After a week off, I’m back to dust off the headlines and give you a peek into the goings on about the local teams and the big picture (read: Super Bowl hype week).
The Knicks defeated the Hawks 106-104 last night at the Garden. Carmelo Anthony had a franchise record tying 9 three pointers but all anybody wanted to focus on was the lack of D by the Knicks. Filip Bondy of the Daily News writes that Melo’s 42 point night saved the Knicks from having to explain a miserable defensive effort. Again. Mike Vaccaro of the Post writes that the Hawks aren’t the 72 Lakers so there is no reason to brush off the 60% shooting the Hawks were doing last night with plenty of wide, wide WIIIIIDE open looks. Nate Taylor of the New York Times writes that 9 threes, a few Josh Smith boneheaded mistakes down the stretch and a layup won the game for the Knicks.
Here’s what I take away from this game: the Knicks won because they had the best player on the court. Unfortunately that shouldn’t warm any Knick fan’s heart. Their next five games, four of which are at the Garden are against the Magic, the Bucks, the Kings, the Pistons, and the Wizards. They then play a tough stretch of games. Is it too much to ask that they win all five of their games? No. They need to pad the win total now before they get into a rut of things that can happen when you play that many good teams in a row. The biggest issue for me, is defensively they seem to have taken the foot off the pedal. They are 6-6 this month with one game left on the docket. Five out of those 12 games they have given up over 100 points which is still a better figure than December in which they gave up over 100 points in 7 of their 15 games and in two other games they gave up 99 points. The defense has begun to taper off while teams like the Heat are rounding into shape. The biggest thing I’ve seen is that teams attempt to take Melo off his game by playing physically with him. The Sixers did that on Saturday by putting hands in the Knicks face and boxing them out. Thaddeus Young outmuscled Knicks players for rebounds and frustration began to show itself. What the Knicks can’t afford are silly technicals like the one Melo picked up late in the game. You can argue all you want about it being a very ticky tack call but you can’t show your frustration that way when
A. You now have a reputation for being mouthy towards referees (look up the number of technicals)
B. When you demonstratively show your frustration then look in the direction of the referees.
I’m not saying that the refs shouldn’t have swallowed their whistle, I’m saying that Melo needs to calm down. Part of his game’s greatness is rooted in his aggression and I understand that its a very major plus for him to play that way because he needs that to play the power forward position, but he needs to learn to control it. Teams are lining up to keep playing mind games with Melo and its clear that until he proves he can keep his cool teams will continue to physically take shots at Melo while not being seen by the referees. The majority of people I see on twitter want to blame the referees. They sometimes allow a few grabs, holds slaps on the wrist to go for the sake of continuity but then overcompensate when the physical play borders on uncontrolled aggression. The referees lose control of the game and the team that can rein in their emotions the best and learn to adapt to how the game is being called will win. Watch any NBA game, this happens every single time. The Knicks have to master when to play physically and when to rein it in. They can’t complain to the refs on every single play where they don’t get calls.
