2012 Game Thread: Magic v. Knicks
March 28th, 2012 by Robert Silverman | @BobSaietta | Comments | Permalink |
We’re in the hurt locker tonight, mes gars. Have at it!
Hey, did you know that in addition to banging the keys here and occasionally for the NY Times, Robert is a playwright, an actor and a wand'ring mendicant/gadfly? He also once wrestled a bear...and lost.
Shumpdry
Melo already missed a lay up.
Jameer maybe a key to this game
They look really flat. Some dumb play already
yikes
Okay Shump!
I hate to play armchair shrink, but they look scared – like they think they can’t beat this team w/o Stat/Lin/JJ
Any update on Amare’s bulging dick ..disc?
Their D will keep them in this
Bibb in early. oh god
Richardson looks fat again
Okay. Shump needs not take so many 3s.
Nelson is a problem without Lin guarding
NOVAMATIQUE
NOVAK!
Man, Novak has them freaking out
At least Shump has the good sense to kick it out to Novak.
Big Baby looks very, very uncomfortable guarding Novak.
Not sure I like the thought of this team giving up 30+ points in the 1st quarter.
Shump: 2-7
Melo: 1-1
Shump should not have taken 7 shots at this point.
And they definitely seem to be using Melo sparingly (6 minutes only and the first quarter is ending).
Ehh, 29. Glad to be wrong.
JR seems pretty confident 2nite
Glen Davis is too fat for the good of the people. I also think he’s extremely dumb. I never liked Glen Davis lol.
Great pass from Melo!
C’mon, Melo.
Embalmed Mike Bibby > Chris Duhon (Don’t-hon)
Chris Uhn
(no D, no O)
Orlando’s defense is horrid without Dwight Howard. At least we’re still good when Tyson is sitting (I would argue that he makes us elite, this year, on that end).
I love that guy who tried to distract Big Baby with his food… and it worked.
Go Jazz!
What offensive called against Melo was bs.
I like this “making wide open 3s” version of Shump.
Guarding Dwight Howard looks like a miserable way to spend a few hours.
Melo is so locked in tonight. Looking good on both ends, and he’s hurt
It looks like something that demands every fiber of your whole being to do.
Wow…………that was a horrid call by the officials. But, I’m glad Carmelo is killing the Magic. The Magic with Dwight Howard, Turkoglu, Q-Rich, Glen Davis, and SVG make a rather unlikeable group for me.
There is no such thing as “getting hot” for Shump. He’l make one, get wide open for another, and miss badly. But hey, at least he’s making some threes!!
I wonder if that’s Landry Fields’ worst nightmare.
This is the offense the Knicks need to be running, even when Lin and Amar’e come back, at least when Melo has a good matchup. Pretty much every good look created this quarter has been off a Melo post up, that needs to continue. Melo is also playing monster defense right now.
Don’t make us unleash the Shump, Orlando.
Fields air ball to Harrellson missed layup was quite comical.
Lol, I can’t believe people can watch this game and decide that Fields is close to Shumpert. I guess we all interpret what we see differently, but Fields just looks desperate to keep his job at this point. TD and Fields have a lot of work to do this offseason.
Baron reliably alternates between doing stupid and doing good. It’s like clockwork.
13 2nd quarter points. The 90s would be proud.
Baron Davis’ problem is that he does too much. He likes forcing the issue, and it’s very high risk/2-3 point reward.
I’ve wondered why no one talks about Orlando when they discuss Eastern Conference hopefuls.
I think I get it now.
Melo looking as good as he ever has that first half, against a good defense.
I never feel that great vs. the Magic because they can always just chuck 40 threes and make 20… but damn this is looking good.
WHY is Harrellson playing? I thought La Madera Grande said he was going to give Jordan some burn. Seriously… Harrellson is fairly useless when he can’t hit his shots, and he hasn’t been able to since injury. He’s getting beaten off the block, and he’s way too short to be an effective defender on Dwight.
I want to see how Jordan can do – Amare and Jeffries are out, it’s time to see what he can do. He’s been given nothing but garbage time.
Haven’t seem too many guys play with a strained groin like Melo……guy can barely move…. Wonder if Knicks fans still question his heart…. Also, beginning to understand the extent Melo improves the offense without getting assists
Davis is like a reckless chess player, on offense and defense.
Shump-Shump hitting threes might be Fields’ worst nightmare, but it’ll be an absolute boon to the Knicks.
