Jeremy LinRON: The Smartest Guy In The Room

The New York Knicks made everyone anxiously wait for their decision on Jeremy Lin. I haven't seen so many will they/won't they moments since Ross and Rachel sucked the life out of "Friends".

New York finally made their decision and opted not to match the offer sheet that Jeremy Lin signed with the Houston Rockets.

Lin, 23, will receive $25.1 million over three years, a price the Knicks couldn't see as the correct value for the point guard phenom.

Houston was sneaky and their offer sheet included a back-loaded contract that would have paid Lin $14.8 million in the third year of the contract. The Knicks would have been over the luxury tax and cost them nearly $43 million in salary + "repeat offender" luxury tax.

Lin came out yesterday and said that he would have loved to finish his career as a member of the New York Knicks. It's the politically correct thing to say, but it was sincere. Lin was a borderline NBA player before he found himself in New York.

Jeremy Lin didn't need his Harvard education to know that signing Houston's offer sheet was the smartest decision he could make. No one can blame Lin for signing it. He had a very exciting six-week run last year before injuring his knee. He had a few moments of vulnerability, most notably a 1-11 shooting night against the Miami Heat. A $25 million dollar offer might not be there in a few seasons.

Carmelo Anthony's comments earlier this week about Lin's offer sheet being a 'ridiculous' amount of money didn't help the situation. Lin had most of his success when Anthony was injured and one would have to believe that jealousy could have lead to that comment. If Lin had stayed, he would have taken away from Anthony's spotlight.

The Knicks wouldn't have been able to pay him near the $8 million annually that Houston will pay him. His marketability will be hurt by not staying in New York, but Yao Ming did very well as a member of the Rockets.

Goran Dragic and Kyle Lowy already out of town. The core players on the team are very young. Royce White, Terrence Jones, and Jeremy Lamb will be contributing right away as rookies (if they aren't moved in an escalated attempt to sign Dwight Howard...ugh).

The Rockets will be Lin's team. I look forward to watching them in 2012-13...they will be a lot of fun.

2012-13 NBA Off-season: Free Agent Tracker

If you're looking for NBA free agent information, you want everything, we have everything!

The Miami Heat didn't win the championship with only three guys, they needed to fill out their roster with competent players. The players who sign and appear on the last page of the sports section are just as important.

Players can officially sign with a team starting on July 11th. The listings below are the confirmed contract agreements so far. Bookmark this page, since I will be updating this post daily as the official free agent signings start rolling in.

Check out who your team has signed and other available free agents for the 2012-13 NBA season.

*[Name, 2011-12 Team, contract status]

