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| AP Photo/Kathy Willens |
Sunday, May 5th, 2013
Game 1 Post Game Recap
Final Score: Indiana Pacers: 102 New
York Pacers: 95
Knicks Stifled by Pacers, Take Game 1
If Game 1 is any indication of how this
series is going to play out, it will be a long one for the Knicks. Game 1 brought about a lot of disappointment
for the Knicks and their fans as a series opening lost gives the Knicks two straight
losses at Madison Square Garden and a deficit in the playoffs for the first
time this season. The last four games
for the Knicks have not been very impressive as the offense and defense have
both diminished at the same time. The Pacers played an impressive game,
stifling the Knicks offense and stopping all of the runs they went on with
timely baskets. The Knicks will look to
get their act together Tuesday night back at Madison Square Garden when they
take on the Pacers in Game 2 of their series.
-Positives
- Raymond
Felton played another good game for the Knicks, something he has done
consistently throughout the playoffs.
The pick-and-roll was defended well this afternoon by the Pacers
but Felton still found a way to cause some problems for the Pacer defense,
scoring 18 points on eight of 12 shooting from the field. Felton would add two rebounds and three
assists and an important zero in the turnover column; something that is
important because of how well the Pacers play defense. The only problem was Felton was rendered
basically useless in the second half and not because of the Pacers
defense, instead his own team as Carmelo Anthony and J.R. Smith became the
primary ball handlers and Felton fell into the background, taking only four
shots in the second half.
- Iman
Shumpert once is being placed in a difficult matchup but is showing once
again no task is too tall for him to climb. Shumpert was matched up this afternoon
and most likely for a big portion of the series against 6’10” Paul George,
the do-it all small forward for the Pacers. Shumpert is at a distinct size advantage
but holds his own on the defensive end.
Today he held George to five of 14 shooting, five rebounds and four
assists. Shumpert had his struggles
on the offensive end, going four of 11 from the field but realistically he
is on the court and that is what he delivered today; any offense he gives
the Knicks is an added bonus.
- Chris
Copeland only played eight minutes but he showed confidence and deserves
some more run, especially in a series that offense may be hard to come
by. He scored six points in his
time on the court, knocking down two three pointers and also playing some
good defense, causing a turnover on one occasion by Ian Mahinmi. Copeland should have a chance to play
again in Game 2 as Steve Novak back is acting up and Amar’e Stoudemire is
still at least another game away.
-Negatives
- This was a
tough one to watch as a Knicks fan and a reason for that was the
domination of the Knicks in the paint by the Pacers. The Pacers owned the paint,
outrebounding the Knicks 44-30 and outscoring them 46-32 in there as
well. The Knicks had a tough night
competing with the size of the Pacers frontline of Roy Hibbert and David
West and struggled to keep the Pacer’s guards in check as well. The starting backcourt of Lance
Stephenson and George Hill combined for 20 rebounds, 11 more than the
Knicks guards Felton, Pablo Prigioni, J.R. Smith and Jason Kidd combined.
- The offense
for the Knicks was abysmal throughout the afternoon in large part because their
top guys Anthony and Smith struggled so much. The two combined to go 14 of
43 from the field, a number that is too low for the Knicks to overcome
against a team as talented as the Pacers.
On the night the Knicks shot 35 of 81 from the field, good for only
43.2 percent and a decent 36.8 percent from deep, going seven of 19. The Knicks were unable to compete with
the size of the Pacers, as Hibbert and West swatted away plenty of Knicks
attempts near the rim, blocking seven shots combined and causing plenty of
missed shots. The Knicks had
trouble running their pick-and-roll offense as well, resulting in a number
of tough contested jump shots that just did not fall.
- Jason Kidd
went scoreless for the fifth straight game and is finally starting to show
his age on the court. Kidd is not
having the same impact he had earlier in the season, as teams are no
longer even guarding him when the Knicks are on offense, leading to teams
loading up on the likes of Anthony and Smith. Kidd is also being exposed on the
defensive end, especially tonight against the younger explosive Pacer
guards, as Stephenson and Hill blew by Kidd at will. Kidd offered little resistance and threw
the Knicks rotations out of whack as they had to recover for his
inefficiencies. Stephenson put on a
show in his return to Madison Square Garden, a place he has been playing and
dominating at since high school, scoring 11 points in addition to his 13
rebounds, adding three assists and three steals as well. Stephenson is a player that could have
easily been on the other bench in this series, as the Knicks had a chance
to draft him in 2011 with one of their two second round picks but elected
to waste the first on Andy Rautins and elect Landry Fields with the
second.
- Mike
Woodson needs to start abiding by the accountability that he preaches to
his players. Woodson once again had
some questionable rotation decision tonight and will have to break his
stubborn streak if the Knicks want to win this series. He needs to realize that Kidd does not
fit this scheme to beat the Pacers and give run to the likes of Shumpert and
Pablo Prigioni. A coach who is admittedly
bias to veterans should actually use the one who will help in Marcus
Camby. As the Pacers decimated the
Knicks in the paint the defensive minded Camby sat on the bench and
watched idly as Anthony got into foul trouble attempting to guard David West
and Chandler got dominated by Hibbert.
- Chandler
needs to step his game up if the Knicks are to win this series. He started the Celtics series slow so
hopefully he gets it together like he did against them because the Knicks are
going nowhere fast without a productive Chandler. He is the heart and soul of the Knicks
defense and is their anchor; he did not win Defensive Player of the Year
for nothing. Hopefully that
Chandler shows up in Game 2 and the remainder of the playoffs and not the
one we saw tonight, who was beat handily by Hibbert.
