2012 Game Thread: Knicks @ Bucks
April 11th, 2012 by Brian Cronin | Comments | Permalink |
Since this is the current “Most Important Game of the Season,” I figured we should give it as much mojo as we possibly could.
This is a game that the Knicks need to win, but moreover, this is a game that the Knicks should win. Milwaukee’s defense is not particularly good for a team with one of the top defensive coaches in the league (put it this way, a Scott Skiles team being 16th in Defensive Efficiency is like a regular team being 160th in Defensive Efficiency) and the Knicks’ problem is that it is difficult for them to score on the top defenses in the league because they can give Melo his points and just not let the other players beat them. Against good defenses, that can be a major problem for the Knicks. Against the Bucks, the Knicks’ supporting cast should perform better.
Of course, they need to have at least one of Smith, Shump, Fields and Novak to show up tonight to give Melo some help.
Last time, both Shump and Smith came through against the Bucks. The Knicks need that again tonight. I’m currently knocking on wood with crossed fingers.
Fire Dolan!
SHUMP SHUMP
Win baby win.
Hopefully, Brandon Jennings will feel like it’s all up to him and chuck up some ridiculous shots (that don’t go in of course!)
The masked editor strikes again! ;)
(if someone deletes those first two posts, we’ll win. otherwise, it’s on your head.)
ha! before I even posted! nicely done!
I started the thread, you got the first post, if the Knicks lose, it will not be for lack of our best mojo.
Please don’t do that again.
oh, thank goodness…it’s in the bag now!!!
I figured you had been waiting all day constantly refreshing until the game thread was up to post the new Knicks’ rallying cry/good luck charm…like the Zuckerberg character at the end of the facebook movie!!
How charming is this Marbury story from China? 1,000,000 fans petitioned for the creation of a bronze statue to honor Marbury, because he was ineligible for any MVP awards. That’s a cute story.
heh, no, but Brian made it right. as he said, biggest game of the year, gots to come with the A team.
Yes, it worked so well against the Bulls last night.
I didn’t do that one, and there was no exclamation point.
Its win or go home plain and simple . Who would have thought biggest game in years would be against Bucks ! LOL
It was wrong last night. Frank O forgot exclamation mark and all caps shump shump :-)
Wait what? Someone beat you to it? Ay ya yi
Tips:
Stop Mike Dunleavy
Play defense
Novak or Smith heat up
Limit Jennings
We need at least 3 of above
I just think it is messed up to bump me like I wasn’t even here. Brian should just call Jon and tell him he’s about to post instead pulling that masked editing garbage.
What’s the record for posts in a game thread?
+1
Bold prediction: I think our guys blow them out
Why are we leaving them wide open for 3?
No offense intended, Thomas! We’re just goofing around with our “mojo.” I promise I won’t mess with any of your comments in the future!
Not seeing an intense defensive effort at the start…need to turn it up, guys!
Not seeing much of a defensive effort from Milwaukee, either, which is good!
Yes, what a difference from what we’ve seen the last 2 games….almost is like a vacation for the offense! Man oh man!
Nice start so far. Everyone contributing. Some, Melo, T-1000, more than others.
Lotta empty seats in that arena
Tyson
Dunleavy missed Dunleavy missed
I really like that counting down shot clock projected on the floor of the court
Why has Fields started taking so many pull-up J’s? His shot looks different when he does so. Still sucks though… WOW we are amazing right now though!!!
I like the wrinkle of Fields at the high post.
When the support staff is scoring this efficiently, the Knicks can beat any team in the NBA.
Woody better let Fields play some in the second quarter.
woodson with the Dantoni play. yeah!
great start…but still fearing the dreaded Toney Douglas insertion….if we still have a lead after he goes out, I will feel good about this one!
Bibby > TDDWTDUTD
Even the corpse gets in on the act with a nice pass.
I would decrease the amount of iso’s for Melo, we are getting easy shots at the rim just by moving the ball around, even if Melo hits a few.
Why wont JR go the damn basket????
“Smith has to launch.”
has to. funny.
+1
Come on melo … Shoot that last second 3. We here at knickerblogger don’t care about your percentage.
Shump sure has got a lot better at the rim lately.
Wow. Dunleavy even scored during the break between quarters.
I really don’t know. It’s really weird. The guy is not a bad driver, and yet…
Wow. Marbury has made 1,000,000 fans this year, yet OccupyMSG only has 48 members… What’s wrong with the world!
Wow, that was a sorry dunk attempt.
Shumpert gambling way too much on defense
God our bench sucks
Yikes, that went to shit all of a sudden.
So our season could be torched by Rip Hamilton, Kyle Korver and Mike Dunleavy…hmmm.
I just angrily yelled “Dunleavy!” exactly like how George Jetson’s boss yelled “Jetson!”
Unfortunately, I did that at work.
I’m being silently judged.
It’s amazing how fast our leads evaporate with this bench
Breen may not be the Melo hater that he appears. Twice he said the ball doesn’t move without Melo and Davis on the court. The second time bemoaning the ball being near halfcourt with ten seconds left on the clock.
Um, did JR Smith really just get fooled by the Bucks crowd counting down to 1 early? Seems like he did.
JR is somehow -14.
ugh, absolutely no offense
Poor rotations by Woodson. You need to use Novak with Melo. He’s useless with this lineup. He’s only useful when their are other players putting pressure on the defense.
It sure did seem that way. I like JR, but yeah, not always a thinker is he.
I really find it hard envisioning JR smith being good at basketball.
We have the worst PGs literally in the NBA without Lin healthy, and we have 1 consistent scorer, so kinda hard to win…damn this is frustrating.
Co-sign!
Not the best of sequences for (used to have a)R. The defense looks good, everyone in front of their man then one dribble and fake later Ellis is laying it in. Then he turns it over for an easy layup.
wow
I have the worst plus/minus on the Knicks.
