Well, this is quite a fun match-up tonight. Melo is out for tonight’s game. In addition, the Knicks’ resident medical expert on Tyson Chandler’s knee, Tyson Chandler, has decided that Tyson Chandler will be out for tonight’s game, as well (thank goodness it is not a worse knee injury).
The Knicks’ starting lineup is Felton, Shumpert, Copeland, Thomas and Martin. Looking on the bright side, at least James White is not starting!
A few things to look forward to:
1. How mad will the Portland fans be at Felton?
2. Felton guarding Damian Lillard.
TNT must be thrilled that they’re televising this game nationally.
Let’s go Knicks!
2-2 Knicks’ record on 2nd game on B2B with both games away. Better then what I expected.
Cupcakes Cupcakes!
Thats one fascinating starting lineup.
Felton often gets lost in the game-within-the-game PG matchup, which seems to override all else. That + Lillard + return to Portland = fun times.
if melo were playing, i would have predicted another dissapointing, heartless loss as the ship slowly finds the bottom of the ocean. without melo (and chandler) this seems like it could be one of those z’how the hell did this team win” games with thepipe scoring in bunches and felton having a good game that leaves us all scratching our heads
i’m afraid to watch, that is the scariest starting lineup since the isiah days
Wow – look at that – the Blazers start its 5 best players.
But it is so compelling you cannot look away.
My feed showed the SA-DAL game. Vince Carter’s shot looked good when it went up…
SA wins by 1.
Are we ever going to find out why Camby doesn’t play, or is it all part of the Knicks “veil of secrecy”?
Do you think Kurt Thomas gets burn on off days at the local Y? I swear I played against him on Tuesday. He’s got some sharp elbows.
True! i tried to not watch, but the masochist in me can’t help. But seriously, how can these guys compete? The JV team is out there… they are going to get embarrassed. It’s not like it’s even going to make me angry, i just kinda feel terrible for them.
True! i tried to not watch, but the masochist in me can’t help it. But seriously, how can these guys compete? The JV team is out there… they are going to get embarrassed. It’s not like it’s even going to make me angry, i just kinda feel terrible for them.
I have many knots in my stomach.
sorry about the double post, that was weird. It’s the departed spirit of Marcus Camby haunting the server, i guess. OK here we go. get’em!
Holy crap KMart hit a jumper.
Kenyon Martin’s jumpshot is like pure butter drizzled over a rusty wheel….
Kurt Thomas was also part of this S Layden masterpiece: (a win!)
K Thomas
C Weatherspoon
H Eisley
S Anderson
D Mutumbo (37 years old)
(the bench for that game was C Ward, O Harrington, M Doleac, F Williams, M Sweetney)
Once again, I am seriously dispirited at KMart’s inability to finish at the basket. But at least we’re shooting well.
Ha! Kurt thomas pump fake….
Crazy we are starting these two….
Damn, both Houston and Van Horn were out?? Mustve been early season before the Marbury trade and Lenny Wilkins hiring no??
knowing that actually makes me feel better, thanks.
if you just watch Cope on offense and cover your eyes and ears on D, it’s not so bad.
Predator looks sharp tonight
i remember seeing the weatherspoon, eisley team play live in ATL. we only lost by 5 or so in the slowest, most boring game that i have ever seen. half of the atl crown of about 350 was asleep by the middle of the 3rd quarter
how did Felton “help” the blazers draft Lilliard?? by sucking? they should cheer that?
Then again I do love his boxing out and just gush when he commits a good hard foul.
does anyone remember the 2 weeks or so when Krank Williams semi went off and we thought that maybe he was the long term answer at pg??
I remember us playing Orlando back in those days and winning with a lineup in the fourth quarter of Eisley, Houston, Sprewell, Anderson and Mutombo.
Yeah. Didn’t he get into it with Kidd in that one playoff series we had against the Nets?
The Knicks are starting three former lottery picks, including a former #1 overall!
Gotta love Martin’s movement there.
Camby is alive
Wait, Camby can play?!?
Vintage K-Mart right now!
The offense looks great, but the defense is pathetic. They are lucky that Portland is missing open looks.
Ok I like what I see but I cringe every time we give Lillard a little airspace to get a three off.
