you can go home again

Inspired by Alex K.'s clever experiment at Depressedfan.com.

Here is the All-Time Native New York Knicks Team:

PG - Bob Cousy (New York, NY)
SG - Lenny Wilkins (Brooklyn, NY)
SF - Julius Erving (Roosevelt, NY)
PF - Dolph Schayes (New York, NY)
C - Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (Inwood, NY)
6th - Billy Cunningham (Brooklyn, NY)

It is worth noting Michael Jordan was born in Brooklyn, but played high school basketball in North Carolina, so he was left off the team. 73 year old, blogger and life-long New Yorker Dan Cohen said, "While looking over the list of current local Knicks, I was surprised. As I remember, the great New York high school players were from Manhattan, Brooklyn, and the Bronx, not Queens and outside the five boroughs, especially Connecticut!" Other notable native New York players include: Nate "Tiny" Archibald (Bronx, NY), Bernard King (Brooklyn, NY), Max Zaslofsky (Brooklyn, NY), Connie Hawkins (Brooklyn, NY), and Chris Mullin (Brooklyn, NY).

Here are the rest of the All-Time Local Teams:

Philadelphia 76ers:
PG - "Pistol" Pete Maravich (Aliquippa, PA)
SG - Kobe Bryant (Philadelphia, PA)
SF - Paul Arizin (Philadelphia, PA)
PF - Rasheed Wallace (Philadelphia, PA)
C - Wilt Chamberlain (Philadelphia, PA)
6th - Earl Monroe (Philadelphia, PA)






Detroit Pistons:
PG – Magic Johnson (Lansing, MI)
SG – George Gervin (Detroit, MI)
SF – Chet Walker (Benton Harbor, MI)
PF – Dave DeBusschere (Detroit, MI)
C – Spencer Haywood (Detroit, MI)
6th – Glen Rice (Flint, MI)






Chicago Bulls:
PG – Isaiah Thomas (Chicago, IL)
SG – Cazzie Russell (Chicago, IL)
SF – Dwyane Wade (Chicago, IL)
PF – Dan Issel (Batavia, IL)
C – George Mikan (Joliet, IL)
6th – Maurice Cheeks (Chicago, IL)






Indiana Pacers:
PG – Oscar Robertson (Indianapolis, IN)
SG – Dick Barnett (Gary, IN)
SF – Larry Bird (West Baden, IN)
PF – Dave Cowens (Newport, KY)
C – Wes Unseld (Louisville, KY)
6th – George McGinnis (Indianapolis, IN)






Cleveland Cavaliers:
PG – Jerry West (Chelyan, WV)
SG – Hal Greer (Huntington, WV)
SF – LeBron James (Akron, OH)
PF – Jerry Lucas (Middletown, OH)
C – Nate Thurmond (Akron, OH)
6th – John Havlicek (Martins Ferry, OH)






Charlotte Bobcats:
PG – Sam Jones (Wilmington, NC)
SG – Michael Jordan (Wilmington, NC)
SF – James Worthy (Gastonia, NC)
PF – Kevin Garnett (Greenville, SC)
C – Bob McAdoo (Greensboro, NC)
6th – Dominique Wilkins (Washington, NC)






New Orleans Hornets:
PG – Joe Dumars (Shreveport, LA)
SG – Jimmy Jones (Tallulah, LA)
SF – Elvin Hayes (Rayville, LA)
PF – Bob Pettit (Baton Rouge, LA)
C – Willis Reed (Hico, LA)
6th – Karl Malone (Summerfield, LA)






Washington Wizards:
PG – Dave Bing (Washington DC)
SG – Allen Iverson (Hampton, VA)
SF – Elgin Baylor (Washington DC)
PF – Moses Malone (Petersburg, VA)
C – David Robinson (Manassas, VA)
6th – Adrian Dantley (Washington DC)






Golden State Warriors:
PG – Jason Kidd (Alameda, CA)
SG – Gary Payton (Oakland, CA)
SF – Willie Wise (San Francisco, CA)
PF – Paul Silas (Oakland, CA)
C – Bill Russell (Oakland, CA)
6th – Jim Pollard (Oakland, CA)






New Jersey Nets:
PG – Rory Sparrow (Paterson, NJ)
SG – Kelly Tripucka (Bloomfield, NJ)
SF – Rick Barry (Elizabeth, NJ)
PF – Tommy Heinsohn (Union City, NJ)
C – Billy Paultz (River Edge, NJ)
6th – Bob Verga (Belmar, NJ)






Los Angeles Lakers:
PG – Gail Goodrich (Los Angeles, CA)
SG – Reggie Miller (Riverside, CA)
SF – Paul Pierce (Inglewood, CA)
PF – Sidney Wicks (Los Angeles, CA)
C – Bill Laimbeer (Palos Verdes, CA)
6th – Bill Sharman (Porterville, CA)






