The Knicks have picked up 34-year old point guard Chauncey Billups’ option for the 2011-12 season valued at $14.2 million bucks.  This was no doubt done to keep Carmelo Anthony happy.  Billups played in 21 games (all starts) for the Knicks after coming over in the big deal with the Nuggets and he averaged 31.6 minutes, 17.5 points, 3.1 rebounds and 5.5 assists per game.  He played in 72 games (all starts) overall with the Nuggets & Knicks in which he averaged 32.1 minutes, 16.8 points, 2.6 rebounds, 5.4 assists and 1.0 steal per game as he shot 40.2% from three-point range.  Billups has now played in 982 games (888 starts) in his NBA career and he is averaging 32.3 minutes, 15.5 points, 2.9 rebounds, 5.6 assists and 1.0 steal per game.  Chauncey Billups continues to move up the leaders’ list in NBA history.  He is now #5 all-time in NBA history in three-pointers made with 1,735 of them.  He is also #39 in assists (5,465), tied for #127 in steals (1,022) and he’s #113 in points scored (15,247) in NBA history.  He proved last season that he has plently left in the gas tank, so I think the Knicks were smart to bring him back.

The Knicks only shot 34.1% from the floor today and they were outrebounded 53-42 which helps explain why they played their last game of the 2010-11 season today!  Carmelo Anthony led the way for the Knicks today with 32 points, 9 rebounds, 3 assists and 1 steal.  Amare Stoudemire also had a very solid game with 19 points, 12 rebounds, 3 assists and 1 blocked shot today.  Anthony Carter played his best game of the year for the Knicks today as he finished up with 11 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists and 1 steal in 23 minutes on the floor.  So the Knicks were swept in four games by the Celtics in this series.

The Knicks came out very flat last night as they were down 86-63 after the first three quarters.  They were outrebounded 43-33 and they didn’t play much D as the Celtics shot 50.6% from the floor which helped explain the beating the Knicks took last night.  Shawne Williams led the way for the Knicks last night with 17 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals and 1 blocked shot.  Carmelo Anthony only shot 4 of 16 from the floor but he still finished up with 15 points, 11 rebounds, 6 assists, 2 steals and 1 blocked shot.  Toney Douglas had a decent game offensively with 15 points, 3 rebounds and 3 assists but Rajon Rondo gave him fits defensively.  Jared Jeffries (12 points, 5 rebounds, 1 steal and 3 blocked shots) and Roger Mason (10 points in 16 minutes) also had decent games off the bench.  The Knicks are now down 3-0 to the Celtics in this series.

Ray Allen has been schooling rookie SG Landry Fields in this series and it’s hurting the Knicks.  Fields has played in 2 games (both starts) for the Knicks so far in this series and he is averaging 17.5 minutes, 2.0 points and 0.5 rebounds per game.  He has been shy shooting the ball as he is only 2 for 7 (28.6%) from the floor.  The Knicks need Fields to get aggressive at both ends of the court and make Ray Allen work.

The Knicks only shot 35.6% from the floor and it screwed up the fact that they outrebounded the Celtics 53-37.  Carmelo Anthony tried to will the Knicks to victory last night with 42 points, 17 rebounds, 6 assists and 2 blocked shots.  Toney Douglas started at the point and he responded with 14 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals but he had issues stopping Rajon Rondo who dropped 30 points on the Knicks last night.  Jared Jeffries stepped up when Amare Stoudemire went out of the game due to injury.  Jeffries had 10 points, 6 rebounds, 1 steal and 2 blocked shots in 26 minutes on the floor.  The Knicks are now down 2-0 in this series as if shifts to Madison Square Garden for the weekend.

Starting point guard Chauncey Billups will be watching Game #2 of the series with the Celtics in street clothes due to a left knee  injury.  Billups played 35 minutes in the first game of this series and he had 10 points, 2 rebounds and 4 assists.  Toney Douglas will take over as the starting point guard for the Knicks tonight.  He played 26 minutes in the series opener and he had 8 points and 2 assists.  Anthoy Carter will back up Douglas tonight.  He played 14 minutes in the series opener and he had 2 points, 1 rebound, 2 assists, 1 steal and 1 blocked shot.  Losing Billups really hurts the Knicks because he’s a big game player.  Also, the Knicks’ really thin bench will also be hurt by them having to start Douglas.

