Mike Woodson's Poor Decision Making Almost Costs Knicks 8th Straight Win

By Kenneth Teape (@teapester725)

Friday, March 21^st, 2014

New York Knicks vs. Philadelphia 76ers

Post Game Recap

The New York Knicks almost saw their playoff hopes dashed tonight in extremely embarrassing fashion. The Philadelphia 76ers cut a 15 point Knicks lead to 2 in the last four minutes of the game, making what should have been an easy victory into a nail biter. Both teams were desperate for a win for different reasons, and it showed the last couple minutes of the game. With the victory the Knicks winning streak reaches eight games, and with the loss the 76ers are closing in on the NBA All-Time record for losses in a row 23. The Knicks also move to three games behind the Atlanta Hawks for eighth place in the Eastern Conference, as the Hawks dropped their game against the New Orleans Pelicans tonight.

Player of the Game: Amar’e Stoudemire

Matt Slocum/AP Photo

Stoudemire continued his strong play for the Knicks since being inserted into the starting lineup. Tonight he led the way offensively for the Knicks, scoring 22 points on 10-15 from the field. He was also a force on the boards, grabbing 10. Stoudemire looks like a different person since being inserted into the starting five and the Knicks have benefited greatly from it. Stoudemire may have to sit a game now and then to rest his knees but if he keeps putting forth performances like tonight it is worthwhile.

Match-Up of the Game Recap

Both Carmelo Anthony and Thaddeus Young struggled from the field tonight. Anthony shot 5-16 from the field, 2-5 from deep and Young shot 6-21, 3-9 from the three point line. Both were able to help their teams in other ways though, as Anthony added right rebounds, five assists, one steal and one block. Not to be outdone, Young grabbed seven rebounds, had two assists and four steals. The best players for each team struggled a bit tonight, but Anthony’s team came out with the victory, even though it was rough, so he wins the match-up.

-Positives

Matt Slocum/AP Photo

Tyson Chandler teamed up with Stoudemire to dominate the 76ers frontline. Chandler registered a double-double of his own, scoring 17 points to go along with 10 rebounds. Chandler also recorded one block and steal of his own. The tandem of Chandler and Stoudemire was too much for the overmatched frontline of Young and Henry Sims.

Pablo Prigioni and Iman Shumpert gave the Knicks a big spark off the bench. Prigioni led the way with nine assists, setting up his teammates numerous times for easy baskets. Also impressive, he only turned the ball over once compared to the nine assists. He also added four rebounds in only 18 minutes of play. Shumpert has looked more comfortable recently off the bench and tonight he was a big help knocking down timely jump shots. Shumpert knocked down 3-6 from behind the arc, the only Knicks player to make half his threes in the game.

-Negative

The Knicks offense struggled for the better part of the game. They struggled knocking down the long ball, making only 7-29. Tim Hardaway Jr., Raymond Felton, Prigioni and Chandler combined to miss nine attempts. J.R. Smith struggled as well, making only 2-9.

Jim McIsaac/Getty Images

Mike Woodson is lucky if he is allowed to enter Madison Square Garden after the performance he put on to finish the game. He sent the end of the bench guys into the game a little early, with about four minutes remaining with the Knicks up. That wasn’t even nearly the worst decision he made, as he decided to let them stay in the game as he watched the Knicks lead disappear. Inexplicably Woodson stood idly as a 15 point lead quickly turned into a ten point lead, then a five and as low as two. At no point did he hesitate to make a substitution and get his regulars back onto the court. By the time the regulars got onto the court they were cold and not prepared. The 76ers managed to mess up enough for the Knicks to hold on, no thanks to the poor coaching decisions of Woodson.

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Strong 4th Quarter Pushes Knicks Past 76ers

By Kenneth Teape (@teapester725)

Monday, March 10^th, 2014

Philadelphia 76ers vs. New York Knicks

Post Game Recap

The Knicks were able to run their winning streak to four games Monday night with a 123-110 victory. It was a total team effort for the Knicks, who got a little something from all the players who stepped on the court tonight to help get the win. The Knicks are now sole owners of ninth place in the Eastern Conference, percentage points ahead of the Detroit Pistons. They now sit 3 ½ games behind the Atlanta Hawks, who were able to hold on and defeat the Utah Jazz tonight. The Knicks will look to continue their strong play Wednesday against another divisional foe in the Boston Celtics.

Player of the Game: Amar’e Stoudemire

Anthony Gruppuso-USA TODAY Sports

Stoudemire has found his groove and is dominating for the Knicks. This is as close he has looked to the Stoudemire of his Phoenix Suns and first season with the Knicks days. Tonight he scored 23 points to go with six rebounds and one block. The impressive thing about his scoring output is that he did it on only 10 shots, making nine and connecting on five of eight free throws. Stoudemire is the most efficient scorer the Knicks have and he has shown time and time again when given the minutes he can still produce offensively. Recently Stoudemire has been playing better on the defensive end as well, enabling Mike Woodson to use him more minutes during the game.

-Positives

Anthony Gruppuso-USA TODAY Sports

Tim Hardaway Jr. looked to be hitting the rookie wall recently, shooting 27.7 percent from the field and 25 percent from three point range in March. Hardaway Jr. has not let that stop him from shooting as he continues to show confidence. Tonight it paid off, as he scored a team high 28 points on 9-13 from the field and 5-7 from the three point line. His scoring off the bench is much needed with J.R. Smith and Stoudemire being moved into the starting lineup.

Carmelo Anthony struggled with his shot, going 0-7 from the three point line, but was able to help in more ways tonight. He still scored 23 points, going 9-24 overall but made a big impact on the boards. Anthony grabbed a team-high nine rebounds and kept the ball moving offensively with five assists. When on the court Anthony is the center of attention for opposing defenses, so when he moves the ball and finds the open man it makes his stats look better and produces good things for the Knicks.

The Knicks offense was clicking all night. They shot 44-81 (54.3 percent) overall and 13-32 (40.6 percent) from the three point line. Of the 44 makes, 20 were assisted on. They were also able to get easy baskets in transition, scoring 21 fast break points. The offensive cohesion was on display as five Knicks scored in double-figures; Hardaway Jr, Stoudemire, Anthony and Smith, each scored over 20 points. Four players had at least three assists as well as the Knicks kept the ball moving and found good opportunities for each other to score.

The 76ers were able to score a lot of points, but the Knicks were able to cause some problems for them defensively, which helped them build their big lead in the second half. The Knicks forced 18 turnovers, 10 of which came on steals and also added six blocks as well. They were able to do just enough defensively to slow the 76ers down and get a much needed victory.

-Negatives

Anthony Gruppuso-USA TODAY Sports

The 76ers came into tonight with a 16 game losing streak but you wouldn’t have known it in the first half. The game was tied at halftime and the Knicks did not open it up until the fourth quarter. Throughout the first half they allowed players such as Tony Wroten to build too much confidence and it resulted in a close game throughout the first three quarters. The Knicks cannot afford any losses to teams with records worse than them if they want to stay in the playoff race. Tonight would have been a much easier night for the Knicks had they shown the same effort through the first three quarters that they did in the fourth.

It didn’t hurt them as much tonight, but the Knicks need to improve their free throw shooting. Tonight they went 22-34, equaling an unsightly 64.7 percent. If the game was closer this would have been more of a problem. The Knicks cannot close out games if they struggle so mightily from the foul line.

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Knicks Lose to Lowly 76ers As Skid Hits 5 Games

Wednesday, January 22^nd, 2014

Philadelphia 76ers vs. New York Knicks

Post Game Recap

Jim O'Connor/USA TODAY Sports

The Knicks have hit an all-time low for the second time this season, this time because of a home loss to the 76ers, losing 110-106. The Knicks are full of turmoil and the problems they are having behind the scenes off the court are beginning to rear their ugly head on the court. Mike Woodson cannot find workable combinations as the five players he employs on the court look like they all speak different languages and are not on the same page; they look constantly lost and play scared because of the tension surrounding the team currently. With how things are looking it seems that there is no turn around on the horizon. With the loss tonight the losing streak is ran up to five games and 0-3 thus far on the home stand. The Knicks will get back at it Friday night against the Charlotte Bobcats.

