Tag: highlights

Foul Happy Knicks Screw Themselves Against Jazz

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It was all good in the first quarter. Kristaps Porzingis (28 points) was cooking with his shot (4/5) and had 11 points. Carmelo Anthony (28 points) was picking spots and also had a scorching 4/5 start, leading to the duo accounting for 24 of the Knicks’s first 26 points, and a 30-20 first quarter lead.

Then the BS started. The game literally came to a grinding halt in the second quarter. The Knicks could not stop fouling. The Jazz knocked down 15 free throws in the quarter and were only down 54-49 despite shooting 38% from the field and the Knicks 51%. Exacerbating the problem was Porzingis got in foul trouble and had his rhythm broke. He wouldn’t score again until midway through the third quarter.

https://youtu.be/TziGK1h-YYc

The Knicks had a scrappy third quarter as the Jazz found their offense. Utah briefly took a 62-60 lead, but a quick Courtney Lee (10 points) three put New York back in front. The Knicks clung to a 80-78 lead headed into the fourth.

The starters fought tooth and nail to hold the lead and had to sit to start the fourth.This proved disastrous as the bench unit couldn’t score and the Jazz promptly reeled off a 9-0 run to start the quarter and go up 87-80.

Then our defensive woes came back to bite us. A couple of strong Derrick Rose (18 points) drives would get the Knicks to within five (100-95), but we couldn’t hold defensively. Either Rodney Hood, who had 10 points in the fourth, would hit a timely three, or the Jazz would find an open mid-range jumper after breaking down our switching defense. The Jazz would have a 36-point fourth quarter and hand New York their second straight defeat at Madison Square Garden.

https://youtu.be/-qQMsS8cu70

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100 points or more given up in every game this season. This defense is so bad, it makes me long for the days of Mike Woodson and Mike D’Antoni. Seriously, is it that hard to not play defense with your hands? Sure, Hornacek deserves some of the blame, but outside of KP this is a team composed of experienced players. They need to take some pride in fighting over screens and not being so dependent on a switch to bail them out (and in turn create more mismatches). Even the switching under Woodson wasn’t this bad.

Our defense was a godsend for the returning Gordon Hayward, who put up 28 points with HALF of them coming from the free throw line!

We have three days until we face the Nets on Wednesday. Our practices better consist of pick and roll defense drills and fighting over screens.

Triumphant Homecoming: Rose and Noah Lead Team Effort Win in Chicago

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CHICAGO — It was an emotional return for Derrick Rose and Joakim Noah, but the former Bulls channeled it into efficient teamwork and ball control to score a much-needed Knicks win at the United Center. Coming off two sub-par losses to Detroit and Houston, New York saw every starter hit double figures and gave fans their first true glimpse of this team’s potential.

RED-HOT START: The Knicks came out with strong ball movement and sharp-shooting from Courtney Lee, who went 5/5 (10 points) in the first as the Knicks jumped out to a 16-point lead. Bulls were powered by Dwyane Wade’s (35 points, 10 rebounds) abnormally hot three-point shooting and offensive rebounding from Taj Gibson. Still, the Knicks held a 32-23 lead after 12 minutes for their best quarter of basketball since the Memphis game.

A SCARE AND RIGHTING THE SHIP: The Knicks’s bench unit couldn’t manage to score even with KP in the lineup. Wade continued hitting threes and Jimmy Butler got to the line, allowing Chicago to take the lead in the final minutes. Although New York was outscored 34-24, a breathtaking half-court lay-up drive from Rose with 4.7 seconds left narrowed the deficit to 56-57 at the half.

PORZINGIS FEASTS: It says something about this game that KP had 27 points and still seemed low-key. He was doing it all over court from threes to running the floor for dunks. The ball moved well and allowed him to exploit mismatches. He got into foul trouble and left the game with around 7 minutes left, but his damage had been done. As Coach Hornacek stated, good things happen when the team gets him involved early. This was an excellent bounce back from the previous game where he had no field goals.

