Midseason Report Cards for Every New York Knicks Player
Nobody on the New York Knicks gets an A-plus this semester. Not with a 7-36 record. No, sir.
Yet, nobody gets an F either. Not even the guy who probably deserves it and should be thanking his lucky stars for the D-minus he's been awarded.
Of those players currently wearing blue and orange, there are very few woeful underperformers. There is at least one for whom my love is fierce and embarrassing. Several are exceeding expectations—unfortunately those are the ones for which expectations were never very high.
Based upon their individual performances thus far and weighted by the relative size of their contracts, here are the midseason report cards being sent home to the Knicks players' parents.
Quincy Acy: B+
1 of 15Don't let the beard fool you; Knicks' forward Quincy Acy is only 24 years old. It's his third year in the NBA, and he's costing the Knicks a mere $915,243 this season.
Acy is the quintessential "effort player." His stat sheet is boring, but his play is anything but. He can be a beast on the boards, wrestling down 5.1 rebounds per game on average, but often more. He roars. He cheers. He fights John Wall. When he slams it down, the rim wakes up sore the next morning.
Q even added a three-pointer to his repertoire this season, nailing a trio of them late in the Jan. 10 loss to the Charlotte Hornets.
He can be a bit foul-prone and sloppy with his ball-handling, sure. Yet, he's been reliable and effective both as a starter (in 21 of 37 games) and off the bench. Overall, Acy is an asset to this young Knicks team who is well worth his salary and more.
Grade: B+
Cole Aldrich: B
2 of 15The Knicks are paying the same bargain price of $915,243 for Cole Aldrich—the center who is finally solidifying a place for himself in the NBA after five seasons of bench-riding.
Aldrich is partly to blame for the Knicks' decision to waive center Samuel Dalembert. Amar'e Stoudemire had already shunted Dalembert out of the starting lineup, but when Stoudemire went down with an injury, head coach Derek Fisher skipped over Dalembert and passed the job to Aldrich.
His performance was so solid on both ends of the court that we hardly noticed the release of Dalembert.
In his 12 games as a starter, Aldrich has racked up three double-doubles and averaged 8.1 rebounds, 1.2 blocks, 1.7 assists and 9.3 points per game. He sunk a career-high 18 points against the Sacramento Kings. He held Dwight Howard in check (mostly) on Jan. 8.
He's a big man who can dish out assists and has a smooth hook shot. Aldrich still might not be a superstar, but he's earning his paycheck and then some.
Grade: B
Lou Amundson: Temporary B+
3 of 15
Forward Lou Amundson is an NBA road warrior who's played for 10 different teams in nine seasons. He might find a more permanent home in New York if he keeps performing like he has in three games for the Knicks.
New York first obtained Amundson and Lance Thomas in a three-team trade earlier this month. Knicks management waived them both and then signed them to two consecutive 10-day contracts.
Amundson was in the starting lineup for both of the team's glorious back-to-back wins this week. (Back-to-back wins!) He's brought a spike of energy and a dash of veteran court vision to New York. He hustles for rebounds, squeezes ball-handlers until they step out of bounds and instinctively creates good court spacing.
Yet three games is only three games. For now he gets a temporary B-plus, but if he wants to secure that grade, he has to convince the Knicks to sign him for the rest of the season.
Grade: Temporary B+
Carmelo Anthony: B
4 of 15
I want to give Carmelo Anthony a better grade.
He's doing so much right, averaging 23.9 points, 6.6 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game and shooting 45.6 percent from the field. He's driving to the bucket and drawing fouls instead of burning out his legs with relentless jumpers. He is showing more vocal leadership than he has in seasons past, murmuring words of advice and support to frustrated teammates on the bench. He's defending and wrestling for rebounds on both ends of the court.
'Melo is doing many things well as both an individual and a teammate, that's true. But the New York Knicks are his team, and his team is 7-36.
'Melo is the franchise player. He's getting paid $22.5 million this year in return for that responsibility.
