Now that the All-Star break has come and gone (thank God because it was awful) it's time to get back to Knicks basketball.
The Knicks' first half of the season was full of highs and lows. It included both a 6 game losing streak and a 7 game winning streak. As of late, mostly because of the emergence of Jeremy Lin, the Knicks have been playing better basketball and start the second half of the season with a 17-18 record.
Lin, Melo and the rest of the Knicks have a grueling start to the second half, having to play the Celtics, Mavs, Spurs, Bucks, Sixers, Bulls, Blazers, and Pacers all in succession. We'll all know what the Knicks are made after their first 10 games following the break. We'll see how they can stack up against a number of playoff teams in both conferences.
Personally, I want to see a few things from this Knicks team in the second half. One, Amare has to play much better. He was virtually non-existent during the last week or so before the break. Two, Lin has to take care of the ball. Everyone seems to overlook the turnovers because of the spark he gave the team, but now all that is over. Knicks fans as well as opposing teams aren't in awe of the kid anymore. I expect him to be more careful with the ball because those turnovers will eventually come back to bite them.
Lastly, I'm really looking forward to seeing how Melo plays within the offense. We all know Melo is the best player on the Knicks along with the guy who I am more comfortable giving the ball to in the final seconds than almost anyone else in the entire NBA. I just have a hard time believing that he will buy into the whole ball movement system where the open guy gets the shot and not necessarily Melo. The best comparison I can come up with would be Paul Pierce. If Melo plays more like Pierce, in the sense that he picks his spots to isolate, along with driving the ball to the basket instead of settling for jumpers then I think the Knicks can go a long way. If not, we might be seeing Melo in a different colored uniform down the road.