by Stop Mike Lupica on November 12 at 2:42PM
The Knicks lost 75-72 to the Miami Heat yesterday.
First up, What's Clyde Wearing?
Sorry I haven't upload the pic yet - I'll add it in late tonight. Basically Clyde is wearing a blue blazer with a silver tie, but man... the funkiness is lurking underneath; the collar of the shirt is the only part exposed, but you can tell he's going clubbing later in that shirt. When that shirt walks into a room, the music changes. Boom chic-a boom chic-a.
On to the game notes:
The Knicks are down 33-24 at this point, with 5:30 left in the half. When you consider that the Knicks opened the game with 8 quick points, that means they have scored 16 points in the last 16 minutes. Wow.
Still, the crowd is not booing despite the offensive ineptness. It's because they, like me, are accustomed to the Knicks' futility, and tendency to fall behind before mounting a comeback. This game has "Nate Robinson led comeback" written all over it.
And here it comes:
-Crawford hits a three at 4:48. 35-27 Heat.
-Marbury misses a three, but Q-Rich tips in the rebound. 5 points in less than a minute?! Offensive explosion! 35-29 Heat.
-Crawford with a nice defensive play - he ran after Jason Williams on a breakaway layup, and forced him to miss the layup.
-Crawford gets fouled while shooting a three. The Heat prove that old veterans can make stupid rookie mistakes. He hits all three FTAs. 35-32 Heat, thanks to this 8-0 Knicks run.
-And Jamal blocks Penny Hardaway!
-Richardson posts Ricky Davis up, draws the foul. He hits both FTA. 35-34 Heat. 10-0 run by Knicks.
-Jason Williams hits a jumper to make it 37-34.
-Crawford misses a three, David Lee dunks the rebound to make it 37-36. 7 rebounds for Lee in the first half.
-Q-Rich strips Davis.
-And Marbury hits the three. 39-37 Knicks at the half.
Where to start? It was the ugliest half of basketball in the NBA this season. The Spurs look like the Suns next to these two teams.
The Knicks had a combined 6 assists in the first half. Up to this point, the Knicks had been an interesting team to watch. This game was the first absolutely unwatchable game they've had all season.
Some second half notes:
-David Lee gets caught napping on the defensive end too much.
-Eddy Curry got triple-teamed. Last season the perimeter guys, especially Marbury, where able to help out more. But yesterday they were useless for the most part.
-Curry is leading the NBA in FG%. Just FYI.
-David Lee opens up 2-10 FGA. I'm pretty sure both the FGs he hit were putbacks on offensive rebounds. He has no offensive game what so ever.
Look, I like David Lee as much as anyone. But if you think David Lee should be a starter... you're probably one of those guys who know more about numbers and efficiency than basketball. David Lee is not a good fit for the Knicks as a starter. He's a liability offensively - his man is double team on Curry or the perimeter shooters (seriously, I saw Marbury get doubled at the arc). Defensively he's a liability - Haslem abused him in the first and fourth quarters yesterday, and Lee failed to box him out. He certainly not the worst player in the NBA or anything - but he's a great role player. I know he can grow, and maybe if he started he would improve, but... those people who wrote that the Randolph trade was bad because it would cut into Lee's minutes, or prevent him from getting more minutes... and you know who you are... you guys were wrong. David Lee is not ready to be a starter.
-With 7:37 left in the third, the Knicks already have 12 turnovers.
-It's 47-43 Heat with 6:09 left in the third, and I'm waiting for Nate to come off the bench and spark the team. [Unfortunately he will never come... he only played 3 minutes due to his hamstring injury, and the Knicks miss him more than you think].
-Richardson hits a 14-footer. That reminds me... Q-Rich shooting 14 footers and posting... I would like to see that continue. I would also like to see Crawford and Marbury pull up for 14 footers more often, too.
-After Richardson 14-footer, Crawford hits a runner, and somehow it is 50-49 Knicks. Nobody is quite sure how the Knicks got the lead when they just scored on two consecutive possession for the first time this half. Even Gus Johnson is confused by the Knicks having the lead. The Heat are just as atrocious, apparently. If ever there was a situation in which both teams deserved a loss, this is it. Let's just call it a tie, and end the night early.
Graphic of the Night - the Heat have lost every game they have played since last March:
Finish of regular season, 06-07: 0-2
Playoffs, 06-07: 0-4
Preseason: 0-8
07-08: 0-5
That's 19 games in a row without a win. I think we can pencil them in for a win right now.
