The Knicks will officially welcome Phil Jackson to the team tomorrow night on the heels of a win streak that’s extended to six games via a weekend matinee blowout over the Bucks.
As most Knicks fans will remember, we owed this lowly team for beating us in overtime last month AND having the gall to tweet out “#Buckstape” on Twitter.
The Buck never a got a true foothold since the perimeter defense was strong and kept guys like Brandon Knight (14 points) and Nate Wolters (15 points) from having career nights. On the other end, Melo lead the way with 23 points (50% shooting), 7 rebounds and 2 blocks. Best of all, Melo only needed 33 minutes of work. Tyson Chandler (2 points, 5 rebounds) and Amar’e Stoudemire (15 points, 6/13, rebounds) had struggles in their return games, but the slack was picked up by Tim Hardaway’s 20 points off the bench, and Jeremy Tyler adding 6 rebounds in 18 minutes.
The Knicks will get their win streak tested on Wednesday when the face the Pacers, a team NY has yet to defeat this season.
I love nights like this. Four guys with 20-plus points. Sharing the ball. Making plays. Having fun out there. Taking the load off me. I love nights like that. – CARMELO ANTHONY
As bad as the Knicks have been this season, it could be worse. Dont’ believe me? Just take one look at the Sixers, who are not only out of playoff contention, but currently on a 17-game losing streak. The Knicks added to Philly’s misery last night, overcoming a 12-point deficit (29-17) in the first quarter to score a much-needed home win to remain in play (3.5 games back) to catch the Atlanta Hawks for the 8th and final playoff spot.
SLEEPWALKING: The Knicks came out very lazy and allowed the Sixer guards like Michael Carter-Williams and Tony Wroten to get in the paint at will. With Tyson Chandler out due to personal reasons, the Knicks missed his defensive presence and rebounding. In addition, Melo wasn’t his usual self, looking lethargic coming off a cold last game. He didn’t have good lift on his inside game nor on his jumper. Thankfully, the Knicks only had to settle for a 31-26 hole after hitting a few timely threes to close out the first stanza.
DEFENSE PICKS UP: By the second quarter, the Knicks realized their were playing the Sixers and started playing defense. They took a small five-point lead following two Raymond Felton threes, but hurt themselves by going in the penalty six minutes in, allowing Philly to stay close at the line and keep it tied at halftime, 61 all.
THE BEST PLAYER ON THE FLOOR: Amar’e Stoudemire has been beasting and his output was sorely needed yesterday to keep the pressure off Melo. Playing at the 5, Stat was too fast and quick for guys like Thaddeus Young, dropping 23 points (9/10 shooting). Stat’s defense was adequate as well, including a nice block at the rim that lead to a JR Smith three on the other end. A 9-0 run late in the third, after a few minutes of back and forth buckets early on, allowed the Knicks to take the lead for good.
FOUR OVER 20: The Knicks had four different plays score over 20 points: Melo (22), Stat (23), JR (22) and Hardaway Jr. (28). Tim’s output was the most scorching, including 13 points in the fourth that allowed Melo to rest the entire period.
The Knicks head to Boston Wednesday night to take on the Celtics. I wonder if Melo and Rondo will have any “side” conversations.
AUBURN HILLS, MI — Is it the offseason yet? For the Knicks, it might as well be since from their play it’s become quite apparent they no longer care. This is what a broken team with no confidence, pride nor sense of duty in what they do looks like. At this point, predicting how a Knicks game will go is quite easy. They’ll jump out to a quick lead (this time 14 points), blow it as soon as they get, and let their defensive woes get them blown off the court in the fourth when they fail to get stops. Oh, and let’s not forget letting someone on the oppoosing side notch a career-high in some category.
BACKCOURT TRASH: Our starting backcourt of JR Smith and Raymond Felton was absolutely woeful with both going scoreless for the entire first half. JR managed 16 points for the game, but that was only due to gunning when the game had already been decided in the fourth. They shot a dismal 6-26 for the game. Iman Shumpert (5 points, 2/7) and Tim Hardaway Jr. (0 points, 0/6) couldn’t provide much of a spark off the bench, either.
