Final Score: Knicks 105 Spurs 118
Another lackluster performance for the Knicks tonight in San Antonio. Right from the outset of the game the Spurs set the tone of the game behind the play of Tony Parker, who finished with 32 points and 6 assists. Parker was able to get into the paint at will and picked apart the Knicks, basically putting the game away with 23 first half points. The Knicks were able to make a couple of runs, but were unable to sustain anything worthwhile, leading to a lopsided win for the Spurs.
-No Defense For Knicks without Chandler and Jeffries
Tyson Chandler was a surprise scratch from the game tonight with a hamstring injury and Jared Jeffries sat out after sustaining a sore knee in the previous game in Dallas. Josh Harrellson picked up the start in place of Chandler. Without these two the Knicks lacked any intensity on the defensive side of the ball. The Spurs waltzed into the pain at will with the Knicks seeming to have no intentions of stopping them, evident by the 60 points the Spurs had in the paint. With Amar'e being the main guy on defense playing against the pick-and-roll with Lin, the Spurs were able to pick apart the Knicks. Amar'e on multiple occasions left Lin out to dry, giving Parker free lanes to the basket. The Knicks were also out-rebounded by 10 and could not match up with the intensity of the Spurs.
-Lack of Offensive Cohesion
Carmelo Anthony bounced back from one of his worst performances against Dallas with a 27 point effort to lead the Knicks. Jeremy Lin chipped in 20 and Amar'e Stoudemire and J.R. Smith both scored 18, but you never would have guessed it from watching the game. The Knicks shot 42.7% from the field compared to the 54.1% shot by the Spurs. The Knicks were never able to build a consistent attack on the offensive end, relying too heavily on jump-shots. They are at their best when they are attacking the basket opening up easy shots for Stoudemire and Anthony. One positive was the Knicks were able to convert their forced turnovers into baskets, scoring 24 points off 17 Spurs turnovers compared to the 11 points scored off 10 Knick turnovers for the Spurs.
-Another PG Controversy on the Horizon?
While Jeremy Lin did score 20 points, he again struggled with his floor game only having 4 assists and finishing the game with -12 (second worst on the team behind Stoudemire who had -21). While Baron Davis did not score, going 0-7 from the field, he did hand out 8 assists off the bench finishing the game +3. Once Davis gets back into game shape and gets more into the flow of NBA action his shooting should improve, which in-turn means more points for the Knicks. Once that happens, if it ever does, there could be very real chance of him supplanting Lin. Whether it is the players they are surrounded with, or the fact Lin is playing real minutes for the first time in his NBA career, the Knicks seem to be a more cohesive, well oiled machine when Davis is running the show.
New York Knicks vs. San Antonio Spurs
Wednesday, March 7th 8:30 ET on MSG
After dropping the last two against the Celtics and Mavericks, the road does not get any easier tonight in San Antonio against the Spurs. The Knicks are on the second night of a back-to-back while San Antonio should be well rested, last playing Sunday afternoon losing to the Denver Nuggets. Here are some things to watch for in tonight’s game.
Changes to the Starting Lineup?
-The starting lineup has been playing lackluster and uninspired basketball since the all-star break, putting the team in a whole right from the beginning sometimes too deep to recover from. Sluggish play from superstar Carmelo Anthony and a wearing down Jeremy Lin have contributed to the slow starts. Landry Fields also has not been playing well, seeing his minutes cut drastically with the addition of JR Smith and the emergence of Iman Shumpert and Steve Novak off the bench. So is tonight the night Mike D’Antoni finally makes a change to jumpstart the starting five? There are rumblings that a days after saying he will not shake up the lineup, that that is in fact what will be done. Iman Shumpert is expected to take over the starting Shooting Guard spot tonight for Landry Fields. This should help kick-start the Knicks earlier in games because of the intensity and energy that Shumpert brings to the game, especially on the defensive end of the court.
Pick and Roll Defense
-The Mavericks thrived against the Knicks in pick and roll situations. Jason Kidd was knockdown like normal from deep, going 3-6 and scoring a season high 15 points and dishing out 6 assists. Dirk Nowitzki also did his thing, scoring 28 points. The pick and roll defense will have to improve, and it starts with Jeremy Lin. For everything positive that Lin has brought the Knicks, he also comes with some negatives. One of those is his lateral quickness on defense. Lin at times seems he would have trouble guarding a garbage can. Opposing Point Guards have torched the Knicks in recent games, from Deron Williams scoring 38 to Rajon Rondo’s historic triple double, making Tony Parker who the Knicks should key in on tonight’s game. The Spurs are a lot like the Knicks in the offense they run, mostly pick-and-rolls-and-space-out offense, currently sitting 2nd in the NBA in 3point shooting percentage (39.6) and 3rd in makes (299). One thing the Knicks should stop doing to improve their defense is stop switching on the pick-and-rolls. The Knicks have a habit of switching at almost every opportunity, no matter which players are that are switching, which causes terrible match-ups for them. You will notice multiple times throughout the game Iman Shumpert or Jeremy Lin getting stuck guarding big-men on switches leading to easy baskets for the opposing team. Switching on defense is a good tactic when used sparingly and in certain situations, not as the game-plan.
