203 thoughts to “2011 Game Thread: Knicks vs. Magic”
Firsties, let the trolling begin….
secondies
really hope we can get a win tonite and have a semi peaceful night here, but I’m not real optimistic.
Hey, we’re undefeated wearing the Nueva York jerseys.
Crowd is getting antsy. I feel a booing is imminent
Landry off a nice feed from Melo
Both of those offensive foul calls were questionable.
Wide-open three for Chauncey… CLANG
This offense looks horrific. You know what, screw all this ball movement stuff which isnt working because they all look tentative. Just give Amar’e and Melo the damn ball and tell them to fucking score and if they are doubled then pass the ball. Pretty simple to me.
Listening to JVG analyze the Knicks, sounds to me like he is ready to come back and coach the Knicks again lol.
Pretty much every time ORL has the ball, they get it to somebody deep in the post and we foul them.
Melo *may* be more willing tonight to immediately pass when his initial move doesn’t get him open…has done it a couple of times already.
Let’s all hope that Breen is right about Toney Douglas leading the NBA in 3pt % for the month of “May”
Checkout JVG busting out with how many pts/poss a turnover costs a team.
That horrific turnover had nothing to do with Chauncey’s knee.
Does anyone build up a profuse, Ewing-like sweat more instantaneously than Chauncey Billups?
Awful pass by billups. I could see it coming before he threw it
Bass on pace for a Mbah a Moute like 13 for 13 from FT line performance.
Nice work extra-e.
Nice wasted possession
Not the best pass at the end there, but overall, a good end to the quarter.
Really, though, it is not surprising to see the Magic struggle the instant Duhon enters the game.
That’s two plays where Melo didn’t even pretend to chase down his man and at least make the shot difficult.
What the crap?? Melo jus flat gave up on the play as soon as the ball was intercepted. We can’t have that. More reason to get a defensive specialist on the staff..
Well, we hung in there despite STAT playing like dog poop.
On a side note: has everyone seen the first episode of The Andy and Landry Show ? Solid first episode, although I fully expect them to hit their stride and produce some classics.
Magic an excellent 3pt shooting team so naturally the Knicks play off all their shooters and allow them to get off good looks at 3pters. Lucky J-Rich missed 2 WIDE open 3s earlier.
Jim Cavan: On a side note: has everyone seen the first episode of The Andy and Landry Show ?Solid first episode, although I fully expect them to hit their stride and produce some classics.
“It’s the Andy and Landry, Andy and Landry, the Andy and Landry shooooow!!”
Cant get that jingle out of my head lol.
Shawne has become a decent shot-blocker lately.
Man, Extra E was soooo open, but by the time he got it they were closing out and he rushed the brick. Lame.
Again more open 3’s for the Magic. Brilliant defensive strategy.
Mason Jr again for 3!!
If Mason is back to being, you know, not bad…then that would be sweet.
Mason! No brick-layer he.
8 dimes on 11 shots so far…
FreeMason!
Mason making another 3 to bring the Knicks to down 2. He’s ay least earning his roster spot lately.
Wow, more offensive rebounds right there than in a whole game….
I love the guy, but that may have been the worst cut in the history of basketball by Fields right there.
Jim Cavan: I love the guy, but that may have been the worst cut in the history of basketball by Fields right there.
lol, that was really really strange, I was really wondering what he was thinking there.
How come fans of other teams tweet praises of the team, talk mostly about what they are doing well. But every dickhead blogger with a twitter acct that covers the Knicks tweets nothing but negativity always?
Nice feed, Anthony to Turiaf.
That dunk stat is a good sign that the Knicks would be so great with a top passing point guard. STAT should be in the top five in the NBA in dunks.
Spree8nyk8: How come fans of other teams tweet praises of the team, talk mostly about what they are doing well.But every dickhead blogger with a twitter acct that covers the Knicks tweets nothing but negativity always?
‘Cause after the trade the expectations for the team went up and the performance went down… When the trade went down ‘Melo & Billups where supposed to push the Knicks to a better level, but we have played worse…
JVG is right – they don’t run back on D
Philly just crushing Atlanta in the fourth quarter.
Brian Cronin: That dunk stat is a good sign that the Knicks would be so great with a top point guard. STAT should be in the top five in the NBA in dunks.
two Clippers on that list with Baron Davis, Bledsoe, Mozgov Williams and Randy Foye playing the point. I wonder.
Turiaf is absolutely hopeless trying to defend Howard.
JK47: Turiaf is absolutely hopeless trying to defend Howard.
Most big men are absolutely hopeless trying to defend Howard.
CRJoe:
‘Cause after the trade the expectations for the team went up and the performance went down… When the trade went down ‘Melo & Billups where supposed to push the Knicks to a better level, but we have played worse…
We haven’t played worse, that shit is a myth. We were 7 games over 500 in december. 2 games above 500 at the trade. That’s playing 5 games below 500 for months. Don’t see how that is playing worse.
JK47: Turiaf is absolutely hopeless trying to defend Howard.
I’ll give him his points, but he has two rebounds right now. That’s huge.
man we must be shooting like 85% this quarter
Billups is getting his revenge on Orlando for injuring him lol.
You have gotta be kidding me.
That Nelson shot took some wind out of our sails
If Nelson keeps this up he could land himself a deal with L.A. Gear.
Whoever is running the Knickerblogger twitter acct needs to get on there and drum up some negativity for this next half. Let’s GO!!!!!
Does anyone here know if NBA League Pass gives a less choppy feed than First Row or Atdhe? I’m seeing about one of every three plays tonight on First Row – not sure if it’s my internet connection.
Spree8nyk8: Whoever is running the Knickerblogger twitter acct needs to get on there and drum up some negativity for this next half.Let’s GO!!!!!
Your idea of negativity is Mike K saying Carmelo isn’t a top 10 talent? Are you joking?
These halftime celebrity interviews are always so awkward
Spree8nyk8:
We haven’t played worse, that shit is a myth.We were 7 games over 500 in december.2 games above 500 at the trade.That’s playing 5 games below 500 for months.Don’t see how that is playing worse.
Well, we have a worse EFG% and a worse overall FG%, so we are scoring more points but on a less efficient offense… We are also allowing more points at a more efficient rate, so our defense has also worsened… You could also add a couple more stats to that, like for instance, we now have less assisted field goals, and a less distributed usage rate… But at the end of the of the day, we are playing a couple of games below .500, which you are right, is pretty much the same we had been doing in the last couple months, but now we have both a worse d and a less eficient (worse?) offense…
hoolahoop: Does anyone here know if NBA League Pass gives a less choppy feed than First Row or Atdhe? I’m seeing about one of every three plays tonight on First Row – not sure if it’s my internet connection.
I’m using firstrow and it’s totally fine, so I think it might be your connection..