ANOTHER GUARD GOES OFF: During this losing streak, we’ve seen the likes of Stephen Curry (triple double) and DJ Augustin have monster games. Last night Will Bynum got in on the fun, scoring all of his 16 points in the fourth quarter. Opposing guards seem to realize by the start of the fourth that our guards can defend and start picking us apart.
LATEST CAREER HIGH: Andre Drummond was a beast last night. Aside from schooling Amar’e Stoudemire in the paint during the third quarter (six straight points on various spin moves), he pulled down a career high 28 rebounds.
STAT N’ MELO: When it came to offense, New York only got consistent production out of these two. Stoudemire scored 22 points and Melo added 28. While their shooting percentages were strong, the ball movement wasn’t consistent, so a good bulk of their points had to come through isolation plays.
WOODY: Raymond Felton continues to get paraded out for heavy minutes despite being a clear detriment on the floor. Felton played 32 minutes, going 1/9 from the floor (4 points). Any competent coach would have benched him a long time ago for Prigioni and Toure Murry, who can’t possibly do any worse.
We’ll see if the Knicks can make the bleeding stop on Wednesday when they head to the Target Center to face the Timberwolves.
Knicks starting point guard Raymond Felton was arrested on Tuesday morning and faces three counts of criminal firearm possession.
Initial reports claimed Felton was arrested for pointing a gun at an unidentified woman. However, a New York police spokesman clarified that Felton is facing second, third and fourth degree criminal charges because the weapon is not registered and not for any threatening actions.
Felton turned himself in to the 20th Precinct on the Upper West Side of Manhattan at 12:50 a.m. The Knicks played earlier in the evening, losing to the Dallas Mavericks 110-108.
At press time, Felton has not released an official statement on the matter.
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There are a lot of crass jokes that can be inserted about this situation (namely the idea that Felton could shoot with any accuracy). With that said, this is definitely not a laughing matter — New York gun laws are among the strictest in the United States and a person’s celebrity won’t save them. We all remember the famous case of Giants receiver Plaxico Burress receiving a 3.5 year sentence despite shooting himself by accident in a New York City nightclub back in 2009.
Any sane Knicks fan wants Felton gone, but most of us would like the man to keep his freedom. If this does result in time away from the team, one positive is that Coach Woodson would literally have no choice but to play Toure Murry.
We actually won a close game! When Raymond Felton (SMH) hit the deck and allowed Tyreke Evans to put the Pelicans ahead (91-90) with roughly 2:00 remaining, the game was ready to become a replay of Tuesday’s defeat to the Grizzlies. Instead, Carmelo Anthony put forth a Herculean effort, punctuated by 42 points (13 points in the fourth), to will the Knicks to much-needed victory. But as usual, it was the game the Knicks made harder than it needed to be.
STARTING LINEUP DISAPPOINTMENTS: Outside of Melo, no one in last night’s starting lineup (Shumpert, Chandler, Felton, Prigioni) managed to score in double figures. Shump was 1-6 (4 points) before leaving the game in the second with a left ACL sprain. Felton was 1-8 (5 points), while Chandler managed 4 points and Prigioni 6. With that type of production, it’s a wonder Melo didn’t gas out again in the fourth as we’ve seen in recent games. Whether you like Melo’s game or not, it’s clear to everyone watching Knicks game that he’s the main reason this beleagured squad still has a chance of making the playoffs.
BENCH GUNNERS: JR Smith (19 points) and Tim Hardaway (16 points) stepped up big time to keep the team afloat. They were essential in getting the Knicks the lead in the second, and pushing it to double digits in the third quarter.
4TH QUARTER COLLAPSE AVERTED: The Pelicans ripped off an 11-0 run to take a 83-81 lead with 7:25 left. From there, the game became a seesaw battle for several plays. Coach Woodson re-inserted Tyson Chandler, who had some key rebounds (11 for the game) but also a few blunders. The worst was turning his back on the ball, which allowed Prigioni’s man to burn him for an easy layup and put the Pelicans back up 89-88 with 3:50.
