It was only a month ago when the Knicks made a comeback against the Miami cHeat at the garden. We had Felton running the floor with Gallo and Chandler on the wing hitting deadly three point shots. Stoudemire was the big gun and was being doubled all night in a high scoring matchup, while LeBron James was absolutely shut down by Shawne Williams. Chris Bosh, who torched the Knicks in the first two games, was not playing that game.
Fast forward a month and I feel like I'm watching Patrick Ewing take Alonzo Mourning back to school. This game was a physical battle with great defense from both teams. Watching Melo hit a tough turn jump shot, jab steps, and spin moves on the LeBitch makes it seem like Bernard King was reincarnated into number 7.(Side note: can Bernard King's jersey please be retired as soon as possible)?
Let's talk about Mr. Big Shot himself. If you read my last post about the trade you already know how much I hate when Billups notoriously pulls up for a 3 pointer in the worst situation. But damn does this guy have balls to take that go ahead 3 pointer with a minute remaining. On top of that he comes up with a huge steal on the next possession leading to 2 Shawne William FT's. This guy is a winner and it's a shame he is near the end of his career because I think a prime Billups would be the perfect PG for this system.
What about this defense, or lack thereof, that everyone is talking about? Holding the "big 3" to 86 points on the road is pretty damn impressive. How about D-wade, who shot 5-15 for 12 entire points(props to Anthony Carter for that sick block and fast break layup on Wade in the 3rd quarter). The Knicks forced 18 turnovers on the Miami Heat tonight but more importantly, they played vexing defense coming up with huge blocks(says STAT himself on LeBron with 7 seconds left), steals, and deflections. This not only led to fastbreak opportunities but intimidation as well, as seen with the cooling of the hot shooting Chris Bosh, who was shut down in the 4th quarter by Stoudemire.
Finally, this game shows the benefits of what a superstar can do for your team. Melo made timely hoops, rebounded, played great defense, and made this rally possible. Without him Billups would not be able to make any big plays and Stoudemire would not be able to make that huge block on Lebron because they would've been blown out at that point.
But this game is only 2 days after that embarrassing Cavs loss and it just shows how much of a question mark this game is. If we can get this game from Walker every night that would be incredible. However, the rest of the team NEEDS to step up if the Knicks want to be anything more than the 2nd coming of the Hawks. We need some size in this lineup somewhere and I'm not talking about Jared Jefferies(please don't tell me about how he can help us with his defense and rebounding, this guy is a scrub in every way possible). The bench has to step up as well. This small ball thing is not good in the long run and it will be more evident in a 7 game series. Just like how we should not take anything away from the terrible loss two nights ago, we shouldn't take much from this great win either. More time is needed to determine what kind of team this will be for the next 25 games and for future seasons and beyond.
Fast forward a month and I feel like I'm watching Patrick Ewing take Alonzo Mourning back to school. This game was a physical battle with great defense from both teams. Watching Melo hit a tough turn jump shot, jab steps, and spin moves on the LeBitch makes it seem like Bernard King was reincarnated into number 7.(Side note: can Bernard King's jersey please be retired as soon as possible)?
Let's talk about Mr. Big Shot himself. If you read my last post about the trade you already know how much I hate when Billups notoriously pulls up for a 3 pointer in the worst situation. But damn does this guy have balls to take that go ahead 3 pointer with a minute remaining. On top of that he comes up with a huge steal on the next possession leading to 2 Shawne William FT's. This guy is a winner and it's a shame he is near the end of his career because I think a prime Billups would be the perfect PG for this system.
What about this defense, or lack thereof, that everyone is talking about? Holding the "big 3" to 86 points on the road is pretty damn impressive. How about D-wade, who shot 5-15 for 12 entire points(props to Anthony Carter for that sick block and fast break layup on Wade in the 3rd quarter). The Knicks forced 18 turnovers on the Miami Heat tonight but more importantly, they played vexing defense coming up with huge blocks(says STAT himself on LeBron with 7 seconds left), steals, and deflections. This not only led to fastbreak opportunities but intimidation as well, as seen with the cooling of the hot shooting Chris Bosh, who was shut down in the 4th quarter by Stoudemire.
Finally, this game shows the benefits of what a superstar can do for your team. Melo made timely hoops, rebounded, played great defense, and made this rally possible. Without him Billups would not be able to make any big plays and Stoudemire would not be able to make that huge block on Lebron because they would've been blown out at that point.
But this game is only 2 days after that embarrassing Cavs loss and it just shows how much of a question mark this game is. If we can get this game from Walker every night that would be incredible. However, the rest of the team NEEDS to step up if the Knicks want to be anything more than the 2nd coming of the Hawks. We need some size in this lineup somewhere and I'm not talking about Jared Jefferies(please don't tell me about how he can help us with his defense and rebounding, this guy is a scrub in every way possible). The bench has to step up as well. This small ball thing is not good in the long run and it will be more evident in a 7 game series. Just like how we should not take anything away from the terrible loss two nights ago, we shouldn't take much from this great win either. More time is needed to determine what kind of team this will be for the next 25 games and for future seasons and beyond.
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