He had 31 goals and 77 points this year for the Ice. 

Hartford WolfPack and who will be called up in 2014-15:

The Hartford WolfPack had a bad year, not making the playoffs. I think the Rangers could once they get rid of Daniel Carcillo call up Dylan Mcilrath, who is basically the same player, a fighter. They could also call up J.T. Miller, who I enjoy watching very much and is a good player, and Ryan Bourque. 

I believe the Rangers can and will get back to the cup next year if they do all these things mentioned in the article. 

Rangers vs. Kings Stanley Cup Final Preview and Predictions

The New York Rangers have made it to the Stanley cup finals for the first time in 20 years, 1994, where they beat the Vancouver Canucks, ending their 54 year drought. They will play the Los Angeles Kings. The last time the Rangers and Kings met in the postseason was 1981, when the Rangers won the series 3-1.The Kings had more points than the Rangers so Games 1 and 2 will be at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. Which means, Games 3 and 4 will be at MSG, and 5(if necessary) will be back in LA, 6 (if necessary) in NY, 7 (if necessary) in LA.

Rangers Road to the Final:

The Rangers started the season in terrible fashion, getting blown out in San Jose and Anaheim part of a Garden Renovation road trip, which saw them start 3-6, and eventually 6-7, before they came home, goalie Henrik Lundqvist became himself again, finishing with a record of 45-31-6. Which was good for 96 points. They also finished with the best road record in Rangers history, 25-14-2. The Rangers finished 2nd in the Metropolitan Division behind the Pittsburgh Penguins. At the trade deadline, GM Glen Sather and Tampa Bay Lightning GM Steve Yzerman pulled off the first ever captain for captain swap in NHL history, sending Ryan Callahan to the Tampa Bay Lightning for Martin St.Louis, who was upset with Steve Yzerman about being left off the Team Canada Sochi Olympic team.  The Rangers played the Philadelphia Flyers in the first round of the 2014 playoffs winning in 7 games. The next series they played the Pittsburgh Penguins, who took a 3-1 series lead after the Rangers had an abysmal 25 turnover performance in a 4-2 loss, bringing it back to Pittsburgh with a chance for the Pens to close out the series. Then, on the flight to Pittsburgh, tragically Rangers winger Martin St.Louis got a message on his phone that his mother France had died at age 63, so he immediately went back to Montreal to be with his family, he decided that she would have wanted him to play, so he played, and the Rangers rallied around that, winning the next 3 games, including game 7 to win, the series. Next up was the Montreal Canadiens who beat the Boston Bruins, in 7 games; Game 1 of that series was eventful because the Rangers won 7-2 and Chris Kreider accidentally hurt Canadiens starting goalie Carey Price. That led to the Canadiens Brandon Prust, a former New York Ranger, hitting Derek Stepan up high, and breaking his jaw in game 3, which the Canadiens won.  The next day Brandon Prust would get suspended for 2 games, with the Rangers up 2-1 in the series. That same game, after the hit, Derek Dorsett fought Brandon Prust standing up for Stepan, and when the referee was escorting Daniel Carcillo who was also in the melee to the penalty box, Carcillo gave the ref a little shove, and  was thrown out of the game. As a result of the NHL Rule against touching officials, he was suspended 10 games.  The Rangers went on to win game 4, to go back to Montreal with a chance to close it out. In game 5, the Rangers took an early penalty which set the tone for the rest of the game, in which the Rangers lost 7-4, even tying it up at 4-4 at one point in the game. Game 6 was back at the Garden where the New York Rangers, from a beautiful feed from Brian Boyle to Dominic Moore and a typical great game from Henrik Lundqvist won 1-0 to be crowned the Eastern Conference champions for the first time since 1994.

LA Kings Road to the Final:

The Los Angeles Kings came into the 2014 playoffs, with a 46-28-8 record, good for 100 points. The Los Angeles Kings like the New York Rangers pulled off a deadline deal, with the Columbus Blue Jackets for Marian Gaborik, a noted goal scorer, who some thought was over the hill. In the playoffs the Kings,looked as if they were dead in the first round, being down 3-0 to the San Jose Sharks before they pulled off the comeback. In the 2nd round the Los Angeles Kings played the Anaheim Ducks, in a tight back and forth series that went the distance, and was NHL legend Teemu Selanne's (RW, Ducks); last game. The Kings then had to play the defending champion Chicago Blackhawks, in a really tight, really back and forth, and mostly really physical series, that went the distance, with two great teams, and two great goalies. In Game 7 Alec Martinez, put one past Corey Crawford in OT to send the Kings to the Cup, to try to win their 2nd cup in 3 years.

What the New York Rangers Have to do to win the cup:

The New York Rangers have to keep playing their game, keep the pressure on the Kings. The Rangers key is their speed if they can just outrun the Kings, if they can outrun the Kings they can get breakaways, if they get breakaways, they can score. The New York Rangers have Carl Hagelin, and Chris Kreider, two very fast skaters, that can tear up the Kings defense. The Rangers also can not just rest on Henrik Lundqvist, he is human too, if they just rest on him, they are toast. They also need to not make extra passes when they have shots, the more shots they get the better. Henrik Lundqvist also has to be Henrik Lundqvist, not a shadow of himself, if he can do that the Rangers have a legitimate shot at winning the Stanley Cup. 

What the LA Kings have to do to win the cup:

The Los Angeles Kings have to keep the pressure on the Rangers and try to wear them out physically. The Kings have to get bodies in front of Henrik Lundqvist, and grab every rebound he gives up and put them back in. The Kings can not be in the mindset of we have a cup already, we just beat the champs, job is done, let's just relax, if they do that the Rangers will jump all over them and this will quickly turn into a quick series, no pun intended. The Kings have to just wear down the Rangers physically, every time the Rangers get the puck they have to be looking to protect themselves from a hit. The Kings also need the line of Marian Gaborik- Anze Kopitar- Dustin Brown, to continue to be their best line and Gaborik to continue to step up. 

The Rangers will win the cup if.... the 4th line continues to be the Rangers best line and if Rick Nash breaks out of his slump and catches fire. 

The Kings will win the cup if....... They continue to get production from all the lines, and they just continue to physically wear down the Rangers. 

Predictions:

In this section I will predict every game winning goal scorer, how long the series will go, and what the scores will be, so here we go!

Game 1: 3-2 Kings win in OT, Justin Williams, 1-0

Game 2: 4-2 Rangers win, Dan Girardi, 1-1

Game 3: 2-1 Rangers win 2OT, Martin St.Louis 2-1

Game 4: 5-1 Kings win, Marian Gaborik, 2-2

Game 5: 2-1 Kings win OT, Anze Kopitar, 3-2

Game 6: 2-0 Rangers win, Ryan Mcdonagh, 3-3

Game 7: 1-0 Rangers win 3OT, Brian Boyle 4-3

The Rangers will capture their first Stanley Cup since 1994 and second since 1940. Henrik Lundqvist will add a Stanley cup to his trophy collection at home, which includes a 2006 Olympic gold medal from Torino, where he won it with Team Sweden, and a Vesina trophy from 2012