Strong 2nd quarter for the Knicks. Melo’s playing a pretty efficient game, 14 points on 5 shots (7-7 from the stripe). Amar’e’s gotta get it going this half though, 2-8 probably won’t cut it. Here’s an odd stat though; Dwight Howard, with 2 rebounds so far, is being outrebounded by Amar’e Stoudemire (who has 3 boards).
I’m tired of the word efficiency.
hoolahoop: Does anyone here know if NBA League Pass gives a less choppy feed than First Row or Atdhe? I’m seeing about one of every three plays tonight on First Row – not sure if it’s my internet connection.
I’m watching on ESPN, but I wonder if Clyde on MSG is saying right now: “Knicks looking good, but the game is 48 minutes long, not 46 or 44” Would be an appropriate comment, esp. after Monday’s debacle.
Run back on D! Bastids
Amar’e is playing with no energy at all today. He’s walking up and down the court, not looking for his shot. Really just playing uninspired basketball.
hoolahoop: Does anyone here know if NBA League Pass gives a less choppy feed than First Row or Atdhe? I’m seeing about one of every three plays tonight on First Row – not sure if it’s my internet connection.
the game is on espn3.com i’m sure
If Knicks lose this game, its 150% entirely on Amar’e. Worst he has looked all season so far.
Orlando r really good.
LMFAO @ JVG playing highlights!!!!
BigBlueAL: If Knicks lose this game, its 150% entirely on Amar’e.Worst he has looked all season so far.
how much do you think Howard has to do with that? Not that Brook Lopez is in Amare’s class bit he had awful games against Orlando.
Amare doesn’t have his sidekick – Nash.
Nick C.:
how much do you think Howard has to do with that? Not that Brook Lopez is in Amare’s class bit he had awful games against Orlando.
Nothing. They arent guarding each other.
Knicks offense has gone ice cold
I agree, something has to be wrong with his knees cus he just isnt pushing off at all.
BigBlueAL:
Nothing.They arent guarding each other.
Lots of hustle and energy on the defensive end so far this quarter.
Jeffries is killing the Knicks on offense. Howard isnt bothering guarding him and is just keying on doubling Melo.
Is Dantoni going to go with the same start of the 4th quarter lineup that starts to lose control of the game
Now we come to the heart of it…the fourth quarter.
What’s better beating them today or in a few days? Do we want to get the mad for the playoffs?
Mulligan:
Your idea of negativity is Mike K saying Carmelo isn’t a top 10 talent? Are you joking?
I’m saying does he ever tweet anything positive about the team he’s (i’m guessing paid, although maybe undeservingly so) covering?
Boston lost at home to Memphis tonight. Looks like the 2-7 matchup could unfortunately be Celtics-Knicks.
KnickInSeattle: @57, League Pass feed has always been great for me.
Have you ever used First Row or any other free sites?
BigBlueAL: Jeffries is killing the Knicks on offense.Howard isnt bothering guarding him and is just keying on doubling Melo.
Yeah, and in the matchup vs. Howard he’s getting abused on D too.
hoolahoop:
Have you ever used First Row or any other free sites?
I’ve used ATDHE a good bit, First Row less so. It varies in quality of feed.
@90, I haven’t, but tonight’s game is on the espn3 site I’m told. Since espn is carrying it nationally.
Knicks have drawn more charges tonight than in any other 3 games this season (not a statistic, just an impression).
TD once again playing within himself, and playing well because of it.
Here we go
@96, nah. They’re going to hold on tonight.
If D’Antoni doesnt change this lineup soon, Knicks will be down close to double digits by the time Billups and Melo return.
Have some Home Pride.
Offense has really bogged down
Well at least Billups is back in.
What is Amare doing? I dont get it
Here we go blowout
Amar’e should skip the post-game press conference tonight after this pathetic game.
Just as predicted, this lineup loses control of the game
And once we stop scoring, everyone stops defending too.
I’m sorry, I don’t want to hear about Howard’s defense on Amare, that is a foul without question. I just don’t get how Amare doesn’t get calls, I really think the refs don’t like him and his and one calls.
Amar’e better not talk shit after the game tonight about the offense.
Same damn lineup every game at the start of the fourth….does Dantoni not see a pattern here?
MSG crowd should start a “Jeff Van Gundy” chant lol.
This team just flat-out sucks.
I went to the gym at the end of the second, returned for the fourth and the Knicks were doing their tell-tale fourth quarter swoon.
But Amare finally had two good offensive possessions.
how is that not a loose ball on howard
How the hell is that not a loose-ball foul on Howard??
Now comes the typical Knicks lack of rebounding in the 4th quarter. Amazing.
what a bogus foul call
But I have to say, these past two games the Knicks have played for fairly long periods playoff-type defense.
They have had their bad moments, but oddly, it’s their offense that has really failed them.
We have no chance. They’re just gonna go to Howard every time and we have no prayer of stopping it.
aaaand goodnight
This is so predictable its becoming sad.
Nice perimeter D, Melo. Hedo just faked you out of your shorts.
why turiaf is not in the game??? he played goodwhen he was in the game. also how hard is to get a rebound.
Knicks are down by 10 boards and Amare can’t hit the ocean, but still close
We need the MSG crowd to start a chant.
Why the eff is Billups chucking up 3’s?
it sort of feels like we gave up a few minutes ago.
Douglas and Billups need to step up. amare and Melo seem flat
Amar’e is not a max player, Melo is not a max player, we stink, we’re screwed, we’re headed to the lottery next year and we don’t even have a pick, Isiah is coming back, my dog is gonna die and my wife is gonna leave me.
After the game Melo should call out the offense and say maybe they should give me the ball on every possession and get out of the way.
If Amare and Melo could run a PnR together, that would be freaky good
Giving away too many possessions
Melo with 23 pts on 11 FGA plus 9 asts so far.
What a shocker, a big offensive rebound given up by the Knicks in the 4th quarter.
JK47: Amar’e is not a max player, Melo is not a max player, we stink, we’re screwed, we’re headed to the lottery next year and we don’t even have a pick, Isiah is coming back, my dog is gonna die and my wife is gonna leave me.
what else do you want Melo to do tonight?
Melo 23 pts on 11 shots with 9 assists 5 boards and 2 steals, yeah he’s terrible.
JK47: Amar’e is not a max player, Melo is not a max player, we stink, we’re screwed, we’re headed to the lottery next year and we don’t even have a pick, Isiah is coming back, my dog is gonna die and my wife is gonna leave me.
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!
You’re not a troll if you’re funny. :)
yes, melo is the only reason we’re not down 30 or more. Gotta keep going to that advantage and not shoot dumb threes. Also have to get stops and not foul every time they set a screen or run off a break.
JK47: Amar’e is not a max player, Melo is not a max player, we stink, we’re screwed, we’re headed to the lottery next year and we don’t even have a pick, Isiah is coming back, my dog is gonna die and my wife is gonna leave me.
