defense

Knicks vs Mavs 12/16/14 – Game Recap

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Written by William Lee

Dallas came out of the gate scorching, all five starters for the Mavericks scored on by their fifth attempt of the game. Dallas scored on their first six attempts before finally missing from the field, which drew sarcastic cheers from Madison Square Garden. Dallas personified team basketball in the first quarter, collecting six assist on their first six field goals. Dallas ended the first quarter with 14 made field goals, of which ten of them were assisted on.

With the hot start from Dallas, Derek Fisher needed to take an early timeout four minutes into the game, by then the Mavericks had already gotten ahead 19-7. The lackluster play by the Knick’s starters continued, the deficit grew by as much as 19 points. This caused Fisher to make wholesale substitutions at the 5:20 mark to send a message to his players that this type of effort will not be tolerated.

Fisher after the game had this to say about the lackluster start. “The start was not the right way to start a professional basketball game. Those guys in there to start the game, was a disappointment to their teammates more than anything. Guys who start the game have to mentally and physically be ready to play, and they couldn’t put that out there, we got another five guys in there, they started playing hard and playing with some energy and got us back into the game. We were behind the eight ball from the jump.”

The message seemed to have gotten across to the team momentarily, in a blink of an eye with how fast New York was down by such a large deficit, New York rocketed back just as fast. The Knicks made a sizable comeback, going on a 21-10 run since the wholesale substitution to get within four points 36-32 with 10:20 remaining in the second quarter.

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2014/15 Knicks Roster Power Rankings – Week 7

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Had some computer issues to the rankings are a day late this week. That also means an extra game is included in this weeks rankings giving us a record 5 losses to take into consideration for this weeks rankings. The Knicks now have more losses than Philly. I can’t believe after 23 games I was able to type that sentence. We also got to learn that the team hates each other and is falling apart behind the scenes. Good news if you’re are all about the #1 draft pick.
       
Rank Player Comments Last weeks Rank
1 Wear, Travis No one had a good week this week, but Travis played the least amount of minutes out of the healthy players. That means he was the least detrimental to this team. 3
2 Aldrich, Cole Cole looked like he was in danger of increased playing time, increasing his chance of sucking, but after playing 18 minutes against the Nets logged 8 minutes in the next 4 games, thus being the 2nd least detrimental to this team. 13
3 Larkin, Shane Shane is out of the rotation, playing zero minutes against the Blazers and Pelicans, almost guaranteeing his turnovers and points scored against him will decrease. 5
4 Acy, Quincy This is my 4th week in a row putting Acy at the #4 spot and no one seems to have noticed. Kind of like how opposing teams don’t notice when he’s on the court. 4
5 Stoudemire, Amar’e I know what you are saying, but STAT got so many boards and pointzzzz!!!! He also led the league in flexing under the basket after a dunk while his opponents get an uncontested layup or basking in the glow of his dunk during the next 3 plays in which he gets 2 turnovers and a foul. Continue reading →

Knicks @ Hornets 12/6/14 – Game Recap

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Written by William Lee

On the heels of being on the wrong side of the record book, now currently holding the worst start through 20 games (4-16) in franchise history, New York fought a team that was just as desperate as them for a win. The Charlotte Hornets are currently on a ten game losing streak, something that the Hornets could not have envisioned when they added free agent Lance Stephenson this summer to a top defensive squad last season. Instead the Hornets have taken a step backwards, and are now currently in the bottom third in points allowed by opponents, allowing 101.2 points per game.

Carmelo Anthony tried his best to right the ship, playing the whole first quarter. As per usual Anthony has his typical good start to the game, scoring nine points in the opening period. Unfortunately the same cannot be said for his teammates, as the rest of the team shot as cold as the New York winter night 31%.

Bismack Biyombo got inside for easy back to back dunks, giving Charlotte a double digit lead late in the closing minutes of the first quarter 29-18. The Hornets did all their damage inside, outrebounding New York 14 to 6 in the first quarter. Charlotte scored 16 points in the paint, and had nine second chance points. And if the Hornets didn’t score inside, they got fouled attacking the paint, going to the charity stripe nine times in the opening quarter.

