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. 

Knicks Blown Out By Rockets to End Road Trip

Friday, November 23, 2012

Post Game Recap

Final Score: New York Knicks: 103 Houston Rockets 131

Knicks Blown Out by Rockets to End Road Trip

The Knicks came into the game saying all the right things about their match-up with Jeremy Lin, but it was Lin who came out on top as the Rockets blew out the Knicks 131-103.  The Knicks left their defense in the locker room at half time of the game at Dallas, as the Knicks have given up 196 points in the last six quarters and 122.5 points per game in the last two.  The Knicks were unable to stop anyone tonight, including Lin. 

Lin had a strong game, scoring 13 points while grabbing seven rebounds and handing out three assists.  That is child’s play compared to what some of his teammates unleashed against what looked like an unprepared Knicks squad.

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James Harden came in as one of the top five scorers in the NBA, averaging over 24 points per game; he blew that away tonight.  Harden scored 33 points, including a perfect 16 of 16 from the foul line, dishing nine assists, bringing in four rebounds and getting two steals.

The Knicks had no answer for Harden tonight, as he danced into the lane at will and did whatever he wanted against the Knicks.  He took advantage of having the slower Jason Kidd on him for most of the night, slashing to the rim and attacking the paint; this put the Knicks in a tough position as their rotations were slow tonight and no one trusted each other on the court.

The Knicks expected a strong showing from Harden, as he has really taken to his new role as go-to player after being the third option in Oklahoma City.  What the rest of the Rockets starting lineup did no one could have predicted.

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Chandler Parsons, a second year player who was drafted in the second round last year, set his career high in the first half alone when he scored 26 points alone, 18 of which came in a perfect shooting first quarter.  He finished with a career high 31 points in addition to five rebounds, four assists and four steals. 

The second surprise came from Omer Asik, who is considered a top defensive center in the NBA and strong on the boards but not revered as a strong offensive option; tonight Asik scored around the rim and looks every bit worth the $25 million dollars the Rockets gave him.

Asik had a game high 14 rebounds to go along with 18 points, as he showed a deft touch around the rim making multiple reverse lay-ups and finishing off second opportunities. 

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The Knicks defense was non-existent tonight, as they allowed the Rockets to shoot 51.7 percent from the field and a blistering 56 percent from the three point line. The Knicks also got destroyed on the boards, as the Rockets outrebounded them 49-30, a number that is embarrassingly bad.

This raises the question of where Marcus Camby is.  Once again, Camby was unable to get off the bench even though Rasheed Wallace was out with a sore foot.  Camby was brought in to New York to be the backup to Tyson Chandler and bring a defensive presence on the court in addition to his outstanding rebounding skills.

Head coach Mike Woodson says Camby is still rounding into playing shape, but that excuse is getting stale fast.  The Knicks are in desperate need of rebounding help and are refusing to use what was the top rebounder in the NBA last season by percentages. 

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In addition to the poor rebounding, the Knicks didn’t take of the ball well either.  The Knicks turned the ball over another 15 times tonight, leading to 23 Rockets points.  The main culprit in this was once again Carmelo Anthony, who had seven turnovers alone and is reverting back to his old tendencies; a recipe that ends in disaster for the Knicks.

In one instance, Anthony argued with a referee while going up the court, completely ignoring what was going on around him in the game and allowing the Rockets to get an easy fast break dunk as Anthony was more concerned with yelling at the ref than playing defense.  This led to yet another technical foul for Anthony, as losing his cool rubbed off on his teammates and the Knicks imploded again in the third quarter. 

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Other than those problems, Anthony had an outstanding game, scoring 37 points while grabbing four rebounds and dropping two assists.  Anthony hit a career high seven three pointers in the game, as the Knicks shot well in the game but were unable to get enough stops to make the game close. 

Raymond Felton had a strong game for the Knicks as well, as he scored 17 points and had eight assists.  He got hit with the turnover big in addition to Anthony though; as he turned the ball over four times himself. 

Next up for the Knicks is a matinee Sunday against the Detroit Pistons.  The Knicks cannot look past the Pistons, as Lawrence Frank will have his team ready to go and they have a big front court; another team that will make it hard on the Knicks on the boards.

What to Watch For: New York Knicks vs. Houston Rockets November 23

Friday, November 23, 2012

Pre-Game News and Notes

New York Knicks vs. Houston Rockets

The Knicks head into Houston after a tough defeat at the hands of the Dallas Mavericks Wednesday night looking to bounce back and win the last game of their road trip.  The Knicks have not lost two consecutive games with Mike Woodson has head coach and they will look to continue that streak against the Rockets.  The biggest headline for Knicks fans will be Jeremy Lin, but to win this game there are more pressing needs to take care of; here are a few to look at throughout the game.

-Stop James Harden

Knick fans will focus on Lin, but he has struggled mightily this season, shooting 33.3 percent from the field and 22.9 from 3 point land, averaging only 10 point per game to go along with 4.4 rebounds and 6.3 assists. The bigger threat is the biggest catch the Rockets have had in recent memory in James Harden.

Harden has become the vocal point of the offense and franchise player for the first time since being traded from Oklahoma City.  Harden is averaging 24.5 points per game thus far this season, relishing in his role as the go-to player. 

The Knicks would be smart to focus their defensive efforts on Harden, as he is the only real scoring threat the Rockets have.  He handles the ball a lot and is put in isolation situations, but is prone to turning the ball over, so the Knicks should double him whenever they have a chance.  He is a good playmaker, but turns the ball over 4.2 times per game.

If the Knicks can limit Harden, it would make getting a victory tonight that much easier.  The Rockets are ranked only 17^th in offensive efficiency and if you take Harden away they most likely would not break the top 25.

-Win the Turnover Battle

As just stated, Harden turns the ball over quite frequently, one of the reasons the Rockets are last in the NBA in turnovers per game with 17.3.

The Knicks are on the opposite spectrum of the turnover list, as the Knicks turn the ball over the least amount of times in the NBA per game, with 10.7.  The Knicks actually set a franchise record for turnover differential, +58, through ten games in a season.

Turnovers hurt the Knicks Wednesday against the Mavericks, so getting back to what they had been doing and putting a premium on ball security.  This is a good opportunity to take advantage of; as the Knicks thrive on teams turning the ball over and the Rockets do that better than any team in the NBA.

-Rebounding

The Knicks rebounding woes have been well documented thus far this season and could very well continue tonight.

The Rockets are fifth in the NBA in rebounding, which means the Knicks have a big problem on their hands tonight.  It will take gang rebounding and an asserted effort on the boards to keep the numbers close.

 

If I were Mike Woodson, I would have to use Marcus Camby and Kurt Thomas tonight.  They bring a defensive mentality and rebounding to the court, something the Knicks sorely lack right now.  Rasheed Wallace has done a great job thus far off the bench, but the problem is with Anthony logging all his minutes at the 4, the Knicks are at a disadvantage rebounding.

I do not mind Anthony starting the game at the 4, as it has gotten the Knicks off to hot starts nightly; the problem is as the game goes on and the rebounding differential starts to grow.  Woodson has to adjust and get those rebounding numbers closer to even or in the Knicks favor; it would go a long way and make a great start to the season that much more sustainable.