The Knicks played hard in this game despite getting outrebounded 44-34 by the Celtics.  They hung right in until the end when the Celtics outscored them 28-21 in the 4th quarter.  Ray Allen hit the Knicks with a dagger three pointer with less than 10 seconds left in this game.  Amare Stoudemire came to play as he led the way for the Knicks in this game with 28 points, 11 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal and 2 blocked shots.  Carmelo Anthony had a rough shooting night as he only hit 5 of 18 shot from the floor but he still finished up with 15 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 steals.  Chauncey Billups also had a rough shooting night (3 of 11 from the floor) but he still finished up with 10 points, 2 rebounds and 4 assists.  The Knicks are now down 1-0 in this series after this tough loss.

This should be an interesting series as it pits the Knicks’ Big Three against the Celtics very deep and talented roster.  This should be a very interesting series, especially if some of the role players on the Knicks can step up.  Here is a look at the matchups in this series:

POINT GUARD:  Chauncey Billups is one of the best “money players” when the games start to get big.  He played in 21 games (all starts) for the Knicks this year and he averaged 31.6 minutes, 17.5 points, 3.1 rebounds and 5.5 assists per game.  Billups will have to work to get his shots off as Rajon Rondo is going to be right in his grill.

Rajon Rondo is not a great shooter but he’s a great passer who plays outstanding defense.  Rondo played in 68 games (all starts) for the Celtics this year and he averaged 37.2 minutes, 10.6 points, 4.4 rebounds, 11.2 assists and 2.3 steals per game.  I think Rondo is really going to pester Billups in this series.

EDGE:  CELTICS

SHOOTING GUARD:  Landry Fields is a big shooting guard who likes to take his game inside when he can, but he’s also a good shooter.  Fields played in 82 games (81 starts) for the Knicks this year and he averaged 31.0 minutes, 9.7 points, 6.4 rebounds and 1.9 assists per game.  His most important job in this series is going to be playing solid D against Ray Allen.

Ray Allen has hit the most three point shots in NBA history and he’s going to be firing away in this series.  Allen played in 80 games (all starts) for the Celtics this year and he averaged 36.1 minutes, 16.5 points, 3.4 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game.  I think Allen will get his points in this series.

EDGE:  CELTICS

SMALL FORWARD:  Carmelo Anthony came just as advertised when the Knicks dealt for him.  He played in 27 games (all starts) for the Knicks this year and he averaged 36.2 minutes, 26.3 points, 6.7 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game.  Anthony could go bonkers in this series but he’s going to have to work hard at the defensive end of the court too or Paul Pierce will also go off.

Paul Pierce is the go-t0 player on the Celtics, but he isn’t a selfish gunner.  Pierce played in 80 games (all starts) for the Celtics last year and he averaged 34.7 minutes, 18.9 points, 5.4 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 1.0 steal per game.  Pierce seems to take his game to a new level in the playoffs, so this should be fascinating to watch.

EDGE:  SLIGHT FOR KNICKS

POWER FORWARD:  Amare Stoudemire is going to have to play big in this series as it’s going to be very physical under the basket.  Stoudemire played in 78 games (all starts) for the Knicks this year and he averaged 36.8 minutes, 25.3 points, 8.2 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 1.9 blocked shots per game. 

Kevin Garnett still has a lot of gas left in the tank.  He played in 71 games (all starts) for the Celtics this year and he averaged 31.3 minutes, 14.9 points, 8.9 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 1.3 steals per game.  Garnett will be the Celtics’ enforcer in this series and he loves that role.

EDGE:  SLIGHT FOR KNICKS

CENTER:  The Knicks are leaning towards starting Shelden Williams against his old team.  Williams played in 17 games (6 starts) for the Knicks this year and he averaged 11.6 minutes, 3.9 points, 2.9 rebounds and 0.8 assists per game.  His main jobs will be to rebound and play defense in this series.

Jermaine O’Neal will likely get the call at center for the Celtics in this series.  O’Neal has played in 24 games (10 starts) for the Celtics this year and he averaged 18.0 minutes, 5.4 points, 3.7 rebounds, 0.5 assists and 1.3 blocked shots per game.  O’Neal has had a good NBA career so maybe he’ll step up in the playoffs.

EDGE:  CELTICS

BENCH:  SG/PG Toney Douglas has been the first guy off the bench for the Knicks this year.  He played in 81 games (9 starts) for the Knicks this year and he averaged 24.3 minutes, 10.6 points, 3.0 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 1.1 steals per game.  Center Ronny Turiaf will likely be playing around half of the game in this series.  He played in 64 games (21 starts) for the Knicks this year and he averaged 17.8 minutes, 4.2 points, 3.2 rebounds, 1.4 assists and 1.1 blocked shots per game.  PF Shawne Williams played in 64 games (11 starts) for the Knicks this year and he averaged 20.7 minutes, 7.1 points, 3.7 rebounds and 0.7 assists per game.  He could get his share of minutes if Amare Stoudemire needs a break.  SF Bill Walker will give Carmelo Anthony a break when he needs one.  Walker played in 61 games (1 start) for the Knicks last year and he averaged 12.9 minutes, 4.9 points, 2.0 rebounds and 0.6 assists per game.  PF/C Jared Jeffries might be needed for defensive purposes at some point in this series.  He played in 24 games (9 starts) for the Knicks this year and he averaged 19.3 minutes, 2.0 points, 3.4 rebounds, 1.0 assist and 1.0 steal per game.  PG Anthony Carter isn’t likely to get a lot of P.T. in this series.  Carter played in 19 games (0 starts) for the Knicks this season and he averaged 16.3 minutes, 4.4 points, 2.1 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game.