-Both teams are called for moving screens on consecutive possessions. Folks, I don't think I can properly convey the hideousness of this. It makes those good old Knicks-Heat games of the 90's look like Alex English's Nuggets playing against Run-TMC.
Short people playing center, part II:
-The trivia questions have been harder this year. They're all trick questions. I'm on to you, MSG.
-Ricky Davis bangs a three to cut the Knicks seemingly insurmountable lead down to one: 68-67 Knicks.
The Knicks looked like ass yesterday, as did the Heat.
************
Some interesting insight from Ken Berger at Newsday on the Knicks so far. He notes that they need better point guard production from Marbury.
To be fair, yesterday's game was not representative of Marbury so far this season; Steph has done well, averaging over 6 apg (with more uncredited good passes); he hasn't turn over the ball too much (though he has lately). However he did fail to provide a steadying presence, as Berger points out.
That's fine... he's not taking over the fourth yet, choosing to let the big men play the go-to role. He's not getting to the basket much, either, but that's a product of not having practiced much this summer. I predicted he would struggle a bit, with a lot of his focus on the Starbury tour over the summer (not to mention his court visit), and not so much on being in the gym. It's not that it'll make a difference - Marbury is too old to improve much more - but it's that it might contribute to a little bit of a slow start, and that he might wear down in the fourth quarter more. Whether that is the case or not is hard to tell, but I did think it might have been a problem, and he has looked a little slower in the fourth so far this season.
In any case, he should be fine as the season rolls on.
Berger also points out that Curry struggled with the double and triple teams a bit yesterday. But keep in mind that he hadn't seen them all season, after dealing with them regularly last year. Again, if Randolph is out for a long period of time I think Curry would adapt; as it happens, it doesn't matter because Randolph will be back soon.
The West Coast trip is coming up this week; the Knicks have two winnable games (the Kings and Clippers), one very likely loss (the Suns), and one 50/50 game (the Nuggets). Let's see if the Knicks can get a split or better on this trip.
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First up, What's Clyde Wearing?
Sorry I haven't upload the pic yet - I'll add it in late tonight. Basically Clyde is wearing a blue blazer with a silver tie, but man... the funkiness is lurking underneath; the collar of the shirt is the only part exposed, but you can tell he's going clubbing later in that shirt. When that shirt walks into a room, the music changes. Boom chic-a boom chic-a.
On to the game notes:
- Penny Hardaway is a starter for the Heat. Aside from the fact that this would have been the illest team in NBA Live '97 (Shaq, Penny, Mourning... where's Gary Payton), I really think Pat Riley just doesn't know any players in the NBA under 30 years old. Seriously. Allan Houston's agent needs to get Riley on the phone before Charles Oakley does.
- Udonis Haslem starts off 5-5 from the field in the 1st quarter. Lee's defense is absolutely atrocious. He doesn't bother to box out, either.
- Curry had 12 points. The score is 25-20 Heat. No one else on the Knicks can get their offense going. Listen, the Knicks have been funneling the offense through Z-Bo since the preseason; they just aren't used to having to go through Curry again. If it was a long term thing, they would probably adjust, you hope. It's a short-term thing though, so you don't even care. Shrug it off... most teams struggle when their top offensive player is out (see the Heat).
- Yes, that's Balkman at Center for the Knicks to start the 2nd quarter. He's out there with Malik Rose, Nate Robinson, Jamal Crawford, and Mardy Collins. I was watching the Knicks game, and all of a sudden a Hawks game broke out...
wtf within the last 10 minutes ive seen
malik try to bank it
mardy collins try to b reak a triple team on a
fastbreak
renaldo shoot a 3
malik try to throw an alley and instead throw it
damn near into the crowd
ugh no good.
The Knicks are down 33-24 at this point, with 5:30 left in the half. When you consider that the Knicks opened the game with 8 quick points, that means they have scored 16 points in the last 16 minutes. Wow.
Still, the crowd is not booing despite the offensive ineptness. It's because they, like me, are accustomed to the Knicks' futility, and tendency to fall behind before mounting a comeback. This game has "Nate Robinson led comeback" written all over it.
And here it comes:
-Crawford hits a three at 4:48. 35-27 Heat.
-Marbury misses a three, but Q-Rich tips in the rebound. 5 points in less than a minute?! Offensive explosion! 35-29 Heat.