I think you just wrote a Country & Western song. Wait a sec, lemme grab my banjo
Really starting to question D’Antoni’s lineups down the stretch. Howard isn’t having to work at all. I get the idea of spacing the floor, but I put Turiaf in for Shawne immediately. If they’re covering the perimeter Turiaf can at least heat cutters.
we cant even get a single defensive rebound.. that killing us what is the point if orlano going to miss if we dont get a rebound. and why william is guarding howard. where is turiaf??
Anthony tagaint again. Nice. Bizarre ad it may be to say This, but the part of Melo’s game I am most impressed by is his passing (notwithstaning the Favreian pass the other game)
perhaps hack a howard time tho?
JK47: Amar’e is not a max player, Melo is not a max player, we stink, we’re screwed, we’re headed to the lottery next year and we don’t even have a pick, Isiah is coming back, my dog is gonna die and my wife is gonna leave me.
Of the final 3 options you stated, which would personally be the worst for you?? lol
@135
Melo has been terrific tonight, and actually has been unfairly made the scapegoat of this team’s struggles. He’s still not a max player though, even though he is easily the best Knick tonight.
We’re going under .500. This sucks.
What the hell was the amateur crap by Williams there?
What else is there to watch on TV after this.
tenebrous: What else is there to watch on TV after this.
KNuggets play next on ESPN.
Celtics master plan of setting up a matchup with the Knicks in the 1st round is looking brilliant right now.
Body language of the entire team is bad
4th quarters have been brutal…absolutely brutal
THANK GOD the Yankees season starts next Thursday.
Wow I didn’t think they would have the ____ to do it but they did. They actually reached the below .500 goal.
JK47: Amar’e is not a max player, Melo is not a max player, we stink, we’re screwed, we’re headed to the lottery next year and we don’t even have a pick, Isiah is coming back, my dog is gonna die and my wife is gonna leave me.
Things could be worse.
the bald announcer noted accurately that it looked like Amare was dogging it.
I wonder if Amare is unhappy with the way Carmelo has gotten so much focus when for most of the season he carried this team on his back.
…I mean…if Howard is going 10-12 from the line, what chance did we have really? We don’t have anyone to guard him, so we resort to fouling.
2 things about the game (sorry if ppl mentioned them already – didn’t read all the comments):
1) How come every time down the floor, howard gets a call when someone just swipes near the ball, but amare and melo get bodied up all the time no call or charge? Howard pushes off with his off hand too!
2) This game was not on Melo at all, and we actually played decent defense (except for all those fouls on howard at the end). I can see where they’re going with this team, but jeez it’s painful to watch this journey.
I really would love to know what James Dolan is thinking right now.
Really at this point it doesn’t matter whether we get the 6,7, or 8 spot, we’re getting our asses kicked in the 1st round no matter who we play
The more and more I watch this team I notice that Billupus is not the point guard we need, not know next year or the year after. I much rather take my chanceswith Tony and save a whole lot of money… Also what’s up with Amare, sure he had a bad shooting game but he had no energy out there… Carmelo can’t do much else, 24, 5 and 9….. Billupus only 3 assits??? come on!!
d-mar: Really at this point it doesn’t matter whether we get the 6,7, or 8 spot, we’re getting our asses kicked in the 1st round no matter who we play
As someone who was trumpeting their chances of beating the Bulls or Heat in the 1st round I sadly must agree with you. Right now just avoiding a sweep would be a miracle. Hell finishing 7th and not 8th is sadly in doubt right now.
They play better with douglas out there. Also, the Billups-Douglas backcourt is terrible, they seem lost with each other.
They should start Douglas, run point forward with Anthony. Maybe we should bring back Don Nelson
Bruce Bowen would have been a good fit for this team. A lock down defender who shoots 3s
Between Howard and Bass, they were 20-22 from the FT line. Not the reason we lost, but still hard to swallow.
Forget Dolan, I wonder what Isiah is thinking right now.
d-mar: Between Howard and Bass, they were 20-22 from the FT line. Not the reason we lost, but still hard to swallow.
Almost as bad as Mbah a Moute going 13 for 13 from the FT line on Sunday.
1. Chauncey had 3 assists, 2 turnovers and is a BAD perimeter defender. He’s a godawful way for this team to spend $12M next season.
2. Even when this team shows effort on defense, they just don’t make plays. Even our “good” defensive players like Jeffries, Douglas and Extra E are not really great defenders. We don’t have one single true lockdown defender on the team. This is such a massive structural problem it seems unfixable. We need a lockdown post defender and a lockdown wing defender, just for starters. Those dudes don’t grow on trees.
3. Landry Fields is nowhere near as good as Dave Berri says he is.
Turiaf needed to play more than 19 minutes tonight- he’s been more aggressive offensively the last couple of games but has been glued to the bench late in the 4th when the Knicks have getting killed inside. Also, this was a game where they should have run it through Melo practically every play in the 4th- they got good open looks almost every time he touched the ball but he just didn’t touch it enough. Still tough to win when Amar’e can’t buy one and Fields is really struggling on both ends.
I’m watching the Denver game and I’m not even going to lie, I miss my guys…. Felton, Chandler and Gallo…. What would of the knicks looked like if Melo wasn’t so eager to get out of denver and waited until the end of the season? I now we probably would have lost Chandler but so what??? We would of had his bird rights and could of gone over the cap to sign him….. But no sense in wondering what if… Gotta focus on what we got right now, two all stars with a D Leauge supporting cast….
Chances that we collapse and miss the playoffs? How hilarious and cursed us knicks fan would be, when we thought yay we’re goign to make the playoffs, the knicks are back, only to fall into 9th. Lol.
BigBlueAL: I really would love to know what James Dolan is thinking right now.
seriously? i’ll give you a hint. let’s see , average face value per ticket today = $88
next year, $43 per ticket increase x 41 home games x 19,000 seats/game = $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
he could give a crap less about wins and losses.
Well, good game for Carmelo….
Howard 21-25 over the last two games from the line (destroying my fantasy team in the process). Missing piece of the puzzle for him, he’d be pretty scary if he shot 80% from the line. Not happening of course…
Is it me or is it a total joke that people would consider Derrick Rose the MVP over Howard? The consistency of Orlando over the last four years, especially on defense, with them having rolled their lineup over pretty much completely, is astounding. And this year, with the Arenas trade having bombed, he still has them in top 8 in the league.
Hang in their brethren. I love you all.
Hang in there. The Knicks have infected me.
MD is not flexible at all. What is up with that. Is it MD or the players who didn’t feed Elo the ball. This was Elo’s game really. Wow, MD is that inflexible? This team would have done better with no coach on the sidelines. Are the players that brainless? MD is weird. How is he a coach? … Pls don’t answer that.
We need that coach from Tel Aviv who didn’t want to leave the floor when the Knicks played when he was being asked to leave. actually I’m surpirsed he left. He should have said F@&): to the NBA and took his players off the court as well. However, he’s a no nonsense coach. Dolan – make it happen. These guys would be in line in a second.
