Recaps

Recap of Loss to Magic by Declan Ryan

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(Note, we apologize to Declan for getting this very well written recap up late. We would also post a recap of last night’s loss to the Pacers but that would be NSFW)

Knicks lose at home to Magic, 105-100

With Tim Hardaway Jr. and Kristaps Porzingis out through injury, the Knicks (11-11)
fell to the visiting Orlando Magic (10-14) 105-100 in what was an uninspiring 48
minutes of NBA basketball.

Sunday’s loss sees the Knicks having won only 1 of their last 5 games, the only win
in that stretch coming against the Whiteside-less Heat on Wednesday. The absence
of both THJ and KP made a seemingly perfect opportunity for Frank Ntilikina to be
green-lit for sizeable minutes, yet as the game progressed it became obvious that
Jeff Hornacek had other ideas.

Immediately shifting the blame to the foul disparity in his post-game interview,
Hornacek failed to justify why at 8.55 in the 4 th he decided to bench Ntilikina for
Ramon Sessions’ first and only minutes of the game – not bringing the French rookie
back onto the court until the game was almost over with 25 seconds left to play.

Sessions immediately missed a wide open 3 pointer and had a -5 in his 4 minutes of
action. This substitution left the Knicks with a lineup of Sessions, Baker, Lee,
Beasley and KOQ playing important clutch minutes, where Ntilikina could have
instead been gaining invaluable experience in a game where despite foul trouble
early, he was being productive offensively.

Notwithstanding the 4 th however, the Knicks will rue their ineptitude in the 1 st where
they were down by as many as 17 points. Jarrett Jack and Enes Kanter were most
noticeable with their self-destruct style of defense allowing the Magic to enter the
paint like a hot knife through butter. On the surface Kanter’s 18 points and 16
rebounds seem more than serviceable for the Knicks most talented starter on
Sunday, but he allowed the Magic’s Nikola Vucevic to have 34 points and 12
rebounds, offering a stark reminder of perhaps why Kanter won’t be the long-term
answer at the 5 position for the Knicks – Vucevic had his number all game.

Unfortunately for rookie Damyean Dotson his first career start was met with great
effort but poor execution as he ended the afternoon with 2 points on 1-3 shooting, 1
rebound, 0 assists and with the worst +/- of any Knicks player with a -16 for the
game. Michael Beasley had a nice 21 points but made numerous poor decisions
especially in the 4 th that ultimately cost the Knicks, going 1-3 with a foul and a
turnover in the final 5 minutes.

Continue reading →

2017-18 Knicks Talking Points, a Brief Look Ahead

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2017-18 Knicks Talking Points, a Brief Look Ahead

Written by Declan Ryan – Follow Declan on Twitter and on Instagram

Far removed from the malcontent of last season, the Knicks finally seem to be settled with a core group of players that should both intrigue and excite fans and coaches alike. Carmelo Anthony has said goodbye to New York and hello to Oklahoma, and whilst the destination for Melo caught most off guard, the move itself was undoubtedly a long time coming, and sees the Knicks removed from the largely unproductive vision of recently let go team president Phil Jackson.

The exit of Melo has a brought a fresh and excitable atmosphere to the team, with the focus seemingly solely on the youthful core that fans have been wishing for since the team’s 54 win season and subsequent Eastern Conference Semifinals exit in 2012-13. Yet, despite the newfound optimism, coach Jeff Hornacek will find his hands full this season with the infamous New York media looking for a new scapegoat post-Melo.

Confirmation that Kurt Rambis will no longer run the Knicks defense will surely create
mounting pressure on the ex-Phoenix coach to prove to fans that the terrible effort on the defensive end of the court last season was far more to do with Rambis, and to a lesser extent Melo, than it was with his own ability to coach and motivate the team. Three major points of criticism from the media last year are now gone: Melo’s place in a rebuilding squad, Phil Jackson and the the triangle offense, and Kurt Rambis and the team’s tepid defense – the focus now switches to the team’s overall cohesion and the ability of Hornacek to produce a product on the court that is visibly improving despite the star power and perceived talent that the team has.

