The New York Knicks almost have an identity.

It is there.

We all know it works, but at certain times, head coach Mike Woodson, all the way to the players, don’t fully accept it.

Play Carmelo Anthony at the four, surround him with two knock down catch-and-shoot three point shooters, and a penetrating point guard who can run pick and roll.  From the center position, you need a low usage player, who is a threat when he dives to the basket.  He needs to be able to cover up for some of the defensive flaws in the group.

The formula works; it has for large chunks across two seasons.

This idea, this fact, does make for an awkward situation.  It wasn’t supposed to be this way.

New York’s blueprint was to be a high-powered offensive machine built around Amar’e Stoudemire and Anthony.  They got the good offense thing down, but the problem is Stoudemire doesn’t have anything to do with it.

In 2011, STAT was replaced by a combo of Melo, Jared Jeffries and Steve Novak.  He wasn’t missed one bit.

In 2012, STAT was replaced by Melo, Chris Copeland and Steve Novak.  His contributions were, once again, not needed.

Amare’s inability to stay healthy creates more problems than are needed.  It’s a pain the ass to integrate him into the rotation and adjust schemes to cover up his flaws defensively.  The annoying process has taken place multiple times over the course of the last two seasons for a variety of reasons.

STAT makes Mike Woodson’s job harder.  Woodson seemed to struggle with rotational decisions most when Stoudemire was around or trying to keep the rotation in order in accordance with his return.  It puts him in a tough situation with high salary player, who believes he is more important than he actually is.

I think it’s best for both parties, the Knicks organization and Amar’e, if they part ways.  Stoudemire is an inhabitant to the Knicks truly, 100%, getting behind what makes this team its best.

I don’t think a trade is possible.

New York needs to buyout the final two years of his contract, if James Dolan is willing to spend the cash.

Dolan over the years has paid Stephon Marbury, Steve Francis, Eddy Curry and many others to do nothing, so why not continue the tradition.

It won’t create any additional cap space, but buying out Stoudemire would open up an additional roster spot to fill with a player that fits within the framework of the team better.  Glen Grunwald found Chris Copeland, Pablo Prigioni & Kenyon Martin on cheap, affordable contracts.  It gives him one more space to look for value in a variety of different areas.

If Stoudemire were to stay healthy (a ridiculous idea, but just in case) it would be even more difficult than it was this season.  The scenario needs to be avoided.

There is more than enough evidence that shows the Knicks are a better team when Stoudemire is not around.  The issues he brings isn’t worth the value of having his expiring contract around two seasons from now.  New York has the opportunity to be very good again next if they accept who they are and don’t stray from it.

The Knicks lost to the Pacers 106-99 and their season is over as the Pacers are headed to the East Conference Finals.

There is so much to talk about with this game, especially considering it is the last game of the season. Not really sure where to start here. The Knicks pretty much played the horrible defense the entire game against a bad offensive team, no more epitomized by Lance Stephenson’s 25 points. I don’t recall him making a single outside shot; pretty much every point were on wide open layups where the Knicks were completely unaware or just not guarding him. The Pacers got to the line a lot. I thought the Pacers were shooting like 50% from the line because of how many free throws they missed but it turned out they took 44 free throws. There was some bad calls tonight that certainly shouldn’t be made in a game of this magnitude, but the Knicks are a three point shooting team playing a physical team and shouldn’t expect to get most of the calls on the road.

The Knicks made this game interesting in the third quarter with great shooting by Iman Shumpert (16 in the 3rd) and Carmelo Anthony (15 in the quarter). After not falling for the whole playoffs, the threes finally went down. Maybe it had something to do with more Prigioni and Copeland (more on that later). Melo was sensational offensively through three quarters with 35 points. I would be lying if I told you I wasn’t sure the Knicks were going to win when Chris Copeland hit a three to give the Knicks a three point lead. Suddenly, unfortunately, the Pacers beared down and the Knicks stopped running an offense. Shump sat way too long in the 4th and Woodson let Melo handle the ball way too much and it resulted in turnovers and missed shots. The turning point in my opinion was the Roy Hibbert block on Melo which was great. I can’t say enough about Hibbert in this game. Absolutely dominant in the post and on the boards. He made Tyson Chandler look like a d-league player.

