KNICKS LOSE IN DALLAS, LOOK TO REBOUND
The Knicks lost a heart-breaker in Dallas for two reasons. One was the awful officiating that charged Melo with two offensive fouls on extremely questionable calls. Additional no-calls when Melo was trying to drive to the rim and granting Chris Kaman a timeout on what was clearly a travel are only a few of many examples of inconsistent refereeing during Wednesday night's match-up. The second reason was their inability to put the Mavs away. They twice had leads of 10 points, but allowed the Mavs to come back with shoddy defense and inept offense at times. The Mavs were given open 3s all night and the Knicks had no ball-movement and continuity on offense. Basketball is a game of runs, and anything can happen on any given night, but the Knicks need to maintain focus when they are winning but the game is not over.
LINSANITY
I gave my take on the decision to let Lin go this off-season.
Lin hasn't been very good this season to say the least. Averaging 10 points and 6 assists per night, and continuing his struggles with turnovers and defense, he has been average at best. It seems that GM Glen Grunwald made the right call to let Lin leave and bring in the veteran tandem of Ray Felton and Jason Kidd. Felton has been great shooting the ball this year, has been solid on defense, and has the trust and respect of Melo to keep the offense flowing. Kidd has been nothing short of spectacular in limited minutes; the impact that his intangibles and experience have given the Knicks cannot be understated.
MELO TIME
I see tonight's game as a huge opportunity for Carmelo Anthony. He came out sluggish on Wednesday, but picked it up after halftime. He was the victim of awful officiating, but almost got the Knicks the win with a solid second half, despite having a poor shooting night overall. Melo has a tough match-up going up against James Harden, but I expect Melo to have plenty of motivation to play great tonight.
Although there has been no public animosity, I get the feeling that Anthony and the other Knicks resent Jeremy Lin. There was a period last year when the public and media felt that Lin was more important than Anthony, an absurd notion given Melo's track record and Lin's blatant deficiencies in his all-around game. He was given all the credit for their success last year and didn't play when it mattered most. Players like JR Smith have come out and said the Ray Felton is a much more dynamic player than Lin. This is all speculation, but if Melo and co. really respected Lin's game, they would have put the pressure on management to re-sign last year's phenom. Carmelo has something to prove after last game's loss and the Jeremy Lin saga.
The Knicks lost a heart-breaker in Dallas for two reasons. One was the awful officiating that charged Melo with two offensive fouls on extremely questionable calls. Additional no-calls when Melo was trying to drive to the rim and granting Chris Kaman a timeout on what was clearly a travel are only a few of many examples of inconsistent refereeing during Wednesday night's match-up. The second reason was their inability to put the Mavs away. They twice had leads of 10 points, but allowed the Mavs to come back with shoddy defense and inept offense at times. The Mavs were given open 3s all night and the Knicks had no ball-movement and continuity on offense. Basketball is a game of runs, and anything can happen on any given night, but the Knicks need to maintain focus when they are winning but the game is not over.
LINSANITY
I gave my take on the decision to let Lin go this off-season.
Lin hasn't been very good this season to say the least. Averaging 10 points and 6 assists per night, and continuing his struggles with turnovers and defense, he has been average at best. It seems that GM Glen Grunwald made the right call to let Lin leave and bring in the veteran tandem of Ray Felton and Jason Kidd. Felton has been great shooting the ball this year, has been solid on defense, and has the trust and respect of Melo to keep the offense flowing. Kidd has been nothing short of spectacular in limited minutes; the impact that his intangibles and experience have given the Knicks cannot be understated.
MELO TIME
I see tonight's game as a huge opportunity for Carmelo Anthony. He came out sluggish on Wednesday, but picked it up after halftime. He was the victim of awful officiating, but almost got the Knicks the win with a solid second half, despite having a poor shooting night overall. Melo has a tough match-up going up against James Harden, but I expect Melo to have plenty of motivation to play great tonight.
Although there has been no public animosity, I get the feeling that Anthony and the other Knicks resent Jeremy Lin. There was a period last year when the public and media felt that Lin was more important than Anthony, an absurd notion given Melo's track record and Lin's blatant deficiencies in his all-around game. He was given all the credit for their success last year and didn't play when it mattered most. Players like JR Smith have come out and said the Ray Felton is a much more dynamic player than Lin. This is all speculation, but if Melo and co. really respected Lin's game, they would have put the pressure on management to re-sign last year's phenom. Carmelo has something to prove after last game's loss and the Jeremy Lin saga.
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