2011 Game Thread: Knicks @ Celtics

Mike Kurylo Uncategorized

Thought I’d start this early, considering the news about Delonte West.

During a three-on-three game with Avery Bradley(notes), Luke Harangody(notes), Semih Erden(notes) and assistant coach Tyronn Lue(notes), West began fouling [Von] Wafer each time the reserve guard touched the ball. West was increasingly physical to the point that Wafer exited to the locker room midway through the game. As he walked away, West barked obscenities and taunted Wafer.

After Wafer had showered and sat down at his locker, West approached from behind and threw a punch. Wafer didn’t see the punch coming but quickly got off of the ground and connected on two punches of his own. He then wrestled West to the ground before being separated by the team’s veterans.

Totally uncalled for, but yet still laugh out loud funny, joke about it from Twitter:

GaryJBusey (Not Gary Busey)
“So Delonte West hit something besides LeBron James’ mom?”

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Mike Kurylo

Mike Kurylo is the founder and editor of KnickerBlogger.net. His book on the 2012 Knicks, "We’ll Always Have Linsanity," is on sale now. Follow him on twitter (@KnickerBlogger).

137 thoughts to “2011 Game Thread: Knicks @ Celtics”

  1. It always comes back to ribbing Lebron around here doesnt it. :-)

    I wonder how the Knicks will play this one. I’m worried because the Knicks havent moved the ball well in the half court offense. The Celtics’ defense is too good for the Knicks to get much scoring on isolations. Gotta run and get some ball movement.

    KG v. STAT will be interesting to watch. And I wonder how Fields will handle chasing Ray Allen around.

  3. Once in college I got drunk and this other guy started talking shit how he would school me in basketball. We went out to play. I played honest. However anytime I got within 5 feet of the basket he hacked the crap out of me. Needless to say he won. I’m guessing the game looked much like that clip in #2. (Me playing Wafer).

    Oh speaking of batshit crazy, T-Shirts are 15% off until Sunday midnight. CODE: 15DEAL

  5. What Pringles Logo Guy? It’s a line drawing of D’Antoni. any resemblance to the Pringles guy or the Monopoly guy is strictly coincidental.

  6. I think you should see a lot of WTDDTDDD on Allen tonight if Landry is too slow to handle getting over the screens in time. That would be my first move. Allen’s size is not really an issue on TD.

  7. God, I hope I don’t get the BOS announcers on League Pass tonight. I don’t think I can handle any more Tommy Points.

  8. tastycakes: God, I hope I don’t get the BOS announcers on League Pass tonight.I don’t think I can handle any more Tommy Points.  

    We get Hondo instead

  10. Man, do I dislike it when Wilson Chandler thinks he’s Lebron James. When he just takes easy looks, he’s really helpful to have on the court. When he starts thinking he’s a scoring machine…well, he’s not so great (luckily he’s good on D).

    Landry Fields, though…wow…he definitely continues to impress.

  24. I don’t like that 5 for 5 substitution pattern by MDA. And I don’t like Roger Mason in the game at all.

  28. By the way, do you realize that when the Knicks play the Heat, this second team will have to deal with either Wade or Lebron. Wow. That is scary.

  30. What happened to the alley oops???
    We had three of those early.
    It hasn’t gone away. They\’re just chucking.
    And why is TD dribbling so much.
    if it weren’t for the D, they’d be toast.
    …
    But it’s nice to say, if it weren’t for the D…

  35. Most frustrating thing about Mason… he’s not just missing, he’s missing bad shots.

  37. I have to say, D’antoni needs to shorten his bench…
    Or at least that is how I feel at the moment

  38. Gallo does some things well, but I can’t see him setting the offense. No. Not so much.

  40. Frank O.: I have to say, D’antoni needs to shorten his bench…
    Or at least that is how I feel at the moment  

    I don’t think he knows what some of these guys can do yet. So many new faces.

  46. This is pretty decent. You have to figure Gallo will, you know, MAKE A SHOT at some point, so being down four isn’t awful.

