Knicks 114 Bucks 108: At Home, We Are Tourists For One Night
Knick fans have been through a few new beginnings and evolutionary steps in the process of trying to rebuild the image of the franchise. The introduction of the D'Antoni/Walsh Knicks two and half years ago brought a fresh wave of enthusiasm back to the Garden, then the introduction of Tracy McGrady at MSG a year ago brought an additional jolt of excitement to a team that was otherwise being dissembled bit by bit for cap space. The signing of Amare last summer and the acquisition of some excellent complementary pieces generated the next wave of excitement and got fans heavily invested in a Knick team good enough get to 28-26 this season, in good position for a playoff spot. Finally, a good half of that team then got traded and upgraded to the current stars of the moment making their debut last night -- Carmelo Anthony and Chauncey Billups.
The result was maybe the loudest and most hyped crowd yet for a mid-season NBA game at MSG, and while the results weren't artistic, the Knicks got a very important win over the Bucks, 114-108. An important win because the team needs to win the games it should win while its challengers for the playoffs (Pacers, Sixers) continue to play well. Important because the Bucks, sickly offense, difficult year and all, have managed to frustrate the Knicks for all of D'Antoni's tenure, and proving they could overcome the Buck hurdle (while further stifling the Bucks' increasingly distant playoff chances) was big psychologically.
The game was discordant for the better part of three quarters, as the lineup struggled to mesh and was jagged in its rhythms, whether the Knicks were trying to execute with messy spacing in the halfcourt, or when they tried to run and threw errant passes upcourt. Knick fans have put so much into their support of the team that played the first 54 games of the season that early on, you couldn't help but looking for Gallinari in the corner or on the bench, or expect Chandler to be rebounding a long jumper, or wonder why Chauncey wasn't rifling a Felton type pocket pass when Amare found daylight in the lane after slipping a pick, to name just a few moments where old ghosts seemed to hover around the spectacle on the court.
Anthony and Billups were tourists at their debut, gamely attempting to execute the token plays provide by their new coach in the brief time they had after their introductory press conference, and then largely reverting to the synergies they'd developed from their Nugget days, which made their sparkling blue Knick throwbacks look even more peculiar. All this unfamiliarity amidst the game hype had the effect of reducing Amare to a fifth wheel for much of the game -- he got his points, but didn't get many shots, rarely received passes in rhythm and more than usual, seemed to want to force things down the throat of a very good Buck defense when he did have the ball.
Thank goodness for Toney Douglas, who was magnificent off the bench (23 points on 10-12 shooting), and in tandem with Billups for most of the fourth quarter. TD's best stretches were a five minute one at the end of the first quarter (3-3, 2 assists, 1 steal, 1 rebounds, +4) and another five minute stint at the end of the third quarter (4-4, +6). Douglas played 29 minutes last night, and given Billups won't be able to handle Felton's 38 minute workloads, it's a sure bet that TD will be averaging closer to 30 minutes or more the rest of the season after averaging 22 for the season to date. His shot chart was a thing of beauty:
Meanwhile, Anthony had a really rough time for three quarters and at least 2 or 3 different times reverted to the "hold the ball for five seconds then force a long jumper" maneuver, with the expected results. Despite this, there were enough flashes of his explosiveness around the basket that when he asserted himself with more confidence in the fourth quarter, there were glimpses of how much pressure the Melo-Amare tandem can put on defenses with proper spacing and a measured approach to exploiting gaps in the defense.
After missing 11 of 17 shots in the first three quarters, Melo shot 4 for 8 in the final quarter and made two crucial baskets in the final minute when the Bucks were continuing to keep the score close, especially with Amare inexplicably losing his cool and picking up his 15th technical while also fouling out of the game. Here's how his shot chart looked for the final quarter -- pretty much everything from the right side of the court, and he was most dangerous attacking from the right baseline or on the lower right block.
Some other game notes:
* If you didn't watch the game and just looked at the box score and some advanced stats, you'd justifiably figure that the Knicks were typically awful defensively in allowing a team as poor offensively as the Bucks to score 108 points. And indeed, there were many instances early in the game where the defensive spacing was terrible as everyone swarmed around Bogut and did too much ball watching, giving up offensive rebounds, kickouts for long jumpers, and fouling way too much -- both Anthony and Amare spent big portions of the game in foul trouble. However, the Bucks shot a pretty anomalous 11 for 23 on 3 pointers, and the Knicks were fairly active on defense and got their share of stops in a strange game. In conclusion, not all that terrible under the circumstances, especially since the Knicks were able to score 114 against a top five defense, shaky star performances and all.
