My, oh my what a stretch of games the Knicks are in the midst of. Starting with Utah a week ago, the Knicks have not won. In three straight losses, the Knicks gave up over 100 points in each and against Utah managed to allow the Jazz to score 131 points. Unacceptable if you are a Knicks fan I'm sure, but lets not forget that coach Mike D'Antoni isn't necessarily a defensive god. So as we move forward, the Knicks are in San Antonio tonight to take on the league leading Spurs.
Heading into tonight's contest, the Knicks need to remember that they can compete. They have already made the Spurs victim of their offensive arsenal when the Knicks beat them earlier in the month at home. But, not so fast. Playin in San Antonio has been known to be tough for opponents across the board. A great home court advantage can be used against the Knicks tonight. How do the Knicks counter that?
First and foremost, play under control. The helter skelter style of play and wasting trips on the offensive end needs to stop. That starts tonight. Limiting turnovers is going to be a huge factor. If the Knicks can have the edge in the turnover margin tonight, they give themselves a chance. Third, the defense must step up and be more resistent. Allowing teams to consistently score over 100 points per contest makes it harder for the team on the offensive end because they try to match point for point. That wears down a team quickly and if you waste a trip like stated above, the game slowly slips out of your hands.
Wilson Chandler is making he move tonight to the bench to start the game and will be making his contributions coming off the pine. Bad idea, or not so bad idea? Well, there's two sides to the equation. The bench production needs an extra scoring punch off the bench to help make things a bit easier on the starting unit. Chandler surely can provide that. The negative? Well, Chandler was told he would be signed by Donnie Walsh because this is a contract year and he's playing very solid. He recently has hit a slump, but players of his caliber need to learn to fight through slumps and regain that confidence. I'm not sure how coming off the bench will help his mindset in that aspect.
The reality is the game is there for the taking and the Knicks have a chance to get back on track. Will the opportunity be wasted? Well the 8pm tipoff time on ESPN will show us all we need to know. Until then.
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