Tag Archives: Knicks Playoffs

Postgame Reaction: Knicks Beat Raptors To Stay Alive… For Now

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The Knicks (34-45) beat the Raptors (46-33) by a score of 108-100 in Toronto. 

Carmelo Anthony led the way for the Knicks, scoring 30 points, grabbing 8 rebounds, and notching 3 steals.

Amar’e Stoudemire was fantastic as well for New York, pouring in 24 points and pulling down 11 boards. 

Iman Shumpert had another solid game, with 11 points, 5 rebounds, and 2 steals.

It was nice to see Carmelo have one of his usual games tonight, after having 2 awful games against Washington and Miami. His shoulder looks much healthier after 4 days of rest. 

Stoudemire’s resurgence has been the best story of the 2nd half for this Knicks team. After all he has fought through, seeing him get back to being a force on the offensive end is inspiring. Hopefully he can finish the year strong, and contribute again next season. 

The Hawks won last night. This simplifies things. If the Knicks go 3-0 (against the Bulls, Nets, and Raptors), and the Hawks go 0-3 (against the Heat, Bobcats, and Bucks), the Knicks will make the playoffs. In any other scenario, the Hawks would make the playoffs. If the Knicks go 2-1 and the Hawks go 0-3, or the Knicks go 3-0 and the Hawks go 1-2, the two teams would finish tied. But even though they split the season series 2-2, the Hawks have the tiebreaker (which is ridiculous, but I’ll write about that later). So if the Knicks lose again, or the Hawks win again, it’s all over.

 

We need the Heat to help us out by beating the Hawks tonight. Then we need to keep the pressure on Atlanta by beating the Bulls tomorrow. 

-Tommy Rothman

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Pregame Report: Knicks @ Raptors

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The New York Knicks (33-45) will visit the Toronto Raptors (46-32) tonight. Gametime is 7 PM

Starters for New York: Felton, Smith, Anthony, Stoudemire, Chandler

Starters for Toronto: Unconfirmed (Raptors may rest some players)

 

The Raptors are 2-0 against the Knicks this season, but Carmelo Anthony did not play in either of those games. Melo is hurt once again, but will play tonight. If Anthony cannot be productive, yet insists on trying to be productive, the Knicks will lose. If he is off his game, it is up to him to start moving the ball or driving more instead of taking jumpers, and it is up to Coach Woodson to sit him if he doesn’t change his style of play. That won’t happen, so let’s hope he can be his usual self tonight, for everybody’s sake.

You know the drill by now. The Knicks probably need to win all of their final 4 games to make the playoffs, and even that might not be enough. Atlanta and New York each have 4 games left, and any combination of 2 Hawks Wins / Knicks Losses clinches the 8 seed for Atlanta and eliminates the Knicks. So let’s hope we can get a win tonight.

Assuming Toronto doesn’t rest their starters, the keys to the game will be containing DeMar DeRozan and Kyle Lowry on the perimeter, and prevent Jonas Valanciunas from slaughtering us on the inside (using hustle, not an advanced skill set). 

Let’s see if we can get the win tonight, and let’s hope the Nets— who will be resting some starters— can help us out and beat the Hawks. If the Knicks lose and the Hawks win, it’s over. If the Knicks win and the Hawks lose, things could get interesting…

-Tommy Rothman

Knicks Lose 102-91 In Miami, Putting Playoff Chances On Life Support (Postgame Reaction)

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The Knicks (33-45) lost to the Heat (53-23) by a score of 102-91 on Sunday afternoon in Miami.

The Knicks started out hot, jumping out to a 16-3 lead. But the Knicks quickly squandered their advantage, and were down 8 in the blink of an eye. The Knicks did rally to regain the lead by halftime, but a miserable 3rd quarter rendered a decent 4th quarter comeback attempt irrelevant. 

J.R. Smith was amazing today. Smith hit a Knicks record 10 threes on an NBA record 22 attempts. Smith also broke NBA records for most games with 10 or more threes made (3) and most threes made in a three-game span (24). 

Carmelo Anthony was bad for the second game in a row. He was also battling a shoulder injury for the second game in a row. Maybe they are related, and he shouldn’t be playing 44 minutes a game?  

