Monthly Archives: November 2009
Yes, I know. 
The Knicks are losing, the system stinks, no one is ever going to come here, the rookies should play- the complaints have all been registered.
Some games Al Harrington lookes like an all-star, David Lee has some games where, offensively, he makes a ton of shots and gets to the foul line.
What you witnessed last night, and again what you saw against Boston, is the difference between having a star, and not having a star, in this league.The Knicks, aside from missed FT’s, played a pretty flawless offensive game last night.
Yes, Billups was great, and JR Smith is a perfect fit banging down open threes. Let’s face facts here, Gallinari will be a more efficient player than Smith once he gets stronger and plays along side a star (or two.) Gallinari is a player that stars can have great success with. Smith fed off Melo’s momentum all night and got WIDE open looks. And that’s not because the Knicks play poor defense, it was that they had to identify Melo and Billups.
But back to D’Antoni. I was watching his show on MSG and he said something that I really respected. Breen asked him why he leans on the vets versus the younger players and D’Antoni said something along the lines that he cares about the guys on expiring deals because he’d like to see them extend their careers. He also said that rookies have to “take out” a veteran if they want to see minutes.
Now, I feel that Toney Douglas has shown enough and there have been many occasions where Jordan Hill should have seen the floor, but I see his point…and I respect it.
I don’t see this as lip service either. I’ve seen the coach deal with the media many times, and he’s an honest man. And frankly, there are plenty of people in that locker room who don’t think he’s the cause of the teams struggles at all.
But fans always make the best coaches. We know this. I think not giving up a foul was a poor choice, and I would have liked to see them with a better designed play at the end of last night’s game. At the end of games, and getting a bucket to stop another team’s run, is where an NBA coach earns their keep.
Get after me if you want, and of course feel free to continue and question the coach’s rotation and decisions, but my thing is there have been several games this year where the players haven’t shown the same amount of respect for the coach by playing hard, and that’s very much on them. Role players have off nights, stars rarely do. Role players who take nights off simply just aren’t that productive per minute, which results in blow outs. (more…)
By Michael Kelly, for NBA.com
Posted Saturday November 28, 2009 1:24AM
DENVER (NBA.com exclusive) — Carmelo Anthony toed the foul line with 16.7 seconds left and a heavy burden on his shoulders.
The Nuggets’ star had 48 points, but more importantly his team held a precarious two-point lead on the feisty Knicks. With the game on the line and the first 50-point game of his NBA career in sight, the pressure was magnified.
“They might have been the two toughest free throws I’ve shot in a while,” Anthony said. “We’ve got the game on the line, 50, you’re right there and you want to get it.”
Anthony didn’t flinch. He swished both free throws and the Nuggets held on for a 128-125 win Friday night.
After coming close to 50 a couple of times — he had 49 against Washington two seasons ago — he finally got the magic number, and his teammates couldn’t be happier.
“That was a treat,” said Chauncey Billups, who had 32 points and eight assists. “He got real close, had 49, but couldn’t get over the hump. That’s one you remember for a lifetime.”
Getting the win will help keep the memory pleasant, but it wasn’t easy. Despite their 3-12 record coming into Friday’s game, the Knicks were formidable, battling Denver to the final buzzer. Al Harrington came off the bench to score 41 points and pull down 10 rebounds and David Lee had 23 points and 10 rebounds.
“I felt like we played hard and took a step forward,” said Harrington, who now has three 40-point games in his career. “If we play like this against most teams we can win our fair share of games.”
They nearly pulled out Friday’s game. After trailing for most of the first half, Denver rallied and took an eight-point lead on Anthony’s three-point play early in the fourth quarter. But New York’s shooters closed the gap, and Nate Robinson tied it at 100 with a five-foot hook with 7:56 left.
Denver appeared to take control again when Billups nailed a 3-pointer to push the lead to 118-112 with 2:26 left, but the Knicks never quit. They had a chance to tie it with a 3-pointer in the last 4.4 seconds but Larry Hughes couldn’t get off a shot.