I tune in when it’s 30-18, cue a 25-6 run by the Bucks.
This seems to happen virtually every time I watch.
I saw parts of the Bulls game on Sunday and literally everything good that happened in that game happened when I wasn’t watching.
You’d think I’d learn not to fucking watch by now.
Oh well, season’s over.
Remember Milwaukee was where JR smith got fined 25000 for tweeting that pic of the girls booty in his hotel room. Maybe he had a visit from her.
That’s his girlfriend (well, she was then).
Melo’s hurt
Melo absorbed a lot of contact on that shot
And melo got two techs in their first meeting this season for jawing w jennings in the 4th and got ejected. Lot of blood here
We really don’t need the only good offensive player on the team to be hurt.
Melo with a hard screen. Loving it
I’m forgetting who was part of the bench when it was so good bit it’d many of the same guys that are part of the crappy one: Smith, Novak, Jared, Davis when they were good. Was Baron the elixir or just shots falling that aren’t these days.
Was not his girlfriend, google it. Great backstory
I feel like I unwrapped a WHOLE NEW MELO for my playoffs. Thanks Dad!
Baron was a lot fresher off of the bench. They also used to set screens for Novak.
Backstory, I get it
They seriously weren’t dating? Weird.
lol, was Joe Budden’s girlfriend
I reiterate that this past season created a bad blood for these teams. Delano fouled out begin of 4th in game 1 with some hard fouls on melo
Is part of our defensive strategy tonight to not defend the 3-point line? We have been giving up a lot of non-contested 3′s so far and that isn’t in keeping with how we had been playing defensively of late…..are they tired?
I realized after I sent it that Shump was the other guy off the bench.
The Novak’s are adorable.
Jeffries killing us
Baron keeps on coming up with more reasons to hate him. Wow
smh Baron trying to And1 his way out of a layup
Yeah, yeah.
Itching to do with the Knicks energy. All me
at least he finished the drive that time.
Bucks 6-12 on 3′s
Knicks 1-6 on 3′s
the knicks look tired
side bar i hate carlos delfino he is a pos who flops around all game…typical soccer player
They broke up, I thought. They were still dating when JR took that pic?
Oh duh. Yeah, that certainly helped.
LOL Woody double facepalm @ Baron
God, it’s good to get offensive rebounds again.
They showed Jennings 6-9 and Ellis 7-11. They were @ 6-30, or something awful, last time.
How are they not crushing this team?
LOL Chandler’s no Jorts Harrelson. He can’t dribble the ball on the break!
What’s weird about Melo is how streaky he can be. He can be, like, 4-5 and then suddenly he’s 4-10.
You’re killing me, Smalls.
Look flat-footed
Three fouls on Melo. Ruh roh.
Why does Baron always try the flashiest pass possible?
It is definitely a problem.
Baron is so maddening. Physical issues I can deal with but stupidity is another matter. Hes a ten plus year veteran and should know better.
Andrew Bogut just tweeted
Seriously, Andrew? That needed to be tweeted?
Prediction: Knicks hold bucks to <15 in the 3rd qtr
I dunno, I think it just is his game. Like the Facts of Life, you take the bad with the good he gives you.
All in all, I am positive about this game. Tie game is not a big deal at all. The Knicks should adjust at the half and then kill them in the second half. Melo has to be a matador on defense in the third, though. Can’t have him pick up #4.
This is about as bold a prediction as one can make given the Knicks penchant for atrocious 3rd quarters….but I hope you nailed it!
2 questions:
1) Can Lin play PG on one leg?
2) Is is just me, or does it sound like Breen is orgasming when Mike Dunleavy scores?
Nah, it’s not just you, Dunleavy definitely fits into the mold of players Breen likes.
the bench +/- are obscene
Mike Bibby, PG -12
J.R. Smith, SG -16
Novak -12
Jefferies -5
lol Breen is so annoying
its pretty bad when you have those numbers in a tied game
Yeah, I was thinking the same thing. Fields has a +18…in a tie game!!! That is crazy.
I’m again hating on BD. I know it’s not really fair. Honestly, I should be venting my ire on TD or Lin’s freaking meniscus. From a causation pov, it kind of seems the same. Major point guard issue and how about this—the Bucks can not stop the Knicks from going strong in the middle. But no one can penetrate and dish and get Chandler the ball legitimately inside. The Bucks have nobody there. Also, why can’t anyone guard DunBIrdy? My head is starting to explode. Bottom line, I don’t care how we win, but win boys…please tonight.
I take my hat off to those who seem to cut Baron lots of slack. You are more patient than me.
I Can’t stand his idiocy.
But he’s all we have.
My big concern is the poor D were getting from all our guards.
Baron, Smith, Shump, and dead man walking are getting torched by their tandem.
And when Tyson was off the court it was way worse.
And how the hell do they consistently lose Dunleavy? Every time we play that guy, he’s all fucking world. You think they might have watched some tape on him and come up with a containment plan?
Geez.
For 3.75 million a year Dunleavy Buck got a good price for solid role player.
Even though it’s said countless times every game thread, I need to say it again. Baron Davis sux.
I’m guessing the fan bases of every team he played for reached that conclusion, except for the warriors, when he had those two charmed weeks.
My biggest concern is that Ellis is feeling it tonight, so he almost cancels out Carmelo. Take those two away and the Bucks probably have the advantage.
Is everyone watching game on MSG – I like take break, watching it on ESPN.
Yeah this is just the kind of game Fields thrives in. Fast paced, alot of easy buckets, and little D
Ellis can also go cold very quickly….
I have fields as +1
No but Carmelo rebounds and passes n’stuff now so we’ll be okay.
We’re in this because of Chandler. 15 boards. The dude is a beast and the only guy playing D
Wait I’m looking at wrong game. Apologies
Baron can blow by Baron at will. Causing a lot of problems.
