Sixers 116 Knicks 110 -- Good Week Ends Short of Perfect
As expected, the Knicks couldn’t get it done against the Sixers on Saturday night – but credit to them, they put forth a very good effort after yet another slow start. Three point shooting and scoring was exceptional in the first half for the Knicks (specifically Duhon and Robinson), leading to a first half lead of 66-63. But the defense had a tough time all evening with Igoudala and Miller (with additional contributions from Young, Green and Ivey), who have tormented the Knicks all season, and Dalembert had an exceptional game (10 points, 17 rebounds, 3 blocks, DR percentage of 42 percent) and created problems for David Lee and other Knicks every time they tried to penetrate.
Highlights for the Knicks were Nate and Tim Thomas on the scoring end – the 3rd straight good game for Nate, the second for Tim (2 and a quarter if you give him some credit for the final quarter of the Suns game). Defense was about what you would expect for a team that has problem with quick athletes at multiple positions – the Knicks struggled to contain the Sixers penetration and fast break, and fared best when they were making shots of their own and forcing the Sixers to take outside shots (particularly during the 2nd quarter comeback).
In the final quarter, after holding the Sixers scoreless for a 3 and a half minute stretch and going ahead 98 to 95, the Knicks gave up 21 points in the last five minutes and only stopped the Sixers once. It simply appeared to be the Sixers being fresher than the Knicks, and having the best players (Igoudala and Miller) to take over. Thus ended a 3-1 week that might have been the best stretch of Knick play since the trades, a atretch that will need to continue this week with 3 winnable games (before a murderous ten day stretch starting in February).
Wilson Chandler had another ineffective game (hitting the wall about as gruesomely as any rookie or second year player this year), and is being replaced in the starting lineup this evening against the Rockets by Al Harrington. I had a chance to watch the first quarter of the last few games on DVR and it’s pretty clear that the starting unit of Duhon-Lee-Jeffries-Chandler-Richardson just doesn’t generate enough offense– what with Chandler’s slump and QRich’s extreme inconsistency, and Jeffries’ lack of any offensive ability.
If this lineup is a better "defensive" unit, it's hard to tell as well -- Jeffries may be a good help defender whose length creates issues for opposing point guards, but his presence hasn't really disrupted opposing offenses recently, and smaller offensive minded players seem to be driving effectively against him. (In short, I'm not sure he's doing much good on either end of the floor)
The tradeoff with Harrington in the lineup in place of WC is that ball movement largely stops once Al gets the ball, but offense will be at a premium when playing the Rockets this evening. The last game against the Rockets was one of the most dreary losses of the season, but a prime Knick nemesis (Yao) won’t be available this evening, and the Knicks are at home, so this will likely be more competitive. Having Gallo available even makes a win possible, and I’m most excited to see what he can do against the Rockets' physical defense.
UPDATE: I assumed Yao wouldn't be available, but it appears his status is still up in the air. This becomes a much tougher game to win if he's playing, because the Rockets will be pretty close to full strength...on the other hand, the Rockets are coming off a close game against the Pistons last night. The Knicks will need to push the pace to have a chance tonight, I think -- a slow paced game like the one in Houston will be disastrous.
Highlights for the Knicks were Nate and Tim Thomas on the scoring end – the 3rd straight good game for Nate, the second for Tim (2 and a quarter if you give him some credit for the final quarter of the Suns game). Defense was about what you would expect for a team that has problem with quick athletes at multiple positions – the Knicks struggled to contain the Sixers penetration and fast break, and fared best when they were making shots of their own and forcing the Sixers to take outside shots (particularly during the 2nd quarter comeback).
In the final quarter, after holding the Sixers scoreless for a 3 and a half minute stretch and going ahead 98 to 95, the Knicks gave up 21 points in the last five minutes and only stopped the Sixers once. It simply appeared to be the Sixers being fresher than the Knicks, and having the best players (Igoudala and Miller) to take over. Thus ended a 3-1 week that might have been the best stretch of Knick play since the trades, a atretch that will need to continue this week with 3 winnable games (before a murderous ten day stretch starting in February).
Wilson Chandler had another ineffective game (hitting the wall about as gruesomely as any rookie or second year player this year), and is being replaced in the starting lineup this evening against the Rockets by Al Harrington. I had a chance to watch the first quarter of the last few games on DVR and it’s pretty clear that the starting unit of Duhon-Lee-Jeffries-Chandler-Richardson just doesn’t generate enough offense– what with Chandler’s slump and QRich’s extreme inconsistency, and Jeffries’ lack of any offensive ability.
If this lineup is a better "defensive" unit, it's hard to tell as well -- Jeffries may be a good help defender whose length creates issues for opposing point guards, but his presence hasn't really disrupted opposing offenses recently, and smaller offensive minded players seem to be driving effectively against him. (In short, I'm not sure he's doing much good on either end of the floor)
The tradeoff with Harrington in the lineup in place of WC is that ball movement largely stops once Al gets the ball, but offense will be at a premium when playing the Rockets this evening. The last game against the Rockets was one of the most dreary losses of the season, but a prime Knick nemesis (Yao) won’t be available this evening, and the Knicks are at home, so this will likely be more competitive. Having Gallo available even makes a win possible, and I’m most excited to see what he can do against the Rockets' physical defense.
UPDATE: I assumed Yao wouldn't be available, but it appears his status is still up in the air. This becomes a much tougher game to win if he's playing, because the Rockets will be pretty close to full strength...on the other hand, the Rockets are coming off a close game against the Pistons last night. The Knicks will need to push the pace to have a chance tonight, I think -- a slow paced game like the one in Houston will be disastrous.
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