Embarrassing.
That’s what I get for praising the Knicks after a couple of promising victories. I will be the first to admit that the Lakers are a much better team. But where was the effort? Not only player showed any fire all game. There were awful turnovers, bad shots, and inexcusable missed free throws all game. In a game where the Lakers were playing lackadasical, the Knicks played one of their worst games all season. It seemed throughout the night, the Lakers gave reason for the Knicks to get fired up. Artest was throwing elbows and choking Shawne Williams while Steve Blake and Amare got into it a couple of times. But that didn’t seem to wake anyone up. Felton was completely off his game throwing awful passes and missing easy lay-ups. After being fouled on a three point attempt, Bill Walker proceeded to miss all three free throws in the second quarter. Stoudemire had a solid five points in the first half while Shawne Williams was the coldest shooter the Knicks have had since Chris Dudley.
So we’ve learned that the Knicks aren’t close to the Lakers’ level, even on a bad night at the Staples Center. With rumors circulating about Carmelo going to New Jersey within the next few days, it’s difficult to see if the Knicks are going to have the talent to make the jump to elite status. There will be some solid free agents at the end of the year, but will there be anyone that could put the Knicks over the hump? But hey, no we are acting just like the New York media. Let’s all get back to reality and count our blessings during this Knicks’ 2010-2011 season. They are seven games over .500 after starting the season 3-8. Back in mid-November, I was calling for D’Antoni’s head. Now they are sitting pretty for a solid playoff spot. Let’s let the team regroup and focus on Tuesday night at Portland.
January 12, 2011 at 11:58 am
You can’t judge a team based on a game against Kobe Bryant, the undisputable best player in the history of the game.