Knicks Downed At Buzzer by Dirk Nowitzki Jumper

By Kenneth Teape (@teapester725)

Monday, February 24th, 2014

Dallas Mavericks vs. New York Knicks

Post Game Recap

Grass is green, the sky is blue and the Knicks suffered yet another disappointing loss. Tonight the Knicks suffered the tough loss at the hands of the Mavericks by the score of 110-108 by the way of Dirk Nowitzki buzzer beater. The Knicks fought back and came up short like they have so many times this season, wasting yet another outstanding performance from their leading man Carmelo Anthony. As the losses continue to pile up, the reality is beginning to set in that the playoffs will be out of reach. With the loss tonight the Knicks record drops to 21-36 and six games out of eighth place in the Eastern Conference.

Player of the Game: Carmelo Anthony

EPA/Jason Szenes Corbis OUT

For a player who has a reputation of being a gunner and nothing else, Anthony has disproved that all season. He has continued to put up the monster scoring numbers but he is the only Knick player you can honestly say has shown up night in and night out during this forgettable season. Tonight Anthony did it again, pouring in 44 points on 14-29 from the field (7-12 3pt, 9-9 FT) as he was on fire all night. He kept the Knicks in the game single handedly multiple times throughout the night as the offensive side of the ball looked to be the only place anyone looked interested in playing. Anthony added nine rebounds, four assists and one block to round out his stat line for the night. It has been nice watching Anthony throughout the season as he has proven time and time again he is one of the best players in the NBA and with every passing loss not only do the Knicks playoff hopes diminish the likelihood of Anthony staying seems to go with them.

-Positives

The Knicks shooting percentages were through the roof all night. Overall they shot 52.6 percent from the field and an impressive 14-33 from the three point line, good for 42.4 percent. They assisted on 23 of their 40 made baskets as the Knicks offense clicked whenever they were able to hold onto the ball.

Stan Hondastan Honda/AFP/Getty Images

The Knicks were able to hold Dirk Nowitzki, the Mavericks leading scorer, relatively in check. Nowitzki hurt them in the end with a buzzer beater to win the game but outside of that he struggled for the most part. Nowitzki didn’t score for the previous 18 minutes before the buzzer beater and ended with only 15 points on the night, below the 21.8 he is averaging on the season. Nowitzki shot 6-13 from the field overall, struggling with his jump shot as he missed all three of his three point attempts.

Cole Aldrich has seen as little playing time as anyone on the Knicks this season but tonight he was pressed into duty with Tyson Chandler, Amar’e Stoudemire and Jeremy Tyler all getting into foul trouble. Aldrich responded well with his eight minutes, as the finished with a +12, grabbing three rebounds and making his only shot attempt. Aldrich responded as well as you could have hoped with what was asked of him out of nowhere tonight.

-Negatives

Stoudemire drew the start tonight alongside Anthony and Chandler and it was not pretty. The three are a poor mix together as Stoudemire and Chandler looked lost on multiple occasions on both ends of the court. Chandler and Stoudemire get in each other’s way more than help each other because they are both comfortable in the same areas on the court. Neither player put up bad stats, as Stoudemire finished with nine points, two rebounds and one block while Chandler had 12 points, 12 rebounds, one steal and two blocks. The problem was the Knicks just weren’t very good when either player was on the court; Stoudemire finished -8 and Chandler finished -14.

The Knicks offense was not running as smoothly as it could have because of the pressure the Mavericks put on them. The Mavericks force 15.3 turnovers per game, sixth best on the NBA and they showed why tonight. The Knicks finished with 21 team turnovers on the night, resulting in 25 points for the Mavericks. On the other hand the Knicks were only able to force 10 Mavericks turnovers and scored 17 points off of them.

Stan Hondastan Honda/AFP/Getty Images

At this point in his career Vince Carter knows as well as anyone he is not the high flyer he once was. He is more than content in his role as a secondary player that can still knock down a jump shot. Someone forget to pass the memo along to the Knicks, who left Carter open throughout the night. Carter went off, scoring a season-high 23 points on 8-17 shooting, making 7-12 from behind the arc.

The Knicks didn’t defend the three-point line or anywhere while the Mavericks played offense for that matter. The Mavericks shot 47.7 percent on the night and 41.7 from the three point line. The Knicks were unable to get a stop whenever they needed it most, as the Mavericks were able to get a basket whenever they needed. The Knicks also struggled to stop Monta Ellis and Jose Calderon, as they scored 22 and 20 points respectively, knocking down 7-14 combined from the three point line.