Luckily for us, Melo went into God mode for the remaining minutes. With the towering Anthony Davis in his face, Melo recovered from a block and knocked down a jumper. On their next possession, Chandler keep a baseline loose ball alive that allowed Melo to hit a layup to make it 94-91. With Davis again all over him, Melo drove for a stop and pop jumper to push the lead to 94-91. To put the nail in the coffin, Melo got a steal and then hit another stop and pop jumper (this time over an inspired Luke Babbitt) to make it 98-91.
It’s a shame Melo has to run himself into the ground every game just to barely pull out wins. Unfortunately, the Knicks have no choice but to ride the man’s talent in hopes of securing a playoff berth.
OTHER INJURIES: Amar’e Stoudemire sat this one out and Kenyon Martin is also nursing nagging injuries.
We might need to re-tally that MVP voting. Carmelo Anthony delivered another stellar All-Star game last night in New Orleans, setting a benchmark with a record 8 three-pointers.
Anthoyn started the game with a trey and remained the game’s most consistent shooter, shooting 55% from the field (10/18) and 8/13 from downtown. He finished with 30 points, 5 rebounds and 2 assists. The East would win the game 163-155 with Kyrie Irving taking home MVP honors (31 points, 5 rebounds, 14 assists).
In last year’s game, Melo lead the East with 26 points, 12 rebounds and 3 assists in losing effort (143-138).
Melo getting hot from the three when among fellow All-Stars is no new phenomenon. In the 2012 Olympics, Anthony set a U.S. Men’s team record with 37 points (10 three-pointers) against Nigeria in a 156-73 win.
Yesterday, Carmelo Anthony received recognition as the NBA’s Eastern Conference Player of the Month for his record-breaking play in January.
Leading the team to its first winning month of the season (10-6), Anthony averaged 28.7 points, 9 rebounds and 3.4 assists. In addition, Anthony shot 45% from the field and 49% from three-point range.
Anthony’s best performance came on January 24 at Madison Square Garden when he scored 62 points against the Bobcats, breaking Bernard King’s previous franchise record.
Melo’s stellar play lead the Knicks to a four-game win streak to close out the month and his seventh All-Star game selection.
We can’t say we didn’t have our chances in this one. Despite the uneven defense and streaky offense, the Knicks were down by just two points (89-87) with 1:30 left following back to back treys from JR Smith and Tim Hardaway Jr. But an inability to get stops resulted in New York dropping their third straight game and now sitting at the 10th spot in the East with no relief in sight.
BENCH OUTPLAYS THE STARTERS: Our bench took full advantage of the Blazers’ weak second unit, dropping a total of 50 poitns with several guys hitting double figures: Stoudemire (15 points), Hardaway (12 points), and JR (18 points). Outside of Melo (26 points) and Prigioni (5 points, 7 rebounds, 7 assists), our starters just didn’t get it done. Shumpert was held scoreless while Chandler botched several layups and only managed 2 points in 31 minutes. Raymond Felton wasn’t as horrible as he had been against the Bucks, adding 7 points and 3 assists in 21 minutes.
JR lead a great second quarter surge, utilizing dribble penetration to feed Stoudemire and Jeremy Tyler for several big slams. The defensive intensity picked and was a key reason the Knicks were down just one point (46-47) at halftime despite a late 9-0 Blazers run.
MELO GASSES OUT: Melo had a hot start, dropping 14 points on 6/7 shooting in the first quarter. He was also active on the defensive end, getting a big block on Wesley Matthews that lead to a fast break dunk. And even in the third with the Blazers threatening to pull away, Melo dropped 11 points to keep NY in it. Unfortunately, all that expended energy left him weakened in the fourth when his offense was needed most. He missed all four of his shots while the Blazers executed just enough to squeak by.
For Melo, it must have been an eye-opener to see how a complete team like the Blazers picks up the slack when their star is having a bad night. LaMarcus Aldridge shot just 5/17 from the field (15 points), but his struggles were negated by big contributions from Nicolas Batum (20 points), Wesley Matthews (18 points), and defensively from Robin Lopez (3 blocks). Melo got no such help from his starting crew.
MORE THAN ENOUGH CHANCES: Melo and Hardaway had multiple chances in the fourth to swing the momentum in NY’s favor. Each missed open shots and with every one, you could see the confidence in winning deflate from the team. Aldridge’s fadeaway over Chandler with 35 seconds left took the remaining fight out of the team.