Solomon Alabi (Toronto) - unsigned
LaVoy Allen (Philadelphia) - re-signed with Philadelphia 76ers, two years/$6 million
Ray Allen (Boston) - signed with Miami Heat, specific terms unknown
Lou Amundson (Indiana) - unsigned
James Anderson (San Antonio) - unsigned
Ryan Anderson (Orlando) - sign and trade with New Orleans Hornets, four years/$34-36 million
Gilbert Arenas (Memphis) - unsigned
Darrell Arthur (Memphis) - re-signed with Memphis Grizzlies, three years/$9 million
Omer Asik (Chicago) - signed with Houston Rockets, three years/$25.1 million
D.J. Augustin (Charlotte) - signed with Indiana Pacers, one year/$3.5 million
Leandro Barbosa (Indiana) - unsigned
Matt Barnes (L.A. Lakers) - unsigned
Brandon Bass (Boston) - re-signed with Boston Celtics, three years/$34.5 million
Tony Battie (Philadelphia) - unsigned
Nicolas Batum (Portland) - re-signed with Portland Trail Blazers, four years/$46.5 million
Jerryd Bayless (Toronto) - signed with Memphis Grizzlies, terms undisclosed
Michael Beasley (Minnesota) - signed with Phoenix Suns, three years/$18 million
Raja Bell (Utah) - unsigned
Marco Bellinelli (New Orleans) - signed with Chicago Bull, terms undisclosed
Mike Bibby (New York) - unsigned
Chauncey Billips (L.A. Clippers) - re-signed with Los Angeles Clippers, one year/$4.3 million
Craig Brackins (Philadelphia) - unsigned
Elton Brand (Philadelphia) - signed with Dallas Mavericks, one year/money undisclosed
Aaron Brooks (Phoenix) - signed with Sacramento Kings, two years/$6.6 million
Derrick Brown (Charlotte) - unsigned
Kwame Brown (Milwaukee) - signed with Philadelphia 76ers, two years/$6 million
Shannon Brown (Phoenix) - re-signed with Phoenix Suns, two years/money undisclosed
Chase Budinger (Houston) - trade with Minnesota Timberwolves, one year/$942k
Rasual Butler (Toronto) - unsigned
Andrew Byrnum (L.A. Lakers) - picked up option, one year/$16.1 million
Marcus Camby (Houston) - sign and trade with New York Knicks, three years/$13.2 million
Brian Cardinal (Dallas) - unsigned
Matt Carroll (Charlotte) - unsigned
Earl Clark (Orlando) - unsigned
Jason Collins (Atlanta) - signed with Boston Celtics, one year/$1.35 million
Brian Cook (Washington) - unsigned
Jamal Crawford (Portland) - signed with Los Angeles Clippers, three years/$15.7 million
Eddy Curry (Miami) - unsigned
Erick Dampier (Atlanta) - unsigned
Marquis Daniels (Boston) - unsigned
Baron Davis (New York) - unsigned
Carlos Delfino (Milwaukee) - unsigned
Boris Diaw (San Antonio) - re-signed with San Antonion Spurs, two years/$9 million
DaSagana Diop (Charlotte) - unsigned
Keyon Dooling (Boston) - unsigned
Goran Dragic (Houston) - signed with Phoenix Suns, four years/$30 million
Tim Duncan (San Antonio) - re-signed with San Antonion Spurs, three years/$36 million
Devin Ebanks (L.A. Lakers) - re-signed with Los Angeles Lakers, one year/$1.4 million
Semih Erden (Cleveland) - signs with Euroleague's Anadolu Efes in Turkey
Jeremy Evans (Utah) - re-signed with Utah Jazz, three years/$5.5 million
Maurice Evans (Washington) - unsigned
Reggie Evans (L.A. Clippers) - sign and trade with Brooklyn Nets, three years/$4.8 million
Jordan Farmar (Brooklyn) - signs with Euroleague's Anadolu Efes in Turkey
Raymond Felton (Portland) - sign and trade with New York Knicks
Rudy Fernandez (Denver) -signed with Eurpean League, Real Madrid C.F.
Kyrylo Fesenko (Indiana) - unsigned
Landry Fields (New York) - signed with Toronto Raptors, three years/$20 million
Derek Fisher (Oklahoma City) - unsigned
Jonny Flynn (Portland) - unsigned
Jeff Foster (Indiana) - retired
