Unblemished No More: Grizzlies Frontline Wears Down Knicks 105-95

This was touted as a matchup between the teams with the two best records in the league. For the first two quarters, both teams executed plays and shot well. New York was shooting over 60% and making key steals, but still couldn’t get more than a 2-3 point lead due to giving up too much second-chance points on the offensive board. Melo was having to work extremely hard on defense, contending with Zach Randolph and Marc, Gasol who both outweighed him by 30-40 pounds. But as he’s shown over the winning streak, Melo made the right passes to guys like Kidd and Brewer for open shots. Unfortunately, Melo had to sit after getting two fouls, as did the Grizzlies’ Rudy Gay, leaving it a tight game of 29-25 in favor of Memphis after one.

Rasheed Wallace went to work in the post in the second, hopefully a sign of future things to come. That forced double teams and allowed for guys like JR Smith to get going with outside jumpers. Unfortunately for NY, Memphis’ outside shooters were hot, in particular their point guard Bayless. Matters would get chippy with him when a JR elbow and Bayless shove resulted in double technicals. The hard play continued and Melo began to complain too much about the lack of calls for him inside. The Grizzlies scrambled hard for every loose ball and even a Knicks block from Rasheed Wallace went in the Grizz’s favor, as the loose ball went to Mike Conley who hit a three to give them a 54-49 halftime lead.

Then disaster struck in the third. Melo caught a suspect third foul early and less than two minutes later got another while being tangled up with Marc Gasol. Melo got irate and earned a technical before hitting the bench. Tyson Chandler got his fourth foul and the team just became unglued. Think the playoffs last year in game 1 where the Heat got a bunch of fouls and ran the Knicks out of the building. This was very similar as the Grizzlies went on a ridiculous 19-1 run and ended up outscoring the Knicks 31-18 for the quarter. Chandler got his fifth foul, coach Woodson his own technical and next thing you know the score was 74-56 Grizzlies.

Chandler’s foul trouble forced Woodson to do something he should have done from the outset; put Kurt Thomas on Randolph. Immediately, Randolph had a much tougher time scoring and had to work harder in the paint for rebounds. Unfortunatly, the damage had been done. Although the Knicks rallied to pull as close as 8 points in the fourth, a few quick  Grizzlies scores off pick and rolls effectively iced the game to give the Knicks their first defeat.

You’d think we would have had a good shot of winning having shot 51%, but having our best players in foul trouble and Woodson being stubborn with the lineup sealed our fate. Thankfully, Woodson is already on record stating some of his substitutions hurt us down the stretch. This game is a clear example that while Melo has had success at the 4 spot, that can become a weakness against a team like the Grizzlies and we have to adjust accordingly.

Melo’s been great this year, but the one glaring flaw he needs to get in check continues to be the ref complaining. He’s going to start to get, if he hasn’t already, a reputation with the refs and the techs will start coming quicker. Our team follows his lead; when he became irate and unfocused in the third, the rest of the team followed suit. I’m sure his patience wasn’t helped matters by getting banged around by Randolph and Gasol, but he needs to check this behavior ASAP.

It’s back home on Sunday to face the Pacers. All in all, it was a good road trip going 2-1. Let’s hope we don’t see Melo trying to guard Roy Hibbert tomorrow.

Comeback Kidd! Jason and Felton Carry Knicks to Road Win Over Spurs 104-100

“It shows me this team is for real. We beat a great team tonight.” – Knicks head coach Mike Woodson

If there were any remaining non-believers, the Knicks effectively dispelled those naysayers last night in San Antonio, executing stifling defense and exceptional guard play from Jason Kidd and Raymond Felton to lift the Knicks to a 104-100 win over the Spurs.

The matchup had the intensity of a playoff game from the start; both teams came out taking quality shots and passing well. Felton scored the Knicks first 5 points and you could tell early on he had a point to prove taking on Spurs all-star Tony Parker. For the first time this season, Carmelo Anthony couldn’t get off to a fast scoring start due to quick double teams and physical play from DeJuan Blair. However, Melo showed excellent passing out of those double teams to give the Knicks a tight 33-31 lead after one.