Friday Night Knicks is in effect tomorrow with NY hosting the Denver Nuggets.
Remember that five game winning streak earlier this month? With the way the Knicks have played during this four-game skid, that streak feels like it took place last season. As you can see from the above quote and the look of disgust on Melo’s face, this team is in shambles from the top down. To show you how bad thing have gotten, this is the first time our rival Nets have blown us out since the move to Brooklyn. The Knicks were never in it: bad (switching) defense, vapid guard play and just overall weak decision-making.
As Avery Johnson pointed out during halftime, Carmelo Anthony (26 points, 12 rebounds, 2 steals) can’t just will a broken team to winning with just a few more passes. Apparently, he’s also supposed to handle point guard dribble penetration and defending the perimeter. Y’know, be the “leader” some fans and critics claim he isn’t being despite the fact he’s the onl yplayer consistently playing hard every night.
Drastic roster changes are needed if the Knicks have any hope of keeping Melo, or attracting any other big name free agents for that matter, in the coming seasons.
That’s the worst feeling in the world, someone takes the game away from you, especially something you love. It’s all you know, you’ve been doing it your whole life. – JR SMITH
It took only one game for JR Smith to get his mind right (for now). Our knucklehead two-guard came off the bench in the second quarter and has his best 12 minutes of the season, scoring 11 points and dishing 4 assists to help ignite a 25-6 run and power the Knicks to their fourth-straight win. The Knicks are now poised to start climbing the playoff ladder.
SLUGGISH START AND OPEN PAINT: Melo had to sit early with two fouls and without their leader, the Knicks were sluggish all-around. No Tyson Chandler again (flu) had the paint wide open with the young Sixer guards like Michael Carter-Williams and Tony Wroten blowing past our defenders for easy layups. The Knicks were only shooting around 35% despite getting open looks and not defending the three-point line, allowing for the Sixers to take a 28-20 lead after the first.
JR’S SPARK: The team did a complete 180 with JR in the lineup to start the second. JR nailed his first three jumpers (one a three off a Melo offensive rebound), and everyone’s energy picked up. JR made sure to make the extra passes needed to keep Stoudemire and Melo feasting on the Sixer defense. When the smoked cleared, the Knicks had went on a 25-6 run over the last 8:40 and outscored Philly 32-12 in the period to take a 52-40 lead into halftime.
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NEVER PUT AWAY, BUT NEVER BACK IN IT, EITHER: The Knicks never delivered the crushing blow to blow this game open, but they never lost focus enough to let Philly back in it. The latter was great to see considering NY has blown numerous big leads all season. The Knicks were up 84-68 after the third and let the Sixers get no closer than 8 points in the waning two minutes of the game.
REBOUNDING IMPROVEMENT: With Chandler out, the Knicks are making a concerted effort to crash the boards. Everyone chipped in to give NY a slight edge in the board battle (39-38): Melo (9), Martin (8) and Shumpert (7) were the strongest in this department.
STOUDEMIRE CONTINUES TO TURN BACK THE CLOCK: Someone must have told Amar’e it was 2009, because he came out and stayed in beast mode the entire night. He made his first seven shots, which included a handful of nasty dunks. His post moves were crisp and he fought for rebounds, often tipping it to fellow players when he couldn’t get it himself. We saw this same Stoudemire before he went down with knee problems last year so we can only pray he stays healthy. None of the teams we’ve played during this streak have had an answer for him. And even more promising is he’s doing a lot of his damage working two-man ball with Melo on the floor. Stat finished with 21 points and 5 rebounds.
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TEAM DISTRIBUTION: The Knicks had 26 assists, a clear indicator the ball stayed moving. The stat lines for everyone were great with no one carrying too much of the load: Melo (18 points, 9 rebounds, 7 assists), Stat (21 points, 5 rebounds), JR (14 points, 6 assists), K-Mart (8 points, 8 rebounds, 2 blocks), Shump (7 points, 7 rebounds, 4 steals), Felton (9 points, 6 assists) and Bargnani (10 points, 4 rebounds).
The Knicks are back home on Monday to face the Phoenix Suns.
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