April 29, 2013
Tough one to swallow. But the good thing for the Knicks is we still have commanding 3-1 series lead, and they're going back home for Game 5.
Today, the Knicks lacked J.R Smith, and Carmelo Anthony not being able to get the clutch shot. Smith not in Game 4, probably made Anthony press and do too much. And Anthony had 36 points in this game and it didn't feel like he did; part of that was because he couldn't get that big shot to tie or put the Knicks ahead. Raymond Felton had 27 points and he felt like he should've had a 30 point game because of the big shots he got and immense 3rd quarter he had.
Anthony was very sluggish in this game, I thought. Every Knick player was playing with high intensity and he looked worn out for some reason. As if he packed 10 pounds in the last two days. Seem like he was tugging along and everyone was playing a hitch in their step. It was a struggle for him in Game 4.
Anthony was pressured in this game. He felt he had to be Kobe Bryant and takeover the game; which we know he can do. But when he begins to miss those first ten shots of the game, he gets very stubborn with the basketball. He's gotta have the first shot; which is okay, because he's the man on the team, and he is a great player.
Stephen A. Smith tweeted during the game:
Carmelo has got to pass the basketball. He's forcing things a bit too much!Stephen A. was right. When he gets into a little rut, he should begin to pass the ball, and think about the team a little more. Not saying he isn't a team player, but tends to get away from him.
— Stephen A Smith (@stephenasmith) April 28, 2013
Raymond Felton: With (J.R) Smith out, the Knicks didn't have a second scorer. Luckily Felton became that scorer in the second half. Without him the Knicks wouldn't even have come close to making it a game. Felton just exploded.
You have to love Felton's toughness and willingness to win. With J.R out and Carmelo having an off night, he took over. And he had to, if the Knicks were serious about making a run. Iman Shumpert, Tyson Chandler and Jason Kidd were all amazing in Game 4 -- but they can't create solo offensive plays like Felton and Anthony can. Though, you gotta be impressed how far they came to winning even with the little they had. And they were only 7-30 from the three-point line -- a team that relies on three-point shots.
Iman Shumpert: Shumpert had his best game as a Knick. Only scored 12 points, but played outstanding defense. And did have a big three pointer in the 4th quarter to start the Knicks run.
Thank goodness we didn't trade Shumpert. With him, Kidd, Chandler and Kenyon Martin, the Knicks defense can be unstoppable. Shump is also learning from those veterans, how to become better defensively.
Knicks-Game 5: It sucks that we lost, but we're going to have couple of these going down the road, I hate to say. It's a game the Knicks can learn from.
The only bad thing is Game 5 is on Wednesday ... Ugh.
