Author: Jay

Knicks @ Magic 11/12/2014 – Game Recap

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Written by William Lee

Two 2-6 teams early in the season, played with urgency to start Wednesday night. Both teams played with great energy and it was a high paced game, going back and forth throughout the first half. The game was tied 25 times, and changed leads 11 times within the first half.

Orlando held a 56-50 lead at halftime, largely due to being able close out quarters strongly. The Magic went on a 7-0 run to end both the first and second quarter. Evan Fournier got it going early on, scoring 15 points in the first quarter. Fournier was able to get free in large part because Iman Shumpert was overzealous on defense, leaving his own man, gambling to get steals.

Tobias Harris went off at late in the second quarter, scoring ten straight points for the Magic. There was no defense in the first half, Orlando shot 57.1% while New York shot 47.5%.

Not even a minute into the second half, New York needed to take a quick time out because Orlando got themselves a double digit lead scoring on their first two possession. Derek Fisher did not want to let Orlando run away with the game. The Knicks responded in a big way, going on a 16-4 run, taking the lead 66-64. Carmelo Anthony was the catalyst for the run, responsible for 12 points, scoring ten and handing out an assist to J.R. Smith. But just as the Knicks were riding high, and held all the momentum in the game, taking the lead with 5:02 left in the third quarter, a minute later Anthony would foolishly pick up his fourth foul in the game, essentially taking himself out of the game.

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2014/15 Knicks Roster Power Rankings – Week 3

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Last week I wrote about how excited I was about this team. What a difference 7 days and 5 straight losses makes. On the plus side the Knicks have their own draft pick this year.
Rank Player Comments Last weeks Rank
1 Shumpert, Iman Shumpert has been the Knicks best player so far this season. He shot .500 or better in 4 of the last 5 games and seems to have developed a 3 point shot. My one criticism is he seems too hyper on defense. He gets some dumb fouls and has a habit of trying to cover whoever had the ball. For example, leaving Korver open at the 3 point line to double team Antic in the post is not a great decision. 2
2 Larkin, Shane For a backup point guard forced into a starting point guard position Shane has been doing OK. His numbers won’t blow you away but he doesn’t turn the ball over very much and he plays defense. Two things Felton did not do last last season. 3
3 Stoudemire, Amar’e Amare has been rebounding like a madman this week. He hasn’t been scoring a ton but he’s been scoring efficiently. His defense is still a complete mess but at this point I think we’re seeing best case scenario Amare. 5
4 Anthony, Carmelo Melo is here by default because no one played better. But if he has 1 more 25% shooting night while taking over 20 shots I’m dropping him down to 10th. He did look better when playing PF, you know, the position we have massive amounts of data showing he’s better at. Let’s keep playing him at the SF position though. 1
5 Dalembert, Samuel Fisher seems to only want to play Samuel in certain types of matchups, but when Sam does play he does a decent job. Decent: enough to get you the #5 spot on the Knicks roster! Continue reading →

Knicks vs. Hawks 11/10/14 – Game Recap

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Written by William Lee

Pablo Prigioni returned for New York Monday night, it made no difference, Atlanta again would win, 91-85sweeping the home to home series.

Both teams played an extremely sloppy and ugly first half. Atlanta shot 32.4% from the field, and turned the ball over nine times in the first half. New York didn’t fare any better, shooting 42.5% in the first half, and committed eight turnovers. Kyle Krover, the difference maker Saturday night, scoring 27 points and drilling six-threes, missed a lot of good looks in the first half, going 1/8 from the field. Krover struggled all game, going 4/13 from the field, but would nail a dagger shot to clinch the game for the Hawks.

With the game tied at the half 38-38, New York came out to a good start, making back to back threes by Iman Shumpert and Tim Hardaway Jr. The run would get extended to 9-2 run on a Hardaway Jr. and-one on the following possession, extending the lead to 47-40. Continue reading →

Episode 270: Staying Calm with Robert Silverman

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Robert Silverman helps us keep everything in perspective as we analyze the past week, the triangle offense, our expectations, current and possible future roster, and much much more

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As mentioned on the show, Jim Cavan is a fantastic writer for Knickerblogger, Bleacher Report and a number of other sites. Six months ago, Jim and his wife had a son named Rett. In late October, doctors found a large tumor on Rett’s liver; it will require chemotherapy, and other treatments that are both harrowing and very expensive. Jim’s sister-in-law started a GoFundMe campaign to raise money for Rett’s treatment, which you can find here.

Knicks @ Hawks 11/8/14 – Game Recap

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Written by William Lee

The New York Knicks lose their fourth straight game Saturday night, losing to the Atlanta Hawks 103-96.

Derek Fisher decided to go small against the Hawks, inserting Tim Hardaway Jr. in to the starting lineup in favor of Jason Smith. The strategical move looked great early on with the increased floor spacing freeing up Carmelo Anthony on offense, whom has struggled early on this season. Anthony started the game off strongly, making his first shot of the game. Anthony played extremely well in the first quarter, almost notching a double-double in the first twelve minutes of play with 14 points and 8 rebounds. Anthony strong start led the way for New York to an early 32-20 first quarter lead.

