The Miami Heat crushed the Lin-less New York Knicks 100-67 in game #1 of the best of 7 series. Rookie standout, Iman Shumpert also left the game with what looked to be serious knee injury. Carmelo Anthony who had been on a tear of late, had just 11 points on 3-15 shooting.
Guess Melo isn't prancing around the court screaming "This is MY house" now (what he said after Chicago victory at MSG recently).
ReplyDeleteKnicks obviously miss Lin's dribble drive penetration, and how that breaks down defense and creates controlled chaos he and the rest of the Knicks can take advantage of.
Very true, although the officiating was horrendous today. Even though Jeremy had his worst game of the season @ Miami (when the Knicks were on the 2nd day of a back-to-back), the game was competitive for a good long while.
DeleteThat's a direct result of the way he wears down and breaks down the defense...even when he's missing shots and making TOs. The defense still has to respect his penetration, creating opportunities for others. Even though he shot an awful 1-11, Jeremy still had 8pts because he got to the line for 6-6FT shooting.
If only the Knicks could have faced the Bulls (now without Rose)... They definitely could have pulled off a 7-game upset and allowed Jeremy to return at full strength for the semis.
could have and should have. Im actually upset that the Knicks lost to the CAVS because the sixth seed almost guarantees a second round. Dwight-less Orlando won against the pacers. All i want now is to at least end this play-off with our egos intact.
DeleteKnicks is weak when in action with a good team.
ReplyDeleteI hate to admit this because i really dont like Lebron but Heat is beyond good. they are arguably the best team in the East.
DeleteWhat pissed me off today was when Melo was fronted like crazy they still try to force it into him. Just effen move the ball and find the open shooter. So when Melo doesn't have a good offensive night, this is exactly what results. If JLin was in the game, he would've find the open player, or the player that leads to the open player, or he'll drive in and take a high percentage shot. JLin will not just look for Melo, that's probably why Melo wasn't too happy before when D'Antoni was around. D'Antoni let JLin make the decisions based on what the defense gave them. On occasion, you would run plays for Melo, but let the game flow like it should. And Melo needs to quit posting up at the elbow so much and ask for the ball, especially when he's not clicking offensively. Just camp out at the wing like he's supposed to and open things up for everyone else--spacing. Gee wiz.
ReplyDeleteplayers are instructed to pass the ball to melo.
DeleteAnd that's why Melo doesn't like Lin and MDA and fully endorses Woodson. If you look back at Woodson's stint at Atlanta, Joe Johnson still loved him a lot and probably only Teague wasn't too fond of him. Lol.
DeleteI personally think the Knicks are not as bad as they showed in this game and Melo is not as bad as his statline shows. But they are certainly not as good as they thought of themselves either. As I said in another thread, Woodson's game plan especially on the offensive end is seriously flawed. You couldn't have only one play against a defensive team as good as Miami, especially that play is a simple iso post up against their best and most inspired defender LeBron. We will see how he adjusts in game 2 but his history in Atlanta didn't forecast good outcomes.
ReplyDeleteno chance without lin. i expect a sweep from the heat and blowouts. all they have to do is collapse on melo again and it's over.
ReplyDeleteThe way to beat miami is : make your treys, quick ball movement is imperative cuz the heat are aggressive and will bite on any passing lanes (make heat work on D to tire them out), double team lebron early, then let him free in the 4th cuz he doesnt hav a reliable shot when it counts. Dallas beat them with lots of motion and Terry challenging lebron and get into his head.
ReplyDeleteI wish the Knicks could have gotten the 6th Seed so that they can play Pacers in the 1st Round. Even the Orlando Magic can beat the Pacers.
ReplyDeletebummer...guess we'll see Jeremy next year
ReplyDeleteI hope Melo won't carry out his scheme to kill Linsanity 2.0 if Jeremy is back this 1st round. Melo may not want to see Lin as the one saving the team. My memory of his scheming to get rid of D'Atoni is still vivid!
ReplyDeleteI hope lin doesn't come back, the playoffs look injury prone. loke at d rose and shumpert. he is young and has not renewed a contract yet.
ReplyDeleteIt's Melo's fault their playoff position is so bad and they are going to have another first round exit: http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2012/03/20/schmeelk-carmelos-admission-nothing-short-of-disgraceful/ . Had he actually tried, they would probably be in the 4th seed and could have made it to the East finals- not happening this year.
