LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Kobe Bryant‘s injured wrist did not prevent the All Star guard from lifting the LA Lakers to a 99-82 win over the visiting New York Knicks on Thursday.

Skipping, spinning and grinning, Bryant unleashed his full arsenal of moves while scoring 13 of his 28 points in the third quarter despite playing through a right wrist injury.

Bryant also dished out a pair of game-clinching assists in the final quarter to give the Lakers their second win in a row following an 0-2 start to the season.

Los Angeles also looked more comfortable with first-year coach Mike Brown’s game plan as they took control in the first quarter and never let go.

“Obviously, Kobe is Kobe,” Brown told reporters. “You can’t downplay what he does because he did everything for us.”

The Lakers held the Knicks to just 31 percent shooting and never allowed the visitors to settle. Los Angeles, with Pau Gasol scoring 16 and grabbing 10 rebounds, took a 63-51 halftime lead and New York got no closer than eight in the second half.

“We’re growing as a team,” Lakers guard Steve Blake told reporters after finishing with 11 points. “Every day in practice, every game we grow more comfortable.”

New York’s Carmelo Anthony scored a team-high 27 and Amar’e Stoudemire had 15 but made just 4 of 17 shots as the Knicks fell to 1-2.

“You have to be able to score,” said New York coach Mike D’Antoni. “We just weren’t able to make shots. We’re not moving the ball and not playing real well as a team right now.”

The Knicks did not defend particularly well either, allowing the Lakers to shoot 52 percent.

Tyson Chandler, signed in the off-season to bolster the Knicks’ defense, finished with 13 points and 11 rebounds but his presence inside did not deter the Lakers.

Bryant showed signs of discomfort in his wrist at times as he flexed his hand during free throws and breaks in the action.

However, he was at his most entertaining in the third quarter where he recorded 13 points, including a 32-foot three-pointer that drew a foul and ended up a four-point play.

In the final few minutes of the game Bryant found Blake and Matt Barnes for consecutive three-pointers to put the game away.

The Lakers are expected to welcome back center Andrew Bynum on Saturday against Denver after serving a suspension for a flagrant foul during last season’s playoffs.

(Editing by Peter Rutherford)

Michael D’Antoni has lived the life of a military brat, only without the weapons, the war, oh, and a parent in a branch of the military.

That was all replaced by basketball.

D’Antoni, the son of New York Knicks head coach Mike D’Antoni and nephew of former longtime Socastee High coach Dan D’Antoni, is a worldly 17-year-old who has lived in four states and Italy on two occasions as his father followed a career coaching on the hardcourt.

“He’s had a rather nomadic life,” said D’Antoni’s mother, Laurel, who is in Myrtle Beach this week to watch her son play in the Beach Ball Classic. “He’s lived everywhere, and I think he does really well adjusting to different places. He understands that there are a lot of different places to see and a lot of different things he’s been exposed to. He understands this is our life. That’s all he knows. It’s always been that way.”

As a 17-year-old junior at Rye High in New York, D’Antoni is now trying to forge a small place of his own in the basketball world.

Despite the constant presence of basketball in his life, D’Antoni only casually played the game until last year. In the past couple years the 5-10 guard began to put in the time and effort necessary to make basketball a college consideration.

“It would definitely be fun to play in college. I’m not going to doubt that,” D’Antoni said. “I would love to do that. But if I can’t, then so be it.”

D’Antoni was born in Milan, Italy, and lived there for six months. He then moved to Treviso, Italy, for about three years; Denver, Colo., for three years; Portland, Ore., for a year; back to Treviso, Italy, for a year; Phoenix, Ariz., for six years; and Rye, N.Y., for the past three years.

“I’ve lived in so many different places I know different cultures, and I’d like to think I see things more open now,” D’Antoni said.

Italian was his first language. He learned English after moving to the U.S. and is now learning Spanish. “[Italian] comes and goes. Sometimes I remember a word and sometimes I can’t think of it,” D’Antoni said. “I always mix up my Spanish with Italian now because they’re so similar.”

He excels academically, and has played the cello in orchestra since fourth grade. “That’s been influential. It makes me more relaxed in school,” he said.

Though his game is still developing, D’Antoni’s maturity translates to the court. “He can keep his composure on the court. He never gets too high and never gets too low.” Rye coach Chris DiCintio said. “… I think he sees the big picture when he’s playing on the court, like he sees the big picture as far as life is concerned.”

