Let me just crib from Thomas B. here….
After a very hot start, the Hawks have cooled a bit but they are still a dangerous match up for the Knicks because their offensive efficiency (109.1, 6th) and eFG% (50.8%, 7th) exploits the Knick defense.
What to watch for 1: Pace. For a team with so many athletic players the Hawks don’t really push the pace (90.1 possessions per game, 25th). It will be interesting to see what the Hawks do if the Knicks push the pace.
What to watch for 2: Inside the paint. The Hawks, like the Knicks, lack a true center. Solomon Jones is solid interior defender (2.7 blocks per 36 minutes) but he is quite foul prone (5.5 fouls per 36 minutes). Josh Smith blocks the same number of shots per 36, but is more of a weak side defender than face up. If Duhon and Robinson can get inside they can open up a few easy baskets for Lee and Harrington when Smith comes to help.
If Al Horford is gonna hit that, it’ll be a long night for Lee
Nate! Back in, awesome….
Note Robinson comes right off the bench and gets a nice pass to Lee for a dunk
Apparently defense is not on either team’s agenda….
God. Could we run back on D?! Just run back there.
Umm… no.
Then a bad pass, and a way off 3..aaah I’ve missed him so.
A Jeffries sighting?
Jared Jeffries sighting!
Does Harrington ever NOT shoot?
He may shoot more often per touch than Randolph did. Someone is going to have to sit down and talk to him and Chandler and explain that they don’t have to shoot virtually every time they touch the ball. Harrington is hot etc.. but still.
Both teams putting on a bad defense clinic tonight.
Jeffries looking very good….
“Someone is going to have to sit down and talk to him and Chandler and explain that they don’t have to shoot virtually every time they touch the ball. Harrington is hot etc.. but still.”
I nominate the Italian Stallion for the task….
Possibly while on the bench…possibly
Okay, I’m turning on the Celts/Blazers game. I’ll be back.
How ’bout 3 dimes for Nate? (Okay I can’t stay away from the Knicks. It’s a sickness.)
Wilson Chandler throws up a ludicrous shot and sinks it, then misses a chippie… Gus is very excited…
That turnover by Chandler was indeed despicable.
3 misses by Roberson. Sit him down.
Roberson is the worst shooting shooter I’ve seen in a while.
Very bad sequence there, not blaming Roberson but….
I’m about ready to watch the Celtic game. Uggh
I guess there’s a difference between making them in practice and making them with some pressure on. (something I learned about 30 years ago on the pool table). LOL
Another instance where a close game went the other way once Roberson came in.
It’s on nights like this that even I have to acknowledge that Lee is just an average defender….
pretty sure D’Antoni’s encouraging that, with Nate too. Chandler should probably go to the bench for now and let Q go back to SF and Nate start at SG, getting him and Harrington out of each other’s way at least to start the game.
the Mobley thing is a real tragedy for Knicks fans wanting to see competitive basketball this year, we’d go nine deep with him and would never have to play Roberson or Rose. I still don’t get why he could pass a LA physical at the start of the season and not a NY one 10 games in, when we know this condition isn’t new.
Are we playing matador d or teflon d? I need a ruling from Clyde
Agreed on everything.
Holy crap, did we just see our first Jeffrightened? I don’t know what it was but he looks awesome….
And now is limping, crap…
Nice plays by Jeffries. Limping? Uh Oh!
If we only had Mobley and Gallinari we might be having some fun.
WOW Knicks D forced a turnover. A rare sight indeed….
I just saw Q challeng a 3 point shot in the corner. My word.
I can see why D’Antoni was so excited by Jeffries, looks very very active out there…
And Nate just toasted Bibby….
Close game….
Wow, Jeffries just had a ridiculous rejection on Horford, Awesome….
Still limping though….
And Nate turns it over, leaving enough time for the Hawks to get a last second shot, just a despicable turnover again….
So this is why Isiah signed Jared Jeffries!!!! Of course he wasnt smart enough to play him at the 4 or 5, instead tried to use him at the 3….
Jeffries +8 in the first half. Nice return so far. I hope that limp is nothing.
Not sure what D’Antoni was thinking having Roberson out there by himself running the offense. We would probably be up at the half if he managed the backcourt a little bit better.
What is Roberson’s +/- so far this game?
I’m out in Indiana for the weekend and don’t get the game here. So, Jeffries is looking good? That’s interesting.
Forget this game, how about for the season????
Roberson is sporting a -9 in 4:43.
Hope the Knicks can somehow pull this one out, it would be a REALLY NICE win.
Harrington still feelin’ it.
That will be the first and last time David Lee reminds anyone of Connie Hawkins….
Fingerroll off the p’n’r….
Gus “Harrington-he’ll let it go!”
