Reactions

Knicks at Pistons – 11-20-13 – Game Recap

/ Jay / Leave a comment
Written by William Lee
Both the New York Knicks and the Detroit Pistons were shorthanded, but it was the Pistons who overcame the adversities and was victorious Tuesday night. Winning 92-86 despite their starting point guard Brandon Jennings leaving the game early with an upset stomach. Pistons were also without point guards Chauncey Billups (knee tendinitis) and Will Bynum (groin, hamstring). The Knicks were also without their starting point guard Raymond Felton, who missed the game because of hamstring soreness and a pinched nerve in his hip. Beno Udrih stepped into the starting lineup, but was held scoreless in 18 minutes of action. Mike Woodson decided to go to a big lineup to match up with the Pistons’ large frontline. Without Tyson Chandler and Metta World Peace, Kenyon Martin joined Udrih in the starting lineup for his first start of the season. Woodson also decided to put JR Smith back to his sixth man role, and inserted Iman Shumpert back into the starting lineup.
Both teams got off to a hot start, shooting over 50% in the first quarter. The Pistons lead 26-24 after one period, behind seven points from Josh Smith and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope respectively. Andrea Bargnani led the way for the Knicks with nine first quarter points, highlighted by a driving and one dunk. The Knicks cooled off in the second quarter missing 14/21 shots, with so many misses, the Knicks kept themselves in the game with five offensive rebounds in the quarter. Amare Stoudemire showed flashes, with back to back spectacular dunks, part of an 8-0 Knicks run, to take a 34-28 lead with 8 minutes left in the first half. Brandon Jennings came back into the game, and was content with setting his teammates up, collecting four assist the rest of the half. With his fourth assist leading to a Gigi Datome buzzer beating three to end the half, to tie the game up at 43-43. Continue reading →

Random Thoughts on Tonight’s Game Against the Pistons

/ Jay / 2 Comments
  • I love super aggressive driving Bargs
  • It helps when Drummond falls for the pump fake every single time
  • Speaking of Drummond, how does one shoot 16% from the free throw line?  A child would probably hit 20%
  • We should definitely give a max contract to a guy who literally quits on defense whenever he misses a shot
  • The play where Peyton Siva was at the 3 point line and Amare was in front of him and for some reason assumed he would shoot and turned completely around only to have the player run past him pretty much sums up why Amare is a detriment even when his offense is kinda sorta not a travesty.
  • The entire Knicks team has no idea how to play help defense.
  • You know you suck on D when Priggy screams at you.
  • JR almost shot .500 and would have if he didn’t take 2 halfcourt shots.  In completely related news this wasn’t a weekend game.
  • Bargnani was super efficient on offense in the first half.  Good thing the Knicks went with iso-ball in the 2nd half.
  • I was worried no one was going to let an opposing guard run amok tonight since Felton was out.  Guess I was worried for no reason.
  • Things look bad now but at least we gave away 6 out of our 8 draft picks over the next 4 years……

Knicks vs Hawks 11-16-13 – Game Recap

/ Jay / Leave a comment
atlanta-hawks-v-york-knicks-20131117-040443-434 
Tonight’s matchup between the Atlanta Hawks and the New York Knicks marks the second time the two has faced off this week. It is very difficult to defeat the same opponent twice in the same week, and this proved true tonight, with the Hawks winning 110-90. The Hawks had a balanced attack, with eight players in double figures scoring. The game was close through the first quarter, the Knicks did not shoot well all night, but scrapped to get the offensive rebounds. The Knicks had six offensive rebounds, for eleven second chance points, in the first quarter. The rebounding edge gave the Knicks a 26-24 lead at the end of the first quarter. The Hawks were content on settling for three points shots early in the game, finishing the first quarter with ten attempts. The Hawks left a lot points off the board, missing wide open threes, especially Kyle Korver, who missed three straight before making one at 4:06 in the first quarter. This three kept Kyle Korver’s streak alive for consecutive games with a made three, pushing it up to 83 games straight. Continue reading →

