The New York Knicks didn’t look all that sharp in their preseason home opener last night. After looking very good on Saturday against the Boston Celtics, the Knicks were just “ok” in their loss to the Toronto Raptors. Granted it’s only the preseason and no one is playing their normal amount of minutes, it is a little frustrating to watch your team struggle in any aspect of the game.
Considering the Knicks only scored 76 points, no one truly stood out offensively. Carmelo Anthony was efficient yet again (common theme this preseason) as he had 9 points in 15 minutes on 4-6 shooting (+9). Jose Calderon continues to show why he was brought in to lead this team as he scored 8 points to go along with four rebounds and four assists in 17 minutes. Iman Shumpert lookedvery good in the first half last night, but he seemed to fade in the second half. Shumpert still managed to put up an excellent stat line of 6 points, 3 rebounds, and 6 assists. The team was +14 when he was on the court, the highest of any player on the night.
Quincy Acy is quietly emerging as a legitimate rotation player (if not starter) with his recent play. The young power forward had 5 rebounds and 2 steals to go along with his 4 points, but his presence was felt in all aspects of the game as he was +11 on the night. Observation: Acy was the first Knick in a long time to get a rebound that he wasn’t supposed to get. He goes after the ball like a crazy man instead of waiting for the ball to bounce to him like other Knick players.
Some Highlights…
– J.R. Smith was not himself the first three quarters of the game. He seemed to be very passive and out of sync with the offense. However, Smith took over in the fourth quarter where he made some big shots and virtually played point guard. This is an interesting development to watch as the Knicks have received poor point guard play off the bench. Smith brought the ball up the court as Shane Larkin seemed like he wanted nothing to do with the it.
– Jason Smith finally made his debut! He looked like a solid pick up as well. In 18 minutes, Smith had 6 points and 4 rebounds to go along with some defense. The Knicks seem to have yet another forward to factor into the rotation now, as Jason Smith gives them some mid range shooting and defense.
– Pablo Prigioni gave the Knicks a spark with two steals when he entered the game. The veteran point guard was +3 on the evening, his first positive this preseason. With Larkin collecting another -9, Prigioni may be sliding back into the back up point guard role.
Some Low-Lights…
– Tim Hardaway Jr. was terrible. He couldn’t make a shot from virtually anywhere. Sure he had 9 points, but he really struggled to find the basket last night; 2-12 shooting plus 0-6 from downtown.
– Cleanthony Early is not ready to play NBA basketball. The game seems to be moving too fast for the rookie forward. While he had 7 points and 3 rebounds, Early was virtually useless besides spot up shooting. The second round pick could not put the ball on the floor or defend anyone on the court. To no surprise, Early was -20 on the night.
– Amar’e Stoudemire with another bad night. STAT was a horrific -22 while on the court. His shots weren’t falling again as he was 2-9 from the field for 4 points in 15 minutes. Somehow he had 8 rebounds, but I think the more accurate description was the ball bounced to him 8 times.
– Samuel Dalmbert got bullied a little bit under the hoop by Amir Johnson, which is a little concerning. Even Walt Frazier said Dalembert can’t allow that to happen.
– Shane Larkin was torched by Lou Williams. He couldn’t seem to stay in front of him. This is where Larkin should be an asset to the Knicks (guarding the smaller and quicker point guards), but he really struggled against him last night.
– The Knicks shot a brutal 37.8% from the field for the game. Even worse was their three point shooting: 3-23. Not going to win many games like that.
It’s only the preseason, but the Knicks definitely have some things to work on. They return to action tonight against the Philadelphia 76ers at the Carrier Dome.