I can’t even begin to explain what happened to Tyson Chandler. He completely disappeared in the playoffs and got physically abused throughout. After all the big men the Knicks had at the start of the year, the only one that was healthy and playing decently well in the end was Kenyon Martin who wasn’t even on the team until the deadline. I kept trying to dismiss Chandler’s performance as him being injured but damn was that bad. I honestly wonder if Chandler will be moved this offseason. Not because I’m a prisoner of the moment, but because he is the only real asset the Knicks have.

I really can’t decide whether Chandler was more disappointing than JR Smith though. That may have been the worst contract push in the history of the NBA. Just when everyone decided he was going to get paid, JR just throws up terrible game after terrible game. He didn’t discriminate: he hit good shots and bad, let taller players score over him and quicker players score on cuts, and was equally passive on loose balls and the boards. At this time last year I said the Knicks could never retain JR and there was no way I wanted him back. I honestly have no idea now what JR will get on the open market. I doubt know how a team could trust him enough to pay him big money, but hey Andris Biedrins makes like 9 million a year so you never know in this league.

JR Smith’s play wouldn’t have been so crippling if Mike Woodson wasn’t so dead set on playing him 35 minutes. What does he have to do for Woodson to take him out? Mike Woodson’s rotations were just horrible the entire series and it was no different tonight. Jason Kidd honestly should not have played the last 3 games. He is done and the only reason he will come back next year is to cash a check. Amar’e Stoudemire honestly should not have come back either. I am a Stoudemire supporter and think he can be a helpful piece, but now is not the time to experiment with rotations. Woodson should have played the players that earned minutes in April the minutes they deserved and this series could have been different. The three pointers fell significantly more with Chris Copeland and Pablo Prigioni on the floor. Woodson will get another chance next year and rightly so, but he has been an awful playoff coach in his Knicks tenure.

That’s all I got. It will certainly be a long and interesting offseason, because it’s the Knicks and things always get interesting. I have my concerns about whether the Knicks can top this season, but all things considered they met their expectations. They didn’t exactly “win now” but they accomplished some great things. See you’ll in July.

The Indians Pacers stick to what works, while the New York Knicks are experimenting on the fly.  It’s the middle of March and Head Coach Mike Woodson wants to see what is going to work come playoff time.

Wait a second, no, that doesn’t work; it’s actually Game Four of the Eastern Conference semifinals.

Think about how much easier it is to play pick up basketball when you go to the court with people you play with all the time.   There is more of a comfort level vs. playing with people you never have before.   If your five is being opposed by a five of similar talent, but they don’t know each other, the team who is familiar will most likely win.

The metaphor is a little extreme because there are differences.  In pick-up ball, it’s literally playing with people you never played with before and know nothing about, while NBA teammates should understand each other’s tendencies.

The continuity Frank Vogel has achieved with his team throughout the season and playoffs is still a distinct advantage in my view.

George Hill, Lance Stephenson, Paul George, David West and Roy Hibbert have played 209 minutes together in the playoffs and 1218 minutes together in regular season.

Those five played 17 minutes in Tuesday’s game, which is down from the 20.9 mins they’re averaging per game across the playoffs.  They weren’t really needed.

Vogel only used nine lineups total – two more for eight minutes apiece, one for six minutes and five between one and three mins.

On the other hand, we have what Woody decided to do.

New York’s most used playoff lineups before tonight were Tyson, Melo, Shump, Prigs, Ray, who played 98 minutes at a +12 net rating and Tyson Melo, Iman, JR and Ray racking up 64 minutes with a +23 net rtg.  Those two groups played a combined two minutes in Game Four.   The ratings for those two were in the negative against the Pacers across the series (need to show both sides and why Woodson probably went away from what he was trying earlier in the series).

The two lineups Woodson played the most had combined for three total minutes during the regular season.  New York used 16 different lineups the entire game.  11 and 10 mins were the top two, followed by a group that played seven minutes and 13 were on the court for between three and one minutes.

To be fair, the lineup of Felton, J.R., Melo, K-Mart and Tyson were a +6 in 10 mins.  I’ve been screaming at only one big, I fully admit that, but if you see something is going well during the game let it ride for a little.  The +6 was all accumulated in seven minutes during the first half.