Nba.com gave me the bulls box when I clicked on Knicks bucks
I think we should give Jorts some burn. Jeffries looks like he’s back to his Jeffrightened self. Davis besides that STUPID behind the back pass was solid. Fields besides shooting jumpers was very good. JR is just unreliable…don’t know what he will do or bring game to game. We need one of JR, Novak or Shump to get hot to win
LOL Baron would try to save that
Who said melo was hurt?
How many times are they going to let Ellis get layups uncontested?
Shumpert getting abused by Ellis
Ellis is holding a clinic on Shump. Our man needs to settle down
Ellis is just too hard to guard without lightning speed. He seems to be taking Shump’s in-ya-face style and playing it against him, which is Ellis’s strength.
Fields having his best game in a while: 4 boards, 5 assists, 9 pts
Every so often Shump reminds us he’s a rookie.
Knicks win on defense. This game cannot continue as a shoot out.
If it does, we lose
Tyson with a post move!
Tyson just does whatever he has to. He needs both DPOY AND MVP votes this year.
At a certain point you have to just be thankful that Baron is quite clearly destroying his rep and most likely his physical health to help this team. I’ve given up on what he can’t do and just grown to be grateful for what he is giving. #karma
Chandler is sick (besides 3 fouls in 1 quarter)
Kudos to Woodson. Willing to change rotation as he saw fields playing great and baron sux, so put in jr for baron.
“help” this team?
Think about where this team would be without Linsanity and shudder
I’d be thankful if he understood he’s hurt and played smart. Instead he throws running hook shots up. I’m not thankful at all.
ok the defensive line up in
Way too rational, yogi.
It is INSANE how unlucky we get when the shot clock is winding down on the other team. It seems like no matter what happens, the other team either hits a crazy shot, or gets fouled.
Maul-a-Mbah-a-Moute isn’t so bad.
Doris Burke looks kinda hot tonight, that or im too old
No I agree. I was a bit surprised when they showed that closeup
No. She’s sharp.
But I also like her in game analysis
Woodson is stupid, POST Melo up, wtf is wrong with this man. Maybe he doesn’t want the job.
Wow. We are going to lose our playoff position to the freakin Bucks led by Monta and Jennings.
Dude you just be the coach already lol
A Buck player pulled on Melo’s jersey as he was going by and you could literally see his body pivot, and no call. Unreal.
Baron Davis: 3 assists, 5 TOs, 5 Pts……The shittiest +15 ever
Bucks in general have been playing much more physically defensively than we have.
I dread playing the Heat
losing to a 2 man team awesome
The JR Smith shooting thing is just a killer
How did smith lose Ellis that badly? He was trailing by 5 feet
Ellis playing like the best player on the court tonight, by far.
Woodson is really starting to depress me same as last night
admit it you hate Melo
That was a dumb foul…
You seriously think Melo has played better than Ellis tonight? He has 29 and 10 going into the 4th
Wow, JR.
Fucking JR Smith
Someone tell smith tat if you touch a guy shooting from 3 it’s a foul.
Moron…
Last time the Knicks faced the Bucks, Jorts brought the Dunleavy reign of terror to an end with a hard foul.
This is actually a good test for the Knicks, there is just too much speed on the perimeter, same will be on Sunday. Woodson just has to let Melo be Melo and stop being Dantoni. Post the guy up/
Big shot by shump
Where do the ESPN broadcasters rank on the inappropriate use of lingo scale? I’m guessing they have to be rapidly approaching Stu Scott territory…
And four steals? If he didn’t have 4 TOs I’d say he was single-handedly destroying the knicks
Woodson has to post Melo up more, he has to, the absence of a pg makes it hard to run pnr or even conventional plays. Run it through the post and I mean low post, and play Magic offense. If we lose I’m blaming him.
Sad, if they lose this one the playoffs are unlikely and when it’s time to assess blame, it needs to be pinned on baron and jr. The 2 stupidest Knicks. I am starting to hate them both.
its cuz you said by far thats why he said it…melo is right there with him behind…but not by far
Melo and Chandler on the bench to start the 4th??
JR needs to stop silly fouls, facepalm
A Jared Jeffries Special!
Jr bad shot, gets beat, gets beat again. Bailed out by Jeffries. God, jr sux.
Wait….just to be clear… You want Woodson to post Melo up?
Just want to be clear, because, you know it takes four or five times for something to get through. Lol
Oh, and you can’t post Melo from the bench.:)
Knicks are tired. Knicks are done.
If we don’t take Smith out immediately, we’ll lose. Simple as.
That was a great foul by Shumpert. If that play continues to develop, the Bucks would have had a wide open 3.
That shot by Jennings and yet ANOTHER blown Jeffries layup was probably game.
Jeffrightened ugh….
Knicks picked a great time to play arguably their worst defensive game of the season. Bucks shooting close to 60% and we are in the 4th quarter already.
Fire D’Antoni!!
LOL nice season guys
WOODSON IS A FUCKING IDIOT, A FOOL, A STUPID COACH, FOOL. THAT’S WHAT YOU GET WHEN U LET HIM BRING THE BALL UP. IDIOT. GIVE THE BALL TO HIM IN THE FUCKING POST.
smgdh
Wow JJ
Lets just give Melo a pass for drawing that tech…
Don’t stop believing!
And Jeffries seems to be shooting at a much smaller, infinitesimally smaller hoop, than the rest of the players out there.
There was a time, briefly, when he made some layups…
I feel bad for Woodson. Not his fault but no playoffs no extension.
Fire d’antoni!
because that was bullshit…
GG season. If Melo is injured….
mean what luck, Lin with ankle, Stat with back, Chandler with elbow, Baron with hamstring now Melo with wrist… who’s left, Bibby and co.?
don’t patronize me son and while u do that our season goes down the drain
melo’s hurt, this probably is it for the knicks.
