It’s probably OK to panic now

Written by William Lee

The Knicks were upset by the Bobcats Tuesday night 102-97. This was not the worst news of the night, as Tyson Chandler hobbled off the court with 5:25 left in the first quarter. Kemba Walker drove into the paint, and ran into Tyson Chandler’s right leg, both players collapsed to the floor. At first Chandler tried to get off the court on his own will, but was helped off the court by teammates, when it became evident he could not. Chandler was taken into the locker room later on, after icing his right leg on the bench. This may have a crippling effect on the Knicks, as Tyson Chandler is the most important Knick after Carmelo Anthony, especially with the lack of depth at the center position on the team. It could be argued that he is the most important Knick, because of this fact. Kenyon Martin and Amare Stoudemire are on minute restrictions, and Andrea Bargnani at 7 feet isn’t exactly striking fear into anyone manning the paint. This is what makes the Chris Smith signing for the Knicks that much worse, he has taken a spot that should have belonged to a potential back-up center for the Knicks. Knicks D-League affiliate, the Erie BayHawks, recently traded for Jeremy Tyler, who showed potential during his stint with the Knicks’ summer league team. He could potentially be the short term answer, as Tyson Chandler was seen leaving the locker room on crutches.

As for the game itself, not only did Kemba Walker take out the Knicks defensive anchor, but he was causing the Knicks all sorts headaches all game long, finishing the game with 25 points 5 rebounds and 6 assist. He started off the game quickly, scoring the Bobcats’ first two baskets, finishing the first quarter in double figures with ten points. Carmelo Anthony helped keep the game close for the Knicks, closing out the first quarter, scoring nine of the last eleven Knicks’ points. Bobcats lead 31-28, at the end of the period.

Both teams continued to produce effectively on the offensive end, shooting over 50%. The Bobcats finished the first half with 64 points on 56.8% shooting. To put this in prospective, the Bobcats came into tonight’s game dead last in points per game, at 85.7. And there were only two teams worse than the Bobcats in field goal percentage, at 39.5%. Amare Stoudemire was atrocious when he was on the court tonight, this is how he performed in the second quarter (plays from NBA.com).