ROSE AND NOAH CLOSE THE SHOW: The Knicks held an 87-84 lead going into the fourth against a Bulls team that refused to go away. KP’s hot shooting sparked a 10-0 run, but his foul departure allowed the Bulls back in it due to Melo’s presence stagnating the ball movement. Three straight bad possessions caused an 8-0 Bulls run that closed the Knicks lead to 98-91.

From there, Rose and Noah caused havoc. Their two-man game got Noah several lay-ups. Rose would nail a tough and-1 lay-up with the shot clock expiring to push the lead to 111-102. And on the next play, a drive and kick for a Melo three would ice the game.

Rose would finish with 15 points, 10 assists and 7 rebounds. Noah was equally strong in outplaying Robin Lopez with 16 points, 9 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 steals.

STARTERS STRONG, BUT BENCH STILL WORRISOME: The starting five put in work. Aside from those already mentioned, Melo added 25 points and Lee 17. But our bench could only manage 17 points. Horacek will have to continue being creative with the lineups to prevent scoring droughts.

The Knicks are back home on Sunday to face the Jazz.

https://youtu.be/DuNQc46V-60

[Video] Opening Night Statement: Knicks’ Team Effort Holds Off Grizzlies

Memphis Grizzlies v New York Knicks
(Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)

Late pass on this review, but before tonight’s game against Detroit I had to drop some thoughts on our impressive 111-104 home opener win over the Grizzlies last weekend. After being embarrassed by Cleveland on national TV, I was interested to see how our squad would perform. Although it’s early, the mentality I saw on the court leads me to say with confidence this might be our most mentally strong team since the late 90s.

BLEW THE LEAD, BUT NEVER GAVE IT UP: Despite building a near 20-point lead in the first half, the Grizzlies slowly got themselves back in it by making it a plodding, half-court game where Marc Gasol and others feasted at the foul line. Like Knicks teams in recent years, there was a lot of complaining to the refs (particularly Melo, who earned himself a technical). But unlike our former teams, we held firm and put the game away in the fourth. Rose’s playmaking combined with Noah’s interior defense proved to be the difference maker in the fourth.

KP and Melo = 41 POINTS: We waited all last season for these two to put up big numbers simultaneously. We got it with Porzingis dropping 21 points on an efficient 7/11, and Melo going for 20 despite getting mauled in the paint and refs swallowing their whistles. That is the main reason for his 5/15 field goal performance, but Melo made up for it by going 9/12 in free throws.

NOAH IS OUR HEART AND SOUL: This man was fired up from the opening tip and his energy proved contagious. His post presence was a big factor in holding Gasol to 5/15 from the field, and he cooled off a heating up Zack Randolph in the fourth. His stat sheet (6 points, 10 rebounds, 7 assists) shows the versatility Noah brought. His passing was crucial in getting others like Courtney Lee (16 points) off to quick starts.

Barring no serious injuries, it’s hard for me to imagine this team not making the playoffs.

https://youtu.be/UuuHYak1JLM

[Video] Watch Derrick Rose Cross Up Mike Conley

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The Knicks celebrated their 70th home season opener with a hard-fought 111-104 victory tonight over the Memphis Grizzlies. Derrick Rose finished with 13 points and provided several  dazzling highlights with his drives to the hoop. Unquestionably, the best play featured Rose crossing up Mike Conley. Remember the talk earlier this year about whether we should have made a big money offer for Conley? Haaaaa

https://youtu.be/_MIyGRkr_XQ

[Video] Carmelo Anthony Becomes Team USA’s All-Time Leading Scorer in Win Over Australia

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Carmelo Anthony etched his name in Olympic history by becoming international basketball’s all-time leading scorer  for a 98-88 win over Australia yesterday. Team USA was down at halftime but rallied behind Anthony’s 26 points (14 in the fourth quarter) and a scorching 9-15 from three-point range.