Lmao @ he ever has…. This is nothing…. He’s playing without any ability to jump or move laterally…. What ur seeing is team utilizing his ability to create doubles to get great shots…. I wasn’t making this stuff up
Hack-A-D12 ?
And how about that wily drive and kickout by BDiddy to Novakaine for the buzzer-3. Cash.
Spectacular 2nd quarter…I’m just hoping Melo has one of those magical injuries that he “can’t make any worse by playing through.” kind of like Chandler’s. But I doubt it :-/
Yeah… Guessing he will sit Atlanta and Cleveland assuming Lin gets back out there. If they find a way to steal 2night and Atl they’ll be in good shape
Ruru, love me some Melo, but his own comments conspired to raise questions about his heart. I think you know what I mean. Anyway, what do you all think about the overall team play? Also, I hate to criticize the refs, but they red flagged Chandler for a foul when it was clearly (to me) an offensive foul by Dwight. That turn around is huge. They also credited a Dwight foul to another player improperly. Very significant. Knicks, keep closing out the three and hack-a-dwight. Keep the pace slow, play D and make the extra pass. BTW, some of the stuff this team is doing is a credit to D’Antoni, IMO.
im posting from iPhone at bar.., I agree with ur comments and will post my thoughts on game later tonight
Tremendous 2nd quarter, the offense was really humming. (The only exception being that 3 pt. attempt by Fields, which may have been one of the ugliest shots I’ve seen since coaching 4th grade rec ball).
Jorts gave cooties to Dunleavy in the last game when he lunged at him. Jorts needs to incorporate cooties into his hack-a-Man-child arsenal.
Fields has made two good cuts today. He does that better than Shump.
Uh oh. Looks like Melo is heating up. Guess we all know what this means…MY BOOING HELPED! MY BOOING HELPED!
Ruruland, you picked the wrong night to be in the bar lol.
“you best defend that man”-Bernard King
Good ole Melo. He’s back.
‘Melo’s beasting!
I guess the question now is, does Melo play better without Lin at the PG? The offense running through him looks pretty damn efficient.
I’m gonna give big props to ruru, he literally predicted this kind of run and this kind of performance would eventually happen. Melo is literally doing whatever he wants out there, only Kobe is capable of scoring in as many varied ways, preventing the defense from settling into some kind of rhythm trying to stop him. Really helps that people are making their shots.
The injury has allowed Melo to relax his shooting and finishing movement….,his shooting and finishing was so tense…..injury might be just what doctor ordered
6 boards in 10 minutes, he’s like a hick version of Faried.
Baron is ballin’ tonight also.
By the way I don’t know how some Knicks fan isn’t trying to beat the refs right now. The Knicks get terrible calls consistently it’s ridiculous.
And we need it…
is that Shump-Shump’s third 3???
Who’d have thought Melo needed to bust his groin to get his shot back.
I just jizzed in my pants
Honestly, this is but not that big of deal in terms of what he can do right….., the fact that he’s doing it injured in a huge game after his unprecedEnted struggle makes it very special
HOW BOUT DESE KNICKS!!
Injured groins for everyone!
We’re beating a healthy #3 seed Magic by 27 points, and I’m loving every second of it. We’re missing 3 rotation players.
well, this is nice.
The Knicks are contenders. It’s time to appreciate it, this can be the most deep, versatile team in the league if they can shore up their mistakes in time for the playoffs.
yep, 3-7 tonight (Novak is 3-6) after 3-6 last game.
Y’all are also watching the game where the Knicks are up by 27 on the strength of Melo, Shumpert and Baron having their best games of the year, right? Because its surprisingly muted / almost pessimistic here.
Or am I watching on some crazy delay and the Magic are about to score 30 points in the next 45 seconds?
Damn it, there’s nothing to argue about here.
let’s not go nuts, this Orlando team has had some games this year where they totally disappear.
loving the Woodson era, though. one game at a time, let’s finish this one.
Of course, as I type the above post there are about 10 enthusiastic posts. Glad to see some of us are enjoying this!
I… I don’t know HOW Melo got his touch back AND how Shump-Shump has found the range in the same game… but I’m LOVING IT!
Best line of the night
51-20 since the first quarter.
It actually makes sense when you look back at the way his finish looked before
I say there is!
5th best record in the league. Also Raptors are looking better and better, considering the ridiculous stretch of games they were playing through (5 in 7 nights!). I forgiveable loss, and players are starting to find their shots/not simply throw the ball away consistently
Melo just filthy on that pull up!
welcome to the 2011-2012 season, Carmelo Anthony. please stick around for the duration.
