Knicks Bounce Back, Blow out Pistons

Sunday, November 25^th, 2012

Post Game Recap

Final Score: Detroit Pistons: 100 New York Knicks: 121

Knicks Bounce Back, Blow out Pistons

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The Knicks didn’t exactly bounce back on the defensive end of the ball against the Pistons, but it didn’t matter much as the Knicks were unstoppable on the offensive side, dropping 121 on Detroit en route to a blowout victory.  The Knicks gave up an average of 122.5 points in their last two games, giving up 100 for the third straight time but they were able to cause problems for Detroit; the Knicks forced 19 Detroit turnovers and converted them into 33 points.  The Pistons also became the fifth straight team to lose at Madison Square Garden this season by double-digits.

Carmelo Anthony came out scorching from the start again, as he scored 15 points in the first frame in the most dominant of fashions.  Anthony went for 15 points in the first quarter, following up an 18 point first quarter Friday night against the Rockets.  In the quarter, Anthony went six of seven from the field, knocking down all three of his three point attempts.

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Anthony would finish the game with a game high 29 points, adding two rebounds, three assists and one steal.  A glaring stat is Anthony’s high turnover number again, which was six this afternoon.  That makes 20 turnovers for Anthony in his last three games, something that will need to get lower as the Knicks will not be able to stay in the game with better competition with turnovers that high.

Steve Novak has been struggling thus far this season, but Sunday afternoon he was on.  Novak went for a season high 18 points, knocking down five of his seven three point attempts.  Novak also showed up in the box score in other places, something he hasn’t done recently, getting two rebounds, two blocks and one steal. 

If Novak has his shooting stroke back it gives the Knicks a deadly weapon.  Novak is a perfect floor spacer for the offense that the Knicks run, but he has to be making his three point attempts as his shooting ability is really the only thing that he brings to the table.

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J.R. Smith didn’t allow Novak to be the only shining star off the bench, as he had another strong game for the Knicks.  Smith hit only three of eight shots from the field, but attacked the rim consistently, getting to the foul line for eight attempts and knocking them all down for 15 points.

Where Knick fans are happy is that Smith stuffed the stat sheet and helped the team in other ways than just scoring.  Smith grabbed a team high 10 rebounds, while handing out five assists and getting a steal.  Smith is an x-factor this season for the Knicks and when he has performances like Sunday afternoon, they will be tough to beat especially when Iman Shumpert and Amar’e Stoudemire return from injury. 

Another strong performance was put forth by Raymond Felton as well, notching his second double-double in three games as he went for 14 points and 10 assists.  Felton also added four rebounds, two steals and a very impressive zero turnovers. 

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Outside of Anthony, the Knicks ball security was as great as it has been throughout the season, as the rest of the Knicks combined for only five turnovers. 

Rasheed Wallace also returned from his sore foot and had a big impact on the game, as he scored 15 points off the bench to go with one rebound, steal and block.  Marcus Camby also got into the game, playing five minutes and grabbing three rebounds. 

Overall, the Knicks shooting was lethal from everywhere on the court.  The Knicks shot 48.1 percent from the field and 17 for 33 from the three point line, good for 51.5 percent.  They also shot an impressive 28 for 31 from the foul line, good for 90.3 percent. 

Next up for the Knicks is the first game against the Brooklyn Nets for the season Monday night at 7 P.M. ET.  It is the first of four meetings between the teams this season and a game fans of the Knicks would like to see them dominate. 

What to Watch For: Detroit Pistons vs. New York Knicks November 25

Sunday, November 25, 2012

Pre-Game News and Notes

Detroit Pistons vs. New York Knicks

The Knicks are coming off a very disappointing stretch of six quarters in which their defense was non-existent, giving up 196 points over that span.  The Knicks will look to get back on track Sunday afternoon against the 3-10 Detroit Pistons, a winnable game that the Knicks cannot over look with a big matchup with the Brooklyn Nets the following night.

-Get Back to Basics

The Knicks have suffered severe lapses for parts of the past six quarters and it has hurt them, as they are on their first two game losing streak since Mike Woodson took over as head coach.  Role players such as Chandler Parsons and Omer Asik dominated the Knicks Friday night in addition to the big name players Jeremy Lin and James Harden.

The Knicks need to get back to trusting each other on defense, as there was no help defense given Friday night.  Tyson Chandler needs to get back to his Defensive Player of the Year ways, as he has become Charmin Soft in the middle at times this season. 

Chandler has a lot of his plate, as Woodson has not been matching up his players well at points, leaving Chandler as the only big on the court a large portion of time.  Chandler has not been protecting the rim well recently either, as foul trouble has deterred him and caused him to be less aggressive.

-Crash the Boards

One glaring problem Friday night was the thumping the Knicks took on the boards, as the Rockets out rebounded them 49-30.  That is a trend that needs to change even though the Knicks have been successful thus far this season with an 8-3 record.

The Pistons sport a huge front line in Greg Monroe and Jason Maxiell in the starting lineup and have Andre Drummond coming off the bench.  Monroe is becoming a household name in the NBA and Maxiell has been a menace on the boards since entering the league.  Drummond has been quite impressive thus far in his rookie campaign, averaging 5.2 rebounds in only 16.2 minutes per game.

It will take a team effort from the Knicks to win the rebounding battle, as the Pistons are not going to just roll over; head coach Lawrence Frank will have his young team ready to roll Sunday afternoon.

-Offense Needs to Flow

The Knicks offense does not garner a ton of assists because of the post-ups that Woodson runs for Carmelo Anthony and Rasheed Wallace; that does not mean the ball movement is always there though.

The ball has been stopped multiple times in the recent games, as Anthony has turned the ball over seven times in each of the last two games.  Anthony was featured heavily Friday against the Rockets because of matchups, but teammates became spectators and were standing around watching most of the game, causing for a stagnant offense.

If the Knicks can get the ball movement and flow back in their offense this should be a relatively easy game before heading to Brooklyn Monday night.