Category Archives: Game recaps
What a great exhibition of all around basketball by the Knicks in the first quarter that got them going downhill all night leading to a much-needed blowout win at MSG.
And it started with a mid-range jumper by Amar’e Stoudemire.
But what stood out to me was the connection between Landry Fields and Carmelo Anthony as Melo, in his first game back since last week, got Fields involved in transition and in the half court. That allowed the Knicks second year SG to have an impact on the game on both sides early.
In the second quarter I was a huge fan of the rotation. Melo played at the SF position with Jeffries and Amar’e at the 5. They were able to clear space for Amar’e to get a pick and roll, which led to a foul. If they can do that this is a huge step in the right direction. This proves that they could possibly co-exist together on the floor at the same time in this system. They can spread the floor against second units and force mismatches by having Amar’e play the 5 and in pick and roll.
For those keeping score at home the play I’m talking about was 6:58 left in the second quarter.
Leading 57-45 heading into the second half the team once again exhibited the D’Antoni offense that fans were used to last year. Again, wing players finding space and making shots thanks to sound ball movement. The recipient aside from Melo and Fields was Tyson Chandler early who was able to find his space and get to the FT line.
I didn’t love the offense in the second half, specifically in the 3rd quarter in terms of staying within the system, but they still managed to stretch out the lead. Fools gold? We’ll see.
Overall, I’m actually very encouraged with this performance. This is a different effort than the other wins and 180 degrees different from other Melo performances this season.
Melo came back with 25 points on 14 FGs along with 6 first half assists.
Bring on the Bulls.
Will there be a coaching change soon? I don’t believe so.
Not yet.
BOX SCORE
Give the Knicks credit for competing defensively at least.
And I will say this. A healthy Knicks match up very well against the heat. Very well. That gives me hope should they actually make the playoffs.
So Carmelo Anthony sat out of the game versus the heat last night in South Beach and that open the flood gates for the Knicks as a team to shoot 38 three pointers. It worked for a while as they were falling but in the end the heat’s defense and lateral close out ability proved too much as they defeated the Knicks 99-89 in front of a sleepy South Beach Friday night crowd.
The effort was there, but without Melo the talent wasn’t.
The shame of it, for me, was that Amar’e wanted to be the best player on the floor but the heat closed out on his rolls to the basket causing the Knicks to settle from the perimeter. Stoudemire’s mid range game was on display, but once again he got lost in the offensive flow.
After a hot start and signs of snapping out of his year long slump Toney Douglas struggled mightily in the second half and finished 6-18 from the field.
What’s most concerning was the team’s inability to find offensive synergy without Anthony, who people have blamed for being a ball stopper. The heat have some ball stoppers as well, their names are Wade, Bosh and James. The big 3 accounted for 70% of the team’s Field Goal Attempts.
The difference? The ball stops moving then goes in the basket.
The team is now 5 games under .500 and for those who think Baron Davis is close to returning, stop reading speculation from other outlets. I hear he’s not even close to being ready and despite those around the team guessing for his return, I hear it may be after the All-Star break.
He’s in no rush to come back to this mess.
If he does come back it may be for a game or two then he may shut it down until after the break.
Things are not looking good on the horizon.
Thank you Amar’e Stoudemire and thank your coach who recognized that you needed to feel more comfortable with Tyson Chandler and Melo on the bench. Why not push Jeffries to the corner and run top of key pick and rolls with Mike Bibby? If you read this site, you know I’ve asked for that adjustment. And what did it do?
It made the Knicks play downhill all night. It freed up Tyson Chandler. It freed up Toney Douglas and most of all it freed up STAT!
Thank you Carmelo Anthony. You obviously were trying to do too much with your injury. You need to trust your teammates more and tonight you did. And it led to continuity and a convincing victory.
Thank you coaching staff for recognizing that Stat is the man who made the pick and roll look easy. He is a finisher.
0-4 at home during the home stand.
Brutal.
What can you say. It hurt, but I actually enjoyed watching this game. It was well-played for the most part. Simply put, it was a nightmare for Melo and they still continue to struggle with continuity as it relates to him being paired with Amar’e, which is a problem moving forward. But, to me, what you saw tonight was a full team effort. They fought all night.
They just came up short at the hands of a guy that many fans didn’t want to begin with.
Gallinari was exceptional tonight.
That said, you saw Fields continue to improve. You saw Douglas be a positive in the first half. Obviously Shumpert played well. Jorts did some nice things. Walker obviously was outstanding in making shots in the first half. Then you waited to see what the stars could do.
Another ex-Knick who wanted to stay Al Harrington killed them. Absolutely killed them when it mattered in that 4th quarter and in the second OT. To me, what’s upsetting is Amar’e missing a tying free throw and not getting rewarded for dirty work after Tyson Chandler fouled out.
Then Gallo missed one at the end of regulation.And it allowed for Melo to make up for a completely rotten performance.
I think this is one to grow on. They fought. There were adjustments. I’m encouraged.
