HoopsHype.com Rumors

If crossing the line can happen during the course of games considering all the trash-talk: “Absolutely. You can definitely cross the line in sports. There are certain things that are said on the court that is basketball chatter and then other things that should always be left off.” If Garnett is known as a guy that crosses the line too often: “I’m not sure. I guess it all depends on who you ask the question to.” Sports Radio Interviews

Boston Celtics, New York Knicks, Tyson Chandler, Kevin Garnett 

Iman Shumpert was joking the other day he’d be “thirsty’’ to have been around in the 1950s to get a chance to dunk on Bill Russell. Today, the cocksure Shumpert may have to be content to dunk on Tyson Chandler. Knicks coach Mike Woodson said last night Shumpert had knee tests yesterday and was on the verge of being medically cleared for his first 5-on-5 contact scrimmage — the last step in his eight-month comeback from an ACL tear. The Knicks practice today and tomorrow. New York Post

New York Knicks, Mike Woodson, Tyson Chandler, Bill Russell, Iman Shumpert 

A majority of Chandler’s highlights this season have come on alley-oop dunks off pick-and-roll plays. But Chandler said he enjoyed tapping the ball out to an open teammate just as much as dunking because he knows the play is an important weapon for a Knicks team that features a number of strong shooters. “It’s been something that I’ve kind of just fell into over the course of my career,” Chandler said. “I’ve done it in the past, but now I think me and my teammates are starting to get a rhythm on it. I’m starting to know where they are on the floor. It’s an effective play.” New York Times

New York Knicks, Tyson Chandler 

Camby said his return comes at a perfect time because Tyson Chandler needs some time to rest. That’s what Camby signed up to do. “I’m ready to compete,’’ Camby said. “We have to find time to get Tyson some rest. He’s been playing exceptional basketball. We need to find time to get him minutes.’’ Camby confirmed he took a cortisone shot last week and most of the pain is gone. “No one’s pain free at this point no matter how many cortisone shots you take to mask things,’’ he said. New York Post

New York Knicks, Tyson Chandler, Injuries, Marcus Camby 

The Knicks shot ugly, fought ugly and ultimately lost ugly. In the worst Garden night of the season during which they fell behind by 25 points late in the third quarter, the Knicks fought the referees, fought the Bulls players, but didn’t fight hard enough to win. As the final buzzer sounded on a discouraging 110-106 loss, coach Mike Woodson, Carmelo Anthony, Tyson Chandler — all ejected — weren’t around to hear it . The loss dropped the Knicks (19-7), percentage points behind Miami (17-6) for best record in the Eastern Conference. The Knicks, who also lost to Chicago two weeks ago, shot 33 percent in the first three quarters and trailed 83-61 and then blew their cool. New York Post

Chicago Bulls, New York Knicks, Mike Woodson, Carmelo Anthony, Tyson Chandler, Referees 

First, Anthony got ejected with 6:45 left for a hard slap on the ball held by Joakim Noah, picking up his second technical foul. Then Woodson followed Anthony to an early shower 1:30 later, earning his second technical for profanely berating the referees. Woodson, outcoached by Tom Thibodeau, appeared to mouth “terrible bleeping call,’’ then adding “bleep you.’’ as a kicker. Bad move as all hell broke loose after that. It got uglier as Chandler and Noah squared off after the Bulls rugged center held Chandler in the paint on a rebound battle. Chandler violently broke free and the two centers appeared to knock heads. Chandler went after Noah, needing to be restrained by teammates. Both players got ejected for “fighting.’’ “I was frustrated by the way the game was going,’’ said Chandler, who got outplayed by Noah, finishing with five points. “That was that. I felt like he got a hold of me and didn’t let go.’’ New York Post

Chicago Bulls, New York Knicks, Mike Woodson, Carmelo Anthony, Tom Thibodeau, Tyson Chandler, Joakim Noah, Referees 

Carmelo Anthony already was back in the Knicks locker room, having picked up two technical fouls. He heard the Garden crowd roar. “I walked to the hallway and Woody was walking back. Then I was in the shower and Tyson was in here,” said Anthony who quickly was joined by coach Mike Woodson and then center Tyson Chandler after all three were ejected in last night’s fourth quarter. “That’s how the night was going. “It was one of them days.” New York Post

Chicago Bulls, New York Knicks, Mike Woodson, Carmelo Anthony, Tyson Chandler 

When asked specifically about a possible suspension, the emotional center seemed incredulous. "Suspension?" Noah said. "For what? What did I do?" When asked about the apparent headbutt, Noah responded. "He headbutted me," Noah said. "Come on guys, I'm trying to play (Saturday), man. I love this game." ESPN.com

Chicago Bulls, New York Knicks, Mike Woodson, Carmelo Anthony, Tyson Chandler, Joakim Noah, Referees 

Bulls head coach Tom Thibodeau does not believe Noah will be suspended either. "No," he said. "They got tangled up." Chandler knows that he and Noah just got caught up in the moment. "I don’t think he’s a dirty player at all," Chandler said. "I think it was the incident. Frustration of the game. We got tangled up. That was that. I don’t necessarily think he’s a dirty player or nothing like that." ESPN.com

Chicago Bulls, New York Knicks, Mike Woodson, Carmelo Anthony, Tom Thibodeau, Tyson Chandler, Joakim Noah, Referees 