Day one of training camp has passed, and all reports so far are positive towards the
relatively unknown quantity that is rookie guard Frank Ntilikina. Veteran Point guard Ramon Sessions didn’t hold back when he described the 19 year old Frenchman as looking like a ‘young Kyrie Irving’, a seemingly odd comparison at first given Frank’s apparent weaknesses at both ball handling and finishing at the rim – but it’s hard to disregard completely the words of a vet such as Sessions who has bounced around the league and seen countless high level NBA talents.

Further optimism should be on the cards for the Knicks, with the three Euros Hernangomez, Kuzminskas, and of course Porzingis putting in convincing performances at the most recent Eurobasket tournament. The team does have an overabundance of big men, and on the surface it seems unlikely that all of them will see regular minutes, but there are worse problems to have on an underpowered squad. If Maurice Ndour and Marshall Plumlee were able to find good minutes during stretches of the 2016-17 season, then there’s no reason to think that Hornacek shouldn’t be able to get these guys on the court to get valuable game time.

That being said, with luck, the tank race for a top pick at the end of this season won’t be as stressful as the ‘useless’ wins we saw at the end of last season. Why? Because truth be told, I’m all in on Knicks’ games actually having some relevance come the final stretch this year, even if it means not getting a top 3 pick in the draft – after all, we all know how much the draft lottery hates New York.

Clippers 114, Knicks 105, the tank rolls on

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New York Knicks at Los Angeles Clippers

March 20, 2017

Clippers 114, Knicks 105

by Eric Weinstein

If you stayed up for this mess, well done.

The New York Knicks hit the road for a four game Western Conference swing that began in Hollywood last night, as the Knicks traveled to LA to take on the Clippers. It’s been anything but great for both of these teams over the past few weeks, as both teams have been struggling mightily. Only difference is, the Clips are still the fourth seed in the Western Conference, led by the big four of Chris Paul, Blake Griffin, DeAndre Jordan, and JJ Redick. The Knicks? Not really in the playoff picture these days. It was more of the same from New York, which is keeping the deficit manageable for a little while, only to have their lack of defensive effort be their undoing. Don’t let the score fool you, the Knicks were nowhere near that close to winning this game. Continue reading →

Recap: New York Knicks at Orlando Magic

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New York Knicks at Orlando Magic

March 6, 2017

Knicks 115, Magic 105

by Eric Weinstein

 

Yo, didn’t they just play the Magic?

 

After another home loss on Sunday, the Knicks immediately hit the road and went back down to Central Florida to take on the Orlando Magic once again. On March 1st, the Knicks defeated the Magic 101-90, and this game had the same end result, a Knicks victory. This game went a little differently, as New York had to play the catch up game for the first three quarters, without Carmelo Anthony, only to pull away in the fourth. Kristaps Porzingis, Courtney Lee, and Lance Thomas, all stepped up in Carmelo’s absence to get the Knicks a win, 112-105. Lee led the Knicks with 20 points, and Porzingis and Thomas combined for 31 points. Maybe the biggest story of this game was undrafted rookie Chasson Randle, who was playing his first extended minutes as a New York Knick. Randle filled the stat sheet with 7 points, 5 rebounds, and 5 assists, and was an astonishing +27. To compare, Derrick Rose was a -23, for all those who think the Knicks should resign Rose in the off-season. Evan Fournier led the Magic with 25 points, and Elfrid Payton ended his night with a triple double. 16 points, 11 rebounds, 10 assists, and 1 awful haircut for the Magic point guard.

Continue reading →

Recap: New York Knicks vs Golden State Warriors

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New York Knicks vs Golden State Warriors

March 5, 2017

Warriors 112, Knicks 105

 by Eric Weinstein

We almost saw the impossible.

