The NBA announced its First, Second and Third Teams today, with MVP LeBron James and Kevin Durant nabbing the forward spots on the First Team ahead of Anthony. That’s nothing to hang your head about, Melo.

The teams were:

2012-13 All-NBA First Team: @kingjames, @kdtrey5, Tim Duncan, @kobebryant (record tying 11th time), & @cp3.

— NBA (@NBA) May 23, 2013

2012-13 All-NBA Second Team: @carmeloanthony, @blakegriffin32, @marcgasol, @tonyparker & @russwest44.

— NBA (@NBA) May 23, 2013

2012-13 All-NBA Third Team: @dlee042, @paul_george24, @dwighthoward, @dwyanewade & @jharden13.

— NBA (@NBA) May 23, 2013

A few initial takeaways from this:

• The teams most likely to win this season’s title – the Heat and Spurs – have multiple players on these lists. Remember, this matters. The Thunder had two players as well, but lost one of them due to injury and are now out of the playoffs. The Lakers had two as well, but one got injured and they were coached by Mike D’Antoni. The Clippers also had two, but…

• Blake Griffin making the Second Team over Paul George is a joke. The only thing Blake Griffin is better than Paul George at is making awful Kia commercials, dunking in meaningless games and hanging out with Bill Simmons. And maybe ping pong, I don’t know.

• Fourteen of these 15 players are on Twitter. Tim Duncan is the only one who’s not. Thank god for that.

It’s only Anthony’s second time on the Second Team, last doing so in 2010. He’s made the Third Team four times.

Since the Knicks were bounced from the playoffs by the Indiana Pacers, we’ve also learned that Melo played the tail end of the regular season and entire playoffs with a torn labrum. I’m not trying to make this out to be more than it is, but Anthony was certainly playing injured. He deserves some credit for doing so, and it might just go to show how much better he is than most of his teammates, given that he was far and away their best player in the playoffs despite the bum shoulder.

It didn’t end how we wanted it to, but Melo still deserves credit for putting together a great season and playing a major role in getting the Knicks farther along, more relevant, and more successful than they have been in a very long time.

Kudos, brah.

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The 2003 NBA Draft couldn’t have been any top heavier, featuring four of today’s automatic All-Stars (LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Carmelo Anthony, and Chris Bosh) in the first five picks. Considering the Detroit Pistons took Darko Milicic 2nd overall, the New York Knicks come off looking like geniuses despite managing to throw away a top-ten pick.

In their defense, the rest of the draft was pretty bereft of talent, but Michael Sweetney? Really!? The next three power forwards off the board, Nick Collison, David West, and Boris Diaw, have all been more than serviceable throughout their careers.

The 2002-03 season was one to forget for the Knicks, but they missed the playoffs for “only” the second season in a row. If we only knew how long that streak would become. To be honest, I’d take the Isiah Years over the Layden regime any day. I cringe at the thoughts of an offense directed by Howard Eisley and a salary cap owned by Allan Houston’s bad knees. Adding Sweetney certainly did not help. Despite putting up 22.8 points 10.4 rebounds and 3.2 blocks in his  exit season at Georgetown, he barely made it off the bench in the pros, averaging just over 15 minutes a night in two years as a Knick.

If nothing else, Sweetney was definitely one of the heaviest members of the Knicks we’ve ever seen suit up.

His NBA career was cut way short by his weight issues and after a stop in Uruguay and a couple of failed attempts at a comeback with the Celtics, he signed to play in Puerto Rico in 2011. He had some success at international ball, averaging 14.1 points and 8.6 rebounds in his last two seasons, but was waived in April.

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Sheridan Hoops – Shane Larkin, PG, Miami – “Larkin singlehandedly carried Miami this season as he had a Trey Burke-like impact on the Hurricanes. In New York, fans want a point man who can push the pace at times off the bench, which is something Larkin does well.”

Sports Illustrated – Rudy Gobert, C, France – “Gobert is impossibly long at 7-2 with a 7-8½ wingspan and a 9-7 standing reach, both combine records. He didn’t show much offensively at the combine, though, and several execs expressed concern about his slender frame. But the Knicks’ AARP frontcourt needs an infusion of youth, and Gobert’s defensive potential will be too good to pass up.”

