Amare injured…is this what the Knicks were looking for?

After Monday’s lose to the Miami Heat, Amare Stoudemire was frustrated with the lose and decided to punch the glass which enclosed a fire extinguisher. From this decision Amare needed multiple stitches because of the laceration he suffered. After the incident he was seen leaving Madison Square Garden with his hand heavily bandaged and with his arm in a sling. He has mentioned on his twitter that he apologizes for his actions and is sorry too the fans and his teammates. Although he might be sorry, I am not too sure if everyone else is sorry to see him out.

With Amare out with his back injury towards the end of the season, the Knicks seem to show that the reason why the Melo-Stoudemire show was not working in New York wasn’t because of Melo, it was because of Amare. In that time frame, Carmelo Anthony was arguably the hottest player in the NBA. He averaged around 30 points a game and was close to a double-double every night. In that stretch the New York Knicks showed that they could play defense and that they could play it affectively. Carmelo was able to show that he is capable of playing defense and seemed to show that he is interested in improving on that side of the ball. The Knicks were passing well and not taking horrible shots. They were looking for the open man and making the other team pay when they left a man open. Once Amare came back, the last week of the season, it seemed like the Knicks were back to their old ways. They were lazy with getting back on defense, and some or even most of the blame is because of Amare. He has been always known not to play or even try on defense, which every team needs to do well in the playoffs. Amare is just lazy and all he wants is to have the ball and score. We need players that are not selfish and are willing to give the ball up when they are not open. Which the Knicks did show when Amare was out. Even Carmelo Anthony was able to do this even when people have said he might be the worst ball-hog in the NBA.

With Amare out possibly the rest of the playoffs, this can hopefully help the Knicks and bring them back to how they were playing before the playoffs. Other good news is Knicks point guard Jeremy Lin should also be making his debut in game 4 after he tore his meniscus in his knee, which has had him sidelined for a while. With the addition of Lin, this could also be what the Knicks are looking for but it is not set that he will play like he has because he will just be getting off of an injury. It will be interesting to see how the next two games go for the Knicks because they need to find away to win before it gets to late.

Jeremy Lin out for 6 weeks

Knicks point guard Jeremy Lin will be out 6 weeks with a knee injury. His injury specifically is a left knee meniscus tear. The meniscus in the knee acts like a cushion for shock absorption and helps deal with the load of stress on the knee during activity. This is a huge blow to the Knicks because their main game manager on the floor is Lin. He is one of the main reasons why the Knicks have been surging the past few weeks. Lin has been one of the teams best scorers and late game leader for the Knicks. The Knicks NEED Lin and Stoudemire back if they want to be a legitimate contender in the playoffs. The Knicks need to get healthy as soon as possible but it is good that they have so much talent on their roster because scoring won’t be a huge problem for them since they still have Carmelo Anthony, Tyson Chandler, Iman Shumpert, Steve Novak, and J.R. Smith are major scorers still on the roster and is including more bench players they have. Carmelo has to be the main offensive centerpiece while Lin and Stoudemire are gone and they need to continue with the great defense they have been playing. Hopefully Lin and Stoudemire come back sooner then they are expected too so the Knicks have time to play with each other before the playoffs. It will be fun to watch how the Knicks can play without two of their major pieces but the pieces are going to be needed badly if they expect to win it all.

Woodson Cancels Practice

The New York Knicks coach Mike Woodson cancels practice today because of all the recent injuries the Knicks have suffered. Amar’e Stoudemire has a bulging disk in his back and did not play in the Knicks 89-80 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks last night. Jeremy Lin also did not play with a sore knee. Even though they both did not play, the Knicks were able to get the win. Most of the scoring came with Carmelo Anthony. During the game, Carmelo looked to suffer a groin injury. Could have not been too horrible because he was able to drop 28 points and grab 12 rebounds. Woodson decided to give the players off because they need rest and need to recover. The compressed schedule does not help the players and the whole defense thing is probably not helping either since they are not used to it. The players should rest and get ready for the playoffs (that is if they make it, which I believe they will). Rest, and get ready to play for a Championship, New York believes in you!

Knicks new look under coach Mike Woodson

Since the Knicks went with a new look coach in Mike Woodson, the New York Knicks have only lost one game. The main reason for this is the team is finally playing some DEFENSE! The team had no understanding of defense with Mike D’Antoni as their head coach. Mike Woodson many times has shown his commitment to defense when players are not willing to hustle to go back on defense and you will see Woodson yelling at the players to get back. This is great for the team and will hopefully make them a contender in the Eastern Conference like many people thought they would be. They are currently in the 8th spot and are improving. With they team playing defense, you can see a new energy and also you can see less selfishness from all the players. The players are willing to give up the ball to get the best “looking” shot they can get. Usually the players will shot if they believe they are open and would get terrible looking shots. The biggest offender to this is small forward Carmelo Anthony. Carmelo is known for his unbelievable scoring ability but is also known for not playing any type of defense. Anthony also wants the ball in his hands about 95% of the time while on the floor. Anthony and D’Antoni seemed to not get along and this showed on the court with their play and their record. Once D’Antoni resigned, the team and even Carmelo Anthony have finally showed that they can play defense. With the new coach Carmelo has been playing defense and has been committed to it. He has played well with the new coaching change and I believe it will only get better for Carmelo and the Knicks. If Carmelo can stop trying to be the runner of the offense and hand it over to Jeremy Lin, then I do believe the Knicks can make a serious run in the playoffs. The Knicks need to play defense to do well in the NBA. As seen in Miami, Chicago, and in Oklahoma City, these teams are the best teams in the NBA and their defenses are outstanding. As the old saying goes, “great defense leads to great offense” this has been working for the Knicks and since their defense has been flowing well, their offense has also boomed. Since the new coach, the Knickshave been out scoring each team by 10+ points every night. The New York Knicks need this defensive surge to continue, and they need to let Jeremy Lin run that offense. Tyson Chandler and Amar’e Stoudemire are great in the rebounding and they just need Carmelo to play defense and do what we all know he can do on the offensive side of the ball and the Knicks will be a legitimate contender.