Anthony passed LeBron James with 293 points and is poised to become the only player to win three Olympic gold medals. Save some of that fire for the upcoming season, Melo.

https://youtu.be/oLj0tXfJXYM

[Video] He’s Baaaack: Knicks Reup Sasha Vujacic on 1-Year Deal

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We can all finally exhale. The key to the Knicks franchise is back with today’s announcement that Sasha Vujacic has agreed to a one-year deal at the veteran’s minimum!

Okay, stop rolling your eyes and sucking your teeth. The reason Sasha drew so much hate early last season was due to being forced into a role bound for failure. Even at his best, it was a stretch to have him as your starting shooting guard. Because of Arron Afflalo’s hamstring injury, the Knicks had little choice. Paired with Jose Calderon, the duo was horrific on both ends of the floor and were arguably the worst starting backcourt in the league.

Following the All-Star Break, we got a better idea of Vujacic’s usefulness. In spot minutes he proved effective as an annoying, pesky defender and spot-up three-point shooting (45% over the season’s second half). Then rookie Kristaps Porzingis cited him as a valuable mentor. And with the addition of more Euros (Hernangomez, Kuzmiskas), Vujacic might be what the doctor ordered by bridging the cultural gap with the rest of the squad.

Is Sasha a legit SG backup for Courtney Lee? Absolutely not — but for additional bench depth, this is acceptable. And who knows, maybe Sasha will turn into a crowd favorite if he becomes the “human cigar” inserted during blowouts. For now, let’s feast on some of Sasha’s memorable moments from last season.

https://youtu.be/mBkZXu-uais

[Video] Meet the Newest Knick Mindaugas Kuzminskas

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Who??? Don’t feel bad — I’m willing to bet 99% of Knicks fans had no idea who this Lithuanian small forward was before the Knicks announced their deal earlier this week. Although the financial details have yet to be disclosed, the Knicks brass apparently really wanted Kuzminskas and went as far as securing a high-figure buyout from his Turkish team.

So how can he help this team? At 6’9, he adds depth at small forward and appears to have a game predicated on getting to the basket. In recent years, the Knicks have been relegated to a jump-shooting team due to poor athleticism. Kuzminskas looks to be a guy that finishes well on breaks and offers a bench spark.

The highlights left me with one main concern — does this guy have a jumper? The clips were heavy on dunks and layups, but I’m happy to report Kuzminskas has offensive versatility to his game. According to Synergy Sports Tech, Kuzminskas had a FG% on 74% in transition, 58% on spot-up jumpers, and 53% in the post last season.

If his game translates well to the NBA, don’t be surprised to see him turn into a quick Garden favorite.

[Video] No Contest: Warriors Hand Knicks Season-Worst Loss 121-85

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Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images

We knew it was going to get ugly. The question was how ugly. The Warriors are on a roll and the Knicks were the latest victim last night at Oracle Arena, getting burned for 18 threes (eight from Steph Curry) in a season worst blowout loss of 121-85.

OVER AFTER THE 1ST: The Knicks couldn’t take advantage of a slow start by the defending champs and found themselves down 31-19 after 12 minutes. Curry hit 4/6 from downtown and had 16 points, and New York’s failure to close out on threes lead to four of five trips late in quarter resulting in Golden State treys. After that barrage, the Knicks would get no close than 14 points the rest of the way.

NO CONFIDENCE: When the Warriors came to MSG in January, the game was seen as a litmus test for our team’s ceiling. New York played hard until Golden State’s talent took over. Last night, you got the impression the Knicks never felt they could compete. They went down by 16 at halftime, and were ran out the gym in the third being outscored 35-18. Even backup center Marreese Speights got in on the fun to the fun sinking three shots from downtown.

Carmelo Anthony, who had 18 points (53%), 6 rebounds and 6 assists, could only marvel at how badly his team was outclassed.

It’s unbelievable, the way that they play. The lineups that they mess around with out there, Their record, 61-6, we’re witnessing, kind of, history here. It’s hard to give them a pat on the back when you just got your (tail) whipped.