NBA.Com – Lucas Nogueira, C/F, Brazil – “The NBA has been waiting for years for the athletic 7-footer to add toughness. That it hasn’t happened is a bad sign. That teams able to spend an investment pick are still very interested is a good sign, and the Knicks need help inside.”

NBA Draft.Net – Gorgui Dieng, PF/C, Louisville - “Dieng benefited from Louisville’s deep tourney run, as he was able to display the ability to consistently knock down mid range shots. While not a speed burner, he shows good defensive abilities, particularly in blocking shots.”

Yahoo – Shane Larkin, PG, Miami - ”Larkin is very quick and looks like a good pairing with Carmelo Anthony, as the Knicks could really get out and run with Larkin running the show. He’s only 5’11”, but did a great job of running Miami’s offense last season.”

Hoops World – Shane Larkin, PG, Miami

CBS Sports (Moore) - Lorenzo Brown, PG, NC State

-

We are a little less optimistic about Larkin being there at #24 but he’d be nice value and a needed addition to the backcourt. The Knicks need more explosiveness in their backcourt and there is nothing set in stone about Pablo Prigioni or Jason Kidd returning (a buyout still wouldn’t shock us). The big men they are associated with up top are generally projects and the Knicks need a rotation player now.. 

The post New York Knicks – Mock Draft Round-Up – May 22nd appeared first on Turn On The Knicks.

Where do the New York Knicks most need to make a roster addition and who can they realistically target? 

Joe Caporoso - I find it difficult and generally unreasonable to attach any big names to the Knicks for next season – Chris Paul, David West, Brandon Jennings…those type of guys aren’t happening unless something very bizarre occurs. The Knicks need to replicate what they did the last two years and find contributors on the cheap and seemingly out of nowhere. By the end of the playoffs, Iman Shumpert, Chris Copeland and Pablo Prigioni were the 2nd-4th most effective players in the rotation. Shumpert was the 17th pick two years ago, Copeland and Prigioni were pulled out of nowhere last off-season. The Knicks need to find an immediate contributor with the 24th overall pick, maybe a combo guard who can provide some needed depth and versatility. This team needs to embrace their small-ball identity and find pieces who can fill in around the perimeter, while also adding another big body to the rotation. It is easier said than done.

Depending on how creative they can get financially and what happens with JR Smith, a few names worth pondering – Will Bynum, Gerald Henderson, Matt Barnes, Kyle Korver, James Jones, Dorell Wright, DeJaun Blair, Louis Amundson, Ryan Hollins, Timofey Mozgov (!). We’ll see. Good luck Glen Grunwald!

Chris Celletti -  The Knicks don’t have much flexibility going forward, and unless crazy, unforeseen things happen, they aren’t going to be able to add a major contributor through a trade or free agency. Side note: If the Glen Grunwald Era has proved anything to us, it’s that they can unearth some pretty solid rotation players out of nowhere (Chris Copeland, Pablo Prigioni), and in even some cases, international superstars (Jeremy Lin). However, the 2013 Draft is a momentous occasion because the Knicks have a first round pick, and they actually get to use it. Rare times. It’s really hard to put a lot of pressure on a team for needing to make a right pick at 24 overall, but given the Knicks’ cap situation, it’s pretty important that they find someone who can be a rotation player, and soon.

The common narrative so far is that this upcoming draft is that it’s a weak one, but I don’t know how anyone honestly knows that for sure until a few years down the road. And often times when a draft doesn’t seem top heavy, that means that there is a lot of even, spread out talent throughout the entire thing, meaning some guys will slip through the cracks and end up being taken in the latter part of the first round or even the second. The Knicks need some help on the glass, or depending if Pablo Prigioni returns, will need a backup point guard. Miami’s Shane Larkin could be a possibility to fill the latter need, while Louisville’s Gorgui Dieng or Kansas’ Jeff Withey are guys to keep an eye on that could help the Knicks’ interior. However, the Knicks’ roster is very specialist-heavy; I think they should target the best two-way player available, regardless of position.