You don’t say, Gus.
refs not showing us any love. knicks have 2 ft’s so far, atlanta has 13.
horrible turnover there from Chandler….
Now let’s see if Lee can make a free throw for once….
Lee has shot 80% the last two years, but at just 69% so far….
Oh brother, it looks like D’Antoni rushed Robinson back too fast just like he did with Gallinari.
As well as Jeffries might play on a given night, always remember this: he has terrible hands. Terrible.
QRich is having flashbacks to last year.
Forget about Defense, this Knicks team CANT score anymore.
Things don’t look as fluid as they did early in the season.
Terrible terrible turnover by Thomas…
And Not sure about Jeffries the long range jump shooter…
Jesus, another horrible turnover on Thomas….
This is getting painful to watch. I think I’m going to watch a rerun of The Dog Whisperer.
Jeffries looks like he is out of this game for good, after converting an alley oop layup from Duhon…
Hey Guys look I am all for the trades that we made for the future and wouldnt go back and change them for the world. BUT for as much as we criticized Zach and Jamal, w/o them this team this season will be hard pressed to win 30 games.
Granted thats good cause it should leave us with another Top 10 pick, and with Gallo hopefully 100% next season, a full training camp with this current team and a bunch of motivated players playing in their final years of their contract, this team should compete for and make the playoffs next season.
It was fun in the beginning of this season because it looked like they could make the playoffs, but after the trades its painfully obvious this team has no chance this season.
There goes Jeffries again.
This is ridiculous. It’s time for Walsh to buy out James next and bring in some fresh bodies that can actually play. We are wearing down all our players with all these minutes and they are going to wind up hurt too.
To me it was obvious we were a bit worse after the trades, but it’s hard to prove given that Mobley is not even playing (which was unexpected). That’s really hurting because we are so short on guards.
Guts.
How many times have we said that in recent years about this Knicks team?
On the hawks telecast, nique just said, “the knicks just keep hanging around – they really play hard.” How many years since someone said that?
Owen, is it you who is not a joe johnson fan?
7 Turnovers for Duhon? Is that right? Ouch!
IS,
I see your last 2 comments and yet you still oppose suiting up marbury…. ?
They are hanging tough, but it’s actually meaningless unless they pick up a “W” in some of these instances. Lots of teams/individuals do just enough to not win.
Caleb,
I am still totally opposed. I’d rather suit up a WNBA player. We need to put Marbury in the past.
Not crazy about that clock mgmt strategy… Laying it all on a 3-pointer, esp when the hawks have a foul to give.
For the first time, at the worst time, Al Harrington did NOT shoot???
Harrington had a look at that 3. That wasn’t the time to drive in that situation. You had to take a contested shot.
wow. d’antoni drew up awful plays for those two timeouts at the end of the game. pretty disappointed…
And how long has al harrington been in this frickin’ league?
Crawford is off the cap, crawford is off the cap, crawford is off the cap.
Repeat.
I can’t believe that Al Harrington took this moment to finally not take the shot…
Unfortunately, this team seems like it is about to sink into an abyss of losing. The scehdule is tough.
Yeah but he got Duhon a WIDE-OPEN 3pter and he passed that shot up!!!!!!! Down the stretch, Duhon was HORRIBLE tonight.
At least we can hope that when JJ and N8 are back to full strength we can play much better. I really like what I saw from JJ tonight-“jeffrightened” and all.
LOL. Who coined that phrase?
That was a brutal finish. I’m not sure what Harrington was thinking, but I suspect that mentally he was not ready to take the critical shot. For many players, it’s not that easy to pull the trigger when they find themselves in that position. I suspect Harrington doesn’t have a lot of experience being the “go to” guy when the game is on the line. The problem is, we don’t have a go to guy. LOL
For a moment at the end of the game, I actually missed Jamal Crawford. Who else on this team can create their own shot? Harrington actually traveled after he decided to pass up a 3 with 3 seconds on the clock and down 3. A high basketball IQ guy.
if D’Antoni ever gets nine actual NBA players healthy in this system, they’re going to be fun to watch, especially if one of them is Nate.
amazing we hung so close, if opposing GMs were drafting from this game, I think Horford, Williams, Smith and Johnson would all go before Lee or any other Knick, but somehow we had two shots at the end to tie. hopefully Nate and Jeffries are back soon (again)…
Well, I thought the trade made us better in the short term. I guess I’m hoping that it’ll work out in the near term. I got that old familiar lump in the throat right now though.
“Is anyone else pissed at Lisa Callahan again”
“Is anyone else pissed at Lisa Callahan again”
That wasn’t supposed to be in quotations. That’s all me. I’m just writing at stupid.
