Pogue Mahone wrote:I actually blame the Knicks lost on Doc. He was thoroughly out-coached, imo. Now, you can say he didn't get production from his bench but if something isn't working, you need to adjust, adapt and overcome.
Doc's first mistake was allowing Ray to play the role of playmaker and forcing Rondo off of the ball. It plays to Rondo's weaknesses and it takes the ball out of KG and Pierces hands, as well (they are much better at creating for teammates than Ray Allen.) There is absolutely no offensive continuity when Ray Allen is dribbling around like 2006 Delonte West. The only difference between West and Ray is that West would play hot potato with Wally Sczcurvy-yack for 14+ seconds before inevitably going left to find Ryan Gomes for a contested 18-foot baseline jumper.
His second mistake was playing Big Burger Davis in the first half against Al Harrington. Scalabrine, for all his faults, is a very good defender against the Harrington-types. To wit, Harrington went 8-12 (20 pts on 12 scoring opportunities) and 5 rebounds in the first half (no match-ups vs Scalabrine.) In the 2nd half, against Scalabrine, Harrington went 1-7 (5 pts on 8 scoring opportunities) and 1 defensive rebound (off of a 25-foot Chuck Connors-esque heave by Tony Allen.) That anyone complained about Scalabrine's play is beyond me.
Doc's third mistake was not establishing Perkins down low. Sure, Perkins is mechanical but he is also highly efficient. Not one Knick who played (they only used 7 players) could have consistently dealt with Perkins strength on the box. Perkins is also a very adapt passer from the block. Doubles would have inevitably come and wide open shots were there for the taking. Perkins was the mismatch of the night and Doc elected to try to match-up instead of exploit the mismatch. And it wasn't for the lack of opportunity, either. Perkins played close to 29 MP.
This loss is all on Doc.
I agree with just about everything you just said. Especially of the defense that Scal played. Doc did get out coached in a bad way.
