Mediocrity is the word. It’s the cloud that's been hanging over the arena of MSG, following the Knicks to Indiana and Toronto. It’s been a yield sign when the Knicks are about to reel off a winning streak to put their averageness blinding in the rear view mirror. They can’t shake and everybody thinks they have the reason why.
The Knicks are shooting too many 3’s.
The Knicks can’t be a contender with Amar’e Stoudemire, Carmelo Anthony, and Tyson Chandler.
The Knicks have an inconsistent coach.
The Knicks can’t defend opposing guards.
Etc…
Some of these are legitimate concerns but I felt I would go with a retro syle diary to cover the last night’s game. Happily, I tuned into one of the more exciting collection of individual performances in quite some time.
Pre-game show:
Ok. I’m more than willing to listen to Michael Wilbon, Jalen Rose, and Bill Simmons discuss the issues of the Knicks but I’m not promising I will stay on the national broadcast long. After Simmons made a case that the Knicks should have gave more serious consideration to cashing Iman Shumpert in for J.J. Redick, Wilbon made the counterargument that the Knicks don’t need anymore 3-point shooters. His claim was that the Knicks are being beat by strong defenses, such as the Chicago Bulls and Indiana Pacers that are shutting them down inside.
I think Wilbon could have made an interesting case for the Knicks to acquire a slashing, small forward who could hit the corner 3 but I disagree with his point. The Knicks don’t need a scoring big man, especially with the usage of Anthony at the power forward position and Stoudemire’s effectiveness in scoring off the bench.
Simmons brought up an interesting point on Redick and the one reason many Knicks fans wanted a trade to happen was because of the win now attitude and construction of the team. I think it could have given the Knicks a chance to use a couple of interesting lineups, especially a chance to use J.R. Smith as a slasher and effective finisher. Alas, all is for naught but don’t fret Knicks fans. I’ll explain why the untraded player will play dividends this season and longer.
1st Quarter: 6:20
Raymond Felton comes off a pick and roll and immediately steps to his right side and pulls up for a long-range jumper. CLANK!!! The “rinse, wash, repeat” act of long Felton jumpers is becoming an insanely annoying and horrible movie. He luckily was bailed out by a foul but Felton is going to have to get penetration deep in the lane if the Knicks are going to be successful. Felton has been far less effective finishing on the left side of the paint since returning from injury and will have to be equally effective if the Knicks want to restore their pick and roll offense.
1st Quarter: 2:50
Chandler just grabbed his 12th rebound of the night and I begin to frantically look up the NBA record for rebounds in a game. It’s 55. Plausible?
1st Quarter: 1:45
ESPN commentator Doris Burke makes her first dumb comment of the game. She claimed that the David Lee and Roy Hibbert scuffle was equivalent to the dustup between Anthony, Chandler, and Spencer Hawes. Ohhh what do you know? The clicker magically changed the channel to MSG where I can watch Mike Breen and Walt “Clyde” Frazier tell me things that aren’t wasteful to my time.
The ESPN to MSG switch is merited by the announcing but the only reason I originally was on ESPN was to watch the pregame, to get better image quality, and because my esteem is lifted tenfold when I listen to the national media talk about the Knicks.
Personal Note: Have reasons behind your actions, especially when giving an intricate decrption of your opinions, views, and analysis in a Knicks diary.
End of 1st Quarter:
The Knicks ran a great play to end the quarter. They swing the ball cross court, have Anthony follow, set up far enough down low where he can establish strong position and explode into the middle of the floor for and easy finger roll. Seems to be a simple call but it gave ‘Melo isolated control in the post to either dish out or score. Wait, you’re telling me they do that on almost every play?
2nd Quarter: 11:15
The Knicks can’t survive a second unit with Novak and Stoudemire at the 4 and 5 positions. They need a presence at center because Stoudemire is not the same player as he was a couple of years ago. His defense has even suffered and his over aggression in playing smart post players typically leads to dumb fouls. His offensive efficiency has been magnificent this year but it has typically occurred when he has played the PF position, down on the low block. His pick and roll play isn’t what it used to be, and that was one of the only positives at playing him at center.
The small lineup can be effective for certain teams but when you have a lineup stacked with three point shooters, it typically leads to long rebounds and a more up-tempo pace. The Knicks are not an up tempo team and the second unit is not necessarily built to run, especially to run back on defense.
2nd Quarter: 10:27
Kenyon Martin makes his first appearance in a Knicks uniform. Not only am I excited by the fact that coach Mike Woodson heard me through the television to beef up the front court but also because of the number 3 returning to the garden. LONG LIVE STARBURY!!!!
