NBA Season 2012/2013

[tim_m]

Its definitely puzzling how awful they can look sometimes. I still believe we can and will beat Indiana. Smith has got to figure it out though. He's been a non factor since the suspension. The Bulls even as they are honest to god scare me holy crap out of me. I actually like our chances better against Miami then them. Not because i think they are better but because of how well their perimeter defense is. They gave our 3 point shooters the absolute fits this season. I think part of the Knicks problem may be Melo's shoulder. He has clearly been laboring the previous few games. Hopefully the 3 days off will give it time to feel well enough that he's more accurate. The defense won us game 2 in that second half it was just insane but defense alone isn't gonna get us past the Indiana. We need our scorers to score.

[tim_m]

Dear Knicks and Pacers the idea of basketball is to score more then your opponent not see who can have the worst shooting for the game. Lets step up the offense in game 4 please cause that was completely ugly.

[faldor]

Dear Knicks and Pacers the idea of basketball is to score more then your opponent not see who can have the worst shooting for the game. Lets step up the offense in game 4 please cause that was completely ugly.

Good old NBA Eastern Conference basketball at its finest. 

[tim_m]

Dear Knicks and Pacers the idea of basketball is to score more then your opponent not see who can have the worst shooting for the game. Lets step up the offense in game 4 please cause that was completely ugly.

Good old NBA Eastern Conference basketball at its finest. 

Yeah and painful to watch. Neither was particularly good defensively it was just poor shooting all around.

[tim_m]

What a pathetic joke the Knicks have become and i blame J.R. Smith almost entirely. From the moment he decided to be a selfish bitch and get suspended then open his fat trap the Knicks have been awful. In his absence then went right back to the isolation crap of let Melo do everything and haven't been able to get back to what made them successful. I wish i could say the Pacers defense is killing us but its not. Its too much isolation, too many bad shots, missing the good ones, missing free throws, terrible defense and awful offensive rebounding. Personally i'd trade Smith for his actions. Also, Martin needs to go for his terrible wear black idea.

[Bodhi]

The Pacers are also playing great D, they have 2 guys that can cover Melo without having to double him and are completely out muscling them on the glass.  The Pacers are built way better than the Knicks when it comes to playoffs.  The style of ball the Knicks played all year has never won a championship.  They can still win this series as 2 of the last 3 potential games are at home, but this is a hell of a hole.  The Heat are going to obliterate anybody they play, but I thought a Knicks/Heat series would be more interesting.

[tim_m]

The Pacers are also playing great D, they have 2 guys that can cover Melo without having to double him and are completely out muscling them on the glass.  The Pacers are built way better than the Knicks when it comes to playoffs.  The style of ball the Knicks played all year has never won a championship.  They can still win this series as 2 of the last 3 potential games are at home, but this is a hell of a hole.  The Heat are going to obliterate anybody they play, but I thought a Knicks/Heat series would be more interesting.

Their D isn't lights out D like the Knicks played in game 2. A lot of it is the Knicks killing themselves. They are just throwing up bad shot after bad shot without moving the ball. That's what they have to do to be successful. They are killing themselves at the line too which was strength. They are missing at least one of every 2. They definitely are getting murdered on the glass though. The Pacers aren't playing bad D but i think its more the Knicks taking just terrible shots.

[GeorgeSteele]

From what I've been seeing, with a few exceptions, I'm not sure that the Knicks are playing much different than they have in the regular season, other than it seems that Indiana and Boston have completely neutralized the Felton/Chandler pick and roll.  But JR and Melo have been doing this routine all year --- they rarely beat their defender and mostly hoist up high-degree-of-difficulty, well-defended shots.  It's a testament to their excellent shooting ability that a respectable percentage of those shots still go in, but with the added intensity and better defense that you see in the playoffs, those percentages always go down a few notches.  Since them 2 take the bulk of the shots in the Knicks' offense, it makes sense that scoring has taken a dive in the playoffs.

Another thing that has hurt the Knicks is not being able to have Novak and Copeland on the floor for extended periods.  Those guys are great 3-pt shooters, so they spread the floor and make it much easier for Felton and Chandler to run the pick and roll.  But the problem is that they are horrible defenders and you can't sacrifice D in the playoffs.