The Knicks got some breathing room early in the second courtesy of JR Smith hitting a jumper and scoring with a drive into the lane. Pablo Prigioni hit a pull-up jumper, and Steve Novak and Rasheed Wallace hit three-pointers to push the lead to 45-38. Melo continued his great passing; he found JR for another drive into the lane that this time resulted in a three-point play.

Tony Parker picked up his game late in quarter, getting several fouls as Felton had issues keeping in front of him. The free throws got the game close and San Antonio finished strong with a contested three-pointer at the buzzer from Danny Green to give the Spurs a 54-52 halftime lead.

The calls started favoring the Knicks in the third, resulting in the Spurs already being in the penalty by the seven minute mark. Unfortunately, the Knicks were having problems at the line and finishing at the rim (Chandler, Brewer, Melo). The Spurs sensed blood and tightened their D for several fast breaks, one of which ended in a Jackson three-pointer. The Knicks finished the quarter cold with one too many JR isolation plays and a 74-76 deficit into the fourth.

A Novak airball for the eighth straight three-point miss was a dubious start, and inexcusably bad defense from Tyson Chandler lead to Tiago Splitter reeling off 13 straight points inside to start the quarter. The guard penetration from Manu Ginobili and Parker supplied Splitter with these opportunities and it looked very bad for the Knicks, who went down by 12 points (77-89) with seven minutes to go.

That’s when Felton and Kidd took over. Felton drove for a layup on Parker to bring the Knicks within 10. The New York defense held, one of which was a steal from Kidd, which lead to the veteran hitting back to back threes to put the Knicks right back in it down four (85-89). Ginobili stopped the run with his own three-pointer, but the Knicks came right back with a sweet Melo pass resulting in a Chandler three-point play off a dunk. Felton and JR would both score in the lane to bring the Knicks closer.

The best sequence came off another Kidd steal to ignite a fast break. Kidd passed to Melo on the wing, who drove to elicit a double team and kick to Felton under the rim, who passed back out to an open JR Smith for a three-pointer and a two point lead (97-95). Another stop would lead to a Kidd dagger three-pointer, and Tyson would put the exclamation mark on the game with a put back dunk off a Felton miss to ice the game with a 102-95 lead with a little over 30 seconds remaining. The Knicks closed out with a 22-11 run. 

For us Knicks fans, this was a beautiful game to behold. Last year before Woodson, we would have given up once the Spurs pushed it to 12. Instead, we fought back and snatched their hearts out. Jason Kidd’s value to this team cannot be stressed enough; without him we’d have about three losses already. And Raymond Felton… let’s hope that man keeps that chip on his shoulder for the rest of the year. Great effort by everyone. I loved how Melo had faith in his teammates when his shot was not falling. He focused on passing , defense and made sure to not be a liability out there. We can only hope to see the same from Amar’e when he comes back.

We head right back into the fire tonight on ESPN against the Grizzlies, who’s frontcourt of Marc Gasol and Zach Randolph will be a huge mountain for our tired legs. I can’t wait…

We Woke Up Eventually: 4th Quarter Knicks D Overcomes Magic 99-89

What the hell is going on?! That phrase had to be going through the minds of most Knicks fans watching the first three quarters last night of the game against the Magic, the first of a three-game road trip. The Knickstape was being out hustled by rookies, whining to refs, not closing out on shooters and letting guys get easy drives to the basket. But then a light switch went off in the fourth, spurred by pivotal plays from Jason Kidd, that lead to the Knicks allowing only 12 points in the quarter in route to a 99-89 win to keep their undefeated streak alive at 5-0.

As with the Mavericks, the Knicks started slow in the first but ended the quarter strong with a 15-8 run to go up 27-23. Then the Knicks had their worst quarter of the season in the second, launching too many bricked threes (Melo, Wallace) and showing poor interior defense. JJ Reddick found the outside range with his jumper, and the Knicks became statues of defense, having an outrageous moment of letting Glenn Davis ignite a one-man fast break beating Melo and Felton to the hole. What made matters more frustrating is this collapse happened right after a Novak three had put them up 10. Magic rookie Maurice  Harkless had NY looking bad with his hustle plays and defense on Melo. The 19-year-old had 10 points and six rebounds at halftime, a major reason for the Magic holding a 53-49 lead at intermission. Adding on to the woes was the Magic holding a rebounding edge of 25-16.

