Tag: Bobcats

[Video] History at MSG: Melo Sets Franchise Record with 62 Points in Bobcats Blowout

I can’t accept all this losing – CARMELO ANTHONY

Melo_jumper

Simply amazing. Less than 24 hours ago, I was witnessed to one of the greatest moments I’ve seen in my years as a Knicks fan with Carmelo Anthony torching the Bobcats for 62 points. Melo didn’t just establish a career-high, but he also broke Bernard King’s record for not only the highest scoring game in Madison Square Garden and franchise history.

Everyone has a different story of when they realized this game was going to be special. Some caught on as early as the first quarter when Melo dropped 20 points. For otherslike myself, it was when he punctuated a 37 point half with a pin-point halfcourt shot.

The other Knicks took Melo’s lead and did what we haven’t seen consistently all season; they picked up the slack in other areas. The defense was strong in with the guards keeping their men in front of them and not relying on switching. The Knicks executed several fast breaks . They didn’t rely on jumpers and attacked the paint (most notably JR Smith). Coach Woodson also played based on performance, letting young Jeremy Tyler (8 points, 5 rebounds, 2 blocks) get more valuable minutes (22) over Tyson Chandler, who was having another so-so game (2 points, 6 rebounds).

Back to Melo. Let’s go behind these numbers. In 39 minutes, he shot 23/35 from the field overall (66%) and 6/10 from downtown (60%). He made all 10 free throws, lead the game with 13 rebounds, and committed zero turnovers. And for those detractors who want to snicker at the fact he had zero assists, that just lets me know you didn’t watch the game, as he had several “hockey assists” passing out OF double teams in the post that lead to open shots.

Apparently, this performance was inspired by a Muhammad Ali speech that was played for the team before the game. Melo’s entire demeanor was different as he didn’t crack a smile until going to the bench after that 62nd point.

Now it’s time to let Melo’s game speak for itself. Watch the highlights and be astounded. We can only hope this becomes the spark that gets the team inspired to finish the year strong. If you want to trade this man or see him leave, you must be insane.

ALL OF MELO’S 62 POINTS

********************

HIGHLIGHTS

****************

LEBRON JAMES CONGRATULATES MELO ON INSTAGRAM

Lebron_MeloCongrats

 

HappyKnicks

Tyson Chandler Out 4-6 Weeks with Fibula Fracture

Chandler

Tyson Chandler is expected to miss 4-6 weeks after an examination today discovered a fracture to his right fibula.

The injury occurred last night in the first quarter against the Bobcats. Guard Kemba Walker landed awkwardly on Chandler’s right leg, causing the knee to buckle. Chandler had to be helped to the dressing room and needed crutches to leave the arena.

The fracture is considered “minor” with no ligament damage, meaning the veteran center will not require surgery during the healing process.

Over four games, Chandler averaged 7 points, 9 rebounds, 1 steal and 2.5 blocks.

*************************************************

I hope the Knicks can expedite their plans to reacquire rights to Jeremy Tyler, because this team has a daunting month and a half ahead with Chandler sitting. Bargnani at center will not work. Stoudemire? NO. Time to dust off Kenyon Martin’s minute restriction, hope Cole Aldrich can withstand a trial by fire, and pray we can at least keep up in the top half of the standings through December.

The Downward Spiral: Chandler Injured, Bobcats Beat Knicks 102-97

TysonChandler

The Knicks suffered their third straight loss, this time to the lowly Bobcats. As embarrassing as that is, it wasn’t even the worst even of the evening. Tyson Chandler, the defensive and rebounding archor of the team, went down early in the first quarter after banging/twisting his right knee against a driving Kemba Walker. Chandler had to be carried off the court and left the arena on crutches. The speculation is  that he has a bad sprain.

I don’t think I need to explain to any Knick fan how disastrous it’ll be for the team if Chandler is gone for any extended period of time.  Just look at this game as a sample. The Bobcat guards were able to waltz in the paint at will. Kemba Walker dropped 25 points and Gerald Henderson added 18. Even the backups (Ramon Session 10 points, Jeffrey Taylor 13 points) took full advantage of the Knicks’ defensive woes.