BRIGHT SPOTS: Since this game got out of reach very quickly, Melo got to rest that knee with only 29 minutes of play. Langston Galloway (14 points) and Jerian Grant (8 points) showed confident jumpers in extensive garbage time, which bodes well for their continued development. In Grant’s case, it took a Calderon knee sprain to get him extensive playing time.

SICK KP DELIVERS WORST PERFORMANCE: Kristaps Porzingis is coming off the flu and it showed. He had just 2 points (1-11) and looked completely lethargic. We’re still looking for KP to have his first really good game under Rambis.

 
https://youtu.be/7tXQ1LywheA

 

[Video] A Glimpse of the Future: Porzingis Drops 30 in Rising Stars Challenge

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Kristaps Porzingis made a huge impact last night to kick off All-Star weekend by scoring 30 points in the Rising Stars Challenge. His ouput helped keep the World team close, but they still fell to the USA squad 157-154. Had the World team won, Porzingis was a lock for MVP. In the end, it went to Zach Lavine on Team USA, who also scored 30 points.

Porzingis’ stat line for the night was 30 points (12/16, 5/8 from downtown), 4 assists and 1 block. Expect to see Porzingis balling out as an All-Star for years to come.

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https://youtu.be/rr90KusXmjM

[Video] Melo’s 30 pts, 9 asts Lead Knicks to OT Win Over Jazz

 

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For the second straight game, the Knicks went into overtime, executed better, and defeated a scrappy foe. Last night it was the Utah Jazz, lead by Gordon Hayward’s 27 points and Rodney Hood’s 27 points, that refused to go away until New York edged the OT scoring battle 19-12 to pull out a 118-111 victory.

Yes, New York made it harder than necessary. But these were the type of games we lost regularly last year. We’re now seeing a poise and clutch factor that will be essential to our playoff hopes.

2ND QUARTER DROUGHT AND PLAYING FROM BEHIND: New York went over five minutes in the second without scoring a single point, allowing the Jazz to put together a 13-0 run and go into halftime with a 48-37 lead. Until late in the fourth, the Knicks were playing catch up and struggling to contain the Jazz’s outside shooting (44% from three-point range).

MELO LEADS THE CHARGE: Our leader scored 22 of his game-high 30 points in the second half. Melo did most of his damage in the paint, including several late dunks and nifty passes (9 assists) to keep other guys involved. He hit Williams (18 points), Afflalo (14 points) and Galloway (9 points) during crucial fourth quarter possessions for three-pointers.

And remember Melo did this in his second game back from an ankle sprain and just one game removed from logging 49 minutes in double OT against the Sixers.

https://youtu.be/NWWE2EI4vmo

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ROBIN LOPEZ OWNS THE PAINT: Rolo delivered a marvelous stat line of 22 points, 12 rebounds and 3 blocks. He battled tooth n’ nail the entire night and made sure driving guards got nothing easy at the rim.

PORZINGIS’ LEARNING CURVE: Our star rookie was had to sit in overtime after fouling out via a bonehead foul on Gordon Hayward’s three point attempt. The foul was especially costly as it came with 9 seconds left and New York leading 99-96. Hayward sunk his free throws and the Knicks had to end matters in overtime.

“There were a couple of unnecessary fouls for me that I can avoid and I’ve got to learn from those,” Porzingis told ESPN. “I’ve got to learn from my mistakes. It’s frustrating to sit on the bench and in overtime.”

https://youtu.be/pNlp67wJUZ0

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BACK AT .500, BUT FOR HOW LONG?: The Knicks sit at 22-22 and just a half game behind Boston for the final playoff spot. Should New York put together a win streak, jumping as high as fifth isn’t impossible with Indiana holding just a two-game lead.

But let’s temper excitement. In recent weeks, the Knicks have gone on losing streaks every time they’ve hit .500. Getting over the hump won’t be easy as the Clippers come to town on Friday.