Knicks Crush Blazers in Mike Woodson's 1st Game as Head Coach

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The New York Knicks beat the Portland Trail Blazers 121-79 today at home after Mike D'Antoni stepped down as head coach of the team earlier in the day.

In Mike Woodson's first game as interim head coach of the struggling and inconsistent Knicks, they beat the Blazers by 42 points in a huge victory.

Play-by-play isn't necessary for this game. This game was all Knicks from the start and they didn't look back. Portland played an all-around awful game while New York clicked on all cylinders.

J.R. Smith was the game's leading scorer. He heated up in the second half and finished with 23 points and seven 3-pointers off the bench. That being said, he was 8-18 from the field, which isn't overly great.

Carmelo Anthony and Amar'e Stoudemire both played well. They only played 25 minutes each, but made their minutes count. Melo had 16 points and 7 assists, while Amar'e scored 17 points and grabbed 8 rebounds.

Jeremy Lin started and had 6 points and 6 assists, while Baron Davis scored 4 points and dished out 10 assists. Lin had 6 turnovers and Davis only had one. I wouldn't be surprised if Woodson starts Davis over Lin in the next game.

Thirteen Knicks played tonight. Woodson gave a lot of minutes to players off the bench. Steve Novak scored a season-high 20 points and made six 3-pointers. Iman Shumpert scored 16 points and dished out 3 assists. Jared Jeffries came back from a knee injury and finished with 4 points and 4 rebounds. Even Mike Bibby and Jerome Jordan got some minutes! Bibby had 4 assists and 2 rebounds and Jordan had 2 points and 2 rebounds. Woodson played every player on the team that was in uniform. I would have liked to see Toney Douglas play, but he was inactive.

Player of the Game: Mike Woodson (He's not a player, but you know what I mean)

What does this game mean for the Knicks? I don't think it means too much because it was only one game. The Knicks beating their opponent by 42 in their first game without D'Antoni as head coach may not be a coincidence, but time will tell. That being said, Woodson made a statement by coaching the Knicks to victory and I expect things to start going better for the Knicks from here on out.

What does this mean about a possible trade before the deadline tomorrow? I don't think the Knicks will make a move. They already have their hands full with having a new head coach and they're coming off an incredible victory. However, if they can find a team that wants Bill Walker, they should trade him.

(Photo Courtesy: Yahoo! Sports - "NBA: Portland at New York - Mar 14, 2012" http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/games/2012031418/gallery;_ylt=AszT.r4E2TV0.2H02BGzDk.PvLYF)

Have any thoughts on the Knicks beating the Blazers? Should the Knicks have fired Mike D'Antoni? Will the Knicks still make a trade before the trade deadline? Leave a comment below and tell me what you think.

Bibby, Douglas, & Jordan Buried on Bench

The Knicks are currently on a six game losing streak. While there's a lot of uncertainty about the team, one thing is clear: You can't blame Mike Bibby, Toney Douglas, or Jerome Jordan.

Why not? Because they didn't play in any of those games. None of them have seen any action since February. None of them are injured either. If you watch Knicks games on TV like I do, you can see them every once in a while sitting on the bench or standing in the huddle with their warmups on.

Let's take a look at each of these players and see what they bring to the table:

Mike Bibby: 21 games, 13.9 minutes per game (2.8 ppg, 1.4 apg, 1.4 rpg)

The last time Bibby played was on February 15th in a win against the Kings. However, ever since then, he hasn't seen a second of playing time. If Bibby doesn't play tomorrow against the Blazers, he will officially have gone a month without playing, even though he is perfectly healthy. It's not like the Knicks are doing well without him either. The Knicks won five games in a row in February while Bibby was playing, but since then they are 3-9 while he's been benched. He signed with the Knicks for the veteran's minimum before the season started in the hopes of getting a ring, but the Knicks are losing and he isn't playing.

Toney Douglas: 26 games, 20.8 minutes per game (7.6 ppg, 2.2 apg, 2.0 rpg)

As the '11-'12 season started, a lot of weight was on Toney Douglas' back. He was going to be the starting point guard for the Knicks. The Knicks won their first game of the season while Douglas started and put up a solid stat line (19 points, 4 assists). However, things gradually went downhill as Douglas struggled to run the offense and the Knicks started to lose regularly. As this was happening, his name started floating around in trade rumors and fans cried for the debut of Baron Davis or a trade for Steve Nash. After a rough game (0 points, 0 rebounds, 0 assists, 3 turnovers, 0-5 field goals) against the Wizards, he was replaced in the starting lineup by Iman Shumpert. Douglas played in the first 25 games of the season for the Knicks, put has only played in one game since then.

Jerome Jordan: 13 games, 4.7 minutes per game (1.5 ppg, 1.2 rpg, 0.2 rpg)

Jordan was one of three rookies signed in the offseason by the Knicks. I saw him play in his debut in a loss against the Warriors (that he wasn't to blame for). He put up 4 points and 2 rebounds in five and a half minutes of play. I remember thinking that he looked talented and could really contribute. However, he has been given only sporadic playing time and has been in and out of the D-League. The most minutes he's played in a game this season was 10 minutes in a win against the Kings. Mike D'Antoni gave Jeremy Lin consistent playing time and we all know how well that worked out. Give Tyson Chandler a break and give Jordan a chance to shine. I'm ready for some Jeromesanity!

I think that D'Antoni should switch things up and give these guys some playing time. When he did it with Lin, we went on a 7-game winning streak. When he did it with Steve Novak, he shot the lights out from three and has ever since. Bibby, Douglas, and Jordan are all capable of helping teams win.
-Bibby helped lead the Kings to the Western Conference Finals in 2002 (That was 10 years ago, but it still counts).
-Douglas scored 30 points in a win against the Bulls and dished out 10 assists to go along with 18 points in a win against the Grizzlies (Both of those games were last season, but they still count).
-Jordan led Tulsa to the 2008 CBI Championship and was named MVP of the tournament (This happened while he was in college, but it still counts).