The offense was still weak as well. Melo dropped 32 points, but did it on 18-32 shooting. He was an integral part of a late fourth quarter run, but as usual the Knicks couldn’t get over the hump and Kemba Walker hit a dagger stepback over Kenyon Martin in the final minute to ice to game.

Going into last night, the Bobcats were the worst shooting team in the league at under 40%. Leave it up to the Knicks to allow them to move up to 29. The Bobcats were shooting 60% in the first quarter (courtesy of easy drives and open threes) and scored 31 points. Deep into the second quarter they were still around 58% and had 64 points at halftime. In the third, the Knicks went down by as much as 13 points before making a run of it.

This team is LOADED with problems. Andrea Bargnani’s lack of defense and rebounding is killing the starting lineup. Melo was seen giving him stern assignment directions in the first half. Our offense is the most predictable in the league — take away the pick n’ roll and it’s all isolation. Outside of Melo and now occasionally Metta World Peace (who played well and chipped in 18 points off the bench), there’s no one that can get easy buckets inside. Amar’e Stoudemire was absolutely wretched — 2 points, 5 turnovers and had his shots repeatedly sent back at the rim in 11 minutes.

We all wait with bated breath today to hear the results of Tyson Chandler’s medical tests. In the meantime, Coach Woodson better think long and hard about his offensive and defensive sets to ensure the Bobcats don’t embarrass our squad again on Friday.

Knicks Extend Winning Streak to Seven, Defeat Bobcats 111-102

WaltFrazier

It was fitting that the Knicks celebrate Walt “Clyde” Frazier’s 68th birthday with a win tonight. Hell, we can’t have our Knicks legend wearing that cow-print suit for nothing. You may recall that Bobcats gave the Knicks a tough go of it in December when a JR Smith buzzer-beater was needed to hold them off. JR opted to dominate the entire game this time around, and the team had an easy go of it despite replicating their lazy second half play from the last game against the Grizzlies.

ANOTHER FIRST HALF BEATDOWN: The Knicks came out on fire again riding the playmaking of Iman Shumpert, whose five assists were marked by three-pointers from Carmelo Anthony and Raymond Felton. The team hit five treys in the first quarter and the weak defense of the Bobcats had JR Smith looking like a late 90s Larry Johnson in the post. Charlotte was inept on offense as well, coughing up six turnovers. The New York scoring was varied and lethal, with the team shooting over 70% with under three minutes remaining. Melo had another fast start with 13 points, Shump had 8, Felton contributed 7 and JR 9.

With the Knicks rotating well on defense and keeping the paint locked up, the Bobcats were reduced to long jumpers. Steve Novak and Felton hit more threes to push the lead up to 63-35, and JR’s focus on getting high-percentage shots in the paint enabled the Knicks to equal their season-high in halftime points at 69. On the Bobcats end, the Knicks held them to 47 points to hold a 22-point halftime lead.

SECOND HALF LAZINESS: Seriously, in order for the Knicks to stay focused after getting these big leads, the arena is going to have to start turning off the scoreboards. Just like the Grizzlies game a few nights ago, the Knicks came out flat in the third. Some of the shots just rimmed out, but defensively the big difference was Bobcats guards like Gerald Henderson were able to get to the rim for foul calls. At one point the Knicks missed eight straight shots, but they tightened up in the last few minutes to hold a 88-69 lead going into the fourth.

The Bobcats had a 33 point fourth quarter on the back of hot three-point shooting, Henderson getting a lot of superstar-like calls, and Coach Woodson waiting too long to put his best perimeter defender (Shumpert) back in. The Knicks got into the penalty around the six minute mark and that helped the Bobcats get as close as seven. However, this was the Bobcats and you never felt the lead was in danger of being stolen. Apparently, by their play the Knicks didn’t either, as the offense went into iso mode for Melo over the last few minutes. A JR drive to the hoop pushed the lead to 104-95 with under two minutes left, and a steal by him on the very next possession closed the book on the competitive portion of the game.

JR’s AWESOME RUN CONTINUES: For the sixth straight game, JR Smith shot over 50% from the field. He scored 30-plus points off the bench for the third straight game, becoming the first Knick to do so and the first player since Ricky Pierce did it back in 1990. It’s like the light bulb went off and JR’s finally realized how to maximize his skill set. Tonight his stat line was 37 points on 12/18 shooting (2/2 from downtown) and 11/12 from the free throw line.