With Anthony needing a rest for half of the second quarter, his teammates continued to struggle shooting, only converting on a third of their field goal attempts. The Hornets made another run in the midway through the third quarter, going on a 13-4 run, the Hornets‘ would lead by as many as 21 in the period.

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Knicks vs Heat 11/30/14 – Game Recap

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Written by William Lee

Both team’s superstar returned to action Sunday night from injury, Dwyane Wade with a strained left hamstring, and Carmelo Anthony from back spasms.

Both teams were inept on offense in the first quarter, Heat shot 27.3% while the Knicks shot 33.3%. However the Heat got to the line, going a perfect 8-for-8 from the charity stripe. Miami who are sixth in league in stealing with 8.3 steals per game, took advantage of New York’s sloppy play early on, getting five steals alone in the first quarter. Amare Stoudemire came off the bench and his energy really kept the Knicks in the game, making three straight baskets once inserted. Stoudemire finished the game with a double-double with 19 points and 12 rebounds. New York only trailed 21-17 after the opening quarter.

James Ennis, a rookie forward from Long Beach State went berserk, personally responsible for a 10-2 run to start the second quarter. Ennis showed off all his offensive skills, first a pull up mid-range jump shot, then a three-pointer, before finally getting free to the rim for a slam dunk. Then he would give a helping hand, setting up Josh McRoberts for a wide open three. Just like that New York saw themselves down 34-21 four minutes into the second quarter.

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Episode 271: Can’t Lose Em All

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Will and Jay talk about the last 4 Knicks games, the 3 point defense or lack thereof, Travis Wear, tanking, trades, what to expect going forward and much more

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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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Knicks @ Pacers- 1-16-14 – Game Recap

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Knicks scored some points.  Pacers scored a lot more.

So this happened again

Also a ton of this:

And some great defense:

Not to mention the awesome boxing out:

And of course what game would be complete without multiple injuries:

Can’t wait until tonights game!

Episode 230: New Ways to Lose

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Marc and Jay talk about the last four games, injuries, aliens, defense, d-league, trades, and much more
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2013/14 Knicks Roster Power Rankings – Week 5

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Four games and four losses since last weeks rankings.  I will now try and rank the varying levels of awfulness that make up the Knicks roster.
       
Rank Player              Comments Last weeks Rank
1 Anthony, Carmelo Last night was the first night in a long time Melo has shot over .500, but he’s also fighting constant double teams due to the lack of help around him.  A few more assists would help but I can’t complain too much considering he’s currently 2nd in the NBA in scoring and a very impressive 11th in rebounding. 1
2 Martin, Kenyon Huzzah!  An actual Knick player that plays defense.  He can rebound too!  He’s been playing over 25 minutes a game.  Anyone else terrified at what this team would look like if K-Mart went down? 6
3 Bargnani, Andrea Bargnani went ice cold for a few games but who am I going to put above him?  He’s been grabbing 5 boards a game which is…not the worst I guess.  Would still like to see him get more touches in the 2nd half of games, especially when he’s productive in the 1st half.  Looking at you Melo and JR. 2
4 Udrih, Beno With Felton out Beno has bene our resident ‘PG who lets every opposing PG run past him on just about every play’ guy.  He’s up this high for his performance in the Indiana game because 1 great game is 1 more than the players ranked 5-15. 9
5 Stoudemire, Amar’e You know this team is in trouble when we’re putting Amare in the top 5.  Yes his defense is still the worst but he’s been scoring and rebounding at a very efficient rate which is all you can expect from him at this point.   Continue reading →

What is Shumperts Real Trade Value?

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Written by Anish Philip @dak0mish

Knicks fans overrate many of their players, especially those they draft. It’s typical of any hardcore fan of any team, but it seems amplified by the Knicks fan insatiable desire for a contender. Gallo was the next Bird depending who you spoke to. A solid player, but he won’t be starring in McDonalds commercials at any point.

The affliction occurred again with Iman Shumpert. Walsh’s final stamp on a franchise he pulled from fan hell like Dante, was selecting Shumpert with the 17th pick in the 2011 draft. Relatively unknown till the draft, the word potential was attached to his game. He couldn’t shoot, but he had NBA ready defense, great athleticism, and had above average handle for a two guard. With two non defenders in Anthony and Stoudemire, the pick was made. Continue reading →