Quick Rewind: Nuggets 117, Knicks 110

Recap from AP: “A week of rest was all Carmelo Anthony needed to rediscover his scoring touch.  Playing the defenseless New York Knicks probably helped, too.  Anthony scored 32 points after missing three games with a bruised right elbow, and the Denver Nuggetssent the Knicks to their sixth straight loss with a 117-110 victory Sunday.  It was only the third 30-point game this season for Anthony, who has been bothered by the elbow since he was originally hurt in a victory over Houston on Nov. 30. The Nuggets decided to give their leading scorer a break after he averaged just 11.5 points on 8-of-27 shooting in losses to Cleveland and Phoenix on consecutive nights.  ”I think that was the best thing that ever happened to me,” Anthony said. “At first I was a little hesitant about doing it. Any time you can get rest during a long season like this, it helps.”  The Nuggets blew the double-digit lead they seized by making 15 of 20 shots in the second quarter, but recovered behind Anthony’s flawless fourth.”

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Mike D’Antoni tried to shake things up by inserting Jared Jeffries and Tim Thomas into the starting lineup against the Nuggets on Sunday.  However, it was not enough as the Knicks dropped their sixth straight game.  The defense continues to be a problem for the Knicks as they cannot make stops when they need them.  On Sunday, the Knicks started off the game well and with much better intensity than they had on Friday night.  They were able to build a 20-13 lead early on and seemed to be in good spirits.

However, the Knicks defense was nonexistent in the second quarter.  The game may have been close down the stretch which would give the impression that the Knicks lost it in the closing minutes.  But actually they lost this game with their second quarter which was pretty horrendous on the defensive end.  The Nuggets shot 15/20 in the second to help them build a 10 point halftime lead.  It was in this period when the Knicks did not deny any dribble penetration as it seemed that the Nuggets did whatever they wanted in the paint.  Denver had 42 points in the paint in the first half alone.  Overall, their offensive numbers for the game show that the defense of the Knicks was not up to the challenge.  Denver shot 57% from the field, had an offensive efficiency of 123.2, and an eFG% of 60.8%.  

It was nice to see the Knicks battle back in the third as their ball movement improved which allowed them to get their offense on track.  Denver did not help themselves with poor defense and poor shot selection in the second half either.  The Knicks had an offensive efficency rating of 115.8, and most of the second half was spent with the teams trading buckets.  Defense was not required for you to participate in this one.

The Knicks then couldn’t make many stops in the fourth but that was more because of the fact that Carmelo Anthony caught fire.  Anthony made tough shots and was 5/5 in the final quarter.  The defensive energy in the fourth was there for New York but they are just not good enough to stop Melo when he gets hot.  But their second quarter defense is not defendable and ultimately cost them the game.

Now the losing streak is 6 and we now begin to wonder if the Knicks have the confidence and spirit to turn it around.  We shall see.

Zach to Memphis Deal Falls Through

It is now official that Zach Randolph will not be headed to play in Memphis.  Alan Hahn of Newsday has reported that the Grizzlies have decided to pass on a potential deal to acquire Randolph.  The potential deal was supposed to send Randolph to Memphis in exchange for center Darko Milicic and guard Marko Jaric.  The Grizzlies did not feel it was a good enough deal for them to take on the 3 years and $48 million still remaining on Randolph’s deal.  The Grizzlies were asking the Knicks to throw in a first round draft pick for 2009 but this is something that the Knicks just could not afford to do (especially since the Knicks are without their first round pick in 2010).

This is disappointing news for the Knicks as this is the one player that they needed to unload the most.  He has a big contract, does not play defense, has ballhog-like tendencies, and is a bad character guy (I recall reading something about how he demanded a trade in the middle of the locker room), and does not seem like a good fit for Coach D’Antoni’s offensive scheme.  The interesting thing to watch will be how D’Antoni plans to use Randolph if the Knicks cannot unload him before the start of the season.  Will he be in the starting lineup even though he does not appear fit for an up and down pace?  He is a double double guy with All-Star level offensive talent so that will be something to watch.

The other question to ask is if there is another team that might be tempted by the talents of Zach.  I can’t see a team really wanting to take on the big contract at the moment.  Denver could be a possibility as they do not have a really good low post scorer like Randolph is.  If you put Randolph along with A.I. and Carmelo, there will be very few teams that will be able to make stops against them.  However, that would also make the Nuggets the team that is the least interested in playing defense in the NBA, if they aren’t already.

Quick Rewind: USA 118, Spain 107

Redemption complete

Knicks ‘08-’09 Schedule Released

The NBA has released this season’s upcoming schedule and the Knicks will start the seasonon October 29th by welcoming Dwayne Wade, Michael Beasley, and the Miami Heat to Madison Square Garden.  Also Larry Brown, the new coach of the Charlotte Bobcats, will make his return to the Garden on November 5th.  As is always true for each year, there are some very good matchups at MSG that will be sure to be hot tickets.   Lebron James and the Cavs are visiting on November 25th, the Detroit Pistons are in on December 7th, Carmelo Anthony and the Nuggets are scheduled for December 28th, the defending NBA Champion Boston Celtics visit on January 4th, Mike D’Antoni’s former team, the Phoenix Suns, come in on January 21st, and Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers come to Broadway on February 2nd.  The Knicks will close the regular season with a home game against division rival New Jersey on April 15th.  It would be thought of as a good season if that game has any significance.

Of course the Knicks will be playing in six preseason games in the first couple weeks of October.  However, those games have yet to be announced.  Click here to see the entire schedule.  So it appears we are only a little over 2 months away from the opening tip of the regular season.