Portland Trailblazers:
PG – John Stockton (Spokane, WA)
SG – Danny Ainge (Eugene, OR)
SF – Detlef Schrempf (Centralia, WA)
PF – AC Green (Portland, OR)
C – James Edwards (Seattle, WA)
6th – Jason Terry (Seattle, WA)






Denver Nuggets:
PG – Chauncey Billups (Denver, CO)
SG – Ron Boone (Omaha, NE)
SF – Scott Wedman (Denver, CO)
PF – Tom Chambers (Boulder, CO)
C – Joe Barry Carroll (Denver, CO)
6th – Bob Boozer (Omaha, NE)





Atlanta Hawks:
PG – Norm Nixon (Macon, GA)
SG – Walt “Clyde” Frazier (Atlanta, GA)
SF – Dale Ellis (Marietta, GA)
PF – Charles Barkley (Leeds, AL)
C – Artis Gilmore (Dothan, AL)
6th – Dwight Howard (Atlanta, GA)






Memphis Grizzlies:
PG – JoJo White (St. Louis, MO)
SG – Sidney Moncrief (Little Rock, AR)
SF – Scottie Pippen (Hamburg, AR)
PF – Bailey Howell (Middleton, TN)
C – Ed Macauley (St. Louis, MO)
6th – Shawn Marion (Clarksville, TN)






Miami Heat:
PG – Derek Harper (West Palm Beach, FL)
SG – Mitch Richmond (Fort Lauderdale, FL)
SF – Eddie Jones (Pompano Beach, FL)
PF – Otis Thorpe (Lake Worth, FL)
C – Tim Duncan (US Virgin Islands)
6th – Mychal Thompson (Miami, FL)






Los Angeles Clippers:
PG – Dennis Johnson (Compton, CA)
SG – Reggie Theus (Inglewood, CA)
SF – Marques Johnson (Los Angeles, CA)
PF – Kiki Vandeweghe (Pacific Palisades, CA)
C – Bill Walton (La Mesa, CA)
6th – George Yardley (Newport Beach, CA)






Oklahoma City Thunder:
PG – Mark Price (Enid, OK)
SG – John Starks (Tulsa, OK)
SF – Danny Manning (Lawrence, KS)
PF – Wayman Tisdale (Tulsa, OK)
C – Alvan Adams (Warr Acres, OK)
6th – Lucius Allen (Kansas City, KS)






Milwaukee Bucks:
PG – Terry Porter (Milwaukee, WI)
SG – Fred Brown (Milwaukee, WI)
SF – Latrell Sprewell (Milwaukee, WI)
PF – John Johnson (Milwaukee, WI)
C – Jim Chones (Racine, WI)
6th – Caron Butler (Racine, WI)






Dallas Mavericks:
PG – Deron Williams (The Colony, TX)
SG – Ricky Pierce (Garland, TX)
SF – Larry Johnson (Dallas, TX)
PF – Dennis Rodman (Dallas, TX)
C – Chris Bosh (Dallas, TX)
6th – Mookie Blaylock (Garland, TX)






Houston Rockets:
PG – Slater Martin (Houston, TX)
SG – Clyde Drexler (Houston, TX)
SF – Rashard Lewis (Alief, TX)
PF – Emeka Okafor (Houston, TX)
C – Zelmo Beaty (Woodville, TX)
6th – Terry Teagle (Broaddus, TX)






Toronto Raptors:
PG – Steve Nash (Victoria, Canada)
SG – Larry Costello (Minoa, NY)
SF – Clifford Robinson (Buffalo, NY)
PF – Bob Houbregs (Vancouver, Canada)
C – Bob Lanier (Buffalo, NY)
6th – Rick Fox (Toronto, Canada)






Orlando Magic:
PG – Eddie Johnson (Summerfield, FL)
SG – Vince Carter (Daytona Beach, FL)
SF – Tracy McGrady (Bartow, FL)
PF – Truck Robinson (Jacksonville, FL)
C – Amare Stoudamire (Orlando, FL)
6th – Otis Birdsong (Winter Haven, FL)






Minnesota Timberwolves:
PG – Dick Garmaker (Hibbing, MN)
SG – Mark Olberding (Melrose, MN)
SF – Phil Jackson (Williston, ND)
PF – Kevin McHale (Hibbing, MN)
C – Vern Mikkelsen (Askov, MN)
6th – Mike Miller (Mitchell, SD)






Phoenix Suns:
PG – Mike Bibby (Phoenix, AZ)
SG – Fat Lever (Tucson, AZ)
SF – Sean Elliot (Tucson, AZ)
PF – Richard Jefferson (Phoenix, AZ)
C – Channing Frye (Phoenix, AZ)
6th – Arthur Becker (Phoenix, AZ)






