Post Game thoughts: New York Knicks vs Detroit Pistons 1/29/2010

Mozgov?!? Is this the same guy who let Blake Griffen fly over him? I hope tonight was no fluke game from him because he came to play! He rebounded, hit the open shot, played great defense and was a force inside the paint tonight (no sloppy dropped passes by him like in the beginning of the year). If this guy can be as half as effective as he was tonight, then there is no reason that he should not be starting at center while STAT goes to his natural power forward position and dominate guys like he did tonight. I will be disappointed if Mozgov does not get any significant playing time next game because he earned it.

Other than that i think we did a great job beating a team that has no right winning at MSG tonight. We are a better team and showed that tonight despite being behind at halftime. Great game by Gallo, who is really coming into his own as a player. We know that he can shoot the lights out, but his slashing and his ability to get to the FT line has improved dramatically this season. His defense has shown a vast improvement from last year and you can tell he looks more polished. All he needs to do is be more consistent and he can become a borderline all star in my opinion.

Great game from Amare tonight as he just dominated the Detroit frontcourt. Felton is still in a bit of a slump and it's disappointing because he was in the All star conversation before. Hopefully he breaks out of it because this offense relies so much on the play of our PG and his ability to find the open man as well as break down the defense. Toney Douglas has shown maturity as the backup PG though and he is not taking the horrible shots that he took earlier in the season. If he can keep it up and Mozgov can be a consistent 10/10 starter than we have a legit team with Turiaf,Douglas, Chandler, and Shawne Williams off the bench.

Kelenna Azubuike Update

"Azubuike returned to practice Wednesday and said he believes he finally is on the verge of impressing the coaching staff enough to get him back on the court for a game. He may get his chance now that Shawne Williams likely will be suspended for a fight with the Hawks' Marvin Williams late in the game. Both players were ejected."

"Azubuike would be a logical suspension replacement for Williams, though the rehab on his knee, on which he had patellar-tendon surgery, has been filled with stops and starts. He returned to scrimmages in mid-November, then shut it down again in December as he worked on his gait. Azubuike simply was not explosive enough in scrimmages for D'Antoni to consider playing him."


Azubuike returning can only help this team in the long run, especially with Wilson Chandler's recent slump and Shawne William's probable suspension. He can be a spark off the bench with his deadly outside shooting and his defense can't be worse than Bill Walker's. And you know Mike D'antoni loves his three point shooters so expect Azubuike to get minutes if/when he get's back from his injury.


Read more: http://www.nypost.com/p/sports/knicks/mike_barks_back_at_charles_Q25Rql1WSAl0fJbya0d01I#ixzz1CRlbkivt

Post Game thoughts: New York Knicks at Atlanta Hawks 1/28/2010

This was a game I did not expect us to win in all honesty. On the road, second night of a back to back, and Wilson Chandler not suiting up all did us in. On top of that, I'm not really feeling the 7 man rotation by Mike D'antoni, but I don't blame him because of our clear vacant bench players. Props to Shawne Williams for not backing down, I feel that the Knicks of old would just let players push them around but these guys won't be bullied.

As for the game it's clear our defense intensity needs to stay at a level that is consistent. After being down by 25 points at the beginning of the 4th quarter, the Knicks just put themselves in a position to lose. I'm sorry guys but playing defense for the 4th quarter only is not what's going to bring the Knicks to the next level. Granted the Hawks are a good team and caught fire tonight with Joe Johnson, Josh Smith, and a monster game from Horford. However, the lack of rebounding and defensive intensity is embarrassing at times..

Right now it's clear what our two biggest needs are (besides Carmelo Anthony). This would be a backup point guard(sorry Toney Douglas), and a LEGIT starting center (hello Marcus Camby). In this fast break offense players like Felton and Stoudemire who are constantly running the floor need a rest, and I cannot stress how much of a weakness our bench really is.

Overall I liked the whole little comeback that the Knicks made but honestly, do you think anyone on the Hawks were afraid they might lose? At the end of the day playing catchup is the hardest thing to do, getting blown out by the 3rd quarter really did us in tonight.

Post Game thoughts: Miami Heat at New York Knicks 1/27/2010

What a game! After that 6 game skid against some of the worst teams in the NBA, the Knicks have now won 2 in a row including a great win over the "Almighty" Miami Heat. To be honest it, Chris Bosh not playing helped a lot since he has torched the Knicks this season. Great defense from Gallinari and Shawne Williams on LeBron James, who shot a dismal 7-24. Props to Dwayne Wade for that scoring frenzy he did in the 3rd quarter, although his missed free throws might have been the difference for this game. Gallo showed up big in the 4th quarter, and Fields continues to impress me with his smart play, timely shots, and of course his rebounding.

Honestly, this game shouldn't have been as close as it was. The Knicks missed a lot of easy buckets early on and out hustled,outworked, and overall outplayed the Miami Heat. This game shows how weak our bench can really be at times, aside from Turiaf who was recently demoted for Chandler. While Toney Douglas and Shawne Williams definantly have their moments, when they are at the court at the same time the offense is clearly stagnant and bad shots keep going up.

But this was a win against one of the best teams in the NBA. STAT said it best, no one is afraid of the Miami Heat. 

Welcome!

Welcome to Knicks Hype, just another blog about everyones favorite and most controversial basketball team. I'll keep this post short and simple, I've been a knick fan my whole life and I made this blog for the purpose of just venting my thoughts about the Knicks, as well as to discuss some other off topic fun stuff. For my first post I just want to congratulate Amare Stoudemire on becoming the first Knicks all-star game starter since Ewing in 1992! Now let's go out and get Melo already, stop being so stingy Denver!