Knicks vs Spurs 11-10-13 – Sarcastic Bullet Points

/ Jay / Leave a comment

  • Welcome back from weed suspension JR.  Oh how we missed all your wild shots, terrible shooting percentage and unforced turnovers.
  • Hey Woodson, until Chandler gets back Aldrich is the only real center on the team and can actually rebound, make sure you keep playing him less than 10 minutes a game.
  • Amare didn’t have any turnovers this game.  I guess he was too busy missing shots and fouling players instead.
  • Nice rebound Bargnani.  I don’t have to be more specific as that was the only one for the whole game.
  • Hey Metta, hacking at peoples arms does not qualify as good defense.
  • I jokingly told my girlfriend that I would go shopping with her if the Knicks went down by 30.  My ass just got back from clothes shopping.  Thanks a lot.

Knicks vs Spurs 11-10-13 – Game Recap

/ Jay / 2 Comments
Written by William Lee
The Spurs was an offensive juggernaut during Sunday’s matinee game with the Knicks, leading by as many as 37 points. Danny Green opened up the game by knocking down a couple of quick threes. Within three minutes of the game’s tipoff the Spurs were up 10-0. The Spurs extended on this run, tripling the Knicks score, leading 21-7. The Spurs constantly double teamed Carmelo Anthony, content with the ball swinging to Andrea Bargnani, and letting him beat them.  Unfortunately for the Knicks, Bargnani could not deliver, going 2-6 in the first quarter. JR Smith made his return to the Knicks, after serving his five game suspensions for violating the terms of the NBA’s anti-drug policies, hearing a nice ovation, entering in the game with 7:08 left in the first quarter. JR Smith showed his rust, missing all four of his shots, and turning the ball over twice in the first quarter. Smith finished the game going 1-9 from the field, including four turnovers. The Spurs shot 72% in the first quarter, with Tony Parker leading the way, weaving through the defense, scoring 10 points and handing out 5 assist in the first quarter to jump out to a 35-17 first quarter lead.
            The start of the second quarter, the Knicks did not fare any better, JR Smith air balled a three, which then led to another Danny Green three on the other end. The boos rained on the Knicks again in Madison Square Garden, with the home team losing 42-19. With the constant double and triple teams on Carmelo Anthony in the half court sets, Anthony started to bring the ball up himself, to ignite the offense. Carmelo Anthony had 10 points in the second quarter, going a perfect 4-4 from the field, including a buzzer beater to end the first half. The Spurs led by as many points as 24 in the first half, this cut Spurs’ lead to sixteen points, with the score 61-45.

Reevaluating the Knicks Season

/ Jay / Leave a comment

OK, I know it’s only 6 games into the NBA season and every single team in the east other than the Pacers have 3 or 4 losses already but I have to wonder if it’s time to reevaluate what was an almost universal understanding that the Knicks would finish 4th or 5th in the conference.

On the plus side JR is coming back tonight, adding some much needed offense and Bargnani had his best game as a Knick with 25 points, 8 rebounds and 5 blocks.  Even NBA betting lines seem to feel the Knicks will be competitive even against teams like the Spurs.

The other side of this is Tyson Chandler is out for 4-6 weeks (at least) and as Harris Decker from The Knicks Blog points out, scoring against Zeller and Biyombo is slightly easier than scoring against the Duncans, Gasols and Hibberts of the league.

I’m leaning towards agreeing with our listeners, of whom everyone seems to feel the Knicks will go below .500 in the next 23 games but it should also be noted that as of yet no one in the east is stepping up to bump the Knicks down a spot or two and Pierce and Garnett look completely washed up so far.

I guess what I’m trying to say is I don’t know what to think anymore.  My gut says this season is a mess and we should all panic but my eyes are telling me the east is turning out to be as top heavy as always and if the Knicks can stay close to .500 with Chandler out they’ll still hold on to a top 5 seed.