Sacramento Kings:
PG – Kevin Johnson (Sacramento, CA)
SG – Ray Allen (Merced, CA)
SF – Darnell Hillman (Sacramento, CA)
PF – Jim Eakins (Sacramento, CA)
C – Bill Cartwright (Elk Grove, CA)
6th – James Donaldson (Sacramento, CA)






San Antonio Spurs:
PG – Devin Brown (San Antonio, TX)
SG – Robert Reid (Schertz, TX)
SF – Eduardo Najera (San Antonio, TX)
PF – Luke Jackson (San Marcos, TX)
C – Shaquille O’Neal (San Antonio, TX)
6th – Chris Mihm (Austin, TX)






Boston Celtics:
PG – Travis Best (Springfield, MA)
SG – Dana Barros (Westwood, MA)
SF – Francisco Garcia (Winchendon, MA)
PF – Marvin Barnes (Providence, RI)
C – Patrick Ewing (Cambridge, MA)
6th – James Bailey (Westwood, MA)






New York Jazz: (relocated from Utah)
PG – Nate “Tiny” Archibald (Bronx, NY)
SG – Max Zaslofsky (Brooklyn, NY)
SF – Bernard King (Brooklyn, NY)
PF – Fred Roberts (South Jordan, UT)
C – Shawn Bradley (Castle Dale, UT)
6th – World B. Free (Brooklyn, NY)

what if...

NBA teams could only draft players from their geographical vicinity? This is the question Alex K. asked and answered at DepressedFan.com in February. His Hometown Heroes post goes through each NBA team and finds the current players who would be playing for that team in this fictional scenario. While cities such as Charlotte, Portland, and Dallas have very good teams, lesser-known metropolises like Salt Lake City, Toronto, and Oklahoma City have less talented squads. The big surprise is that the Boston Celtics are comprised of mostly D-League players like Demetris Nichols, Matt Bonner, and Courtney Sims and is anchored by center Marcus Camby.

The New York Knicks team puts this starting five on the floor: PG Ben Gordon (Mount Vernon, NY), SG Ron Artest (Queens, NY), SF Lamar Odom (South Jamaica, NY), PF Elton Brand (Peekskill, NY), and Center Charlie Villanueva (Queens, NY) with Ryan Gomes (Waterbury, CT) as the sixth man. Blogger Bashir G. has this to say about the New York locals, "This team has good talent all around with a lot of versatility and strong defense but no pg. So I could see this team using odom as their Point-Forward to bring up the ball. Gordon is most definitely a pure 2, always looking for his shot so he wouldn't work as the 1. This team has good shooters slashers and every player can create their own shot so this would be an effective team but their 3pt game outside of Gordon is a little suspect because Villanueva, artest and odom are inconsistent from 3." While Blogger Brian makes this suggestion, "I'd take Brand at center, Gomes at PF, bring Charlie V off the bench and hope the defense could hold up."

Would this Knicks team be able to best the 32-50 showing put up by the 2008-2009 Knickerbockers? Would Gordon be able to run the point, or would he make New Yorkers yearn for the days of Chris Duhon, who would be playing for the New Orleans Hornets? Would Starbury be motivated to play for his hometown team, this time if he had no choice? It's nice to think of a Knicks what if scenario that does not involve a certain King. At least this exercise in supposition provides a diversion until Knicks fans can wish for a Spaniard at the NBA lottery.

izod center: nets 106, knicks 101

The New Jersey Nets outlasted the New York Knicks in a great game between two struggling franchises. New Jersey stated its case for the eighth playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. They trail the current eighth seed, Chicago Bulls, by one game. The New York Knicks fell to 25-37. In a rebuilding year by the Knicks maybe it is time to begin paying attention to who is available in the lottery of this year's draft. Devin Harris led all scorers with 35 points and 10 assists. David Lee paced D'Antoni's Knicks with 19 points and 14 boards.

Though the real story was new Knick Larry Hughes missing an open 3-point jumper with less than 30 seconds left to tie the game. Hughes was able to solidify the New Jersey lead by turning the ball over to Devin Harris for an uncontested layup, then clunked the potential tying shot. Hughes, who came to the Knicks for almost nothing (Jerome James, Anthony Roberson, and Tim Thomas) showed his value by earning a new nickname, "Cap Relief" (coined by my friend, Sasha).

On a positive note for the Knickerbokers, Danilo Gallinari had a nice game. He hit two clutch 3-point jumpers towards the end of the game. He finished with 15 points, going 3-4 from beyond the arc. Though Gallinari's solid performance was overshadowed by the Knicks' awful ball control. 5 of their 19 turnovers came in the last five minutes of the game.