Galo is tearing it up
hah good to see the old knicks doing well, coming back vs. the spurs, makes me more depressed
Tim Duncan – DNP
granted that a coach who put sh williams on howard for many minutes is not acceptable,
i think you all guys so frustrated
don’t understand that once billups plays again like billups you can beat anyone in a series.
It all depends from billups.
Just got back from the game, it was even more depressing there than on TV.
Zero ball movement, everything going to isolation for Melo. Amare mostly standing around, didn’t seem well used. Turiaf had a few moments but obviously nobody was there to match up against Howard. Extra E, Landry, DWTDD, barely looking like capable subs. Billups looking tired. Just so sad.
I was resolute against the trade but it’s even worse than I thought it would be. And the only one who can even navigate a path out of this — a capable GM — is probably the most disenfranchised person on the squad. After all, Dolan could renew Donnie’s contract tomorrow. I don’t think he’s going to.
Someone shoot me.
Owen: Well, good game for Carmelo….Howard 21-25 over the last two games from the line (destroying my fantasy team in the process). Missing piece of the puzzle for him, he’d be pretty scary if he shot 80% from the line. Not happening of course…Is it me or is it a total joke that people would consider Derrick Rose the MVP over Howard? The consistency of Orlando over the last four years, especially on defense, with them having rolled their lineup over pretty much completely, is astounding. And this year, with the Arenas trade having bombed, he still has them in top 8 in the league.
the media started the derrick rose mvp thing because they didn’t want to give it to Lebron again. Honestly, D.Rose shouldn’t even be in the top 3. that guy is marbury without the mental issues.
Espn just reported that the league (NBA) just announced that they are sorry for not babying the Knicks and hence will revert the win bank to NY. The league went on further and said that they need the Knicks in the playoffs for viewership reasons. The league than went further and said they told this to Amare (guess melo didn’t get the memo) and asked him to be healthy for the playoffs and not to strain himself on the court. The league went on further and said that after the playoffs finish they will hold a national telivised event where the Knicks will run up and down the court without any team playing them and that this final game will determine the true champion. The winner of that last game will be crowned the new “NBA We’re That Good You Can’t Be On The Floor With Us Champion”. The league went further on to say that they will make sure that no anti-knick will be allowed to comment or announce the game.
Wow the league really likes the Knicks.
bouncerpr: The more and more I watch this team I notice that Billups is not the point guard we need, not now next year or the year after.
Billups has never been on a team with two options on offense that are head and shoulders above him. ‘Melo was killing it. I wish he would have gotten him the ball. The problem is his defense. But we can’t get rid of him if our aim is a 2012 FA. It’s going to be hard for Walsh to improve the roster this summer without ANY cap space, but that’ll be the position he’s in if we do pick up Billups’ option. If we don’t, are we going to sign FAs to long term deals? If so, that ruins our 2012 space.
bobneptune: next year, $43 per ticket increase x 41 home games x 19,000 seats/game = $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
While I do think the knicks will get back to respectable by the beginning of next season at the latest, I wonder what would happen if they didn’t. Would people still come to the games just so they can feel happy about having their “superstars”?
Owen: Is it me or is it a total joke that people would consider Derrick Rose the MVP over Howard?
Yes, ridiculous that Howard isn’t the leading MVP candidate. Like JVG pointed out during the game, that is a 15-20 win team without Dwight. Bulls are still a 40 win team w/o Rose.
ORL has always been a bad matchup, but on most nights IMO Chandler has been our biggest loss. His ability to defend in the post is really missed. Without his competent post defense and ability to spread the floor, we have to either allow STAT to be abused every night (which he seemingly has been since the deal), or play a guy with zero offensive game.
“Honestly, D.Rose shouldn’t even be in the top 3. that guy is marbury without the mental issues.”
Lol, I like that line.
It’s crazy how predictable the media is. Flashy first round pick leading emerging power in scoring? Give him the MVP!
As for the Knicks…. I have been down on the Knicks, really down, over the past five years. But even within that continuum, this feels up there with the worst feelings.
You never know though. I think I maintained pretty steadily that we would never get out from under the Randolph and Crawford contracts. That worked out ok. Maybe Donnie or someone can make something happen…
Having a team that only showed in the fourth quarter it knew how to clamp down on d was a lot more exciting than a team that occasionally leads opponents but blows the last 2 minutes of close games. This better not be a trend past this slump. or the slump won’t ever end.
Looks like we’ll be swapping picks with Houston after all.
BigBlueAL: I really would love to know what James Dolan is thinking right now.
He’s trying to decide if his new Ferrari should be red or yellow.
GHenman: Looks like we’ll be swapping picks with Houston after all.
Only will happen if the Rockets make the playoffs. Their records are irrelevant for now because the Knicks making the playoffs and the Rockets missing the playoffs puts them in the lottery and the Knicks not regardless if the Rockets have the better record.
Game recap is up folks. Try not to throw up on your screens.
nice chandler 5 blocks, oh well
I think Amare is getting tired of playing on “The Melo Show”.
They’re playing like crap and losing games, and he doesn’t have the clout to demand the ball and carry this team on his back anymore, nor the supporting cast to do it.
Or, maybe Amare just didn’t have the energy tonight. He’s been a warrior all season and deserves a break.
Melo has enormous potential if he modified his game. Don’t kill me for this, but I realized he has a lot of physical abilities in common with Larry Bird. – similar size, good shooters, can go to the rim. One thing about melo is that he holds the ball. Larry Bird would immediately do something with the ball, either a quick pass, shot, or put the ball on the floor and move. Bird also played hard on defense and went after loose balls. Melo should watch Larry Bird video day and night and try to be like Larry.
hoolahoop: s potential if he modified his game. Don’t kill me for this, but I realized he has a lot of physical abilities in common with Larry Bird. – similar size, good shooters, can go to the rim. One thing about melo is that he holds the ball. Larry Bird would immediately do something with the ball, either a quick pass, shot, or put the ball on the floor and move. Bird also played h
Melo played well tonight, Amare was just listless, some reason u could just in the first quarter, maybe he’s mailing it in.
There are some winnable games coming up on the schedule. Our next six are Bucks, Bobcats, Magic, Nets, Cavs, Raptors. All of those games are home games except the Bobcats game. This team needs to suck it up and start winning some of these games. Losing to Boston and Orlando is frustrating but understandable; losing to the dreck of the league is inexcusable.
The “good against good teams and bad against bad teams” thing was probably a bit of a statistical anomaly. You have to figure we’ll start getting some W’s against some of these scrubby teams.
Also, this Denver hot streak is fool’s gold if I’ve ever seen it. Look at tonight’s game: Ray Felton shot 6-12 FG and 3-4 3PT. Al Harrington shot 8-12 FG and 5-6 3PT. JR Smith shot 6-9 FG and 2-3 3PT. Nice win at home against a Spurs team without Tim Duncan, but the Knugget’s hot shooting is not gonna last forever.