I accept the Pacers were the better team no matter what lineups the goateed man decided to use.  Their defense was going to eventually win this series, but it shouldn’t have been as easy as it’s been.  The Knicks are a better team than this.

There might only be one game left and I plead for Woodson to play the style of lineups that helped his team play at an extremely high level for large chunks of the season (I’m past the point of begging for Copeland or Melo to play center cause its not happening).

It could very well bring the same results as what we saw in Game Four– Indiana has proven they could expose those groups during this series as well.

Play Tyson or K-Mart at center, Melo at the four, and Felton at the point for at minimum 30 minutes in Game Five.

Fill the rotation out with significant run for Shumpert (if knee ok), Smith, Prigs and Copeland.

If New York is going to miraculously win three games in a row, they need J.R. to produce.  They have no choice, but to stick with him.  Shumpert can’t play 40 minutes and you need length on the wing.  Smith has to play.

I’m going to give Woodson a little leeway on playing Kidd, but not as much as he is and never at the one.  I can deal with 8-10 minutes.

Stoudemire shouldn’t play.  Amar’e was a useful player during the regular season, his offense was terrific, but this isn’t the time.  Woodson has to balance placating STAT’s ego and the good of the team; it’s a ridiculously difficult situation.  It has to be done though, the season is on the line and Amar’e is no longer important enough to give a crap about his feelings to such an extreme.

That is essentially the best the Knicks can put on the court.  If you prefer Steve Novak to get some run or use more intelligent Amar’e based lineup for three to four minutes a half I understand your thinking.

The basic core of what the Knicks should be doing on Thursday is what has made them good all season.

The adjustments failed.  Give what worked for so long one more shot.

As soon as I begin to converse with you, the fans of New York, news comes across that the Knicks’ orthopedist is flying in from New York City to examine the swelling on Iman Shumpert’s surgically-repaired left knee that flared up three days ago. I really do not know what to assume of this. My optimism tells me that it is a deep contusion, or a minor sprain, but I really am not counting on any shumping tonight, and I say that with a deep sadness.

The Knicks are in a pickle up front. With Shump most likely a no go (my gut feeling), and JR Smith ailing from a flu, a stomach virus, and Rihanna, the one advantage in this series for the Knicks has essentially flipped over to Indiana. There’s no telling what Mike Woodson will resort to tonight, he may just have to suit up Dave Hopla to run off screens and hit some three pointers. Seriously, though, these holes need to be mended for at least one game before the series heads back to New York, hopefully knotted up at two games apiece. Tonight will be a true “gut check,” as Carmelo Anthony called it, and the Knicks can either fight, or retreat with their tails between their legs and begin to find open slots for tee-time.

Woah, wait, let’s take a step back, and breathe.

Usually, I’m not one to view the glass half empty. I will never throw in the towel; and that’s just my tough-gritted New York attitude I was raised with. The Knicks do have a legitimate chance of winning this game tonight, crippled roster or not. It can, should, and ultimately must be done.

Carmelo Anthony was really criticized for not taking enough shots in game three, only 16. I know, the microscope of New Yorker’s is as brutal as a mean little boy pointing a magnifying glass at tiny little ants and watching the shrivel. Anthony knows what it’s going to take tonight, and rightfully so, he’s responded with telling us he will be more aggressive and look for his shot. Soon after, Tyson Chandler was very critical, and said the Knicks need to move the ball more and worry less about one man (Carmelo Anthony cough cough). I am just curious to where Tyson thinks the offense is going to come from. Unless he knows something about his former champion teammate Jason Kidd putting in extra hours behind the three-point line, please, inform us.

That being said, Woodson agreeably said he would cut Kidd’s minutes if his offense continues to diminish. As Woody twiddles his thumbs and ponders where he can find some sort of inside-out threat who can hit an open three pointer and take some pressure off Carmelo, I’ll let everyone know Chris Copeland is still sitting on the bench, waiting… Yearning.

Copeland is only a piece of this puzzle that is game four. If he does not get a chance tonight to implement some offense, I don’t think he’s getting out of the doghouse the rest of the season. His defense can’t really be that horrid, that his sweet stroke has to ride the pine every night, even with the situation we are in tonight, bodies down everywhere.