[tim_m]

They have been worse though since game 4 at Boston though when Smith was suspended. Melo and Smith were making better shot selections but something just changed starting with game 4 in Boston. I can't explain what happened but it all turned to shit starting with that game. You're right the pick and roll has disappeared and so has Smith driving to the basket like he had been. He needs to do that to be successful and to draw the defense in to get better looks at the perimeter. I don't know why he's gotten away from that since he came back from suspension in game 4. The lack of Novak and Copeland has hurt too for sure. Novak is a great 3 point shooter. I think Chandler is a better defender then you give him credit for but Felton definitely is not known for his D.

[GeorgeSteele]

^ T, sorry, I actually meant Novak and Copeland were the bad defenders, not Chandler and Felton.

Here's a good article that talks more about the problems the Knicks have had this series:

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nba-ball-dont-lie/j-r-smith-takes-blame-knicks-awful-series-163111519.html

[tim_m]

^ T, sorry, I actually meant Novak and Copeland were the bad defenders, not Chandler and Felton.

Here's a good article that talks more about the problems the Knicks have had this series:

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nba-ball-dont-lie/j-r-smith-takes-blame-knicks-awful-series-163111519.html

Ok, that makes more sense. Getting Novak and Copeland in more in game 5 might not be a bad idea. What do we have to lose? Its win or go home. Hopefully we can get a boost from being at home. Then have to find a way to steal one in Indy. A game 7 in the garden i think would favor us if we get there.

[faldor]

The Pacers are also playing great D, they have 2 guys that can cover Melo without having to double him and are completely out muscling them on the glass.  The Pacers are built way better than the Knicks when it comes to playoffs.  The style of ball the Knicks played all year has never won a championship.  They can still win this series as 2 of the last 3 potential games are at home, but this is a hell of a hole.  The Heat are going to obliterate anybody they play, but I thought a Knicks/Heat series would be more interesting.

Agreed.  I just think the Pacers are a better team than the Knicks, especially for playoff basketball.  I don't see the Knicks coming back and winning 3 straight.  They don't seem to have that in them.  I still don't see any team challenging the Heat.  This could be the least exciting NBA Playoffs in some time when all is said and done.

[Eazy E]

Heat get a few more days off to rest... 45 wins in 48 games!  Wow.

Fo, Fi, Fo, Fo!

[tim_m]

The Pacers are also playing great D, they have 2 guys that can cover Melo without having to double him and are completely out muscling them on the glass.  The Pacers are built way better than the Knicks when it comes to playoffs.  The style of ball the Knicks played all year has never won a championship.  They can still win this series as 2 of the last 3 potential games are at home, but this is a hell of a hole.  The Heat are going to obliterate anybody they play, but I thought a Knicks/Heat series would be more interesting.

Agreed.  I just think the Pacers are a better team than the Knicks, especially for playoff basketball.  I don't see the Knicks coming back and winning 3 straight.  They don't seem to have that in them.  I still don't see any team challenging the Heat.  This could be the least exciting NBA Playoffs in some time when all is said and done.

I still point to that game 4 against the Celtics as where it started to go south with Smith's suspension. They were just rolling we both saw it and agreed. Then he gets suspended then it started to go south and they barely held off the Celtics. They just haven't been able to figure it out since that happened and its completely puzzling. Its frustrating because i know we're better then this capable of playing better then this but for whatever reason aren't the last 7 games. I don't think they are coming back either not unless somehow they manage to figure out what went wrong starting game 4 against the Celtics. They haven't in 6 games since that game 4 so i doubt they will by game 5 of this series. The west looks wide open now with OKC out. I saw that coming without Westbrook they had no chance of getting out of the west. I think Memphis will be the team out there that makes it. If the Knicks can't have a outstanding comeback i give the Pacers little chance against the Heat.

[faldor]

The Pacers are also playing great D, they have 2 guys that can cover Melo without having to double him and are completely out muscling them on the glass.  The Pacers are built way better than the Knicks when it comes to playoffs.  The style of ball the Knicks played all year has never won a championship.  They can still win this series as 2 of the last 3 potential games are at home, but this is a hell of a hole.  The Heat are going to obliterate anybody they play, but I thought a Knicks/Heat series would be more interesting.

Agreed.  I just think the Pacers are a better team than the Knicks, especially for playoff basketball.  I don't see the Knicks coming back and winning 3 straight.  They don't seem to have that in them.  I still don't see any team challenging the Heat.  This could be the least exciting NBA Playoffs in some time when all is said and done.