The third was better; guys like Raymond Felton and JR Smith made sure to drive into the lane for buckets. JR continued to have the sweet touch, dropping a three-pointer to tie things early at 63. Still, the Knicks were not meeting the energy of the Magic and continued giving up their own three-pointers due to bad rotations. Melo got no calls inside and visibly frustrated. Thankfully JR’s play, capped by a nice alley oop to Tyson Chandler, helped the Knicks take a slim lead of 77-76 into the fourth.

The Magic had been shooting 54%, but that ceased when it counted. After some back and forth baskets early on, Jason Kidd made a three-pointer to take an 82-80 lead and tied up Aaron Afflalo to force a jump ball. Kidd later hit a floater in the lane after a Magic put back miss. Melo then got focused on defense, getting a steal that lead to a JR Smith step-back jumper to cap a 7-0 run. The better close-out defense on the Magic shooters forced contested misses, and Melo put his stamp on the game late with a turnaround jumper in the post and a three-pointer. Felton got Chandler back in on the action with another alley oop, and before you knew it, a JR Smith jumper had pushed the lead to 97-84 with just a few minutes remaining.

The Knicks ended with three guys dropping over 20 points: Melo (25), Smith (21) and Felton (21). Knicks fans can take solace in the fact this would have unquestionably been a game we would’ve lost at this time last season. The necessary adjustments  were made and the talent level of our team showed its class in the last quarter.

Now for the bad. I understand Melo’s frustration when he’s hacked inside to dead whistles. But that’s no excuse to not get back on defense and allow easy baskets. He’s the leader of our team and everyone will take their queue’s from his attitude. If you noticed, Chandler started complaining not long after Melo and seemed disinterested. While it’s great we still have that “0” in the loss column, that will quickly change if we come out for Thursday’s game against San Antonio like this. We have to click on all cylinders as that team’s confidence will by sky-high following that game-winning three-pointer Danny Green delivered over Kobe Bryant to down the Lakers last night.

Until next time, Knicks faithful.

About/Contact Me

 

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A professional writer since 2007, Ismael AbduSalaam is the creator of Beats, Boxing & Mayhem, a website specializing in Hip-Hop and boxing culture, a member of the Boxing Writer’s Association of America (BWAA), and a freelance writer. He was a former staff writer/boxing columnist for AllHipHop.com.

A Knicks fan since his childhood the early 90s, Ismael started NYKloyalist.com as a tribute to his beloved squad. As expected, this endeavor has lead to severe hypertension, violent mood swings and a likely premature death.

Please direct feedback, Knicks commentary, tips and business related inquiries to nykloyalist@gmail.com.

Knicks-Lakers Christmas Showdown Jerseys Revealed

The NBA has released the special one-color jerseys that will be worn by all teams competing this Christmas. The Knicks-Lakers game at Staples Center, which now has new significance with the hiring of former Knicks head coach Mike D’Antoni, will feature the below jerseys.

The Lakers jersey looks ok. I’m not sure about ours, though. It just seems it would be way too loud during the game. However, I’ll take it over those green Christmas jerseys we’ve been rocking the last few years. Save the green for our Atlantic Division rival Celtics. Our squad wearing green just felt wrong.

The rest of the one-color jerseys can be viewed HERE.

And Still Undefeated! JR and Melo Lift Knicks Past Mavs 104-94

It wasn’t a pretty game. Melo referred to it in his post-game interview as an “ugly, grind-out win.” The threes weren’t falling like they did in the first few games while the Mavs were red hot in the first half behind the arc. But the Knicks held strong through their defense and got hot at the right time behind a scroching 3rd quarter from JR Smith to take a 104-94 win and remain the NBA’s only undefeated time at 4-0.

The Mavs’ OJ Mayo, who has been a monster at the season’s start with several 30 points games, set the tone for his squad immediately by sinking a three-pointer to start the game. The Knicks didn’t find many fast breaks opportunities but relied on Melo working rookie Jae Crowder off the block to the tune of 10 points in the opening quarter. Raymond Felton thrived as well in dropping five assists early (finishing with nine), several being easy pick and rolls with Tyson for slams and alley oops.