Player of the Game: Andrea Bargnani

Bargnani played only 28 minutes on the night but he played a solid game, finishing as the only Knick with a positive +/- in the starting lineup. Bargnani was aggressive throughout the game, scoring 20 points as he did not settle for as many deep jump shots tonight as normal; he attacked the paint and was able to get to the foul line for six free throw attempts, making five of them. He also added four rebounds and some good one-on-one defense again. He got switched onto smaller player on a very occasions but he was able to hold his own, getting four blocks on the night. The thing Bargnani has to do is get more consistent; if the Knicks knew what they were going to get from him game in and game out things would be much better.

Match-up of the Game Recap:

Frank Franklin III/AP Photo

Raymond Felton wasn’t as embarrassed as he could have been Wednesday night by Michael Carter-Williams but he was still thoroughly outplayed. Felton and Carter-Williams both struggled from the court but MCW was able to do other things to help his team out tonight; he grabbed 12 rebounds in addition to the seven assists he handed out. Unlike Felton, MCW was also able to hold his own when switched onto bigger players, never giving up an easy basket, showing just how nice it is to have the size advantage that he has over other point guards.

-Positives

On a freezing night in New York, the Knicks were able to warm things up with a scorching 15-33 from the three point line. Carmelo Anthony, Iman Shumpert and J.R. Smith all knocked down multiple shots from deep as it was the only thing really keeping the Knicks in the game tonight.

The bench gave the Knicks a much needed boost tonight. Without Amar’e Stoudemire and Kenyon Martin the Knicks do not have much size coming off the bench but there is plenty of athleticism. Tim Hardaway Jr. always gets the crowd in a frenzy when he enters the game and when Smith is on the crowd goes nuts as he knocks down three pointers. Tonight, coupled with Pablo Prigioni and Bargnani, they were able to get the Knicks back into the game and give them a five point lead in the fourth quarter.

Smith did not have a strong shooting night, going 5-16 but he looks to be getting his confidence back. He was not forcing the action as much tonight and looked to shoot every shot with confidence tonight. Shumpert looked to be in the zone as well, something the Knicks desperately have been waiting for from their wing players. The Knicks suffer when Smith and Shumpert are not on top of their games as they are two of the most athletic players on the team that are capable of getting easy shots.

-Negatives

Jim O'Connor/USA TODAY Sports

The 76ers came into the game as the second worst three-point shooting team in the NBA; you wouldn’t have known it tonight. On the night they went 9-14 from behind the arc, good for 64.3 percent. The constant switching left 76er players open on multiple occasions from the perimeter and they took advantage. On the night the 76ers shot extremely well, going 42-88 (47.7 percent). It seems every night the Knicks are allowing an opposing player to score either a season or career high. Tonight was no different, as Evan Turner scored a career high 34 points. He shot 13-22 from the field (3-3 3pt, 5-5 FT) as he lit the Knicks up from all over the court. Turner was not alone, as Young scored 19, MWC scored 19 and journeyman James Anderson hurt the Knicks with 18 on 8-11 shooting.

The rebounding department tonight was not visited by the Knicks as they were manhandled on the boards by the 76ers 54-39. It is disturbing that the Knicks were beaten so handedly in rebounding tonight as the 76ers starting center Spencer Hawes grabbed only one on the night; Turner and MCW grabbed 11 and 12 respectively to pace the 76ers. Chandler led the way with 14 for the Knicks as Shumpert added eight.

The post game interviews the Knicks have had recently have been very telling and tonight was no different. Smith and Chandler each had some eyebrow raising quotes tonight, as they spoke on the difficulties they are having on the defensive end. Smith says the 76ers could get any shot they wanted tonight and Chandler followed that up with saying they knew what play was coming on the Thaddeus Young back breaking three-pointer in the fourth quarter and still couldn’t stop it. The Knicks right now are a team on the ropes as close to being knocked out as they have been all season and the quotes and emotions they show during and after games are not ones of a team that looks ready to get back to playing good basketball.

One thing Chandler was critical of was the constant switching the Knicks do on the defensive end. Chandler believes that should be a last resort playing defense; tonight the Knicks continued their switching and it hurt them. The culprit more times than once were Anthony and Shumpert; they were just not on the same page and their breakdowns were crushing in the final minutes of the game. On back-to-back possessions Anthony and Shumpert messed up defensive assignments, leading to an Anderson lay-up and Young three-pointer on the next possession.