Randy Foye (L.A. Clippers) - signed with Utah Jazz, one year/$2.5 million
Sundiata Gaines (Brooklyn) - unsigned
Kevin Garnett (Boston) - re-signed with Boston Celtics, three years/$34 million
Alonzo Gee (Cleveland) - unsigned
Eric Gordon (New Orleans) - re-signed with New Orleans Hornets, four years/$58 million
Aaron Gray (Toronto) - re-signed with Toronto Raptors, two years/money undisclosed
Danny Green (San Antonio) - re-signs with San Antonio Spurs, three years/$12 million
Gerald Green (Brooklyn) - signed with Indiana Pacers, three years/$10 million
Jeff Green (Boston) - re-signed with Boston Celtics, four years/$36 million
Willie Green (Atlanta) - unsigned
Donte Greene (Sacramento) - unsigned
Hamed Haddadi (Memphis) - re-signed with Memphis Grizzlies, terms undisclosed
Luke Harangody (Cleveland) - re-signed with Cleveland Cavaliers, one year/$1.1 million
Manny Harris (Cleveland) - unsigned
Terrel Harris (Miami) - unsigned
Spencer Hawes (Philadelphia) - re-signed with Philadelphia 76ers, two years/$13 million
Brendan Haywood (Dallas) - signed with Charlotte Bobcats, four years/$8.2 million
Roy Hibbert (Indiana) - re-signed with Indiana Pacers, four years/$58 million
J.J. Hickson (Portland) - re-signed with Portland Trail Blazers, one year/money undisclosed
Cory Higgins (Charlotte) - unsigned
George Hill (Indiana) - re-signed with Indiana Pacers, five years/$40 million
Grant Hill (Phoenix) - signed with Los Angeles Clippers, two years/money undisclosed
Jordan Hill (L.A. Lakers) - re-signed with Los Angeles Lakers, two years/$8 million
Kirk Hinrich (Atlanta) - signed with Chicago Bulls, two years/$6 million
Ryan Hollins (Boston) - signed with Los Angeles Clippers, one year/$1.07 million
Josh Howard (Utah) - unsigned
Juwan Howard (Miami) - unsigned
Lester Hudson (Memphis) - unsigned
Kris Humphris (Brooklyn) - re-signed with Brooklyn Nets, two years/$24 million
Ersan Ilyasova (Milwaukee) - re-signed with Milwaukee Bucks, five years/$45 million
Royal Ivey (Oklahoma City) - unsigned
Damion James (Brooklyn) - unsigned
Antawn Jamison (Cleveland) - signed with Los Angeles Lakers, one year/minimum $
Jared Jeffries (New York) - sign and trade with Portland Trail Blazers
Yi Jianlian (Dallas) - unsigned
Armon Johnson (Brooklyn) - unsigned
Chris Johnson (New Orleans) - unsigned
Ivan Johnson (Atlanta) - unsigned
Dahntay Jones (Indiana) - sign and trade with Dallas Mavericks
Chris Kaman (New Orleans) - signed with Dallas Mavericks, one year/$8 million
Jason Kidd (Dallas) - signed with New York Knicks, three years/$9.5 million
Carl Landry (New Orleans) - unsigned
Courtney Lee (Houston) - signed with Boston Celtics, four years/$21.5 million
Rashard Lewis (New Orleans) - signed with Miami Heat, two years/$2.8 million
DeAndre Liggins (Orlando) - unsigned
Jeremy Lin (New York) - signed with Houston Rockets, three years/$25 million
Brook Lopez (Brooklyn) - re-signed with Brooklyn Nets, four years/$61 million
Robin Lopez (Phoenix) - sign and trade with New Orleans Hornets
John Lucas (Chicago) - signed with Toronto Raptors, two years/$3 million
Vernon Macklin (Detroit) - unsigned
Jamaal Magloire (Toronto) - unsigned
Ian Mahinmi (Dallas) - sign and trade with Indiana Pacers, four years, $16 million
Kenyon Martin (L.A. Clippers) - unsigned
Roger Mason (New York) - unsigned
Jason Maxiell (Detroit) - accepts player option, one year/$4 million
O.J. Mayo (Memphis) - signed with Dallas Mavericks, two years/undisclosed money
JaVale McGee (Denver) - re-signed with Denver Nuggets, four years/$44 million
Tracy McGrady (Atlanta) - unsigned
Dominic McGuire (Golden State) - unsigned
