Recap: Celtics 110 Knicks 101

by Tommy Dee on November 18th, 2008 at 10:23 pm

It’s easy to say that the Knicks lost this game in the first half. They didn’t shoot it well, they let the Celtics dictate tempo and they were outworked.

I’m not giving them a pass on any of those things, but if I’m Mike D’Antoni, my team responded to me tonight. There IS some heart defensively in this locker room. I’ve seen it.

In getting T’d up and constantly begging his team to step up to the rugged challenge and reach deeper within themselves, the Knicks went nose to nose, literally, with the World Champs minus KG.

And frankly, they would have had a chance to win if not for 5 points on two huge shots from the Celts role players down the stretch.

I think Kendrick Perkins is a star in the making, and his turn around bank shot in the fourth quarter was a dagger, as the Knicks were in the midst of a run and causing the Celts to take tough shots. Brian ( in the rotation or rotisserie?) Scalabrine only scored 5 points but he saved his only three until late and that was the killer.

But the point of the matter is that the much-maligned defense CAUSED the Celtics to grind out possessions. It shows they have the capability to do it. They’ll need to if they want to get to a playoff level.

Good for Quentin Richardson. How can you not love Q trying to be a leader. He’s done it all year, but he needs to be a step quicker on his release in the half court offense against aggressive half court defenses. He would benefit from an inside presence to kick it to him on a skip. When he’s wide open he’s the team’s best catch-and-shooter, something they’ve lacked for years. He’s never been this good at it.

I loved D’Antoni’s animation tonight. They were screwed by Violet Palmer at home the other night and were victims of some questionable calls tonight. Frankly, both sides were. The officials let the Celtics control the game physically, but they are the Champions and should be allowed to. If the Knicks want respect, they’ll have to win games DESPITE the refs. Barking from the coach is fine, but constant bitching from players like Nate Robinson (technical foul) is unacceptable. They don’t deserve calls…yet.

But with continued efforts like tonight, where they held the Celtics 1/2 court offense scoreless for 4 minutes in the 4th, word will spread that this team has to be taken seriously defensively. Offensively, they are pretty close to respectability as it is. I know, I know they can’t score in the half court, but that’s when you have to impose your will and make plays defensively. That opens the game up.

Let’s just see if physically they can bounce back and let’s see if they can treat the Bucks with the same edge and nastiness on Friday. They are soft inside. If they can battle Leon Powe and Perkins in the 4th, they should handle Andrew Bogut and Charlie Villanueva. They let Charlie V get 5 offensive rebounds last game. That can’t happen again.

The Knicks were led by Wilson Chandler‘s 23 points, while the Celts were led by Paul Pierce‘s 22 with 11 coming in the 4th quarter.

As mentioned, the Knicks (6-5) return to action Friday night in Milwaukee.

BOX SCORE
SHOT CHART

(AP Photo/Winslow Townson)
  • Chris Alvino

    What happened to Crawford tonight? He was a ghost. If he is not scoring, he is literally doing nothing for this team. Look at Zach Randolph… he didn’t have a great game tonight, but he grinded through and ended with 18 and 8.

    Nate didn’t have a huge night offensively, but he still was a presence out there. Crawford was just brutal. Did he get hurt tonight? I could not tell from the stands.

    By the way, I met Frank Isola at the game. Great guy.

  • Conor Mac

    Tommy Dee. Whats good. Vino and I had a great time at the game. Other than the bandwagon fans we have to deal with up here in Boston, it was a good night to be a Knick. Down by 15, we came back to cut the lead by 4 with two minutes left. Even though we lost, this team showed some great resilience against a division rival that is much better than them.

    Some issues Donnie and D’Antoni have to address. First, the low post. We need someone that can bang around down under. We didn’t have that tonight. Kendrick Perkins looked like Shaq in his prime. Leon Powe manhandled a lot of our players ( and he got away with some ridiculous calls). Something has to be done about this. We need a big man that can enforce down under, but can still run with the team. I know thats a lot to ask for, but that aspect of the game will hurt the Knicks in the long run.

    Second, Jamal Crawford. I don’t know if he was hurt because he didn’t play the second half, but this guy plays NO DEFENSE. Absolutely none. He looked like a chicken with his head cut off when had to defend the likes of Ray Allen. I love his game, but if he doesn’t get stronger on the other end of the court, the Knicks are going to suffer. He can be a big weapon on offense, but games like these showed how much of a liability he can be when the opponent has the ball.

    Other than that, the Knicks looked okay. Sometimes they were off. Sometimes they were on. Yet, they stuck with the defending champions. Garnett or no Garnett, I think the team showed a lot tonight. By the way, the REFEREES WERE GOD AWFUL. Really pissed me off.

  • Conor Mac

    By the way, love Wilson Chandler. The sky is the limit with this guy, and I’m just glad he’s a part of our future. Big things in the future with # 21.

  • jose123

    The Knicks showed some fight last night, Q needs to stop all the trash talking cause in the end Paul Pierce proved once again why he is the most clutch player in the NBA, he drove to the lane at will and got to the foul line everytime.

    The Knicks need to learn how to beat the “star” teams of the league especially when those teams are on their backs i.e. Spurs w/o Ginoblli and Parker, Dallas struggling overall, Celtics w/o Garnett. The Celtic and the Spur games they had a deer in the headlights attitude to the games, its like they expect to lose the game and give a half a$$ effort, in the Dallas game, which I didn’t see the 4th quarter they probably couldn’t believe they had that team on the ropes and let it get away. Sports have such a psycholgical aspect and this team has to get mentally tougher which I hope last night was a step in that direction.