But they have to figure out how to get a guy who was 2nd team All-NBA last year more involved.
It’s that simple.
When a team has a center in Dwight Howard and tall shooters who are making shots at a pretty significant clip, you’re not winning. Once the Magic stretched out their lead behind a monster game from Ryan Anderson, they went into a soft zone with Howard (despite 5 fouls for the better part of the 4th quarter) and the Knicks couldn’t make a shot. They simply don’t have shooters.
Carmelo Anthony, coming back from injury, couldn’t close the deal for the Knicks as he forced shots down the stretch. When the ball did move shots just didn’t fall. Melo, Iman Shumpert and Toney Douglas combined 3-15 from behind the arc.
Conversely the Magic as a team drilled 17, that’s right, 17 triples and overcame a lackluster effort from Howard, who the Knicks did a great job on. That’s what you have to do when game planning with Orlando. You have to pick your poison and today Orlando made shots. Interesting that no one will complain the Magic took 35 three pointers because 17 went in. They have guys who can make shots. The Knicks need shooters just as much as they need a PG if they are going to have any sort of success moving forward.
Amar’e Stoudemire was plagued with foul trouble but then had some positive moments in the second half. He was able to slash in the lane and make a few shots, but then the Magic went zone and STAT was neutralized.
But the fact of the matter is the Knicks did a decent job contesting shots but the Magic made them anyway. You’re not winning that game if that happens.
DEE-FENSE!
Look, I get that this wasn’t pretty, but what I’m pumped up most about is that this team is now learning to slow the game down and focus on getting stops. The offense is struggling but I love the strategy. They have offensive players. They will score. Let’s get Ws by adjusting defensively.
At this point, you can’t call Mike D’Antoni stubborn anymore.
Granted, there were weaknesses, Tyson Chandler played 35 minutes and only took 1 field goal, but this game gets them further away from .500 and you can see that they are trying to focus on getting stops and finishing possessions outrebounding the Sixers 46-37.
FIVE in a row tomorrow? Get excited.
118 points to the Bobcats at home.
I’m really getting sick and tired watching the Knicks give up easy shots and layups against inferior teams. I get that it’s been happening for a bunch of years now, but this year should be different. This year there is an abundance of talent and a “defensive coordinator” that everyone screamed for.
How Boris Diaw was the best player on the floor is maddening. All just very, very easy baskets. It’s one thing if it’s Bargnani, but Diaw? Disgraceful. Another half where the Knicks give up 60 points and two quarters of over 30 points?
Playing from behind all game long once again is a tough task, but thankfully for the Knicks Iman Shumpert played with great energy on both ends and has quickly become a fan favorite. The kid should be inspiring his teammates with his effort but he isn’t. Not on the defensive end.
Did Tyson Chandler play tonight?
We always talk about closing out quarters and Landry Fields did something unthinkable. Byron Mullins makes a shot leading to the last possession of the quarter where Fields shoots with 10 seconds left it leads to a transition opportunity and he doesn’t pick up Mullins who drains another shot in the span of 10 seconds. Two mind boggling errors.
All night the Knicks played catch up, which is never a recipe for much success. The Bobcats got rolling early by making shots and their rhythm and flow carried them for the rest of the game.
We’ve talked about the team needed time to blend, but these type of performances are really intolerable and you wonder how long the coaching staff can deflect the impending and well-deserved criticism.
But with Phil Jackson seemingly not ready to coach this team at this point, do you feel comfortable with Mike Woodson moving forward?
Several things of note here. Yes, the offense seemed more fluent without Amar’e Stoudemire. As I’ve been saying on twitter, Steve Nash and Ray Felton have proved that the point guard is so critical to Mike D’Antoni’s system. However, when we saw the offense really clicking last year, was when Gallinari and Chandler were at the 3 and 4. Stretch forwards that create space for the pick and roll from the top of the key. No one knows this more than Amar’e who now has moved to the 4 with Chandler. With Melo and Amar’e at the 3/4 the offense is confused. There’s no room to create or make plays.
That, to me, is obvious.
So what’s the solution? Isolation plays in the 4th quarter when they need baskets (see Celtics game 1 last year) and keeping each of them off the floor for long stretches. When Jeffries returns then you have to figure that he will spend time on the perimeter and let Amar’e play the 5 in the pick and roll. The issue with that is that Jeffries can’t make the defense honor his jump shot from the perimeter. Jorts tho, is fearless. His play has frankly shocked me.
What you saw also was a standout performance from Tyson Chandler thanks to a more confident Toney Douglas who benefitted from that space.
Amar’e understands the system and knows in order for it to work he has to make the defense respect his jump shot from the perimeter. He made one against the Celtics and it loosened the defense. It’s not ideal yet, but he can make the shot.
The other thing is that the team played down hill because shots fell in the first quarter. That allowed them to get into a great rhythm and when shooters are in rhythm the make shots at this level.
Something to keep an eye on moving forward.
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