It was yet another pathetic performance by the New York Knicks this afternoon. They struggled, turned the ball over, were stagnant on offense, and failed to play defense. This was simply another loss that they came out slow and never could get back into this game. The Nets went on to blow out the Knicks 103-80.
The Nets were energetic and ready to play today. They took it to the Knicks in every area of the game today. It all started with Joe Johnson. His play has been superb in this new year and today he really played well. Johnson scored a team-high 25 points in 30 minutes. He was strong early and when the Nets needed a basket Johnson provided his scoring touch. He is a very huge part of why the Nets are now 7-1 in the month of January.
Defensively the Nets really had a nice game as they were able to pressure the ball and force the Knicks into turnovers. Their pressure resulted in 15 turnovers and ten steals. They were everywhere today and really look like a different team.
It was only Carmelo Anthony for New York today. Anthony did everything he could to be the difference in this one, but it didn’t matter. He scored and rebounded yet again and resulted in a loss. This guy has played harder than anyone on this team this year. It is sad and pathetic to get the production out of him and not get wins. At this point New York needs to look at a better solution for him. Either trade him or get a better cast of players around him. Anthony finished with 26 points and 12 rebounds in 38 minutes.
Raymond Felton was just awful today. He turned the ball over three times and shot 2-of-11 from the field. He didn’t run the offense at all tonight and that is really disheartening. His play this season has been very poor and it’s time that Felton start to see some minutes taken away. His defense is just as poor as his offense. All season Felton continues to be the sole leader in switching. He creates mismatches for his team and puts other guys in bad spots. Andrea Bargnani is the one player who constantly gets put in bad spots. Today that was the same and the Nets took advantage.
This loss is simply really bad because the Knicks didn’t come out ready. That in itself is unfathomable. The Nets aren’t as bad as their record suggest, but still the Knicks have to come out out and compete. That wasn’t the case today and the Knicks lost because of that.
Photo Credit: Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images
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