Amar’e Stoudemire was cold for most of the game, but I don’t think he passed once. He has to be better about moving the ball…

Raymond Felton was pretty good today, but 2 early fouls (both of them bad calls) sent him to the bench when he was hot and helped Miami go on a run.

The Knicks had no answer for LeBron James, who scored 38 points. However, the thing that killed New York was their inability to stop Miami’s shooters. Every time the Knicks threatened to gain some momentum, Miami would hit from beyond the arc.

The Knicks will almost certainly miss the playoffs at this point. If the Hawks beat the Pacers tonight, it’s practically over. The Knicks are 1.5 games back, and because Atlanta has the tiebreaker, it is really 2.5. New York’s “tragic number”— the combination of Knicks losses and Hawks wins needed to eliminate the Knicks— is now 4. The Knicks have 4 games left and the Hawks have 7 (including the Pacers game tonight). The Knicks play the Raptors twice, the Nets, and the Bulls. The Hawks play the Pacers, Heat, Nets, Bobcats, Celtics, Pistons, and Bucks. If the Knicks go 4-0, the Hawks will need to lose 4 of those games, so they would have to lose to at least one of the Celtics, Pistons, and Bucks. If the Knicks go 3-1 (with the Bulls game looking like a very tough game to win), Atlanta would need to lose 5 of those games, meaning at least two losses against those 3 weak teams. The game the Hawks are most likely to steal is the one with Charlotte. I could see them losing to the Pistons. 

Either way, the Knicks have a huge uphill battle ahead of them. New York does not have another game until Friday, while the Hawks have 3 games during that span (Pacers, Pistons, Celtics). On Friday, the Knicks will play the Raptors and the Hawks will play the Nets. So in the next week, we will find out whether the Hawks can help us out and keep the Knicks alive. 

-Tommy Rothman

Postgame Recap: Knicks 110, Nets 81

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The Knicks (33-43) crushed the Nets (40-34) on Wednesday night at The Garden, beating their crosstown rivals 110-81.

J.R. Smith was the game’s leading scorer with 24 points. Smith, who has been red-hot lately, also grabbed 8 rebounds and dished out 6 assists. Carmelo Anthony was right behind Smith with 23 points of his own to go with 10 rebounds, 3 assists, a pair of steals, and a highlight block. Tim Hardaway Junior also filled it up, finishing with 17 points and knocking down 3 shots from downtown. Iman Shumpert had one of his best games of the season, scoring 10 points, racking up 5 steals, locking down Brooklyn’s key players, and making several highlight plays. 

None of the Knicks-Nets games this season have been close. The Knicks won by 30, then lost by 23, then won by 29. But hey, any time we can see the Knicks win without having panic attacks in the 4th quarter, we’ll take it. 

The Knicks really needed this game, and they got it. With the Hawks losing to the Bulls, the Knicks and Hawks are now tied in the standings. The Knicks have one more win and one more loss, which gives them a better winning percentage and technically gives them possession of the 8th seed for now. However, each team will have played 82 games by the end of the season, and if they are still tied then, Atlanta wins the tiebreaker. The Knicks need to win the 8th spot outright. New York has 6 games left and Atlanta has 8. The Knicks currently have 1 more win than the Hawks and they need to finish with 1 more win than the Hawks. 

The Knicks will have a day off before hosting the Washington Wizards on Friday. The keys to that game will be containing John Wall and Washington’s 3-point shooting. The Knicks have some momentum, now they need to stay focused.

 

I will be doing pre-game and post-game articles for every remaining game, so be sure to check the site regularly!

-Tommy Rothman

Poll: Who will win the Atlantic Division?

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With Nets All-Star Brook Lopez now out for the season after breaking his foot, the Atlantic Division just got even weaker. The team that finishes with the best record in the Atlantic is guaranteed a top 4 seed in the playoffs, so the stakes are high. The Nets are struggling, old, and injured. The 76ers and Raptors are geared up to tank, and the Knicks have had their struggles. The Celtics and Raptors are tied for the lead, and Boston appears to have no intention of tanking, especially once Rajon Rondo returns from his ACL tear. Even with Lopez’s injury, however, the Knicks and Nets appear to have the most talented teams on paper, so many think that one of the New York teams will end up winning the division. What do you think? Cast your vote: