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New York Knicks vs Detroit Pistons – 11/16/16 – Game Recap

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New York Knicks vs Detroit Pistons
Game 11: November 16, 2016
Knicks 105, Pistons 102

Written by Eric Weinstein – @ericcweinsteinn

Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the Kristaps Porzingis show.

The Knicks took on the Detroit Pistons tonight for the second time this season, and evened up the series at 1-1. The story of tonight’s game was Kristaps Porzingis, who led the Knicks with a career high 35 points, along with 7 rebounds and 3 assists. Carmelo Anthony had 22 points, and Derrick Rose had 15 points, with a few clutch baskets in the fourth quarter. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope led the Pistons with 21 points, and missed a potential game tying three pointer at the end of regulation. Long Island native Tobias Harris finished with 19 points and 10 boards.

Takeaways from this game:

Kristaps Kristaps Kristaps:

I don’t want this to become a lovefest for Porzingis, but boy was he special tonight. Porzingis had his career high of 35 points, which is great in itself, but the array in which he scores is incredible. Whether it’s threes, post ups, fade-away jumpers, or that thunderous alley-oop, he had the garden crowd on their feet all night. He only took 22 shots to get to those 35 points, so the efficiency is there, and we are watching him become a star in front of our very eyes.

Props to KO and the bench:

His numbers won’t jump off the page, but Kyle O’Quinn had a really nice game tonight off the bench. He finished with 6 points, 5 boards, 2 assists, and 3 blocks, and this may have been the best defense we have seen him play. Besides, KO, the entire bench played great as well.

Brandon Jennings had 7 assists, Justin Holiday had 9 points and 5 assists, and even Maurice N’Dour had an extremely active 9 minutes.

Joakim Noah:

Joakim responded to the benching positively, as he came out of the gates hot. The Knicks ran pick and roll with Rose and Noah the first play of the game, and continued to use it throughout the game. 7 points and 15 boards for the 72 million dollar man in this one, and these are the type of nights that make him worth that cash.

Ball movement and offensive boards:

The Knicks outrebounded the Pistons 52-40, even with Andre Drummond on the other team. They totaled 19 offensive boards, which is the most I’ve ever seen the Knickerbockers grab in a game. Joakim Noah was a huge reason for that, his activity on the glass was a key to the Knicks jumping out to a first half lead.

Other Notes:

The way the Knicks played tonight, it just felt like there was no way they were going to lose, no matter how close Detroit came. Even though it came down to the final shot, I was never in doubt that New York would come away with the win. One thing to be worried about is the Knicks going to Washington tomorrow night to play the Wizards, and KP played a season high 40 minutes. Rose, Melo, and KP all played heavy minutes tonight, and hopefully won’t be too fatigued going into tomorrow’s game. Knicks and Wizards tomorrow night at 7. Great win tonight, 5-6.

New York Knicks vs Dallas Mavericks – 11/14/16 – Game Recap

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New York Knicks vs Dallas Mavericks
Game 10: November 14, 2016
Knicks 93, Dallas 77

Written by Eric Weinstein – @ericcweinsteinn

See what happens when you play defense?

The Dallas Mavericks came to MSG to take on the Knickerbockers tonight, and the Knicks took it to them. New York defeated Dallas 93-77 backed by Carmelo Anthony’s 24 point, 7 rebound effort, as well as Kristaps Porzingis’ 24 points and 11 rebounds. Dallas was without Dirk Nowitzki and Deron Williams tonight, and Harrison Barnes paced them with 20 points.

Takeaways from this game:

An Epic Holiday:

For those that understood my Angels and Airwaves reference there, well done. The Holiday that I’m referring to is Justin Holiday, who had his best game as a Knick tonight. Holiday finished the game with 16 points, and he sparked the team with his exceptional on the ball defense. Most notably, he began the second half with the starting lineup, and we didn’t see the 72 million dollar man, Joakim Noah, for the rest of the game, which is a completely different problem.

Holiday is proving to be more than just a throw-in from the Derrick Rose trade with his active play.

Defense!

I guess the Knicks read my last recap when I blasted the team defense. The Knicks held the Mavs to just 77 points tonight, which is far and away the lowest amount they’ve given up this season. I know Dallas was missing some key players, I mean, one of the greatest players of all time was in street clothes on their bench, but to hold an NBA team under 80 points shows an excellent effort. It finally looked like the Knicks cared about playing hard on defense, which was nice to see that as a priority. Courtney Lee and Justin Holiday especially played hard and dug in on the defensive side of the ball.

KP and Melo:

When your two best players both score 20 plus, you’re in good shape. Melo, who couldn’t buy a bucket in the first half, got into a nice groove in the second half, as he scored 20 of his 24 after halftime. Porzingis was scoring a number of ways, and his crossover into a pullup jumper in the first half got me out of my seat. The dude is 7’3, and everything he does is so smooth. Love it when these two click.

Other Notes:

The Knicks have a lot of winnable games coming up this week. They play Detroit at home on Wednesday, and then they play Washington the night after. If the Knicks defend like they did tonight, and the ball moves as freely as it did in the second half, the Knicks should win both of those games. Look for Justin Holiday to be the first guard off the bench after tonight’s performance.

By the way, Maurice N’Dour should never shoot a three ever again, no matter the situation. My God that was ugly.