Jodie Meeks (Philadelphia) - unsigned
C.J. Miles (Utah) - unsigned
Darko Milicic (Minnesota) - unsigned
Andre Miller (Denver) - re-signed with Denver Nuggets, three years/$14.63 million
Patty Mills (San Antonio) - re-signed with San Antonio Spurs, terms undisclosed
Nazr Muhammed (Oklahoma City) - signed with Chicago Bulls, one year/money undisclosed
Darius Morris (L.A. Lakers) - re-signed with Los Angeles Lakers, two years/$1.4 million
Troy Murphy (L.A. Lakers) - unsigned
Eduardo Najera (Charlotte) - unsigned
Steve Nash (Phoenix) - sign and trade with Los Angeles Lakers, three years/$27 million
Jameer Nelson (Orlando) - re-signed with Orlando Magic, terms unknown
Steve Novak (New York) - re-signed with New York Knicks, four years/$15 million
Jermaine O'Neal (Indiana) - unsigned
Daniel Orton (Orlando) - unsigned
Jannero Pargo (Atlanta) - unsigned
Anthony Parker (Cleveland) - retired
Sasha Pavlovic (Boston) - unsigned
Mickael Pietrus (Boston) - unsigned
A.J. Price (Indiana) - signed with Washington Wizards, one year/money undisclosed
Ronnie Price (Phoenix) - signed with Portland Trail Blazers, one year/$1.15 million
Joel Przybilla (Portland) - unsigned
Vladamir Radmanovic (Atlanta) - signed with Chicago Bulls, one years/money undisclosed
Anthony Randolph (Minnesota) - signed with Denver Nuggets, three years/$6 million
Michael Redd (Phoenix) - unsigned
Nate Robinson (Golden State) - unsigned
Brandon Roy (Portland) - signed with Minnesota Timberwolves, two years/$10.4 million
Brandon Rush (Golden State) - unsigned
Walker Russell (Detroit) - unsigned
Brian Scalabrine (Chicago) - unsigned
Luis Scola (Houston) - signed with Phoenix Suns, three years/$13.5 million
Ramon Sessions (L.A. Lakers) - signed with Charlotte Bobcats, terms undisclosed
Bobby Simmons (L.A. Clippers) - unsigned
Craig Smith (Portland) - unsigned
Ish Smith (Orlando) - unsigned
J.R. Smith (New York) - re-signed with New York Knicks, two years/$5.6 million
Marreese Speights (Memphis) - unsigned
Jerry Stackhouse (Atlanta) - signed with Brooklyn Nets, one year/$1.3 million
DeShawn Stevenson (Brooklyn) - sign and trade with Atlanta Hawks
Greg Stiemsma (Boston) - unsigned
Jason Terry (Dallas) - signed with Boston Celtics, three years/$15 million
Hasheem Thabeet (Houston) - signed with Oklahoma City Thunder, two years/money undisclosed
Jason Thompson (Sacramento) - re-signed with Sacramento Kings, multi-year/money undisclosed
Jamaal Tinsley (Utah) - Utah Jazz picked up team option, one year/$1.35 million
Anthony Tolliver (Minnesota) - unsigned
Ronny Turiaf (Miami) - signed with Los Angeles Clippers, one year/money undisclosed
Bill Walker (New York) - unsigned
Ben Wallace (Detroit) - unsigned
Gerald Wallce (Brooklyn) - re-signed with Brooklyn Nets, four years/$40 million
Delonte West (Dallas) - re-signed with Dallas Mavericks, terms undisclosed
D.J. White (Charlotte) - unsigned
James White (Europe) - signed with New York Knicks, one year/money undisclosed
Chris Wilcox (Boston) - re-signed with Boston Celtics, one year/$1.35 million
Damien Wilkens (Detroit) - unsigned
Deron Williams (Brooklyn) - re-signed with Brooklyn Nets, five years/$98 million
Lou Williams (Philadelphia) - signed with Atlanta Hawks, multiyear/terms undisclosed
Mo Williams (L.A. Clippers) - traded to Utah Jazz, picked up player option, one year/$8.5 million
Shawne Williams (Portland) - unsigned
Sheldon Williams (Brooklyn) - unsigned
Chris Wright (Golden State) - unsigned
Nick Young (L.A. Clippers) - signed with Philadelphia 76ers, one year/$6 million
Sam Young (Philadelphia) - unsigned