Read More

Knicks Drop Mavericks for Winning Road Trip

By Kenneth Teape (@teapester725)

Sunday, January 5^th, 2014

New York Knicks vs. Dallas Mavericks

Post Game Recap

The Knicks were able to surprise many people by winning in Dallas Sunday night, giving them a 2-1 finish to the Texas Triangle road trip. It was a pretty decisive victory for the Knicks, who won the game 92-80. They were able to overcome some demons in the process as they had lost 14 of their previous 16 games in Dallas. It was a total team effort from the Knicks tonight as they picked each other up to make the plane ride back to New York much more pleasant. It will be interesting to see if the Knicks can ride the momentum from this successful road trip and put together a winning streak to get them back into the Atlantic Division race.

-Player of the Game: Kenyon Martin

Sharon Ellman

Coming into the game Martin was a game-time decision because of an ankle injury. When it was announced that Tyson Chandler would not be able to return after only four minutes with an upper respiratory infection, Martin got a big increase in minutes and responded well.

Martin stepped up for his teammates, playing 29 minutes off the bench even with the hobbled ankle. He scored a season-high 14 points on 7-8 shooting, grabbed six rebounds, handed out two assists and added one block to the normal intimidating defense he provides. “I knew Tyson wasn’t feeling the best. I might pay for it tomorrow but I’ll take the win anytime,” Martin said following the game. That type of will to win and dedication to the team is something the Knicks have seemed to lack at times this season. It is refreshing to see Martin putting it all on the line for the team to get this thing turned around.

-Match Up of the Game Review: Andrea Bargnani vs. Dirk Nowitzki

The Knicks were able to neutralize Nowitzki pretty well throughout the night. He scored only 18 points, well below his normal average against the Knicks, on 6-11 shooting. Where he surprisingly struggled was at the foul line, where he went 5-9; he entered the game shooting 92 percent from the charity stripe. He grabbed nine rebounds and added an assist and steal as well. Bargnani had a solid, total game for the Knicks Sunday. He scored 13 points on 6-12 shooting from the field and grabbed six rebounds in only 26 minutes of play.  The Knicks ability, thanks in part to Bargnani, to keep the damage Nowitzki did to a minimum was a big help in getting the victory.

-Positives

Jerome Miron/USA TODAY Sports

The Knicks offense was efficient and crisp throughout the night. They shot 48.7 percent from the field making 37-76 shots from the field (5-13 3pt). The ball movement was on point, as the Knicks assisted on 20 of the 37 makes. Everyone stepped up and played a part tonight as well as Anthony scored only four points after the first quarter. The Knicks had four other players, Bargnani, Amar’e Stoudemire, Martin and Tim Hardaway Jr., score in double figures to join Anthony. The bench was especially strong, outscoring the Mavericks bench 47-24.

Iman Shumpert did not have the gaudy stat line he had in the first two games on the road trip but he iced the game away for the Knicks down the stretch. He made a nice reverse lay-up with 1:37 in the fourth quarter and knocked down a three pointer on the Knicks next possession. He also added two free throws with 48 seconds remaining, giving him seven of his nine points in a 49 second span. He also added six rebounds and three steals to his stat line.

Even without Chandler the final 44 minutes of the game the Knicks defense and rebounding was outstanding throughout the night. The Mavericks were held to 41 percent shooting (32-78) and an unsightly 23.1 percent (6-26) from the three point line. In addition to slowing down Nowitzki they were able to hold Monta Ellis and Jose Calderon in check as the two combined for only 25 points, nine assists and five turnovers. All the more impressive as the Mavericks entered the game as one of the most efficient offenses in the NBA. The Knicks were able to finish those defensive possessions as they rebounded well, out rebounding the Mavericks 47-34. The Knicks were able to gang rebound, as six different players had six or more rebounds; Bargnani, Anthony, Shumpert, Stoudemire, Martin and J.R. Smith.

-Negatives

The third quarter was once again a problem for the Knicks. You wouldn’t know it looking at the final score but the Mavericks were in the game until the final minutes. The Knicks let a 19 point lead diminish to as little as six points but were able to pull it out thanks to Shumpert’s heroics. The problem for the Knicks was on the offensive end, as they scored only 15 points in the quarter in large part because of Anthony’s struggles.

Chandler’s injury is something this team cannot afford. They are finally looking to get things together and to lose Chandler would be a massive blow. Martin filled in admirably tonight but it is unreasonable to ask him to be able to provide that kind of production game in and game out. Hopefully Chandler is ready to go by Tuesday or you will see a lot of Martin and Stoudemire at center and may also see Jeremy Tyler and Cole Aldrich in more than just cameos. 

Read More