So, for now, we have to dock his grade for his team's poor record.
Grade: B
Andrea Bargnani: Incomplete
5 of 15
Sorry, Mr. and Mrs. Bargnani, your son is going to have to repeat this grade. At a different school. In a different town.
Poor Andrea Bargnani has only played 22 minutes all season. Injured during preseason, he didn't suit up again until Dec. 31, when he played a respectable game (nine points, four rebounds, two assists) against the Los Angeles Clippers. Two days later, Bargnani was leaving the court with a new injury, just moments into the matchup with the Detroit Pistons.
It hurts to watch Bargnani's struggles. It also hurts to know the Knicks are paying him $11.5 million to sit behind the bench in an Italian suit with no tie.
There may still be time for Bargs to salvage a season. For now, there is nothing to grade.
Grade: Incomplete
Jose Calderon: D-
6 of 15
Jose, I need your parent or guardian to sign this.
Jose Calderon, the veteran point guard who was supposed to be the key asset obtained in the offseason trade with the Dallas Mavericks, has been a thorough disappointment so far.
The Knicks were worried when Calderon went down with an injury in the offseason. After beginning the season 3-10, they were anxious for his return. Without Calderon, the Knicks' winning percentage was an unhealthy 23.1 percent (3-10). With Calderon, the winning percentage is a deathly 13.3 percent (4-26).
Calderon is the fourth highest-paid player on the team, earning $7.1 million. He's a point guard. A veteran. A big scorer. A guy expected to be a leader of men, offensive strategies and stat sheets. But that's not what he's been.
Instead, Calderon's court vision seems to be damaged. His lazy, off-the-mark passes are often intercepted and converted into fast-break buckets. He's oblivious to the shot clock, blithely dribbling or over-passing until the refs nailed the team for a 24-second violation. He's not doing a great job of directing the triangle offense and creating good court spacing.
He has the worst differential on the team, allowing opponents to outscore the Knicks by nine points when he's on the court. He also has the third-worst defensive rating on the squad.
Plus, he's been an inconsistent shooter. In Wednesday night's win over the Philadelphia 76ers, Calderon had the stroke, scoring 15 points and shooting 50 percent of the field, but the game before, he only shot 2-of-10. That's how it's been all season.
It pains me to say these things, because Calderon is no bum. He's a well-respected man who's had a successful career as a point guard for other teams—just not this one.
Grade: D-
Cleanthony Early: B
7 of 15Rookie small forward Cleanthony Early is giving the Knicks exactly what they need from him—glimmers of a brighter future.
With only 13 NBA games under his belt, Early still has some of the wobbly-legged charm of a baby deer. Sometimes, the game moves just a smidgen too fast for him, causing him to turn the ball over. Yet, now that he's returned from an injury, he's quickly growing up.
That was particularly evident Jan. 8 when Early dropped 16 points on the Houston Rockets and participated in one of the greatest plays of the season. Langston Galloway charged downcourt with a stolen ball and passed it behind-his-back to Shane Larkin, who lobbed it up to Early for the exuberant swinging slam.
Early has taken to the triangle offense beautifully. He's using his long arms and toughness to grab more rebounds. He has plenty of talent that just needs to be nurtured. For now he's living up to his $507,336 rookie contract.
Grade: B
Langston Galloway: Temporary A+
8 of 15
Nobody got an A-plus yet, but Langston Galloway's first six games in the NBA have him on track to earn a perfect score, if the Knicks sign him for the rest of the season.
The 6'2", 23-year-old 1-2 guard was called up from the Knicks' D-League team this month and signed to two consecutive 10-day contracts. In those six games he's been a human highlight reel.
He's already launched that little frame up for two nasty putback dunks. He scrambled for a rebound and sunk a clutch triple at the shot clock buzzer during Wednesday night's game in Philadelphia. He was the key architect of the aforementioned Langston-Larkin-Cle circus play in Houston.
