In the biggest game of the year for the Knicks, nobody showed up to play. At the famous Bankers Life Fieldhouse, the Knicks showed up for the game facing a 2-1 deficit. If they lost the game, they would be down 3-1 in a best of season series (meaning, they would have to win the next 3 in order to advance — an occasion so rare that it has happened in less than 5% of all playoff series). In other words, the Knicks were essentially screwed if they lost…and they did.
Throughout the first three games of the series, the only game the Knicks won was the game they won the rebounding battle (game two). In the other two games they lost before game five, they lost this stat. In game two, the Knicks also managed to hit threes at a pace that was consistent with the pace they were hitting them at during the regular season. Anyone who watched the Knicks during the regular season knew the Knicks lived by the three and, as a result, they died bie the three. In other words, when the shot wasn’t falling, it was very likely they were not going to win. In order to win game four and tie the series up 2-2, the Knicks would have to out-rebound the Pacers (thus reducing their second chance points and giving the Knicks more offensive possessions) and hit threes. Oddly enough, aside from doubling on every possession (leading to uncontested threes for the Pacers), the Knicks defense has not been terrible this series.
Game five came and went and NBA fans across the globe saw a team that was unable to make adjustments to their game plan; last night’s game was a repeat of the previous two losses — they were killed on the glass and weren’t hitting threes (credit the Pacers defense which had the best FG% defense throughout the year as well as the best 3 Point % defense). The Knicks were killed on the glass, again, kept doubling players when it was not necessary, continued to take bad shots (hello, JR Smith), continued to miss open shots (everyone on the team not named Carmelo Anthony), and Woodson failed to make changes that had the potential to help his team.
Tyson Chandler, a player who is normally tied to team defense, was recently named to First Team All NBA Defense. Those who have watched him this year know that this was a huge mistake and that he did not deserve to be on the third team, let alone the first. During the regular season, he averaged almost 11 rebounds per game, which is a very solid number. However, against the Pacers, he is averaging 5.5 rebounds per game with only a 9.4% rebounding rate (which estimates the % of rebounds a player grabs while he’s on the floor). If he were to have those numbers throughout an entire season, they would be Rajon Rondo numbers, who is a point guard and is more than a foot shorter than Chandler – Rondo’s numbers would be 8.3% and 4.5 RPG). This is pathetic. My suggestion to Woodson would be to either try Earl Barron a little , a player who has shown he can be a solid rebounder and hit the mid-range jumper when he’s given minutes, give more minutes to Marcus Camby (if he is healthy), or to try Chris Copeland, a player who is willing to be physical with bigger guys in the post as well as have the ability to stretch the floor with his 3-point prowess. During last night’s game, Barron was inactive, Camby didn’t play, and Copeland was put in only when the game was out of reach (and, what do you know…he scored…quickly). If Chandler is not rebounding, Woodson needs to either play someone who will make up for the lack of rebounding with scoring (Copeland), play someone who has always been a fantastic rebounder (Camby), or play someone who has the tools to rebound and score (Barron).
Mike Woodson also needs to stop playing Jason Kidd. Kidd has not only gone scoreless in eight straight games, but he has stopped looking to shoot at all. When a defense knows you are not looking to be agressive, they will sag off of you — which is exactly what the Pacers are doing. Indiana is expecting Kidd to ignore the shot and pass the ball, so they are either rotating to the nearest scorer the second Kidd gets the ball (or they get ready to rotate) or they sag off into the paint, which clogs the middle for cutters. Needless to say, this is a huge problem. On the defensive end, Kidd has not been bad, but is still not making enough of a dent in order to offset the problems he creates for his own team on offense. My suggestion would be to play Pablo Prigioni more — a player who is beloved by Knicks fans for his tenacity, “true” point guard play, and ability to hit the three pointer. Although Kidd’s minutes last night were down, Prigioni’s were not up. When asked after the game why Prigioni did not play more, Woodson said it was his decision, and nothing more. If you ask me, and pretty much every Knicks fan in the country, the verdict on this coaching decision would be the same — it was a terrible one.
JR Smith simply isn’t hitting shots. His playoff numbers have been terrible this year (although, they have been pretty bad very year he has made the playoffs…so maybe this isn’t a surprise to many). He’s missing open jumpers, missing bad jumpers, missing rotations on defense, and has terrible body language (perfect example of this would be after missing the layup in last night’s game, he refused to walk back on defense). If he’s not hitting his shots and is getting lost on defense, why should he play? Half the time he’s on the court it looks as if he’s doesn’t care — and it only looks worse with every missed shot. Shooters, just like quarterbacks, are taught to not let the mistakes (missed shots or interceptions) get into their head — forget about them, and move on. Smith’s missed shots appear to linger in his head, likely affecting his next shot and definitely messing with his effort on defense.
I’m not counting the Knicks out of the series just because this team can get hot quickly. However, for them to come back, they must make adjustments and take it one game at a time. If Chandler isn’t rebounding, play him less; if JR isn’t scoring and is not trying on defense, play him less; if Kidd is doing nothing on defense, play him less. This team has talent behind the top 6-7 players in the rotation. There is no reason for them to not get minutes of the guys above them are playing horribly. If Woodson wants to win the next game, hold players accountable for their poor play / mistakes and make changes!
*A few positives I have seen
– Shumpert has looked pretty solid in his first full playoff run
-Amar’e is looking good in the spot minutes he has been getting. He’s being aggressive on offense, defense (including rotating properly to shooters on the outside as well as manning up against the very physical David West), and has shown energy on the glass — something his teammates have not shown. On top of that, his physical attitude has been nice to see.
-Felton has been scoring nicely. Sure, his assists aren’t very high, but he’s making the smart basketball play. He’s scoring when he needs to, is getting into the paint and using his body to shield the ball from Hibbert, and is passing when he needs to as well. One thing I would like to see more of is him not deferring to Melo.
-Melo has looked okay. He’s been getting good looks, he just has not been making them. Credit Paul George with the defense on the perimeter and Roy Hibbert with the interior presence (although I think Hibbert gets away with too much in the paint). What I would like to see is Melo run the pick and roll more either as the ball handler or as the roll man. During the regular season, Anthony was elite when he was involved in the pick and roll. When he was the lead man in this play, he was 2nd best in the entire NBA (1.09 Points Per Possession); when he was the roll man, he was 4th (1.36 PPP). However, these two plays accounted for only 12% of his total offense. If this play works so well, why not use it? If he’s the roll man, the defense focuses on him leaving shooters open on the perimeter. When he is the lead man, he can get open mid-range jumpers. The pick and roll is one of the simplest basketball plays and one of the hardest to guard. The Knicks need to get their best player involved in it because it has shown in the past to be very effective. *Note : Melo does not have to shoot it every time coming out of the pick and roll — if he has the open shot, he should take it. If not, pass it to an open man when the defense rotates too quickly to Melo / sags off their own guy to watch Melo* When we use too much isolation, the other 4 guys on the court with Anthony become stagnant and do not move — an offense with little movement is always prone for disaster.
-Spencer
Carmelo Anthony Offense; credit MySynergySports.com
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