The Knicks are lucky they played a bad team yesterday. They are also lucky they have a superstar on their roster. After a decent overall first half the Knicks took a 7 point lead into halftime. They didn’t play great, but they looked like they were on their way to another easy victory. Then the 3rd quarter happened. They were out scored by 12 and found themselves down 6 heading into the 4th quarter. Luckily Carmelo Anthony came through in the clutch, putting up 14 4th quarter points. He did get a little help from J.R. Smith, who had 8 points of his own in the 4th. However it was Carmelo putting the Knicks on his back and carrying them through the finish line(I think most guys backs hurt today from shoveling a foot of snow, not giving an NBA roster a piggyback ride). We’ve seen the Knicks win while Carmelo has an off night, and we’ve seen them NEED Melo’s production to even have a chance in some of their games. They will need the entire team firing on all cylinders this Sunday as they take on the Los Angeles Clippers.
Tag: NBA
Let It Snow….As Long as My Cable Doesn’t Go Out I’m Good
Snowed in this weekend?? No problem. Here’s what’s on TV to keep you company:
(MSG)Friday @ 8:00 P.M – Knicks @ Timberwolves
Being a big Knicks fan, I will definitely be watching this game. As I highlighted in my previous post, I believe the Knicks are going to blow out the Timberwolves coming off a bad loss. I’d look for something else to watch by 9:30. This game should help the Knicks get back to their winning ways and carry some momentum into their tough match-up with the Clippers this Sunday.
(ESPN)Friday @ 8:00 P.M. – Clippers @ Heat
Here you have a battle of East vs. West. Two of the premier teams in the NBA meet in a mid-season showdown. Even though the Heat sit atop the East and the Clippers are currently in 3rd in the West, they actually have a better record than the Heat by 2.5 games. This game should come down to the wire, so you might want to switch over from MSG once the Knicks game gets out of hand. I like the Heat in a close game, but they don’t win because Lebron hits a last second shot(as usual). They win because Lebron puts his team in front by about 5 early in the 4th, and they sustain the lead throughout the rest of the game.
(ESPN)Saturday @ 6:00 P.M. – Pittsburgh(23) @ Cincinnati(17)
This is the first of of 3 match-ups between college basketball’s top 25 teams this weekend. A Big East match-up between two solid teams. Pittsburgh is currently tied for 5th in the Big East with a 7-4 record in conference and 19-5 overall. Cincinnati is currently tied for 6th in the Big East with a record of 6-4 in conference and 18-5 overall. Cincinnati won their last meeting(70-61) in Pittsburgh on New Years Eve, so Pittsburgh will be looking for revenge tomorrow night. Shovel Snow or watch college basketball?? Hmmmmmm. Enjoy!
(ESPN)Saturday @ 9:00 P.M. – Louisville(11) @ Notre Dame(25)
Here you have your second of the 3 top 25 match-ups this weekend. Louisville is currently in 2nd place in the Big East with a record of 7-3 in conference and 19-4 overall. Notre Dame is currently tied for 6th in the Big east with a record of 6-4 and 18-5 overall. Big East battles are always tough to predict, but I like Louisville on the road in this one.
(CBS)Sunday @ 1:00 P.M. – Indiana(1) @ Ohio State(10)
Finally, you have the third of 3 top 25 match-ups this weekend. Indiana is currently tied for 1st in the Big Ten with a record of 8-2 in conference and 20-3 overall. Ohio State is currently tied for 2nd in the Big Ten and 17-5 overall. This should be a tough conference battle. You’ll have Indiana looking to bounce back from a buzzer beating loss to Illinois last night. What a tough way to lose! In case you didn’t watch it, Indiana had the ball tied at 72 looking to take the last shot. If they make it they win if not no big deal, they’ll go to overtime. What happens? They turn the ball over with about 4 seconds to go. Illinois drives down for a last second shot that gets blocked out of bounds wit 0.9 seconds on the clock. Then what happens??? Illinois makes a game winning buzzer beating layup to win 74-72. Now that is a heartbreaking loss. Ohio State is also coming off a tough overtime loss to Michigan this past Tuesday. Look for a closely contested ballgame. I do like Indiana in this one in a down to the wire 3 point victory.