“They are a difficult team to play,” Billups said. “They have so many shooters, they run a great system [Mike] D’Antoni has, and when they have that many guys scoring it’s going to take an unbelievable effort to beat them. If their scorers had played that well the first 15 games they’d probably be over .500.” More…
According to the Fanhouse, Darko Milicic figures to be heading back to Europe to continue his career.
To be honest, I am not really sure what happened to the big man this season. I for one thought he played well enough to have a spot in the rotation, especially considering he is the only big man that we have on the roster who can hold his own in the paint defensively. Think about all of the games where the Knicks were dominated in the paint. Milicic never got the chance to stop the bleeding.
Again, it seems like simple logic to me for Milicic to have played in some of those games. If you get killed in the paint, then why not put your best interior defender in to help? I am not an NBA coach, so perhaps I shouldn’t speak to this subject, but for some reason I think he could have helped.
Oh well.
Well actually, I guess the reason why Milicic doesn’t see any time is the simple fact that the Knicks are too good of a team to be able to give a 24 year old 7 footer a chance. That must be the reason. The same probably goes for our lottery pick Jordan Hill.
Sorry for the lack of a preview, but here is a game thread for tonight’s game against the Nuggets. The Knicks are off to a good start. Hopefully they keep it up.
Enjoy.
“…Everyone else on the planet knows that Chris Duhon is terrible, but the Knicks (especially his coach, Mike D’Antoni) are still in denial: “Eventually a slump becomes a standard. Perhaps Chris Duhon’s strong first half last season was the exception rather than the rule. If that’s the case, what he’s shown in most of the calendar year of 2009 – especially in these first 15 games of the season – should be cause for concern for the Knicks, whose anemic offense has had them on the ropes well before Dec. 1. ‘I’m worried about it now,’ Mike D’Antoni said. ‘I think he’s worried. I’m worried. But he’s the guy that can get up to a level that can bring us back. And we’re going to stick there until you can’t stick anymore. I’m sticking with him.’ D’Antoni said he won’t bench Duhon because ‘he’s our best option’ at the point guard position. This is said only after the franchise opted not to sign Allen Iverson and hand the offense – read: the ball – over to him. How fatal that decision was to this season remains painfully evident with every shot that Duhon misses and every bounce pass on a pick-and-roll that he throws too low or off the foot of a teammate…” (more…)
My boy Nick from nuggdoctor.com has this to say about tonight’s game in Mile High:
“…The Knicks like to attempt a lot of three’s. In fact, New York has hoisted more three-pointers (433) than any other team in the NBA so far this season while averaging nearly 29 attempts per game. However, their infatuation with the long ball hasn’t translated into great overall scoring as the Knicks barely shoot 30% from range and overall are one of the lowest field goal shooting teams in the league. With that picture painted, it should also come as no surprise that New York doesn’t get to the free-throw line very often. The Knicks shoot an average of 21 free-throws per game, but to their credit do shoot a relatively decent 79% from the line…
…The Knicks are a porous bunch defensively and are allowing their opponent nearly 108 points per game while Denver comes into tonight averaging 115 points per game in games at Pepsi Center. This leaves me no choice but to believe tonight’s game might be a “Black Friday” special in the box score with about three Nuggets in the 20+ range as Denver routs the Knicks…”
I like reading other blogs because I’m always curious to see if people are actually watching the Knicks. This is stat heavy, but for the most part accurate.
I just feel like every team I root for have been losing, and yes I know the number of combined losses over the past, say, 8 weeks, but after last night’s horrendous Giants effort, Denver has the chance to step on the throats of New York again with little resistance.
And that really bothers me.
Although it is a bit late, I speak on behalf of everyone here at TKB when I say Happy Thanksgiving to everyone out there that supports this website. Thank you for your continuing readership and insights. I hope all is well.
I’m thankful for Big C mixes…
Happy Thanksgiving everyone…I am thankful for my loved ones, cap space and all those who read TKB. Remember, it’s just a game.
← Older postsNewer posts →