Matt Fritz - In my mind, there is no question that the Knicks biggest need, aside from getting younger, is getting a polished big man who has the ability to score with his back to the basket. We all know Tyson Chandler is not that guy. Defensively, you already know what you will get with Chandler, but offensively, there are times where you won’t get much from him at all. Even in his best year, Chandler averaged 10 points, along with 9 rebounds. The Knicks need to find a guy who can be more of a threat offensively in the post. A guy I would love to see the Knicks pursue would be David West of the Pacers, somebody Knicks fans are all too familiar with. Will they have enough cash to bring in a guy with his caliber in? I don’t know if that is plausible, but it would without a doubt be worth a shot. Either way the Knicks need to find a guy who can be a legitimate threat to score in the post, whether that be through free agency, a trade, or in the upcoming NBA draft.

Kevin Smith - If you take a look at this year’s free agents, there are plenty of scorers and floor-spreaders to be had. Getting an extra shooter or two shouldn’t be an issue, but this team is dying for some depth on the interior. Kenyon Martin was a pleasant surprise but who knows if he’ll be back in New York next season and his durability certainly can’t be relied upon. In a perfect world, the Knicks would come up with enough cash to sign David West, defining addition by subtraction. A rugged player like Sam Dalembert, Ronny Turiaf, or Robin Lopez would be much more feasible and could probably be had on the cheap. I’m not saying that any of them are going to set the world on fire, but the Knicks planned for guys like Marcus Camby, Rasheed Wallace, and Kurt Thomas to get the starters some rest and they played a combined 1:06 in the playoffs.

Chris DiGioia -  Did New York Knicks fans ever believe Tyson Chandler would be under fire after his recent playoff performance? Not me. In fact, he seemed the safest. After being the Defensive Player of the Year two seasons ago, and 1st-team All-Defensive honors this year, the thought of Roy Hibbert eating him up inside didn’t seem to be on top of the list of Knicks problems. Well, it was, and it was arguably the most prominent reason for the Knicks second round demise. With Chandler due to make nearly 14 million dollars next season, and JR Smith becoming a free agent, the Knicks have some decisions to make.

Do not get me wrong it is hard to argue for signing JR Smith to a 4-5 million dollar per year deal. I love what he brought to the table all season, but lets face it, 6th Man of the Year seems to be his ceiling, and his recent playoff collapse after the Jason Terry elbow has proved it. Basically, something needs to be done about one of the two players, because we all know there is not going to be a single team looking to pick up Amare Stoudemire’s 20 million dollar a year contract.

I have always been a huge advocate of Chandler’s game, and I’ve even caught myself calling him a top three center in the NBA, but after his bulging disc late in the regular season, he has not been the same. However, between Smith and Chandler, I’m looking to keep the big. Carmelo must have a definitive number two scoring option in order to take some much-needed pressure off of him. Who can the Knicks make a run for?

As we all know, Chris Paul opted out of his contract last season making him a free agent, and although the Los Angeles Clippers have been a regular season juggernaut, their playoff track record doesn’t quite match that. Remember the story about Paul making a wedding toast regarding making their own big three of himself, Carmelo, and Stoudemire? Well, that’s still very possible. Can you imagine a Knicks backcourt with Paul instead of Smith? We can always dream.

Tim Murray - The Knicks two biggest holes heading into next season will be another consistent scorer to take some offensive pressure off Carmelo Anthony and a big man with a more developed offensive game than Tyson Chandler. As we saw this season, J.R. Smith’s scoring efforts are too streaky to be counted on and the Knicks big men were limited in their offensive output and health. A player I would love to see the Knicks make a play for is Brandon Jennings. He is relatively inexpensive, has stated he will test free agency after losing in the playoffs and it has stung ever since the Knicks passed on him in the draft. In regards to the big men issue, I would like to see the Knicks pursue David West. He has a more polished offensive game than the other Knicks centers and Melo and him could play off each other down low.

The post TOK Roundtable – New York Knicks Roster Addition Edition appeared first on Turn On The Knicks.