Please leave a comment if you hear about signings before I do. I want to keep this as updated as possible for everybody. Thanks!

2012-13 NBA: Top 10 Most Overpaid Free Agents

There is one theme that stands out early in the 2012-13 off-season...NBA GMs are spending a lot of money on guys who may end up as deadweight. Free agents are not able to sign with teams until July 11th, but the confirmed agreements have been rolling in already.

Middle-of-the-road teams are offering inflated contracts to restricted free agents who are tied to teams that lack salary cap space. Due to the new collective-bargaining agreement, the luxury tax raises to a point where it will cost owners a lot of money to go over. Players will still need to sign those offer sheets, but talent could find the money too difficult to resist.

Which players have already been overpaid this off-season? Here are the top ten most overpaid free agents so far this off-season.

Jeremy Lin: Knicks/Rockets - 4 years / $29 million
The Houston Rockets offered Lin this contract and the New York Knicks can match it. ESPN's Marc Stein tweeted that the Knicks will match any deal he is offered. Darren Rovell would say that this contract is a bargain. The sheer merchandise sales should exceed $29 million dollars. I agree that the Asian market will support Lin, should the Rockets or Knicks be worried about giving this much money to a guy who had a nice three week run last season? If he doesn't play well or gets injured, he won't earn the team anything. Yao Ming was injured for most of the last three seasons he played and I doubt Houston got their money's worth.

Omer Asik: Bulls/Rockets - 3 years / $25.1 million
The Rockets are really trying to piss off teams near the luxury tax. The Chicago Bulls aren't in a position to match Houston's offer of three years for $25.1 and shouldn't. He played some key minutes for the Eastern Conference champions, but paying Asik $8 million a year for 3.1 points and 5.8 rebounds per game is very steep. Rockets GM Daryl Morey is a smart guy, but he is making some questionable offers early this off-season.

Jeff Green: Boston Celtics - 4 years / $36 million
Green is coming back from major heart surgery. His health is a major concern, but he never meshed with the team when he came over in the Kendrick Perkins trade. He doesn't have a set position, plays defense poorly, and doesn't rebound well at any position. Boston is taking a huge gamble by giving him a four-year deal. I worry that this will be a regrettable contract by this time next year.

Michael Beasley: Phoenix Suns - 3 years / $18 million
At first glance, $18 million dollars isn't much money for three years in the NBA. Beasley has had limited success in the league, but he has yet to live up to his college hype. He is undersized for his position with off the court issues. The Suns aren't going anywhere as an organization and Beasley is known to disappear in games. I don't see this signing working out for either party.

Nicolas Batum: Trail Blazers/Timberwolves - 4 years / $45 million
Before I go on a rant on how this contract is bad, I just want to add that this deal could be worth as much as $50 with bonuses. Batum has as much potential as any young free agent available this off-season. Minnesota is offering him ridiculous money knowing that there is a small chance that Portland will/can match it. Portland is currently in the hunt for Indiana Pacers center Roy Hibbert and can't overspend to keep Batum. Minnesota's offer for Batum assures they have little faith in former #2 overall Derrick Williams. They are currently trying to trade him, but has yet found a suitor. I hope Batum lives up to the deal, but he may never live up to this big deal.

Steve Nash: Los Angeles Lakers - 3 years / $27 million
The Lakers had to trade two first-round picks and two second-round picks for the opportunity to overpay the 38-year old Steve Nash. The lauded Suns training staff has resurrected the careers of Shaquille O'Neal, Great Hill and has kept Nash looking fresh. Unless the Lakers have another move in line, say a trade for Dwight Howard, I don't get this contract. They played well with Ramon Sessions and they could have re-signed him for half of Nash's contract and wouldn't have needed to trade draft picks. It will be interesting to see how Kobe and Nash will handle the last five minutes of a close game. Both players need the ball in their hands to be effective.

Landry Fields: Toronto Raptors - 3 years / $20 million
The Raptors couldn't sign Nash, so they made a hasty decision and offered Fields an inflated contract. If Nash broke up with them, Fields is their rebound. Fields was a second-round pick and exceeded expectations. $20 million is a lot of money to offer a guy who has yet to score more than 9.7 points per game and saw a drop in every major offensive category in 2011-12.

