The Knicks fell to their cross town rivals, the Nets last night behind the 21 points, 9 Assists, 7 Rebound, 4 Steals, and only 3 turnover effort by Jeremy Lin before fouling out with a couple minutes left in the game. The Knicks roster also welcomed back NBA vets Carmelo Anthony and Baron Davis. This was also JR Smith's second game with the team. Injuries also sidelined Iman Shumpert and Billy Walker. The team that won 7 in a row and worked hard on defense was not present. Today's game wasn't as much about the offense as it was a lack of defense. The Nets were 15-31 from three point land. Anytime a team puts up 30+ 3 point shots and shoots 50% or higher, they are on fire. Tyson Chandler was also in constant foul trouble, making the paint easier to score in. The SI cover curse sprouting its ugly head? I don't think so and I hope it's just a matter of the Nets feeling responsible for putting Lin in the headlines all of 16 days ago. Deron Williams had one of his best games ever. Both starting point guards would foul of the game. Davis is no longer the explosive point guards that played on the Hornets and Warriors. Having seen him play at UCLA and than a couple of years as a Clipper, the ball movement on offense was gone during most of the 9 minutes he was in the game.
I missed out on watching the full Nets vs. Knicks on February 4. The game that sent Lin into the NBA stratosphere. However, after getting NBA League Pass, I was able to watch the game last week. Lin was a total surprise and the game announcers were totally surprised as well. I think the Nets have had to sit on this "Linsanity" the last week and everyone pointing to that game as his launching pad. And that Jeremy Lin did it against an All-star caliber point guard in Deron Williams. D. Will if I may seemed on a mission to go around as many Utah Jazz style screens to get off. They wanted to make Jeremy Lin work on defense so he wouldn't be able to just save it for the offense side. It worked in a sense, D. Will got his, 38 points and a win.
Iman Shumpert and Billy Walker being out of the game also seemed to mess with their defense. Shumpert is fast and has long arms that he's super good on defense. If they could play have played him on defense, it may have turned the tide. Who knows, it seems that after the Knicks rolled to a 10 point lead in the first quarter, they though the game was over. I started watching the Knicks from the Jazz vs. Knicks game on Febuary 6. Before that, I caught some of the game between the Knicks vs. Lakers on the Dec. 29 just to watch if Lin would play. I did, but it was for only a few minutes. So, my point of reference for the Knicks has started on February 6. Before, I don't know how they played. However, if you asked me how the Lakers or Clippers played, I could talk to you for hours on end about their offense and defense. Now, after Jeremy Lin's games, I can do something similar but only with the context of Jeremy Lin. One of the things I saw in last nights game and the game with NOLA, was that the timely shots did not fall and the defense relaxed when they had a lead. Hey, that sounds a lot like my Lakers.
With teams seeing more tape and more games of Jeremy Lin, he's still putting up good numbers. Today however, he wasn't getting to the rim like he usually does. The tough makes after contact in other games were not falling today.
I've watched the last couple of press conferences of Jeremy Lin. When the press from Taiwan asks questions in English, I am truly embarrassed. Their English is so poor. Today's was "not so good team" in reference to the Nets. Please Taiwan press, send people that can speak better English. Do you want o hire me?
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