POST GAME: Raptors 113 Knicks 111
From Mike D’Antoni’s perspective, he had to be pleased by his team’s effort, despite the fact they were clearly out of shape to run his system. D’Antoni prides himself on having his team in supreme condition, yet he has to wonder if that will happen with some of the players on his team.
It’s a young man’s system, except if your name is Nash, and the combination of David Lee, Wilson Chandler and Nate Robinson accounted for 53 points as the team battled a very solid Raptors team to the buzzer.
What did the team in were sloppy mistakes and bad habits, combined with poor 3- point shooting. Chris Duhon and Stephon Marbury, who along with Robinson and Chandler helped erase an early 6-point 1st-quarter lead, combined for 12 turnovers. The team as a whole shot just 8-34 from behind the arc in D’Antoni’s shot-friendly system.
Despite his horrendous number of turnovers, Duhon played well defensively, and can help this team in many ways fans haven’t seen, but it was Robinson who constantly got caught under screens, which allowed for open looks that killed the team down the stretch.
Chris Bosh, a free agent in 2010 who would fit D’Antoni’s system to a tee, led the Raptors with 20 points.
In addition to the young legs, by far the most impressive Knick was Lee, whose work on his outside shot, something he prided himself on during the offseason, was extremely evident. Fans have heard about improvements like Eddy Curry, (who did not play) learning to block shots, but Lee’s work is obvious and should take his game to another level.
The Knicks return to action Friday night against Elton Brand and the 76ers.