George Hill: Indiana Pacers - 5 years / $40 million
As a Pacers fan, writing Hill's name in this column stings a little. I think Hill is a good player and believe that he deserves to be the starting point guard over Darren Collison, but this deal feels bad. He is a local Indianapolis product and even went to college at IUPUI (Indiana-Purdue Indianapolis), but he doesn't put butts in the seats. The Pacers had the second-worst attendance in the NBA for a team who had the #3 seed in the Eastern Conference. If they lose Roy Hibbert to Portland, this money can't be used to sign a marquee player to fill the hole in the frontcourt.

Gerald Wallace: Brooklyn Nets - 4 years / $40 million
The (then) New Jersey Nets got themselves in trouble by shipping a lottery pick to Portland for 20+ games with Gerald Wallace. If they didn't re-sign him, the trade would have went down as one of the most lopsided deals this decade. He had all of the cards and the Nets had to overpay him in order to not look like fools. Money will be tight for Brooklyn since they also re-signed Deron Williams and acquired Joe Johnson from the Atlanta Hawks in a trade.

O.J. Mayo: Unknown - Too Much Money
Mayo has yet to sign with a team and he has plenty of suitors. The Pacers, Bulls, Suns, and Celtics are among the favorites to land him. They will have to pay a premium price for a player who hasn't lived up to his potential (see: Michael Beasley). NBA GMs believe that he has yet to be pushed and would respond positively. Mayo did improve his numbers last season, but if he were to go to, let's say the Pacers, he would be coming off the bench. Paul George should be entrenched as the starting shooting guard. Mayo will be receiving starter's money this off-season.

Others candidates rumored to be overpaid
Courtney Lee
Chris Kaman
J.J. Hickson
Shannon Brown
Marcus Camby
Boris Diaw
Raymond Felton
Randy Foye
Lou Williams
Gerald Green
Jordan Hill
Josh Howard
Kris Humphries
Carl Landry
JaVale McGee
Anthony Randolph
DeShawn Stevenson

I'm sure there will be other free agents signing outrageous contracts during the 2012-13 off-season. The GMs will slowly bankrupt teams with dumb contracts on teams whose amnesty clause has already been used. There is nothing the fans can do to stop them from spending the salary cap money so freely even though we're the ones who pay for it in the end with higher ticket prices.

Yay!

(Fake) NBA Player "Walk-Up" Songs

I was watching the L.A. Lakers vs. Denver Nuggets playoff game last night. At the end of the game, just like any other basketball game, there were a lot of free throws. After a player is fouled, there is a minute lull in-between the foul and the free throw attempt. What if each individual NBA player had their own personal "walk-up song," like in baseball? I tweeted this out and many agreed that this needs to happen. I instantly started to think of either humorous or fitting walk-up songs for random NBA players. You have to follow basketball pretty close to get all of the references. Most of the walk-up song references are very easy to get, but a few of them are a bit obscure.

If you have any questions, please leave a comment or email me. Enjoy!