  47. Oh, and also, the Knicks top six players look pretty darn good as a unit (with Chandler subbing in for whoever).

  49. D’antoni needs to have a Josh Smith-type intervention with Chandler. He should stop shooting threes altogether.

  51. I am a bit disappointed in how STAT gets the ball. Other than that, the team doesn’t look bad. I’d cut Mason… but i guess D’Antoni will wait till Azubuike is healthy to do that.

  54. @46
    Brian. You’re right. That is a bright side. They also got a lot of burn from their bench.
    It’s all about their D.

  55. Not sure I get the anti-Will vibes, he’s their leading scorer, he’s 6-10 from the field and has 2 blocks and a steal> Without him this would be a 10-16 point deficit.

  58. Frank O.: Quietly…
    Fields, 3-5, 6 points, 3 bounds, 1 assist, 1 steal, no TOs.  

    Hey Frank, is it even quiet anymore? D’Antoni’s been positively gushing in the papers.

  59. Chandler is playing very well overall for the Knicks – it is just that when he has a very glaring (and easily correctable) hole in his game, it’s too obvious not to mention.

  60. @52
    you’re right too.
    Gallo is hurt.
    They are 4 points back against the best team in the east and on their home court.
    I need to chill

  61. d-mar: Not sure I get the anti-Will vibes, he’s their leading scorer, he’s 6-10 from the field and has 2 blocks and a steal> Without him this would be a 10-16 point deficit.  

    Tough crowd in some sense. But with Chandler it’s so clear. When he takes good shots he makes them. You wonder why he ever settles. It’s even more frustrating than a guy like Mason who can only shoot jumpers.

  62. Down 4 with the starting line-up shooting 8-25- can’t complain. I missed the first quarter so I only saw good Wil but it looks like the second half of last season was no fluke.

  63. @55
    \He’s 0-4 from 3 pt. He didn’t need to take those. In some cases he could have driven..
    He’s not very good from 3

  64. D’Antoni seems to have found the right niche with Chandler — a 3/4 (NOT a SG), the first option on the “second unit” and on the floor at the end of the game. The rest is up to Chandler now. When he’s patient at the offensive end, he gets and makes good looks. He’s a solid defender.

  65. @58
    I mean that it kind of just happens. A lot of his points come like Lee’s did early in his career.

  66. @61 don’t agree, when Pierce misses the same shots, no one notices. If the guy is shooting at a high TS% you can’t freak every time he misses a shot over 5 feet.

  67. Chandler thinking he’s Paul Pierce is exactly the problem (he’s not, so he should not be shooting like he is)!!

  69. Z-man: PS what the F was that tech on WC?!  

    Ref was ready to blow that whistle before the shot even went up.

  70. @67, he’s the analogue to Pierce on this team. overall, he is shooting better than pierce right now.

  71. Z-man: @61 don’t agree, when Pierce misses the same shots, no one notices.If the guy is shooting at a high TS% you can’t freak every time he misses a shot over 5 feet.  

    I don’t get upset by almost anything he does off the dribble.

  72. Last year, WC hit 26 percent of his 3s. This year 33 percent.
    Not good.
    He’s better when he gets closer

  73. Dangerous time.
    need to weather the surge in the third. do that and we might have a game at the end.

  77. Frank O.: Dangerous time.
    need to weather the surge in the third. do that and we might have a game at the end.  

    so far so weathered

  78. I was about to say, “Why didn’t Fields dive for that ball?” and then saw Big Baby in mid flight.

    I’m not mad at you Landry.

  81. The defense is so dramatically ridiculously tremendously better that I am smiling even though I think we probably only have a 25% chance of winning this game.

  83. cgreene: The defense is so dramatically ridiculously tremendously better that I am smiling even though I think we probably only have a 25% chance of winning this game.  

    The Knicks are contesting shots. So weird to see.

  84. @71 You can’t just not hoot 3s as a wing, you will never get to the basket that way. I agree there should be discretion, but you have to take some.

