Briefing: April 24
Enes Kanter's moment, Durant puts Malibu home on market, and more!
Good Morning,
Happy Birthday, Lance Thomas!
Enes Kanter trolls the Knicks and admits something we had assumed. After Damian Lillard (I mean, Portland) knocked off the Thunder last night, Kanter had some things to say, as reported by Kevin Pelton:
Troll time: "First of all, I have to definitely thank the Knicks for waiving me. That would never happen if they didn't waive me, so I want to appreciate the whole Knicks organization."
It wasn’t just the Knicks who didn’t want him: "Then I want to appreciate all the teams that didn't pick me. I tried to actually sign with lots of teams that weren't really interested.”
Kanter played through a separated shoulder in the win. All joking aside, the big man had an effective series against the same franchise that benched him in the playoffs against Houston, with coach Billy Donovan caught on tape saying, “Can’t play Kanter.”
How did Kanter play in the series? Pretty damn good. Since we often like to cite on/off statistics with Kanter, let’s use them again here. During the playoffs, Portland has been 11.8 points better when he is on the court, a marked improvement over his short stint with the team in the regular season when they were 6.6 points worse with him on the court. Kanter is one of eight players to be averaging a double/double in the playoffs with 13.2 points and 10.2 rebounds per game.
It turns out that Oklahoma City presented the perfect match-up for Portland to utilize Kanter. Steven Adams allowed the Turkish big man to sit in the paint and make plays without needing to move his feet too much (Kanter blocked 4 shots in the series). It also allowed Kanter to do what he does best in positioning himself off the glass.
Knicks players react to Damian Lillard’s unbelievable game:
What else is going on?
Kevin Durant listed his Malibu home for sale and Knicks fans are loving it. The future Hall-of-Famer is selling his oceanfront home for $13.495 million. In case you are in the market, here is the description via The Mercury News:
The four-bedroom, six-bath multi-level home spans 5,136 square feet. It features disappearing walls of glass with a cove view, an exercise loft, spa and media room among many other amenities.
Ironically, Patrick Ewing is renting out his Jersey pad for $25,000 per month (details). So perhaps Durant will need to talk to Ewing sometime in the near future…
Kevin Knox visited the MacDill Air Force Base in Florida. Knox comes from a military family and has a special tie to Estelle Hall on the base, which is named after his uncle. [Watch him talk about the visit]
On April 27, 2011, Knox's uncle Major Raymond G. Estelle II was killed in a shooting at Kabul International Airport in Afghanistan. Estelle II served 19 years in the Air Force. He was 40 years old. [Learn more]
Mitchell Robinson showed up to a softball game for kids with special needs, not as part of some promotional appearance, but because he wanted to put smiles on a bunch of faces. Picture below via Kim Melerine Nunez:
Jeff Hornacek met with Luke Walton and Kings general manager Vlade Divac about the possibility of him being the team’s lead assistant coach, as reported by Sam Amick.
Finally off the Knicks books: Hornacek had been working in an unofficial capacity with the Nets as he collected his final paychecks from the Knicks this past season. His three-year, $15 million contract has now officially expired.
BEANIE MELO: You’ve heard of Hoodie Melo, well there is a new character in town and he will now go by the name of Beanie Melo. Chris Brickley released a workout video of Carmelo Anthony yesterday, and Melo is wearing a beanie through the workout. Many Knicks fans are hopeful that he returns to the team after they sign lead superstars this summer. Of course, many also hope he never plays for the team again. Gotta love basketball talk in New York. [Watch the workout video]
The Nets Lost
I suppose a rivalry is brewing when Knicks fans jump on social media to celebrate the Nets’ demise, as many did last night. One of the best accounts on Twitter is the parody account of Dolan J. Trump.
Remember when…
April 24, 2012: Knicks name Glen Grunwald executive vice president and general manager after he had been serving in the role on an interim basis since July.
April 24, 1997: Knicks open the playoffs with a 109-99 win over Charlotte at Madison Square Garden in a showdown between Larry Johnson and ex-Knick Anthony Mason. Allan Houston’s 25 points and Larry Johnson’s 20 points give the Knicks their sixth straight playoff-opening win. [Vivek Dadhania with more]
April 24, 1970: Knicks defeat Lakers 124-112 at the Garden in Game One of NBA Finals. Willis Reed leads the way with 37 points.
NBA Buzz
Damian Lillard’s 37-foot buzzer beater eliminates OKC. [Read more]
76ers blow out Nets to advance to second round. [Read more]
Nuggets put Spurs on the brink. [Read more]
Raptors eliminate Orlando to advance to second round. [Read more]
Jason Kidd interviews for Lakers head coaching job. [Read more]
Thanks for reading, talk to you tomorrow!