It won't get easier for Knicks
Iman Shumpert and Amare Stoudemire look on late in the game against Brandon Jennings of the Milwaukee Bucks. (Jan. 20, 2012) Credit: Jim McIsaac
MIAMI -- The Knicks assembled a roster of current and former All-Stars with the belief they could compete with the Miami Heat. Lately, though, they're having trouble competing with the NBA's worst teams.
The Knicks (7-11) enter Friday night's nationally televised game against the defending Eastern Conference champion Heat having lost seven of their last eight games. They already have lost twice this season in front of a national TV audience, and Amar'e Stoudemire seems determined to make sure it doesn't happen again. "I'm born ready for these type of games," he said. "It's what I live for."
The Heat (13-5), which owns the East's second-best record, could be getting stronger. Dwyane Wade, who missed the previous six games with a sprained ankle, might return Friday night. But the Knicks continue to say it's what they do and not so much whom their opponent is.
Despite having two of the NBA's top scorers from last season and a defensive presence at center in Tyson Chandler, the Knicks are 6-6 against teams with losing records, and three of the past eight losses are against sub-.500 teams. Chemistry issues, offensive struggles and a banged-up Carmelo Anthony, who's shooting 31.7 percent (40-for-126) in his last six games, have contributed to their woes.
"We have to stay together, first of all," Stoudemire said. "We have to understand what works as far as spacing the court and moving the ball. Once we figure it out, we'll become a great team. Until then, we are what we are."
Stoudemire has been preaching ball movement all season, but it's the Knicks' shooting that has been the biggest problem. The Knicks are the NBA's fourth-worst shooting team, converting 41.9 percent of their tries. They're tied for sixth worst in three-point accuracy at 30.2 percent after missing 17 of 20 attempts in Wednesday night's loss in Cleveland.
The Knicks hope their situation will improve when former All-Star point guard Baron Davis returns from a herniated disc. The earliest he could come back is tomorrow at Houston, but Tuesday against Detroit at the Garden seems more likely.
Either way, Davis isn't expected to play heavy minutes right away. So the Knicks might have to figure it out without him.
"We have some things we've got to solve," coach Mike D'Antoni said. "It can become mental. Part of the game is mental. But it's structurally flawed. We've got to cure that first."
Last season, shortly after Anthony's acquisition, the Knicks played in Miami after a disappointing loss at Cleveland and won a defensive battle, 91-86. The exclamation point came when Stoudemire blocked James' layup in the closing seconds to secure the win.
"It was definitely a big win for us, one of the bigger wins of last season," Anthony said. "It was a momentum win, a confidence-booster for us. So hopefully we can go down there and do that again."