ReplyDeleteI agree that Jeremy shouldn't play this year anymore..no reason. This team is not good enough to beat the Heat with our without him. If they get a new coach to elevate them to the next level, and finally have time to gel as a group, it is possible they could do it next year. Jeremy should focus on improving his game for the future and not rush back IMO.
Derrick Rose out for the season with a torn ACL. Shumpert is out 6-8 months with torn ACL and torn lateral meniscus.
ReplyDeleteThe first day of the playoffs and the NBA is falling apart. This season has been hard on everyone. So many players out of shape and getting injured in this compressed schedule.
i feel bad for shump because this is his first play-off experience and this is what happened.
DeleteThe Knicks really needed Lin's penetration. The variety he brings would have relieved the focus on Melo. The old timers Baron and Bibby would benefit from Lin as well. Unfortunate that Shump is out. Landry's probably going back into the starting five. His cutting and movement should help.
ReplyDeleteHorrible news about Shumpert. 6-8 months is a long time, he'll miss refining his game in the summer. Man, this shortened NBA season is brutal. Some big name casualties already.
ReplyDeleteThe Knicks were slaughtered today. Hate to say I told you so but too many people were deluding themselves that the Knicks would beat the Heat. This is the PLAYOFFS and the Heat's Big Three are determined to win a ring. A Melo-led iso Knicks team cannot compete with that. We saw today what many of us have been predicting; shut Melo down and the Knicks lose. Nobody else gets involved with the scoring and that is solely on Woodson and Melo's shoulders. This offense is what they've been pushing for, and it just backfired spectacularly on them. JLin was very badly missed today, he at least would have distributed the ball and found the open player with the right momentum. Without that and Melo having a bad game, there was no chance.
did everyone see this? Jeremy plays one on one ... http://espn.go.com/new-york/nba/story/_/id/7867798/2012-nba-playoffs-new-york-knicks-jeremy-lin-cuts-moves-laterally-latest-workout
ReplyDeleteLin training before the game
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LE4TXVAri2A
Is that his dad checking him? If it is, that is really cool.
DeleteLin's dad? No. That's Knicks assistant coach Kenny Atkinson.
Deletehttp://www.nba.com/coachfile/kenny_atkinson/index.html
Ha! Ha! That looked like his sad!
DeleteDad!
DeleteStoudamire is a problem. He's not moving well. He clogs up Anthony's space on offense, and his defense, especially his help defense, is atrocious. About the offense: We can't blame Stoudamire entirely for getting in Anthony's way. The Heat defense, in addition to the defense on Anthony, entirely disrupted the Knicks guards from running the offense after Davis went down with his back.
ReplyDeleteAside: Fair to blame D'Antoni for overusing and blowing out Stoudamire last year and Lin this year? I think so. (But if he hadn't overplayed Lin while Davis, Anthony, and Stoudamire were out, would there have been Linsanity? I think not.)
The post-Lin key for the Knicks, ahead of Anthony's post-D'Antoni scoring and playmaking, has been the Shumpert-Smith-Chandler-led defensive unit, with Jeffries and Anthony also playing very good defense. Chandler should recover from the flu, but with no more Shumpert, the Knicks perimeter defense has been broken, unless Tony Douglas (out sick) undergoes a shocking Tony Allen-esque metamorphisis. As well, Jeffries is still moving gingerly and Stoudamire hurts the Knicks defense.
Davis played well, but only for 17 minutes before his back gave out again. Davis, when on his game, is a better point guard than Lin, but whenever Davis has tried to raise his level to classic Baron this season, he's hurt his back.
A healthy Lin/Davis backcourt would have given the Knicks a fighting chance against the Heat defense. Watching the Knicks guards other than Davis struggle handling the ball, I don't believe Lin would have been able to handle primary ballhandling duties against the Heat defense, either. Davis would still be needed for that role. But Lin at the off-guard would have given the Knicks the *second* ballhandling, playmaking, and scoring option they badly needed in Game 1. In short, the Knicks needed a classic play-off 3rd guard, which is Lin's natural role.
Lin's Palo Alto v Mater Dei / Harvard v UConn reputation is he rises to the big game. I want to see Lin with the opportunity to raise his game in the NBA play-offs. Which is to say, watching Lin moving better in the pregame practice clips, no more Shumpert, Davis's back hurting, and assuming Tony Douglas doesn't make a shocking metamorphisis into Tony Allen, I won't be surprised if Lin tried playing in the all-hands-on-deck elimination game, whether that's Game 4 or Game 5.
Davis on his game is a better pg than Lin?