What do you think?

Knicks vs. Bobcats 11-5-13 – Game Recap

/ Jay / 1 Comment

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. Continue reading →

Knicks vs Timberwolves 11-3-13 – Game Recap

/ Jay / Leave a comment

There was a lot of this

Written by William Lee

The Timberwolves jumped out to a 40-19 lead in the first quarter, and never looked back, winning tonight’s game 109-100. The scoring prowess of the two Kevins from the Minnesota Timberwolves proved to be too much for the Knicks to handle. All Star Kevin Love finished with 34 points 15 rebounds and 5 assist. And Kevin Martin was extremely efficient, going 9-12 from the field, including a perfect 5-5 from beyond the arc, finishing the game with 30 points. (He had the best +/- of any player, +26) Both Kevins were in double digit scoring by the end of the first quarter, combining for 24 points. The Timberwolves were looking to push the pace all night, running off of makes and misses from the Knicks. The Knicks didn’t help themselves, committing six turnovers; the Timberwolves took full advantage, converting on all of them, leading to 12 points off of the turnovers.

With 3:56 left in the first quarter, the Knicks were still in the game, the Timberwolves leading 19-15. The turn of the game came with Carmelo Anthony committing his second personal foul, while trying to deny Kevin Love post position. This was a start to a rough night for Carmelo Anthony, as he finished the game going 8-21 from the field, for 22 points. The Timberwolves shutdown the runner up scoring champion from the previous year, Kevin Durant, forcing him to go 4-11 from the field and committing four turnovers Friday night.   Continue reading →

Knicks vs Bulls 10-31-13 Game Recap

/ Jay / Leave a comment

knicks-bulls-Melo

Written by William Lee, a new contributor to the website.

First home game opener for the Chicago Bulls, after losing to the Miami Heat on their ring night ceremony, opening day game of the NBA. The fans were excited to see their hometown hero Derrick Rose return to action, waiting to explode after Rose’s first made shot. Although Rose continued to show rust, shooting only 2-11 from the field in the first half. The only time Rose scored in the first half, was off of two consecutive Metta World Peace bad forced up shots, which led to consecutive Derrick Rose lay ups on the fast break.

The game was played at the Bulls pace, a slow, grind it out, defensive game, with the Knicks finishing the game on 36% shooting, while the Bulls didn’t fare much better, at 40% shooting. Luol Deng was off to a quick start with 8 points in the first quarter. The Bulls closed out the quarter on a 10-3 run when Tyson Chandler was subbed out of the game for Amare Stoudemire, leading to a 10 point lead for the Bulls at the end of one, 26-16. Carlos Boozer had 6 of the 10 points during the run, all with Stoudemire guarding him (that was putting it kindly). To compound this issue, Amare did his typical Amare thing, dribbling the ball off his own leg, after doing a spin move. The first quarter was topped off by a Taj Gibson offensive rebound, and put back, after Kirk Hinrich put up a desperation shot. Continue reading →

Pre-Game Notes from Knicks vs. Bulls, October 31st

/ Jay / Leave a comment

by Anish Philip (@da_k0mish) – new contributor here on the New York Knicks Podcast website

Chicago is one of the favorites to dethrone the Heat in the Eastern Conference. They had a rocky start in Miami, and will be motivated to bounce back in a big way. That, plus Derrick Rose’s return, will have the Madhouse on Madison rocking to start.

Knicks’ turnovers nearly cost them the game against a far less competitor in their home opener. Woodson needs to right the ship, because the best quality the Knicks possessed last year was taking care of the ball.

Last year, the Bulls swept the series 4-0. 3 of those games were blowouts.

Komz keys to the game:

A. Run as much as you can. Let’s see theses Bulls keep up that defense in the final 5 mins after running a track meet. Continue reading →