Tag: New York

Rock Bottom: Jazz Beat Knicks 106-85, Hand New York 3rd Straight Loss

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Melissa Majchrzak/NBAE via Getty Images

Remember when we were right at .500 a few days ago and seemed ready to fight for playoff contention? Right now the team is playing as bad as last year’s squad. Coming off two losses, you’d think New York would play with urgency. Instead they came out completely flat, mustering just 11 points (5/23, 22%) and falling behind by 18 points at the end of the first quarter.

The embarrassment continued throughout the night. At halftime the score was 60-35. There was a faux run late in the game, but Jazz never let the Knicks get the lead into single digits.

Why did we look so bad? Let’s start with our leader, Carmelo Anthony. He hasn’t looked right in about a week now, and we can speculate whether that’s due to lingering effects of the strep throat illness, banging knees with Giannis Antetokoumpo or a combination of both. He has no lift on his jumpshot nor lateral movement. He mustered just 12 points on 3/11 shooting. The only good thing to say is he played just 25 minutes and should be sufficiently rested. But if he isn’t right physically, I’d rather him sit than aggravate any ailments.

Our second scoring option in rookie Kristaps Porzingis wasn’t much better. He seemed lost trying to cope with the Jazz’s small ball and got yanked after scoring just 4 points (2/8) in 13 minutes of play. I disagreed with Fisher shutting him down like that. When it became clear the game was out of reach, Porzingis should have gotten some time just to learn.

Arron Affalo had been a big help in recent games, but he was also absent in mustering 4 points (2/5) in 21 minutes.

Finally, the Knicks’ defensive switching was again exploited. The constant mismatches allowed the Jazz’s frontline to abuse our guards with easy baskets. Did Fisher find Mike Woodson’s playbook somewhere around the Knicks office? This needs to stop… NOW.

On the Jazz’s side, their lineup outscored the Knicks starters 58-31, powered by Gordon Hayward (24 points) and Derrick Favors (20 points).

Fisher wasn’t forthcoming about adjustment details, but he did mention changing the starting lineup.

Something has to give.

[Video] No Melo, No Closer: Knicks Blow 14-Point 4th Quarter Lead in OT Loss to Rockets

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Seth Wenig/AP

I was too pissed off to write about this game last night. After three quarters of competent basketball, the Knicks players and coaching staff reverted back to their worst traits and received the most crushing loss of the season in an overtime loss to the Rockets.

What makes this loss so heartbreaking and infuriating? Let’s look at a few facts.

  1. The Knicks shot 58% from the field.
  2. Without Melo (out with an illness), the two next best scorers stepped up big time — Arron Affalo had 31 points (13/19) 7 rebounds and 4 assists while Kristaps Porzingis chipped in 20 points, 13 rebounds and 2 blocks.
  3. New York was up by 14 points with less than 10 minutes left in the game.

AND WE STILL LOST!!! A closer look at the numbers reveals why.

  1. New York started playing defense with their hands in the fourth quarter and allowed Houston to live at the line. Overall, the Rockets got a staggering 36 trips to the charity stripe. Where some of those fouls suspect? Absolutely. But too often the Knicks put themselves in bad positions where the ref’s flaky dispositions become a factor.
  2. Horrible turnovers. This marked the fourth and OT with Calderon, normally reliable with the ball, having five of them. Galloway and Seraphin also had costly brain farts that allowed Houston to snatch the lead.
  3. Coach Fisher seemed to have a handle on the rotations until it counted. Kevin Serpahin had a great game off the bench (14 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists, 4 blocks), but his turnovers (5) helped kill the team in crunch time. 32 minutes was probably too much and Robin Lopez’s defense would have been the better tradeoff.

A lot of fans have been complaining about the uncalled moving screen Dwight Howard put on Arron Affalo, which allowed Trevor Ariza to hit a dagger three-pointer. My issue is the Knicks should have never been in that position by allowing Houston to go on a 12-0 run to help push that game into OT.

On Wednesday, we play the Sixers, who at press time are still winless. We can’t possibly loss to them, right?

Right?!

