Slumping Knicks must bounce back
Antawn Jamison of the Cleveland Cavaliers blocks a scoring attempt against Jeremy Lin. (Feb. 29, 2012) Credit: Jim McIsaac
The schedule allowed the Knicks to hold what amounted to a mini-training camp last week. Those five practices were supposed to be their time to start coming together, but the Knicks seem very far apart on the court.
Their offense has regressed somewhat to earlier in the season as Amar'e Stoudemire brought up spacing issues again after Wednesday's loss in San Antonio. Carmelo Anthony and Jeremy Lin haven't jelled the way the Knicks hoped they would. Baron Davis and J.R. Smith have provided occasional lifts off the bench, but there have been plenty of misses and some deep shots.
With their offensive weapons and talk of being an elite team, the Knicks haven't been above .500 since they were 6-5 Jan. 12. They've lost three straight and six of nine and are 18-21 as they close out this trip Friday night in Milwaukee.
"That's so hard to believe," Stoudemire said. "This is by far the deepest team I've played on. I had some great teams in Phoenix. This team right here is very deep. Everyone can play at any given time. So it's just a matter of us trying to put it all together and win."
The issues haven't just been offense and chemistry. The energy and defensive intensity the Knicks played with when they went 9-2 during a 19-day span in February have been absent recently.
Not having Tyson Chandler and Jared Jeffries because of injuries impacted the Knicks' defense against the Spurs.
The Knicks have been down at least 15 points in each of their last five games, including four during or after that minicamp. If not for a second-half comeback against the Cavaliers last week, the Knicks would be on a five-game losing skid.
"Tough times, but we don't want to blow anything out of proportion," Lin said. "We're not going to quit or anything. The world's not coming to an end. We're fine.
"The beauty is that we have a lot of scorers and we have a lot of room for improvement. The ugly side is that we need to make sure we get there as soon as possible."
The Knicks have plenty of strides to make on both ends.
In Tuesday's loss at Dallas, Anthony took only 12 shots, had six points and was scoreless in the second half. The Knicks played better with Anthony and Lin on the bench after halftime.
The next night in San Antonio, the Knicks featured Anthony. He scored 27 points, but they trailed by 24 against a Spurs team Stoudemire said doesn't "have nearly enough talent to compete with" the Knicks.
Few would agree. The Spurs have a championship core and remain one of the league's best teams. Tony Parker (32 points) and Manu Ginobili played brilliantly, and the Knicks couldn't stop them.
"We don't ever accept losing and we're not happy with that," Lin said. "But we're trying to look at the big picture. We have to make sure we're building toward something. As long as we're building toward something and we're improving, I think we'll be OK."
Notes & quotes: The Knicks recalled center Jerome Jordan from the D-League Thursday.