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Knicks Knock Off 76ers for 4th Straight Win

By Kenneth Teape (@teapester725)

Saturday, January 12^th, 2014

New York Knicks vs. Philadelphia 76ers

Post Game Recap

The Knicks were able to keep up the solid play by picking up a victory in Philadelphia Saturday night, winning 102-92. The Knicks put forth yet another great team effort as they were able to pick up their fourth straight win. The Knicks came out lackluster in the first quarter, ending the period down 28-20 but were able to pick it up in the second quarter, going into halftime with a 52-40 lead. They extended the lead to 16 going into the fourth quarter but were able to keep the 76ers at bay in the final quarter to take home the win. The Knicks will look to continue their strong play Monday night as the surprise team of the NBA thus far, the Phoenix Suns, come to Madison Square Garden for their lone visit of the season Monday night.

Player of the Game: Amar’e Stoudemire

Chris Szagola/AP Photo

Stoudemire is beginning to look like the STAT of old recently as he dominated the offensive side of the ball once again. Stoudemire made his first eight shots of the game and finished the night with 21 points on 8-10 from the field (5-5 FT) and five rebounds in only 22 minutes. With more consistent practice time and minutes in the game Stoudemire has begun to flourish once again and give the Knicks a nice boost off the bench. Stoudemire is by far the Knicks most efficient scorer when given the opportunity and is an asset to the Knicks going forward if he can continue playing like this offensively.

-Positives

Chris Szagola/AP Photo

Carmelo Anthony neared a triple-double tonight and finished with a complete stat line. Anthony finished with 19 points, nine rebounds and seven assists. Anthony struggled a little bit from the field but he received a lot help on the offensive end from his teammates tonight as they picked him up. With Anthony on the court tonight the Knicks were +19, the second best on the team.

Stoudemire brings the offensive punch for the Knicks and Kenyon Martin brings the defensive intensity. Martin once again buoyed the Knicks in the middle and helped them not miss a beat in the third straight game without Tyson Chandler. Martin grabbed eight rebounds and scored eight points to keep his defender honest and to open things up for his teammates. He also had three assists as he makes great decisions from the top of the key, hitting Anthony routinely for alley-oops. He also added two blocks anchoring the Knicks defense.

Stoudemire was the leading scorer for the game but he was not the only Knick to give productive minutes off the bench. Toure’ Murry and Tim Hardaway Jr. the youthful energy they have lacked in the past combining for 15 points and have earned minutes once the regulars come back if they falter. The biggest performance off the bench may have come from J.R. Smith. Smith bounced back with a solid performance after a one game suspension, spearheading a Knicks passing attack with six assists. He also scored 14 points on 5-8 shooting from the field and had the highest +/- on the team with +20.

Chris Szagola/AP Photo

The Knicks were a well oiled machine on offense, assisting on 26 of their 39 made baskets. Raymond Felton led the team with seven as Anthony and Smith added six of their own. They also locked in defensively again after the first quarter. The 76ers scored 64 points the final three quarters and shot 46 percent for the game. The Knicks contested the three point line well tonight as well as the 76ers shot an unsightly 5-19 (26.3 percent).

-Negatives

The Knicks almost did it again. They came out flat again against a lower tiered team, falling behind by eight points by the end of the first quarter. The Knicks cannot afford to come out slow in any games after the poor start they had to the season; these are the games they need to come out strong in and take control from the beginning. They were able to get control by halftime but coming out flat like that against a team that doesn’t have top pick aspirations in the 2014 draft may end with a different result.

It is not necessarily a bad thing to have depth but Mike Woodson will have a lot of tough decisions to make in the coming days. Within the next week the Knicks will have virtually everyone on their roster and will have to find a way to get everyone minutes and comfortable with a role. Will Stoudemire and Martin watch their minutes dwindle with Chandler back in the picture? Will Murry find himself stapled to the bench once again when Prigioni comes back and Udrih not too far behind him? Woodson will have his hands full and how he manages the rotations will be imperative to the Knicks success.

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