LAWL @ not calling an offensive foul on Shump’s elbow drive. Seriously, that move was straight out of Street Fighter II Championship Edition.
Man, Meyers Leonard is a funny looking dude. Looks like a cartoon….
JR for sixth man of the year? Part of me will buy that. Part of me is avoiding looking at his B-Ref page….
PLAYOFFS!!??? Yeah, i may remember that (tucked somewhere in my repressed thoughts of being fondled by an 8th grade girl on the bus when I was 10 and watching Mike Pagliarulo play 3B live)
He played a great game in a win in Memphis and Hubie Brown who was coaching Memphis at the time was gushing about Frank Williams afterward.
Novak on mayor? Can we get We test Woodson for alcohol ?
That was Camby circa ECF 99
Camby with a 1999 flashback!!
DIRTY. BALL.
That could have resulted in something horrific.
It’s really great to see that in a career in the NBA approaching 2 decades nobody has taught Camby how to properly shoot the ball
Repeat that for the next 36 minutes and that would be the perfect tonic for whatever the hell the last two games have been
Do any of you guys watch the national broadcasts instead of MSG when you get the chance, like tonight?
I’m trying to figure out who has a better quality feed.
I think we’ve all learned a very important lesson from this 1st quarter: the Portland Trailblazers suck.
Someone needs to do a split on when jr drives compared to when he shoots off the dribble and show it to him… He is fantastic when he doesn’t settle and horrific when he does. Very frustrating
Not living in New York I unfortunately have to live with whatever national crew we get which on ABC means Breen which really fucking sucks. Other than that I get to experience all the fantastic local broadcasts who constantly repeat ad nauseum how fantastic of a defensive team we are and how good JR has been this season. Then again Breen does this shit and he watches the Knicks more than anybody live but Clyde and people on the actual team.
Not really. Maybe for halftime show. I just like Clyde and Breen. Then again, if I watch that worthless Sportsyapper commercial one too many times with its jacked-up volume that threatens to blow out my speakers, I just might make the switch.
Easy now, this game is way early
Good god the Trailblazers are terrible.
XD
the old men game!!
Portland’s almost as good as us against the pNr. Honestly so far they remind me of how we looked in that crime against humanity better known as the first meeting between the Bobcats and the Knicks last year when we made B.J. Mullens look like the second coming of Karl Malone.
I think tonight shuts down the concept mentioned on this board that iso creates ball movement
i know many disagree, but there is something better about watching a team where one player is relied upon to dominate the ball. it sust creates more organic ball movement. and yes, I know that the lack of talent will catch up with these guys when all of a sudden no one can hit a shot, no matter how good the ball movement is
I feel a large part of our early success was utilizing four guys who could handle the ball. We didn’t pick up many assists but moved the ball like we are doing today and we got better looks.
Leonard’s interior defense is poor. I’m surprised he played that long.
Yeah, I was about to say something to that effect. Of course it could all go to hell in the second half. And the blazers stink.
But yeah, people pretty consistently underrate the ability of NBA players to score. There is a lot of scoring ability in reserve on these teams, properly utilized.
Still, just to fully hedge my bets, how the hell can this continue….
Why doesnt Melo just stay in NY and prepare to play on Wed vs Orlando?? Is it really smart for him to do all that flying immediately after this procedure??
Cmon, bro. We’re Knicks fans. We know terrible when we see it.
Damn im sorry I know the shots are falling but it is so much fun watching these knicks pass the ball..hmm funny how the assists go way up w/o Melo on the floor..how many beauty pnr s have we run tonight?
Thomas and Camby together on the court again as members of the Knicks. If only they were surrounded by Houston, Spree and LJ lol.
Thomas with the second charge! The oldest guy doong dirty work
Yeah Melo nearly destroyed all that ball movement during that 18-5 stretch at the beginning of the year with all his ball stopping and jab stepping
EARL!!!!!!
Who needs flight White when you got JR
Ska-doosh.