When Will We See The Old Carmelo Anthony?
-The Knicks have to make it a point to get their struggling and seemingly disgruntled superstar more involved in not only the offense, but the game as a whole. Carmelo usually has big games after poor ones throughout the season. When he scored 13 points on Dec. 28 against the Warriors, he had 27 one night later against the Lakers. When he scored 13 points on Jan. 7 against the Pistons, he had 22 two nights later against the Bobcats. And then when he scored 12 points on Jan. 18 against the Suns, he had 35 two nights later against the Bucks. Can only hope for more of the same this time around, and hopefully another win as the Knicks are also only 1-2 in those Melo bounce back games. To get the offense moving, they need to get Melo moving. He is capable of getting easy baskets; he just has to be willing to get them. Melo thus-far has been settling for too many deep 2point shots, resulting in his worst season statistically in his career. If the Knicks want to get back to having sweet harmony on the offensive end during the beginning of Linsanity, they have to make it more of a point to get Melo involved in the offense, not have to make the offense himself.
Final Score: Knicks 85 Mavericks 95
The Mavericks had complete control for most of the game from start to finish. The only time the Knicks showed any life was the start of the 4th quarter when they went on a 15-0 run to take a 1 point lead behind the shooting of Steve Novak (13pts 4-10FG 4-8 3pt 3 Reb), defense of Iman Shumpert (3 steals) and the aggressiveness of Amar’e Stoudemire The Mavericks quickly responded with their own 14-0 run behind Dirk Nowitzki (28 pts 8-18FG 12-12FT) and Jason Kidd (16 pts 4 Reb 5 Ast) to put the game away. It was a tough game to watch as a Knicks fan outside of that 6 and a half minute stretch. The rest of the game was sloppy and uninspiring for the most part.
-Technical Fouls
The Knicks were whistled for 3 technical fouls in the game tonight while the Mavericks had one of their own. J.R. Smith, Tyson Chandler and Mike D’Antoni received them for the Knicks, and Dirk Nowitzki received one for the Mavericks. Technical fouls have been a problem for Tyson Chandler, who has racked up 10 thus far this season. It is something to keep an eye on for the remainder of the season, because if Chandler reaches 16, a mandatory game suspension is put in place. He is then suspended one game for every 2 technical following the 16th. The technical foul was all you really heard from J.R. Smith tonight, as he had another lackluster game off the bench.
-Wear and Tear Becoming Evident
Jeremy Lin did not have a bad game tonight, finishing with 14 points 7 assists and only 2 turnovers, but it was a struggle at points. He shot only 4-13 from the field, floating out towards the perimeter and not attacking the basket as much as Knicks fans are accustomed to seeing. He took multiple hard hits while driving to the basket, which could have played a part in him playing more on the perimeter. For the Knicks to succeed, they need Lin to continue breaking down the defense and attacking the paint, not shooting 3 pointers. This was the 3rd game in a row that the team played in a better rhythm with Baron Davis running the point instead of Lin. Davis was the one leading the team during the ferocious comeback to start the 4th quarter.
-Carmel-No
Carmelo Anthony struggled again tonight, scoring only 6 points on 2-12 shooting from the field, 0-3 from 3 point and 2-4 from the foul line. Melo did have 8 rebounds, but only 1 assist. He showed aggressiveness in the 1st quarter, attacking the basket trying to get involved in the game but it did not show any results. At one point in the game, he looked more interested in carrying a conversation with Shawn Marion than the actual game, which resulted in one of the 16 Knicks turnovers (Melo threw an inbounds pass without looking, instead jawing with Marion. The result was a Jason Kidd steal.). For the rest of the game he looked disinterested and did not seem to care much about the outcome. He could be seen standing around just watching his teammates play. He took only one shot in the 4th quarter and was more than willing to become a spectator. Like everyone else, Melo needs to start developing chemistry and finding his niche with this new look Knicks squad. It would also be great to see Melo and Amar’e play well on the offensive end of the court in the same game.
-Back to His Old Ways?
One bright spot for the Knicks tonight was Amar’e Stoudemire. Stoudemire had a strong performance, showing some of the old bounce he had and finishing above the rim. He finished with 26 points on 10-18 field goals and 6-8 from the foul line to go along with 7 rebounds. "I went back to the old STAT, played uptempo basketball." Stoudemire said. Stoudemire provided the Knicks with timely buckets and also provided some unexpected defense. For a good part of the game, Stoudemire took it upon himself to guard Mavericks star and Finals MVP Dirk Nowitzki. The game plan had originally called for defensive minded Tyson Chandler to guard Nowitzki, but Amar’e told the coaching staff he wanted to do it before the game started. Amar’e took Dirk out of his game for a large portion of the contest, even causing Dirk to uncharacteristically lash out at the referees, resulting in a technical foul. In my opinion, this was Stoudemire’s most complete game of the season because he had an impact not only on the offensive end of the court, but the defensive end of the court as well. Hopefully this is a building block game for Amar’e and he can continue dominating teams through the end of the regular season and into the playoffs.
Next Game: Wednesday March 7th @ San Antonio Spurs 8:30 ET