We’ll need this same JR and a more efficient Melo on Sunday when we face the Celtics, who’ll be out for blood at the Garden after that drubbing they took in Boston earlier this week.

[Poll] Charlotte or Phoenix – Which JR Smith Game Winner Was Better?

JRSmith_3

JR Smith has activated his “clutch gene” this year courtesy of two dramatic game-winners over the Charlotte Bobcats and Phoenix Suns within the last month. Both shots were made under pressure from tight defense, but which jumper was the better shot? Personally, I give the Charlotte one more style points because of JR’s smug pose afterward while being mobbed by his team mates. But when you look at the difficulty of the Phoenix shot coupled with just a second left and the need for Jason Kidd to deliver a perfect pass, I’m going with JR’s dagger to the Suns. What really made both shots great was the Knicks fans being deep on the road and making the reactions look like Madison Square Garden.

No Overtime Needed — JR Smith Stuns Bobcats With Thrilling Game Winner

SmugJR

All is forgiven, JR! Our man JR Smith has been in a bad slump over the last 5-6 shooting-wise. A favorite of Coach Woodson, he’s been given the green light to work through it and keep shooting. His teammates kept their confidence in him last night against the Bobcats — he was continually given the ball for shots despite bricking many open jumpers. But that faith paid heavily in the final minute, as Smith delivered key defensive stops on the Bobcats quick, pesky guards and hit a difficult stepback jumper to defeat Charlotte 100-98.

It was a fun game, but one that raised your blood pressure a few notches.

Bobcats Guards Had NY In Disarray: This is the first game of the season where you can say the age of the team was exploited. Charlotte’s younger guards were blowing past us at will for most of the game. Kemba Walker had 25 points and 11 rebounds (!) on 7-10 shooting. Ben Gordon, who always seems to light up the Knicks no matter who he’s playing for, dropped 17 points off the bench and 3-5 from downtown. Gerald Henderson got off too, contributing 18 points on 7-14 shooting.

Lived by the 3 But Almost Died: The Knicks attempted an astounding 41 three-pointers. You would have thought Mike D’Atoni was still here by the way we kept shooting despite only making 13 for an underwhelming 31%. However, it was the timing of several of those 3s in the fourth that kept us in it.

Older Legs But Smarter Brains: The athleticism of the Bobcats kept the game close, but it was the veteran smarts of NY that closed the show. Over the final 3 minutes, the Knicks forced a shot clock violation and nabbed three steals. These scoreless possessions mounted the pressure on Charlotte and gave the Knicks more confidence, even with an injury preventing Melo from playing the final 2 minutes.

Take It Easy, Melo: A few games back when Melo dove into the MSG stands Charles Oakley style for a loose ball, we loved it. Now, we’d be relieved if Anthony never did that again for the rest of the year. His fourth quarter dive resulted in a laceration on his left middle finger that required 5 stitches. Although he’ll more than likely play tonight against the Heat, Melo needs to be healthy this entire season if NY has any hope to make noise in the playoffs. Pick your spots, Melo.

Chandler Still Beasting: After a mixed bag to start the season (especially on defense) Tyson Chandler has really gotten into a groove over the last six games. Last night he had 9 rebounds in just the first quarter and finished with 18 points, 17 rebounds, 1 block and a steal.

Team Effort: Coach Woodson called this a team effort and I couldn’t agree more. Although Melo carried us through halftime with 20 points, he got ice-cold and missed his first 10 shots on the second half and only had 3 points. Raymond Felton was huge in fourth with his decision-making, finding Chandler and making defensive stops. He contributed 17 points, 9 assists and 0 turnovers. In his first game back, Jason Kidd had 7 points but made his biggest contribution on the defensive end, getting three blocks and 2 steals.

Always Great to Stick It to Jordan: As a player, MJ terrorized the Knicks damn near every season. It’s nice to get a measure of revenge, no matter how small. His face says it all.

MichaelJordan_sad

Onto our conference rival the Miami Heat tonight. Along with the Knicks, they are the only other team with an undefeated record at home. It’ll be tough, but also so sweet if we can add their first blemish while maintaining our standing as having the best record in the Eastern Conference.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sQVq9Osb2y4&feature=youtube_gdata_player]