So, let’s see where we are, rotation wise. Shump most likely (once again, my gut) sitting this one out, I don’t even think JR knows what to expect from JR, and Kidd could see less minutes if he doesn’t produce early. That opens up three rotation slots, maybe about 50 minutes total. Out of that 50, Carmelo will most likely see a raise in a few minutes, and so will Felton, regardless of his play, the back line is just shortened. Then we look down the bench and see Novak, Copeland, and yes, Quentin Richardson. Out of these three, figure Copeland and Novak will see the court tonight, just hopefully not at the same time (defensive suicide). But If Woody really wants to continue his small ball, Copeland will help to spread the floor and pull whoever is guarding him out of the paint, and the same goes for Novak. The Pacer’s front line tonight will need to be adjusted to, heedlessly of who it is, because they have dominated two out of three games this series.

Lets hope there can be some generation of offense from those guys, and Amar’e Stoudemire, who can give the Knicks’ 15 hard minutes. Even if it is without scoring, help grab some rebounds, give us some second chance opportunities. Knicks’ fans appreciate the little things.

If Mike Woodson decides to rock the boat a little tonight, I hope he shuffles the starting lineup. Go Big, or go home. How figurative and literal is that for you? I would go with Prigioni, Felton, Anthony, Martin, and Chandler. Bolster your front line, prevent Anthony from being beat up, and grab some rebounds, please. Also, it would be great to see Pablo be the soul orchestrator while Felton can run off some baseline screens for open shots on the baseline. He’s been very effective at this throughout the season, and for sure it would open up his entire game from the get go, making the defense honor his jump shot and giving him the ability to take it to the hole and create. And that’s really how the Knicks win tonight, rebounding, grit, and scoring. The blueprint seems simple, but it’s going to take a team effort on the offensive end to win, and guys must hit shots. We’ll see where we are in 24 hours.

Photo by Brian Spurlock, USA TODAY Sports

An anemic offensive performance by the New York Knicks, coupled with a supreme defensive effort by the Indiana Pacers gave Indiana a controlling 2-1 series lead with a Game 4 still to be played on their home court. For most of the game, the Knicks and Pacers dangled in a middle ground, the score close enough for New York to make a run and make it competitive, the Pacers nearing blowout territory. However, neither ever really materialized. New York was able to grind out possessions, occasionally forcing turnovers or getting stops, and occasionally able to put in consecutive buckets. (As obvious from the score, the Knicks didn’t put together many strings of consecutive baskets). However, when the Knicks got within striking distance, it seemed the Pacers had an answer every time.

First Quarter

The first quarter more or less set the standard for the game. The Pacers came swingin’ out of their corner, knocking down open threes on slow rotations from the Knicks to quickly take a 9-2 lead. New York responded, however, with some fight from Tyson Chandler underneath the basket, and the smoothest offensive attack we’ve seen from Carmelo Anthony, other than that fourth quarter explosion in Game 2. ‘Melo forced his way inside for fouls, or otherwise bullied Paul George to the basket for some short jumpers. Around the halfway point, though, both offenses fell off a cliff, forcing the defenses to take center stage like these were the Knicks-Pacers playoff battles of the ’90s yesteryear.

The Pacers struggled to score baskets as they are wont to do; part of that credit goes to intensified Knicks’ defense. On the other end, New York’s offensive struggles were pushed along by a terribly inefficient grouping of Jason Kidd, J.R. Smith, Carmelo Anthony, Kenyon Martin, and Tyson Chandler. The big lineup clustered the floor, especially with Smith and Kidd’s inability to flip a coin into a fountain. With 4:20 remaining in the quarter, Chandler converted a layup. From then on, the Knicks didn’t score until Anthony hit a jumper with 20 seconds remaining. They trailed Indiana 15-18 after one.

Second Quarter

The second quarter was highlight by New York turnovers and an immense struggle on the boards. Amar’e Stoudemire played for the first time since March 7, beginning the quarter paired with Martin and Smith in the front-court, Prigioni and Kidd in the back-court. Right off the bat, the Pacers’ size and aggression on the glass fueled an early surge that put them up by seven. The Knicks held their own, though, finding their only offensive success in the pick-and-roll, as Prigioni drove the lane and twice hit Martin and Stoudemire off drop-off passes for dunks. No ground was gained, though, and Woodson ditched the lineup experiment after a few minutes.

