Warriors 144 Knicks 127 -- Regression
Aaaaaaargh. That’s about as articulate as I can be about this dreadful game at first blush.
A loss like the heartbreaker to the Blazers can be agonized over, but as the Knicks, ultimately you’re playing a good team and you’ve put forth a great, near season-best comeback effort (for two quarters anyway) – plus you got beat by one of the best players in the league.
But falling apart against a defensively challenged team (albeit one that has been playing very well at home as of late), giving up a season high in points in the loudest manner possible, and losing multiple players to injury – painful. This was an entertaining game for a half, but after the first few minutes of the 3rd quarter, you never really felt the Knicks had control of this game or were capable of getting a stop.
Duhon was particularly ineffective in this game, probably due to his ankle -- his shot was largely MiA (he had open 3 pointers all game and missed many he would normally make, though he had a nice Jamal-like 4 point play in the 3rd), and the Warriors were able to bottle up the pick and roll he runs so well with Lee. Harrington tried to take the game over on his own for stretches, using the bad blood from his Warrior tenure (and tension fueled by pre-game comments) as motivation -- he was very effective in the first half, but in the second half, the Warriors were largely able to send waves of defenders at him without much consequence (as Al rarely passes out of double and even triple teams).
This was still a good, competitive game for nearly 3 quarters, but the Knicks were beaten by a variation on the same punishment they dished out to the Warriors when they beat them at the Garden last November -- basically a pick and roll play involving Stephen Jackson and one of the guards (Ellis or Azubuike). Jackson ended up with 35 points and 10 assists as the Knicks were strikingly inept at covering either Jackson's shot or his ability to find a teammate for a jumper or drive -- their rotations were several steps slow all night.
I decided to chart +/- by lineup for the Knicks out of curiosity given D’Antoni’s desire to incorporate Gallinari into the lineup to an increasing degree – I wanted to see how he was being used and where he seemed to be most effective (all standard disclaimers about the limitations of +/- apply, of course). As it turns out, it was a bit of a chaotic exercise, between Richardson’s absence from the lineup and the injuries to Thomas in the first half and Duhon in the second...I'm not sure I can recall this much substitution activity and this many different lineups in recent games.
Best Lineup:
Robinson-Chandler-Jeffries-Harrington-Thomas (+8)
Worst Lineups:
Duhon-Robinson-Lee-Chandler-Harrington (-10)
Duhon-Chandler-Gallinari-Harrington-Lee (-7)
As far as individual +/- numbers go, Duhon had by far the ugliest at -30 (in striking contrast to his +12 in the game at the Garden) and Lee was not far behind at -22. The Knicks were essentially most effective when playing against Warrior reserves (with Jackson and Turiaf out of the lineup) where they could build an advantage on the boards -- however, their most effective lineup above was also their most turnover prone lineup, and the Warriors took advantage of the turnovers (25 points off of 17 Knick turnovers). At one point, the Knicks had 11 turnovers and the Warriors had none -- and late into the 4th quarter the Warriors had only five -- leading the Warrior announcers to reach for their notes wondering when the last time the Warriors committed so few turnovers in the Nellie-ball era.
Nate continued his torrid streak of scoring over the last month with 30 points. But Gallo still looks lost, and perhaps D'Antoni himself is still trying to figure out what situations he best works in -- opponents are increasingly targeting him, and he seems to give up one highlight reel play per game (some variation on a spin and dunk, or straight blowby). But this isn't all Gallo's fault -- a few times last night, it seemed he was left to guard the rim while his teammates were doubling the ball or covering late on a penetration. And on offense, his presence in the starting lineup as a 3rd or 4th option to Duhon-Lee and Harrington still seems to be a mixed bag that leaves him standing in the corner awaiting a pass, or getting the ball late and having to force a move with little time left on the shot clock -- Gallo's skills as a passer and someone who can create aren't being put to good use since he's become a starter.
Defensively, this was a stunningly bad display of defense, even by Knick standards, and it isn't likely to get better against the Clippers tonight if Duhon and Richardson remain hurt. I think the team has enough pride to suck it up one more time before the all star break and pull it out, but it will be especially difficult if Duhon is hobbled significantly.
