**Official '11 NYK LOCKOUT thread*** lockout over

That Melo commercial made me shed a tear. Pause.
http://twitter.com/#!/darrenrovell
The demand for Carmelo Anthony replica jerseys skyrocketed as soon as it was announced he would wear No. 7 with the Knicks.

The supply is another story.

Mitchell Modell, CEO of Modell’s Sports Goods, said Wednesday it likely will be 45 days before he has an adequate supply of $44.99 replica No. 7 jerseys.

On the Knicks’ online store, Anthony jerseys can be pre-ordered but are not expected to ship until April. The NBA ‘s online store is not promising shipment until May.

(…)

“We’ve sold more Knicks stuff than probably the last four years combined,
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This guy Diddy must be happy as hell Melo's a Knick....the amount of times they've played this commercial, he probably got himself a few stacks today.
 
Originally Posted by HarlemToTheBronx

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he clearly took his physical before taking this picture. looks like his wife isnt the only LaLa he was with last night.
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im hyped with the new look knicks... melo and chancey are obviously going to do their thing but im excited to see what brewer can do... i think hes the sleeper pickup of this trade and can be a good asset in the future for cp3 or in general
 
Press conference soon...

It's legends night tonight at the garden I wonder if their going to wear the throwbacks again
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whats up with ticketmaster looks like every game is sold out??... or they scamming people with ticket exchange ??
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Coming Home video was epic, got chills and thought I was gonna shed a tear
Woke up to that email saying Modells was having the 40%, instantly added the home and away to my cart but they're excluded
Less than three hours away from the game
 
In the wake of the Carmelo Anthony trade and the assorted other dominoes that are falling around the league in the final hours before the trade deadline, it's my turn to swim against the tide and talk about the actual happenings on the court for a second.

In particular, it's time to take another look at the Eastern Conference -- not only because of the Melo move but also because of all the potential combinations for playoff seeding that will be determined in the second half of the season.

Obviously, the New York Knicks are now a focal point. They're a more dangerous team than they were before the Anthony trade, and top-heavy teams like the one New York has tend to be more of a threat in a short playoff series than throughout an 82-game grind.

With the Atlanta Hawks looking eminently beatable of late and the Philadelphia 76ers and Indiana Pacers, despite their recent success, seeming grossly undermanned against the conference's four elite teams, one has to think that avoiding New York would be quite desirable for that top quartet.

Thus, the first question: Where will the Knicks end up in the playoff race?

New York has 28 games left. The Playoff Odds projected its former roster to split them 14-14, but that now seems pessimistic. For starters, the Knicks' schedule isn't particularly tough, including three games against Cleveland. Plus, two games that seem difficult on paper may be easy in real life, as the season-ending games against Chicago and Boston could be against the Bulls' and Celtics' scrubs if those clubs' seedings have been clinched. (Unfortunately for New York, that likely won't be the case -- read more below.)

Throw all that in the mix, and a 17-11 or 18-10 finish seems more in line with reality. Such a flurry would put the Knicks at either 45 or 46 wins, enough to hold off Philadelphia and keep control of the No. 6 seed, and possibly enough to pass Atlanta for No. 5. The Hawks already have 34 wins in the bag and a 2-1 season series lead for the tiebreaker, with the final head-to-head meeting in Atlanta on March 6, but if the Hawks lose that game, I suspect the Knicks will pass them.

Here's why: Atlanta still has 15 home games remaining, but the Playoff Odds project them to go only 11-15 because the schedule is extremely difficult -- 12 of their home games are against teams with winning records. The Hawks will play Chicago three times in March alone, and they'll host Miami twice, plus San Antonio, Boston, the Lakers, Orlando, Oklahoma City, Portland, Denver and the reconstructed Knicks. Although the Hawks' road slate is considerably easier -- of the 11 road games left, only three are against winning teams -- overall, this is a beastly finishing stretch.

That the race for fifth in the East likely will go down to the wire is of great importance to the teams on the other side of that coin, third-place Chicago and fourth-place Orlando. I should point out that the Magic are only a game and a half ahead of the Hawks for fourth right now, but Atlanta has virtually no chance of catching the Magic based on the difference in schedule. Although the Hawks are playing title contenders every night, Orlando gets to stampede through a succession of Sacramentos and Charlottes and likely will end up with a win total in the low-to-mid 50s.

Such an outcome would leave the Magic comfortably in fourth and rooting for the Hawks to hold off New York for fifth. Orlando crushed Atlanta in a four-game playoff series last season and likely would do pretty much the same this time around, but the prospect of playing New York presents a less certain fate. Of course, the Magic also can help ensure their opponent -- they'll play the Knicks three times in March.

Meanwhile, the Eastern race maintains a lot of intrigue at the top. At the moment, we're projecting that Chicago will be the third seed and potentially draw New York if the Knicks can't pass Atlanta, but Miami or Boston also could land in the No. 3 spot.

Only two games separate first from third in the loss column, leaving Chicago very much alive in the chase for the conference's top seed -- especially with high-energy big man Joakim Noah due back from injury. The Bulls also control their destiny to an extent, with two games left against Miami (including one Thursday) and one against Boston. Additionally, the rest of the schedule isn't bad -- although 16 of the 28 games are on the road, 17 of Chicago's final 28 opponents have losing records.

If the Bulls are going to catch a team above them, it's probably Boston. Miami has a very tough three-week stretch coming up, but after that, a profusion of patsies line the homestretch; plus, 15 of its 25 remaining games are at home. Even if Chicago beats the Heat once more, which would give the Bulls the tiebreaker, the Bulls would have a hard time staying even with Miami in the standings. Beat them twice, and then it's more realistic.

Boston, on the other hand, may be more vulnerable. The Celtics have injury problems and only 11 home games the rest of the way, so even though their opposition is decidedly lightweight -- their next game against a side in the top four in either conference isn't until March 31 -- the Bulls could catch them by beating Boston at home on April 7, which also would even the season series.

Granted, the Heat and Celtics remain in better shape. Wednesday's Playoff Odds give Miami a nearly 50-50 shot at the East's top seed (47.1 percent) and Boston most of the rest (38.0 percent), while Chicago gets only a one-in-seven shot from the computer. Boston's 3-0 series lead over Miami is also a factor, giving the C's both the head-to-head tiebreaker and the same for any three-way tie with Chicago and Miami.

Point a gun and ask me to pick, and I'd tell you it will work out like this: Chicago won't get a top-two seed unless it wins both games against Miami, which I consider unlikely. As a result, the Bulls and Hawks would square off in the first round as New York juuuust squeaks by Atlanta for the fifth seed. The Knicks, then, would draw Orlando in an entertaining battle between Dwight Howard and his future teammates (just kidding, Magic fans). And Boston and Miami will tie at the top, with Boston winning the tiebreaker, which would leave the Celtics playing Indiana and the Heat playing Philadelphia.

In this scenario, although Knicks fans might not see their team as a huge underdog to Orlando, in truth, getting to a dream conference semifinals matchup with the Celtics would be an uphill climb against the underrated Magic.

Of course, there's much basketball left to be played. Two wild cards in all this are Anthony and Noah -- in particular, how quickly Melo meshes in New York and how much Noah can improve an already devastating Chicago defense are two questions we can't totally answer yet. The answers could lead these two teams on a first-round collision course with each other (with the Knicks already holding two W's over the Bulls) but also could send them in very different directions.
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Did the press conference happen already? Don't want to search through this thread. Feels like it jumped 20 pages since yesterday, maybe more. Can anyone direct me to a page or link? TIA.
 
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