Interestingly, the Knicks tried out some zone defense for a little while, and it worked in forcing the Pacers into some missed shots due to their lack of consistent perimeter threats. Unfortunately, it seemed the zone also thwarted the Knicks’ rebounding efforts. Even once they went away from the zone, Roy Hibbert, David West, and the Pacers guards just pulverized the Knicks on the boards, snagging eight offensive rebounds in the quarter. And given the way Indiana’s defense was functioning, denying dribble penetration and closing on the Knicks hard on the perimeter, New York couldn’t afford to give away extra possessions.

The Knicks’ offense flowed more smoothly than the first quarter, as a combination of Anthony jumpers, a few tough baskets from Smith, and a generous amount of free throws kept the Knicks in the game. A solid close to the quarter, highlighted by Anthony’s pass out of a double-team to Martin for a layup brought New York within three – Pacers led 36-33 at halftime.

Third Quarter

After closing the first half strong (“strong” meaning a 9-2 run), the Knicks failed to capitalize on any momentum. Though they got solid contributions from ‘Melo who continued to post and toast Paul George, and from some aggressive Shumpert drives, the Knicks had no answer for Roy Hibbert and the attention he commands down low. The Pacers grabbed three more offensive rebounds – an obvious improvement from earlier quarters – but Hibbert’s size alone granted him some smooth jumphooks on post-ups or defensive attention that opened up shots for the Pacers. Indiana isn’t the best three-point shooting team, but they hit 10 in Game 3 and three in the third quarter, all of which came at seemingly critical times.

The Knicks’ offense stalled once again when the looks stopped dropping for Anthony and Shumpert. After they both hit two shots early in the quarter, they both began misfiring as time went on. Felton, who wasn’t to be found all night, also forced some iffy looks off the pick-and-roll and saw a dip in playing time. Surprisingly, Stoudemire was able to give the Knicks a small boost before the quarter ended, tipping in a missed layup from Smith, and later hitting a pull-up three-pointer to beat the buzzer. The Knicks trailed by nine at the end of the quarter.

Fourth Quarter

Photo by AP Photo/Darron Cummings

The aforementioned theme of the game hanging in the balance of blowout and competitive enveloped the fourth quarter. Anthony continued on a stretch in which he missed seven straight shots, unable to score other than through free throws. Felton teased us with an aggressive and-one drive for a layup, but did little else thereafter. Shumpert was unable to carry the Knicks (not that he should be asked to), J.R. Smith couldn’t conjure any feverish magic.

The Pacers continued bullying the Knicks down low and hitting three-pointers when left open. The Knicks didn’t help their cause at all by continuing to turn the ball over – especially Kidd who had back-to-back turnovers that turned an eight-point Pacers lead into a 13-point Pacers lead. The Knicks just couldn’t muster a comeback, and eventually succumbed, waving the white flag and pulling their starters.

Notes

- Part of the reason for the Knicks’ success is that they maximize possessions by rarely giving them away. They were first in the league in turnovers during the regular season. Tonight, they had 15, and often at inopportune moments.

- The other foundation to the Knicks’ success has been shooting the three-pointer (and making it at a good percentage). Tonight, the Knicks were just 3-11. Some of that was aggressive Pacer defense, closing out hard on shooters to force them into contested looks for inefficient mid-range shots. Other times, the Knicks have to be willing to pull the trigger. Shumpert, given room by West, has to punish him by just launching in West’s eyeballs and making a few, even if it’s not always the best look.

- Felton missed practice the other day due to a personal issue. It’s worth pondering if it had anything to do with his poor, quiet performance in Game 3.

- Amar’e Stoudemire played just shy of 9 minutes, and posted 7 points on 3-8 shooting, with 2 rebounds. He didn’t register a +/- for the game, which is a nice baby step. Hopefully some of his forced, arrhythmic post looks will come in better rhythm and timing as the series goes on.

- Jason Kidd hasn’t scored a basket since Game 2 of the Boston series. Yet he plays 20 minutes tonight, and registers a -16. That’s misleading, and he did provide 6 rebounds, 2 assists, and 2 steals, but his on-court worth is not greater than Prigioni who played just 23 minutes tonight.

