Saturday March 17th 7:00 P.M. ET
New York Knicks vs. Indiana Pacers
The Knicks enter tonight’s 2nd game of a home-and-home series feeling much better about themselves than a week ago. Winning their last 2 games since the resignation of Mike D’Antoni, interim head coach Mike Woodson has led them to two blowout wins. They seem to have finally come together, competing and even dominating on both ends of the court. The Knicks seem to finally be buying into a system and are showing the urgency they were lacking under Mike D’Antoni. It is tough to beat the same team on back-to-back nights, but the Knicks look more than capable of pulling it off right now
-Don’t Change a Thing
The game plan the Knicks ran last night worked to perfection. They took the main contributors Danny Granger, Roy Hibbert and David West out of the game early, never allowing them to get into rhythm. They were showing great effort on both ends of the court, and if they play like that again it should result in a victory. Bulletin board material from Danny Granger saying the games against the Knicks were winnable seemed to fire up the Knicks locker room.
Showcasing superstars Carmelo Anthony and Amar’e Stoudemire is something the Knicks need to continue doing. Anthony has come out strong to start the last two games, setting the tempo and pace of game in the Knicks favor. When the Knicks are clicking on offense, it makes them play better on the defensive end of the court. While Anthony and Stoudemire set the tone on the offensive end, Tyson Chandler sets the tone on defense. He took Hibbert and the rest of the Pacers out of their games last night, and doing the same tonight should lead to another Knicks victory.
-Don’t Let the Crowd Get into It
The Knicks and Pacers are bringing back their rivalry from the 90’s since both teams are starting to become relevant again. This is the makings for a rowdy crowd in Indiana, something the younger Knick players are going to have to get used to. Once it gets closer to playoff time, crowds are more into the games than ever.
If the Knicks play their game, the crowd noise should have no effect. Taking the crowd out of the game will be key tonight. For this to happen, the Knicks need to come out with the same effort and energy as last night. If they open up an early lead, people will undoubtedly start heading for the exits early to watch their Indiana Hoosiers play in the NCAA tournament instead of the Pacers lose to the Knicks.
-Injury Concerns
The Knicks were finally starting to have their rotation come together with everyone getting healthy, but the injury bug has hit again. Baron Davis suffered a strained hamstring in the game Friday night and did not travel with the team. Davis says the injury should only keep him out for a few days, which is a positive because the Knicks need him desperately.
This puts the pressure back on Jeremy Lin, who will again log big minutes with Davis out. Expect to see Mike Bibby backing up Lin with Davis being injured and Toney Douglas being away from the team. Iman Shumpert could also see some minutes at Point Guard in a pinch.
Final Score: Indiana Pacers 100 New York Knicks 115
As Walt “Clyde” Frazier says, “How sweet it is!” The Knicks won their second straight game under new Head Coach Mike Woodson, picking apart the Indiana Pacers to the tone of a 15 point victory. The Knicks had a wire-to-wire victory tonight, never once trailing in the game. There were no crazy stat lines, just a solid whole team effort for a team that finally looks to be coming together. The Knicks started the cooling off process of a Pacers team that had won their last 2 games, and 8 of their last 12 games. The Knicks will try to really cool off the Pacers in the 2nd night of their home and home series ends Saturday night in Indy.
-Energy and Defense from the Start
The Knicks came out from the start of this one with energy and a sense of urgency, especially on the defensive end. The Knicks held the Pacers to only 14 points and shot 22.7% in the first quarter, allowing the Knicks to set the tempo and pace of the game to their liking. The Pacers were held to only 39.5% shooting for the game. They were able to hold former All-Stars Danny Granger and David West in check, holding them to 4-15 shooting for 9 points and 3-6 shooting for 8 points respectively.
Carmelo Anthony again came out firing from the start, scoring 6 points in the first quarter. Anthony also made a number of plays, have impressive passes and creating opportunities for his teammates. Anthony finished with 12 points 7 rebounds and 5 assists in only 23 minutes, taking a long rest in the 2nd half to make sure he is ready for the 2nd game of the back to back.
It was a collective effort by the Knicks, never allowing the Pacers to gain their footing until it was too late and there was no chance of a comeback. The Knicks dominated the paint, grabbing 44 rebounds compared to 39 for the Pacers and outscoring the Pacers 52-34 in the paint. The Knicks were able to hold 2012 All-Star Center Roy Hibbert to only 3 rebounds total in the game. Tyson Chandler has been upset with not being chosen as an All-Star this season, and seemed to get up to go against Hibbert, going for 16 points 7 rebounds and 4 blocks in only 27 minutes of action.
-Bench Unit
For a second game in a row they game out firing, taking off right from where the starters would leave them off at. They were again hot from downtown, led by Steve Novak and J.R. Smith who made 4 and 2 three pointers respectively. The constant attacking of the paint led to plenty of open shot attempts for the Knicks, leading to a collective 44% shooting from 3point land.
The most impressive stat from the bench came in the 3rd quarter. Knicks reserves went 8/10 from the field scoring 24 points in the 3rd quarter. That effort from the bench unit helped bury the Pacers for good.
The Knicks were able again to empty their bench, enabling their starters and rotation players to get much needed rest going into a rematch with the Pacers tomorrow night in Indiana. It is fun seeing the reserves come in because of how hard they always play and how entertaining they are. The cheer the crowd gives them upon entering the name is deafening at times, and creates a great atmosphere in the Garden.
-Injury Concerns
After jus getting Tyson Chandler and Jared Jeffries back from injuries, the Knicks have suffered another one to a key player. Reserve Point Guard Baron Davis suffered a setback and tweaked his right hamstring in the first half, not returning after that. The Knicks can not afford an extended time of absence to Davis again, as it puts a lot of pressure upon Jeremy Lin and leaves the Knicks with a gaping hole in their backcourt. Davis was finally starting to round into shape and give the Knicks quality minutes. But it is important to get Davis healthy now so they have him for the stretch run, when his veteran presence and playoff experience will be greatly appreciated. Davis is quoted as saying the injury is a minor setback, and he should be fine in a couple of days. He will not accompany the Knicks on the trip to Indiana.