I often wonder how the Knicks end of season reaction articles would look if they advanced past the Pacers and then lost to the Heat in 5 games. Would that make the season a success? Would there be substantially more forgiving opinions for Anthony, Woodson and the rest of the gang? It doesn’t matter now but it is something worth pondering. I would say the Knicks slightly overachieved in the regular season and then were knocked off by a more complete team than themselves, who knew their identity, embraced it and thrived in it…while the Knicks remained hesitant to accept what they are.

We know this team is best suited with Carmelo Anthony at the 4, surrounded by a collection of shooters and rim protecting centers. Yet, you get the horrid feeling that if Amare Stoudemire is around and healthy next year, Mike Woodson would be content to roll him out as the starting power forward, with Anthony bumped back to the 3. A situation that isn’t going to produce anywhere near the same success as the small-ball this team has embraced for stretches.

Should the Knicks protect Woodson from himself and get Stoudemire off the roster, even if that means paying for him not to be there or getting anything in exchange? There is undeniably value to having him as a 2nd unit scorer at this point but not enough value to deal with threat of ineffective line-up combinations Woodson could be tempted to use.

Filling the roster around Anthony at power forward with the proper players and depth will not be an easy task considering the team’s salary cap situation. The first major domino to fall will be the decision on JR Smith, who is a dangerous investment because of inconsistency both on and off the court. But, how do you replace his scoring? The Knicks need wing players who can defend and hit threes…basically finding more Iman Shumperts to support Iman Shumpert, who is the only young hope on this roster and should be the team’s 2nd best player next season if he continues to progress at his current rate. The Knicks have the 24th pick in the draft and there will be some low cost options in free agency, where the Knicks can target a guy like Matt Barnes or players like him.

The hopes for improving the Knicks lay in finding low-cost contributors seemingly out of nowhere, like they did last year with Chris Copeland and Pablo Prigioni. It would help to have those two back as well but both of their futures remain in the air. Copeland is a good fit on this roster and should only get better. Outside of Anthony and Shumpert, who can you really bank on getting better next season beyond Copeland? Maybe if Tyson Chandler gets healthy, he can revert to 2011 form but Copeland’s return needs to be a major priority.

It’d be nice to see Jason Kidd and Marcus Camby retire, but are they going to leave that much money on the table? Doubtful. The Knicks need fresh blood in their rotation, particularly at backup center and point guard and it is hard to get too excited about what either of these geriatrics could bring next season.

Glen Grunwald doesn’t have an enviable job. The more versatile wing players and depth he can add, the better but this isn’t a roster that will be turned over in a major way. Chicago will be better next year. Indiana will be better next year. Miami is Miami. As a Knicks fan, you hope measured improvements can be made and take solace in knowing you are going to be a playoff team next year. If you get yourself into the tournament, you never how things will break with the teams around you.

Let’s just hope the Knicks recognize who they are and embrace their identity…build yourself into the best version of the small-ball team who ripped off multiple winning streaks this year and brought entertaining, meaningful basketball back to Madison Square Garden.

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1. MOST IMPORTANTLY – HIS MINUTES IMPEDE ON THE PROGRESSION OF SHUMP

Nothing should be more important to this team than seeing Iman Shumpert out to his full potential. The Knicks showed every bit of their age throughout a roller coaster season of injuries, re-injuries, and extended shooting slumps (cough! cough! Jason Kidd!). While the veteran based, win now method proved to be successful in hindsight, the playoff roster age of 31-plus years must be addressed. Shump showed that he can be a force offensively in the postseason, regaining his three-ball, throwing down one of the nastiest dunks of the year, and even stepping in to the J.R. role rather handily in the Knicks fateful Game 6 against Indiana last night. Having Smith on the floor not only takes shots away from Shump (and everybody else in the arena for that matter), but also forces Shumpert to play more time at the three, away from his natural position. Remember, he wasn’t able to improve his offense last offseason while rehabbing his ACL, so a summer’s worth of jump shots could make his game even more lethal. Everyone knows of his defensive tenacity, but we won’t get to see him evolve into one of the league’s best defenders if he’s often being subbed out for the offensive minded Smith.