Enjoy the snow!! It’s the weekend, and if you have kids take them out in the snow once the storm passes and have fun with them. If you don’t have kids go outside and act like one. Most importantly, everyone stay safe out there!! And for the love of god please stop lining up down the block for gas 2 days before a little snow is coming to town. I get that it’s better to be safe than sorry, but if you happen to get 2 feet of snow this weekend you’re not going anywhere anyway!! Just make sure you have a little bit of food and water in the house. A flashlight or candle wouldn’t be a bad idea either just in case we lose power, since it should be pretty windy. Have a nice weekend everyone!!
In a word ——> Pathetic
Well, the New York Knicks blew a very winnable game last night. They lost to the Washington Wizards by a score of 106-96. As you can see from the title, I thought their performance was pathetic!! This is their worst loss of the season. If you look at their schedule so far, this is only their 2nd BAD loss of the season though, the other being a loss in Sacramento against the horrid Kings. That loss was a one point game on the road, but the way the Knicks pummeled them at the Garden last week, they made that loss look even worse. To the Wizards credit, they are a much better team with a healthy John wall and Nene on the floor. However, it is the way the Knicks played that really has me fired up today. I will elaborate on why they played so poorly but to sum up their problems in one word: DEFENSE(or lack there of). They looked lazy and uninspired on the defensive end. Guys were getting beat off the first step, and there was no help defense occurring in the paint. Side-note: I did like Amare’s block on John Wall in the 2nd half. I need to see a lot more of that when they’re getting broken down by opposing teams point guards. Let me see that or knock a little guy on his ass once and they’ll stop coming down by the trees real fast(trust me, I was that little guy in high school). However, at one point in the game it looked like John Wall was out there by himself doing lay-up lines. One of the Knicks biggest weaknesses is their inability to contain quick point guards. We saw it last night with Wall, we definitely saw it with Jrue Holliday two weeks ago, and even Jameer Nelson picked apart the Knicks last week(even though we won that game). The Knicks have a very good record this year, but it’s the games where they play solid team defense from the opening tip until the final buzzer that they look impressive. It’s in those wins that they look like a team that should compete for a championship. Last night was not one of those nights. They allowed Washington(the worst scoring offense in the NBA) to pretty much score at will. Their 3-point defense was atrocious as well. Now, I know they can’t win every game and it was just one game, but if they’re going to lose close games I’d like it to be against a formidable opponent. We might have lost to the Washington Wizards(just as the Miami Heat and Oklahoma City Thunder did), but do you know who I really feel bad for?? The Minnesota Timberwolves. I foresee a massacre in Minnesota, while the Knicks take out their frustration from a terrible loss. Only time will tell. Tune in to New York Knicks basketball as they take on the Minnesota Timberwolves, Friday night at 8:00 P.M.
They are who we thought they were
The Knicks continued their winning ways last night with another victory at Madison Square Garden. They yet again steamrolled their opponent and have now won five straight games. This was another solid team effort, and I’m starting to think that the Knicks are reading my blog this year and can contribute their success to my words of wisdom. No seriously, they are buying what Mike Woodson is selling. They are sharing the basketball, playing team defense, and showing a balanced offensive attack. You know what they say, shooting is contagious. I personally would like to see them jack up less three point attempts so they don’t have to rely on it come playoff time. However, I’m a firm believer of, “if it ain’t broke don’t fix it.”
As for last night’s game, I know everyone is saying, okay great you beat the Pistons. We can only play the teams that are on our schedule, and it’s only a positive that they continue to beat poor teams handily. Carmelo looked like Carmelo and scored 27 points on 10 of 17 from the field. Amar’e continues to impress with his scoring and most importantly his offensive efficiency(he had 20 points on 8 of 14 from the field). Last but certainly not least, Tyson Chandler has been a beast on the boards ripping down 20 rebounds for the third straight game. He became the first Knicks player since Willis Reed in 1969 to accomplish such a feat.
It’s all smiles in Knicks land of late, and they need to keep taking advantage of their easy schedule. They will look to keep the ball rolling against the Washington Wizards, Wednesday night @ 7:00 P.M.
Knicks Roll
Just as I suspected, the Knicks rolled through the Sacramento Kings en route to a 120-81 blowout victory. Also just as I thought it was a very solid team effort. Amare was a perfect 10-10 from the field, JR and Novak combined for 12 3-pointers, and Chandler ripped down 20 boards. After the Knicks started out as cold as Lance Armstrong’s heart(1 for their first 13 from the field), I don’t think they missed a shot the rest of the way. Now I don’t want to blow this win out of proportion because the Kings are pretty much the worst team in the league, but as a fan it was fun to watch. If you had told me the Knicks would score 120 points with Carmelo only scoring 9 of them, I would have told you you were crazy. That is exactly what happened. They didn’t need Melo do much tonight, which is something I can get used to. Obviously we will need Melo to be at his best come playoff time, but to know that we can rely on our bench to not only hold a lead but extend it is a luxury. As long as Coach Woodson can manage the minutes of this squad, they should be in good shape. Welcome to first place New York Knicks!! Lets see how long we can stay there.