Marcus Camby made his Knicks return after a 10 absence which helped immediately with rebounding, but not with Mayo’s deadly shooting (two threes to start the second quarter). Steve Novak was cold in missing his first three shots, leading to the Mavs going on a 8-0 run. The ghost of Vince Carter also found his jumper and posted up JR Smith twice for quick buckets to give the Mavs a 39-30 lead. Although Dallas was shooting 50% for three, the Knicks climbed back to tie it 44-44 behind a three point play from Ronnie Brewer and a three-pointer from Melo. However, the Mavs would finish the quarter with a 57-55 behind an emotional Melo getting a tech  for complaining about a missed foul and sitting after getting three fouls. In addition, the Mavs were finishing strong at the rim, especially a highlight worthy facial on Rasheed Wallace to close the half.

Although Mayo nailed another three to start the third, it would thankfully be the last they’d make the rest of the half. Jason Kidd was strong defensively — the veteran guard got some key steals for fast breaks and caught OJ Mayo with his fourth foul on a charge, removing the Mavs’ best shooter from the floor. The Knicks had the same problem, as Melo getting too aggressive on D forced him to sit with roughly seven minutes left in the third with four fouls. The interior defense gave up a few inside shots to Chris Kaman and Crowder, but JR Smith started getting hot with his jumper to push the Knicks in front 78-71, and later Novak found the range from three to maintain a 82-76 lead.

It was nip and tuck for a large chunk of the fourth with Kaman getting to post-up and JR Smith making a few ill-advised fouls. But JR made up for it with deflections that lead to steals, and Chandler putting a statement on the game with a putback dunk off a Melo missed layup for a 12-point lead with six minutes remaining. At that point, both squads got very sloppy with missed free throws and fouls, but NY’s lead was enough to see them down the stretch to the 104-94 win.

The Mavs didn’t get held in the 80s, but the Knicks defense succeeded in causing 20 turnovers while keeping theirs to 9 (they average 12). The scoring was impressive with Melo dropping 31, Smith 22 and Brewer 13. The defense was tenacious with multiple steals from Felton (2), Kidd (3), Brewer (2) and Smith (4). This is our best start since the Finals 1993-1994 squad and our home record under Mike Woodson has been extended to 12-2, the two losses coming in the regular and post-season to the Miami Heat.

There will still be some detractors being that the Mavs were missing Dirk Nowitzski and Shawn Marion, but it’s very hard for me to have any sympathy for banged squads when we have been without our second-leading scorer (Amar’e Stoudemire) and best perimeter defender (Iman Shumpert). Hell, we just got our backup center on the floor last night with Camby. We have a very big game coming up next Thursday on the road against the Spurs, but we have to stay focused and take care of business in our next one, a Tuesday game against the Magic. Orlando is in a freefall at the moment having lost their last three, but we need to up for them and not fall into a “trap game.”

Until then, let’s enjoy being the only remaining undefeated team in NBA!

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Iman Shumpert ft. Chrisette Michele – “Supaphly”

Iman Shumpert’s keeping busy behind the mic while finishing up the last months of his ACL rehab. Up until now, Shump’s rhymes have been solo joints and freestyles. Now he’s getting some big established names, having hooked up with the talented Chrisette Michele for “Supaphly.” So what’s the verdict? Not the worse track you’ll hear, but far from memorable. Chrisette’s voice sounds great as usual, but the production and overdone swag rap doesn’t help matters. Your thoughts?

IMAN SHUMPERT FT. CHRISETTE MICHELE “SUPAPHLY”

DOWNLOAD LINK

Have Another L, Philly: Knicks Complete Back to Back Sweep 110-88

WELLS FARGO ARENA, PHILADELPHIA — It was the epitome of a “trap game.” After delivering a 100-84 thrashing to the Sixers yesterday in the first of home back to backs, it was as Walt “Clyde” Frazier called “human nature” to expect for the Knicks to collectively slack and possibly suffer their first loss. Very early it looked like that might very well be the case. Philly jumped out to a quick 14-4 lead as the Knicks started sluggish, going 2-7 from the field.