I know the Magic has had some Jeckyl and Hyde games given their weapons and talent… but Mannnnnnnnnnnnnn this is an OUTSTANDING performance!!!
Melo with 23 points on 13 shots, 5 assists, 4 rebounds, 1 steal, and a block with 2 shots from downtown. Honestly, we should have seen this coming. It was seriously Melo + 4 bench-warmers in Game 2 when he elevated his game to mega-super-elite mode.
Tyson just dunked on Howard, in which should have been an and-1 play.
D12 hacked T-1000 on that alley oop lay-in
By the way, it’s not unrealistic that the Knicks finish with the 3rd best point differential in the East if this game hold up. Especially if you only count games in the Woodson era lol
He was here on Christmas Day, then went back into hibernation until the Spring. Melo sure looks like the Grizzly I remember him being.
It almost makes me cry watching this team play so well. It really shows how much potential they have. This is what happens when you rebound and don’t turn the ball over.
Shumpert with the GREAT dunk. He looks so excited after that.
Man, save some for next game, guys.
PLAY OF THE YEAR!!!!
Earl with the steal off the inbounds and corner-3!
STOP STOP THEY’RE ALREADY DEAD
Iman Shumpert, ladies and gentlemen.
Best part is, players will get to rest. Also Shumpert is quickly becoming a fucking monster.
Man, Jr Smith finds so many unique ways to insult the opposing team.
but they had a 87-56 loss to Boston and a 85-59 loss to Chicago (without Rose), more than any other top team, they’re prone to this kind of game.
still awesome, though. SHUMP SHUMP SHUMP SHUMP
Helps that people are finally making WIDE open 3′s. Totally changes the dynamic of this team.
Smith then Shump Shump!!! This is just getting reDONKulous!!!
At what point do we have to say – enough already – take out Melo and Chandler.
Knicks were waaaaayyyyyyyyy overdue for a hot-shooting game. They deserve to have a game like this, and it’s 5X sweeter that it’s against Orlando.
61-20 since the first.
So keep Melo in since he’s finally hitting shots and build his confidence, or take him out to rest the injury?
Only two Knicks are shooting under 50% from the field lol.
Look at those teams defensively though. They’re super disciplined about staying on shooters, the Magic don’t have fluke performances like this, they have serious flaws that a team as good as the Knicks can easily exploit. Like what does Ryan Anderson do when face guarded by a competent player? Take a dump on the floor LOL
We’re gonna be brimming with confidence down in hot Lanta Friday, and our home crowd should help carry us to victory.
This Magic team — If you’ve got a guy who can slow howard 1 on 1, you just get hands up against them and they’re hopeless, one dimensional. That’s why Atlanta beat em last playoffs — Jason Collins got in Howard’s way.
Talk about everything coming together all at once.
Dwight is already at the hotel.
Kate Upton at the Knicks game tonight! Now I’m twice as sad that I’m not at this game in person.
These are pretty special circumstances though my friend… Looking forward to talking about this one
Maybe the Knicks’ medical staff kicked him in the groin…just after they took a bat to Amare’s lower back and a vice to Lin’s knee!
Your boy Shump is putting the final nails in not-so-handy Landry’s coffin.
Let’s go ahead and just put Mike Woodson in the Hall of Fame.
Shump having his best game, period
Shump still playing manic D with the Knicks up by a mile, gets the offensive foul call. Ahmazing
oh, how can you not love the Shump Man? he also quietly singlehandedly got Howard into foul trouble this quarter.
Of course if we had Faried, we’d be up by 50.
Right?
Shump gets flung aside by a pick for the 3rd time tonight and finally draws the O-foul.
Love the ovation from the crowd for Shump. Need to make the rookie understand how important effort is in NY
If this is what Shumpert looks like with a competent jumper, then – with all due respect to Fields and his supporters – there is no contest as to who should be the Knicks’ future starting 2-guard.
Oh and btw – the offense is getting the “oohs and aahs”, but this defense has held Orlando to 51 points in 34 minutes.
When will the talking heads realize that the Knicks are not bad at defense just b/c they’re the Knicks…??
Knicks’ guards need to relax a bit… don’t loose sight of JJ Redick.
And yes I know the Knicks are up 30+
Is it safe enough yet to play Toney Douglas?
I love how I decided to delete basically this same comment because I felt bad about picking on him :) Notice the only 2 players not having a good offensive night so far are Fields and Bibby….
jesus over .500?
keep the effort going for another six minutes or so, guys.
