Week 21 (March 15-21) Teams playing four games: Atlanta, Boston, Charlotte, Chicago, Cleveland, Denver, Detroit, Golden State, Houston, Indiana, L.A. Lakers, New Orleans, New York, Philadelphia, San Antonio, Utah, Washington Teams playing three games: L.A. Clippers, Memphis, Miami, Milwaukee, Minnesota, New Jersey, Oklahoma City, Phoenix, Sacramento, Toronto Teams playing two games: Dallas, Orlando, Portland

Toney Douglas (Knicks)- The last time Douglas started was on November 18th. Last Saturday he started and scored 21 points in helping the Knicks defeat the Mavs. He has played in at least 22 minutes the past four games and has 7 three-pointers in this span.

Jannero Pargo (Bulls)- Pargo started his first game of the season due to a wrist injury suffered to Derrick Rose. Pargo, scored a season high 20 points with 4 assists and 2 three-pointers. Rose should return tomorrow vs. the Grizziles.

Johan Petro (Nuggets)- Petro has started four straight games because of the injury to Keynon Martin. He is averaging 5.8 points, 7.8 rebounds .8 blocks as a starter.

Honorable mention: James Johnson (Bulls)

” LaDainian Tomlinson, the eighth-leading rusher in NFL history with 12,490 yards, signed a two-year contract worth $5.1 million with an escalator to $5.6 million, ESPN reported first on Sunday. A league source told the Star Tribune the Vikings made a similar offer.”

Tomlinson decided to sign with New York because of the familiarity and the larger role he would have in the Jets offense. The Jets offense is run by former Chargers assistant Brian Schottenheimer. Thomas Jones is a year older than LT but has 600 fewer carries  and is coming off a 1400-yard season.

Even though he is a Hall-Of-Fame back his carries and rushing yards have declined each season since 06-07. His production has tailed off due to injuries and the Chargers shifting into a pass-first offense.

LT is coming off a year where he set career lows in carries (223), yards (730), yards per carry (3.3), receptions (20), receiving yards (154) and it was the second time since his rookie season he failed to record a receiving touchdown. Jones, did not …

Who is Brodney Pool:

6″2/210

Drafted 2nd round (Oklahoma) by the Cleveland Browns

The Jets signed FS Brodney Pool to a one year, $1.3 million dollar contract. Trading Kerry Rhodes has created a hole at safety. Pool will be competing with Eric Smith and James Ihedigbo for the starting spot along side Jim Leonhard.

Pool started 10 games games for the Browns last season and finished with 50 tackles and 4 sacks. He missed the Browns final five games last season after sustaining a concussion. There have been mixed reports on how many concussions he has suffered in the past but his agent says “he is healthy and ready to go.”

Pool holds the Browns franchise record with a 100 yard interception TD against the Ravens in 07. The five-year players has 11 interceptions and 35 pass defensed in his career.

http://insider.espn.go.com/nfl/draft10/insider/news/story?id=4968544

Todd McShay has USC Safety Taylor Mays going 21 to the Bengals and the Jets selecting Penn State defensive end Jared Odrick

Mel Kiper has the Jets selecting Mays, which is surprising considering his strong combine and other teams that have safety needs.

Who is Jared Odrick?

“Odrick has a good combination of size and strength. He is more of a run-stopper with power to hold the point but needs to utilize his hands more consistently to separate to the ball. Odrick shows power to collapse the pocket as a pass rusher but again needs to expand his pass rush package with more moves and counters to contribute at the next level. He feels pad pressure well and constricts running lanes effectively. He has some limitations (lateral agility and speed) but plays with a good motor and often wins with effort. Odrick could be considered a versatile prospect as an end in a 3-4 front or tackle in 4-3 schemes. Odrick has upside if he can improve his overall …

Kansas City signed Thomas Jones to a two-year deal after the Jets released him. New York did not want to pay him the roster bonus he was due. The team should have kept him considering he has rushed for 2700 yards with 27 touchdowns the past two seasons. However, he was due a $3 million roster bonus on top of a $2.8 million base salary and Jones did not want to take a pay cut. “Jones ranks second only to LaDainian Tomlinson, who also was cut by his team, in yards rushing since 2005″.

Jones is coming off a career year where he rushed for 1402 yards and 14 touchdowns. However, the 331 regular season carries was the most of his 10-year career. Jones has rushed for at least 1100 yards in each of his past five seasons. His consistency can be credited due to his workout regimen but he is turning 32-years old in August. Also, the Jets boast one of the top offensive lines in the league …

Week 20 (March 8-14)
Teams playing four games: Boston, Charlotte, L.A. Clippers, Memphis, Miami, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Orleans, New York, Orlando, Philadelphia, Portland, Sacramento, San Antonio, Toronto, Washington
Teams playing three games: Atlanta, Chicago, Cleveland, Dallas, Denver, Detroit, Indiana, Golden State, Milwaukee, Oklahoma City
Teams playing two games: Houston, L.A. Lakers, Phoenix

Reggie Williams (Warriors)- Williams signed a 10-day contract because of the lack of healthy bodies for the Warriors. He scored a career high 28 points yesterday against the Hornets. If Monta Ellis returns on Thursday, it lowers the value of Williams but he has a pedigree of scoring history. He the led nation in back to back years for VMI (28.1 in 06-07 and 27.8 in 07-08)

Sonny Weems (Raptors)- Weems has scored in double-figures in four of past five games. He scored a season high 20 points vs. the Knicks last Friday. In three games this month …

The Jets traded safety Kerry Rhodes to the Arizona Cardinals for a 4th (Rhodes was a former 4th round pick) round pick in this year’s draft and a 7th round pick in the 2011 draft. Rhodes has a 4 years left on his contract and a $2 million roster bonus due on Friday. This past season he recorded a career low 55 tackles and did not intercept a pass until Week 12.