Then the sleeping giant was awakened.

The Knicks would go on a 21-7 run to finish the quarter with a 25-21 lead and went on to break Philly’s will by the third quarter for their third straight blowout and first road win of the season.

The Sixers stayed in it through the second quarter with their ridiculous three pointers. Outside of that, there wasn’t much they could get going due to our superb guard defense. Felton and Prigioni would get several steals leading to multiple Chandler dunks. Although Melo’s jumper was off (5-12 in the first half), the rest of the team picked up the scoring to the tune of seven Knicks players getting in double digits. A Nick Young three would trim the lead to 56-48 in favor of the Knicks, but their play made the deficit seem much larger.

The Knicks came out for the third with the intention to take Philly’s soul and did just that. Melo kicked off the proceedings by making his first two buckets and swatting a weak Kwame Brown shot. Ronnie Brewer, who’s scouting report cites him as a week shooter, was in an amazing rhythm and knocking down open treys, one of which pushed the lead to 13. Moments later another Brewer 3 pointer would push the lead to 18, effectively putting the game would be out of reach.

Rasheed Wallace got in some valuable time and scored eight points in just five minutes, including two 3 pointers. By the time the quarter had ended, the Knicks had outscored the Sixers 33-20.

Did the Knicks let up in the fourth quarter? Nope. Matter of fact, the squad kept the defense strong as if they wanted to completely embarrass Philly. JR Smith played with ice water in his veins, hitting long threes and a fast break dunk off a Pablo Prigioni steal that effectively snatched any remaining fight out of the Sixers.

We’re now 3-0 which is the best start since the 99-2000 season. That season just happens to be the last time we were in the Eastern Conference Finals, a goal most fans believe we should be shooting for this year. The Knicks played with playoff intensity and sent a clear message to a division rival that they’re on different levels. I can’t get over how great our guard play has been. Brewer was on fire (13 points, 5-8 shooting, 3-4 from downtown). If that man can show consistent range from three, that just gives us yet another weapon on the outside. Raymond Felton continued his excellent play, scoring 16 points and dishing 8 assists.

Three games, three blowouts and three teams held under 100 points. This team has me so excited and the rest of the league is starting to take notice. We had a tough Western Conference road trip looming so these next few days of rest will serve us well. The next victim… I mean opponent will be on Friday when the Knicks take on the Mavs at home.

JR for 3… Swish! Knicks Make Easy Work of Sixers 100-84

MADISON SQUARE GARDEN, NEW YORK CITY –After the high that was Friday’s beatdown of the NBA champion Miami Heat, there were a few select detractors amongst the media (this pathetic ESPN article by Ian Connor being the main culprit), that the Knicks big win was simply an aberration at best and at worst an indication of “fool’s gold.” Today’s matinée against the Sixers proved the Knicks are indeed a team with renewed focus, as they’ve improved on shot efficiency while maintaining excellent defense in a 100-84 win.

The Knicks opened up with good outside shooting again spurred by excellent ball movement. In what is hopefully a continued trend, Carmelo Anthony was tenacious on defense and got a standing ovation from the MSG faithful for a Charles Oakley-like dive into the stands. Outside of a few forced alley oops that lead to turnovers, the Knicks stayed strong and lead after one 31-25.

The bench, lead by Jason Kidd and JR Smith, had strong performances throughout the second. An out-of-bounds bassline pass from Kidd to Smith lead to a 3 pointer that ballooned the lead to 10, and Melo continued having a field day at the expense of Thaddeus Young, freezing him with a vintage spin move for a three-point play opportunity. Our 35-year-old guard Pablo Prigioni was productive as well in drawing charges on Nick Young and getting a steal that lead to a Novak trey. At halftime, the Knicks were sitting on a 57-44 lead after holding Philly to just 19 points in the second quarter.

The third was not as fluid; the offense started to stall badly around the eight-minute mark. Luckily, JR Smith was the spark with a few bailout jumpers on 4-7 shooting to keep the lead at 9. Nonetheless, Philly had some encouragement on the lights out 3 point shooting from Jrue Holiday (who went 5-6 and finished with 27 points).