-Crawford with a nice defensive play - he ran after Jason Williams on a breakaway layup, and forced him to miss the layup.
-Crawford gets fouled while shooting a three. The Heat prove that old veterans can make stupid rookie mistakes. He hits all three FTAs. 35-32 Heat, thanks to this 8-0 Knicks run.
-And Jamal blocks Penny Hardaway!
-Richardson posts Ricky Davis up, draws the foul. He hits both FTA. 35-34 Heat. 10-0 run by Knicks.
-Jason Williams hits a jumper to make it 37-34.
-Crawford misses a three, David Lee dunks the rebound to make it 37-36. 7 rebounds for Lee in the first half.
-Q-Rich strips Davis.
-And Marbury hits the three. 39-37 Knicks at the half.
Where to start? It was the ugliest half of basketball in the NBA this season. The Spurs look like the Suns next to these two teams.
The Knicks had a combined 6 assists in the first half. Up to this point, the Knicks had been an interesting team to watch. This game was the first absolutely unwatchable game they've had all season.
Some second half notes:
-David Lee gets caught napping on the defensive end too much.
-Eddy Curry got triple-teamed. Last season the perimeter guys, especially Marbury, where able to help out more. But yesterday they were useless for the most part.
-Curry is leading the NBA in FG%. Just FYI.
-David Lee opens up 2-10 FGA. I'm pretty sure both the FGs he hit were putbacks on offensive rebounds. He has no offensive game what so ever.
Look, I like David Lee as much as anyone. But if you think David Lee should be a starter... you're probably one of those guys who know more about numbers and efficiency than basketball. David Lee is not a good fit for the Knicks as a starter. He's a liability offensively - his man is double team on Curry or the perimeter shooters (seriously, I saw Marbury get doubled at the arc). Defensively he's a liability - Haslem abused him in the first and fourth quarters yesterday, and Lee failed to box him out. He certainly not the worst player in the NBA or anything - but he's a great role player. I know he can grow, and maybe if he started he would improve, but... those people who wrote that the Randolph trade was bad because it would cut into Lee's minutes, or prevent him from getting more minutes... and you know who you are... you guys were wrong. David Lee is not ready to be a starter.
-With 7:37 left in the third, the Knicks already have 12 turnovers.
-It's 47-43 Heat with 6:09 left in the third, and I'm waiting for Nate to come off the bench and spark the team. [Unfortunately he will never come... he only played 3 minutes due to his hamstring injury, and the Knicks miss him more than you think].
-Richardson hits a 14-footer. That reminds me... Q-Rich shooting 14 footers and posting... I would like to see that continue. I would also like to see Crawford and Marbury pull up for 14 footers more often, too.
-After Richardson 14-footer, Crawford hits a runner, and somehow it is 50-49 Knicks. Nobody is quite sure how the Knicks got the lead when they just scored on two consecutive possession for the first time this half. Even Gus Johnson is confused by the Knicks having the lead. The Heat are just as atrocious, apparently. If ever there was a situation in which both teams deserved a loss, this is it. Let's just call it a tie, and end the night early.
Graphic of the Night - the Heat have lost every game they have played since last March:
Finish of regular season, 06-07: 0-2
Playoffs, 06-07: 0-4
Preseason: 0-8
07-08: 0-5
That's 19 games in a row without a win. I think we can pencil them in for a win right now.
-Both teams are called for moving screens on consecutive possessions. Folks, I don't think I can properly convey the hideousness of this. It makes those good old Knicks-Heat games of the 90's look like Alex English's Nuggets playing against Run-TMC.
Short people playing center, part II:
- Richardson is now the center, guarding Shaq. The rest of the lineup: Balkman, Collins, Crawford, Rose. Good lord, I don't know what makes me sadder: that Richardson is guarding Shaq, or that he's doing a good job.
- Penny hitting a three makes me saddiest. It's 66-62 Knicks, in a game where I firmly believe 70 points will be enough to win.
-The trivia questions have been harder this year. They're all trick questions. I'm on to you, MSG.
-Ricky Davis bangs a three to cut the Knicks seemingly insurmountable lead down to one: 68-67 Knicks.
- Crawford misses a fast break layup because, in my opinion, he was a little afraid of contact. Ugh.
- Lee gets a dunk off a steal (poked away originally by Crawford). 70-67. 3:14 left. That should seal it.