Hell, I think I saw Herb rubbing his palms for some minutes here.
29 pts for Magic in 1st. 30 pts combined in the second and third.
the much-maligned (a lot of it deserved) JR Smith is 4-4 so far.
Knicks are really playing great team defense. Even the guys who don’t have great defensive skills like Novak and Bibby are really giving serious effort on D.
Howard has been completely neutralized– 6 turnovers and 4 FG.
yea its weird its like they slumber through the 1q and then its straight lockdown for the rest of the game
They’re letting JJ ruin our point differential!!! How dare they! Our team isn’t as good if our point differential is a big as it could be
its almost every night
Little shocked Orlando has 32 wins.
I’m beginning to think we have a very dangous playoff team.
One night they grind.the next they’re gunslingers
In other news, Boston is up by 10 against Utah.
Getting sloppy
come on, guys.
thank you, Steve.
Novak
Did they stop doubling Howard? I feel like that has to do with the improved defense.
they haven’t had too many gunslinger nights though.
um, guys. defend the 3 point line, thanks.
19-5 Orlando since Shumpert sat.
A lil concerned, but I’ll say this: if there was ever such a time you can deal with a team going on a 3-pt barrage, it’s when they’re down almost 40 points, lol.
Are we gonna blow this game?
come on guys, we just need a few good minutes.
SHUMP MOTHERFUCKING ERT
that’s the way to halt a run.. and-1 for Shump-Shump
Shumpert must have been reading the blog today.
RESPECT
You ask. Shump-Shump delivers.
Utah and Boston tied now.
Utah coming back in Boston, Chicago up 16 on Atlanta, Nets beating Pacers, could be a very good night, Knicks fans.
Harrelson is terrible. Why in the world is he going back in?!
heh, thank you.
dunno why you hate him, he was good before he was hurt and hasn’t had much of a chance since he’s been back.
But he needs to be off the court now.
If he gets hurt I going to lose it…
Watching on DVR and just caught up. Wow! Melo Godlike. Shumpert outtahand. Defense when it counted great. Is this the fourth blowout of the Woodson era?
He has 7 rebounds in 16 mins. according to some people he’s the best player on the team
Toronto up 7 on Denver with one minute left in game…evidently they can beat some other decent teams at home!
Jerome Jordan is a large man.
yeah, that’s what I said above, he’s like our own Faried. :)
Melo was a man
Love 40 and 19. Holy shit
Toney Douglas still sucks.
I like that we have built up a relatively strong home court record now (17-10), and we have been blowing teams out especially @ MSG!!!
TD still seems lost out there.
It looks like the celebrity all star game where TD is the celebrity and everyone else is an all star.
Haha. Even Landry’s MADE baskets miss by a foot.
some videogame numbers, my god.
Melo has been pretty good today, nice game overall…
hahahahaha
I know I’m getting way ahead of myself, but if we can somehow catch Atlanta for the 6th spot (and it starts with beating them Friday and pulling within 2 1/2) guess who we’d play in the 1st round?
Even though the shot didn’t go in, that step-back move by JR there was beautiful. He really has some sick moves.
Yea when you consider the abysmal shooting and the fact that it was in the midst of a 5 games in 7 nights stretch, I think it’s a forgivable loss in the Mike Woodson era. Also, some of these teams we’re beating that “weren’t that good” sure have looked like it when playing everyone else.
Above .500!
Shump’s game tonight was – dare I say it? – positively Fariedesque.
not taking anything away from the way NY is playing, just saying let’s not get ahead of ourselves. one game at a time, ATL up next.
I hope Melo has turn the corner on his shooting. I also say time to put Shump back in starting lineup
I know, right? you mean the way he let Bargnani get 26? oh wait, that really was GGTB*, Kenneth Faried.
*God’s Gift To Basketball
in addition to Melo and Shump, Baron played his best game of the year.
Not sure Faried can play a two-way game the way Shump did.
Melo had a .708 TS% tonight. Knicks had 24 assists, 11 turnovers. Magic had 14 assists, 18 turnovers.
This was also easily Baron Davis’ best game as a Knick so far.
d12 had a – 31 wow
Stretch 4′s are Faried’s kryptonite.