That’s 6 of the last 7 lost to those guys, which is really starting to bug me. Two questions:
1. Does that team have a single play in its book, or do they run that spread isolation almost every play against other teams as well?
2. Would I be wrong in saying that, since their offense is basically a series of one on one plays, they’re actually a bad matchup for the Knicks since they exploit the weakness of few good man defenders?
they’re a bad matchup for the Knicks because they’re filled with young, freaky athletes, and we’re not.
And no, they don’t have any plays. It’s a point of contention down here.
LOL
On another blog, someone asked a very good question.
On the last play we needed a 3 pointer.
Why wasn’t Tim Thomas on the court instead of David lee?
The team looked good early on, but they faced a lot of bad teams & teams with key players injured. The Knicks look worse now, but they’re suffering through new teammates and depth problems. Once Marbury is gone, the team can pickup a guard (how about this guy who is leading the NBDL in 3PM & can play some D). The team needs a little time to gel. Last night was a prime example, between Duhon & Harrington there wasn’t enough familiarity to put up a last second shot, even though Harrington was wide open. Things will get better, but let’s not overstate how good the team was early on. That team wasn’t winning 40 games this year.
Is that Frank Williams former Knick???
Depth problems, indeed. I know we have needs at multiple positions but I’m starting to worry about finding a capable backup for Duhon. D’Antoni will ride his PG to extremes to make his offense run. Luckily, Duhon and Nash have no-quit personalities but they put their bodies through hell. Do you know of any D-League PG’s?
http://www.nypost.com/seven/12062008/sports/knicks/knicks_off_by_a_har_142903.htm
D’Antoni elected not to put in 3-point specialist Tim Thomas for David Lee, figuring Thomas had sat too long.
I knew that link was going to be Frank Williams. How I miss him.
This is bound to open another can of worms but..
http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/basketball/knicks/2008/12/05/2008-12-05_stephon_marbury_mum_as_rumors_swirl-2.html
Banished Knicks guard Stephon Marbury refused to confirm or deny a report on ESPN Radio Friday night that said he was expecting to be released within a week so that he could sign with Boston, Orlando or Miami.
Reached Friday night via e-mail, Marbury refused comment.
ypu thats our frank williams.
re: Lee vs. Thomas, the bigger coaching gaffe was clock management — not fouling with 25 seconds left. They needed to extend the game – by letting Johnson dribble down the clock, the BEST-case scenario was Hawks miss (they did), and a single 3-point shot to tie.
In general that aspect of coaching is overrated — a handful of plays, vs. the whole game, preparation, teaching skills, etc. — but it reminded me that D’Antoni has been outmaneuvered in end game situations a few times in recent playoffs (often by Popovich or Jackson, tough competition, but stil…)
Interesting that Berman answered the question because he was the one that asked it in one of his blog entries. LOL
I think Q Rich gave a valiant effort in guarding Joe Johnson. That last minute shot with Q all in his face was really great did but with the superstars there is not really much you can do to stop them. I wish Gallo was playing now so we can see what kind of game the kid has. They said they would rest him 2 months ,right? Maybe we’ll see him in Janurary. As for now the way Stephen Curry is playing for Davidson im hoping we get a little lucky in the draft and land him in NYC.
Just a note:
Balkman started last night, got big minutes, and had a huge game for Denver.
“6th Man” Mardy Collins got 27 minutes in a Clipper win last night too.
“As for now the way Stephen Curry is playing for Davidson im hoping we get a little lucky in the draft and land him in NYC.”
he and LeBron are buddies also, so this couldn’t hurt our primary quest.
Yes indeed. Not ordinary buddies though mr abbey….texting buddies.
marbury may have more difficulty finding work than he thinks.
From the Orlando Sentinel yesterday:
“Newsday’s Alan Hahn writes about estranged Knick Stephon Marbury’s next destination, and lists Orlando as a possibility.
“We’re on the list?” Magic GM Otis Smith said, sarcastically, before Friday night’s tip against the Thunder.
In other words, forgetaboutit. No way Smith would poison the Magic’s lockeroom with Marbury.”
From NOLA.com yesterday:
“If the New York Knicks agree to a buyout of Stephon Marbury’s contract and release him, the Hornets would not pursue trying to obtain him, Coach Byron Scott said Friday.
“This would not be a place interested in his services,” Scott said after Friday’s practice at the Alario Center.”
Marcus Camby last night – 19 boards, 7 blocks, 2 steals – think we could use a guy like that?
nuggets are 5-0 when balkman scores 6 or more points. also 5-0 in games he gets 20 or more minutes. 4-0 when he has 7 or more rebounds. whenever they actually use him they are winning their games. i really wish we hadn’t given him away for nothing. he was one of my favorite knicks.