UPDATE: Looks like Duhon is out. Ouch.
A loss like the heartbreaker to the Blazers can be agonized over, but as the Knicks, ultimately you’re playing a good team and you’ve put forth a great, near season-best comeback effort (for two quarters anyway) – plus you got beat by one of the best players in the league.
But falling apart against a defensively challenged team (albeit one that has been playing very well at home as of late), giving up a season high in points in the loudest manner possible, and losing multiple players to injury – painful. This was an entertaining game for a half, but after the first few minutes of the 3rd quarter, you never really felt the Knicks had control of this game or were capable of getting a stop.
Duhon was particularly ineffective in this game, probably due to his ankle -- his shot was largely MiA (he had open 3 pointers all game and missed many he would normally make, though he had a nice Jamal-like 4 point play in the 3rd), and the Warriors were able to bottle up the pick and roll he runs so well with Lee. Harrington tried to take the game over on his own for stretches, using the bad blood from his Warrior tenure (and tension fueled by pre-game comments) as motivation -- he was very effective in the first half, but in the second half, the Warriors were largely able to send waves of defenders at him without much consequence (as Al rarely passes out of double and even triple teams).
This was still a good, competitive game for nearly 3 quarters, but the Knicks were beaten by a variation on the same punishment they dished out to the Warriors when they beat them at the Garden last November -- basically a pick and roll play involving Stephen Jackson and one of the guards (Ellis or Azubuike). Jackson ended up with 35 points and 10 assists as the Knicks were strikingly inept at covering either Jackson's shot or his ability to find a teammate for a jumper or drive -- their rotations were several steps slow all night.
I decided to chart +/- by lineup for the Knicks out of curiosity given D’Antoni’s desire to incorporate Gallinari into the lineup to an increasing degree – I wanted to see how he was being used and where he seemed to be most effective (all standard disclaimers about the limitations of +/- apply, of course). As it turns out, it was a bit of a chaotic exercise, between Richardson’s absence from the lineup and the injuries to Thomas in the first half and Duhon in the second...I'm not sure I can recall this much substitution activity and this many different lineups in recent games.
Best Lineup:
Robinson-Chandler-Jeffries-Harrington-Thomas (+8)
Worst Lineups:
Duhon-Robinson-Lee-Chandler-Harrington (-10)
Duhon-Chandler-Gallinari-Harrington-Lee (-7)
As far as individual +/- numbers go, Duhon had by far the ugliest at -30 (in striking contrast to his +12 in the game at the Garden) and Lee was not far behind at -22. The Knicks were essentially most effective when playing against Warrior reserves (with Jackson and Turiaf out of the lineup) where they could build an advantage on the boards -- however, their most effective lineup above was also their most turnover prone lineup, and the Warriors took advantage of the turnovers (25 points off of 17 Knick turnovers). At one point, the Knicks had 11 turnovers and the Warriors had none -- and late into the 4th quarter the Warriors had only five -- leading the Warrior announcers to reach for their notes wondering when the last time the Warriors committed so few turnovers in the Nellie-ball era.
Nate continued his torrid streak of scoring over the last month with 30 points. But Gallo still looks lost, and perhaps D'Antoni himself is still trying to figure out what situations he best works in -- opponents are increasingly targeting him, and he seems to give up one highlight reel play per game (some variation on a spin and dunk, or straight blowby). But this isn't all Gallo's fault -- a few times last night, it seemed he was left to guard the rim while his teammates were doubling the ball or covering late on a penetration. And on offense, his presence in the starting lineup as a 3rd or 4th option to Duhon-Lee and Harrington still seems to be a mixed bag that leaves him standing in the corner awaiting a pass, or getting the ball late and having to force a move with little time left on the shot clock -- Gallo's skills as a passer and someone who can create aren't being put to good use since he's become a starter.
Defensively, this was a stunningly bad display of defense, even by Knick standards, and it isn't likely to get better against the Clippers tonight if Duhon and Richardson remain hurt. I think the team has enough pride to suck it up one more time before the all star break and pull it out, but it will be especially difficult if Duhon is hobbled significantly.
UPDATE: Looks like Duhon is out. Ouch.
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