* The biggest adjustments on offense during the next ten games or so may not be in altering the way Carmelo or Amare dominate the ball or initiate their attack (in Melo's case from the right wing or right lower block, in Amare's case from one of the elbows), but in getting Billups and the other Knicks to recognize how the defenses are shading toward these threats, and getting the ball to one of them accordingly. Amare and Melo will probably take turns dominating the ball for several possessions at a time, but as they get more comfortable playing together and learn to get out of each other's way, we may eventually see a more dynamic two man game, even though neither is an especially gifted passer out of double teams.
* The Synergy numbers on the plays that the Knicks ran broke out almost identically to their season averages, oddly enough -- spot up jumpers, isolations, transition baskets, and shots by the ball handler off the pick and roll. There was only one shot attempt by a player diving off the pick and roll, though, and 8 post ups -- the coaches will want to see those numbers go up slightly, as well as getting the quality of the spot up opportunities to be higher than the many contested jumpers taken last night.
* Anthony and Billups were the only new acquisitions to play -- others who might have helped, such as Anthony Carter for spot PG minutes, or Corey Brewer for better wing defense, got DNPs, understandable given they just got to NY. Fields ended up playing 42 minutes, which I think is too much, especially since he got torched by John Salmons frequently. There are still faint rumors that Brewer may be headed to another team, but if he stays, I hope D'Antoni can find room for him as part of the aggressive second unit along with TD, Shawne and Bill Walker -- I can easily see Brewer taking minutes from Walker, especially since BW can't seem to find his shot lately.
The result was maybe the loudest and most hyped crowd yet for a mid-season NBA game at MSG, and while the results weren't artistic, the Knicks got a very important win over the Bucks, 114-108. An important win because the team needs to win the games it should win while its challengers for the playoffs (Pacers, Sixers) continue to play well. Important because the Bucks, sickly offense, difficult year and all, have managed to frustrate the Knicks for all of D'Antoni's tenure, and proving they could overcome the Buck hurdle (while further stifling the Bucks' increasingly distant playoff chances) was big psychologically.
The game was discordant for the better part of three quarters, as the lineup struggled to mesh and was jagged in its rhythms, whether the Knicks were trying to execute with messy spacing in the halfcourt, or when they tried to run and threw errant passes upcourt. Knick fans have put so much into their support of the team that played the first 54 games of the season that early on, you couldn't help but looking for Gallinari in the corner or on the bench, or expect Chandler to be rebounding a long jumper, or wonder why Chauncey wasn't rifling a Felton type pocket pass when Amare found daylight in the lane after slipping a pick, to name just a few moments where old ghosts seemed to hover around the spectacle on the court.
Anthony and Billups were tourists at their debut, gamely attempting to execute the token plays provide by their new coach in the brief time they had after their introductory press conference, and then largely reverting to the synergies they'd developed from their Nugget days, which made their sparkling blue Knick throwbacks look even more peculiar. All this unfamiliarity amidst the game hype had the effect of reducing Amare to a fifth wheel for much of the game -- he got his points, but didn't get many shots, rarely received passes in rhythm and more than usual, seemed to want to force things down the throat of a very good Buck defense when he did have the ball.
Thank goodness for Toney Douglas, who was magnificent off the bench (23 points on 10-12 shooting), and in tandem with Billups for most of the fourth quarter. TD's best stretches were a five minute one at the end of the first quarter (3-3, 2 assists, 1 steal, 1 rebounds, +4) and another five minute stint at the end of the third quarter (4-4, +6). Douglas played 29 minutes last night, and given Billups won't be able to handle Felton's 38 minute workloads, it's a sure bet that TD will be averaging closer to 30 minutes or more the rest of the season after averaging 22 for the season to date. His shot chart was a thing of beauty:
Meanwhile, Anthony had a really rough time for three quarters and at least 2 or 3 different times reverted to the "hold the ball for five seconds then force a long jumper" maneuver, with the expected results. Despite this, there were enough flashes of his explosiveness around the basket that when he asserted himself with more confidence in the fourth quarter, there were glimpses of how much pressure the Melo-Amare tandem can put on defenses with proper spacing and a measured approach to exploiting gaps in the defense.
After missing 11 of 17 shots in the first three quarters, Melo shot 4 for 8 in the final quarter and made two crucial baskets in the final minute when the Bucks were continuing to keep the score close, especially with Amare inexplicably losing his cool and picking up his 15th technical while also fouling out of the game. Here's how his shot chart looked for the final quarter -- pretty much everything from the right side of the court, and he was most dangerous attacking from the right baseline or on the lower right block.