2. HAS HE REALLY MATURED?

It was a nice story for most of the year. The new mindset that Coach Mike Woodson instilled in Smith was touching enough to make most fans laugh off the “You trying to get the pipe?” moments and non-stop partying, but his actions in the postseason were downright inexcusable. The fact that anyone has to even question if you’re playing the game hungover is suspicious and the disrespect he showed to Jason Terry and the Celtics may even be worse. If you thought you should’ve been out playing golf, go out there and prove it J.R.. Don’t waken a sleeping giant and then no-show a couple of close out games. Smith seemed to turn a corner throughout the season, but the most important time of the year showed the worst of his behavior.

3. HIS PRESENCE ENCOURAGES ISO-BALL

Isn’t one ball stopper enough? A bad shot from Melo is probably better than a good shot from most others, but the same doesn’t apply to Smith. Despite having a breakthrough statistical year, Smith showed no progression in passing the rock. His 2.7 assists per game were the second highest total of his career, but it took him a career-high 33 minutes, over five more per game than his second highest season, to get that done. The Knicks offense was at its best when the ball was flowing in the two point guard set, and Smith’s presence takes a passer away and replaces it with someone carrying a career average of 2.1 assists. The numbers say it all.

4. HE’LL BRING A HEFTY PRICE TAG

Amar’e Stoudemire’s contract is currently eating more salary cap than Eddy Curry is burgers, so it’s going to be tough for the Knicks to do anything too major this offseason. Brandon Jennings will be the prize guard come July, and will probably set the market with a near-max contract. Come to think of it, these two would be as perfect of a match as you can make for locker room negativity. It would be worth the price of admission just to see who could get up the most shots on a game-to-game basis, while nursing hangovers. Anyways, I digress. New York can only offer Smith a maximum of 4 years and $24.8 million, which could be blown out of the water by any number of teams with cap space. For the $2.8 million he made this year, we were willing to put up with his shenanigans, but the more that price goes up, the less patience will be had.

5. NO-SHOW? NO THANKS

The bottom line is you can’t perform like that in the postseason and expect to get paid. In the NBA, you earn your stripes in the playoffs, and for the most part, Smith shrunk in the moment. He’s certainly not the only reason why the Knicks were sent packing before most planned for them to be, but Melo had no support offensively, which was J.R.’s sole purpose in their success. Against Indiana, Smith averaged 12.7 points on 38% shooting from the field. His performance was purely unacceptable and shouldn’t be rewarded.

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When looking back on this series, it really came down to a few factors. Roy Hibbert completely dominating a likely injured Tyson Chandler. JR Smith being awful. Ray Felton being inconsistent. Mike Woodson making questionable line-up decisions. Tonight featured just about all of those things.

The Knicks played a weak first half and got themselves down by 12 midway through the 3rd quarter. The only reason it wasn’t by 24 was because Carmelo Anthony was utterly phenomenal up until that point…then Iman Shumpert caught fire, knocking down 3 three pointers and leading a charge that tied the game heading into the 4th quarter. The game was tied with about 4 minutes left but the Knicks got sloppy late, with turnovers, poor clock management and misused fouls.

Anthony wasn’t great in the 4th, only hitting 2 shots and having 2 bad turnovers but tonight wouldn’t have even been competitive without his 39 points (15/29 shooting) and 7 rebounds. Iman Shumpert had 19 points, including 16 points in the third quarter charge. Chris Copeland knocked down 3 three pointers, including two in the fourth quarter.

JR Smith? 4/15. Lazy defense. Lazy chasing after loose balls. Stupid…poorly played basketball to cap off an awful series and post-season for him. Ray Felton was a no-show and 0/7 from the field. 0/7 from your starting point guard, yikes. Tyson Chandler had 2 points, 6 rebounds, a couple of missed lay-ups, a missed dunk and fouled out. Roy Hibbert had 21 points and 12 rebounds.

We’ll get more into this disappointing series and the questions that are up ahead for the Knicks in the upcoming week. But for tonight, let’s just try to shake the images of Lance Stephenson and Roy Hibbert dominating the Knicks out of our heads.