A few more Smith 3s off steals from Prigioni and Kidd would help seal the deal in the fourth. In addition, Melo’s post game couldn’t be handled by the Bynum-less Sixers (Thaddeus Young fouled trying to keep up with Melo). And in a final “victory cigar” for us Knick fans, Chris Copeland got his first NBA points and Rasheed Wallace hit a nice post-up hook shot.

The final stat lines were great across the board. On defense, the Knicks forced 18 turnovers, had 12 steals and 5 blocks. On offense, the Knicks shot 50% from the field (39-77) and 40% from downtown (11-27). And our star Melo was able to drop 27 on 10-18 shooting.  Consider that against the Heat, he went for 30 but needed 10 more shots to do it. JR Smith was great in dropping 20 points, grabbing 9 boards and 2 steals. 18 years into his career, Jason Kidd continues to show was he can be invaluable to any team. His stat line for today was 12 points, 6 assists, and 2 steals.

Unfortunately, we won’t have long to celebrate as tomorrow night the Knicks head to the Wells Fargo Arena (MSG West) for their first back to back of the season. This is the epitome of a “trap game” as the Sixers will be highly motivated to get revenge on their home floor after getting worked today. But with Bynum still out and now Jason Richardson likely gone with that ankle injury, the Knicks had a very good chance of starting this season 3-0 since God knows when.

Until tomorrow night, Knicks fans…

In Ball Movement We Trust: Knicks Trounce the Heat 104-84

Yesterday morning, I prayed to the basketball gods that my beloved Knicks would kick off the 2012-2013 season with a nice win. But even in my wildest dreams, I couldn’t imagine my team absolutely drubbing the defending champion Miami Heat in a 20-point blowout (104-84).

For the past few months, Knicks fans have had to endure ridicule for picking up older players and being called “the second best team in New York.” Last night’s performance went a long way to shutting those critics up: Jason Kidd was integral in setting the ball movement early on along with Kurt Thomas supplying solid interior defense. Raymond Felton was phenomenal with his dribble penetration that freed up Melo for several 3 pointers in route to a 16 point first quarter and a 33-17 lead.

The ball movement continued in the second quarter to the tune of 11 assists. The defense produced 12 Heat turnovers and prevented that team’s signature fast break dominance (only 10 fast break points).

Last year our squad would routinely come out flat in third quarters and quickly blow whatever lead we had. Not so last night — although we got off to a sloppy start, our defense kept the Heat turning the ball over while Novak sank a few timely 3s to halt a late 8-0 run.

The Heat made their final run through the first few minutes of the fourth, spurred on by a few ticky-tack fouls. However, Felton and Novak both sank 3s, the latter being a beautiful escape dribble to the left that faked out Ray Allen. The game was iced by the final five minutes, and Wade and LeBron made their exists while Rasheed Wallace chants rained down at MSG. The grizzled vet blew the roof off with a final 3 pointer to make it 19 from downtown (!!!) for the night.

As Biggie’s “Hypnotize” seranaded the court post-game, I couldn’t think of a better way to start to the season. The ball movement from Kidd, Prigioni and Felton was a startling reminder of what we lacked last year. Another key aspect is that we closed every quarter strong. Last season, the Heat always picked us apart in the last minutes of quarters. This time, we met every run with timely shots that had them discouraged for a change.

The great thing about last night is there’s still room for improvement. On the injury front, we still have the returns of Shumpert, Camby and Stoudemire to look forward to. Melo dropped 30, but he got a little out of sorts in the second half by gunning and forcing too many shots. Once he reigns that in a little more and continues attacking the basket…watch out. JR Smith had one of his “brickhouse” games offensively, but made up for it by staying focused on defense (outside of a highly dumb offensive foul on a Kidd fast break).

Enjoy this win, fellow Knicks fans. We have another tough one tomorrow with division rival Philly. Let’s hope our squad continues to show the improvements and we don’t get a letdown.

Stay tuned for much more Knicks coverage as this site builds and gets off the ground fully in the next few weeks.

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