Knicks Clippers recap

We can celebrate Knicks fans. For the first time I can remember this season, we were on the winning side of a game that came down to the final seconds. The game came down to the final possession, with a (very lucky) Lee tip in (we will cover this in a bit) and a three point miss by Rasual Butler, someone who hit 39 percent from three last season. Tonight played the opposite of last night, at halftime we were down 16 and came back to win. That is a good feeling Knicks fans, and not one that we can enjoy too often. Some points that I observed from the game.

• Curry did not play tonight. When I watched the post-game interview with D'Antoni, it seemed frustrated with Curry's play. And for good reason. The last 3 games Curry played in, (New Orleans, Charlotte, Chicago) whenever Curry checked in we had the lead and by the time he left we had lost the lead. If I were D'Antoni, until I see in practice that Curry is without a doubt ready to contribute, I would not even play him, because no one is going to trade for him if they see he is still not playing well. I would count on the chance that someone can use Jeffries versatility and trade an expiring for him instead. Looking at tonight, it seems like D'Antoni is doing just that
• Jonathon Bender had a great impact on the team tonight. As soon as he checked into the game he hit a driving layup and hit a three on the next possession. In 14 minutes of play, Bender had 9 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assist and 1 block. Knicks fans, this is a guy who hasn't played a professional game in three years, and on his first game he was altering shots on defense and creating offense. This is a great sign. He is long, athletic, and can run the floor. I mean the guy is a 7 footer who can drive to the hoop, he has skills. If he contributes more of what he did tonight, he could be a valuable player in D'Antoni's system.
  
• D'Antoni seemed more apt to playing his 7th and 8th man more minutes to give his starters more of a breather in this game. Bender played 14 minutes and Tony Douglas played 11. Of the 8 players only David Lee and Wilson Chandler played more than 40 minutes. This was a good sign, as the players had enough energy to make a run down the stretch of the game.
• David Lee, although having a good night offensively with 25 points, got destroyed on defense against center Chris Kaman. In the off-season the team would really benefit from a big man who can defend the paint because teams know the liability Lee is on defense and they take advantage of it night in and night out. How about Marcus Camby Knicks fans?
• In the beginning of the game, Chris Duhon was not playing well on offense, settling for a lot of threes and when he drove to the hoop, he would either pass it off to one of his teammates at the three point line or pass it to Lee on the pick and roll. However in the fourth quarter, we saw Duhon driving to the hoop and making lay-ups. I don't know about you guys but I want to see him do this more often. On a team with players who jack up a lot of a three point shots (that's an understatement) it is refreshing to see someone like Duhon taking it to the hoop, especially with him being a point guard.
  
• If anyone watched the Lee tip-in, they would know that it was a very lucky shot. As happy as I was for getting the win, I am still concerned by the team's overall lack of a go-to scorer. This is why we lose so many close games. We have no guy who we can give the ball to and say "get us two points." Unless Harrington is hot, I don't trust him with the ball at the end of the game. If Gallinari is open, I would trust him with an easy three, but there are few teams who are going to give him any space in a close game and he isn't a guy who can create his own shot yet. David Lee can get an easy two if the team is poor at defending the pick and roll, but most teams have caught on to Duhon and Lee's pick and roll game, and are defending it much better. (Dunleavy just isn't a good coach and did not convey the message to stop the play, hence why Lee got 25 points and Duhon had 10 assists.) As displayed so brilliantly in the Bobcats game, Chandler chokes on the big plays. So there are your options on the final possession. Not so good are they Knicks fans. The team needs that player who they can go to down the stretch. They just don't have it yet.
  

Thats all for now Knicks fans. We play the Bobcats on sunday, hopefully we can redeem ourselves from the game on tuesday.

Check with you later!