Kung Fu Panda in the house
JR went through Lillard’s arm like a turnstile for that dunk LOL.
h5
This is just so bizarre and fun. Like some alternate universe Linsanity….
and he will cherry pick a bunch of obscure stats that he will swear proves his point (probably will cite to some stat about shooting percentages on jumpers off of melo’s passes or something)
Someone clever is going to come up with something pretty quick I bet to describe the Knicks winning with 5 players 35 and over in their rotation. Martin, Prigs, Kidd, Camby, Thomas,
*slow deliberate applause*
goly crap. pick and rolls are still legal to run in the NBA??? who knew?
So what was the reason Camby never get to play? Woodson doesn’t like the way he smells?
Yeah, once his candlelit vigil outside of Melo’s hospital ends….
I think i even saw a give and go….
Man I feel old, yet I am still younger than most of the players on this team….
Shump terrorizing these blazers on d… Love his movement
Shumperts D is coming back..nice to see
Our interior defense looks pretty damn good without the DPOY in there, which is somewhat of an indictment of how inconsistent Tyson has been this season.
And wheels off….
It couldn’t last, sadly….
Not in the Rose Garden….
Congrats to Woodson for this awful no-scoring lineup to end the half and end the Knicks dominance.
Just fucking awful.
What the fuck Woodson. Fucking kill yourself.
“In a torture chamber inside” ?
That’s not a way I ever thought i would hear the Knicks interior defense described….
Now look..we get all excited and things start going south..now well see what this group is made of..man blazers woke up all of a sudden
I’m just happy that Copeland hasn’t appeared since making Batum his bitch to open the game. Not even a huge Copeland guy, but what the hell does he have to do?
im not even going to get mad tonight. this first half was the most watchable knicks game in a while. never a good sign when your team is more gun to watch without your stars
D-Mar – You really nailed that jinx……
By the way, was just perusing your comments from the 2008 draft. You did not like Lawson, that was for sure….
Copeland?
lol. i was thinking the same thing. unless its a torture chamber aimed at us, the loyal fans
See he helped us get a lead which foiled Woodson’s master plan of falling behind early in every game. This is why he stuck with his trusted warriors down the stretch knowing that they would certainly listen to his instructions of not doing anything on offense while simultaneously ceasing to play defense. You just can’t teach that.
Lillard has an unusual ability with releasing the ball at the last possible moment on layups. Even on replays, it often looks almost as if he’s already landed when he gets the shot off.
You know what would have helped stymie that scoring explosion and transition offense? Iso play.
It slows the game down and burns the clock, mitigates turnovers due to fewer passes and less dribbling, and it also puts most of your guys on the perimeter and, thus, in a better position to run back and defend.
I still feel pretty good about our chances this game..at least the 2nd qtr curse only has us down by a few..I wanna see Woodson make those adjustments..but will he ? Why are these coaches so stubborn?
The Knicks lead blew up (and our defense tightened up) with Copeland on the bench for pretty much the entire first half except for the last 4 minutes. What game were you watching?
Uhm, i think he was referring to the migraines Aldrige is playing with. the man’s a poet.
“Torture chamber,” I believe, was Kevin McHale’s phrase for the zone he got into when eviscerating people defending him in the post. I think the idea is that it’s the offensive player torturing the defense.
Any reason he can’t get back into the game though? Did he look like a negative out there in his playing time?
That’s possible. We are going to be arguing about this for months i fear…..
Pretty amazing Shump landed an endorsement deal with Champ Sports, which i have never heard of.
That’s the power of good haircut….
I just cannot understand why Prigioni and Copeland never play together. They obviously have great chemistry. Copeland has a usage of 28 and a TS of 60 when on the floor with Prigs, and the Knicks in general have a TS of 57.6 when they’re on the floor together (and are +6 per 100 poss with a defensive efficiency that is better than their season average).
He’ll start the second half for sure. I did just make a post calling for more iso play, y’know. But let’s not pretend that Copeland was killing it out there. He scored 6 pts in a close game to start. When he got benched, the Knicks got much better on offense and defense. It’s not like we got stagnant when he came out. We’re down now because of 4 minutes of non-stop scoring by the Jailblazers, not because Copeland was out.
For better or for worse, our only chance of winning this game is if JR gets crazy hot in the 2nd half
There will be no referendums on Tyson Chandler, thank you.
Keep it up, kids.
You mean “Franksanity”?
Every time they show Woodson just standing there arms folded with that stupid look on his face I feel like punching my tv.