Ray Felton is shooting .440 from 3PT in the month of March. Think that’s gonna last? I don’t. How about JR Smith? He’s .445 from 3PT in March. Unsustainable.
I think this team would be loads better right now if D’Antoni had (and would play) a legit seven footer with Turiaf as backup and Jeffries at 4 or 3 if at all. Mozgov might have been this guy (let’s not forget D’Antoni barely played him when he did have him), and it is a hundred percent on Dolan for giving him away. why anyone would give him any of their money instead of doing all they can to force him to sell the team is beyond me.
also, let’s get a ‘defensive coordinator’ type in the offseason as mentioned in the other thread, Mike Brown might be a good fit. let D’Antoni focus entirely on maximizing the offense, we’ve certainly got the horses on that side.
that’s only the 10th time in his career Melo has had 9 assists or more, first since April 2009. that’s a promising sign at least.
He’s .445 from 3PT in March. Unsustainable.
During his good years (when he just shot threes), Smith shot .390, .403 and .397, so while yeah, he likely is not going to stay at .445, it’s very believable for him to stay around .400. The guy should be a great three-point shooter. He’s starting to go back to “just taking threes” Smith, which has been one of the key aspects of the Nuggets turnaround (why he ever convinced himself that he should take more twos is beyond me).
Before the trade – 184/504 field goals (31%) were threes.
Since the trade – 84/165 field goals (51%) have been threes.
Nice point Brian, would have made the same one. JR Smith isn’t my favorite player in the world, but he can score efficiently and in volume and play at least a little defense. He’s had some really good ts% years. 58.5%, 60.3%, 57.6%….
JK47: Also, this Denver hot streak is fool’s gold if I’ve ever seen it. Look at tonight’s game: Ray Felton shot 6-12 FG and 3-4 3PT. Al Harrington shot 8-12 FG and 5-6 3PT. JR Smith shot 6-9 FG and 2-3 3PT. Nice win at home against a Spurs team without Tim Duncan, but the Knugget’s hot shooting is not gonna last forever.
That’s what’s really dangerous about that Denver team. They have 8 players who can easily put up 20 points on any given night. Because of that all they have to do is go to the hot hand. One day it’s Nene and Gallo the next it’s Felton and Harrington, after that it’s Chandler and Smith, then Lawson and Afflalo. Their scoring depth and balance is one of the best i’ve ever seen.
For those keeping score.
Knuggets 11-4
lost to Orlando in Orlando in last few seconds.
lost to Miami in Miami, fought tough all game.
Firsties, let the trolling begin….
secondies
really hope we can get a win tonite and have a semi peaceful night here, but I’m not real optimistic.
Hey, we’re undefeated wearing the Nueva York jerseys.
Crowd is getting antsy. I feel a booing is imminent
Landry off a nice feed from Melo
Both of those offensive foul calls were questionable.
Wide-open three for Chauncey… CLANG
This offense looks horrific. You know what, screw all this ball movement stuff which isnt working because they all look tentative. Just give Amar’e and Melo the damn ball and tell them to fucking score and if they are doubled then pass the ball. Pretty simple to me.
Listening to JVG analyze the Knicks, sounds to me like he is ready to come back and coach the Knicks again lol.
Pretty much every time ORL has the ball, they get it to somebody deep in the post and we foul them.
Melo *may* be more willing tonight to immediately pass when his initial move doesn’t get him open…has done it a couple of times already.
Let’s all hope that Breen is right about Toney Douglas leading the NBA in 3pt % for the month of “May”
Checkout JVG busting out with how many pts/poss a turnover costs a team.
That horrific turnover had nothing to do with Chauncey’s knee.
Does anyone build up a profuse, Ewing-like sweat more instantaneously than Chauncey Billups?
Awful pass by billups. I could see it coming before he threw it
Bass on pace for a Mbah a Moute like 13 for 13 from FT line performance.
Nice work extra-e.
Nice wasted possession
Not the best pass at the end there, but overall, a good end to the quarter.
Really, though, it is not surprising to see the Magic struggle the instant Duhon enters the game.
That’s two plays where Melo didn’t even pretend to chase down his man and at least make the shot difficult.
What the crap?? Melo jus flat gave up on the play as soon as the ball was intercepted. We can’t have that. More reason to get a defensive specialist on the staff..
Well, we hung in there despite STAT playing like dog poop.
On a side note: has everyone seen the first episode of The Andy and Landry Show ? Solid first episode, although I fully expect them to hit their stride and produce some classics.
Magic an excellent 3pt shooting team so naturally the Knicks play off all their shooters and allow them to get off good looks at 3pters. Lucky J-Rich missed 2 WIDE open 3s earlier.
“It’s the Andy and Landry, Andy and Landry, the Andy and Landry shooooow!!”
Cant get that jingle out of my head lol.
Shawne has become a decent shot-blocker lately.
Man, Extra E was soooo open, but by the time he got it they were closing out and he rushed the brick. Lame.
Again more open 3’s for the Magic. Brilliant defensive strategy.
Mason Jr again for 3!!
If Mason is back to being, you know, not bad…then that would be sweet.
Mason! No brick-layer he.
8 dimes on 11 shots so far…
FreeMason!
Mason making another 3 to bring the Knicks to down 2. He’s ay least earning his roster spot lately.
Wow, more offensive rebounds right there than in a whole game….
I love the guy, but that may have been the worst cut in the history of basketball by Fields right there.
lol, that was really really strange, I was really wondering what he was thinking there.
How come fans of other teams tweet praises of the team, talk mostly about what they are doing well. But every dickhead blogger with a twitter acct that covers the Knicks tweets nothing but negativity always?
Nice feed, Anthony to Turiaf.
That dunk stat is a good sign that the Knicks would be so great with a top passing point guard. STAT should be in the top five in the NBA in dunks.
‘Cause after the trade the expectations for the team went up and the performance went down… When the trade went down ‘Melo & Billups where supposed to push the Knicks to a better level, but we have played worse…
JVG is right – they don’t run back on D
Philly just crushing Atlanta in the fourth quarter.
two Clippers on that list with Baron Davis, Bledsoe, Mozgov Williams and Randy Foye playing the point. I wonder.
Turiaf is absolutely hopeless trying to defend Howard.
Most big men are absolutely hopeless trying to defend Howard.
We haven’t played worse, that shit is a myth. We were 7 games over 500 in december. 2 games above 500 at the trade. That’s playing 5 games below 500 for months. Don’t see how that is playing worse.
I’ll give him his points, but he has two rebounds right now. That’s huge.
man we must be shooting like 85% this quarter
Billups is getting his revenge on Orlando for injuring him lol.
You have gotta be kidding me.
That Nelson shot took some wind out of our sails
If Nelson keeps this up he could land himself a deal with L.A. Gear.
