I had a change of heart last night right before tip-off. I decided to put my rational thoughts aside and buy some Knicks-colored glasses. My new outlook on life seemed perfect as the Knicks were only down by 3 at the half. And then the second half started.
THE GOOD
Porzingis: With 16 points on 13 shots and a couple of blocks. Yes the defensive scheme in the second half left him on an island, but he played pretty well. Slow and steady progress…
THE OK
Rose: I’ll take 17 points on 17 shots from Rose, although can we cut down on those 4 turnovers and get a few more dimes? Some passable defense was played as well.
Anthony: He shouldn’t be rusty, given that he just played in the Olympics. Four turnovers, and five silly fouls. C’mon Melo!
THE MEH
Checkers: I have to give him a thumbs up simply for not grinding Noah and Melo into the ground. Melo played 30 minutes, and Noah 19. For years I’ve been hoping for a coach that didn’t play every game as if it were Game 7. But Hornacek’s offense and defense was inconsistent throughout the game. Since it’s game 1, we’ll chalk it up to the newness. Come December, this won’t fly.
The Deep Bench: Baker, Hernangomez, and Kuz played well, albeit almost all in garbage time. If this season gets ugly, I want to see more of them. Heck with that, I want to see more of them now!
THE UGLY
The Near Bench: Lance, Jennings, and Holiday were a combined 4-18. Part of this goes to the coach, who seemed to put them all out there at once without a scorer. Maybe Baker should be on this line as it seems he can help with scoring?
Courtney Lee: Maybe next game he’ll score a point. It was that bad.