New York Knicks vs Golden State Warriors: Player Grades in Knicks 109-105 Win
Feb. 27, 2013; New York, NY, USA; New York Knicks center Tyson Chandler (6) celebrates after winning the game 109-105 against the Golden State Warriors at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Debby Wong-USA TODAY Sports
ONE PICK AWAY. One pick away from drafting Stephen Curry in the 2009 draft (we took Jordan Hill), who just scored a whopping 54 points on us!!! There was no point in even trying to guard him as he nailed 11 three pointers on 13 attempts, went 7-7 from the line, had 6 rebounds, and 7 assists. You can’t get a much better stat line than that. ONE PICK AWAY – ahhh.
Feb. 27, 2013; New York, NY, USA; Golden State Warriors point guard Stephen Curry (30) celebrates after scoring a three-pointer against the New York Knicks during the fourth quarter at Madison Square Garden. Knicks won 109-105. Mandatory Credit: Debby Wong-USA TODAY Sports
Tied at 105 with 1:34 to go, Curry was finally blocked by Raymond Felton, which led to J.R smith go ahead basket with 1:10 left in the game. This was the time where a veteran team (oldest team in the league) pulls through against one of the youngest teams in the NBA. Jarret Jack traveled with 1:05 left, which then led to a Melo turn around jumper with 0:45 left to put them up by 4. Then Festus Ezeli threw it away on the inbounds pass, leading to Felton free throws. Then Klay Thompson misses two straight three with 0:11 and 04 to cut the game to one.
I was a little surprised that Curry didn’t take a shot in the last minute and a half – I guess 54 points did not prove that he should be getting the ball, but it helped the Knicks get the win and that’s all that matters.
Notes: The Warriors were without David Lee, who was suspended 1 game, due to an altercation with Indiana Pacers Roy Hibbert last game.
Here are the grades for the Knicks’ players’ performances:
Raymond Felton (10 points, on 3-10 shooting, 4 assists, 4 steals, and 2 turnovers) Felton hit some nice threes late in the second half but besides that his offense wasn’t great. He forced it a little bit too much and he missed both frees throws twice (one of them coming with 30 seconds left in the game). He did have a spectacular move to the hole where he did his typical fall into the cameramen. Defensively, he could not stop Curry whatsoever on the perimeter, but I don’t think anyone could have stopped him anyway. He did come up with a huge block on Curry at the end of the game when the game was tied at 105. Grade: B-
Jason Kidd (o points, on 0-4 shooting, 2 rebounds, 1 assists, and 1 turnover) Jason Kidd’s shooting slump continues — he’s shot 7-45 (15%) from three in his past 11 games. Maybe its his back problems that are causing him to not get the elevation on his shot, or fight for rebounds, but Kidd needs to play better as the starting shooting guard like he did as the beginning of the season. Grade: F
Feb. 27, 2013; New York, NY, USA; New York Knicks point guard Iman Shumpert (21) and Golden State Warriors power forward Carl Landry (7) battle for the ball during the second quarter at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Debby Wong-USA TODAY Sports
Iman Shumpert (2 points, on 1-6 shooting, 2 assists, 6 steal, and 3 turnover) Although Shumpert’s offensive game is still not there, and he’s still getting blown by Stephen Curry to the basket, and I was proud with Shumpert’s effort tonight. This was the first time i saw him get up in a guy’s jock, get the loose balls (6 steals) and attack the basket. His rust from his ACL surgery is starting to wear off and hopefully this continues Grade: C
Carmelo Anthony (35 points, on 10-26 shooting, 1 rebounds, 8 assist, and 2 turnovers) Anthony hit some big shots at the end of the game and moved the ball very well when the double team came. He worked well with Stoudemire often finding him down low for the slam.
But although he had 8 assists, I still think he should’ve passed the ball more instead of taking shots with 2 guys on him and fading away. There were some threes he took that were completely off balance and times when he did not pick his head up when the open man was there. But Anthony did hit the shot to go up by 4 with 35 seconds left. So overall, he had a very solid game although it was no match for Curry’s 54 points. Grade: A-
Tyson Chandler (16 points, on 5-9 shooting, 28 rebounds, 1 block, 2 steals, 1 assist, and 0 turnovers) Chandler has a monstrous game with no body boxing him out or fighting for the rebound. This was largely due to the fact that David Lee was not there to box out, but David Lee or no David Lee, 28 reboudns is ridiculous!!!! and it was a career high for Tyosn Chandler. This included a season high 10 offensive rebounds. Grade: A
Feb. 27, 2013; New York, NY, USA; New York Knicks shooting guard J.R. Smith (8) gestures after scoring a three-pointer against the Golden State Warriors during the second quarter at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Debby Wong-USA TODAY Sports
J.R. Smith (26 points, on 10-19 shooting, 6-11 3Pt, 5 rebound, 1 assist and 1 turnovers) Why can’t J.R Smith play like this every night? he brought energy into the game right from the start hitting his shots in the first quarter, and the next three quarters too. When Curry hit one of his many ridiculous three, Smith would often counteract it with another line drive three. This is what we need to see from his every night. Grade: A
Amar’e Stoudemire (14 points, on 6-7 shooting, 4 rebounds, 0 assist, and 2 turnovers) Stoudemire once again had a very efficient night (9-10 for 20 points against Philly on Sunday). I love the type of role he is playing, and i love his attitude on and off the court.
He picked up three quick fouls which kept him out for a big part of the first half, but his second half really contributed the second unit scoring. One critique on his efficient game though is he has to look to pass the ball when he is doubled team down low. Grade: B+
Steve Novak (0 points, on 0-4 shooting, 1 rebounds, 1 assist, and 0 turnovers) Novak added absolutely nothing to this game and that’s why he only played 9 minutes, 12 minutes less than his average. If he’s not hitting his shots, there’s no reason for Woodson to leave him in the game Grade: F
Pablo Prigioni (3 points, on 1-2 shooting, 1 rebounds, 1 assist, and 0 turnovers) Prigioni played pretty well in his limited minutes. He hit a long three in the third quarter when the shot clock was running down. However he does tend to wait too long to start a play and often has to heave up a shot before the shot clock expires. As a point guard he has to start the play earlier. But when he shoots it in the flow of the offense, he is a pretty consistent three point shooter. Grade: C+
Kenyon Martin: (O points, 0 rebounds, 0 assists, 0 turnovers) K-dog got his first minutes as a Knick early in the second quarter but did not have the opportunity to show his defensive or rebounding skills. It was his first time playing since last year on the Clippers, so its likely for martin to come back slowly. Grade: No Grade
James White (o points, on 0-0 shooting, and 0 turnovers) White played less than a minute at the end of the half. This was the first time I did not see him with a headband. Grade: No grade
Chris Copeland: DNP Coaches decision
Rasheed Wallace and Marcus Camby both out with foot injuries.