Falling apart…
What the hell? They call a tech for him being hurt? Oh that is wrong, so very wrong. That is as wrong as editing a comment so it appears that it wasn’t posted when it actually was.
9 teams make the playoffs from each conference, right? We’re fine!
Ball don’t lie!
You hated D’Antoni and now Woodson too?? Maybe just maybe its not all the coach’s fault??
You’re not exactly a coaches best friend. Hahaha
1 assist to 10. and leading the rebounding battle by 2 to a small SG. I’d say melo has been by far the best of the two tonight.
Melo ridiculous shot
7 = 30?
Wow, I really thought season was over. Guess not.
Anthony has made Delfino his Argentine bitch.
This is the most frustrating game I’ve seen in a long time.
I figured the Knicks were underdogs in this one, but they just look totally drained from the intense Chicago games.
It’s a bigger game for the Bucks than for the Knicks… Milwaukee losing would close to finish off their season.
within 3, still have a chance…
BTW Knicks can still win this game.
This is the time to clamp down and put this team down.
Melo and Chandler for the duration.
Why is Fields on the bench? He’s playing well
I feel like Melo gets mauled on every position, but our guys get called for ticky tack fouls.
There’s still 7 minutes left, a lot can happen either way
oh my God
It’s never been clear to me what JR has done to warrant the immense faith Woodson has shown him. Mr Accountabilty doesn’t seem to be doing what he said he would. His faith in JR will probably be the reason he doesn’t keep this job.
stop smiling you fool
Tyson Tyson et tu
tidy up the fouls and stop throwing the ball out, ffs 17 Turnovers..
Wow Udoh is long…
Not sure why Smith is in there instead of Fields…
That’s how it is on the road.
Woodson can’t keep Smith in the game over Fields can he?
I know u r hurting. A little levity, son. Lol
really no foul, at least the only thing that D’antoni did well was bitch and moan at the refs. Come on Woodson where is your passion and post the guy up. Is it so hard to see that the high screen and roll isn’t exactly working.
Coming from someone (me) who just said this is the most frustrating game i’ve seen in a long time:
Chill!
Even if we lose we’re tied, with 8 games to go. Yes, we lose the tiebreaker, but we’re still in decent position.
Of course as I write this Smith gets a bogus foul, Chandler throws it away and Shump goes up weak and gets stuffed.
of the 17, 5 must have been of the completely unforced, brainfart variety as the knicks seem to commit them like that all the time!
Novakaine finally
havent seen the belt in a while
Where is fields. He gives the bucks fits
Man do we really miss Lin.
Novak is back
god i hope Novak wins it for us. Ellis can’t be stopped though.
Monta having his ‘Trade the Other Guy’ game on us….wow.
oh Monta Ellis and my blood pressure
This game deserves some sort of Bad Shot Hall of Fame designation…
JR Smith posing for the camera
haha, can you imagine what we’d be saying if MbM were on the Knicks, jacking those up?
C’mon lets steal this
Shump stepping it up on D now!!
Chandler exhausted
First to 100 wins, right?
Mbahfrightened?
finally JR Smith do something right for once
The enigmatic JR Smith lol
The Bucks are playing really hard for that fan in the stands.
Mbahortified?
Oh, I think last night is up for consideration as well…
That wad a crazy possession for the leaf
Smith is arguably the most screwy player I’ve watched.
All over the fucking place.
And I’m tired of screaming for a pass to a lonely Novak
Naturally JR w 5 straight pts.
reckon that steal was legit, anyone reckon it was a foul though
Jeffries, who I love, misses LAYUPS that bad.
how the %#$^ do we have 101 points right now? Our offense has felt terrible all game long, except Melo. But looking at the box score, it has actually been pretty good. The defense hasn’t though.
I don’t think I can handle the end of this game
Melo is clearly banged up. I say we run the offense through Novak ;-)
Can’t believe they couldn’t sell out this game, fuck em
Chandler going for every head fake. Tired.
You beat me to it
I’m ok w fouling Udoh every play until he’s taken out.
Seems like we should at least TRY trapping when teams PnR off Tyson Chandler. Make the dribbler pick it up, and save Tyson some fouls. We always play it the same.
WI is worse than hell….
7 = 30!
Hawks and Celts just hit OT.
That’s why Novak doesn’t play crunch time. Those rebounds were his.
I really hate Monta Ellis
This is not good for my heart.
Fitting Knicks lose because they cant GRAB A FUCKING DEFENSIVE REBOUND!!!
God dam
God dam.
Shump
Then too much standing around watching the bucks fly around
Fuck
Feel the wrath of Ekpe Udoh’s +/-
Sorry but that’s on Chandler
ffs. have a sinking feeling about this, how many opportunities u wanna give the bucks to score, cmon man
I was cursing before Ellis even caught that.
Fucking Melo. Nice shot
Yep that about sums it up.
Crazy fucking game
HOW DID HE COME UP WITH THAT?????
BY FUCKING FOULING ANTHONY!!!
Hello my name is Earl.
WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON
Wow….
Come on boys, we got this
Im going to have a heart attack….
Good thing Woody warned about no 2nd shots. Can you imagine how many tries the Bucks would have had if he hadn’t reminded them?
Is Dunleavy going ice cold in the 4th quarter a trend, or what?
Chandler hasn’t missed a shot all night. 6-6 and 7-7.
Not necessarily defending Woody, but his thinking behind playing JR over Fields has to be that between JR and Shump he almost has one PG on the floor.
Monster 3 by JR after Melo makes a tough shot. Thankfully they finally got a D rebound after what seemed like a kajillion shots by the Bucks
looking better, just need to make free throws, no TURNOVERS PLEASE!!!
Second chance points are killing us.
True dat was right in front of the ref, too.
just need the inbounds, cmon!!!!
C’mon Novak your whole family is counting on you
Novak on the line. I’ll take that.