DeleteNo possible way. The stats and even eye test don't indicate that.
The starting lineup without Stoudamire, with Carmelo playing at the 4 spot, was a lot better against the Heat. Granted they never beat Miami in the regular season, but you can tell that lineup was at least challenging them in the last game.
ReplyDeleteWhat happens when Amare came back for the game vs. Cleveland Cavs .... they lost.
Too bad the Knicks couldn't grab the 6th seed or fall to the 8th seed. Would have been a more even matchup.
I don't know that Stoudemaire is the problem. I think Anthony and Stoudemaire together are the issue, and this will probably never really work out well unless some major changes are made. You are right about the spacing issues.
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure I understand why you think Baron Davis is a better point guard than Jeremy. If this were 2006 or 07, I would definitely agree with you, but I don't see it at all. Here are some nice BD facts for your. He's clearly way past his prime:
PER- 10.05
37 percent shooting
Steals per 36 minutes -2.1
Baron Davis +/- 25, 9th on the Knicks
I said "when on his game". Unfortunately, whenever Davis has raised his level of play this season to resemble classic Baron - as he did in Game 1 - he's hurt his back. This season, on-his-game Davis has meant 20 minutes of high-level PG play followed by 2 weeks of rehab.
DeleteAgainst regular-season mediocre teams, Lin's ballhandling is good enough at PG. The play-off mode Heat, however, set a higher bar with their exceptional pressure on opposing ballhandlers. Against the Heat's play-off defense, an on-his-game Davis's key advantage over a healthy Lin is Davis is the better primary ballhandler in terms of protecting the ball to initiate the offense.
To make the series competitive, the Knicks needed all their pieces working: Shumpert doing his Tony Allen, an on-his-game Davis managing the Heat pressure, and Lin stretching the Heat defense as a secondary ballhandler and breaking the Heat defense as an off-the-ball playmaker and scorer.
"Classic Baron Davis" has not been around for the past 2-3 years!
DeleteThe statistics don't lie. Baron Davis is not the player he once was, and that "classic" player is not coming back.
Even if the Knicks had "classic" Baron Davis, I don't necessarily feel that he would beat out a healthy Jeremy Lin and his team leading PER.
I know that you don't think Jeremy Lin isn't a pg of your taste, but the NUMBERS indicate that he's doing a lot better than many "classic" pgs that play the same position!
"Is a pg of your taste", not "isn't".
Deletesorry typo
Lin still has room to grow as a college SG converting to NBA PG, but he's proven he's already good enough at PG against most NBA teams. We're talking about his ballhandling against a specific opponent, however, not an average. We even have a sample of Lin against the regular-season Heat defense to project him against the heightened play-off Heat defense. Projecting Lin against the play-off Heat's defense is not the same as projecting Lin against the average regular-season NBA team defense - or even, for that matter, the average play-off NBA team defense.
DeleteAs a scoring guard, Lin's handle is already there. I'm confident he could hurt the play-off Heat playing off the ball. As a PG, Davis does one thing better than Lin: handle the ball against pressure. It's a negligible difference against average NBA defenses, where Lin's handle is good enough to do what he wants, but it's a key difference against the play-off Heat defense.
In my humble opinion, I haven't seen anything to convince me that Baron is better than Jeremy at any way in this juncture in his career. BD has an assist to turnover ratio of 1.78 to 1.71 for Jeremy. BD is a little bit better than Jeremy in this area, but not by much. I attribute the slight ratio difference to Baron's experience and Jeremy's "learning curve" (he had some awful turnover games when he took over the starting pg position). I'm not saying the Jeremy doesn't have his faults- he needs to improve in a lot of areas- assist to turnover ratio is an obvious one, but he was getting much better in this area before he tore his meniscus.
DeleteBaron had a few decent spurts as you mentioned, but nothing that really caught my eye. I didn't watch the Miami game because my interest in the Knicks evaporated once Jeremy got injured, but in the highlights I saw that he was benefiting from Carmelo's double teams and hitting some shots.
Well, Lin is just going to have to learn to handle the ball under pressure the way guys like Steve Nash and his 3.8 turnovers a game does.
DeleteLin's game against the Heat was an aberration due to fatigue and inexperience. It is totally erroneous to project him as a less than capable ballbandler based on one regular season game in which he was not himself.
Lin has been defended just as hard as Michael Jordan was, tripleteams and all. Most opponents have brought playoff intensity defense against Lin already. Thus I expect Lin to EASILY handle playoff pressure, at least when he is healthy.