New York Report Card Following Win Vs. Wizards

The Knicks took care of the Wizards the way a contender should take care of a rebuilding team. The final score was 108- 87, but who knows how many the Knicks would have scored if the starters had stayed in. The Knicks played a solid first half, but J.R. Smith said at halftime that he wasn’t happy with the lead (only 9 points). In the second half the Knicks built the lead far into the double digits before taking out the starters, and handing it over to the bench. This was the second game in a row that the Knicks didn’t allow their opponents to score over 100 points.

This was the first time since 1972-73 that the team has won 11 games in November.

Let’s take a look at last night’s report card:

Game Stats: 

Field Goal Percentage– 53.1% (43-81)

Opponents Field Goal Percentage– 44.9% (35-78)

Three-point Percentage- 41.4% (12-29)

Opponents Three-point Percentage- 27.8 (5-of-18)

Free-throw Percentage- 66.7% (10-15)

Opponents Free-throw Percentage– 57.1% (12-21)

Rebounds- 42-32 (Knicks -10)

Points in the paint- 44-38 (Knicks -6)

Individual Grade:

Raymond Felton (11 points, 5-13 shooting, 2 assists, 1 rebound, 2 turnovers) Felton had a decent game, but luckily was not relied upon much last night as he only needed to play 27 minutes. He played solid defense, and the box score doesn’t tell the whole story as he kept the ball moving, but was not credited with the assist. Felton has had issues this year knowing when he needs to stop shooting on a cold night. Grade: C+

Ronnie Brewer: (12 ponts, 5-8 shooting, 3 assists, 1 rebound, o turnovers) Brewer played an efficient and overall great game. He started the game by forcing a turnover, and then recovering to be open for an easy lay-up assisted by ‘Melo. Brewer had one of his best shooting games of the season, making 2-4 from beyond the arc. He only played 20 minutes, but Brewer still played one of his best games of the season. Grade: A-

Carmelo Anthony: (20 points, 6-13 shooting, 5 assists, 5 rebounds, 2 turnovers) ‘Melo started the game not as hot as we are used to, but showed off his new ‘Melo’-ness by creating for others. The first offensive possession was a ‘Melo pass to an open Ronnie Brewer under the rim. He had a nice overall game, especially for playing only 28 minutes. If I had to pick one area of his game he needed to work on, it would be free-throws, as ‘Melo missed 3 more last night. Grade: A-

Kurt Thomas: (o points, 0-1 shooting, 2 fouls) Thomas has not played much this season, even when he has started games like last night. Thomas played 8 minutes, and as a result has little to show for last night’s game. Grade: Incomplete

Tyson Chandler: (12 points, 5-8 shooting, 10 rebounds, 2 assists) Chandler continued his hot shooting from the field, and his 10 rebounds led the team. Chandler has been a constant in game lately, and its been great to see after his relatively slow start. Chandler played 25 minutes. Grade: A- 

Rasheed Wallace: (7 points, 3-5 shooting, 4 rebounds, 1 turnover) Wallace recovered from his recent poor shooting, and continued to great defense. Wallace had one steal, and is one of the better “shot changers” in the league. He doesn’t let people get off the easy shot. Wallace shot 1-3 from behind the 3-point line. Grade: B-

Steve Novak: (9 points, 3-6 shooting, 5 rebounds) Novak continued his resurgence as one of the best three-point shooters in the league. He shot 50% from beyond the arc. Novak continued his improved defense this season, but was still taken advantage of close to the basket. Woodson has been playing Novak and ‘Melo together recently, and obviously it’s working for both players. Grade: A-

Chris Copeland: (6 points, 3-5 shooting, 1 rebound, 2 turnovers) Woodson turned to Copeland early in the game again this season. He has shown glimpses of what we saw in the pre-season, but seems to be lacking the confidence that he had. If he wants to remain in the rotation once some players return from injury, then he needs to improve his rebounding numbers. Grade: C

Pablo Prigioni: (8 points, 3-4 shooting, 5 assists, 1 rebound) Prigioni continues his great back-up point guard play with Jason Kidd out. His defense and sneakiness have been a staple of his performance so far, and he had another steal tonight. Prigioni shot 2-3 from the 3-point line, and also had an insane buzzer beater in the second quarter. One big highlight of his performance was that he had zero turnovers in 25 minutes. Grade: A-

J.R. Smith: (20 points, 9-14 shooting, 2 rebounds, 6 assists, 1 turnover) Smith bounced back from his recent terrible performance with a great shooting game, and an even more impressive team-leading 6 assists. Smith shot 2-3 from the 3-point line. The only knock on Smith would be his rebounding, which hasn’t been up to the level he set earlier this season. Grade: A-

James White: (3 points, 1-4 shooting, 1 assist, 2 rebounds) White played his limited minutes in garbage time. He has not proven to me that he has anything special to bring the rotation, and  his minutes will likely disappear when Iman Shumpert returns from injury. Grade: C-

Marcus Camby: (DNP-Coaches Decision) 

Jason Kidd: (DNP-Back Spasms)