This is about to get pretty ugly…
Too many tall, young, freakishly athletic people on the other team….
are there stats for most airballs in an NBA game?
Offense is so much fun to watch w/o Melo, great ball movement lasted all of 19 minutes.
lol. my thoughts exactly. when you are winning, that looks is zen like. when you are losing, he just looks lost and clueless
29 wins. But yeah, obviously always solid at home. When the Knicks play well without Melo, it’s because they are without Melo.
When they play poorly without Melo, it’s not because they are without Melo.
the nba should prob rake that “BIG expectations” commercial about melo and the knicks out of the rotation
That was some great interior passing
JR took a stepback 20fter with a man in his face with 18 secs left in the shot clock.
Kidd’s revival lasted 2 games.
When does great ball movement ever last for a significant part of the game, let alone the entire game? This isn’t an All-Star Game. Great ball movement is just as much about athleticism on the offense as it is poor guarding on the defense.
Trailblazers tightened up on defense. Haven’t seen that white dude playing in the interior for a while now and we were clearly killing him on the PnR. It’s now time to tighten up our defense, slow the game down, and get some shots down.
Knicks have no clue at all what to do on offense right now.
This is the offense I’ve been clamoring for
This, I believe, is a fine example of reductio ad absurdum….
“29 wins. But yeah, obviously always solid at home. When the Knicks play well without Melo, it’s because they are without Melo.
When they play poorly without Melo, it’s not because they are without Melo.”
Sorry but Felton got clobbered there..no call..seems only JR can get a call
ive always thought that the udomis haslem baseline j was the worst in the league. i have now familiarized myself with the kenyon martin baseline j. my mind is blown
Jared Jeffries is just as bad.
iso-JR officially worse than iso-Melo
Owen, post 60: “Yeah, I was about to say something to that effect (re; ball movement creating easy offense.)
But yeah, people pretty consistently underrate the ability of NBA players to score. There is a lot of scoring ability in reserve on these teams, properly utilized.”
Owen, post 112: “This is about to get pretty ugly…Too many tall, young, freakishly athletic people on the other team…”
It is kind of disheartening to know without a doubt that if we are playing a decent point guard, he will eat up our team. This starts with Felton, and even more importantly Woodson, who loves the switching.
Worse, if he had taken it a few inches back, it would have been a corner 3 instead of a long 2.
Speak of the devil.
Children, we’re trying to watch a game here.
Right but he’s taking it and makes it a decent clip.
That forces the defender to at the very least take an extra step or two and not totally vacate the area when he has the ball.
Interesting that no one mentions that with Chandler on the floor you basically have a player you cannot pass to unless very specific circumstances exist.
I wonder how that affects ball movement. Probably not at all because Chandler is perfect and a warrior. (of course I actually think he’s great and certainly a net positive on offense and really tough)
This is some of the worst offensive basketball Ive ever seen.
There literally is no way the Knicks can make up a double digit deficit with this team in a quarter. Season really starting to blow up in our face.
Man I just cringe watching Novak play D..how does he end up guarding the perimeter guy so many times?..that was funny when he got the pass down low..he almost ran back out to the 3 pt line without dribblimg he looked so scared
Has Novak made a shot during this road trip??
When in the history of basketball has heaving 3s over and over again when you’re down by double digits ever resulted in a turnaround?
2012 please come back
I really just don’t understand why you don’t have Copeland in there when you can’t score. I know he’s not that great, but at least he gives you 3 point shooting and can hurt the other team from multiple spots on the floor. Right now we have zero post offense, zero guys who are really effective rolling to the hoop. All we have is JR (btw I love how he is taking the ball to the rim tonight).
Blah blah blah Tyson. Blah blah blah Melo. Blah….
The team plays better when they are both healthy snd engaged period
I dont remember one going in
Hahn just tweeted Novak is 0 for 11 from 3pt range during this road trip.
0-11 from 3
If Novak misses his first 2 shots, I honestly don’t know why anyone would let him play any longer.
Novak is a gigantic pussy. That is his biggest flaw as a player. It’s fine to not be a great defensive player or get outmuscled. It’s not okay to not compete for loose balls ever or attempt to jump when you go for a rebound. I get that he’s an unathletic dude, but he’s 6’9 and getting paid millions in the NBA. There needs to be some fire behind that sweet stroke.
