Opening night for the Knicks was in Madison Square Garden, squaring off against one of the NBA’s best defenses. This would be a tall task considering the Knicks were unveiling their new triangle offense influenced by Phil Jackson, and coached by Derek Fisher who ran it under Jackson in LA. Chicago was showcasing the return of their superstar Derrick Rose, who was coming off his second knee injury that sidelined him for most of last season.
Rose played a total of 21 minutes, only 7 of those coming in the 2nd half. He added 13 points off of 3 for 7 shooting from the field. His stat sheet was filled in other categories, adding 3 rebounds, 5 assists and 2 steals. We definitely saw an explosive Rose out there, and that was good to see. He didn’t seem conscious of his knees, and was all over the place when he was in the game. The team seemed to rally around the fact that their leader was back.
Taj Gibson would receive the game MVP in my book. He lit the Knicks up all night long with his inside presence, as well as his lethal mid range jumper. He shot 10 out of 12 from the field coming off the bench for 22 points, which led the team. He had 8 rebounds, and 1 steal, block, and assist. Pau Gasol was a close 2nd for the MVP as he had a double double (21 points, 11 rebounds).
New additions Aaron Brooks, and rookie Doug McDermott looked good in their Bull debuts off the bench. McDermott had 12 points and looked good defending and stretching the floor. Brooks was a menace getting into the paint, and had 6 assists in doing so with 13 points also. These contributions led to a 104-80 blow-out victory to spoil the Knicks home opener. This prompted Phil Jackson to say following the game that the Knicks “weren’t ready for primetime.”
New York would respond to Jackson’s comments by ruining Lebron James’ first regular season home game returning to Cleveland. The Knicks had a much better showing, winning 95-90. The triangle offense looked more in sync, and the effort level was there for the Knicks. Quincy Acy made his first start as a Knick, and having a good performance in doing so. He had 8 points and 10 rebounds (led the team), and has shown he has a high motor and toughness. These are the intangibles that the Knicks have lacked in previous years. Carmelo Anthony stepped up big in the primetime, adding a team high 25 points. This was a huge improvement from his 14 point performance the previous night. He also showed he is adjusting well to moving the rock in the triangle offense, by having 6 assists on the night which was 2nd to JR Smith (7 assists).
Smith had a great showing following an unimpressive opening game on Wednesday night, where he seemed to be pressing. Smith had 11 points off of 5 for 10 shooting. Amar’e Stoudemire cooled off from his performance against the Bulls in which he was 2nd in the team in scoring with 12 points. Against the Cavs, he had just 8 points and 4 rebounds (2 assists) on 24 minutes off of the bench. The Knicks will need him to stay healthy all year, and can do so by continuing to monitor his minutes which will give them maximum production from the veteran. Jason Smith did a good job off the bench with 12 points on 19 minutes of work. He has done a good job hitting the mid range jumper and giving the Knicks a rim protector off the bench.
All 5 starters for the Cavs had double digits, but were led in points by Kyrie Irving (22 points). The lack of production from the Cavs bench however proved to be the key in the Knicks win. The Cavs starters seemed to run out of steam, as the Knicks would pull away at the end of the 4th quarter. The win was huge for the Knicks, as they needed to get back some confidence after being embarrassed on national television to the Bulls. Their next opponent will be the Charlotte Hornets in the Garden on Sunday night.
Barry Holmes/Pure Sports NY