A sellout crowd at Madison Square Garden welcomed in the Golden State Warriors on a cold Sunday afternoon in the City. Most Knick fans, including myself, figured this game would be over quickly, but that wasn’t the case at all. The Knicks rose to the challenge and played some of their best basketball in a long time, albeit in a losing effort. I’m not one for the, “moral victory” but the Knicks should be proud of their effort on both ends of the floor. Granted, they gave up 112 points, but this is the most explosive offensive team in the NBA, so that could’ve been a lot worse. Kristaps Porzingis snapped out of his seemingly endless slump in a big way, going for 24 points and 15 rebounds, along with a couple of blocked shots. Derrick Rose was in vintage form as well, scoring 28 points and getting whatever he wanted on the offensive end. I’m ignoring his defense of course, but Rose was a blur offensively. Those two weren’t enough to stop the two time defending Western Conference Champs, however, as Steph Curry and Klay Thompson proved to be too much. The Splash Brothers (hate that name) combined for 60 points and continued to be the best backcourt in the NBA. Continue reading →

New York Knicks at Orlando Magic – 3/1/17 – Game Recap

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New York Knicks at Orlando Magic
March 1st 2017
Knicks 101, Magic 90

Written by Eric Weinstein – @ericcweinsteinn

The Orlando Magic are a bigger mess than the New York Knicks, if that’s possible.

The Knicks began a stretch of road games in Orlando on Wednesday to take in the Magic, and what a thrilling game it was. If you couldn’t pick up the sarcasm, the Knicks won a snoozer in the amusement park capital of the world and defeated the Magic, 101-90. Kristaps Porzingis returned from a two game absence to lead the Knickerbockers in scoring with 20 points and 9 rebounds. KP pulled down 9 rebounds, knocked down 2 three pointers, and showed little rust in his return to action. Carmelo Anthony had another off game, scoring 17 points on 4-16 shooting.

Derrick Rose finished with 19 points. Evan Fournier led the Magic with 22 points.

If you watched this entire game, you deserve some kind of recognition. This was just a bad game that included two bad teams with nothing to really play for. If you think that the Knicks have anything to play for, you’re just wrong. The Knicks began the game shooting well from the perimeter, with Melo, KP, and the rest of the Knick shooters starting out hot. The shooting allowed the Knicks to get a nice double digit lead to get some space in-between them and the Magic. As we’ve seen all year, the Knicks love to let their leads go once they get them, and that was the case tonight as well.

The difference tonight was that New York was playing Orlando, who are in full blown tank mode for this season, so the Knicks were able to hang on and pull away for the victory.

There’s really not much to say about this one, other than the fact that the Knicks won. Nobody played all that well, and nobody really stunk up the joint either. This was just one team who was clearly better beating another team who was clearly worse. The fact that the Magic can’t even compete with the Knicks shows just how badly it has gotten in Orlando. That city is where basketball goes to die.

Also, Marshall Plumlee scored, and that’s just fun for the entire family.

The Knicks road trip takes them to Philadelphia for another date with the 76ers, Friday night at 7 pm. The Joel Embiid-less Sixers are another squad currently attending tankapolooza, so we should be in for more bad basketball on Friday. Can you feel the excitement. 25-36.

New York Knicks vs Toronto Raptors – 2/27/17 – Game Recap

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New York Knicks vs Toronto Raptors
February 27, 2017
Raptors 92, Knicks 91

Written by Eric Weinstein – @ericcweinsteinn

Once Rose got switched on DeRozan, you could see the end result coming.

An old school, defense first, Eastern Conference matchup took place at the world’s most famous arena tonight when the new-look Toronto Raptors came to town. Both teams would be without important players tonight, with Kristaps Porzingis out for the Knicks, and Kyle Lowry out for the Raptors. The Knicks were also without Joakim Noah, who will miss the rest of the season, and Brandon Jennings, who was waived earlier in the day. Chasson Randle replaced Jennings on the roster, and he did not see any action tonight. This was a battle of all-stars as DeMar DeRozan had another game where he could show off just how gifted an offensive player he is. DeRozan finished with 37 points on 25 shots, including the game winner over Derrick Rose with 1.9 left in regulation. Carmelo Anthony had a tough shooting night, but led the Knicks with 24 points on 9/26 shooting.