The best teams, I’ve noticed, share their frustration but during timeouts go up to refs to ask that they play extra close attention to a player on the other end. I’ve seen it happen so many times and they get a favorable call literally on the next play and now, the refs have a mental note to watch the player as they play defense. The best at it, is Chris Paul who is widely beloved by NBA referees. He’s never disrespectful, always has a cordial nature with the referees and can influence their hand on so many possessions without them knowing it. Its incredible to watch and an underrated aspect of his game that makes him all the more incredible. Of course all this could be remedied if the Knicks decided to play more physically and also rebound. Their rebounding rates have been abysmal to put it best. Limiting teams to one shot per possession is important and the Knicks have to do a better job at it in order to win their games. They can’t expect to give up multiple opportunities and expect the other team to not make it. They have to find a way to do that better. The Knicks will get better, in my opinion, once all their pieces are back but now with Jason Kidd needing more time on the pine to make up for the heavy minutes he logged in Raymond Felton’s absence and the ice pack on Tyson Chandler’s neck during crunchtime, it seems that this team can’t avoid the injury bug. The good thing is, the Knicks can survive these 7-6 months thanks to their 18-5 start. They have a bit of wiggle room and they sit a game behind Miami for the best record in the conference. They also hold a 2-0 advantage in the season series and its important to have that mental advantage over Miami come playoff time. But they can’t seem to beat any of the other teams that they are in direct competition with. Say for example the Knicks slide down a slot or two even. If they go to the fourth seed, they could wind up facing Indiana, Brooklyn or Atlanta, three teams that the Knicks can beat but they haven’t been able to. The most incredible story of course is Chicago who sits at the third seed thanks to stellar play by their bigs while holding down the fort in Derrick Rose’ absence. Once he returns all bets are off for the Eastern Conference. The road only gets tougher for the Knicks. They have to remember to stay the course. Rebounding. Toughness. Defense. Sounds old school, but these are things that will be necessary come April or May.
The Mets aren’t sure they want to make the move that would save their outfield from being an unmitigated disaster. Michael Bourn is the guy that lost out on the merry go round and now the free agent may have to look into shorter deals than he was anticipating in free agency. The thirty year old centerfielder would be the kind of addition that could make up for a ton of the woes this outfield is bound to have defensively as it relates to run prevention but the Mets are a bit wary of losing their first round draft pick which would be forfeited by any team if they sign Bourn. That pick would go to the Braves who just traded for Justin Upton to pair up with his brother BJ in Atlanta. In related Mets news, their bullpen could use an injection of closer options but GM Sandy Alderson has stated that the market is thinning out and there isn’t much left on the shelf.
Adding Michael Bourn would help, but ultimately this team has dedicated its entire plan around building for the future which is sitting in the minor leagues right now doing what exactly? I think if the Mets are realistic, the fanbase will be as well and they will support them if they tell everyone from the get go that they are trying to see what the team has for the future. I’ve been begging for it for three years now and its time the Mets just laid all their cards face up. All trust. Show the public what they should be excited for. Why should Met fans be excited about the future if 2014 is going to be a learning year for these young players? You can’t expect fans to just go with the plan. Can the front office withstand two more years of stagnant sales numbers? Sandy’s only decision would be to promote a ton of their younger players and let them learn on a big league level. Allow the coaches to train and teach. In game experience is so valuable and it will make them more prepared for their anticipated time of being competitive which is somewhere between 2014 and 2015. This also allows management to understand what they have in prospects and also to fix their eye on dealing them for players they may feel have a better fit. Wilmer Flores for example doesn’t seem to have the range to play any outfield position. But if he can hit, why not put him out there and let his offensive game garner some kind of interest. The Mets need guys who can be five tool players who can not only score runs and plate runs but also prevent runs. Its time to make the move. This year is moot at this point. We all know its about introducing the world to Travis D’Arnaud, Zach Wheeler, and Matt Harvey on a full time basis. We have Noah Syndergaard waiting for 2014 to make his move. We have guys who need the valuable in game experience. What is the reason for keeping those guys in the minors? If its to keep Super 2 status, fine, bring them up in Mid May or early June but BRING THEM UP. Let the fans atleast judge what the Mets have in this farm system they’ve been cultivating for so long by trading off their assets.
Pressure? What’s that about? Ask Colin Kaepernick about the Super Bowl and nobody will be able to tell that this will be his 10th career start at the position. Scott Ostler of San Fran Chronicle writes that the Niners may not want to see this as a business trip if they don’t know what that means. Tim Kawakami of the Contra Costa Times writes that this isn’t a tight or nervous team thanks to a season- long focus. Mike Preston of the Baltimore Sun writes, maybe its time the serious questions began other than the obvious Harbaugh bowl questions: how do the Ravens stop the Pistol offense?
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The Lazy Eye of Sports 