The Knicks now have off until Tuesday night. A win gives them back homecourt advantage and evens up the series. Honestly, I have positive feelings about Game 4.

“The Knicks are Back”

When Amare made that bold proclamation in June 2010, Knicks fans welcomed his optimism, but doubted the validity of his statement. “That’s cute,” some said, “and we hope it works out, we really do. Let’s not kid ourselves here – it probably wont. But hey, as long as you dont screw up our pitch for Lebron, welcome to the Garden!”

In an ironic twist of fate, a very similar statement, involving the very same New York Knickberbocker has garnered a very similar reaction: “Amare’s Back.”

Oh Boy.

“We hope it works out, we really do. Lets not kid ourselves here. It probably wont. But hey, as long as you dont screw up the team chemistry and the renewed commitment to defense, welcome back!”

We want to believe Amare can help. His unwavering desire to return again and again from devastating injuries warms the hearts of a generally heartless fan base.  He’s  But there is a pervasive feeling of doubt that eats away at those who have seen this team win many Amare-less games.  Indeed,  #1 is not even #4 on this team.

You don’t need me to delve into the basketball-related pro’s and cons of his return.  Who will he take minutes from? He can’t play defense. He’s going to destroy team chemistry. He’s not 100%. He’s a dynamic inside scorer. They need another body… the list goes on.

I’m not here to take a side. I can be swayed either way. I have every reason to believe it will be a disaster. Every reason to believe it won’t. I just don’t know.

But I do know one thing.

This is Amare’s moment.

The Knicks are on their deepest playoff run since Sprewell and Jeff Van Gundy ruled the Garden.  They have their star in Melo, they have their center, their wingmen, their enforcer, the necessary veterans and wryly point guards.  On paper, the team is loaded.  For all intents and purposes, Amare was right- the Knicks are back.  Later today, Amare will finally have his chance to exist in his own prophecy.  Here’s to hoping Amare is at long last vindicated. (Just dont screw it up!)

Photo by Jim McIsaac

What went somewhat overlooked, however, was the brilliance of Pablo Prigioni during the run. From the last 30 seconds of the third quarter to the 1:24 mark of the fourth quarter, a span of over 11 minutes, Prigioni racked up 8 points on 3-3 shooting, grabbed 4 rebounds, dished 3 assists, and collected 1 blocked shot. It was this 11 minute stretch that made up for the majority of his totals of 21 minutes, 10 points, 4 rebounds, and 4 assists. And no turnovers, either.

Furthermore, it all happened when Prigioni helmed the offense by himself, with Raymond Felton and Jason Kidd on the bench. A few months ago during the grind of the regular season, it would’ve been unfathomable to imagine Woodson giving Prigioni minutes as the only point guard on the floor in anything less than a 20-point game. No one could’ve foreseen such a scenario happening in the playoffs.

But Tuesday’s game is just a primary example of what’s become a trend in this postseason: the Knicks are better with Prigioni on the floor.

His overall stats are up across the board:

• Regular season: 16.2 mpg, 3.5 ppg, 45.5% FG, 39.6% 3FG, 1.8 rpg, 3.0 apg, 0.9 spg, 1.1 TO
• Playoffs: 22.1 mpg, 5.7 ppg, 43.8% FG, 47.6% 3FG, 2.3 rpg, 3.1 apg, 1.7 spg, 0.7 TO

Even with those increased numbers (besides for overall FG%), his stats may not blow most people away. However, his advanced stats tell the tale of his on-court worth for the Knicks this postseason.

According to NBA.com/Stats, with Prigioni on the floor, the Knicks have their highest Offensive Rating (points per 100 possessions) and their best Defensive Rating (points allowed per 100 possessions). When the point guard is on the floor, the Knicks’ Offensive Rating (OffRtg) is 109.4, while their Defensive Rating (DefRtg) is 85.4 This makes Prigioni’s Net Rating (NetRtg) on the floor 24.0, the highest of any Knick receiving regular minutes. (Only James White has a higher NetRtg, and he’s played just nine minutes all playoffs, thus making his stats easily inflatable). With Prigioni off the floor, the Knicks’ OffRtg and DefRtg fall to 94.2 and 98.2, respectively, meaning, basically, the Knicks are losing when Pablo isn’t playing.

