Knicks: 118 Nuggets: 120
Mike D'Antoni is confusing. And maybe a religious zealot. I get it that he's got a style of play he believes in, but the way he refuses to bend to any suggestion of defense or more patient offensive sets is mind-boggling. It borders on religious mania, a blind worship of the three-pointer.
Surely, two people who won't be attending mass anytime soon are Knicks announcers Walt Frazier and Mike Breen. The two gentlemen spent most of the game last night begging the Knicks to stop shooting threes. At one point in the third quarter, after another missed Knick three, Frazier and Breen began pleading for the immediate ban on long-range shots once again, this time with extra fervor and hot sauce. Right as Breen harped on the Knicks' atrocious 1 for 14 mark from three thus far in the game, the Knicks forced a turnover and got Gallinari the ball in the corner. Frazier managed to squeeze in one last plea for an inside shot before Gallinari drove baseline. A relief, it seemed. Gallinari arrived at the hoop, only one defender between him and a layup. Breen made the call with an added twist of accomplishment, because finally the players were heeding their advice. Then, like a dog shitting on the carpet after sniffing around the backyard for 20 minutes, Gallinari passed out to Wilson Chandler in the corner, where Chandler squared his shoulders and launched a three-pointer that broke Mike Breen's heaert.
He missed.
That was pretty much the story of the game: The Knicks missed most of their shots, played "a Swiss cheese defense," and lost to a Nuggets team stuck in purgatory.After a brief and informal polling of some other No Regard staffers, there seems to be agreement that this Knicks team has two parties responsible for their unfortunate play of late: Mike D'Antoni and Raymond Felton.
But there aren't really many tangible flaws in Felton's game that would lead to such dismal team play, it's just that his mediocrity shines pretty brightly in that Knicks jersey.
So it comes down to D'Antoni, who just two days ago I was defending against Pete's simple and effective shouts of, "You're outta there!" aimed at the coach. But now I get it. The Knicks look listless, and even though they have more talent than D'Antoni has had on a squad in some time, they are playing a brand of basketball far from what he once taught in Phoenix. He's forgotten the two most important characteristics of his once-blazing offensive system: Speed and swag. Phoenix had (and still has, actually) these two things, and recognizes their symbiotic relationship. Lose one, though, and the D'Antoni system breaks. This New York team doesn't seem to actually run that much, so their fearlessness to throw up as many threes as they can (31 last night) comes off as misplaced confidence—but they wouldn't be the Knicks without that, now would they?
One Game We Didn't Watch Last Night: Washington Wizards vs. Toronto Raptors
Wizards: 109 Raptors: 94
Four guys played in this game who I've never heard of: David Andersen, Hamady Ndiaye, Lester Hudson, and Kevin Seraphin. So now I don't know if I'm glad or regretful that I didn't watch.
No comments:
Post a Comment