It will be interesting to see who is on the active roster for the Celtics in this series as they are more than 12 deep.  PF Glen “Big Baby” Davis will get a lot of P.T. in this series.  He played in 78 games (13 starts) for the Celtics this year and he averaged 29.5 minutes, 11.7 points, 5.4 rebounds, 1.2 assists and 1.0 steal per game.  SF/PF Jeff Green will also likely get in on the action in this series.  Green played in 26 games (2 starts) for the Celtics this year and he averaged 23.5 minutes, 9.8 points, 3.3 rebounds and 0.7 assists per game.  C Nenad Krstic will likely have a big role in this series for the Celtics.  He played in 24 games (20 starts) for the Celtics this year and he averaged 23.0 minutes, 9.1 points, 5.3 rebounds and 0.3 assists per game.  C Shaquille O’Neal is looking like a go in this series but I don’t expect him to play a lot.  Shaq played in 37 games (36 starts) for the Celtics this year and he averaged 20.3 minutes, 9.2 points, 4.8 rebounds, 0.7 assists and 1.1 blocked shots per game.  SG/PG Delonte West might be a little gimpy but he’s also going to try to give it a go for the Celtics.   West played in 24 games (2 starts) for the Celtics this year and he averaged 18.9 minutes, 5.6 points, 1.5 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game.  The next four guys are iffy as to whether they will make the roster for this series or not.  SG Von Wafer played well at the very end of the year.  He played in 58 games (2 starts) for the Celtics this year and he averaged 9.5 minutes, 3.2 points, 0.8 rebounds and 0.6 assists per game.  PF Troy Murphy didn’t show much after the Celtics signed him.  Murphy played in 17 games (0 starts) for the Celtics this year and he averaged 10.5 minutes, 2.6 points, 2.2 rebounds and 0.4 assists per game.  PG Carlos Arroyo played in 15 games (1 start) for the Celtics and he averaged 12.7 minutes, 2.4 points, 1.5 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game.  Sasha Pavlovic played in 17 games (0 starts) for the Celtics and he averaged 8.8 minutes, 1.8 points, 0.8 rebounds and 0.2 assists per game.

EDGE:  CELTICS

COACHING:  Mike D’Antoni is a solid basketball coach.  He is 370-315 (54%) during the regular season and he is 26-25 (51%) in the post-season over his career.  D’Antoni slowed down the offense when Carmelo Anthony and Chauncey Billups arrived in N.Y. and he might try to amp up the pace in this series.

Doc Rivers is also a really good coach.  He is 507-406 (55.5%) during the regular season and he is 46-40 (53.5%) during the post-season.  He has also won a NBA Title with these Celtics and he took the Lakers to 7 games in the NBA Finals last year.

EDGE:  CELTICS

PREDICTION:  The Celtics are a way deeper team than the Knicks are and it will show in this series.  I like the Celtics to win this series in 5 games with the Knicks winning 1 game in N.Y.

22-year old shooting guard Landry Fields came to the Knicks in the 2nd round out of Stanford and he turned out to be one of the best players in the entire draft.  Fields played in 82 games (81 starts) for the Knicks this year and he averaged 31.0 minutes, 9.7 points, 6.4 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 1.0 steal per game.  Fields is an unselfish player with the basketball as he usually takes good shots.  He made 49.7% of his shots from the floor, 39.3% from three point range and 76.9% from the free throw line as a rookie which was impressive.  Fields is going to be a big part of the Knicks’ future.

This was a game in which neither team wanted to show the other one too much because they meet in the first round of the playoffs, starting this weekend.  The Knicks didn’t play much D as the Celtics shot 56.5% from the floor and that’s what did them in.  Landry Fields led the way for the Knicks in this game with 16 points and 7 rebounds.  Amare Stoudemire played 20 minutes last night and he finished up with 14 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assist and 1 blocked shot.  Bill Walker pitched in with 12 points, 3 rebounds and 2 assists last night.  The Knicks finished the 2010-11 regular season with a 42-40 record.