The numbers are impressive in other areas as well. According to NBA.com/Stats, the Knicks’ Rebound % (available rebounds collected when a player is on the floor) is at its highest when Prigioni is playing. It’s tough to pinpoint why this is, but it could possibly be from Prigioni’s aggressiveness in going after boards, or perhaps sound box-outs on fellow guards. It could also be that each of the five Knicks’ starters have the five highest Reb% of any regular rotation players, meaning those five as a group rebound the best.

Photo by Greg M. Cooper-USA TODAY Sports

When Prigioni is on the floor, the Knicks have an assist-turnover ratio of 1.77, best on the team. The Knicks’ better ball movement and decision-making may also lead to a higher True Shooting % (shooting percentage adjusted for the value of free throws and 3-point field goals). When Pablo is playing, the Knicks’ TS% is 55.5% – once again, the best on the team.

It’s impressive for a rookie to come to the NBA and adjust so well to a time when so many young, inexperienced players crumble under the pressure of the playoffs. However, given Prigioni’s experience playing in Europe and Argentina on major stages (Euroleague championships, Olympics, and World Championships), it’s not too surprising that Pablo is excelling at a time when many of the Knicks’ top guns are playing below their usual level.

The combination of Prigioni’s heady passing, careful ball-handling, efficienct shooting, and sound defense and rebounding have made him an indispensable part of the Knicks’ rotation. Mike Woodson would be smart to look at Pablo’s team-leading stats and give him some of the minutes going to less effective players.

Much has been made of the downward spiral of JR Smith in these playoffs. Fortunately for the Knicks, there has been a corresponding upward trend by Iman Shumpert. As the saying goes, “When one door closes, another door gets dunked on by Iman Shumpert.”

Let’s start with Smith. Much like the Knicks themselves, JR started the playoffs pretty strong. In the first three games against the Celtics, he was 7-19, 7-15 and 6-12 from the field. While 43% isn’t amazing, it’s actually better than the 42% JR shot during the regular season. Then came the elbow, the ejection, the suspension, the trash talk and finally, the slide. Since his suspension Smith has shot 3-14, 5-13, 4-15 and 3-15 for an abysmal 26%. Not surprisingly, New York went 3-0 with the hotter JR and has gone 2-3 since (including the suspension game).

Yet, there is cause for hope even if Smith can’t pull out of his funk immediately. That hope is the rising play of Iman Shumpert. In the first three games when the Knicks were bulldozing Boston, their top three scorers in each game were Smith, Raymond Felton and Carmelo Anthony and they took and made the bulk of the shots for New York. Shumpert’s role was as a defensive stopper who occasionally spotted up for a three. In those three games he went 1-2, 2-6 and 1-5 from the field. He also never played more than 22 minutes in any of those three games.

The thing that Felton, Smith and Anthony have in common is that they can create their own shot either from the perimeter or by attacking the basket off the dribble. Most of the rest of New York’s scoring comes from spot up shooting off the catch or the occasional alley-oop dunk by a big man. When Smith was suspended, New York found itself without a key component of their offense. Among other things, Coach Mike Woodson likes to keep three guards on the floor at all times and Smith had been giving him 30 minutes a game that now needed to be funneled elsewhere.

Since Shumpert’s offensive skillset most closely resembles Smith’s (of Woodson’s options), and he had been playing so few minutes, I suggested to Posting and Toasting’s Seth Rosenthal that Shumpert would see a major spike in playing time. Sure enough, Shumpert’s minutes doubled, as he went 44 minutes in game four against the Celtics. As required, he was much more aggressive on the offensive end, taking 13 shots instead of his usual four or five. Though he only made five of them and the Knicks lost, Woodson’s show of faith in Shumpert has reaped rewards as the playoffs have progressed. Even with the return of Smith, Shumpert has continued to see increased minutes: 29, 38, 33 and 29. This has been accompanied by greater aggression and greater success on the offensive end. Iman has shot 4-7, 6-9, 4-11 and 7-11 in those games. After taking just four shots a game in the first three clashes with Boston, Shumpert has averaged 10 shots a game since, while hitting on 51% of those shots.

