Very difficult back to back weekend -- excruciating losses to the 76ers and Heat, especially when you consider it was one horrible quarter in each game that did them in. The Sixers, as often pointed out here (and elsewhere) just match up too well with the Knicks, though you couldn't make up a start as atrocious as falling behind 28-7 and 29-11, short of being shut out altogether. And Dwayne Wade got mad and killed the Knicks in the fourth quarter after they dominated most of the game.

Amazingly, the race is tight enough for the last playoff spot in the East that the Knicks still have a chance to make up some ground in the next two weeks. Close losses like these that spot the other teams three or four games are a killer though, and it's realistic (not pessimistic) to say that the season could be over by mid-March, given the toughness of the schedule and the number of road games against the other teams vying for that same playoff spot.

Standings as of Wednesday morning:


                  W    L
NJ Nets    27   33
Chicago    27   34
Indiana      27   36  
Charlotte   26   35
New York   24   35

It's pretty clear that the Knicks in the last couple of weeks (one or two games notwithstanding) have been experiencing a combination of some mid-season blahs and exhaustion (hello Chris Duhon and to a lesser degree, David Lee), and another disruptive period of adjustment created by the new players and shifting lineups. There were definitely positives to be gleaned from the weekend, most notably the performance of Larry Hughes on both ends of the floor. I was ambivalent about his acquisition (to put it mildly), but his effort on defense immediately stood out from the time he was given some minutes, and he was outstanding in stretches against the Sixers and Heat.

Some added notes from the weekend:

* The end of game set I raved about in my last post about the Magic game...didn't work so well against Philly, as the Knicks were trying to mount a similar comeback in the final minute. The Sixers had it effectively scouted -- take a look at the set below, and notice how the man guarding the inbound (Igoudala) and the man next to him (Royal Ivey) are both watching Nate (who can't be seen well, but is coming around the double screen at the FT line) and shadowing him. (The Magic defenders, in contrast, most stayed under the FT line, and didn't guard the outside shooters as well)




Nate successfully loses his man as both Harrington and Lee (the screeners at the FT line) effectively screen him off, *but* Igoudala moves to cover him, and the other perimeter defenders switch onto the Knick players outside the circle, leaving the inbounder (Hughes). As a result, Hughes is forced to pass cross court to Duhon, and look how well the Sixer players are covering the 3 point line.



The end result of this play was a Duhon drive down the middle which was swatted away by Thaddeus Young, who left David Lee and provided excellent help defense. Game effectively over.

* The first three quarters against the Heat were some of the best basketball the Knicks have played all year on both ends of the floor. Hughes didn't really stop Wade, but he did contain him and at least make him think about his options and try to get teammates involved. Nate and Duhon were red hot from outside, Harrington posted up effectively against Beasley and Haslem, and ball movement on several plays was very sweet. After Nate hurt his ankle in the first half, however, he struggled to score for most of the second half.

On one play in the third quarter, all five Knicks touched the ball, with the play ending with a Duhon cross court pass to Chandler, who swung it to Nate for a 3 pointer. It was notable for being one of the sharpest passes Duhon has thrown in seemingly weeks, and reminiscent of the spring in his play in the early part of the year. (Duhon showed similar energy in several other pick and roll plays with Lee, a sign that maybe he is starting to shake his funk). Lee also seemed to play with heightened energy in the fourth after Wade started torching the Knicks and getting the crowd into it.

* There was a highly amusing exchange between Al Trautwig and Clyde in the middle of the third quarter, which started when Al asked Clyde about his opinion of Beasley as a rookie. Clyde's response: "He should be more aggressive...he's more of a finesse player. I thought he would be more grandeur...(long pause)...rugged grandeur."

Pretty much any Knick fan who has listened to Clyde knows that he makes certain vocabulary words stretch to take on all sorts of meanings, and subvert the rules of grammar while he's at it. So it was surprising to hear Al follow up on the next play by asking: "Clyde you have a way with words...describe rugged grandeur...do you mean beautiful aggression?". Clyde responded, almost shocked to be called on his word choice: "well, no, it could be ugly aggression...Charles Oakley, that's rugged grandeur". I like Al's blend of basketball nerd enthusiasm and skepticism, but asking Clyde to elaborate on his word choice was like asking a comic to explain his punchline, or a poet to explain his verse construction. Wisely, Al left it alone after that exchange.

* Dwayne Wade was pretty damned magnificent in the fourth quarter of the Knick game, and against Lebron the other night...he's playing at an extremely high level. All jokes about Clyde aside, he was largely speechless during Wade's outburst of 24 points in the fourth quarter as the Heat erased the Knick lead and pulled away for the win.

Tough game against Atlanta tonight, and then another back to back against the Bobcats and Nets this weekend that could be a boost or a death blow to the playoff hopes. I'll be at both games of the back to back this weekend, and look forward to providing more dispatches from the field.