How bout ‘dem Knicks!!
Another win for the Knicks, and another solid team effort. The Knicks as everyone knows are working their way through an “easy” stretch of games on their schedule. On a night where Carmelo Anthony struggled from the field, shooting just under 32% from the field(7-22), the Knicks showed why they don’t need their superstar to be spectacular every night to win. Amare is getting better every night and dare I say he’s slowly getting it on the defensive end. He needs to continue being fed in the post because he’s a nightmare matchup for just about every forward in the league; especially the 2nd string forwards. Raymond Felton had a big night, and continued to show just how valuable he is to the Knicks. With that being said, he really needs to stop sticking his hand into places it doesn’t belong. All we need is for him to re-break that finger and watch him get shut down for the season. He’s just as important to this cog as Melo, Chandler, and Stat. Tonight the Knicks continue their home stand against another mediocre opponent, The Sacramento Kings. This should be another easy victory, but you can’t underestimate anybody. I’d like to see Shumpert get more involved and show the defensive intensity he showed in the 2nd half of last nights game. Hopefully we see another solid team effort and of course another win. Miami is off tonight so a victory against the kings would bring us to a tie for first place in the east. Let’s go Knicks! Let’s keep the momentum going!
So much for objectivity huh?? Enjoy the game.
NY vs. NY….A Rivalry Continues!!
As a lifelong Knicks fan, I get very excited about games like these. See, it’s been a while since The Knicks have had a good closely matched opponent to spark up a rivalry. That is exactly what the Brooklyn Nets are, a tough match-up for the New York Knicks. Let me see if I can pull out a useful boxing analogy from somewhere here. See, it’s like those Pacquiao/Marquez fights(I think there’s been 14 of them now?). This Knicks/Nets match-up is like two prize fighters whose styles counter each other perfectly. Now that game number 4 between these cross town foes is in the books, the season series is tied at 2 a piece. Now let me just interject in the middle of my own objective recap by stating that The Knicks will be the fighter still standing when it’s all said and done. Hint hint; that means that the Knicks will be Juan Manuel Marquez. Did you see that knockout?!?!?! I think Manny Pacquiao still has a fear of going to sleep because he’s afraid he’ll relive that punch over and over and over again in his dreams. By the way, who is this guy sitting next to Wally Szczerbiak on the Knicks post-game show? And how can he sit there with a straight face and say that this isn’t a rivalry? He’s trying to tell us that because this game was a low scoring “”snoozefest” that the Knicks didn’t want to win and this game didn’t carry the playoff atmosphere it should have. Even Al Trautwig started looking at this guy like he had four heads. The Knicks versus the Nets is a rivalry, and it is here to stay. With that being said let’s talk about the game. The Nets did their best not to win this game, but the Knicks just couldn’t capitalize on their mistakes. The Nets played sloppy basketball, and the Knicks won the turnover battle 19 to 5. However, the Nets had a game plan and they followed it. They knew that Carmelo was going to get his points no matter what they did, so they were physical with him and made him work for his 29 points. Carmelo’s 29 points came on 11 of 29 shooting while expending a ton of energy on the offensive end. The grueling 45 minutes he played left his legs just a little bit too tired to rise up for a baseline jumper with seconds remaining; one he’s made a million times in his life. What we can take away from this game as a positive is the chemistry Stat and Melo showed in the 2nd half. Which begs the question, why wasn’t Stat on the court down the stretch? What I saw in the 2nd half was when Melo and Mini Melo(J.R. Smith) penetrated into the lane, Stat found himself wide open under the hoop. So I say lets build on that. And while Stat should help the Knicks improve with his high pick and roll skills and dunking abilities, the key to our success is Stat digging in, rebounding, and PLAYING DEFENSE!! It may not be the brand of basketball most fans want to watch, especially with an offensive talent on the floor like Melo, but it will be the key to the Knicks success come playoff time. DEFENSE!! It may be a little cliche, but defense certainly wins championships. That’s why I believe that if Amare gives his all to the team concept, Kidd continues to be an ageless wonder, and the rest of the squad can stay healthy; the Knicks will be true contenders.
Dave Talks Sports 