That 9 TO game and 30 plus minutes might help his endurance and overall game. This Lin/Davis combo going to be major strength for last 15 games.
portland W 121-79
Fri 16 vs Indiana W 115-100
Sat 17 @ Indiana W 102-88
Tue 20 vs Toronto W 106-87
Wed 21 @ Philadelphia W 82-79
Fri 23 @ Toronto L 79-96
Sat 24 vs Detroit W 101-79
Mon 26 vs Milwaukee W 89-80
besides the loss the games havent really been close since woody entered
this Lin injury is a blessing in disguise as it’s forced Baron to step up.
I know this may seem weird, but I’m not sure I would give up Chandler for Howard straight up.
Howard still can’t he frees, still quits, still doesn’t have leadership skills, still commits dumb fouls.
Chandler makes others better. Not sure Howard does.
is it me, or does Jordan look like he can be a pretty good rebounder with training, strength and reps?
That STAT injury was a blessing in disguise (at least tonight) as it forced Ryan Anderson to not have wide open 3-point looks!!!
Even the loss was’t close!!!
gang rebounding again, NY 49-34. the rebounding in the Woodson era has been incredible.
Howard is still the best big in the league. However, Bill Simmons did write about the fact that Atlanta showed one year that you can let Howard get his and still beat the Magic, which wouldn’t be the case if, say, it was Shaq, Wilt or Kareem.
Amare hurt also force Melo to be the man also. I’ve extremely excite for this team. Road game next and Knicks probably not going shoot 50% again, but as long keep rebounding edge I like our chances. I saw some alot player box out so teammates can get rebound. Plus 15 on boards and of course maintain defense intensity.
Kelly Tripuka’s comments about each player manning up to their assignments (esp on D) sounds awfully Big Blue-ish, doesn’t it fellow Giant fans?
8-1 with a +129 in the Woodson era, this should push us up the Hollinger rankings another notch or two.
What about the effect the injuries had on Melo? He’s the focal point once again and he’s responded well.
I think Woodson has some decisions to make when Lin comes back, because running the offense thru Melo, esp. when he has a mismatch, sure as hell looked efficient tonight. Does he stay with the high pick and roll with Lin and Chandler, or do they dump the ball down to Melo in the low block to initiate the offense?
This is not a rip on Amare, but…Any positive impact on Melo by having Stat out of the game? Any positive impact on the team in general, which seemed to play quicker, even though pace was slowed down. Maybe Amare coming back as the 5 on the second unit will really ring the bell for a lot of reasons. Maybe it would be awesomely deep. How many guards in the NBA can score 25 and play D like the Shump. Very, very select group indeed. He really reminds this old boy of a young Sugar Ray. He reminds me of one of them extreme sport athletes with his quickness and crazy balance. Frank O, I can’t stand Howard and agree with your post.
Yup. Looks really afraid. :-)
I think there is has to be more than coincidence, right? Melo’s best games are almost always sans Amare.
Shump is 7 for 16 from 3 in the last 2 games. He 11 for 32 or .334 for the month of March (14 games). I wonder when the critics are going to cool it with the “Shump can’t shoot, he should never shoot a 3″ BS.
well, that’s what Owen and a few others have been saying since the start, that Melo and Amare overlap too much. of course, it’s nice to have both when one is out.
Redundancy=inefficiency….maybe.
Synergy=efficiency.
Also, if you check out the Shump shot, it looks pretty sound. We know he can finish with aplomb, but his J form looks at least OK to me…No?
@205, I’m guilty of that. But I prefer it when most players just attach that basket.
Wow…what a game! Melo played a perfect game. Aggressive, drawing doubles, passing when he should, scoring when he should …and started inside then went to the outside. Love that! Shump Shump …wow. I rest the case on Shump vs Fields at the altar of tonight’s game! Moot point for now given the injuries….but when our guys are healthy Shump should be starting at 2. Fields should be playing 3 off the bench.
He has good form…biggest issue with shump as been shot selection, not his form. He gets good bounce, has good form and follow-through. He just needs repetition and time in the gym to be more consistent. Same thing at Georgia Tech…he was the primary option and took a lot of bad shots b/c he had to. On this team he can be more selective.
Boston won damn
Knicks stills 9 games away. It’s going to be tall order moving out of the 8th spot.
Indiana and Atlanta lost…we just need to get 6th or above somehow. Btw…look at Boston’s schedule coming up…they won at home against Utah expected. They have an INSANE schedule in April.
You should watch Howard against centers not named Chandler….and you may change your mind
this is what I’ve been saying for months, give Shumpie some one-on-one coaching and he will be a star:
“Before the Bucks game Monday night, Shumpert was working with former Knick and current assistant general manager Allan Houston on shooting off screens. After the rookie missed a few in a row, Houston came up to him and said, “Sometimes your shot is too flat. More arc.”
