I know they have a lot of work to do, but man, a win like this, against the San Antonio Spurs, on the road and most importantly, to start off 2014 after a horrid open to the season, this have to give every Knick player gain confidence to -- hopefully -- start a run.
The New York Knicks needed this game; especially when they were playing well against a team like this. What a better way to start of the 2014, if you're the Knicks, with this win. And toward the end of the game when the Spurs tied it and Marco Belinelli was going off, all of us Knick fans were hoping this wasn't a typical 2013 Knick-heartbreaker.
This was the first time in while where I saw the Knicks win a close, nail-biting game against a good team on the road. These were the type wins they couldn't get last season and I'd questioned if they could ever do.
Iman Shumpert was the man last night, in the 4th quarter. Nailing that big three-pointer where the Spurs nearly stole the ball in that possession, then the big, big tip-in from the Carmelo Anthony missed three-point shot. Luckily Shumpert was at the right spot. Because if not, and the Knicks would've lost from that missed shot from Anthony, we'd never hear the end of from Knick fans.
We tend to forget how hard Shumpert plays each night. With the team playing so poorly, and he being the only trade piece that has actual value, we forget the little things he does so well and just want to trade him. Is he inconsistent? Sure. Just like the rest of the team is. But he does the little things so well. Shumpert is the Knicks' Kawhi Leonard; while your main focus is Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili, Leonard can come out of nowhere and score 20-points, or be the one that kills you in the fourth quarter by a simple tip-in because he was in the right place at the right time. That's what Shumpert can do.
We know Shumpert is not gonna play like this every night; he's not gonna go -- what he did last night -- 6-8 from three, 10-13 overall from the field and score 27 points in every game, now. But we hope. Us Knick fans hope. If Shumpert can do that, he'd be an unbelievable player, going along with his immaculate defense.
Can The Knicks Build Off This Win?: I don't see why not. And we all know the Knicks are better than what their record is. We have players on this team. Shouldn't be impossible to make a run and try toward .500. If the Knicks can beat the Houston Rockets tonight, they could win at Dallas against the Mavericks and sweep the Texas road trip.