[Video] Knicks Hold Off Late Thunder Run, Win 93-90

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AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki

 

OKLAHOMA CITY, OK — We still haven’t fixed our fourth quarter woes, but I’ll tolerate them if we keep pulling out victories. Last night, the Knicks saw their 16-point lead erased by a 24-11 run in the fourth quarter but avoided overtime and defeated the Thunder on the road 93-90.

Bad fourth aside, there was a lot of good to take away from this one. Melo was clutch (aside from two missed free throws) in his 25 points, hitting some timely shots to OKC at bay. Lance Thomas and Derrick Williams were our biggest bench contributors with a combined 21 points with 60% shooting from downtown.

Speaking of threes, New York  was 12/20 on the night while holding OKC to 10% (3/29) from deep.

Nonetheless, the Thunder were one lucky bounce from taking this game into overtime. We lost the rebounding battle badly (36-49) and will need to tighten that up tonight against the Rockets.

https://youtu.be/g8qvMpwhio0

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https://youtu.be/26YjkRN-KUc

[Video] No Tricks, All Treats: Melo Drops 37 on Wizards in 117-110 Win

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WASHINGTON, DC — The Knicks notched their second road win of the season with a gutsy performance over the Washington Wizards last night. You would think it’s too early in the season for games with playoff-like atmospheres, but that’s what we got as Melo answered one his unlikely critics and showed a shooting rhythm that will prove deadly this season.

POOR JARED DUDLEY (NOT REALLY): In May, Jared Dudley went on a NY radio show and proclaimed Carmelo Anthony the “most overrated player” in the NBA. His reasoning was the usual talking points we hear: doesn’t make his teammates better, one-dimensional blah blah blah. He later apologized, but word obviously got back to our Knicks leader, as he revealed in his post-game comments:

It wasn’t really nothing kind of personal against him. I just knew what was said in the offseason. So that was in the back of my mind.

Melo had a field day in the second half when Dudley attempted to guard him. He hit a key long jumper with just 4 seconds left on the shot clock to put NY up 108-106. In the game’s final 20 seconds, Melo iced it with four free throws. Meanwhile, Dudley has 0 points in 17 minutes. His two shots were open three-pointers that would have swayed the momentum back in Washington’s favor.

He bricked both.

I think Melo made his point. His entire stat line read 37 points (11/18), 7 rebounds, 4 assists and 1 block. He had 11 points and 5 rebounds in the fourth quarter alone.

GUARDS HANG TOUGH: Our backcourt had the nightmare task of dealing with John Wall (25 points) and Bradley Beal (26 points). They weren’t exactly contained, but  Jerian Grant (7 points) and Langston Galloway made them work and prevented layup drills in the fourth quarter. That was enough to make Wall miss two key floaters. And Robin Lopez altered a Beal layup that would have brought the Wizards within three.

Calderon lack of speed necessitated him sitting in the fourth, but he was a solid contributor with 10 points. Galloway had two clutch threes in the fourth and delivered 14 points, 7 rebounds and 4 assists.

BENCH BRIGRADE HOLDS MELO DOWN: How many times have we seen Melo worn out in the fourth from carrying the scoring load all game? Once again, the bench players drew fouls and kept the game close, allowing Anthony to sit from a few minutes left in the third to the 8  minute mark of the fourth. Those players included Derrick Williams (7 points), Kyle O’Quinn (10 points) and Lance Thomas (12 points).

THE TRIAL BY FIRE CONTINUES: The Knicks go home to face another high-end playoff team when the Spurs visit Madison Square Garden on Monday. Who came up with our schedule???

[Video] Knicks 2015-2016 Season Final Preview

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Tonight, the Knicks kick off the season against the Milwaukee Bucks. Check out this final preview to get you hype. The game starts at 8 p.m. ET.

[Video] Melo Practices with Porzingis and Early at Terminal 23

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On Friday, some new footage dropped of Carmelo Anthony having a pickup game with rookie Kristaps Porzingis and second-year player Cleanthony Early. Since this isn’t an official training session, there isn’t much to gather from this outside of Melo’s jumper still being wet, Early’s defense remaining shoddy, and the guys are hopefully learning each other’s tendencies to build much-needed chemistry.