Well, since that game, Houston’s advice has made a difference. After scoring 11 points on 4-for-8 shooting in the Knicks’ 89-80 win over the Bucks, Shumpert had 25 tonight on 10-for-21 shooting, including 4-for-10 from 3-point territory. ”
http://espn.go.com/blog/new-york/knicks/post/_/id/15442/rapid-reaction-knicks-108-magic-86
Relax guys…It’s one good game from BD. Let’s see if grandpa Davis can keep this up (let’s say 7 games?) We wouldn’t want him to go down before playoff due to overuse do we? Also, this team doesn’t need Melo to play hero ball with the firepower that they have. Unselfish Team Basketball is ultimately what’s going to get them to the promise land, plus it is much less boring to watch. Woodson’s job is to figure out how to best utilizes the talent(s) on this team come next year, assuming he is still the head coach.
the greatest thing about today’s win was how often the team was making the extra pass…
so often we see a kick out to a player who has a window to shoot it, but could pass it to a better located teammate, and often the ball gets shot on the first window… if you watch Chicago, for example, they always make that one extra pass.
if this keeps on going, I’ll be encouraged.
I love it that when people want to defend players, they say that the fault for someone scoring a lot is “on the entire defense”, not only on one guy.
but when they want desperately to prove a point, they personalize it…
(oh, by the way, Bargnani averages 20.1 per 36 this season, so I guess many other defenders have let him do it too, right?).
I think the way Woodson will design the offense each game will depend on matchups. On nights where Melo has a defender who can’t guard him, the offense will run through him. Other nights, when there’s no big man like Howard protecting the basket and Melo has a bigger, stronger defender on him, they may go back to pick and rolls with Lin and Chandler. Nice luxury for a coach to have.
re: Shumpert’s shooting
His large paws seems to help his torrid defensive style, and he coordinates his fingers well to get steals (like when he backpedals and deflects aerial passes or steals an inbound pass), but they sometimes hinder his shooting. For instance, he cups the ball on his palm when it should be on his fingertips (hence the flat jumpshot), and he also varies his follow through too much…sometimes spreading his pinky or thumb wide and sending the ball off-kilter.
Not sure what worries me more about Amar’e. How he’s going to fit in the “system” after he returned or his 18 mil. contract.
Faried gets lit up every night, one of the very worst defenders in the league to date according to Synergy numbers, just another example.
Sorry, we had people visiting tonight, so I couldn’t start the game thread. Looks like I missed a great one! Awesome. I love them being over .500.
It’s like I said when Amar’e went down, the way things the team works on defense, they’d be fine so long as Melo stepped up. Glad that he did so!
I am astonished that the Knick’s team D remains this good with JJ out. Chandler and Shump are unreal leaders, communicators, and motivators. Melo and JR have clearly bought in. Whether their shots are falling or not they’re working hard at the other end (almost) every time.
More than Melo’s shot returning or Barron’s legs returning or Amare or Lin returning or Shump’s or JR’s shot selection improving, I think sustaining this intensity on D is the ticket to some asskickingly great playoff basketball. Most nights that alone will keep them in games no matter what. When some portion of the offense is also clicking they will make some great teams look very bad. Even if we stay in 8th, I can’t wait.
This sums it up perfectly. This team has the potential to have the most versatile offense in the league. They have athletes capable of running the break when Lin comes, both Lin and Melo are good at running pick and rolls and can use that to create space, both Melo Jr, and Amar’e can take their man one on one off the dribble with proper spacing, and Melo can post up and have others play off him like these past two games. It all depends on matchups and game situations, which is why Woodson has worked so well for this team, he has been willing to adapt to the situation and try different lineups and offensive sets. The best part is, playoff offense is all about exploiting matchups in the half court, no one in the east has the size to contend with the Knicks inside, while Melo is able to provide consistent offense if Lin is taken out of the game or JR and Shumpert are bricking everything (I’m seriously hoping Fields is benched by that point). I think Miami and Chicago are both a bit overrated, for different reasons, and I think a playoff series (hoping everyone is healthy of course) this year could easily swing on which team can best exploit the other’s mistakes.
Better late than never, here’s the recap http://knickerblogger.net/quick-reaction-knicks-108-magic-86/
he is a really bad defender, but he did not allow Bargnani to score 26 alone, it’s also team defense.