That was horrendous… and great? Jeez. lkdnfw;ofnakn
oh god oh god oh god
Novak has taken so few free throws this season, that those last 2 bumped up his percentage back into the 90′s.
Foul or defend?
One stop.
Just can’t have a 4 point play here…JR?
If Woodson doesn’t fouled, he gets fired in my mind immediately
If Knicks win… 2nd half of a back to back… on the road… short-handed, coming off those two Chicago games.. and after that abominable first half.. this will go down as a gutty win.
NOVACAINE CLUTCH at home!
Someone tell Shump not to foul dunleavy behind the arc.
lmao
Knicks have no timeouts left.
Plus 1
No way Woody fouls. he should, but he won’t.
Foul woody foul
Playoffs are about to be a lock.
YES
Shump Shump!
Shump with FTs to close it out!
Man….
I would go crazy watching Jennings and Ellis every night….
Holy heart failure Batman.
ok Woody
Great D by Shump fighting through that screen and Chandler contesting the shot.
Great.
Udon traveled
Someone told JR not to foul lol
For real? Are we gonna do this????
YES!!! good work SHUMP JUST HIT A FCKN FREE THROW!!!
I think Chicago doesn’t want to play the Knicks.
And Udoh had the ball for 4 seconds, no less. We’re lucky that worked out.
Someone tell Shump not to foul dunleavy behind the arc
Shump ran right through him so I say a good no call lol
Wow!
Was that the most generous TO awarded you have ever seen!? That looked like a jump ball all the way.
Wait, what?
Cautiously optimistic….
We were lucky they didn’t call a foul on Shump running into Moute. Although I would have been ok with him at the line…
defence guys, please…!!!!
wow did Doris Burke just say usage rate, guess the rest of the world is catching up huh
quick foul now??
Wow
2 games up, 8 to go.
huzzah!
Fuck Yeah!!!!
FUCK YEAH!!!
Three really cause they have tie breaker, right?
man i love the heart of this team i dont care what the negative nancys say… they may not be the most talented but they sure do have HUGE balls and a HUGE HEART
Go NYK
It seems like we won that through sheer force of will.
Glad the Wiz beat Orlando the other night… makes it harder for the Nix to take that one for granted.
At least we close well
Did Breen just call Anthony a “quasar”?
Wow, I never thought when they were down 8 they would win this game. JR and Melo the heroes tonight.
HUGE fucking win.
It would burn my eyelids in no time.
nice effort by the Knicks taking care of business, it was ugly at times, but now barring a major collapse we should be in the playoffs.
Whew….that was close. Carmelo beast mode. JR put it on black comes through in the clutch
Knickerblogger should have a Max Contract Meter where we establish, after each game, how much ‘Melo has earned of his contract.
Add another million or so to the pot.
I heard it too. That was the ESPN guy though.
Is Brian forgiven?
no, we played Milwaukee 4 times this season, the series ended 2-2
We’ve made the playoffs. Personally, I’d rather vs. Bulls than the heat in the first round imo
If that was so emotionally draining for us to watch, imagine what it was like to actually play?
Btw – amazing lock-down defense at the end there…
Love that idea, Melo haters strangely absent from this board for the last 2 weeks
ok seriously JR Smith is just ridiculous, he is just like my best friend, he lived all his life reckless yet kept coming up on top, was always late in high school and college, drove above the speed limit yet never got ticketed, was a bad boy in his youth yet he had the most decent kids out of us all and the best retirement now. I wander about these types of individuals, the JR’s of the world, the guys who live life in the “fast lane”, so reckless but always come up big. All I can do is shake my head. What a win. Love you all and good night.
A win a win – was me or ref really let contact go tonight.
Our season series is 2-2. Knicks are 23-18 in conference and Bucks are 21-19… so tie-break could go either way.
Next tiebreaker is conference record, I think ours is 2 games better
still catching up on the thread, but are you really still whining? it’s like Bibby complaining about not getting more PT.
yea that was the awkward black dude, i forgot his name…but good thing i took astronomy in college sheesh
And by hitting free throws for a change. Great win. Seemed close to a replay of the Bulls at times with the rebounding. I can chalk off the Bulls getting Off boards – they’re the best in the NBA. We have to tighten that up going forward. But its a win and we’re in great shape to make it to the dance.
Melo has really been unbelievable. He’s gone from being, in all fairness, tough to root for at times to being a real Knick warrior. Color me impressed.
Would’ve liked to see more of Fields, but JR making shots down the stretch was huge. Fields led the team in assists with 6 with limited playing time, though.
bibby -15 in 9 minute wow.
Woodson should keep rotation 8 until Amare get back..
Off bench Novak, Smith, JJ
idk how they pulled that out after last night sheesh what a win
Melo was awesome again tonight. Clutch. Huge balls.
it is, but we don’t own that for sure yet.
and about the absence of the so-called Carmelo haters, I’m still here…he’s just playing better, that’s all.
when he plays terrible basketball I’ll criticize him, when he plays well, he deserves credit, it’s not a matter of loving or hating him.
he’s still overpaid, but I won’t get into that discussion here.
whew, what a game, major heart to pull that one out. that is the Chandler we need on offense until Amare is back, and Melo was huge again.
great, great, great, great win.
“Love that idea, Melo haters strangely absent from this board for the last 2 weeks”
He isn’t getting my game ball tonight….
We “melo haters” just don’t want to rain on the parade while things are going right for a change. But it’s fair to say my thoughts on the matters remain unchanged….
Just found out next tie-breaker is record vs other playoff teams. By my count Knicks already have 9 wins vs the 1-7 seeds. No clue how many the Bucks have right now.
Great win, so nerve wracking. Coming out of this week (2 games against the Bulls, on the road against Milwaukee, Washington, and Miami) with a 3-2 would be fantastic. We cannot have a letdown game against Washington though, got to go out and dominate them.
31 minutes is plenty, Woodson did good job offense/defense with Novak/Fields.
