KNICKS 106- CAVALIERS 110
The New York Knicks season opened with high expectations in Cleveland tonight, but as usual those high expectations came crashing down rather quickly. Sure the Knicks were going into Cleveland to square up against the defending Eastern Conference Champions, but for some reason a win did not seem that unlikely. Only two nights ago LeBron and company suffered a blow out loss to the Dallas Mavericks on their home court. Who is to say that the Cavs of Wednesday night would not carry into Friday against the Knicks? Unfortunately, LeBron actually decided to show up tonight and the Knicks didn’t seem to mind helping the Cavs grab their first win.
The game began optimistically as the Knicks jumped out to a 34-32 lead after the first quarter. Eddy Curry and Zach Randolph were sharing the ball beautifully and for a moment it seemed as if the two could be a deadly combo. Even more impressively, Jamal Crawford was looking on point (unlike his lackluster preseason as he shot 29% from the field) and Nate Robinson provided a spark for the Knicks off the bench with 19 points and 6 bounds. This momentum carried until the end of the 3rd quarter when the Knicks obtained a nice 80-75 lead over the seemingly harmless Cavs. The question was, would another 4th quarter collapse lead the Knicks to a disappointing loss?
Ultimately, I left one major detail luring in my sub-conscious and I refused to admit it: The Knicks were playing terrible defense. From the first quarter, the score was definitely too high, and it was clear that at any moment there could be a slump in the Knicks offense that would lead to a Cleveland surge. Of course, this terrible truth came to life as the Cavs stormed out in the 4th to silence the Knicks hopes. Daniel Gibson led the revitalized Cavs with a demoralizing three straight three-pointers that would mark the end of the game. The frustrating part about Gibson’s 4th quarter havoc is the fact that it seemed more like shooting practice as the Knicks were practically non-existent in the 4th quarter. In addition, Zach Randolph and Eddy Curry both had solid games, but they lost their fire in the last twelve minutes. Randolph especially as he just looked sloppy and lost on the court. To sum it all up, it should be no surprise the Knicks lost tonight because of their complete lack of defense throughout the entire game. Yes, it is true that the score was close until the last quarter, however, when a team does not play consistent defense a collapse at some point is inevitable.
To add insult to injury, the Knicks had one of the worst free throw shooting performances I have seen lately. The only Knick who was able to put it down from the strike was Jamal Crawford, otherwise, the free throw numbers are just painful. As a whole, the team shot 61% from the line going 14/23. Individually, Eddy Curry led the free throw blunder going 0/5. When looking back at the stat sheet, the Knicks should play close attention to the FT numbers because winning games means making free throws.
The last detail that haunted the Knicks tonight was the lack of rebounding during the fourth quarter. During the last four minutes, there were several occasions where the Knicks managed to get a stop only to give up a long rebound. Those kinds of rebounds can be especially frustrating, but when it happens over and over again there is something wrong. As usual, Eddy Curry was lazy when it came to boxing out and he gave up a big rebound that could have given the Knicks a late 4th quarter surge. This could just be a lack of determination to play hard for 48 minutes, but something has to be done about it.
Regardless of the Knicks blunders I have hope for the remainder of the season. I like the starting line-up and the dynamic off the bench can provide a huge boost for the team. I was most impressed with Jamal Crawford (25 points, 6 assists, 2 steals, 8/17 FG, 8/8 FT) and he should be the premiere player on this team. Hopefully, Isiah will realize this and give Crawford 38+ minutes per game consistently. Nate was spectacular off the bench and David Lee provided that omnipresent boost that he always does. I was pleased with Curry and Randolph through most of the game, but their final quarter seemed to overshadow their earlier performances.
FINAL WORD
The Knicks need a lot of defense work. It is going to be hard to get a streak of wins going without a defensive presence on the court. I hope I will see a shift on this end of the court as the season progresses, if not, it could be a long season.
HIGHLIGHT PLAYER
JAMAL CRAWFORD: 25 points, 6 assists, 2 steals, 8/17 FG, 8/8 FT
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1 comment:
Hey Avi- good stuff how did you get this job?
As for the knicks, I didn't watch the game live cause im in nashville but I watched it on gamecast and I cant tell you how upset I was everytime I saw a missed free throw. I thought it was some sort of computer error that was saying missed free throw over and over, but comeon. If you can make it to hit your foul shots- it's not a lack of skill, it's a lack of heart and concentration.
This lack of concentration is not only evident on the charity stripe but also on the defensive end. I don't think Curry and Randolph should EVER be on the court at the same time, it's too much of a defensive sacrifice. We need David Lee in the game. Randolph and Curry especially shouldn't be playing more than 30 minutes since they're too lazy.
We have talent, just no heart.
Good blog post, Avi.
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