- Curry gets an offensive rebound, then Marbury finishes the new possession with a nice drive and kick to Curry (who gets fouled - no assist for Marbury, but that was a great pass). Curry hits both FTs. 72-67, 2:30 to go. That has to seal it.
- After a Miami bucket, Mardy Collins again gets a chance to shine in the Toilet Bowl. He puts on a nice move, get fouled. He misses both FTs. Ugh. 72-69 Knicks.
- Haslem gets fouled. He misses both FTs, too. 72-69 Knicks, 1:20 to go.
- Lee gets snuffed by Shaq. Heat ball.
- Bad breaks make the difference in close games: Mardy Collins pokes it away from Williams on defense, but it goes right to Haslem (who is suppose to be guarding him?), who gets an easy layup off the botched play. 72-71 Knicks. This will end badly. 47.2 seconds left.
- Marbury throws it away trying to find Crawford in the corner. 33.9 left.
- The inevitable: Jason Williams hits a nice 15 foot jumper to make it 73-72 with 19.9 left.
The Knicks looked like ass yesterday, as did the Heat.
************
Some interesting insight from Ken Berger at Newsday on the Knicks so far. He notes that they need better point guard production from Marbury.
To be fair, yesterday's game was not representative of Marbury so far this season; Steph has done well, averaging over 6 apg (with more uncredited good passes); he hasn't turn over the ball too much (though he has lately). However he did fail to provide a steadying presence, as Berger points out.
That's fine... he's not taking over the fourth yet, choosing to let the big men play the go-to role. He's not getting to the basket much, either, but that's a product of not having practiced much this summer. I predicted he would struggle a bit, with a lot of his focus on the Starbury tour over the summer (not to mention his court visit), and not so much on being in the gym. It's not that it'll make a difference - Marbury is too old to improve much more - but it's that it might contribute to a little bit of a slow start, and that he might wear down in the fourth quarter more. Whether that is the case or not is hard to tell, but I did think it might have been a problem, and he has looked a little slower in the fourth so far this season.
In any case, he should be fine as the season rolls on.
Berger also points out that Curry struggled with the double and triple teams a bit yesterday. But keep in mind that he hadn't seen them all season, after dealing with them regularly last year. Again, if Randolph is out for a long period of time I think Curry would adapt; as it happens, it doesn't matter because Randolph will be back soon.
The West Coast trip is coming up this week; the Knicks have two winnable games (the Kings and Clippers), one very likely loss (the Suns), and one 50/50 game (the Nuggets). Let's see if the Knicks can get a split or better on this trip.
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7 Comments
Comments
stopmikelupica
said
TiVo (actually DVR) is paying off dividends - I can pause and rewind. Normally I would watch the game a second time, to see if there was any particular segment where the game went awry, and take notes on... yesterday I said no way. I deleted that game after watching it live. F*ck that ugliness.
Thing is, I would have felt the same way regardless of whether the Knicks had won or lost. I mean, I would have been happy with the win (a win is a win), but I would not have wanted to watch that again at all. Just too ugly.
Prezs2ReprsntMe
said
I give my official endorsement for plan trade david lee and some people for ron artest lol
SML, I was cringing throughout... very ugly indeed
I've been wanting to comment about this David Lee as starter nonsense - or the "bench Q Rich for Balk" nonsense - for a while. I wish I had because now I'd look like a prophet.
AND where are the people constantly poo-pooing Jerome James? (that includes you, SML.) We could've used his six fouls, if nothing else, last night. The alternative, as you point out, of Malik, Balk, and Q on Shaq is not the answer.
We'll go as far as Zach, EZ Ed, and Crawford can take us. Not an inch further.
stopmikelupica
said
Oh, I will keep poo-pooing Jerome James! My problem with him is he's never in game shape, and is a waste of a roster spot. Not that I think Demetrius Nichols is going to be the second coming of Glen Rice or Allan Houston, but James ain't nuthing but 6 fouls personified.
The Knicks could have had young Randolph Morris available for defending/fouling Shaq. He's no worse than James, with plenty of upside!
But I'm glad we both agree on the David Lee issue.
SML, good analysis. Damn. Do you hit pause oin your TV screen to write your column or are you just a really detailed observer?
The Knicks were atrocious yesterday, and STILL had the game wrapped up... but gave it away. Very painful loss.
I agree that Lee is much more effective off the bench. Haslem has no business getting so many boards.
Tat Mardy Collins deflection to Haslem that you mention was the deciding play of game. I've really got to forget this one.