*I included a YouTube link that will open in a new window*

Kris Humphries - Ben Folds Five - "Song For The Dumped"
Serge Ibaka - Matt & Kim - "Block After Block"
Kevin Love - Bon Iver - "Skinny Love"
Lebron James - Motion City Soundtrack - "Can't Finish What You Started"
Delonte West - Cypress Hill - "Insane In The Membrane"
Gordon Hayward - "Olive Garden Jingle"
Kevin Durant - Childish Gambino - "Backpackers"
Chris Bosh - Mandy Moore - "Cry"
Lamar Odom - Sam Cooke - "That's It, I Quit, I'm Movin' On"
Josh McRoberts - Haystak - "Whiteboy"
Blake Griffin - Van Halen - "Jump"
Steve Nash - Tenacious D - "Rize of the Fenix"
Michael Beasley - Kid Cudi - "Marijuana"
Drew Gooden - "Ducktales Theme Song"
J.J. Redick - Collective Soul - "Gel"
Metta World Peace - Pretty Boy - "Throw Bows"
Glen Davis - Justin Bieber - "Baby"
Amare Stoudemire - Orgy - "Stitches"
Gilbert Arenas - M.I.A. - "Paper Planes"
Brian Scalabrine - Average White Band - "Pick Up The Pieces"
DeMarus Cousins - Gnarls Barkley "Crazy"
Dwight Howard - Say Anything - "I Want To Know Your Plans"
John Wall - Troop 41 - "Do The John Wall"
Ricky Rubio - El Chombo - "Chacarron Mocaron"
Patty Mills - Men at Work - "Land Down Under"
Anthony Davis - Rise Against - "Savior"
Kyrie Irving - Nelly - "Number One"
Joe Johnson - Fitz & The Tantrums - "Moneygrabber"
Derrick Rose - Blink-182 - "Miss You"
Greg Oden - Social Distortion - "Bad Luck"
Tyson Chandler - Silverstein - "Defend You"
Tony Parker - Joey + Rory - "Cheater, Cheater"
Tyler Hansbrough - Snoop Dogg - "Tha Shiznit"
Dirk Nowitzki - Rammstein - "Der Meister"
Matt Bonner - Perv One - "Counting Money"
Josh Howard - "Star Spangled Banner"
Boris Diaw - Kanye West - "New Workout Plan"
Shaun Livingston - Sleigh Bells - "Comeback Kid"
Kenyon Martin - Trina - "Single Again"
Chris Anderson - Nelly Furtado "I'm Like A Bird"
Earl Boykins - Skee-Lo - "I Wish"
Brad Miller - Nsync - "Bye Bye Bye"
Eddy Curry - Weird Al Yankovic - "Fat"
Jeremy Lin - No Use For A Name - "Fairytale of New York"



Also, check out Projectshanks.com for some of my other work.

Amar'e Stoudemire Hates Fire Extinguishers

When an athlete is able to play at the highest level in their sport, it can be hard to lose. You are used to dominating at every level, then you hit a wall and can't seem to get over the hill. Players deal with their frustration differently. You can hit the gym, talk it over with teammates, or forget it and move on. If it was only that easy for a certain member of the New York Knicks. A moment of frustration could end the season for Amar'e Stoudemire or Amare Stoudemire (for those who lack an apostrophe on their keyboards).

I promise that no fire extinguishers or their cases were hurt in the writing of this blog post.

The New York Knicks lost to the Miami Heat (104-94) in Game 2 of their best-of-seven playoff series. This is the second defeat in a row. They were dominated in the fourth quarter with ease. Most say that this was a "must win" game for the Knicks. They now face an an incredible challenge to come back in this series.

Yahoo! reports that while exiting the court, Stoudemire punched the glass of a fire extinguisher case. He cut his hand and later left the arena with a heavily bandaged hand and his arm in a sling. It was reported that there was a great deal of blood in the Knicks locker room and that a paramedic that to assist in helping him with his injury. Stoudemire later tweeted, "I'm so mad at myself right now, I want to apologize to the fans and my team, not proud of my actions, headed for home for a new start." The extent of his injury has not be reported yet, but due to the amount of blood and the bandage/sling medical equipment, it could be substantial.

It is unknown if Stoudemire is healthy enough to play in the rest of the series or if he will receive any discipline for his destruction of the arena's property. He was just recovering from a back injury and he would join Jeremy Lin, Iman Shumpert, and possibly Baron Davis on the injured list. Davis missed the first-half of this game after his own back injury flared up on him. It is unknown if Lin will be able to play in this series and Shumpert will be out until next season with a torn ligament.

The Knicks have a nearly improbably task ahead of them. If they win one game in this series, I would consider it a moral victory. Carmelo Anthony can only do so much and he's already maxed out. I will continue watching this series for Steve Novak, a "White Boy of the Year" nominee. They can go into the 2012-13 season with a decent draft pick in a very deep draft, a healthy Jeremy Lin, and either Mike Woodson or a new coach. They will be a better team next year, if they can stay healthy...and Stoudemire stops trying to fight fire extinguishing equipment.

Photo credit goes to Timothy Burke for his hilarious Photoshop talent. Go to Deadspin for his awesome photo and video work.