Yeah, Copeland is certainly no savior, but blowouts are kind of his bread and butter. I don’t see why they don’t give him a shot.
Early on, the offense looked good but the defense was awful (Portland was just missing open looks). Then the offense looked bad but Portland stopped missing and, well, you know how that has turned out so far.
Is there any possibility that we could finish the season in a way that would lead to Woodson getting fired? Cause this guy can’t coach, at all.
I’ll give them no passes for rolling over in GS and Denver, but tonight on the 2nd night of a back to back, missing their 3 best players, the Knicks had no chance to win this game.
Ohhhh JR that was dripping wet from the corner
Pretty sweet when they go in though..
Oh, obviously. How can you really take anything out of a game where a team without much depth is missing their three best players (well, their three best players other than Copeland, of course)?
Foot officially in mouth. Somehow not resentful at all.
Come on, crazy hot shooting JR!!!
Honestly, this is one of JR’s best offensive games this year.
Lol, love how you cut out….
“Still, just to fully hedge my bets, how the hell can this continue….”
Does this stuff work on the message boards you learned your trade on? Because that is just bush league…..
It’s kind of cute though, I appreciate the attention….
You are better than the Italian Stallion, I will give you that….
I’m hoping he gets the can, but I obviously want them to win a playoff series more.
Kidd’s 3 point shots have no chance of going in the second they leave his hands
He’s been playing better the last month or so.
i actually liked our chances tonight better than at denver. we were destined to lose that one…badly
No positive comments. We need to actually believe there is no chance the Knicks can make a comeback. This shit is fucking unsustainable plus the likelihood of JR going back to operating his construction company is very high.
Come on Blazers, keep botching wide open 3’s and entry passes!
on another note. these west coast games (and staying on the couch with the dog til 1:15AM) are not the best thing for one’s marriage
How’s the dog enjoying it?
Problem is who the hell would Dolan be willing to hire if he fires Woodson?? 2 best candidates are probably both Van Gundy brothers and unfortunately there is probably no chance in hell Dolan hires (or re-hires in JVG’s case) either of them.
As much as Ive soured on Woodson I would probably rather have him than God knows who else Dolan would hire.
I just mean from the perspective of him mixing it up. Fewer stepback long 2’s, more spot-up 3’s, more takes to the rack. With his handle and athleticism, he should be a guy with a free throw rate >0.3 (or 50% higher than it is).
Prigs, WTF
Wow Pablo are you fucking kidding me? You couldn’t have attempted a layup there or pass to JR?
COME ON JR!!!
HE’S A FLAMETHROWER!!!
Smith is on fire!
this is fun….
how are we not going to JR?
Fools gold.
You’re “hedging your bets” in the exact same manner as you did last night, with a token ‘well, this is probably just the night Melo goes off blah blah blah…”
About as weak a way to equivocate as possible.
it is this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vhyGlGgXMxY
He’s disgusted with the Knicks play. just sits here and doesn’t say a thing.
why now for the pablo and copeland pick and roll? this is infuriating
I cannot believe Copeland did not feed that to KMart. Not even knocking on Copeland himself. You just don’t see that in basketball. Just a completely aberrational play.
And boom goes the dynamite
That Prigs turnover was a huge momentum killer
This is god’s punishment for betraying his other son….
Wide-open 3’s or wide-open layups. One way to game advanced metrics.
That said, he is playing very good tonight and I generally like him with higher usage players.
If that’s not a foul what is?
Terrible transition defense two plays in a row. You’d think Chandler was on the floor.
Shump over Kidd would have been nice. Oh well
Is it safe to say that we have the worst transition defense in the league?
I still keep telling myself Kidd will find his stroke, but it really does not look like its going to happen. He’s just a zero on offense at this point and this is only accentuated when Melo, Amar’e and Chandler are all out. His swing passing, intangibles, leadership, etc. can’t make him a valuable player if you don’t have to respect his shot in any capacity.
F#&$^#/kkk!!! Why do I do this? Masochism..
Terrible transition defense three times in a row. Just- wha? Why is Thomas not out there for Martin?