I still point to that game 4 against the Celtics as where it started to go south with Smith's suspension. They were just rolling we both saw it and agreed. Then he gets suspended then it started to go south and they barely held off the Celtics. They just haven't been able to figure it out since that happened and its completely puzzling. Its frustrating because i know we're better then this capable of playing better then this but for whatever reason aren't the last 7 games. I don't think they are coming back either not unless somehow they manage to figure out what went wrong starting game 4 against the Celtics. They haven't in 6 games since that game 4 so i doubt they will by game 5 of this series.

The Knicks lack playoff experience.  They were bound to face some adversity along the way, so far they haven't handled it very well.  You can win all the regular season games in a row, it doesn't always translate into the post season.  It's a different brand of basketball, a different mindset.  The Knicks aren't there just yet.  Fortunately, or unfortunately, it really doesn't matter.  The Heat are far and away the best team and probably won't break a sweat on the way to a championship this year, and possibly years to come.

[tim_m]

The Pacers are also playing great D, they have 2 guys that can cover Melo without having to double him and are completely out muscling them on the glass.  The Pacers are built way better than the Knicks when it comes to playoffs.  The style of ball the Knicks played all year has never won a championship.  They can still win this series as 2 of the last 3 potential games are at home, but this is a hell of a hole.  The Heat are going to obliterate anybody they play, but I thought a Knicks/Heat series would be more interesting.

Agreed.  I just think the Pacers are a better team than the Knicks, especially for playoff basketball.  I don't see the Knicks coming back and winning 3 straight.  They don't seem to have that in them.  I still don't see any team challenging the Heat.  This could be the least exciting NBA Playoffs in some time when all is said and done.

I still point to that game 4 against the Celtics as where it started to go south with Smith's suspension. They were just rolling we both saw it and agreed. Then he gets suspended then it started to go south and they barely held off the Celtics. They just haven't been able to figure it out since that happened and its completely puzzling. Its frustrating because i know we're better then this capable of playing better then this but for whatever reason aren't the last 7 games. I don't think they are coming back either not unless somehow they manage to figure out what went wrong starting game 4 against the Celtics. They haven't in 6 games since that game 4 so i doubt they will by game 5 of this series.

The Knicks lack playoff experience.  They were bound to face some adversity along the way, so far they haven't handled it very well.  You can win all the regular season games in a row, it doesn't always translate into the post season.  It's a different brand of basketball, a different mindset.  The Knicks aren't there just yet.  Fortunately, or unfortunately, it really doesn't matter.  The Heat are far and away the best team and probably won't break a sweat on the way to a championship this year, and possibly years to come.

And right there is the good news. Like you said they are inexperienced in the playoffs. So this is a great learning experience for them and they'll be better for it. Lessons learned are 1. Don't elbow Jason Terry costing yourself an ejection and suspension derailing your momentum and chemistry. 2. Don't listen to Martin about wearing funeral black. It'll be interesting to see what they look like next year. They have some very old players that i assume won't return.

[tim_m]

Well we might have a series now. If we can steal game 6 in Indiana its hard not to like our chances at home in game 7. But one game at a time. Just find a way to win in Indy. I thought we looked much better tonight. The shooting still wasn't stellar. Copeland was big off the bench but the defense that won us game 2 was back tonight. We need that for two more games.

[tim_m]

Well the Pacers manage to hold on for dear life against the Knicks in game 6. You gotta give the Knicks credit though they kept coming and didn't give up and were very resilient. They will be better for this. Good learning experience. I wanna know who paid off the refs though. Holy phantom calls on the Knicks and one that sealed it for the Pacers. Shumpert didn't touch the guy! At the time it was 99-103. We stop them there and get a quick 2 or 3 who knows how it ends. Refs aren't supposed to determine who wins the game. Just terrible. There was another one on Anthony earlier in the game that i saw.

[Eazy E]

"From Elias: Carmelo Anthony now has 10 NBA seasons under his belt and has yet to make it to the NBA Finals. Anthony's regular-season scoring average of 25 points per game is the second highest all-time among players that played at least 10 seasons and never made it to an NBA Finals."

[faldor]

"From Elias: Carmelo Anthony now has 10 NBA seasons under his belt and has yet to make it to the NBA Finals. Anthony's regular-season scoring average of 25 points per game is the second highest all-time among players that played at least 10 seasons and never made it to an NBA Finals."

He's never made it to the conference finals has he?