By Jay Kaplan, OTSL Analyst
For those of you who weren't following my in-game updates on Facebook, here are my quarter by quarter posts for the Knicks debuts of Carmelo Anthony and Chauncey Billups, plus my finally analysis.
FIRST QUARTER:
My take on the First Quarter of the 'Melo era: he and Billups will adjust, but it will take a while before they figure out/learn where to be on the floor. The Knicks starting 5 will be solid every game, but they have practically no depth. Walsh needs to make another deal to get some size. Either way, the Knicks are in trouble if the key cogs in the 2nd unit are Bill Walker and Shawne Williams.
SECOND QUARTER:
Ragged Second Quarter. 'Melo seems to be pressing. The Knicks weren't a good rebounding team before the trade, tonight they seem even worse. When one of the worst shooting teams in the NBA and THE worst scoring team in the NBA is shooting like this against you, that's bad. This is downside of the trade - a bad defense got worse. Brewer and Balkman (who actually can defend perimeter scorers) will rarely play because they have ZERO offensive skills.
HALFTIME NOTES:
Proof that the Knicks new Three Musketeers will need a few games to find some chemistry: they shot a combined 9-26 from the floor. Proof that stars find ways to score even when they don't have their A-
Game: they shot a combined 12-13 from the line.
THIRD QUARTER:
Low scoring Third Quarter. 'Melo forcing it a bit. Billups needs to jack up bricks from beyond the arc less and take it to the cup more. (Billups is a great post-up guard, D'Antoni needs to work that into the 1/2 court sets) STAT taking too many 15-18 foot jumpshots. Fields needs more touches. Defense needs to close out on shooters: Bucks are 9-18 from three and keep the Bucks off the Offensive Boards (they have 11). Douglas has been best Knick tonight: 9-10 FG, 20 points in 18 minutes.
FOURTH QUARTER:
Knicks go almost exclusively with a small lineup to some succes (Amare at the 5, Anthony at the 4, Fields at the 3 with Billups and Toney at the Guards). Amare fouling out hurt. His 5th foul was an ill-advised foray to the hole that resulted in a charge. Help Defense is STILL non-existent. Melo with two HUGE scores late (11points in Quarter). Billups still taking ill-advised 3's, but always clutch at the stripe to ice the game (team goes 12-12 on FT's in 4th). An ugly win to be sure, but a win nonetheless.
FINAL ANALYSIS:
Overall, I give the team a B for their first game with Anthony and Billups. Amare seemed a little out of sorts. Only 19 points - well be low his 26 per game average - and only 13 FGA's. Billups shot selection was questionable (4-12; 1-6 from 3), but as always he was automatic from the line (12-12). Overall, 21 points, 6 rebounds and 8 assists (against only 2 turnovers) is a solid game from the Knicks new PG. Anthony was a little erratic through the first 3 quarters, but he came up big in the 4th scoring 11 of his 27 in the final stanza. 10-25 isn't a great shooting night, but the 10 rebounds is nice for a team that doesn't rebound well.
The Defense gets a D- (the only reason it's not an F is because they won). Allowing the NBA's lowest scoring team and one of its worst scoring teams to get 108 points and shoot 11-23 from downtown is terrible, but to allow them 13 offensive rebounds just adds insult to injury. A performance like this against the Milwaukees and Clevelands (the Knicks next opponent) of the league can still result in a win (as we saw tonight), but it will SO NOT fly against a team like the Heat who the Knicks will face on Sunday.
Finally tonight, A+ to Toney Douglas, without whom the Knicks SURELY would have lost. Douglas went 10-12 from the field (3-5 from beyond the arc) scoring 23 points in 29 minutes. Douglas figures to get at least five more minutes per game with Billups now the starting Point Guard. Raymond Felton was averaging 38 minutes per game, Billups will likely average the 33 he played tonight. Billups, unlike Felton, can guard some 2-Guards, so chances are good you'll see Billups and Douglas playing side by side more often as the season goes on. The Knicks small unit (Billups, Douglas, Fields, Anthony and Stoudemire) played well together tonight and could be a nice option against teams without height or that aren't physical.
The newcomers will be learning the Knicks offense on the fly as there isn't going to be much practice time to integrate them, but Anthony and Billups are smart, veteran players who will adapt quickly. It will take at least 10 games for everyone to get comfortable playing together, but it will happen.
That said, no matter how well the offense improves with Billups and Anthony riding shotgun with Amare, until and unless this team acquires some height, some usable depth and a defensive identity they are still a one and done as far as the postseason goes.
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