Well, I was wrong about Melo going off, that is for sure.
You on the other hand are consistently wrong about 90% of everything you say. Then you write hundreds of posts explaining why in fact you weren’t wrong. Then you refer back to those posts later, when someone points out you were wrong, while referencing someone on Twitter who agrees with you. Then you get angry when people admit they didn’t really read your posts or care about what the guy on Twitter said.
Looks like i was wise to hedge my bets. The Knicks lose. But hey, they are going to break 80…..
Another night of not enough sleep, another double digit loss. But at least we can count on a win on Sunday in LA.
martin is at 30 minutes. generally don’t like him over 25 because you get less of his motor. definitely don’t like it when he’s not ready for that kind of load. Thomas is at 21, Camby 19.
But what are you going to do when you’re missing about 80 frontcourt minutes?
Seriously, Cope?
Martin injured.
Consistently wrong about 90% of everything I say?
You just can’t help yourself, can you?;)
you mean like when he posted how dominant amare was going to be for us
Copeland injured.
“I think Felton is a better player for having gone through what he went through last season.”
That is an idiotic point, Chris Webber.
i xan agree with this. kenyon is better in smaller doses
The Knicks are making me sad. Sunday is going to be brutal. I’m expecting to lose that by a minimum of 30.
Wow, I feel validated with this coming from you
Well, he was pretty dominant I thought. Playing some of the best basketball of his career, considering he was scoring efficiently without dribble penetration help and defending very well.
I really can’t. And the feud is more fun than the game.
But honestly, your track record of predictions is ridiculously awful. It’s been two straight years of betting on the come.
Next year, I know, wait till next year. Looking forward to Melo finally maxing out that TS% and become an elite NBA superstar…..
I will say this, I had a thing with David Lee once. But what you and Melo have is truly special….
On the plus side, another stellar performance from Raymond Felton.
Do you really want me to prove you wrong about my accuracy? You know there’s a search engine on this site, right?
Terrible transition defense, terrible switching on PnRs leading to a dozen wide-open 3s, and a hilarious few minutes of desperation fail zone defense.
0/8 from 3 pt line in 3rd quarter just sealed the deal. Copeland is the only one I want shooting 3s at this point. Another wasted scoring effort from JR. Shump needs to take more of Kidd’s minutes.
At least the Knicks host the Magic on Wed.
And there s your answer in the post game..
0-11
I’d be very interested in knowing what Kidd’s shooting % is in his first 15 minutes of play as contrasted with his last 15 minutes of play. I’m beginning to suspect that Woodson leaving in Kidd for extended defensive minutes every night has completely exhausted his shooting legs and penetration abilities.
If anybody could retrieve that information, I’d be highly grateful.
I’m not sure where you could find that, actually, but it’s great idea.
Great tweet I just read:
Jason Kidd played 34 minutes while Prigioni played 15. So much for limiting Kidd’s minutes
They do track player scoring by quarters, right? It’s why we’re all constantly reminded that Melo leads the league in 1st quarter points. Maybe they have shooting % stats per quarter also? Shooting % in the first half as opposed to second half would serve my purposes just as well.
I like it. It would be really interesting to break down usage and efficiency by minute played.
So at this point it’s pretty clear that this team needs to prioritize health above anything else, which is why Dolan needs to take a hard look at both his training staff and Woodson’s decisions with minutes this year. Even the Heat gave up on having Lebron freaking James play power forward, I can’t be the only one who’s noticed that Melo slows down considerably once he starts getting injured since he tends to come back too quickly. It happened last year and it seemed to be well under way this year, until now when he just seems done.
Part of me does wonder how much of it is due to the pressure to win in New York though? As much as everyone says Woodson should rest his players, everyone freaks out about losing to a decent Portland team on a road back to back with a bunch of scrubs (and of course superstar Jason Kidd, with his .286 WP48 :p) In the only games the Knicks have looked good in when Melo has been out, it’s because either JR or Felton have dominated. Does anyone expect that to keep happening? The Knicks should just shut down Jason Kidd and flounder about for a while, if there’s even a chance for Melo, Kidd, and Chandler to be at full health for the playoffs you have to take it.
only kind he makes, another player I liked who has proved to be a thoroughly worthless analyst.