Update:
Just realized that Martin has an interesting collection set of tattoos, one of which is a tattoo of a lady’s lips on his neck. I may have spotted a confederate flag on his chest but I can’t confirm it. The Knicks can go toe-to-toe with quite a few teams on the “War of Tattoo’s” debate with J.R. Smith and Martin leading the charge.
2nd Quarter: 5:35
I was commemorating Woodson on his interesting offensive sets to begin the season but he seems to fall back to ‘Melo isolation when the offense gets a bit stagnant. That combination with Smith’s need to take long jump shots can make this look unbearable at times.
Jason Kidd gets another open look from 3-point range and he clanks it off the rim. He is getting some great looks but he looks like a kid playing beer pong who hasn’t hit a shot for a while. He over emphasizes on getting the ball in the cup and he breaks down his mechanics to do whatever it takes to hit the shot.
2nd Quarter: 1:10
Iman Shumpert showed some good things in the second quarter. I saw some energy and his on ball defense was pretty good when he first entered the game. The longer he played the lazier he got. He started to use his arms to get in front of guards and he started to rack up the fouls. Both happened on Steph Curry drives. Speaking of Curry, the guy is playing phenomenally. The “MSG beefed up superstar” numbers are getting pretty ridiculous. He is having his way with the Knicks and he is the only reason they are contending.
Knicks are up 58-55 going into halftime
What I learned at halftime:
-Poor Johnny Flynn continues to get ripped, not just for his play, but because he was drafted before Steph Curry.
-Marlon Wayans is extremely annoying during one-minute interviews.
3rd Quarter:
We greatly undervalue Chandler’s impact on the Knicks. He might be one of the 20 best players in the league and we continually forget how impactful he is because rebounding and individual defense are qualities that are usually overlooked by fans. Offensive tap outs have almost become an expectation among fans.
3rd Quarter: 22 seconds left
Carmelo Anthony is having an extraordinary game but I feel that in games where an opposing star player goes off, he tries to match them and force shots that he shouldn’t. This point in the game speaks volume of that fact as the Knicks were beginning to build up a league and momentum. Anthony got the ball in isolation and forced up a contested jump shot. The Warriors soon took advantage and were able to score to close the quarter. Sorry, did I say the Warriors scored? I meant to say that Steph Curry scored. Curry and the Warriors offense is increasingly becoming the same thing with every 3-pointer that he hits. This particular 3 came off a screen in which Felton slipped but recovered in time to force Curry to fade back a little as he shot. The fade didn’t matter. He still drilled the shot. Sometimes hero ball is necessary (when your team can’t hit a shot) but it can’t come at the expense of a team’s momentum.
4th Quarter: 7:20
J.R. Smith has two different sides to him. He has the side in which he takes any and every shot, including step back deep jumpers and contested 3-pointers. This side usually leads to reckless fouls and drives that end with him on the floor and opposing teams running the floor for an open layup. The other side is the perfect balance of dynamite spot up shooting, effective dribble drives and intense defense. I prefer the latter of the Smith’s and this Smith made an appearance with a knockdown open 3-pointer.
4th Quarter: 7:15
Curry matches Smith after making a behind the back dribble that put him in front of the Knicks bench. He rose up with Felton charging from the side and Chandler contesting his shot in front of him. Curry was knocked down but he still nailed the shot. MSG is beginning to buzz every time he touches the ball.
4th Quarter: 4:45
Curry hits a pull up 3-pointer, which gives him 10 on the night and gives the Warriors a 100-99 lead. As he runs back up the court his excitement cannot be controlled and he breaks out in a dance that cannot be described with words.
4th Quarter: 3:03
Chandler continues his dominance with another offensive rebound. Tyson is definitely benefitting from David Lee sitting, but he’s taking advantage with a monster game on the boards. ‘Melo was the beneficiary from the rebound as he drained a 3-pointer to give the Knicks a 105-103 lead.
4th Quarter: 1:28
Raymond Felton was getting torched by Curry all night and finally made the stop the Knicks needed. Curry pulled up for a jumper on the left side of the court and was blocked by Felton. The stop came with the game tied and gave the Knicks an open 3-point look on the other side of the court.
4th Quarter: 45 seconds left
‘Melo was now needed and he delivered. Posted up on the left block he spun toward the baseline and hit a fade away to give the Knicks a 5-point lead.
Stats of the game:
Steph Curry: 54 points, 7 assists, 6 rebounds, and 11 3-pointers.
Tyson Chandler: 16 points, 28 rebounds and 10 offensive rebounds
Carmelo Anthony: 35 points, 8 assists, and shot 13-15 from the FT line.
Quote of the game:
“You only need one stop,” said Walt “Clyde” Frazier, concerning the Knicks defense on Curry.
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