Knicks Rolled Again as Pacers Take Commanding 3-1 Lead

AP Photo/Darron Cummings

By Kenneth Teape (@teapester725)

Tuesday, May 14^th, 2013

Game 4 Recap

Final Score: New York Knicks: 82 Indiana Pacers: 93

It was the same old story for the Knicks tonight as they trailed the whole game against the Pacers, who took control early and never really let the Knicks back in the game to take a commanding 3-1 series lead.  The Knicks offensive struggles continued as they were unable to put the ball in the basket from anywhere on the court as the Pacers size still is causing a lot of problems.  The Knicks lineup change to go big did not pan out to well as the defense was not good enough to make up for the poor offense.  The Knicks will hope to extend the series Thursday night back at Madison Square Garden when they take the Pacers on for Game 5, playing for their season.

-Positives

• The initial defense for the Knicks tonight was not bad.  They held the Pacers to 40.8 percent shooting on the night and 32 percent from the three point line.  Once again Paul George was stifled throughout the game, going five of 19 from the field as the Pacers had only one player, George Hill, shoot the ball over 50 percent tonight.  The Knicks also had nine blocks in the game and forced 16 Pacer turnovers on the night. Both the percentages and defensive stats should lead to victories for the Knicks but their struggles on the offensive end were too much to overcome.  The whole defense wasn’t great tonight either, as the Knicks did not finish possessions; that will be later explained in the negatives section.

• Chris Copeland and Steve Novak did not play big minutes, combining for only 13 on the night, but they did what they do best in their limited minutes and that is light it up from deep.  The two combined to make three of the eight Knicks’ makes from deep tonight, going three for four.  The two of them need to see more time in Game 5 if the Knicks are to shake their offensive funk as they will help open up the paint more for players like Carmelo Anthony and Amar’e Stoudemire to operate.

• The offense was poor once again but it was not because of a lack of opportunities.  The Knicks only turned the ball over nine times tonight, as they had good ball security but were unable to make anything happen on the offensive end of the court.  

• This was the best game Tyson Chandler played all series.  He was able to neutralize Roy Hibbert tonight, holding him to two of eight shooting from the field and six points in addition to 11 rebounds.  Chandler matched Hibbert tonight for the first time all series, scoring 12 points of his own to go with 10 rebounds, three blocks and one steal.  If Chandler is able to bring it like this in Game 5 and as long as the Knicks advance it will be a huge boost to slow down one of the biggest advantages the Pacers have.

-Negatives

• The Knicks offense once again was abysmal tonight.  Anthony led the way with 24 points, but needed 23 shots to get there, making only nine of them.  Raymond Felton shot seven of 16 for 14 points and  Chandler scored 12 points on four of nine shooting as no one on the Knicks was very efficient tonight.  Jason Kidd continued his scoreless streak, going zero of two from the field and J.R. Smith’s shot is still nowhere to be found as he shot seven of 22 from the field and three of 10 from the three point line.  The Knicks really missed Pablo Prigioni’s ball movement tonight as he played only three minutes for whatever reason.  He needs to take Kidd’s minutes as Kidd is offering the Knicks nothing on both ends of the court.

• The Knicks were once again hammered on the boards tonight.  The Pacers outrebounded the Knicks 54-36 tonight, making a living on the offensive glass once again, grabbing 16 offensive boards.  The Pacers best offense tonight was missing shots and just grabbing the offensive rebound for open three pointers or easy put backs.  The Knicks only had one player in double-digits for rebounding as the Pacers had three.  The Knicks even switched up their starting lineup tonight and that did not help as the Pacers still dominated the paint.

• Mike Woodson has to look himself in the mirror and hold himself accountable.  He has been poor in making changes and adjustments all series and does not trust enough of his players.  In the regular season it is okay to ride a guy through a slump but in the playoffs changes need to be made and he is not making them.  There is no reason for him to ride a struggling Kidd and Smith with other options on the bench.  Also benching a player who started 20+ straight games he appeared in in Prigioni is mind-boggling.  If Woodson continues to be stubborn and not hold himself accountable it will not only be a long Game 5 but long tenure of Woodson as Knicks head coach.