Asked in recent days about his All-Star candidacy, Chandler told The Post, “I hope so. I’m definitely playing up to par. It’s left up to fans who vote. That’s far in the future. Every player wants to be recognized and have those accolades, but I’m more concerned with winning.’’ With the 19-6 Knicks owning the best record in the East, the coaches would be remiss to overlook Chandler again. “Just the way we’re playing offensively the ball is flowing and he’s been great.’’ Woodson said of Chandler’s offensive panache. “The thing about his conditioning — to be able to rebound, block shots, defend and then run pick-and-roll basketball, you’re asking a big guy to do a lot. And he’s doing it because he knows he’s being rewarded for it.’’ New York Post

New York Knicks, Tyson Chandler, All-Star 

The most heinous of all heinous crimes was carried out only about 75 miles from the Garden, and it was still sending shock waves through this arena and other ones, where athletes and fans alike tried to understand how 20 young kids and six adults could be wiped out on a chilly Friday morning at their Sandy Hook Elementary School. “Absolutely shocking,” said Tyson Chandler, walking out onto the Garden floor for pregame warmups. “That kind of stuff, you can’t fathom happening. I was talking to my wife over dinner last night about it. Some parents lost a child. Some people lost a parent. Children witnessed things that they shouldn’t have to witness. Things that took their innocence away. It’s just sickening. My daughter is 6 and something like that hits home, a little too close. You never even want to have to think about anything like that with your own child. I can’t imagine what those parents are going through.’’ New York Daily News

New York Knicks, Tyson Chandler, Connecticut 

Tommy Beer: Woodson, on ESPN radio, says that when he took over as head coach he told Melo, Amar'e, and Chandler that they weren't playing hard enough. Twitter @TommyBeer

New York Knicks, Amare Stoudemire, Mike Woodson, Carmelo Anthony, Tyson Chandler 

“He’s the MVP, guys,” Woodson said, and he wasn’t the only one tossing those three letters around when the night was done. “That’s why he’s the MVP,” Tyson Chandler said. “This is a game we lose if we don’t have Melo. I didn’t do anything tonight, Ray [Felton] didn’t do anything tonight, nobody did … but we had one guy to carry the load.” New York Post

New York Knicks, Carmelo Anthony, Tyson Chandler 

And just like that, the greatest player in Nets history consecrated the Barclays Center while wearing a Knicks uniform, deciding a 100-97 pulse-beater that made you check the schedule for the next encounter, and left the guys in the winning locker room shaking their heads. “Father time, I don’t know,” Tyson Chandler marvelled. “He makes shot after shot, play after play — whether it’s a steal or a 3 or diving for a ball, getting a helmet ... he just makes play after play after play, and I don’t understand it. That’s why he’s a Hall of Famer.” Newark Star-Ledger

New York Knicks, Carmelo Anthony, Tyson Chandler 

"The opportunity is here," Chandler remembered telling his former Dallas teammate when decision time was approaching in July. What Chandler meant was, the opportunity was in New York for Kidd. But the impact Kidd has made on the Knicks after the first quarter of this season suggests otherwise. The opportunity was for the Knicks to be touched and transformed by Kidd, not the other way around. "We can make a run at this thing," Chandler said. CBSSports.com

New York Knicks, Carmelo Anthony, Tyson Chandler 

Carmelo Anthony has taken Tyson Chandler’s advice once already and he may take it again and miss Saturday night’s game with a cut left middle finger. Anthony could want to save himself for Sunday night when his former Nuggets invade the Garden. As much as Anthony considers the Heat the biggest game of the season, he also doesn’t want to lose to George Karl’s Nuggets as he did last season at the Garden. The Knicks’ trip to Denver was cancelled last season because of the lockout and Anthony’s first foray to the Rocky Mountains since demanding a trade comes March 13. New York Post

New York Knicks, Carmelo Anthony, Tyson Chandler, Injuries 

After vanquishing the Heat, the team practically took over South Beach steakhouse Prime 112, a favorite of Heat president Pat Riley. Spies said many of the Knicks players had their own tables for family and friends, and were all toasted by a host of New Yorkers in town for the art fair. One spy told us, “As each player entered the restaurant, there were cheers and high-fives from the other diners. Raymond Felton, Amar’e Stoudemire and Tyson Chandler each had their own tables. The entire team was there, apart from Carmelo Anthony. There were a lot of New Yorkers in the restaurant who were down for Art Basel who couldn’t quite believe their luck to see them.” New York Post

Miami Heat, New York Knicks, Carmelo Anthony, Pat Riley, Raymond Felton, Tyson Chandler 

Here’s my point. Do you know how many jumpers Tyson Chandler attempted in 2011 from 10-15 feet? Zero. Go ahead, try to picture Chandler’s jumper in your head. You can’t do it. Does he even jump? What’s his form look like? Think about how strange that is — Chandler has been in the league 11 years, and when you try to remember a single image of him taking a jumper, you can’t. NBCSports.com

New York Knicks, Tyson Chandler 

One of their go-to lines, according to one practice-floor spy, is needling Anthony about how they got Nowitzki to play D in Dallas and how embarrassed they'd be for No. 7 if he couldn't keep up. "To me, he's the best player in the league right now," Chandler said Wednesday night of Anthony, conveniently forgetting how well he knows James' game to build up his guy. ESPN.com

New York Knicks, Carmelo Anthony, Tyson Chandler 

The Knicks' success has put the spotlight on Carmelo Anthony and one of the most popular questions has been what's different about him. Tyson Chandler said everything. "He's a completely different player," Chandler said. "I think the USA experience did wonders for him. I think he's hungry to take it to the next level and win . . . He's doing all the little things it takes to actually win from practicing hard, focusing at shootarounds, playing defense, communicating on the basketball floor. He's a real leader out there. It's fun to watch. "He's the biggest part of our success." Newsday

New York Knicks, Carmelo Anthony, Tyson Chandler