New York Knicks at Boston Celtics
Game 8: November 11, 2016
Celtics 115, Knicks 87

Written by Eric Weinstein – @ericcweinsteinn
flagrant2blog.blogspot.com/ 

Yeah, that was awful.

After a solid win to get everyone feeling good about this team, the Knicks looked terrible in Boston on Friday night. They got blown out of the gym, 115-87. New York let poor officiating take them out of the game and result in multiple technical fouls, including Carmelo Anthony getting ejected from the game in the second quarter. They never found a groove after Melo’s unceremonious exit, and it was garbage time early in the fourth quarter.

Takeaways from this game:

More Willy, more fun:

There weren’t too many bright spots in this game, but a definite plus was the play of Willy Hernangomez off the bench. In his second straight game with extended minutes, Hernangomez finished with 8 points, 12 rebounds, a block, and 3 assists. His defense was iffy, but he looks more comfortable out there, and in time, will learn how to play defense in the NBA.

A new Knick killer:

Paul Pierce isn’t be a Celtic anymore, so the role of Knicks killer has been filled in by Isaiah Thomas. Thomas had 29 points on 9/17 shooting, and was perfect from the line, 8/8. This guy is amazing, and I love to watch him play against the other 28 teams in the NBA, just not tonight.

Also, the whole, “Marcus Smart plays physical” is code for, “Marcus Smart gets no fouls called on him.” I mean, he was beating the crap out of whoever he was guarding, which leads to…

Refs were trash:

I’m one of those guys who NEVER blames a game on officials because my Dad has been officiating basketball for about 8 years, but this was horrible. Tony Brothers and his crew were just awful tonight, as every call seemed to go the Celtics way. That’s not why the Knicks lost by 28, but the calls took the Knicks out of the game, literally in Carmelo’s case. Even Breen and Clyde were complaining.

Other Notes:

Courtney Lee, Derrick Rose, Kristaps Porzingis and Brandon Jennings all had off nights tonight, and when that happens it’s going to be a tough one. The Knicks need two of those four guys to have good games every night if they want to have a chance to win, especially when Melo is unavailable. Also, does Sasha need to shoot from 30 feet EVERY time he catches the ball? That’s me nitpicking, but I digress.

Knicks need to have a short memory, as they take on DeMar, “All of a sudden I’m Michael Jordan” DeRozan and the Toronto Raptors tomorrow night in Canada at 7:30. Hey, at least Carmelo will be well rested!