If you missed it last week, I’ll fill you in quickly. This season, TheHoopDoctors.com will be bringing you a weekly update every Monday on the Knicks season, since they essentially decided to basically forfeit two years leading up to the 2010 summer free agency. It’s only right to take a look to see if the wait paid off.
Housekeeping:
Record: 1 – 2
Streak: L2
Standings: Tied for 9th in Eastern Conference
Let me start by apologizing to Raymond Felton. Last week I mentioned that I was a fan of his acquisition, but I also said that he left a little bit to be desired when it came to speed. Allow me to clear that up. He’s plenty quick. He’s deceptive because he has somewhat of a stocky, powerful frame, so you wouldn’t expect someone with that body type to move quickly. But he holds his own.
As far as the three games that they played last week, it left me with mixed emotions. Starting a season with a win is always a good thing and the Knicks did just that against the Raptors Wednesday night. Then they lost their next two games to Boston and their home opener to Portland. While the two losses were close, they were still loses nonetheless and they came in similar fashion to years prior. It would leave any cynic to think that these are the same old Knicks that lose games the same way. They break your heart in the 4th quarter. With a legit scorer down the stretch now in Stoudemire, that may not exactly be the case. We’ll find out as the season progresses, but here’s a snapshot of the week that was:
Wednesday, October 27 at Toronto Raptors: Knicks 98 – Raptors 93
Earlier in the week, prior to Wednesday’s season opener, Coach Mike D’Antoni announced that the starting lineup for the first game would be Raymond Felton, rookie Landry Fields, Danilo Gallinari, Amar’e Stoudemire and rookie Timofey Mozgov. Not exactly star-studded or littered with household names and it was tough to believe that two years later, this was the starting lineup we were given.
I really like how Felton pushes the rock with frequency and he can actually finish around the basket when he does. There’s nothing more annoying than a PG who can’t finish. He would finish with 15 points and 6 assists. A solid debut. The Knicks seemed to have this one under control for most of the contest (leading by 16 at one point) and that was thanks largely to their leading scorer that night, Wilson Chandler and his 22 points off the bench. Chandler started much of last year so it’s new to not see him in the starting lineup. Usually when guys have a new role as 6th man, they have a tough time adjusting. Not the case with Chandler. Wilson had this to say about coming off the bench, “I didn’t take it personally. I just took it as he had a better lineup. He’s a good coach so I just go along with what he says.” That’s very refreshing. His play magnified Gallinari’s tough night.
Timofey Mozgov commits stupid fouls and reacts surprised every time he’s called for an obvious foul. He spent much of the 1st half on the bench in foul trouble. But Amar’e finished with 19 and 10 in his much anticipated debut. And let’s not sleep on Landry Fields. He had 11 as a starter, while Gallo had 12 and Toney Douglas chipped in with 10.
The Raptors only shot 10 3s, connecting on only 3 of them, but the game was decided by the Knicks’ defense. Yeah, you heard right. That’s something I couldn’t have said in years past. They held Toronto to 38% shooting, while also winning the rebounding battle.
Friday, October 29 at Boston Celtics: Celtics 105 – Knicks 101
You would’ve liked to have seen the Knicks play such a talented teach like Boston a little later in the year so that they’d have time to gel a bit more. I wasn’t optimistic for the Knicks coming into this one but it ended up being closer than I thought. However, it ended up being false hope. The Knicks actually jumped out to a 15 – 6 lead before Boston went on a mini run to regain the lead in the 1st quarter.
The story of the game was Rajon Rondo’s 24 assists, getting everyone involved as the Celtics shot 48% from the floor. In fact, of every Celtic that scored, the only one that didn’t get an assist from Rondo was Nate Robinson. For the second consecutive game, the Knicks shot more than 20 3s, while their opponent shot less then 20. That’s too lopsided of a disparity. There’s no reason to shoot so many 3s, especially from a team who doesn’t really have a noted 3 point specialist. The Knicks got to the line 9 more times than the Celtics but they only shot 67% from the charity stripe. Had a few more of those gone down, the outcome may have been different.
Again, Wilson Chandler provided that spark off the bench with 19 and Amar’e had 27 points and 8 rebounds. I could beat this one to death, but at the end of the day, the Celtics are the better team which is why they one, but it was very encouraging to know that the Knicks could’ve won the game.
Saturday, October 30 home vs. the Portland Trail Blazers: Blazers 100 – Knicks 95
This was the home opener and although I wasn’t actually at MSG, you could feel the electricity through the TV. The crowed seemed hyped as many got a jump start on Halloween by dressing up. Even Knicks color analyst Clyde Frazier wore an orange blazer.
Wilson Chandler’s 22 points off the bench makes a case for him to be inserted into the starting lineup and have Gallinari come off the bench. Gallo hasn’t appeared comfortable yet this young season and he probably owns the NBAs most confused look. Danilo sometimes has this “what day is it today?” look about himself which makes it tough to take him seriously at times.
Surprise, surprise. The Knikcs shoot 20+ 3s and more than twice as many as Portland (28 to 13). I know that’s partially part of D’Antoni’s plan, but let’s keep these guns in the holsters a bit, fellas. This was a close, back and forth type of game which was paced by Brandon Roy’s 29. Four consecutive missed free throws in the 4th quarter sealed their fate and being out-rebounded by 19 didn’t help either. Even though the Blazer shot almost 50% from the floor, the Knicks defense seems improved from last year as they actually lead the NBA in blocks per game. Similar to the Boston game, Portland was the better team but it’s encouraging that this was a winnable game.
Oh yeah, more stupid fouls by Mozgov. I’m not sure if this experiment is going to work.
This week, the Knicks host the Magic on Tuesday, head to Chicago on Thursday, come back home for Friday and Sunday games against Washington and Philadelphia respectively. They are fully capable to going 3 – 1 this week. I’ll fill you in next week.
If you’re looking for your everyday, predictable basketball talk, then go somewhere else, because Kevin Burke of The Kevin Burke Project brings provocative, thought provoking content about basketball as only he can. Kevin also hosts The Hoop Doctors weekly podcast show, which you can subscribe to for free on iTunes. Follow Kevin on Twitter and Facebook