Whoever is running the Knickerblogger twitter acct needs to get on there and drum up some negativity for this next half. Let’s GO!!!!!
Does anyone here know if NBA League Pass gives a less choppy feed than First Row or Atdhe? I’m seeing about one of every three plays tonight on First Row – not sure if it’s my internet connection.
Your idea of negativity is Mike K saying Carmelo isn’t a top 10 talent? Are you joking?
These halftime celebrity interviews are always so awkward
Well, we have a worse EFG% and a worse overall FG%, so we are scoring more points but on a less efficient offense… We are also allowing more points at a more efficient rate, so our defense has also worsened… You could also add a couple more stats to that, like for instance, we now have less assisted field goals, and a less distributed usage rate… But at the end of the of the day, we are playing a couple of games below .500, which you are right, is pretty much the same we had been doing in the last couple months, but now we have both a worse d and a less eficient (worse?) offense…
I’m using firstrow and it’s totally fine, so I think it might be your connection..
Strong 2nd quarter for the Knicks. Melo’s playing a pretty efficient game, 14 points on 5 shots (7-7 from the stripe). Amar’e’s gotta get it going this half though, 2-8 probably won’t cut it. Here’s an odd stat though; Dwight Howard, with 2 rebounds so far, is being outrebounded by Amar’e Stoudemire (who has 3 boards).
I’m tired of the word efficiency.
try here: http://dailyfun4u.com/sport
Thanks Mulligan. I’m on Mifi tonight upstate NY (snowing steady).
Thanks Silv, I’ll give it a shot.
@57, League Pass feed has always been great for me.
carmelo playing an excellent offensive game within the offense
Ball…moving…too….fast….can’t….quite….follow!
you all do realize that the game is streaming for free (and legally) on espn3: http://espn.go.com/espn3/player?id=146701&league=NBA&size=condensed
I’m watching on ESPN, but I wonder if Clyde on MSG is saying right now: “Knicks looking good, but the game is 48 minutes long, not 46 or 44” Would be an appropriate comment, esp. after Monday’s debacle.
Run back on D! Bastids
Amar’e is playing with no energy at all today. He’s walking up and down the court, not looking for his shot. Really just playing uninspired basketball.
the game is on espn3.com i’m sure
If Knicks lose this game, its 150% entirely on Amar’e. Worst he has looked all season so far.
Orlando r really good.
LMFAO @ JVG playing highlights!!!!
how much do you think Howard has to do with that? Not that Brook Lopez is in Amare’s class bit he had awful games against Orlando.
Amare doesn’t have his sidekick – Nash.
Nothing. They arent guarding each other.
Knicks offense has gone ice cold
I agree, something has to be wrong with his knees cus he just isnt pushing off at all.
Lots of hustle and energy on the defensive end so far this quarter.
Jeffries is killing the Knicks on offense. Howard isnt bothering guarding him and is just keying on doubling Melo.
Is Dantoni going to go with the same start of the 4th quarter lineup that starts to lose control of the game
Now we come to the heart of it…the fourth quarter.
What’s better beating them today or in a few days? Do we want to get the mad for the playoffs?
I’m saying does he ever tweet anything positive about the team he’s (i’m guessing paid, although maybe undeservingly so) covering?
Boston lost at home to Memphis tonight. Looks like the 2-7 matchup could unfortunately be Celtics-Knicks.
Have you ever used First Row or any other free sites?
Yeah, and in the matchup vs. Howard he’s getting abused on D too.
I’ve used ATDHE a good bit, First Row less so. It varies in quality of feed.
@90, I haven’t, but tonight’s game is on the espn3 site I’m told. Since espn is carrying it nationally.
Knicks have drawn more charges tonight than in any other 3 games this season (not a statistic, just an impression).
TD once again playing within himself, and playing well because of it.
Here we go
@96, nah. They’re going to hold on tonight.
If D’Antoni doesnt change this lineup soon, Knicks will be down close to double digits by the time Billups and Melo return.
Have some Home Pride.
Offense has really bogged down
Well at least Billups is back in.
What is Amare doing? I dont get it
Here we go blowout
Amar’e should skip the post-game press conference tonight after this pathetic game.
Just as predicted, this lineup loses control of the game
And once we stop scoring, everyone stops defending too.
I’m sorry, I don’t want to hear about Howard’s defense on Amare, that is a foul without question. I just don’t get how Amare doesn’t get calls, I really think the refs don’t like him and his and one calls.
Amar’e better not talk shit after the game tonight about the offense.
Same damn lineup every game at the start of the fourth….does Dantoni not see a pattern here?
MSG crowd should start a “Jeff Van Gundy” chant lol.
This team just flat-out sucks.
I went to the gym at the end of the second, returned for the fourth and the Knicks were doing their tell-tale fourth quarter swoon.
But Amare finally had two good offensive possessions.
how is that not a loose ball on howard
How the hell is that not a loose-ball foul on Howard??
Now comes the typical Knicks lack of rebounding in the 4th quarter. Amazing.
what a bogus foul call
But I have to say, these past two games the Knicks have played for fairly long periods playoff-type defense.
They have had their bad moments, but oddly, it’s their offense that has really failed them.
We have no chance. They’re just gonna go to Howard every time and we have no prayer of stopping it.
aaaand goodnight
This is so predictable its becoming sad.
Nice perimeter D, Melo. Hedo just faked you out of your shorts.
why turiaf is not in the game??? he played goodwhen he was in the game. also how hard is to get a rebound.
Knicks are down by 10 boards and Amare can’t hit the ocean, but still close
We need the MSG crowd to start a chant.
Why the eff is Billups chucking up 3’s?
it sort of feels like we gave up a few minutes ago.
Douglas and Billups need to step up. amare and Melo seem flat
Part of it is Amare can’t do anything.
Amar’e is not a max player, Melo is not a max player, we stink, we’re screwed, we’re headed to the lottery next year and we don’t even have a pick, Isiah is coming back, my dog is gonna die and my wife is gonna leave me.
After the game Melo should call out the offense and say maybe they should give me the ball on every possession and get out of the way.
If Amare and Melo could run a PnR together, that would be freaky good
Giving away too many possessions
Melo with 23 pts on 11 FGA plus 9 asts so far.
What a shocker, a big offensive rebound given up by the Knicks in the 4th quarter.
what else do you want Melo to do tonight?
Melo 23 pts on 11 shots with 9 assists 5 boards and 2 steals, yeah he’s terrible.
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!
You’re not a troll if you’re funny. :)
yes, melo is the only reason we’re not down 30 or more. Gotta keep going to that advantage and not shoot dumb threes. Also have to get stops and not foul every time they set a screen or run off a break.
I think you just wrote a Country & Western song. Wait a sec, lemme grab my banjo
Really starting to question D’Antoni’s lineups down the stretch. Howard isn’t having to work at all. I get the idea of spacing the floor, but I put Turiaf in for Shawne immediately. If they’re covering the perimeter Turiaf can at least heat cutters.
we cant even get a single defensive rebound.. that killing us what is the point if orlano going to miss if we dont get a rebound. and why william is guarding howard. where is turiaf??