I don’t know…I kinda liked the espn crew tonight
lol @ overpaid….nba players are underpaid in general…except kobe hes paid out da ass
LOL Alan Hahn comparing Mike Dunleavy to a Toronto-era AJ Burnett.
it must be worse, they have a terrible record against over .500 teams and they never lose to bad teams (seriously, it’s been 2+ months now).
yea i like doris for some reason…she is knowledgeable and doesnt really have any annoying biases or traits
Fields had one of his better games, but he basically was forgotten late.
Good thing smith figured it out. Coach could have taken a hit there because fields was paying well and smith at times looked terrible?
Baron also disappeared….thankfully
Buck have Indy twice, boston and philly – Knicks really have choke not get 8th seed.
Philly skid easily then ours they probably hold to 7th seed.
Ha. You’re kidding, right? Guess ur giving the game ball to bibby?
and why is that exactly?
in your world, the minimum wage for your profession being 800k a year is regarded as “underpaid”?
my goodness.
Another 40 minute+ game for Shump.
For some reason I’m finding it hard to get excited about this win. It was a huge game, on the road against a desperate team… but the Bucks also played most of the game without Drew Gooden who’s been a major contributor, and the Knicks looked ragged. I know this was the second in a back to back, but in both of these games and frankly in the awesome win at home against Chicago, it is painfully obvious how much this team needs good PG play.
127 mins for melo in last 3 games thats BIGGGGGt time
Fields scare to shot the jumper late in game – understandable given his struggles. It’s bit hard play him crunch time.
im talking about the best players are worth more than they are paid….simple biz
second what does the average salary have to do with it…. a doctor can not feel underpaid?
Lol. Glad to know I’m not the only one that gets too emotionally involved haha…Gideon is a true Knick fan
Yup. John Schuhmann of NBA.com just tweeted back to me the Bucks are currently 4-15 vs the top 7 seeds, Knicks 9-11.
Really good to have Novak back. He hits some huge shots for us.
You know, Shump has just played his ass off.
I keep remembering his reaction when the Knicks picked him. Good kid.
Although i really don’t side with the Melo; but I understand them. Melo is on our home team so I understand they want to see him do better, its just like any of us criticizing our kids and not other people kids, its because we want to see them do better. Lebron has had an awful stretch but I don’t hear anyone criticizing him. I believe Melo is elite, top 5 and worth every penny and more even though his salary is what the market dictates. I think Melo and his personality can’t win on any side of the argument, if his team lost tonight we might hear that he shoots too much but when none of his team mates have it going and he decides to take more shots to put his stamp on the ball, we call his style of play non-winning basketball. I like his story and his personality. Others don’t see it or see it differently and I understand, NY is a what have you done for me town. Same reason Tebow is here
The most underrated person tonight is Doris Burke. She is excellent at her job. Melo’s OK too.
Hey Im just happy they are securing their playoff spot. Everything you have pointed out is absolutely correct which is why I dont think they have a snowball’s chance in hell of winning more than 2 games vs the Bulls or Heat in the playoffs but for me with the current roster due to the injuries Im proud of them for making the playoffs.
you could tell he was tired for most of it, but he kicked it up a bit at the end.
yeah if my business as a whole generates billions of dollars, and I am basically the product, then yes an 800k minimum wage is underpaid.
Having no PG sux, but really we just have one rebounder and that will kill us in the playoffs. We don’t even have another option on the team. At least with the PG issue, we can rotate some bodies in to try. Rebounding is chandler and that’s it. We need big bodies next year.
lol true true
So I guess the Bucks wouldn’t have been excited to beat us tonight since we are missing Amar’e and Lin.
What set of facts would change your opinion?
preach brother
That’s right, point at the Melo haters. Cuz we always dreamed of the day we’d stave off the Bucks for the 8 seed, and he delivered. SMH.
Had a clutch 3 pt play late, and his d was tough down the stretch. I seem to recall him running over a picked late in one of the bulls games. He’s got stones
thats kinda iffy…dont hide say what you feel…he sux etc
hahahahaha
Thank you John, I recommend some blood pressure pills and some friends to restrain you when watching the games haha.
Well said. At the beginning of the year this team was tough to root for. Now i find them pretty easy to love. They aren’t going to get through the first round (unless Lin comes back), but it hasn’t been this fun to root for the Knicks in 10 years. And if you melo haters still hate Melo after the last 10 games and can’t root for him or this team, then I feel bad for you
so you would rather miss the playoffs? its been a bad season and the team is trying to salvage it jeez
Just wondering- what would actually make you change your mind? I’m not saying you’re right or wrong, just wondering what would make you say — wow, maybe this dude is better than I thought he was? Is it basically impossible? Because the Carmelo of the last 2-3 weeks has been a bona fide max player.
The way Melo has been playing recently, he had to have been playing injured earlier. Either that, or he has a knack for elevating his play when there’s less talent around him.
Huge win, especially coupled with the Chicago win. Still, no time to be thinking playoffs yet, lots of tough games left and the tiebreaker is not clinched yet. One game at a time.
And at both ends, great effort.
I didn’t love him dogging it under mike d., but he’s been a beast, playing hurt, wrists, groin, etc.
So do we pull the plug on Baron Davis starting and go with Novak or Smith starting. Maybe Baron wouldn’t look so bad off the bench against the 2nd stringers for his 20 minutes. If we’re going with Shump and Smith to end the game, might as well use em to start the game.
I bet if you polled the players and coaches that played against him during that stretch, they’d say he’s a max player.
I am going to defend the Melo haters, these guys don’t hate Melo, you can’t hate Melo and love the Knicks. The same way you can’t hate JR, we all here love JR but most of us only admit it when they play good. At the end of the day, we go to the games to watch them, we buy their jerseys and we argue for them against rival teams. I know Melo isn’t better than Lebron but I will forever argue that he is to Lebron fans as long as he remains a Knick and frankly he has been better than Lebron this past few weeks(just had to throw it in there). But its good that we have ruruland vs owen. I tune in everyday because of that, it makes the blog live. It will be boring if we all agreed.
