(9-3) KNICKS 121 -100 PISTONS (3-11)
The NY Knicks proved me right about Friday’s game being a “Doosie”. NY came in today strong and dominant, knocking off that “chip” they had on their shoulders. Woodson was instilling his words to “Take pride in guarding your man”. They heard and executed what he preached. There was neither sloppiness nor giving up 30 points in a quarter in today’s game. Not to mention 6 Bockers had double doubles, 3 off the bench. Knicks are 5-0 at home this year.
Although J.R Smith is the 6th man on the squad, he played like the starter he always tends to resemble. I foresee the 6th man of the year trophy heading his direction this year. Smith had 15 pts, 10 rebounds, 5 assists, 1 steal, and only 1 turnover. His rebounding shows that he’s not just a scorer that some may think. Novak said of Smith: “He’s an unbelievable passer, one of the best in the game, scoring as well”. I believe he is getting into the right mind-set. No more silly distractions. This was his best performance of the year.
The Knicks dagger today was their 3-pointers. They shot 17-33. The last one was from She-ed who after draining a deep one gave a sarcastic grin to his former teammates bench. She-ed scored a season high of 15 points to go along with great defensive plays. Novak finally made his discount double check move this season. He came away with 5 threes in the game. Camby made his way on the court for a few minutes in the 2nd quarter, and showed he’s still capable of playing quality minutes. From my point of view, they should put Camby in before Thomas. I said it before today’s game and I will say continue to do so. Defense is what the Knicks lacked most Friday against the Rockets. Not today, causing 20 turnovers and scoring 33 points off the turnovers with great transition play.
When asked about losing his temper with the refs lately, Carmelo Anthony said, “ I got to do a better job at not getting so frustrated”. Melo did receive some questionable fouls today but he remained cool, calm, and collective. It worked out: scoring 29 points (4 from downtown). Assistant head coach Herb Williams called Melo at half time “energetic”. Carmelo was all over the floor today, hitting from the perimeter and down low. Melo commented on NY’s last two games saying: “It’s not about losses as much as how you bounce back”.
Today the Knicks bounced backed in stride. With the Knicks playing tomorrow it was great that Woodson was able to take out his starters in the fourth to rest. They face the Nets tomorrow in Brooklyn for a New York showdown. A game that was to be played a couple of weeks ago, but due to Hurricane Sandy was pushed to tomorrow. I do not think many NY sports fans will be changing their remote to watch the Monday Night Football Game.