Some other game notes:
* If you didn't watch the game and just looked at the box score and some advanced stats, you'd justifiably figure that the Knicks were typically awful defensively in allowing a team as poor offensively as the Bucks to score 108 points. And indeed, there were many instances early in the game where the defensive spacing was terrible as everyone swarmed around Bogut and did too much ball watching, giving up offensive rebounds, kickouts for long jumpers, and fouling way too much -- both Anthony and Amare spent big portions of the game in foul trouble. However, the Bucks shot a pretty anomalous 11 for 23 on 3 pointers, and the Knicks were fairly active on defense and got their share of stops in a strange game. In conclusion, not all that terrible under the circumstances, especially since the Knicks were able to score 114 against a top five defense, shaky star performances and all.
* The biggest adjustments on offense during the next ten games or so may not be in altering the way Carmelo or Amare dominate the ball or initiate their attack (in Melo's case from the right wing or right lower block, in Amare's case from one of the elbows), but in getting Billups and the other Knicks to recognize how the defenses are shading toward these threats, and getting the ball to one of them accordingly. Amare and Melo will probably take turns dominating the ball for several possessions at a time, but as they get more comfortable playing together and learn to get out of each other's way, we may eventually see a more dynamic two man game, even though neither is an especially gifted passer out of double teams.
* The Synergy numbers on the plays that the Knicks ran broke out almost identically to their season averages, oddly enough -- spot up jumpers, isolations, transition baskets, and shots by the ball handler off the pick and roll. There was only one shot attempt by a player diving off the pick and roll, though, and 8 post ups -- the coaches will want to see those numbers go up slightly, as well as getting the quality of the spot up opportunities to be higher than the many contested jumpers taken last night.
* Anthony and Billups were the only new acquisitions to play -- others who might have helped, such as Anthony Carter for spot PG minutes, or Corey Brewer for better wing defense, got DNPs, understandable given they just got to NY. Fields ended up playing 42 minutes, which I think is too much, especially since he got torched by John Salmons frequently. There are still faint rumors that Brewer may be headed to another team, but if he stays, I hope D'Antoni can find room for him as part of the aggressive second unit along with TD, Shawne and Bill Walker -- I can easily see Brewer taking minutes from Walker, especially since BW can't seem to find his shot lately.
* On the Bucks' side, Bogut and Jennings exerted their influence on the game, but both seemed weirdly subpar, Jennings especially. Bogut was a force on the boards and largely contained Stoudemire, but his offense was lumbering and his passes out of swarming double and triple teams wasn't always crisp -- for a while, the best Buck offense was watching 3 to 4 Knicks flail at Bogut and have another Buck swoop in for the offensive board and a better shot. Both Bogut and Jennings don't look like they're fully healthy, and that was probably enough to keep the Bucks from stealing one.
* It will be *really* weird to watch the old Knicks in Nugget uniforms on Thursday night, especially since they'll be playing the Celtics. Just as weird as seeing Billups in Knick blue. While few fans would have passed up this opportunity to upgrade, and it's all a business in the end, it will be hard not to miss the old Knicks for a few games, given the effort they put into representing the team. Anyone who fails to understand this should see just how hard they played their final game in a Knick uniform against Atlanta before the All-Star break -- after years of terribly indifferent Knick play by a cast of vagabonds and underachievers, fans should never take for granted that kind of effort (at a time of year when most teams mail it in), and be grateful for what they gave New York.
Next up is a road game against Cleveland, which didn't go so well the last time the Knicks were there. That was while Varejao was still playing, where he put on a defensive clinic in stifling Stoudemire. This Cavs team is much more of a mess, and the acquisition of a disgruntled Baron Davis at the trade deadline should make them a far more beatable opponent. Perhaps it will provide opportunities for some of the other Knick trade deadline acquisitions to get a few minutes as well.
* It will be *really* weird to watch the old Knicks in Nugget uniforms on Thursday night, especially since they'll be playing the Celtics. Just as weird as seeing Billups in Knick blue. While few fans would have passed up this opportunity to upgrade, and it's all a business in the end, it will be hard not to miss the old Knicks for a few games, given the effort they put into representing the team. Anyone who fails to understand this should see just how hard they played their final game in a Knick uniform against Atlanta before the All-Star break -- after years of terribly indifferent Knick play by a cast of vagabonds and underachievers, fans should never take for granted that kind of effort (at a time of year when most teams mail it in), and be grateful for what they gave New York.
Next up is a road game against Cleveland, which didn't go so well the last time the Knicks were there. That was while Varejao was still playing, where he put on a defensive clinic in stifling Stoudemire. This Cavs team is much more of a mess, and the acquisition of a disgruntled Baron Davis at the trade deadline should make them a far more beatable opponent. Perhaps it will provide opportunities for some of the other Knick trade deadline acquisitions to get a few minutes as well.
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