He's averaging 11.8 points, 3.2 assists and 1.2 steals per game and has started at the shooting guard position in the Knicks' two back-to-back wins this week.
Galloway is not afraid of the big stage. If he's intimidated by playing at Madison Square Garden on national television, he has shown zero signs of it. That's the kind of consistent high energy the Knicks need right now. If they don't sign him for the rest of the season, someone needs to check Action Phil Jackson into the hospital.
Grade: Temporary A+
Tim Hardaway Jr.: C
9 of 15
Oh, Timmy.
Tim Hardaway Jr. had a stellar rookie season that sent him to the rookie-sophomore game All-Star weekend and made him the poster boy for the future of the New York Knicks. The team picked up his option in the offseason, showing he was part of the long-term plan.
Then this season started. And he's struggled.
Even if the front office was ready to invest in Hardaway, Derek Fisher made it clear that he wouldn't be on the court unless he was willing to play defense.
The coach has yanked Hardaway off the hardwood several times after key defensive failures. Tim's watched his playing time dwindle. He's seen the departure of J.R. Smith and Iman Shumpert but watched Langston Galloway (at least temporarily) fill the starting 2 spot that should have been his.
All of those things have caused him to lose confidence, and thereby, his stroke. A shooting guard who's not shooting well is a problem. He's only averaging 39.0 percent from the field and 31.7 percent from behind the arc.
The good news for Hardaway is that he's improving on both ends of the court. His defense has become much tighter. He's aggressively driving into the paint to score and draw fouls, instead of just tossing up triples. And he's being rewarded with bigger minutes.
For the season so far, Timmy gets a C, but he's on the upswing. If he continues this new trend, he could earn his $1.25 million paycheck and a solid B by April.
Grade: C
Shane Larkin: A-
10 of 15
My affection for Shane Larkin is well-documented at Bleacher Report.
Although only 22, 5'11" and two years into his NBA career, Larkin took over the starting point guard job when Jose Calderon was injured during preseason. It was Larkin who led the team to victories over the Cleveland Cavaliers, Charlotte Hornets and Denver Nuggets. It was Larkin who directed the triangle offense like he'd been doing it all his life.
Larkin is small, but he's also lightning-quick. It's a winning combination on both ends of the court. On defense, he can fight over screens, duck around big bodies, defend the fast break and disrupt an opponent's path to the hoop. He leads the team in steals. With the ball in his hand, he can turn on the speed to break down defenses, slicing straight to the hoop for an and-1 or a quick dish to a big man.
While his fellow point guards, Calderon and Pablo Prigioni, deliriously let the shot clock wind down to nothing, Larkin is better at creating shot opportunities for himself and his teammates, so that someone puts it up a shot before the buzzer.
Larkin has already earned his $1.6 million salary and then some. The only things preventing him from a full A are the team record and his role in the Knicks' continuing problems with perimeter defense.
Grade: A-
Pablo Prigioni: B
11 of 15
In years past, you could always count on veteran point guard Pablo Prigioni. He would never slack off. He would never fail to inject the team with his infectious energy every time he sprung off the bench. No opponent's inbounds pass would be completed without a fight.
That mostly remains true.
On defense, he is still a major pain in several body parts. Inbounds passes still quake at the mere mention of him.
Yet, Prigioni is, like Calderon, having a hard time creating shot opportunities for his teammates. If the two of them are on the court together, it's a shot-clock violation waiting to happen. He jab-steps, dribbles and runs around in circles, but it doesn't always amount to anything.
Rumors have begun to surface that the Knicks are shopping him. According to Adam Zagoria (via Jorge Sierra of HoopsHype), basketball insider for NBA.com and SNY, the team may deal Prigioni for a second-round draft pick.
For now, though, his jersey still reads "New York," and he's only costing the front office $1.66 million. Prigioni is earning his wages, just not with the vigor he once had.