If there is someone on the Knicks who does need to get benched, it's J.R. Smith. He's been very inconsistent and doesn't seem to be helping the team.

(Photo Courtesy: ESPN NBA - http://espn.go.com/nba/players)
References: http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/players

Have any thoughts on Mike Bibby, Toney Douglas, and Jerome Jordan not receiving any playing time? Do they belong in the rotation? Leave a comment below and tell me what you think.

Bulls Beat Knicks 104-99

The New York Knicks lost to the Chicago Bulls tonight on the road 104-99 and have lost their 6th straight game.

New York scored the first basket of the game, but the Bulls developed an early lead before the Knicks went on an 11-0 run to go up 16-12. After a 3-pointer by Steve Novak, the first quarter ended with the Knicks up 25-23.

The Knicks and the Bulls continued to go head-to-head with each other in the 2nd quarter. A dunk in transition by Landry Fields put the Knicks up 37-32 midway through the quarter. A pair of free throws by Jimmy Butler tied the game up 38-38 and a pair of free throws by Jeremy Lin tied the game up 44-44. The Knicks led 50-48 at halftime. At the half, Tyson Chandler led the Knicks in scoring with 11 and Derrick Rose led the Bulls with 13.

Ronnie Brewer scored the first points of the second half and tied the game at 50 apiece. A three-point play by Amar'e Stoudemire put New York up 55-54. The lead changed a few more times before the 3rd quarter ended with the Bulls up 79-78.

A dunk by Rose put Chicago up 91-84 midway through the 4th quarter. A jumpshot by Stoudemire and two free throws by Lin cut the lead to 3. The Bulls went up 99-90 with under a minute left and won the game 104-99.

Player of the Game: Derrick Rose (32 points, 7 assists, 6 rebounds)

Though the Knicks lost and have lost six in a row, there are some definite positives to take away from this game. First off, all of the starters for the Knicks played fairly well. Chandler had 13 and 10 and Fields scored 12. Melo and Amar'e both scored at least 20 and Lin had 15 points and 8 assists. Also, considering that they were coming off a 5-game losing streak and facing the best team in the East, they fought hard and gave the Bulls a run for their money.

However, there are some obvious negatives from the game. J.R. Smith didn't help the team at all while he was on the floor and committed two bad turnovers. Novak only hit one 3-pointer on four attempts and was contained well by Chicago's defense. Josh Harrellson wasn't able to help out much and was mostly ineffective in nine minutes of play. Lin tried the best he could at guarding Rose, but he was unable to contain Rose. Late in the game, Melo took a few shots that he shouldn't have taken when Amar'e should've been taking shots.

The Knicks play the Portland Trail Blazers next on Wednesday at home.

(Photo Courtesy: "NBA: New York at Chicago - Mar 12, 2012" - http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/games/2012031204/gallery/im:urn:newsml:sports.yahoo,ap:20050301:nba,photo,ap-201203122037742440059:1)

Have any thoughts on the Knicks losing to the Bulls in Chicago? Leave a comment below and tell me what you think.

Knicks Lose to Celtics in OT 115-111

The New York Knicks lost to the Boston Celtics on the road today 115-111.

The Knicks started out hot and scored the first 5 points of the game, but then let the Celtics score 12 in a row before a 3-pointer by Baron Davis. The Knicks regained the lead later in the quarter and a dunk by J.R. Smith put New York up 24-21. The first quarter ended with the Knicks leading by 2.

New York pulled away in the second quarter as the Celts struggled from the field and ended the first half with a 56-51 lead.

The Celtics bounced back in the 2nd half and developed a 15-point lead in the 3rd. The quarter ended with the Knicks down by 8.

The Knicks came back in the 4th quarter. A monster jam by Iman Shumpert cut the lead to 4 before a technical foul was called on him. With 2:07 left in the 4th, Jeremy Lin hit a 3-pointer and cut the lead to 1. Paul Pierce and Carmelo Anthony dueled for the rest of regulation and Melo missed an off-balance jumper at the buzzer after a game-tying 3-pointer by Pierce.

The Celtics outplayed the Knicks in overtime and jumped out to a 5-point lead. The Knicks were unable to cut the deficit enough and lost 115-111.

Rajon Rondo had a great game. He finished with 18 points, 17 rebounds, and 20 assists. Paul Pierce also had a great game and scored 34 points.

Melo led the Knicks in scoring with 25 points. Tyson Chandler and Amar'e Stoudemire also chipped in (Chandler had 8 points and 14 rebounds, Stoudemire had 16 points and 13 rebounds). Off the bench, Baron Davis had 8 points and a team-high 7 assists while Iman Shumpert and Steve Novak each scored 14 points. Lin struggled and finished with 14 points, 5 assists, and 6 turnovers.

Adding to a statistic I mentioned last article, the Knicks are 6-1 when Lin leads the team in scoring and are 6-9 when Melo leads the team in scoring. The Knicks are 2-0 when either Steve Novak or Landry Fields leads the team in scoring.

The Knicks play their next game on Tuesday against the Dallas Mavericks.

(Photo Courtesy: Yahoo! Sports "NBA: New York at Boston - Mar 4, 2012" http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/games/2012030402/gallery/im:urn:newsml:sports.yahoo,ap:20050301:nba,photo,ap-201203041525555263110:1)

Have any thoughts on the Knicks losing to the Celtics on the road? Leave a comment below and tell me what you think.