New York Knicks: Opening Week Impressions

The NBA’s premiere week has come and gone. there has already been some shockers, Michael Carter-Williams and the 76ers anyone? The expected happened as well. Especially for the New York Knicks.

Everyone expected the Knicks to blow out the Milwaukee Bucks and they did, or at least for three and half quarters. In the first half, the Knicks held the Bucks to 16 turnovers and just 13 baskets. They had a 25-point lead at one, until they let the bucks crawl back. It took a 10-2 run in the waning moments for the Knicks to put the game away. The potential blow out could have allowed precious rest for the New York Knicks’ starters as they had back-to-back games. The latter against conference rivals the Chicago bulls.

“There’s definitely things we can learn, and like I told the guys coming into the locker room, we want to put teams away, especially, you know, you’re going into a back-to-back, so you have an opportunity to rest,” Tyson Chandler said on the matter. “But like I say, at the end of the day, learning experience, and I’d rather learn with a win than a loss.”

In the Knicks’ second game of the season, there was more of the expected. the Knicks kept up with the Chicago Bulls despite the team’s poor field-goal percentage. They put the squeeze on the rusty Derrick rose. Rose shot 7 for 23 and lead the team with 18 points. The Knicks even went on a 12-0 run in the fourth quarter and took the lead with 4:10 remaining in the game. Still, the Knicks came up short. Down the stretch, their offense became stagnant. It turned into the Knicks’ typical isolation offense that rarely succeeds. It is the offense where Anthony takes the shot regardless of what the defense is giving him. Even on the Knicks’ final possession, after coming out of a time out, the Knicks ran an isolation play for Anthony. With roughly five seconds remaining, Anthony got the ball at the three-point line. Instead of taking the ball to the hoop for a higher percentage shot or attempting to draw a foul, Anthony settled for a tough mid-range jumper, which ultimately failed.

“I got the look I wanted,” Anthony said of his last-second shot. Many fans, however, would of liked to seen a better look for Anthony. After the game, Woodson commented on the loss. “We competed tonight. It says a lot for our club. Now I just need to do a better job getting us through down the stretch.”

The Knicks will look to bounce back Sunday as they host the Minnesota Timberwolves.

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