The return of Knicks basketball was like that hot cup of cocoa you sip on after all the presents have been opened on a snowy Christmas morning. Except this cup of cocoa is actually cocoa and not Marbury-brand vinegar or Isiah's morning urination. This first victory was the marshmellows.
Mr. Sub Starting Lineup
PG-Raymond Felton
SG-Landry Fields
SF-Danilo Gallinari
PF-Amar'e Stoudemire
C-Timofey Mosgov
Actual Game Notes:
-Mosgov showed flashes of his quickness here and there, but his brief time on the floor was mostly characterized by fouls, getting boxed out, and looking generally confused. He's a long term project, so I won't fault him for Game 1 troubles. But he's got to find a way to go 5 minutes with getting 2 quick personals.
-The Nate Robinson role agrees with Wilson Chandler. Chandler had a team-high 22 points coming off the bench, and scored effectively from both the perimeter and at the basket. The good thing about Mosgov hacking everything that moves is Chandler replacing him in the lineup and instantly increasing the speed on the D'antonimeter. He led a great second unit effort that was the difference in the game.
-Felton didn't shoot that well, but it was so refreshing to see a point guard that enhances the speed of D'antoni's system insteading of strapping a Winebago to it (I'm looking at you Duhon).
-Amar'e played ok with a 19-10, but also had 9 turnovers. That's not going to fly against most other non-dinosaur teams. Same for Danilo, who got his points but didn't shoot all that effectively.
-Ronny Turiaf was solid tonight, including a nice bounding whale rebound and putback. There were points tonight where it looked like Bill Walker forgot how to dribble.
-Overall, a pretty solid opening. Some things definitely need improvement, such as beefing up a nonexistent interior defense, but they'll get there.
Drink the cocoa, eat the marshmellows.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment