Detroit Pistons vs. New York Knicks: Postgame grades following 5th straight win
By Matt Shetler
The New York Knicks made it five wins in a row Monday night, defeating the Detroit Pistons 99-85, jumping out to a big 26-point lead early on.
Things have gone well for the Knicks as of late as they performed well at both ends of the court for long stretches at a time.
The Pistons made it closer than this game should have been and scored 62 points in the paint, but the Knicks made 14-of-34 three-point attempts, including 10-of-20 to begin the game.
As the Knicks continue to roll, let’s take a look at how they graded out against the Pistons.
Raymond Felton (4 points, 2-of-5 shooting, 9 assists, 5 rebounds, 2 steals)
It was another solid game for Felton, who controlled the pace of the game very nicely and didn’t force things too much. He has improved defensively the past four games and made things tough on Pistons’ point guard Brandon Knight, who made only 2-of-10 shots from the floor. His nine assists gave him eight or more assists in five consecutive games. Anyone doubting the impact that Felton has on this team is being proven wrong on a nightly basis. Grade: A-
Jason Kidd (3 points, 1-of-7 shooting, 3 assists, 2 rebounds)
Feb 4, 2013; New York, NY, USA; New York Knicks small forward Carmelo Anthony (7) drives the pane during the fourth quarter against the Detroit Pistons at Madison Square Garden. Knicks won 99-85. Mandatory Credit: Anthony Gruppuso-USA TODAY Sports
Kidd hasn’t been great the past few weeks and despite being all over the floor early on, he didn’t do much in this one. Grade: C
Iman Shumpert (8 points, 2-of-3 shooting, 2 rebounds, 2 assists)
Shump’s minutes are still limited, but he looked good in his 17 minutes and he played his usual solid defense which was a big part of the win. Grade: B
Carmelo Anthony (27 points, 10-of-17 shooting, 7 rebounds, 3 assists)
Anthony did whatever he wanted to for most of the night, due large in part to having Kyle Singler guarding him, which was a gift from the Pistons. He led the team in scoring and was efficient from the field. It was a solid all-around day except for another high turnover number (four). Grade: A-
Tyson Chandler (8 points, 4-of-9 shooting, 20 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal, 1 block)
Chandler grabbed 20 rebounds for a third consecutive game and made Greg Monroe a non-factor for most of the night. It has been an outstanding stretch of play for the first-time All-Star. Grade: A+
Amar’e Stoudemire (20 points, 8-of-14 shooting, 3 rebounds, 2 steals, 1 block)
Stoudemire looks more and more like the STAT of old, scoring 20 points in 28 minutes. He looks explosive and it is no coincidence that the Knicks recent streak has come with impressive performances from Stoudemire. Grade: A
Steve Novak (6 points, 2-of-5 shooting, 2 rebounds)
It’s been hard for Novak to turn in consistent back-to-back performances as of late. He did knock down a couple of three’s but needs to do more in 20 minutes of playing time. Grade: C+
Pablo Prigioni (3 points, 1-of-1 shooting, 1 assist)
Not Prigioni’s best night although that he wasn’t bad. He is at his best when he is getting teammates involved and that didn’t happen on Monday with only one assist. Grade: C
J.R. Smith (16 points, 5-of-15 shooting, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal)
Smith chucked up an insane amount of three’s again (13). He did make five of those, but he had a fourth quarter that was reminiscent of the Smith of old, throwing up brick after brick, often taking bad shots and playing out of control. It wasn’t his best all-around effort, but he was productive. Grade: C+
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