If you’re somebody who wants the Knicks to tank on the rest of this disappointing season, then this was the perfect game for you to watch. An entertaining, down to the wire game was just what the tank enthusiasts were looking for, just for entertainment value alone. Games like this can almost make the idea of tanking again, bearable.

There were positives all over this one, starting with Lance Thomas, who was once again inserted into the starting lineup to replace the injured Kristaps Porzingis. Lance put up decent numbers, he scored 12 points and pulled down 6 rebounds, but the intangibles he brought to this game were what the Knicks wanted when they resigned him this past summer. Diving for loose balls and solid defense was the key to Lance’s game tonight, and that’s something to watch moving forward. Along with Lance, Courtney Lee continued to prove he was worth the money as well, and he finished with 16 points, 3 three pointers, 5 steals, 3 rebounds, and 3 assists. Lee also drained a three pointer late in the fourth quarter that gave the Knicks the lead before DeRozan took it back from them. Lee and Thomas were the two best players on the court tonight for New York, and these guys will be important for next years team.

The real problem for the Knicks tonight, and this season, has been a lack of killer instinct. Once again, the Knicks had a 17 point lead over their opponent, and weren’t able to finish the job and leave with a win. The Knicks did everything right on the defensive side of the ball, holding a talented Raptors squad to just 92 points, which is well below their seasons average of 108.5.

They were hustling and sticking with their man, and showed the type of fight we’ve all been looking for all season, and it still wasn’t enough. Credit to Toronto to the moves they made last week, because the acquisitions of PJ Tucker and Serge Ibaka are going to do wonders for their team defense. To see those guys every night and have to deal with them defensively is going to be tough for any Eastern Conference team in the postseason.

Depending on what side you’re on, you left this game with a sigh of relief, or a broken heart.

Knicks and Magic, Wednesday at 7 PM. Talk to you all soon.

By the way, if you like college basketball, seeing Ron Baker and Fred VanVleet defending one another was pretty cool. Those guys were a lot of fun to watch at Wichita State, and they played in a ton of big games. Shoutout to the Wheat Shockers.

New York Knicks at Cleveland Cavaliers

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New York Knicks at Cleveland Cavaliers

February 23, 2017

Cavaliers 119, Knicks 104

“We’re back, and we’re the same as ever!” – The Knicks

So after a very New York Knicks trade deadline, where the Knicks made no moves to better the team right now, or better the team for the future, Carmelo Anthony led his team into the Quicken Loans Arena to battle LeBron James, Kyrie Irving, and the Cleveland Cavaliers. It went exactly as you would think.

The Knicks got squashed tonight, and the score doesn’t do this beat down justice. Continue reading →

New York Knicks VS. San Antonio Spurs – 12/13/17 – Game Recap

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New York Knicks VS. San Antonio Spurs
February 13, 2017
Knicks 94, Spurs 90

Written by Eric Weinstein – @ericcweinsteinn

A little sun was peaking through the dark clouds over MSG on a Sunday afternoon.

After perhaps the worst loss of the season against the Denver Nuggets, the Knicks faced a daunting challenge against the Western Conference powerhouse San Antonio Spurs. With all the drama surrounding the New York Knicks, and I wont get into that yet, it looked like this would be the perfect setup for a Spurs beatdown of the Knickerbockers. I, along with many others, was wrong. The Knicks showed up in a big way on a nationally televised game and took down the Spurs, 94-90.