  85. Fields doesnt really look like a rookie, does he ever does mistakes? 0 TOs!

    Sometimes he looks tentative, but man, he is filling the stat sheet: 4-7, 6 rebs, 3 asst, 1 stl

  86. Z-man: @71 You can’t just not hoot 3s as a wing, you will never get to the basket that way.I agree there should be discretion, but you have to take some.  

    Now that’s just a strawman. The issue here is, make teams force you to the three point shot.

    Wilson’s ballin’ tonight. We are seeing the whole arsenal.

  87. I keep thinking about draft night when all the analysts were making fun of the Knicks for picking Fields. Chris Ford in particular saying (I’ve never had a player drafted who wasn’t in my top 100). Now he’s starting…..

  88. What a no respect non call on Fields up and under shot. Pierce gets that call 100% of the time!

  89. Godamnit, I hate Pierce. He’ll bury a shot specifically to snuff the other teams run.

    Our D looks pretty good though. And Landry is a revelation. We just need Gallo to regain his form…

  90. I know Gallo hurt his wrist, but I think all the trade stuff is really effecting him. He has just not been himself at all…..

  91. At the awfulness that was the TOR announcers, Tommy H actually sounds acceptable to me.

    Entertaining ballgame thus far. Fields has been great. Timo had flashes early. Amare stil doesn’t look totally comfortable yet, nor does Felton. Defense is surprisingly strong, lots of intensity on that end (at times). Going to take time for the team to develop its identity. Encouraging, but I am having a hard time seeing them winning this game.

  92. Huh? The issue is, make teams unsure of what you are going to do. If you don’t take threes, even at 33% (equal to 50% on 2’s btw, they will not give you the drive.

  95. We are a knock down shooter from being a good team. A 45 win team. Imagine for a second of Melo was playing Gallo’s minutes tonight. Sorry.

  96. I am not sure I understand your point is Z. Do you honestly think that I or anyone here has suggested that Chandler should take zero three point field goal attempts? It’s clearly the weakest part of his offensive game. It should be a 3rd or 4th option for him.

    Can we at least agree on that?

  97. Don’t interpret that as w Melo this is a 45 win team as constructed. I think it is more than that.

  100. It looks like every game the Celts play will be like passing a stone. They won’t score many points, but they won’t give up many either.
    Reminds me of the Ewing era Knicks.

  104. Z-man: Whatever happens, a good accounting of themselves against a hungry Celt team on the road.  

    Sho nuff… and still got a decent shot in this one. Second straight game with a bushelful of blocks.

  112. There are two simple reasons we are losing.

    1) Missing open threes
    2) Silly isos from 20 feet away for Stoudemire

    I’m not saying those are the only mistakes, but they are the things that are consistently killing us.

  121. I think Tommy H just threw up in his mouth from excitement at Pierce on the line. That was gross.

  124. Not a bad effort, especially with Gallo unable to produce and the team still figuring stuff out. I think a few months from now this team could be playing some pretty good ball regardless of what happens with Melo, although I do hope they make that trade happen.

  126. tastycakes: I think Tommy H just threw up in his mouth from excitement at Pierce on the line.That was gross.  

    He does that a lot tasty. Celtics radio might actually be worse with Cedric “Cornbread” Maxwell, who is like Heinson only with a lisp.

  129. Good effort overall, they never panicked or lost composure when the Celts made runs and played pretty solid D for most of the game. Felton isn’t the only PG in the NBA that Rondo has burned, and KG and Davis basically didn’t miss ( I wish someone would knock Baby on his ass though, I HATE that gyrating stuff he does after scoring)

    It’s time for all of us to jump on the Nets bandwagon, 2 wins over the playoff bound Pistons and Kings at home!

  130. Loved the grit tonight, baby steps in a growth process. Will be at the game tomorrow night, that’s a real test.

  132. And a few other thoughts:

    1) The knicks did not go away. They came back from every celtics run to keep the game competitive. We saw the same thing with Toronto. Each time Toronto threatened, the knicks responded.