Grade: B
Jason Smith: C+
12 of 15
Jason Smith, master of the mid-range jumper, is one of the greatest go-to shooters in the league if he happens to be 15 to 19 feet away from the rim. He's also a willing and adept passer, a useful, if not versatile, asset on offense.
It's when he's on the other end of the court that his $3.3 million paycheck seems too steep. He has the worst defensive rating on the team. Perhaps, since he has no three-point shot of his own, he assumes that no other power forwards have one. He gives opponents way too much room on the perimeter and is foul-prone in the paint.
However, Smith's D is tightening up as the season goes on. He's getting aggressive, bringing down more rebounds and timing his block attempts better.
Wednesday night's game versus the Philadelphia 76ers was a perfect example of Smith's progress. He logged three blocks, one steal and six rebounds. He even got chippy with Michael Carter-Williams. (Don't worry, they hugged it out at the end of the game.)
Smith is trending up in the right direction and might have a B by April. Until then...
Grade: C+
Amar'e Stoudemire: B+
13 of 15
Throughout the season, Knicks fans have been treated to flashbacks of the old STAT, the powerful, athletic beast in the paint with the huge yet artful slams. He looked polished, confident and healthy.
Even though I'm sure nobody dared even whisper the phrase "Stoudemire looks...healthy" without crossing their fingers and toes, he has still had some problems with his health. He's played in 31 of 43 games.
When he's suited up and on the court, he's been solid at worst and dominant at best, averaging 12.6 points, 1 block and 7.1 rebounds while logging four double-doubles already. He and Shane Larkin have a particularly good two-man game, syncing up on the "dishing and swishing."
Stoudemire is also committing himself to defense more than he's been known for in the past. He's clogging up the lane and shutting down the baseline better than ever before. He's still not a defensive powerhouse but certainly an asset.
The trouble is, a man getting paid $23.4 million this season needs to be earning his daily bread sweating on the hardwood, not holding a clipboard on the sideline. Nobody could ever fault him for being lax with his health and fitness regime, but he does have to be docked a half-grade for missing 12 games while collecting the biggest paycheck.
Grade: B+
Lance Thomas: Temporary B-
14 of 15
Forward Lance Thomas—acquired from Cleveland, waived and signed to two consecutive 10-day contracts—has not made as much of a splash as his fellow 10-dayers, Lou Amundson and Langston Galloway.
Although not particularly exciting, Thomas has been perfectly adequate. In his three times for the Knicks, he's logged an average of 5.7 points, 2.0 assists and 4.0 rebounds in 21 minutes per game.
Is that good enough to earn a roster spot for the rest of the season? Possibly not, if the Knicks consider taking the fans' advice and calling up Thanasis Antetokounmpo from the D-League. In the meantime Thomas gets an unremarkable grade for being neither a great asset nor a liability.
Grade: B-
Travis Wear: B+
15 of 15The biggest surprise of the season might just be Travis Wear, an undrafted rookie forward the Knicks invited to training camp without expecting to sign him to the roster. Yet, the Knicks have already gotten 36 games and 12.7 minutes per game from Wear at the bargain price of $507,336.
Wear is, undeniably, the best catch-and-shooter in New York. When Calderon and Prigioni waste 23 seconds of the shot clock, Wear is the one who bails them out with a perfect jumper at the buzzer.
In the second game of the season, Wear did an admirable job defending LeBron James, helping seal the victory of the Cleveland Cavaliers. At 6'10", he has enough size to make trouble for others in the frontcourt.
Perhaps best of all, Wear sunk an amazing, unlikely fall-away jumper off one foot at the buzzer Jan. 8 against the Houston Rockets. He went on to score 21 points that night. And for that, Wear gets a hearty B-plus.
Grade: B+
I know, I know, how could I give out only one D on a team that is 7-36? Because so many of the men on the roster are performing beyond expectations. They're like fifth graders thrust into college calculus; hardly fair to mark them down for not knowing how to solve integrals.
All stats are from NBA.com/stats. Follow Sara Peters on Twitter @3FromThe7.
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