We have still yet to see Melo play this well with Lin and Amare back in the lineup. Woodson will have to figure out the best way to keep his play at this level and incorporate Amare + Lin in the offense. Hopefully he does a better job than D’antoni. But he definitely has more confidence in Melo than D’antoni did so I think we will see either Amare or Lin struggle, as Melo keep his play up. If all three players fit together and play as well as they can, we are going to be an absolute force on offense and defense.
I would say on the on-going (forever-going!) Melo debate, a couple of weeks is probobly not going to change minds. In fact, one can see it as more damning of Melo as he clearly has the talent to do amazing things but maybe not the motor to do them all year long. Or maybe he’s been hurt or maybe …. On it goes.
How did you conclude that from my comment? Let’s salvage it, yeah. But christ let’s not start acting like making the 8 seed on the back of a superb month from Melo means more than it should.
“Just wondering- what would actually make you change your mind? ”
Consistently elite levels of statistical productivity?
Evidence he can do more than score and board some?
Consistently hitting the three?
Perhaps a week without a quote referencing the fact he can play really good defense when he puts his mind to it….
At the end of the day, I am sure his recent hot stretch will be enough to expiate his previous sins for most. But to me the fact that we are still struggling to make the playoffs, in a season in which we had our best stretch with him injured, it’s a pretty damning indictment of his year.
And honestly, I am just a process person. The thinking process that led to Carmelo being acquired, and that led to a lot of our personnel decisions over the last ten years. It’s just hard to get behind.
That’s not a fair conclusion either. Last 5 games at ind, at orl, home chicago, at chi, at mil. 3-2. Given the circumstances, that’s pretty great. Throw out the shitty start and we are 22-13. That’s pretty damn good. Don’t start acting like it means less than it does.
There’s a cloud for every silver lining.
umm we are in the middle of our hottest stretch of the season, not linsanity which i no you are referring to
hes been rebounding and playing d and passing
just root against him but dont say you are trying to be reasonable cuz you are not
he was hurt..ie a big ass cast thing on his wrist and bad ankle and bad groin and hypertension knee at beginning of season
Yeah, take a look back at the quality of teams during linsanity vs the past 9 games and pretty clear this is best team has played all year.
Excited to come here and discuss the win and as usual I am more excited to not come here. Some of you are so damn depressing all the time.
amen
Er, but he contributed mightily to our shitty start, so why should I throw that out?
Look I love what he’s done. I’m a Knicks fan since 1984 and I love this team and am thrilled when he does well. But it’s a bit premature for “RuRu was right” and “I told you so, Melo-Haters.” This is 3 weeks of elite play that merely dug us out of a hole he contributed largely to digging. In the words of The Wolf, “Let’s not start…..each other’s……just yet.”
you never heard me say throw anything out….the point is people wanna say the guy sucks then fine…just done say you are being reasonable….haters gonna hate
he has had a bad season but hes a top tier player and people want to deny that…thats their problem, i havent said i told you so to anyone either….it just is what it is the numbers and wins speak for them self
MDA was just as big a reason for the shitty start imo and he was bailed out by lin
‘I love what he’s done’ …..you sound so sincere….
I guess you don’t remember the first 23 games very well. We were even worse at pg than we are now. Douglas was getting serious minutes. Melo was hurt. But yeah, must have been his fault.
Lets face it, next season is going to be the real indication of how good this team really is not this season.
Lets just enjoy the rest of this season and have fun being able to watch meaningful, playoff-type games.
+1
yes lets just enjoy the grit the team is playing with i totally agree
What I find ridiculous is that this is not a matter of people coming in here to give Melo shit. This is people going out of there way to give other people shit and then when they respond, it’s like, “Why can’t we just celebrate the win?” If you want to celebrate the win, then do that, don’t be all, “Take that!” to other posters.
I don’t even think a championship at this point could end the neverending melo trade referendum/debate on this board!
Rondo with another triple-double tonight, and he only shot 3-for-16. 20 assists. Sigh…
meanwhile Andrew Bynum almost outrebounded San Antonio by himself tonight, he had 30 and they had 33 (!!!!).
Believe me, if you’d seen me ruin Easter for my family screaming after his heroics you’d know how sincere I was.
I’ve loved this blog for years. But right now, there seem to be a lot of new commenters who are barely capable of writing in English and who don’t add much to the discussion. I’m finding myself skipping 50% of the comments, which I never used to do.
I’m feeling nostalgic for the David Lee days. We sucked, but the quality of debate was sky-high.
Really? Because I think any reasonable person would endure no end to inane, poorly written drivel if it meant the Knicks were in serious contention.
I know I would.
Anyone see Anthony Randolph’s line for Minny tonight? 28 points on 16 shots, 5 blocks, only two turnovers, 4 off rebounds. Where has that been for 2 plus years!
Also spaghetti Spike Fields Shump Shump for three poynters bliggitt blah blah improper puncuation run-on glimble glork.
Knicks won and are in a playoff spot.
Potato.
nothing worse than people who never post except to comment on the quality of other people’s posts. if you don’t like it, help make it better yourself.
also, the better a team is, the dumber their fan base is, and vice versa. I’m sure somewhere there is a Wizards board consisting of nothing but Rhodes Scholars and prize-winning novelists.
haha, best post of the thread.
I was actually just marveling at that, yes. Hate to say it, but Kevin Love missing minutes is by far the best (maybe only?) hope for guys like Randolph and Derrick Williams.
From a “new commenter” no less! Call the internet police!
Seriously, shall we stow the elitism and entitlement as it relates to fandom? Easily my biggest pet peeves when it comes to sports. Leave that kind of childish sniping to fan bases that subscribe to lower social standards. Y’know, like Red Sox Nation.
