NBA new york Knicks

Just after the first quarter buzzer sounded at the Meadowlands, Nate Robinson of the Knicks turned and fired a three-pointer at the basket of the New Jersey Nets. The shot went in, and, being as the period had already ended, the basket was waved off by the official.

No harm done, right? Uh, wrong. Mike D'Antoni was furious at Robinson for even trying such a stunt, especially with it coming so closely after the buzzer.

(UPDATE: Apparently, D'Antoni holds a grudge: he kept Robinson on the bench for the rest of the game.)

Knicks! Nets! NBA action at its finest. Video of the shot and the exchange, after the jump.

A four-time scoring champ leading Mike D'Antoni's up-tempo offense? It looked like a match made in heaven on paper, but the Knicks have apparently decided the intangibles surrounding Allen Iverson -- including ugly exits with two teams in the span of seven months -- outweighed the potential gains.

According to Howard Beck of the New York Times, the Knicks went back and forth on the issue, with a team source suggesting Thursday afternoon there was a 90 percent chance the team would offer a contract. Ultimately, however, the team's brain trust decided that "Iverson posed too great a risk" -- a damning indictment if there ever was one, considering the 2-7 Knicks are currently on pace for a 15-win season.

Just a few days after the Grizzlies announced they'd cut loose disgruntled legend Allen Iverson, Howard Beck of the New York Times reports the Knicks do plan to pursue the guard. Beck has sources who indicate coach Mike D'Antoni is sold on the addition of the legendarily difficult scorer, and the Knicks plan to offer A.I. at least a minimum contract worth $1.3 million.

The Knicks have been dreadful this season, and it's getting worse all the time. (The Knicks visit currently winless New Jersey on Saturday in what could be the return of Devin Harris and Courtney Lee. Giving an 0-13 [pending tonight's Nets-Bucks result] New Jersey team its first win? Rock. Bottom.) Iverson is still useful as a scorer, and despite the N.Y. talking points about developing the kids, the Knicks as an organization have little to lose by letting The Answer run loose for a few months. Win, win, win. (That third one is for Spike Lee.)

Yahoo!'s Marc Spears caught up with the personal manager of one Allen Iverson, the surefire Hall-of-Fame guard who earlier Monday agreed to part ways with the Grizzlies after three dramatic regular season appearances. The implication of Monday's event implies that Iverson is done in the NBA -- he didn't exactly have many suitors in the offseason, after all, which required a bit role on the bad Grizzlies in the first place.

You should be unsurprised to learn, however, that Iverson doesn't see it that way. A.I.'s manager told Spears that the guard intends to play again in the NBA ... hopefully this season. How's that gonna happen? Take it away, New York Knicks president Donnie Walsh!

The topic of Phil Jackson's health has lingered in the background for years -- he had both hips replaced in 2006, and he still sits perched above the bench in a custom-made throne to help alleviate pain in his hips, knees and back. As far back as 2007 he's dropped hints that he might be close to calling it a career, and as recent as this summer he hinted that he might skip occasional road trips this season.

But this year? Thanks to a new orthopedic "unloader" brace, he has no complaints. "I feel really good," he said Thursday, as reported by the Los Angeles Times. "I have a device that really takes away a lot of the discomfort that I've had. That's a real big relief for me as far as just having to deal with some issues when I stand or walk. I'm much better that way."

With the Cavaliers in town to play the Knicks, speculation about LeBron James leaving Cleveland for the Big Apple has been shifted into overdrive. But Donnie Walsh wants you to know that he cares about the Knicks' present just as much as the future.

"No matter what you say, there's a feeling that you're just looking to next summer, and that hasn't been true at all," he told the Cleveland Plain Dealer. "I know where it's coming from, but there's very little you can do about it. I'm talking to you now and saying I'm not even thinking about that right now. I don't care if I say that to 100 people, they'll say, 'He's waiting for next year.' "

Instead of telling that to 100 people, perhaps he could merely reinforce that message to the 14 in the Knicks' locker room -- because according to some close to the team, even the players are starting to think that this season doesn't matter.

ESPN's Chris Sheridan reports on the world's first non-uStream Stephon Marbury sighting of the NBA season. It came at Madison Square Garden, where Knicks security had to ask a paid-in-full Starbury to go to his seat. Marbury had purchased a ticket in row A (that's the second row) for Saturday night's Knicks home opener against the Sixers. The only problem was that Marbury instead tried to sit in row AA (the Spike Lee zone).

Sheridan reports that Marbury spent part of the first quarter standing and recording live video of the action (as pictured). Eventually, a Madison Square Garden security guard asked Marbury to move to his actual seat. Instead of doing so, Sheridan reports that the former self-professed World's Greatest Point Guard left the arena. Front row or bust! Hilariously, according to the New York Daily News's Mitch Lawrence, a Knicks usher mistakenly sat Marbury in the front row in the first place. Whoops.

With the start of the 2009-10 season looming, NBA FanHouse walks through the Valley of the Most Likely; we shall fear no topic.

Madison Square Garden is the crown jewel of NBA arenas. It's the oldest building in the league, and has hosted a ton of special moments throughout its history. Many of those moments likely helped shaped the hoop dreams of many of the league's current stars.

Of course, no one had a greater influence on making MSG a special place to play than Michael Jordan (sorry, Knicks fans). Since Jordan, every NBA player has wanted to come to the Garden and put on a show.

Forgive me for the sensational headline -- I must admit to twisting the NBA commissioner's words just a tiny bit. But in an interview with reelsportsfan.com, David Stern revealed he's just like the millions of fans in Ohio who hope to see LeBron James re-sign with the Cavaliers.

"He hasn't won anything yet, but he may be the best player to descend to this planet," Stern said of James, later adding, "Michael [Jordan] might dispute that, but he's got a lot of canvas yet upon which to paint. And I have no doubt the picture is going to be beautiful."

When asked if Stern had any idea where James may finish his career, he replied, "None whatsoever -- although I hope it's in Cleveland." Keep reading for the video.