j4remi wrote:It was a win over the Nets and they were missing Jeremy Lin, so let's not get too hype...but there was a lot that I liked about this one after a slow start that looked more confused than lacking effort. The offense took a bit to get going with Rose and Lee really carrying the load early, but Melo and KP took over their roles as first and second options respectively and the offense began to really roll. Defensively, the motion and communication showed improvement but soft closeouts early really hurt these guys with Forwards firing from three. The second half, that improved and the overall defense looked strong but the caveat remains that we were playing the Nets and it needs to be mentioned that there was no answer for Brook Lopez. Time to work on hard post doubles and timing.
Rose: 60% from the field including a made three and second one he hit with a foot on the line. He had 4 assists in just over 20 mins and added a couple of boards too. Rose played well, make no mistake, he's been moving the ball effectively and keeping his dribble more controlled. 14 and 4 in 22 mins is good and Jennings played so well in the second half that we were able to rest Rose plenty which is huge for dude's legs.
Lee: His shot was failing him from outside, but his ability to catch the ball in motion and attack the lane with floaters, lay-ups, kick outs and pull ups made him a really important piece to our early offense. He kept us afloat for a bit. Defensively, he's always reliable but thanks to the Nets heavily favoring big men...it really didn't stand out like it tends to on most nights.
Melo: Didn't shoot for the first half of the first quarter and he had no rhythm early. I think he started 0-5 from the field. But he gained more and more momentum as he went along and while he shot poorly he turned up blocks and rebounds that helped the team anyway. He was solid on defense all night and in the third quarter when the team couldn't buy a bucket...Iso-Melo calmed things down and got us back. I'll keep saying it, Isolations aren't evil as long as you pick your spots. When Bogdanovic is isolated on Melo and the Nets aren't shading help defenders over; Melo can do things like run off 14 points in 5 minutes to destroy a 9 point deficit.
KP: 21, 8, 1 assist to his bestie Willy, 2 blocks, 2 steals...this was the KP we always wanna see. He impacted the game everywhere. He's still struggling to close out to the three point line but when the PG's work to get him open and find him...he's an absolute monster without needing a go-to move. Early on the post up, turn around jumper near the corners looked reliable too. His three point shooting is on another level this year, if he's open it's almost automatic. Honestly, just a really good game from a guy who has looked like a true second option in this recent run.
Noah: 2 points, 7 boards, 4 assists in 20 minutes. Like Rose, he got a nice long break while Willy was going off in the second half. He struggled with Brook mightily but Brook is a tough assignment without help because of his post work. Solid game, not much new to say about him though. His vision as a passer is really impressive for a big.
Jennings: Jennings had a nightmare first half, dribbling off his foot, throwing tough passes to guys with bad hands (Ndour and KOQ) and just struggling everywhere. When he got to play with the offensive bench guys and Melo or KP...he was a new man. His ability use ball handling to open spaces for KP and Willy was a marvel; and his telling Melo "we're going to you, keep shooting" was a floor general move that is easy to overlook. He also has a shark mindset in that when he senses the opponents' falling off mentally, he starts to turn up and jaw at players; clap at 'em; get inside their heads. It's a playground mentality, but it's effective as hell. 11 assists in 27 minutes, he bought Rose a nice break and I love to see a player pick themselves up after getting down in the first half.
Can't Get Right Thomas: He was three for five in 10 minutes plus showed up inside trying to grab boards (awful hands prevent it though). Somehow shooting efficiently and playing pretty hard, he still didn't seem to be helping the situation on the floor much but that's because he can't shoulder the scoring load for a unit with no scorers.
KOQ: Similar to Lance, he didn't play bad but the unit wasn't working. He had some at the rim defense and forced a TO taking a charge and didn't force his offense but the unit just looked bad out there.
Ndour: Same as above, his defense was actually pretty good. He got to where he needed to be on both ends but he also couldn't catch tricky passes from BJ, and I repeat...he was part a unit that simply wasn't working.
Holiday: His worst game so far, came in and immediately took a fairly contested off the dribble jumper that bricked. He wasn't impacting other areas and his 2 shots in 5 minutes both missed the mark.
Sasha: Part of the other second unit, the one that worked. He actually did a good job with on ball full court pressure. He's had a knack for grabbing boards since he got here. He also forced some bad jumpers which always happens with dude. You don't want the ball travelling to his hands much on offense because he gets impatient and just fires off (1-5 from the field). But he wasn't bad, partially because the focus was so heavily on other offensive parts and his defense held up for a change.
Kuz: He's an attacking player period. He only got 4 shots up but whenever he touched the ball, he attacked his man before passing or shooting. He had a beauty of a step back three on Booker. He's not shy about shooting three's, he's comfortable dribbling at cats, his instincts are to get to the rim and he's also willing to post up...defensively he was sound, not good but active and not particularly bad until he slowed down a bit later in his run. He notched two steals and gave good fouls rather than foolish ones on two of the three he picked up. I think the second unit needs an attacker like him.
Willy: And then there was Willy. Dude came out there like he had something to prove. He set good screens, worked hard on boards, looked to pass to cutters and really protect the rims. He knows when the cut and where to cut to on offense which meant a lot of easy looks. His foot speed on D is questionable but he knows where he should be which helps. 14 pts, 6 boards, 2 blocks and a steal in 15 minutes...that's ridiculously productive. The blocks were legit too, he threw one dude's weak floater out to the perimeter and the steal was good hands against a lazy post. He made his case to get a real shot at the back-up C which is saying something because KOQ hasn't been bad; but this kid was really good. Also...his chemistry with KP is fun to watch.
Hornacek: Nicely coached game! When the Knicks got possession with 8 ticks left in the first, he threw KP back out there almost as fast as he'd pulled the kid for a breather. That's a minor thing, but good to see a Knicks coach do it! When the second unit didn't work, he changed it. He started making sure one or two starters were in with the second unit. He also left guys in who were riding momentum; so the two big offseason acquisitions didn't get star minutes but they got the breaks you want to see them get...and the back-ups had a chance to really thrive, build confidence and develop rapport with teammates. Lee says he tore the guys up at half time about defense and it showed in their effort too. So everything worked well as he adjusted and moved forward. The game snowballed from poor play to mediocre to good to great; all off his decisions.
Random: Boston next, they've been without Crowder and Horford which would be nice but I'm not taking that match up for granted. Toronto after that is a TOUGH match-up, they have pieces in the right places to give us fits and have looked great off Derozan going super saiyan to start this season. After that it's the Mavs, who always scare me but seem patchwprk right now off injuries and new additions. For all the rough start and negativity, this team has a real opportunity to be .500 after the first 10 with no preseason where the line-up played together and mostly quality opponents (not necessarily great but most of them weren't gimmes). This next three can turn a worrisome open into a really promising start.
Craziest thing: How about this...Walt criticized the Knicks during a 4 minute or more scoreless drought for OVERPASSING. Rose and Melo were both out there too. I'm not sure what to think of that, it's so rare that we see these guys pass too much instead of the other way around. They actually had good looks most of it too, but bricked or pass 'em up. It was strange but in a weird way, I was okay with that because it felt like the trust is building and they were really trying to play cohesively without sweating their FGA's or forcing their strengths.
Ur analysis is always spot on. I love it.