The post New York Knicks – Season Over After Game 6 Loss appeared first on Turn On The Knicks.

The absence of Indiana starting point guard George Hill is likely and is an enormously important factor. It is also worth noting that starting shooting guard Lance Stephenson is a little banged up with an ankle injury sustained late in Game 5. Indiana is thin in the backcourt and thin in general off the bench. It is hard to see them scoring much more than 80 points, if they even crack that number at all without Hill.

Putting their backcourt injuries aside, the Knicks STILL haven’t had a big offensive game this series, namely Carmelo Anthony and JR Smith. There is a relatively simplistic fact in this series: if the Knicks can get a big night from Anthony and/or Smith, notably with them combining for 40% from the field…they are going to win, as pointed out by Moke Hamilton in our roundtable yesterday.

JR seems to be on the right track but the focus is always going to be on Anthony. Aren’t we due for one of “those” games from ‘Melo? If he can gut out a vintage 32-36 point performance in a relatively efficient manner, we are going back for Game 7 in Madison Square Garden. He must continuously attack Roy Hibbert by driving to the basket, the best defense for Hibbert is getting him on the bench with foul trouble.

It sounds like Mike Woodson is going to do the sensible thing with his line-ups, which is of course stay with Pablo Prigioni as a starter and give him extended minutes at the expense of Jason Kidd, along with play Chris Copeland off the bench instead of Amare Stoudemire. There is no reason Copeland and Prigioni shouldn’t be playing 20-25 minutes each tonight. If Pablo does Pablo things and Copeland can crack double digits again, the Knicks will have enough support for their lead scorers.

Raymond Felton had a strong second half in Game 5, after playing too tentatively in the first half. He needs to attack the paint from the opening whistle and thoroughly win the point guard match-up against DJ Augustin, who is overextended as a starter. He lacks the defensive presence of Hill and struggles to facilitate the offense in the same way. Stephenson is a borderline disaster when he is forced to handle the ball too much and Paul George’s game becomes somewhat limited offensively if he is forced to continuously bring the ball up.

It is beyond critical for the Knicks to start fast tonight. A quick lead will get the Pacers crowd out of the game and tighten up a young Pacers team that much more. They will be staring at going from a 3-1 lead to being forced to head back on the road for a Game 7, potentially without their starting point guard. Again this a young team, who has been sloppy with the basketball and at the free throw line. If the Knicks can get them flustered early, they will be in good shape.

The Knicks dug themselves into this hole by playing substandard basketball all series. They played far from their best game in Game 5 but gutted out a win. A strong effort will be needed tonight to extend their season, can they rise to the challenge in hostile environment?

The post New York Knicks Game 6 Preview – Just Get One 2.0 appeared first on Turn On The Knicks.

Give one reason for optimism on the Knicks taking Game 6 in Indiana

Moke Hamilton, SNY TV/Sheridan Hoops - Two-fold. Without George Hill, the Pacers pick-and-roll defense suffers mightily and they miss another “take the best shot available” shot-maker in their halfcourt sets. Even if he is available on Saturday (which is a long shot, given the NBA’s new concussion policy), he will probably be limited.

Also, Chris Copeland. Like he did in Game 5, If he can give the Knicks another highly efficient 13 points in Game 6, they will have a good shot of forcing a Game 7, so long as Carmelo Anthony and J.R. Smith can make 40 percent of their combined attempts.

The dirty little secret here: the Knicks can play an extremely mediocre offensive game and still win. It’s hustling and rebounding, and in Game 5, with their backs against the wall, they found something.

Joe Caporoso, Turn On The Knicks - The absence of George Hill should be expected and is a nice boost to the Knicks chances. Indiana’s offense struggles enough to score points and without Hill they are led by a Guard trio of DJ Augustin, Lance Stephenson (who could be limited tomorrow with a ankle/leg injury) and Gerald Green. Their bench also gets that much shorter (only 10 points in Game 5) without Hill. The Knicks got away with another genrally sluggish offensive performance on Thursday and mostly won due to 19 turnovers and 57% free throw shooting from the Pacers.