Rye has lost its first two Beach Ball games, with one remaining Friday against Gaffney. D’Antoni has been a minimal factor in games, hitting 3 of his 10 field goal attempts – all 3-pointers – for nine points.

“If he gets a little stronger and maybe a little bigger he can get some small school’s interest,” said Dan D’Antoni, a Knicks assistant coach and a Beach Ball founder. “I don’t think his interest in basketball was as fueled as it has been in the past year. The main thing is his strength and getting stronger. His skill set is pretty good he just needs the strength to be a little more aggressive when he plays.”

Mike D’Antoni never pressured his son to play basketball. “He never stressed it or

anything, just if I wanted to do it he’d be there to help,” D’Antoni said.

Because of the NBA lockout, D’Antoni’s father was there to help this past summer and fall, along with his coaching uncle. They helped not only D’Antoni with his game, but DiCintio and his entire team.

Has D’Antoni been blessed or cursed by all the traveling? “It goes both ways,” D’Antoni said. “It’s great to move around and see these different places and see what I’ve gone through. But then again I wouldn’t mind settling down in one place.”

The toughest part isn’t having to constantly make new friends. “You get used to making friends after moving place to place. It’s harder to lose friends,” D’Antoni said. “I guess when I was younger it was so much easier for me. But this past move from Phoenix to New York, since I was in seventh grade in Phoenix and moved to New York in eighth grade, it was a hard change because it was the last year of middle school and I have to make friends all over and get ready for high school while I’m starting from scratch. It was really tough.

“But I went through it and now I’m fine. It’s perfect,” he said.

He stays in touch with many of his friends around the world by playing X-box Live with them.

He’s unsure of his academic focus in college, possibly something in business or science, he said. “I’m not quite sure where he wants to go,” his mother said. “I think if anything that’s the problem. There are so many opportunities, and every place we’ve been has brought a lot of joy to him.”

In a basketball family, experiences on the court have played a small role in shaping Michael D’Antoni.

“He’s experienced everything,” Dan D’Antoni said. “He’s in line academically, doing things that will last more of a lifetime than basketball. He’s a great kid; a super person to be around. He’ll be fine regardless of what happens in basketball. If it doesn’t work out, he’s had a great experience and he’ll move on.”

Read More: Mike Bibby (G – NYK), Iman Shumpert (G – NYK), New York Knicks

Experiencing a number of back court injuries, the New York Knicks will look to add another free agent guard, coach Mike D’Antoni said on Monday.

Recent acquisitions Mike Bibby and Baron Davis both missed the season opener with back injuries, and Davis is expected to miss significant time. New York’s back court health issues were only compounded when backup shooting guard Iman Shumpert suffered a sprained MCL during New York’s 106-104 victory against Boston. Shumpert is expected to miss 2-4 weeks.

The Knicks still have a $2.5 million exception to use, but it might be smart for New York to save that cap space for when the Denver Nuggets free agents who signed in China during the lockout — Wilson Chandler, Kenyon Martin and J.R. Smith — become available sometime around May. Carmelo Anthony is reportedly interested in adding Martin as a backup big.

Free agent guards include Michael Redd, Keith Bogans, Gilbert Arenas and former Knicks Eddie House and Nate Robinson. Robinson seems highly unlikely since he and D’Antoni did not see eye to eye while Robinson was in New York.

For more Knicks coverage, visit our team page or our blog Posting and Toasting.

Carmelo Anthony scored 37 points in the New York Knicks season opening win, 106-104, over the Boston Celtics. The Knicks needed every one of those points to beat the Celtics, and will, I believe, need Carmelo to score like that all season.

Carmelo Anthony
Wikimedia Commons

Carmelo Anthony is Great NBA Scorer

So far in his NBA career, Carmelo Anthony is averaging 24.9 points per game. That is the 13th highest scoring average in NBA history. Twice in his career Melo averaged over 28.0 points per game for a season. In 2007 he averaged 28.9 points per game, and in 2010 he averaged 28.2 points per game.

There’s no doubt that Carmelo Anthony is a great scorer in the NBA. On December 10, 2008, playing for the Denver Nuggets, Carmelo Anthony poured in 33 points in the third quarter of a game vs the Minnesota Tmiberwolves. That is tied with George Gervin for the most points a player has ever scored in an NBA quarter.