Curiously Fisher kept Anthony in the game to start the second quarter after playing the whole first quarter. Fisher thought better of it, and pulled him out a one minute into the second quarter. With Anthony on the bench, Atlanta shortly would go on an 8-0 run. By the time Anthony was subbed back into the game mid-way through the second quarter, the Knick’s lead which was at one point 15, was now cut down to one possession 38-35. With Anthony back in the game, the overall energy of the team seemed to have picked up, freeing the other Knicks up to score. New York would finish the quarter strong heading into the half with a 61-48 lead. Continue reading →

Knicks @ Pistons 11/5/14 – Game Recap

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Written by William Lee

Wednesday night was a battle of ineptitude on offense, with Detroit literally being the worst offensive team in the league, being ranked at the bottom for all offensive statistical categories. New York don’t fare any better, being the second worst in points per game at 88.5 points per game.

It was a strange and ugly game to start. It being a battle between Jason Smith, and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, both of whom went perfect from the field, scoring 11 points in the first quarters. Both received little help from their teammates, with each team struggling 42.9% from the field. Caldwell-Pope got a little more help than Smith though with Detroit leading 25-20 after the first quarter.

Knicks who were already extremely short-handed with the injuries to Andrea Bargnani and Jose Calderon, as well as J.R. Smith serving an suspension (Jason Smith getting the start), the only backup point guard Pablo Prigioni turned his ankle early in the second quarter. Continue reading →

Knicks vs Wizards 11/04/14 – Game Recap

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Written by William Lee

Paul Pierce and the company smothered Carmelo Anthony and the New York Knicks to a 98-83 defeat Tuesday night.

Right from the start the game was sloppy for both teams. There was too much isolation for Carmelo Anthony, who looked too happy to go one on one with Paul Pierce all game. Pierce suffocated Anthony to an 8-for-23 shooting night with the help of the rest of his teammates. Anthony seemed to want to make a point, that he could take Pierce, always barking back at Pierce anytime he did make a shot. This played right into Washington’s hand, and was most evident in the third quarter.

After a decent first half where the Knicks held a 45-40 lead, Washington immediately erased that advantage within the first two minutes of the second half. Both teams would go back and forth, tied at 56 mid-way through the third quarter. From that point on Washington would go on a 14-0 run, in what would be the defining stretch of the game, putting New York in a 70-56 deficit.

Simply put the offense for New York stagnated, the ball didn’t move crispy as it did in the victories opening week. The Knicks had no assist in the quarter…with the lack of ball movement, it lead to a lot of difficult shots, with New York converting on only 27.3% of those attempts. The defensive end wasn’t much better…going over the foul limit with 5:29 remaining in the quarter. The Wizards went to the line 12 times, missing almost half of their attempt, fortunately, but unfortunately the Wizards still outscored the Knicks 32-15 in the period.

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2014/15 Knicks Roster Power Rankings – Week 2

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After the Bulls game I thought I’d be posting a very angry bitter power rankings with week, but after nice wins against the Cavs and Hornets I’m pretty excited about this team.
Rank Player Comments Last weeks Rank
1 Anthony, Carmelo He didn’t play well against the Bulls but no one did. Melo got hit 20,000th point against the Hornets which is a nice milestone to hit. I also love how Fisher is keeping Melo to around 35 minutes, even in close games. Should mean Melo has gas left in the tank to close out games. 1
2 Shumpert, Iman Not sure when it happened, but Shumert learned how to shoot. This is huge for the Knicks as our trifecta of SG’s were all very one dimensional. Adding a 2nd dimension to his defense is very encouraging. 4
3 Larkin, Shane Shane gets the 3rd spot for getting thrown into the starting PG position and holding his own. This could have gone much worse, but Shane kept his composure and put up some decent numbers. 9
4 Smith, J.R. JR has behaved all week! I didn’t see too many turn around fadeaway three point shots. He’s passing as well. I have no faith it’ll last but I’ll enjoy it while it lasts. 3
5 Stoudemire, Amar’e Continue reading →

Episode 269: A Surprising Week

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Marc and Jay talk about the first three games of the season, Shane Larkin and Iman Shumperts contracts, defense, best new additions so far, Derrick Rose, a few around the league notes, and much more

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Knicks vs. Hornets 11/2/2014 – Game Recap

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Written by William Lee

January 24, 2014 Carmelo Anthony set a career high and franchise record with 62 points in Madison Square Garden against the then Charlotte Bobcats. It is only fitting that Anthony reached his 20,000 career point milestone against the now Charlotte Hornets as well.

Iman Shumpert started the game off very aggressively, possibly because of his contract not getting extended Friday night. Trying to make a point? Possibly…Shumpert looked for his shot early and often, scoring nine points in the opening five minutes, but was overly aggressive on the defensive end, collecting an early second personal foul, forcing him to the bench. With back to back threes, New York held an early double digit lead, 15-5. Carmelo Anthony’s three also put him in the 20,000 career points club.

Gary Neal kept Charlotte in the game, scoring eight of the ten points by the Hornets in between the end of the first quarter and beginning of the second quarter. Neal finished the game with 17 points. New York would lead by as much as 15 points in the first half, going on a 7-0 run capped off by an Iman Shumpert baseline slam dunk, giving the Knicks a 43-28 lead. The Hornets answered with a 22-9 run powered by Al Jefferson, scoring ten points working the low post, cutting the deficit to 52-50 by the end of the first half. Continue reading →