New York Knicks Report Card: Grading the Knicks in win over Nets
By Matt Shetler
Finally a win.
Even though it came against a bad Brooklyn Nets team, the New York Knicks will take any win they can get after nine consecutive losses.
Carmelo Anthony had 19 points and 10 rebounds, Iman Shumpert scored a season-high 17 points, and the Knicks ended a nine-game losing streak with 113-83 romp Thursday night in the first meeting of the season between the city rivals.
Dec 5, 2013; Brooklyn, NY, USA; New York Knicks shooting guard Iman Shumpert (21) reacts against the Brooklyn Nets during the third quarter of a game at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports
At least for one night anyway, this Knicks team resembled the Atlantic Division champions of a season ago and not the laughingstocks of the NBA.
With that being said let’s take a look at how the Knicks graded out in this much needed win.
Raymond Felton (13 points, 5-of-9 shooting, 4 assists, 1 rebound, 3 turnovers)
Felton was pretty solid, especially early on. The Knicks scored 30 points in the first quarter and shot over 70 percent from the floor, largely in part to Felton scoring eight points in the first 10 minutes. He cooled down throughout the game but still finished with a nice line. He only had four assists on the night, but played a major role in the ball moving for a change. Grade: B+
Iman Shumpert (17 points, 5-of-8 shooting, 6 rebounds, 2 steals)
Finally we saw a big performance from Shump. With the ball moving for a change, he got some opportunities at the offensive end and capitalized on them. Shumpert came out aggressive and ended up knocking down 5-of-7 shots from behind the arc. He also showed the energy we have become accustomed to seeing from him, something we haven’t seen as of late. Grade: A
Carmelo Anthony (19 points, 8-of-12 shooting, 10 rebounds, 6 assists)
Is it any coincidence that the Knicks won a game without Anthony chucking up 25-plus shots and not passing the ball? Instead Melo deferred to his teammates for a change, often passing out of double teams. Instead of forcing a ton of bad shots, Anthony was a very efficient 8-of-12 from the floor and tacked on six assists, which is something we haven’t seen from him all season. In addition he still is crashing the glass at a high rate, pulling down another 10 rebounds. Grade: A
Kenyon Martin (2 points, 1-of-2 shooting, 1 rebound, 4 assists, 2 steals, 1 block)
Overall it was a quiet night for Martin and he only pulled down one rebound in 25 minutes. But he finished the first half with a game-best plus/minus of plus-14 and finished with a mark of plus-23 in the win. With everyone else going so good, not too much was needed from K-Mart. Grade: C+
Andrea Bargnani (16 points, 7-of-13 shooting, 2 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal, 3 blocks)
Bargnani came out aggressive early and scored nine first-quarter points on 4-of-4 shooting. He started the game with a block of Brook Lopez and a driving slam on Kevin Garnett, which was just the beginning of a productive night. He was ejected later in the game, but Bargnani had a very good night. Grade: A-
J.R. Smith (8 points, 3-of-6 shooting, 3 rebounds, 1 assist)
Similar to what I said about Anthony, is it any coincidence the Knicks won without Smith taking a ton of bad shots? He knocked down a couple of three’s and crossed up Shaun Livingston early in the game. He didn’t have much impact on the game though, which is fine as he didn’t have a negative impact for a change. Grade: C+
Amar’e Stoudemire (11 points, 5-of-6 shooting, 4 rebounds, 1 block)
The Knicks bench got a lot of work late in the game and Stoudemire looked pretty good. He finished the night with 11 points (5-of-6 shooting) and four rebounds and had a nice third quarter working a two-man game with Anthony. Grade: B+
Tim Hardaway Jr. (12 points, 5-of-11 shooting, 1 assist)
It was a solid night for the rookie who added some scoring off the bench and looked really enthusiastic all night long. He only went 2-of-6 from behind the arc, but Hardaway continues to bring energy and production off the Knicks bench. Grade: B
Metta World Peace (3 points, 1-of-1 shooting, 1 rebound, 1 steal)
World Peace played only nine minutes but found a way to be semi-productive while in the game. Grade: C
Pablo Prigioni (5 points, 2-of-2 shooting, 3 assists, 2 steals)
I liked what I saw from Prigioni in his 13 minutes. In the short time he added three dimes and was aggressive defensively. Grade: B
Cole Aldrich, Tour’e Murry and Beno Udrih all saw seven minutes apiece and all contributed in mop up duty. They all receive a C+ grade for the night.