Preseason will be upon us before we know it.

https://youtu.be/W2hN6mOlduo

[Video] Porzingis Solid in Summer League Debut

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Knicks rookie Kristaps Porzingis had 12 points, 3 rebounds and 2 blocks in 18 minutes of play to help New York take a 78-73 victory over San Antonio.

Porzingis played center and went 3/5 from the field and 6/7 from the line.

Watch select highlights below. It’s just one game, but you can see the kid is skilled.

[youtube https://youtu.be/0GWrD9U-9i4]

Robin Lopez Agrees to Knicks Deal at 4 Years, $54 Million

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Center Robin Lopez has inked a 4-year, $54 million deal to leave the Portland Trailblazers for the New York Knicks.

The 27-year old Lopez averaged 10 points (54% FG), 7 rebounds and 1.4 blocks over 28 minutes last season for Portland.

Known for his defense and rebounding energy (3 off. rpg), Lopez is expected to be the “rim protector” team president Phil Jackson emphasized as a free agency focus.

With Carmelo Anthony and rookie Kristaps Porzingis likely to spend significant minutes at power forward, Lopez’s 7’0, 255 pound frame is essential for covering their weaknesses on the boards and defensively. This used to be Tyson Chandler’s job until he mentally checked out. Cole Aldrich and Lou Amundson did the best with their limited ability last year. Rolo is a clear upgrade in all facets. I’m expecting him to average a double double being in the East and likely playing increased minutes.

No, Lopez isn’t a name-grabber like Deandre Jordan or LaMarcus Aldridge, but he’s a marked improvement and fits the defensive mold we’re trying to build.

Still skeptical? Check the videos below.

Knicks Sign Arron Afflalo for 2 Years, $16 Million

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The Knicks made their first significant move in free agency today with the signing of veteran guard Arron Afflalo to a two-year deal worth $16 million.

The 29-year old Afflalo spent last year in Portland where he played 25 games. He averaged 11 points (41% FG, 40% 3pt) and 3 rebounds over 30 minutes. He missed the post-season due to an arm injury in April.

Afflalo’s best season came in 2013-2014 for the Orlando Magic, where he started 73 games and averaged 18 points, 4 rebounds and 4 assists (46% FG, 41% 3 pt.).

Afflalo also comes in Carmelo Anthony experience, as the two played together on the Denver Nuggets for two seasons (2009-2010).

Considering some of huge contracts being doled out this free agency for role players, I’d say the Knicks did a good job here. Despite a bad season in Portland, Afflalo is a two-way player and clear upgrade at the two-spot over Iman Shumpert and JR Smith. And it leaves New York roughly $20 million to still pursue the three big free agents left (Jordan, Aldridge, Monroe). So far, so good Phil.

[Video] Welcome to NY: A Look at Knicks #4 Pick Kristaps Porzingis

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The boos and groans rained down heavily at the Barclays last night with the Knicks’ selection of 19-year old European prospect Kristaps Porzingis.

All the coaches and scouts seem very high on the kid, touting his 7’1 frame, ability to space the floor with 3-point shooting, and shot-blocking potential. The trepidation with Knicks fans is the fact we’re dealing with a true prospect that needs to grow into a man’s body to guard his position (he’s currently around 220 and rail-thin). With Carmelo in his prime and wanting to “win-now,” most of us were hoping for safer, sure-fire picks like Emmanuel Mudiay at point guard. It also hurt that Philly was just spiteful in taking another big in Jahlil Okafor right ahead of us.

It remains to be seen if the Knicks can create a culture the cultivates Porzingis into a future star. He could soar as high as a Dirk or Garnett, level out somewhere around a Bargnani level or even worse (shudders). The main thing is that we’re patient over these next 2-3 years.

Below are some highlights and background on our new prodigy. He actually wanted to come here and as he put it after his selection, “turn those boos into cheers.” Anyone that willingly wants to come to NY and handle the immense pressure and cynicism deserves our support.