I’ve been a Carmelo Anthony fan since he took my favorite college basketball team, the Syracuse Orange, to the NCAA Championship in 2003. I’ve followed Melo’s career since then, and have always believed he would win a scoring title in the NBA.

When Melo averaged 28.9 points per game in 2007, he finished second to Kobe Bryant in scoring, but was not really that close to Kobe’s 31.56 points per game average. Melo has also finished third in scoring a couple of times, including last season when he averaged 25.58 points per game. This season though, I think Carmelo Anthony will win his first NBA scoring title. Here’s why I think so.

Carmelo Anthony Had Teammates Who Could Score with the Denver Nuggets

During the two seasons Carmelo Anthony averaged over 28.0 points per game in Denver, the Nuggets had plenty of offense around him. The 2007 team had Allen Iverson (24.8 points per game average in 2007), who won four NBA scoring titles, on the team, as well as Earl Boykins (15.2), Andre Miller (13.0), J.R. Smith (13.0), Nene (12.2), and Marcus Camby (11.2).

The 2010 Denver Nuggets had Chauncey Billups (19.5), J.R. Smith (15.4), Nene (13.8) and Kenyon Martin (11.5) on the team scoring points. So in both the seasons that Carmelo Anthony had his highest scoring averages so far in the NBA, he had plenty of other players who scored points on the team.

New York Knicks Only Have Amare Stoudemire and Will Need Carmelo Anthony to Score a Lot of Points

The 2011-12 New York Knicks really only have one other legitimate established NBA scorer on the team in Amare Stoudemire. Newly signed center Tyson Chandler has only averaged 8.3 points per game in his NBA career. Looking over the rest of the Knicks roster, there’s really no one else on the team had can be relied upon to score points.

Toney Douglas has a career average of 9.8 points per game, while Landry Fields has averaged 9.7. Mike Bibby has a career scoring average of 15.2 points per game, but he’s averaged just 9.1 and 8.6 points per game over his last two NBA seasons. Baron Davis has scored 16.5 points per game in his career, but he’s not expected to play for the Knicks for at least a month, and Davis only averaged 13.1 points per game in 2011.

The Knicks just do not have many players who they can rely upon to score points in the 2011-12 season. The team is really going to have to lean heavily on Carmelo Anthony to score points this season, just like in the first game victory over the Boston Celtics.

That’s why I believe Carmelo Anthony is very likely to go on and win the NBA scoring title in 2011-12.

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The New York Knicks are still discussing a contract with James Posey to bring him into the fold. This is an obvious effort to try to boost the depth that the team could have for the coming season, especially with how important it is during the rushed 66-game schedule.

According to ESPN, the Knicks were still talking to Posey on Monday night (Dec. 19), possibly trying to figure out if he will accept a contract at the veteran’s minimum for the coming season. The team still has a “room exception” at $2.5 million that could interest Posey if the team felt that he was worth it. Either way, Posey is available because the Indiana Pacers decided to use the amnesty clause on him and waived him last week. Now he is a free agent that can sign with any other team in the league.

Posey has played with the Denver Nuggets, Houston Rockets, Memphis Grizzlies, Miami Heat, Boston Celtics, New Orleans Hornets and Indiana Pacers through his long career. Last year with the Pacers, he averaged 17.1 minutes over 49 games played. He had averages of 4.9 points and 3 rebounds, but gave the team an extra player towards the end of the bench. Posey is certainly a player that could help with depth in New York now, but fans shouldn’t get too excited about what he might have to offer.

A good thing that Posey brings to the table is postseason experience, as he has played in 87 playoff games over his career. That is more than most players currently on the Knicks roster, and raises the value of having the 34-year-old on the team. Whether he can actually put up significant minutes is a different discussion, but it certainly wouldn’t hurt to have him at the end of the bench in case an injury takes place.

It’s bigger news that the team brought in Baron Davis to serve as an addition when he gets back from his injury rehab. That’s a good veteran player to have on the team if he is willing to take on that role of supporting player to the leaders of this team. The roster is starting to look pretty good, even if some of the pieces got brought in as spare parts to the threesome of Amare Stoudemire, Carmelo Anthony and Tyson Chandler.

More From YCN :

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A Look at Knicks Roster

Sources:

Full Knicks Schedule

New York Knicks Website

*Ryan Christopher DeVault is a fan of the New York Knicks that has followed the team since the days John Starks, Charles Oakley, and Anthony Mason instilled their defensive will on the rest of the league.

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