Game Recap: Knicks Top Sixers 84-77

In their first back-to-back of the season, the New York Knicks did not seem to be affected. Since they were playing the 76ers, they built what was virtually an insurmountable lead of 12 points after the first quarter. The Knicks never really turned back after that.

No Michael Carter-Williams or Thad Young on this Philadelphia team leads to a pretty bad group of players. The one promising player is Nerlens Noel. After sitting out last year with a torn ACL, the young center impressed last night with a double-double of 12 points and 11 rebounds. If Joel Embiid recovers well from his foot injury, Philadelphia could have a very good front court for years to come.

Carmelo Anthony looked right at home as he had 17 points and 7 rebounds in his preseason high 27 minutes of action. Outside of Melo, let’s take a look at some of The Good, The Bad, and Other Observations.

The Good:

• The 76ers are awful – so it allowed for the Knicks to have a game that was more like a practice. Nice to have some automatic wins in the division.
• Ball movement was crazy – everyone is touching the ball – passing is getting better as guys develop chemistry
• Knicks are playing D – yes, it’s the 76ers and I’m not sure if they would be competitive in the D-League, but the Knicks’ defense looks like everyone is actually trying, which is a departure from the last decade of Knick teams.
• Starters were the same as last 3 games and got a fair amount of time together.
• Iman Shumpert looks better and more relaxed – making aggressive moves to the hoop, looks like he’s confident and happy to be out of Woodson’s ISO world.
• Samuel Dalembert is also very confident and is showing he has at least some offensive game. Alters shots on D and doesn’t stray too far from the hoop on D. The fact that he can pass from the high post is a surprise. He had an outstanding back door bounce pass to Iman Shumpert last night.
• Jose Calderon was less aggressive on offense, but it might have been a conscious effort to get the ball to Melo – especially since the game was played at Syracuse.
• Melo didn’t shoot well in the first half, forced a few shots, but looked smoother in the 2nd. Calderon went out of his way to get him the ball, especially in the 3rd quarter.
• Quincy Acy is a little mechanical on offense – forced some passes that are “supposed to be there”, but are not – still, he’s a beast on the glass.
• Tim Hardaway Jr. shot well, and didn’t force anything, much better than the previous night.
• Jason Smith might be a better starting option than Acy – adds a little more scoring punch and seems to already have a feel for the triangle – more so than the other big guys. He is more of a threat on offense than Acy and is OK defensively.
• Shane Larkin played much better than he has in any game. Still not sure if that’s enough to find real PT.
• Andrea Bargnani didn’t play!!!

The Bad:

• That starting 5 is missing some offense and got off to another very slow start. Either Acy or Shumpert has to get moved to the 2nd unit, probably Acy. When Amar’e, Smith and Smith came in, they started scoring.
• J.R. Smith is slow to catch on at this point. Could be he’s thinking too much, not hitting shots, and its affecting his game. Made a few mistakes on D, and it’s actually funny that something like that is noticeable – because the Knicks are ACTUALLY PLAYING D.
• Amar’e Stoudemire had his moments, is definitely healthier than he’s been in a couple years (this was a back-to-back and he showed no athletic problems), but like J.R., he’s missing and every once in a while wants to hold the ball and go ISO. Unlike J.R., Amar’e’s D has been unexpectedly solid and is rebounding well too.
• Cleanthony Early is in way over his head and isn’t going to play at all. He sat the first 44 minutes, played the last 4. The first 3 times he touched the ball – picked up his dribble and passed to no one, caught a pass standing out of bounds (both feet – almost impossible), and missed a wide open 3.
• Bargnani might be back for the next game.

Other:

• Pablo Prigioni didn’t play – Looks like Larkin will be the back up, but J.R. could be a better back-up PG than Larkin.
• Cole Aldrich and Travis Outlaw didn’t play – looks like they will be wearing suits to games, hopefully with Bargnani.
• Knicks ran less than the other games, but when they did, they looked good.
• They still turn the ball over way too much (21), especially against a terrible team.

With Game 4 in the wraps, the Knicks have a long break before they get back into action. They don’t play until next Monday (10/20), so I’m sure Derek Fisher will take advantage of the practice time to address some of the issues. Other than that, the Knicks are 2-2 and seeming to gel a little bit better.