Anthony tagaint again. Nice. Bizarre ad it may be to say This, but the part of Melo’s game I am most impressed by is his passing (notwithstaning the Favreian pass the other game)
perhaps hack a howard time tho?
Of the final 3 options you stated, which would personally be the worst for you?? lol
@135
Melo has been terrific tonight, and actually has been unfairly made the scapegoat of this team’s struggles. He’s still not a max player though, even though he is easily the best Knick tonight.
We’re going under .500. This sucks.
What the hell was the amateur crap by Williams there?
What else is there to watch on TV after this.
KNuggets play next on ESPN.
Celtics master plan of setting up a matchup with the Knicks in the 1st round is looking brilliant right now.
Body language of the entire team is bad
4th quarters have been brutal…absolutely brutal
THANK GOD the Yankees season starts next Thursday.
Wow I didn’t think they would have the ____ to do it but they did. They actually reached the below .500 goal.
Things could be worse.
the bald announcer noted accurately that it looked like Amare was dogging it.
I wonder if Amare is unhappy with the way Carmelo has gotten so much focus when for most of the season he carried this team on his back.
Erm…let’s go Mets?
We missed 50 shots. Never a good sign.
…I mean…if Howard is going 10-12 from the line, what chance did we have really? We don’t have anyone to guard him, so we resort to fouling.
2 things about the game (sorry if ppl mentioned them already – didn’t read all the comments):
1) How come every time down the floor, howard gets a call when someone just swipes near the ball, but amare and melo get bodied up all the time no call or charge? Howard pushes off with his off hand too!
2) This game was not on Melo at all, and we actually played decent defense (except for all those fouls on howard at the end). I can see where they’re going with this team, but jeez it’s painful to watch this journey.
I really would love to know what James Dolan is thinking right now.
Really at this point it doesn’t matter whether we get the 6,7, or 8 spot, we’re getting our asses kicked in the 1st round no matter who we play
The more and more I watch this team I notice that Billupus is not the point guard we need, not know next year or the year after. I much rather take my chanceswith Tony and save a whole lot of money… Also what’s up with Amare, sure he had a bad shooting game but he had no energy out there… Carmelo can’t do much else, 24, 5 and 9….. Billupus only 3 assits??? come on!!
As someone who was trumpeting their chances of beating the Bulls or Heat in the 1st round I sadly must agree with you. Right now just avoiding a sweep would be a miracle. Hell finishing 7th and not 8th is sadly in doubt right now.
They play better with douglas out there. Also, the Billups-Douglas backcourt is terrible, they seem lost with each other.
They should start Douglas, run point forward with Anthony. Maybe we should bring back Don Nelson
Bruce Bowen would have been a good fit for this team. A lock down defender who shoots 3s
Between Howard and Bass, they were 20-22 from the FT line. Not the reason we lost, but still hard to swallow.
Forget Dolan, I wonder what Isiah is thinking right now.
Almost as bad as Mbah a Moute going 13 for 13 from the FT line on Sunday.
1. Chauncey had 3 assists, 2 turnovers and is a BAD perimeter defender. He’s a godawful way for this team to spend $12M next season.
2. Even when this team shows effort on defense, they just don’t make plays. Even our “good” defensive players like Jeffries, Douglas and Extra E are not really great defenders. We don’t have one single true lockdown defender on the team. This is such a massive structural problem it seems unfixable. We need a lockdown post defender and a lockdown wing defender, just for starters. Those dudes don’t grow on trees.
3. Landry Fields is nowhere near as good as Dave Berri says he is.
Turiaf needed to play more than 19 minutes tonight- he’s been more aggressive offensively the last couple of games but has been glued to the bench late in the 4th when the Knicks have getting killed inside. Also, this was a game where they should have run it through Melo practically every play in the 4th- they got good open looks almost every time he touched the ball but he just didn’t touch it enough. Still tough to win when Amar’e can’t buy one and Fields is really struggling on both ends.
I’m watching the Denver game and I’m not even going to lie, I miss my guys…. Felton, Chandler and Gallo…. What would of the knicks looked like if Melo wasn’t so eager to get out of denver and waited until the end of the season? I now we probably would have lost Chandler but so what??? We would of had his bird rights and could of gone over the cap to sign him….. But no sense in wondering what if… Gotta focus on what we got right now, two all stars with a D Leauge supporting cast….
Chances that we collapse and miss the playoffs? How hilarious and cursed us knicks fan would be, when we thought yay we’re goign to make the playoffs, the knicks are back, only to fall into 9th. Lol.
seriously? i’ll give you a hint. let’s see , average face value per ticket today = $88
next year, $43 per ticket increase x 41 home games x 19,000 seats/game = $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
he could give a crap less about wins and losses.
Well, good game for Carmelo….
Howard 21-25 over the last two games from the line (destroying my fantasy team in the process). Missing piece of the puzzle for him, he’d be pretty scary if he shot 80% from the line. Not happening of course…
Is it me or is it a total joke that people would consider Derrick Rose the MVP over Howard? The consistency of Orlando over the last four years, especially on defense, with them having rolled their lineup over pretty much completely, is astounding. And this year, with the Arenas trade having bombed, he still has them in top 8 in the league.
Hang in their brethren. I love you all.
Hang in there. The Knicks have infected me.
MD is not flexible at all. What is up with that. Is it MD or the players who didn’t feed Elo the ball. This was Elo’s game really. Wow, MD is that inflexible? This team would have done better with no coach on the sidelines. Are the players that brainless? MD is weird. How is he a coach? … Pls don’t answer that.
We need that coach from Tel Aviv who didn’t want to leave the floor when the Knicks played when he was being asked to leave. actually I’m surpirsed he left. He should have said F@&): to the NBA and took his players off the court as well. However, he’s a no nonsense coach. Dolan – make it happen. These guys would be in line in a second.
Galo is tearing it up
hah good to see the old knicks doing well, coming back vs. the spurs, makes me more depressed
Tim Duncan – DNP
granted that a coach who put sh williams on howard for many minutes is not acceptable,
i think you all guys so frustrated
don’t understand that once billups plays again like billups you can beat anyone in a series.
It all depends from billups.
Just got back from the game, it was even more depressing there than on TV.
Zero ball movement, everything going to isolation for Melo. Amare mostly standing around, didn’t seem well used. Turiaf had a few moments but obviously nobody was there to match up against Howard. Extra E, Landry, DWTDD, barely looking like capable subs. Billups looking tired. Just so sad.
I was resolute against the trade but it’s even worse than I thought it would be. And the only one who can even navigate a path out of this — a capable GM — is probably the most disenfranchised person on the squad. After all, Dolan could renew Donnie’s contract tomorrow. I don’t think he’s going to.
