Jamario Moon
Anthony Parker

Maurice Williams
Delonte West
Daniel Gibson

Leon Powe. Darnell Jackson. Jawad Williams. Danny Green. Coby Karl.

Knicks have got a better core, without a doubt. Better now, better for the future. Give break to me, break me off kit kat bar, what whaaaat?

kam77 wrote:Do the Nets have an All-Star?

Guess what... advantage knicks

Artest: Without LeBron, Cavs not a playoff team

2:08 AM By Alan Hahn

We had this debate going on Twitter and on the Knicks Fix Facebook page, regarding the Knicks and Cavaliers, where I offered the scenario that it would be interesting in the upcoming Feb. 6 game in Cleveland if LeBron James didn't play (say he gets the flu). Would that be a way to judge which team might have the better supporting cast?

But the better question is about the Cavs in general. Without LeBron, are they a playoff team? Ron Artest had just played them the night before and spent most of the night trying to guard LBJ, who had 37 points.

And if you ask him, the answer is no.

"Actually, I thought about that yesterday," he said. "If you take LeBron off that team, no. They're not. No."

He then tried to suggest that if you took Kobe Bryant off the Lakers, they wouldn't be a playoff team, either. But it didn't take much to get him to reconsider. The Lakers have Pau Gasol, Lamar Odom, Andrew Bynum and, yes, Artest. That's plenty of talent to finish in the top eight.

In the East, that might even be enough to earn home court in the first round.

"I guess that's why they got me," Artest said of the Lakers, "to take him out of the game. Yesterday, it didn't work."

But he suspects they'll see each other again this year, probably in June.

Artest has no filter, which is what makes him such an enjoyable interview subject. In November in L.A., he suggested to a couple of us New York writersthat some NBA players are afraid of the New York media and the pressure and demand that comes with playing in New York. But LeBron, he said, could definitely handle it.

And Artest, who is still an unapologetically devoted Knicks fan, laughed when asked if he spoke at all to LeBron about New York on Thursday night.

"No disrespect to Cleveland," he said with a grin, "but we need some star power here in New York. We need some legit star power, so I can come down and beat up on them. We need a star power player to come in and make it a great team . . . It'll be great to see one day a New York-L.A. championship."

AnubisADL wrote:

nyk4ever wrote:I know the source is questionable, but still..

Artest: Without LeBron, Cavs not a playoff team

2:08 AM By Alan Hahn

We had this debate going on Twitter and on the Knicks Fix Facebook page, regarding the Knicks and Cavaliers, where I offered the scenario that it would be interesting in the upcoming Feb. 6 game in Cleveland if LeBron James didn't play (say he gets the flu). Would that be a way to judge which team might have the better supporting cast?

But the better question is about the Cavs in general. Without LeBron, are they a playoff team? Ron Artest had just played them the night before and spent most of the night trying to guard LBJ, who had 37 points.

And if you ask him, the answer is no.

"Actually, I thought about that yesterday," he said. "If you take LeBron off that team, no. They're not. No."

He then tried to suggest that if you took Kobe Bryant off the Lakers, they wouldn't be a playoff team, either. But it didn't take much to get him to reconsider. The Lakers have Pau Gasol, Lamar Odom, Andrew Bynum and, yes, Artest. That's plenty of talent to finish in the top eight.

In the East, that might even be enough to earn home court in the first round.

"I guess that's why they got me," Artest said of the Lakers, "to take him out of the game. Yesterday, it didn't work."

But he suspects they'll see each other again this year, probably in June.

Artest has no filter, which is what makes him such an enjoyable interview subject. In November in L.A., he suggested to a couple of us New York writersthat some NBA players are afraid of the New York media and the pressure and demand that comes with playing in New York. But LeBron, he said, could definitely handle it.

And Artest, who is still an unapologetically devoted Knicks fan, laughed when asked if he spoke at all to LeBron about New York on Thursday night.

"No disrespect to Cleveland," he said with a grin, "but we need some star power here in New York. We need some legit star power, so I can come down and beat up on them. We need a star power player to come in and make it a great team . . . It'll be great to see one day a New York-L.A. championship."

I dont think the Lakers make it to the playoffs without Kobe in the west.

ADL, you have the rockets with a bunch of scrubs making it in the west right now. i think pau, bynum, artest with phil jax squeezes into 8th spot, at the least.

regardless, let's put them both in the east. cavs without lebron don't make it in the east, lakers without kobe can get home court in the east.

orangeblobman wrote:ADL, you have the rockets with a bunch of scrubs making it in the west right now. i think pau, bynum, artest with phil jax squeezes into 8th spot, at the least.

regardless, let's put them both in the east. cavs without lebron don't make it in the east, lakers without kobe can get home court in the east.

Houston plays tough and gritty. Houston isnt full of scrubs either. They have solid role players and a nice front court. The Laker's play soft to me. Kobe and Artest the only guys with a killer instinct.

Having a good coach makes the difference when you dont have a star. See Larry Brown and Rick Adelman.