At some point, as I think all of us reiterate here, the jump shots have to start falling and Carmelo and/or JR will put together an efficient night from the field. Mike Woodson took a step in the right direction with his lineup last night and let’s hope Saturday sees even more Pablo Prigioni and Chris Copeland, with even less (if any) Jason Kidd and Amare Stoudemire.

This is a young Pacers team who has been tough at home but could be a little tight from letting the Knicks hang around another game. If the Knicks can jump out to an early lead, it will suck the energy out of the building and the Pacers will get that much tighter.

Seth Rosenthal, Posting and Toasting - I guess it’s promising that New York has now beaten Indiana twice with sub-par performances, but the main source of (sick) optimism is the fact that George Hill might still be hurt. And…uh…maybe those open jumpers will start falling at some point!

Chris Celletti, Turn On The Knicks - If George Hill remains out, that helps a lot because he’s such an effective two-way player that presents match up problems on both ends. Indiana’s pick-and-roll defense was relatively lost without him last night. Even if Hill suits up though, I’m optimistic in that there are still shots the Knicks are leaving out on the floor. Despite the win in Game 5, the Knicks still struggled to shoot. While Indiana’s defense is great, there were large periods of Game 5 in which the Knicks merely clanked open jump shots. If those start going down, the Knicks can keep winning. I’m a big believer in being due, and I hope that I’m right in saying that the Knicks are simply due to have a big shooting night. They’re also due to win in Indiana, and Indiana is due to lose a home game. At some point, these things happen, right?

Matt Falkenbury, The Knicks Blog - The effort and energy that seemed to go missing in games three and four are now back for the Knicks after the win in game five. They kept the rebounding edge for Indiana to a minimum and with Hill out, they won the turnover battle 19-10. If they can do those things again then they should be able to get the win in game six. Indiana has not shot better than 41% in the last three games and have lived off of second chance opportunities. If you cut those off like the Knicks did in their two wins, then the chances of winning go up. It won’t be easy, but they have the formula which gives me my optimism that they can win and if they execute it, then they will win and head back to New York for Game 7.

The post TOK New York Knicks Game 6 All-Optimism Roundtable appeared first on Turn On The Knicks.

Indiana starting point guard George Hill was a late scratch with a concussion and not having him was a critical blow to the Pacers offensive rhythm. Indiana racked up 19 turnovers and was forced to give extended minutes to DJ Augustin and Gerald Green. Raymond Felton also had a big second half without Hill’s length pestering him, scoring 10 of his 12 points then and dropping off a few key assists.

It was a balanced attack from the Knicks offensively, as Mike Woodson finally pulled the plug on Jason Kidd’s minutes in the second half after five more scoreless first half minutes from him. He also didn’t play Amare Stoudemire in the second half, while giving Chris Copeland the extra time he deserved. Copeland responded by being the Knicks second leading scorer with 13 points, including 3 three pointers, 2 steals and 4 rebounds in 19 minutes. Pablo Prigioni was back in the starting line-up and also played 19 minutes, finishing with 3 points, 3 assists and 1 steal.

It wasn’t a dominant night for Carmelo Anthony but he gutted out 28 points and 6 rebounds on 12/28 shooting, including a few big buckets in the final five minutes. JR Smith took a few steps in the right direction with 13 points. It was only on 4/11 shooting but he did grab 6 rebounds, 2 assists, 3 steals and a block.

The Knicks managed to limit Roy Hibbert’s effectiveness, as he struggled with fouls all night. Compared to what he has been doing all series, his 7 rebounds and 9 points were easy to stomach. Paul George had a nice game with 23 points but the Pacers bench only scored a total of 10 points. They will continue to struggle with their offensive output with Hill on the sideline.

It is now on to Saturday night in Indiana for Game 6. Just like tonight, the Knicks need to focus on one game at a time. It sure as hell won’t be easy getting a road victory but if they can get by against a young Pacers team, you can imagine how tight Indiana will be Monday night at Madison Square Garden for Game 7.

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