Brian, I mostly agree, but it is pretty frustrating that certain people here seem to be more interested in being right than being Knick fans. My take is that for better or for worse, we don’t own the team and never will, so whether Melo ultimately meets some arbitrary statistical benchmark for a max player or not, I don’t see the point of the mindset that says “I’m angry because if I owned the team I would have done things differently, and therefore I am going to stick to my guns about being right until proven wrong, but I’m still a loyal fan and ultimately want the Knicks to win but they will never win as long as Dolan owns the team because he keeps paying max money to non-max players, etc..”. My feeling is that once trades go down, I hope that the players in Knicks uniforms play their hearts out and live up to the hype. These Knicks may never win a title, but these last three weeks have been a blast and Melo, with all his iso-ball, has been sensational on both ends of the court. At the end of the day, basketball is a form of entertainment that is best when the fan has a rooting interest. Stats are fun and all, but watching the games is where it’s at. Melo has been as fun to watch and to root for as any player in the league during the Woodson era.
Purple monkey dishwasher.
Hey, I didn’t say that! LIBEL! SEDITIOUS LIBEL! RABBLE RABBLE RABBLE!
But Z-man, can’t you allow there are other ways to enjoy and root for a team? Seeing them follow a quality process that puts them in the best possible position to succeed. Like the Tampa Bay Rays – I’m a Yankee fan, but I appreciate how they do business – really an amazing run. Then you have the Knicks, who seemed to be in competent hands (Mr. Walsh) for the first time this century until the owner seems to have taken over the trade talks and possibly pays more for an asset then they needed to. One can still hope they reach a championship level, while one’s rational brain doubts that the team will get there because the ower is an idiot.
Not saying your way of watching is wrong, just allow for other ways.
lmao. Come on out let’s play.
I know it seems that way sometimes, but as you know since you’ve been here quite awhile, the people you’re talking about have also been here for quite awhile. It’s not like they just popped on to the board this year to talk trash about Melo. They’ve been here for years, following the Knicks as they lost an ungodly amount of games. They want the Knicks to win. They cheer when the Knicks win. They’re Knick fans.
To wit, everyone here cheered when Crawford hit his occasional big shot. We all still hated Crawford as a Knick, though, ya know?
That said, if someone came into a game thread after a big Knicks loss where Melo had a bad game and said, “Hey, where are all the Melo-lovers tonight?” I’d think that would be messed up, as well. I’ve told THCJ, for instance, on more than one occasion that I don’t like when he comes in with the laughing after a Knick loss and I’ve even deleted posts of his when I think he’s gone over the line.
“Take that, people I disagree with!” after games is just weak period. Just enjoy the win or sulk about the loss. Don’t turn the comments into a pissy back and forth with people you disagree with.
But the other ways are pure fantasy in that DOLAN REALLY DOES OWN THE TEAM and that will not change for probably the rest of his life. Melo is signed for the next few years and THAT”S not gonna change either. Doubting is fine, but when the team is playing well and the acquired “superstars” are playing like superstars, put the grudges aside for a while and enjoy!
Very saddened by some of the posters tonight.
I’m trying my hardest to respect Owen, respect the fact that he’s been a “fan” for years, respect his knowledge, respect the decorum of the board. It’s really hard.
This “I am a process person, therefore I will never accept Melo” argument is ridiculous.
If you’re a Yankees fan, do you shit on everything A-Rod does just because he’s signed to one of the worst contracts in baseball?
Of course we all want good process leading to good results, but when bad process leads to good results, chalk it up to good fortune and move on. There’s no point in lamenting that the good result came from bad process, unless the bad process continues to be used.
He must be even worse than I thought. I thought you guys gave him free reign because he was a longtime commenter.
We give everyone a lot of leeway. We’re a laid back bunch. Unless you blame losses on Clyde. Then we punish you!
yep. Thanks. I’d like to attack it on a few different levels but I’ll wait for him to join us.
Again, Brian, I pretty much agree. However, there was a lot of stuff said by “regulars” about Melo being a “one-trick pony,” a poor defender, etc. I think it is pretty clear that he has been a far more multi-dimensional player than that during this stretch. I guess my biggest beef is with the concept that “he is what he is” and that at age 27 he can’t/won’t improve. Owen is pretty level-headed about it, but to describe Melo as a guy that’s “hard to get behind” regardless of the process that brougt him here is disappointing.
Ant I, for one, didn’t hate Crawford as a Knick, just his contract; same with Zach and Eddy and Steph and Allan. I don’t put Melo in their class though. I would venture to say that you could put Melo on the trading block at the end of the season and get a pretty good return for him. Not so for any of the other guys.
I don’t mean to sound like i’m defending any particular position, as really, it is perfectly reasonable to criticize their positions. I am just talking about a general:
A. THCJ and Owen both like the Knicks a lot. They are happy when the Knicks win.
B. If they’re not in the thread saying anything, it is weak to bring them up in a “take that” sort of way (and especially weak to bring them up and then complain when they respond)
C. “Take that, person I disagree with!” is weak period. Just enjoy the great win.
A) You’re in their heads? Owen just said he’s a “process guy.” Not a ” I like it when the Knicks win guy.” His statements are utterly incompatible with fandom, consistently anti-Knicks, at least anti-current iteration of the Knicks.
It’s one thing to feign rational objectivism, which would be an incredibly generous description of Owen, given his narrow, surface-level analysis. but that’s not a fan.
c) Most of us are trying to enjoy the win. Some of the “fans” you stick your neck out for make it difficult.
No way. Game ball goes to Brian, for moving jon’s “Fire Dolan! SHUMP SHUMP” post to the top. (unsung Knick legend in the making!)
he’s not that longtime, Owen is longtime and deserves much more respect than THCJ. Mike K is also very anti-Melo, but has been very quiet about it this year.