    2) We thought we were deep at shooting guard, but with Chandler playing the 3/4, Azubuike hurt, and with Roger Mason looking completely incapable of making any shot, let alone a three pointer, we’re left with Bill Walker, who isn’t bad, but doesn’t add much besides the shooting, which hasn’t been working either so far (although I trust that it will come around). He’s not much of a defender, rebounder, passer, or penetrator. If he added one of those skills, he’d be a solid backup.

    3) We drew a lot of fouls. Garnett and Davis fouled out, and pierce ended the game with 5 fouls. If we hadn’t fallen apart at the FT line in the 4th, we might have stolen this one, despite Rondo’s 24 assists.

    4) Rebounding and interior defense are still problems. More than half the Celtics points came in the paint. I really don’t see why Mozgov can’t play more. He made the one rookie mistake (stepping inbounds on the pass in), and it seemed like that turned D’Antoni against him. In his limited minutes he did a lot of other things well. Most importantly, although he only had one block, he altered a lot of shots on the interior. He moves well with and without the ball on offense. He had a nice put back, and a nice drive that earned him a foul. I can’t shake the feeling that if you just shrunk him down three inches, he’d be getting 10-15 more MPG. D’Antoni just doesn’t seem to believe that a big man, no matter how well he runs, can fit into his offense.

    5) Switching. A lot of the time, this is a good idea, because the knicks have athletes that can defend multiple positions, but when you’re playing a team with big time big men, you just can’t always switch, and especially against the celtics, with Rondo’s inability to shoot (in this game, Marquis Daniels’ as well), switching doesn’t get you much benefit.

    6) Gallinari will get better. It’s really his second season. A lot of guys break out during that second season, so I’m going to be patient.

    6) After the first few disastrous minutes, the Celtics played a pretty strong game. The defense was good, and they got scoring from lots of different people. Allen was a little off, but Glen Davis and Garnett made up for his poor perimeter shooting. This is a good sign, and I think the responsibility right now is on D’Antoni. He clearly has the pieces here of a 40+ win team.

  133. I thought the offense actually looked much better tonight- the ball moved from side to side quickly and the spacing was much better. Especially encouraging as it came against a much better defensive team. If they’d shot their free throws better they might still be playing this one.

    On D while the 9 blocks was nice the Celtics scored a ton of points in the paint. Mozgov gets lost a lot- I wouldn’t be shocked if Turiaf gets back into the starting line-up. He was +10 though 0 rebounds in 22 minutes is unacceptable.

  134. Its extremely encouraging to see the improved defense but in the end this team HAS TO SHOOT BETTER! Plain and simple, for all the improvement on D and in their overall play if they continue to shoot as poorly as they have all pre-season and so far in these first 2 games of the regular season its gonna be tough to win enough games to make the playoffs.

    Looking forward to the home opener tomorrow, gonna be another extremely tough game vs Portland but Im hopeful they can pull it off.

  135. haha looking over at the box score of the miami/orlando game — vince carter, quentin richardson, rashard lewis are a combined 1 for 18. Add in the bench wing/guard players and you get 5 for 32… OUCH!! Vince Carter and Rashard Lewis are really professionals at disappearing in big games. Brandon Bass may not be a great scorer, but at least he plays defense, and the reverse is true for Redick. I honestly believe they’d be a better team with those two starting.

    Miami gets their statement win here, but the box score doesn’t suggest that they did much other than watch the Magic implode. Udonis Haslem is outplaying Bosh…

  136. I couldn’t watch the Knicks unfortunately. Miami blew open a close game at the start of the 3rd with 3 three pointers in a row – 2 from Wade and 1 from LeBron. Then Howard got in foul trouble and that was it. Not really a meaningful test for the Heat because Howard was a total non-factor in the second half due to foul trouble.

  137. Someone must have told Chandler that volume scorers get the big bucks. Might have gotten a call from Rudy G. or that fella in Atlanta. Someone needs to tell him that he’s 2-10 on 3PT on the year, and he’s not likely to get much better. Take away his threes and he’s 19-28 on the year with 39 points. That’s 1.39 PPS. With the threes, he’s at 1.18. At his current FGA rate, that’s a swing of 4.2 points per game. Small sample, but a huge difference.

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