How did they do it? Well, they finally inserted Rookie phenom, and new Garden favorite, Willy Hernangomez into the starting lineup, and he was a welcome addition. He played another solid game and scored 12 points while pulling down 9 rebounds. This kid could be the spark on both ends to bring the Knicks out of this prolonged and miserable stretch of basketball. Along with WHG, Carmelo Anthony shook off a tough first half shooting wise to lead the Knicks in scoring once again with 25 points, as well as some big buckets in the fourth quarter. He continues to show that he wants the big shot down the stretch, and against San Antonio, he delivered. The most impressive part about it was the fact that he was matched up with the best defender in basketball today, Kawhi Leonard. Leonard, who can lock up anybody in the NBA, took it to Carmelo in the first half, but Carmelo was able to get on a roll in the fourth quarter, and when that happens nobody can guard him, not even Kawhi.

Leonard was also a real headache for the Knicks on offense as well, as he led the Spurs with 36 points to go with his 9 rebounds and 4 assists. This guy has become a top 5 player in the NBA, and he can takeover a game on both sides of the floor. Watching him pick up an opposing guard at half court is incredible. He lurks, and then pounces on them with his enormous hands and long arms. A game changer on defense, for sure.

Derrick Rose and Kristaps Porzingis also showed up to play in this one, with Rose scoring 18 points and Porzingis scoring 16 points and blocking for shots. The key in this game was the effort, and the Knicks finally looked like they were tired of being the laughing stock of the NBA, something they’ve been dealing with for the past decade and a half, but who’s counting?

I’d be remised if I didn’t mention the off court drama with the Knicks. Jimmy Dolan banned Charles Oakley from the Garden, which sucks. However, in a calculated move, he invited back ex-Knicks like Bernard King (G.O.A.T), Larry Johnson (who works with the Knicks), Vin Baker (played like 11 minutes as a Knick), and none other than Latrell Sprewell, who cursed out little Jimmy when he was traded way back in 2004. It’s an obvious shot at Oakley, and a desperate PR move to save face with all of the Oakley drama. I’m firmly on team Oakley, but it was nice to see Sprewell back at the Garden.

Guys like him, Marcus Camby, and Allan Houston are the guys I remember from when I first starting watching basketball. I’m only 22, so I started watching them right when sucking became the norm. Awesome.

The Knicks are going to look to build on this one, but the building is going to be met by the wrecking ball known as Russell Westbrook when the Knicks travel to OKC and take on the Thunder. If the Knicks can slow down Westbrook like they did the Spurs, maybe he’ll only get double figures in two out of his three usual triple-double  categories.

Courtney Lee, good luck bud.

New York Knicks vs. Denver Nuggets – 2/10/17 – Game Recap

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New York Knicks vs. Denver Nuggets
February 10, 2017
Nuggets 131, Knicks 123

Written by Eric Weinstein – @ericcweinsteinn

The real way to punish Charles Oakley was to make him watch this game.

The New York Knicks, for lack of a better term, suck. Plain and simple. A team that scores 120+ points wins 9 out of 10 times. This time was the one of the ten. The Denver Nuggets, who aren’t exactly the cream of the crop of the Western Conference, came into Madison Square Garden and steamrolled the Knicks. The Knick defense, if you can even call it defense, continues to be horrible, as they made a mediocre Nuggets team look like the ShowTime Lakers. It’s time to accept what this team is: a bottom feeder.

This one is going to be short and sweet, because I hate the fact that I continue to repeat myself. Carmelo Anthony had another great scoring night and led the team with 31 points, but like, who cares? He continues to put up great numbers on offense, and the defense makes it so unimportant. Everyone wanted to see Kristaps Porzingis play center, and they got their wish, and it showed that he isn’t ready to play center in the NBA. Derrick Rose and Brandon Jennings were the starting guards tonight, and offensively it worked, but these guys need to get better on defense to be just awful. There’s a theme tonight ladies and gentleman, the defense is the reason this team will continue to lose, and lose badly.

Shout out to Jimmy Dolan and Phil Jackson for ruining the New York Knicks. We deserve better than this. By the way, the point guard from Washington, Markelle Fultz, is incredible. Look him up and pray for the first pick in the draft.