Someone shoot me.
the media started the derrick rose mvp thing because they didn’t want to give it to Lebron again. Honestly, D.Rose shouldn’t even be in the top 3. that guy is marbury without the mental issues.
Espn just reported that the league (NBA) just announced that they are sorry for not babying the Knicks and hence will revert the win bank to NY. The league went on further and said that they need the Knicks in the playoffs for viewership reasons. The league than went further and said they told this to Amare (guess melo didn’t get the memo) and asked him to be healthy for the playoffs and not to strain himself on the court. The league went on further and said that after the playoffs finish they will hold a national telivised event where the Knicks will run up and down the court without any team playing them and that this final game will determine the true champion. The winner of that last game will be crowned the new “NBA We’re That Good You Can’t Be On The Floor With Us Champion”. The league went further on to say that they will make sure that no anti-knick will be allowed to comment or announce the game.
Wow the league really likes the Knicks.
Billups has never been on a team with two options on offense that are head and shoulders above him. ‘Melo was killing it. I wish he would have gotten him the ball. The problem is his defense. But we can’t get rid of him if our aim is a 2012 FA. It’s going to be hard for Walsh to improve the roster this summer without ANY cap space, but that’ll be the position he’s in if we do pick up Billups’ option. If we don’t, are we going to sign FAs to long term deals? If so, that ruins our 2012 space.
While I do think the knicks will get back to respectable by the beginning of next season at the latest, I wonder what would happen if they didn’t. Would people still come to the games just so they can feel happy about having their “superstars”?
Yes, ridiculous that Howard isn’t the leading MVP candidate. Like JVG pointed out during the game, that is a 15-20 win team without Dwight. Bulls are still a 40 win team w/o Rose.
ORL has always been a bad matchup, but on most nights IMO Chandler has been our biggest loss. His ability to defend in the post is really missed. Without his competent post defense and ability to spread the floor, we have to either allow STAT to be abused every night (which he seemingly has been since the deal), or play a guy with zero offensive game.
“Honestly, D.Rose shouldn’t even be in the top 3. that guy is marbury without the mental issues.”
Lol, I like that line.
It’s crazy how predictable the media is. Flashy first round pick leading emerging power in scoring? Give him the MVP!
As for the Knicks…. I have been down on the Knicks, really down, over the past five years. But even within that continuum, this feels up there with the worst feelings.
You never know though. I think I maintained pretty steadily that we would never get out from under the Randolph and Crawford contracts. That worked out ok. Maybe Donnie or someone can make something happen…
Having a team that only showed in the fourth quarter it knew how to clamp down on d was a lot more exciting than a team that occasionally leads opponents but blows the last 2 minutes of close games. This better not be a trend past this slump. or the slump won’t ever end.
Looks like we’ll be swapping picks with Houston after all.
He’s trying to decide if his new Ferrari should be red or yellow.
As a player or a coach?
Only will happen if the Rockets make the playoffs. Their records are irrelevant for now because the Knicks making the playoffs and the Rockets missing the playoffs puts them in the lottery and the Knicks not regardless if the Rockets have the better record.
Game recap is up folks. Try not to throw up on your screens.
nice chandler 5 blocks, oh well
I think Amare is getting tired of playing on “The Melo Show”.
They’re playing like crap and losing games, and he doesn’t have the clout to demand the ball and carry this team on his back anymore, nor the supporting cast to do it.
Or, maybe Amare just didn’t have the energy tonight. He’s been a warrior all season and deserves a break.
Melo has enormous potential if he modified his game. Don’t kill me for this, but I realized he has a lot of physical abilities in common with Larry Bird. – similar size, good shooters, can go to the rim. One thing about melo is that he holds the ball. Larry Bird would immediately do something with the ball, either a quick pass, shot, or put the ball on the floor and move. Bird also played hard on defense and went after loose balls. Melo should watch Larry Bird video day and night and try to be like Larry.
Melo played well tonight, Amare was just listless, some reason u could just in the first quarter, maybe he’s mailing it in.
There are some winnable games coming up on the schedule. Our next six are Bucks, Bobcats, Magic, Nets, Cavs, Raptors. All of those games are home games except the Bobcats game. This team needs to suck it up and start winning some of these games. Losing to Boston and Orlando is frustrating but understandable; losing to the dreck of the league is inexcusable.
The “good against good teams and bad against bad teams” thing was probably a bit of a statistical anomaly. You have to figure we’ll start getting some W’s against some of these scrubby teams.
Also, this Denver hot streak is fool’s gold if I’ve ever seen it. Look at tonight’s game: Ray Felton shot 6-12 FG and 3-4 3PT. Al Harrington shot 8-12 FG and 5-6 3PT. JR Smith shot 6-9 FG and 2-3 3PT. Nice win at home against a Spurs team without Tim Duncan, but the Knugget’s hot shooting is not gonna last forever.
Ray Felton is shooting .440 from 3PT in the month of March. Think that’s gonna last? I don’t. How about JR Smith? He’s .445 from 3PT in March. Unsustainable.
I think this team would be loads better right now if D’Antoni had (and would play) a legit seven footer with Turiaf as backup and Jeffries at 4 or 3 if at all. Mozgov might have been this guy (let’s not forget D’Antoni barely played him when he did have him), and it is a hundred percent on Dolan for giving him away. why anyone would give him any of their money instead of doing all they can to force him to sell the team is beyond me.
also, let’s get a ‘defensive coordinator’ type in the offseason as mentioned in the other thread, Mike Brown might be a good fit. let D’Antoni focus entirely on maximizing the offense, we’ve certainly got the horses on that side.
that’s only the 10th time in his career Melo has had 9 assists or more, first since April 2009. that’s a promising sign at least.
During his good years (when he just shot threes), Smith shot .390, .403 and .397, so while yeah, he likely is not going to stay at .445, it’s very believable for him to stay around .400. The guy should be a great three-point shooter. He’s starting to go back to “just taking threes” Smith, which has been one of the key aspects of the Nuggets turnaround (why he ever convinced himself that he should take more twos is beyond me).
Before the trade – 184/504 field goals (31%) were threes.
Since the trade – 84/165 field goals (51%) have been threes.
Nice point Brian, would have made the same one. JR Smith isn’t my favorite player in the world, but he can score efficiently and in volume and play at least a little defense. He’s had some really good ts% years. 58.5%, 60.3%, 57.6%….
That’s what’s really dangerous about that Denver team. They have 8 players who can easily put up 20 points on any given night. Because of that all they have to do is go to the hot hand. One day it’s Nene and Gallo the next it’s Felton and Harrington, after that it’s Chandler and Smith, then Lawson and Afflalo. Their scoring depth and balance is one of the best i’ve ever seen.
For those keeping score.
Knuggets 11-4
lost to Orlando in Orlando in last few seconds.
lost to Miami in Miami, fought tough all game.