Shumpert’s most recent effort would seem the most promising and will be one the Pacers need to account for as the series continues. In that game, Shumpert went 6-8 from two-point range. This was the first playoff game which Iman made more than three shots from inside the arc and hopefully this is a sign that Shumpert is finally becoming confident attacking the basket again after a very slow and gradual return from his ACL surgery. Though at least he was finding ways to help his team on the court during the time he was rebuilding his confidence after the doctors cleared him (mandatory jab at Derrick Rose of the hated/feared Bulls).

Given that it has taken Shumpert over 50 games to perform at this level after coming back from his injury, I hope New York fans have very low expectations should Amare Stoudemire return to the court this Saturday. As we saw from STAT earlier this season, even he doesn’t play like an all-star for the first several games after a long absence due to injury. Given the size of Indiana’s frontline and the Knicks inability to find a big man that can score when Melo is on the bench, even a 60% STAT might be pretty helpful at this point though.

Since New York just beat the Pacers by 26, while Smith was shooting 3-15 and STAT was in street clothes, I really like New York’s chances in this series. Charles Barkley and his predictions otherwise and statement that Indiana is just a better team be darned. We’ll see Chuck, we’ll see… If Shumpert stays aggressive and keeps giving the Knicks another solid option on the offensive side of the floor (to go with his incredible efforts on the defensive end), then I think Indiana is in quite a bit of trouble.

I had just texted my friend, “They’re better than us. Doesn’t mean we can’t win, but it’s true.”

I had come to the acceptance the Knicks were going to lose the series.  New York was trailing 64-62 towards the end of the third quarter after George Hill drained a three.  The Pacers were up by two after being down by seven, just about seven minutes earlier.   Carmelo Anthony misses a three, David West grabs the rebound and Indiana heads up court.

A lead that felt like it should have been more at halftime completely disappeared and I had gone into full-blown panic mode.  As all of this is happening…

*Whistle Blows*

First instinct – When did the Pacers hired Ben Howland?

Second instinct –  I’m not really sure what the hell is going on here, but Frank Vogel is a really good coach and there has to be a reason for it.

New York was faltering, there didn’t seem like a logical reason to stop the flow of the game.

For an explanation from Vogel’s perspective, the only reasoning I could come up with was the Pacers’ two previous side out of bounds plays resulted in two dunks — a post up for Davis West, who hit a cutting Lance Stephenson for a dunk, plus a gorgeous lob to Paul George directly from the inbounds.   Indiana’s head coach was confident in his ability to out scheme Mike Woodson after a timeout.

As weird as the timeout decision was, what surprised me even more was a four-five combination of David West and Jeff Pendergraph.

After the game, I went to see if the lineup of West, Pendergraph, Paul George, Lance Stephenson and George Hill had any track record.  According to NBA.com, that group of five, in 26 minutes of regular season play, had 144 ORtg and a 80.7 DRtg.  The small sample size off success didn’t carry over and off the Knicks went.

Carmelo Anthony immediately finished at the rim twice in a row and next thing I knew he was flinging shots left and right that were going through the orange circular object, instead of just being in the vicinity.

Other important developments occurred like the continued positive play of Pablo Prigioni, Iman Shumpert making an impact I couldn’t even dream of him having, Kenyon Martin finishing with his left hand, consistently kind of becoming a thing, and J.R. Smith showing some strides towards being a basketball player again, but none were more important than Melo.

The Knicks’ LeBron James unanimous MVP stealing star made an appearance in the playoffs for the longest stretch yet.

Will Anthony go back to his brick shooting ways or was this the beginning of a binge scoring streak is a question we do not yet know the answer to.

Much like the J.R. Smith elbow “changing” the Boston series, if Melo gets hot this Vogel timeout will be remembered as a momentum altering decision.

I don’t believe that is fair, just like I didn’t believe the Jason Terry incident told the story of what happened verses the Celtics.

I do believe those two Melo buckets against Indiana jump started his Game Two and was a big reason New York evened up the series at one.  Momentum can only go so far and from one game to the next is not something I believe in.

Vogel miscalculated either trusting the small sample size of numbers from the regular season or his instinct of playing the group was wrong.  It jump-started the Knicks to one win and nothing more.