Jeremy Lin and Iman Shumpert were already out heading into Game Four at Madison Square Garden. Amar'e Stoudemire suited up (and played well) despite a shredded left hand wrapped in eight thick layers of protective tape and padding (see below). Baron Davis was lost for the playoffs after dislocating his right knee cap during the game, leaving Mike Bibby to run the point. With so much of the roster lost for the year, the Knicks replaced some of their on paper talent with something they've lacked for much of the 2011-12 season - heart. While it may not mean much in the grand scheme of this season, the Knicks refused to go down without a fight when it would have been easy (and perhaps even forgivable) for the team to roll over and give in to a sweep on its home floor.
Stoudemire scrapped his way to a double-double despite a heavily wrapped left hand.
I know that the Miami Heat are a much better team than the Knicks, and I'm pretty sure the Knicks know that too. Despite the Game Four victory, I don't think there's even a 1% chance that New York wins three straight games against Miami to take the series, and I'd bet that a lie detector test on Carmelo Anthony or Tyson Chandler would reveal that, deep down, they don't think it's possible either. Game Four was all about pride, and whether or not the depleted Knicks could look deep down inside of themselves and overcome some adversity. It reminded me of the Knicks teams I loved watching in the '90s, when New York basketball was more about energy, heart and hustle than it was about skill, flash and sizzle.
I'm not expecting much from New York in Game Five - the Knicks will be forced to play in Miami, where they've had zero success this season, and will be starting Bibby at point guard even if Lin can make a miraculous comeback before Wednesday night. If the Knicks are going to have any chance of extending this series to Game Six, however, it won't be because they one-up LeBron, Wade and the rest of the Heat. It will be because, despite all of the obstacles working against them, they bust their you-know-whats and out-hustle, out-work and out-smart a vastly superior Miami team. As a fan of the 2011-12 Knicks, I know that's their best chance at pulling off another shocking upset. As a fan of the Knicks teams of the 1990s, I wouldn't want them to approach Game Five any other way.
4 comments:
Disagree. I think all Game 4 proves is that any team that features Carmelo Anthony as its primary scorer needs him to put up 35+ points on 50%+ shooting (combined with 10+ free throw attempts) to win. He took 29 shots and got to the line 14 times, scored 41 points, and the Knicks won by 2. No one can sustain that level of play for an entire series, which is precisely why Carmelo-led teams have only made it out of the first round a grand total of ONE TIME in his NBA career (b/c he cannot put up those kind of shooting numbers 4/7 times, but he can only exist in an offense designed to let him dominate the ball and chuck up 25 or more shots).
I think you gotta let your hatred of Carmelo go. He single-handedly won the depleted Knicks a game against a team that features two of the top players of the past 20 years, if not of all time. Watch this team regularly and you'll see that, as of now, they have no other scoring options - he's double teamed relentlessly and is covered by arguably the best defender in the NBA. You give Carmelo some support (and NOT a beaten up Amar'e Stoudemire or J.R. "Don't Shoot That!" Smith) and you have a contender. I'm convinced.
You mean, if Carmelo had support in the form of players like Wilson Chandler, Raymond Felton, Danilo Gallianri, and 2 future #1 picks? Because he could have had that kind of support had he not hijacked the Nuggets' 2010-11 season and demanded a trade that purged the Knicks of any valuable assets. You'll note that LeBron didn't force a trade in going to the Heat --- had he forced a trade, the only piece the Heat would have been able to give up to approach LBJ's value would have been Wade. Carmelo could have ridden out last year and signed with the Knicks as a UFA. He chose not to because as a businessman AND a basketball player, he is incredibly selfish and one dimensional.
Also, I MIGHT give the Knicks a pass against the Heat, clearly a better team. However, the only reason the Knicks are playing the Heat is because the Knicks could muster only a 7 seed in the East. Does Carmelo get a free pass for playing like complete garbage throughout the season? A season in which, by the way, the Knicks were better without Carmelo... and a season in which, absent the Jeremy Lin-inspired streak, the Knicks miss the playoffs altogether.
the Knicks lost to the Bobcats for crying out loud!
You cannot win with Carmelo. I don't know if a single team in NBA history has even made the finals, let alone won a championship, with a guy l like Carmelo as its #1 option (perhaps the Sixers w/ Iverson, but that's really it).
Un-athletic wings who don't rebound, play defense, or pass the ball NEVER lead teams to championships.
"You mean, if Carmelo had support in the form of players like Wilson Chandler, Raymond Felton, Danilo Gallianri, and 2 future #1 picks?"
No, that's not what I mean. That team would be terrible, even if it was accurate - Chandler is a role player, Felton is a mediocre PG and Gallinari hasn't developed any non-shooting skills and in chronically injured. I'm talking about a well-rounded team with defensive-minded role players. The Lakers made a dynasty out of Kobe Bryant (a striking similar offensive player to Carmelo, just with more shot attempts) and a) quality big men and b) defensive stoppers. Carmelo has never played with either of those things - Denver's big guys were Marcus Camby and Nene for most of Carmelo's tenure there, and the Knicks have surrounded him with an even less impressive cast.
This idea that Carmelo cost the Knicks something by "forcing a trade there" is insane. First off, they only gave up one first one pick (in 2014, no less), the others were second rounders that net you Josh Harrelson or Andy Rautins. Second, Gallinari has been decent (not great) and injury phone, Felton has been a disaster post-trade (clearly a product of D'Antoni's offensive system, which the Knicks were smart to recognize), and Chandler isn't even in the NBA after he struggled with Denver last year and decided to leave. Mozgov might be a piece, but the Knicks got Tyson Chandler anyway once they got Billups off the books, ad he was their second best guy this year. How was this such a bad trade for New York? The problem has been that the rest of the team (Landry Fields, Baron Davis, J.R. Smith, Mike Bibby, etc.) have done nothing to help Carmelo, and D'Antoni is an awful coach who led them to a 18-24 record. Anyone blaming Carmelo for this season hasn't watched very many Knicks games before this week.
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