By Kenneth Teape (@teapester725)
Tuesday, December 10th, 2013
New York Knicks vs. Cleveland Cavaliers
Post Game Recap
It was an improvement over Sunday
afternoon’s debacle at Madison Square Garden but Tuesday night’s game was still
an embarrassment for the Knicks as they fell to the Cavaliers 109-94. The Cavaliers
were relentless all night as the Knicks had awful first and third quarters that
essentially gave the Cavaliers the game. They trailed by 18 points in both
quarters and with the loss matched the worst start in Knicks franchise history,
losing 11 of the last 13 games. The seat is getting hotter for head coach Mike
Woodson who may not even make it to Tyson Chandler returns to give him his full
complement of players to use. Things won’t get any easier for the Knicks as
they will return home to take on the Chicago Bulls Wednesday night at 8 PM ET.
Player of the Game: Carmelo Anthony
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| Mark Duncan/AP Photo |
It is tough to recognize a player for
doing anything positive in such a poorly played game but once again Anthony
came out and tried his best to carry his team to victory. Anthony shot the ball
efficiently from the field, going 12-19 from the field (3-4 3pts and 2-2 FT)
for a team high 29 points to go along with eight rebounds. Anthony also added
three assists; a number that would have been higher had anyone made their shots
nearly as efficiently as Anthony did. He only turned the ball over once as
well, an impressive number with how often the ball was in his hands and how
much of the decision making he has to do with the Knicks on offense. Anthony
continues to put forth outstanding effort and why the rest of his teammates are
not following suit is inexcusable.
-Positives
Amar’e Stoudemire had another strong
game on the offensive side of the ball and the Knicks were actually competitive
during his time on the court. Stoudemire registered a season high 27 minutes,
knocking down 7-10 shots from the field (1-1 FT) to finish the game with 15
points. He also added five rebounds, one steal and two impressive blocks on
Cavaliers power forward Tristan Thompson. Stoudemire looked into the flow of
the game tonight and has played his best basketball recently, albeit it against
trainers wishes as his minutes restrictions have been altered a little bit with
no other options being available on the bench.
Like it has been most of his career with
the Knicks, Pablo Prigioni gave them productive minutes in his time on the
court. Tonight Prigioni led the team in assists, with nine, while adding three
rebounds and six points on 2-5 from the three point line. Prigioni saw an
increase in minutes tonight because Raymond Felton looked to have re-aggravated
his hamstring/hip so he could see much of the same tomorrow night against the
Bulls. It would really not be a bad thing seeing Prigioni on the floor more as
good things usually happen for the Knicks when he’s out there.
For how poorly the game ended tonight
the Knicks cannot fall back on their favorite excuse of the ball not moving
being the excuse for them losing. Tonight the Knicks assisted on 27 of their 40
baskets and shot 46 percent overall from the field. The three-point shooting
was not as sharp as it could have been as they went 10-31 from deep but the
ball movement was not the problem tonight.
-Negatives
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| Mark Duncan/AP Photo |
The defensive effort once again tonight
was absent. The Cavaliers as a team shot 42-74 from the field overall, good for
56.8 percent. They were just as efficient from the three point line, going 9-19
(47.4%). Like most games this season the onslaught was led by the opposing
point guards. Tonight Kyrie Irving torched the Knicks to the tune of 37 points
(12-23 FG, 4-7 3pt, 5-6 FT) and 11 assists. Irving put on a show throughout the
night showcasing his ball handling skills and jump shot with ease. Irving was
not alone as backup point guard Jarrett Jack joined in on the show, scoring 17
points (6-8 FG, 3-5 3pt, 2-3 FT) of his own.
Andrea Bargnani struggled once again
from the field. He scored 11 points but needed 17 shots to do so, making only
five. He missed all three of his three point attempts and went 1-2 from the
foul line in 32 minutes. He did not offer much help in the rebounding
department, pulling down only three. He did play surprisingly well one-on-one
defense on Andrew Bynum, who shot 1-6 from the field in his 24 minutes of play.
Bargnani needs to get back on track as Anthony needs a consistent scoring
option next to him for this team to be successful.
J.R. Smith struggled once again on both
ends of the court tonight. He struggled to keep anyone in front of him and was
not shy with letting it fly on the offensive end either. He shot 5-14 from the
field, 4-9 from deep, for 14 points. He did not attempt a free throw, which is
a direct sign to him not being as aggressive as he can be. Smith made numerous
questionable decisions and had three turnovers on the night. He sometimes still
gets preferential treatment from Mike Woodson but even now Woodson has started
showing some displeasure for how Smith is performing on the court.
As mentioned with Smith, the Knicks as a
whole tonight weren’t aggressive enough. They too often settled for jump shots
instead of attacking the basket, resulting in only five free throw attempts. They
made four of them but that is nowhere near enough attempts in a full game. On the
contrary, the Cavaliers attempted 22 free throws on the night, making 16 of
them. Irving alone attempted more free throws than the whole Knicks team.
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