It's December, 21 games into the season and the Knicks are tied for the third seed in the East. That's not to say they're contenders, but moreso to point out that the East is absolutely WIDE OPEN after the top 2 seeds; homecourt advantage in the first round is within reach for any of the top 11 teams right now. So to keep winning the games against the lesser squads is a HUGE stepping stone to home court and also a KEY to hanging on to playoff position at all. Last night, ghosts of slow starts against "should win" teams in the past were around but it also felt like turning a corner where the team is finally looking like it can be relied upon to beat the teams it's supposed to for the first time in what feels like a long time. That's a mental edge they'd lacked even in the first half of these 20 games. It's also nice to see the Knicks with the third best home record league wide...REALLY nice actually.
Rose: The Knicks started the game a bit stagnant and low energy; but Rose was the one guy who started out ready to play. He was attacking for middling results thanks to Whiteside's presence but it was necessary. By pulling those floaters and mid range pull-ups, he was drawing defenders and creating openings for offensive boards and cuts from others. He didn't shoot well, but his attacking helped. 10 and 3 assists with 2 steals against a tough PG in 25 mins. Dragic ran him ragged through screens and wore him out to the point of going under everything in the third (could easily blame the back spasms) but overall, I thought his D was respectable up to that point of fatigue showing. Hopefully he's healthy and ready to chase Kyrie even if only for 20 mins and then rest again.
Lee: 9 pts, 7 boards and 50% from the field to go with trademark tough defense. There's not a lot left to say about Lee on nights like this, which is most nights...you know what to expect from him and for the most part he's gonna give you that.
Melo: In a bizarre turn of events he didn't force ISO's but had ZERO rhythm in catch and shoots early to the tune of 0-6. It was when he started attacking the guys in front of him who were all undersized that he found that rhythm and caught fire from the second quarter on. 13-27 is good, 3-9 would look much better if he didn't shoot two heat checks and let it be 3-7. 35 points, 4 boards, 2 assists and an absurd +25 on the night. Melo's passing was better than that tally, his defense was solid besides a couple of poor close outs and he was absolutely a killer last night. Any time the team needed a quick boost, they could just hand him the ball. He passed out of every double too unless the double was late.
KP: Call me crazy but the shooting slump might be the best thing to happen to him. I've been critical of his defensive lapses and periodically of his rebounding; but when his shot left him, he responded by turning up the voracity in both areas to a Spinal Tap 11. Even when he's shooting poorly, he draws a ton of attention and has a positive impact on spacing. His rim protection lately has been top notch, he's sticking to his men better (still could improve) and he's a glass eater right now. 14 points and 12 boards...now imagine if he can get the shot back AND keep the defensive effort at this level; that's a two-way STAR.
Noah: His impact was undeniable, but it lasted for less minutes than millions of dollars he's making this year. 10 and 10 in 14 minutes, that is wild production and thanks to most FGA's being putbacks; he was 5-6. The second quarter when the team needed a spark, Noah came in and provided life with the trademark roar on one of his put backs. The third quarter he had three dumb fouls and wasn't needed from there out because KOQ is continuing his ascension. This was a good game, not a 17 million dollar game but a good one and it showed what Noah is supposed to give you...tough d and more effort than anyone else out there.
BJ: Guy scores 6 points and has 4 TO's on 2-8 shooting in 24 minutes and I'm still giving him a pass. BJ had 9 assists and if anything, he was overpassing the rock which led to the TO's. He was passing up shots he should be taking at points. The thing about all of this is that the dude still collapsed the defense constantly and he was probing for the right pass. It wasn't uncommon for him to attack, see no holes and reset the offense to create a better opportunity for someone. Jennings' defense isn't shut down stuff but it is the pestering type that gets in opponents' heads and creates TO's.
Holiday: Everything I said about Courtney Lee but with the numbers adjusted for less minutes out there. His value to this team shouldn't be understated. He came in and started for the squad and gave them great effort, back to the bench and he's not skipping a beat.
Lance Thomas: I can't call him "Can't Get Right" when he has a game like last night. The Heat made the fatal mistake of completely ignoring Lance to double off and Lance responded like he always does...with efficient shooting and shockingly effective awkward forays to the rim. You will bite your nails every time he pounds the ball on the dribble and his hands are just a notch above Ndour's when he goes for rebounds...but when he's on, the dude can produce. But repeat after me...."don't force the issue Lance!"
Kuz: Shot poorly, 1-5 from the field in 10 mins. But he grabbed 3 boards in short order and added a blocked shot to boot. I still like what he does out there for the most part, but with his shot failing him and Lance's shot making an appearance for a change...it was only fair to not play more.
KOQ: The unsung hero strikes again, duking it out with another "tough guy" C and providing a bit of everything 12 points, 7 boards, 3 assists and 2 blocks in 27 mins on 6-8 from the field. His midrange jumper has become a real weapon and his defensive play has never been better. Kyle's effort on the glass was really impressive, especially with the match-up considered and it's become common practice for the man drawing loose ball fouls while he's out there. He's getting starter minutes lately regardless of starting and that's well earned; if he keeps this up...nah, I'm just gonna enjoy the ride for now.
Willy: 2 boards and block in 3 mins...KOQ and Noah were just too good for him to get much burn.
Baker: Ron Baker played for all of 38 second and he sprinted at least twice in that span...Team Baker for life fam.
Hornacek: Outside of Melo's brilliance forcing his way out there for extended time, no Knicks player posted more than 30 minutes played last night. The rotations all did their jobs and Horny got those dudes to come out of the locker room from half time with some added fire. It's not a game where there's too much to point out but seeing the team handle business was nice and seeing him safe guard almost everybody's minutes before the back to back is a nice touch.
Random: With all this good will, it's perfect timing for the media to turn up the racial discussions over the word Posse again. I'd love for the Knicks to make a major statement win tn, but I'd settle for a competitive game. Rose's back spasms got me nervous, but that's better than leg issues I suppose?
their patties
We're winning because we stay away from that bullshyt 
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