Rhodes will be replacing Antrel Rolle, who signed with the Giants last week. The Cardinals other starting safety (Adrian Wilson) is the same height 6′3″. The team’s new defensive  backs coach is Donnie Henderson, who was a former Jets assistant under Herman Edwards.

In his second season in the league Rhodes had 99 tackles, 5 sacks, 4 interceptions and 3 forced fumbles. However, his play has not been on the same level since his teammates have labeled him as “Hollywood” because of his off-the-field initiatives.

The Jets filled a need when they traded for cornerback Antonio Cromartie, However, they have a hole at safety because Eric …

“He has failed to appear in court twice for different traffic tickets and hasn’t paid $799 in traffic-related fines, causing the Department of Motor Vehicles to withhold his driver’s license application.”

“Cromartie has at least seven children with six different women in five states. All children are under 6.”

“He was also disciplined by coach Norv Turner for breaking team rules regarding tweeting from the team premises.”

Antionio Cromartie was traded to the Jets for a  2011 third-round draft choice that could turn into a second-rounder. He comes with baggage but he is 25 years old and led the NFL in interceptions (10) in 2007. He was also named to the Pro Bowl and All-Pro team that year. That season he returned a missed field 109 yards for a touchdown. Darrelle Revis was a Pro Bowler and All-Pro for the Jets last season. This combo can turn out to be one of the best combos in the NFL.

Cromartie replaces Lito Sheppard, who the Jets released because of his roster bonus. Besides his legal troubles he has battled injuries …

“Before his high school career ended he was the first player to attend the Adidas ABCD Camp in New Jersey three times, and won the MVP his final season, an award given out to the likes of Lebron James and Kobe Bryant.”

Bill Walker was a Top 10 high school recruit and made the EA Sports High School Boys Basketball team in 2006. He was also a teammate of current Memphis Grizzle and former first-round pick (3rd overall) O.J Mayo. He received interest from top programs such as Connecticut, Syracuse, Texas but elected to go to Kansas State.

Walker elected to go to Kansas State and averaged 16.1 (5th in the Big 12) points, 6.3 rebounds and shot 46% (10th in the Big 12) in his second season. He played alongside Michael Beasley who was drafted second overall in the 2008 draft.

His knee injuries affected his draft stock but the talent, athleticism and size had scouts compare him to Vince Carter. His leaping ability, strength and competitiveness would have made him a first-round pick …

Week 19 (March 1-7)
Teams playing four games: Atlanta, Boston, Charlotte, Cleveland, Dallas, Denver, Detroit, Golden State, Houston, Indiana, L.A. Clippers, L.A. Lakers, Memphis, New York, Oklahoma City, Orlando, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Sacramento
Teams playing three games: Chicago, Miami, Milwaukee, New Jersey, New Orleans, Portland, San Antonio, Toronto, Utah, Washington
Teams playing two games: Minnesota

Jerry Stackhouse (Bucks)- Stackhouse has stepped up his play recently. The Bucks were one of the league’s hottest team that won 6 straight games before yesterday’s loss to the Hawks. Stack has scored double-figures and played at least 24 minutes in four straight games. He scored a season high 20 points yesterday and also is a good source for threes and free throw percentage.

Bill Walker (Knicks)- Walker has appeared in three games for the Knicks and played 25 minutes in last Saturday’s game. Wilson Chandler is expected to miss tonight’s game (personal reasons) and Tracy McGrady is dealing with a sore knee which means Walker could sustain minutes in the rotation.

Ronny Turiaf (Warriors)- …

“If they get Lebron James (it was worth it),” Randolph says. “If they don’t get him, I wonder. I don’t know.”- Zach Randolph

The Knicks traded Randolph in November 2008 to the Clippers for Tim Thomas and Cuttino Mobley. The Knicks were not looking for any premium players back just, for another team to take his long and expensive contract. Donnie Walsh has worked very hard to get the Knicks under the cap but he could have waited and deal Zebo or even Jamal Crawford this year for more talent or draft picks.

Randolph is blossoming for his new team (Memphis Grizzlies) averaging 20.6 points, 11.9 rebounds (second highest of his career) and is shooting 49.5 % from the field (second highest of his career). His shooting percentage has gone up because his three point attempts have gone down. He has attempted only 30 this season (59 games) compared to the 104 in 80 games with the Knicks. More importantly he leads the NBA in offensive rebounds per game (4.4) and the 28 year old was …

“Knicks can’t play out the string without making one more move. Gotta give Dwayne Jones a call from the D-League and get some size in here.”- Alan Hahn
Dwayne Jones is the kind of player the Knicks need in the front court. The 6′11″ 250 pounder is averaging 16.8 points, 15.4 rebounds and 1.9 blocks for the Austion Toros in the NBDL (over 32 games). He was college teammates with Jameer Nelson and Delonte West at St. Josephs.  In his Junior season he was Atlantic10 Defensive Player of the Year leading the conference in rebounds (11.6)  and blocks (3.0).

The Knicks are 25th in the league in rebounds per game (40.76) and blocks per game (4.20). Their differential of opponents rebounds is second worse in the league (4.78). They have also had a lot of trouble boxing the opposing team out, allowing 73 offensive rebounds the past five games. Also, when opponents score 100+ points against New York is  5-29.

The Knicks need to defend the paint better and play …