Quote Originally Posted by scalabrine:
I know what you already think.
The Knicks are a mess right now.
JR Smith can't shoot.
Tyson Chandler can't rebound or defend Roy Hibbert.
Carmelo is back to being the old 'my iso offense is my best game' Carmelo.
Jason Kidd looks every bit of 40 and won't/can't shoot.
Leaving you with what?
A series in which the Knicks are down 2-1.
A series in which the Pacers whipped the Knicks in games 1 and 3 and 2 quarters of game 2.
Are the Knicks ready to fold you ask?
The answer is no.
But whether they win or lose doesn't matter because I can't trust the ML right now with this team.
This is far too many points for a desperate Knicks squad that now has a better player in Amare to juggle within the lineup.
Everything worked for the Pacers last game. Hibbert had the game of his life and every call that could have gone the Pacers way, did.
They were balanced offensively and defensively and fed off every ounce of energy in their first home game in this series.
The Knicks trailed by 3 at the half and couldn't match the Pacers offensively or their intensity in the second half and it got ugly.
Game 4 will be different. A 3-1 series lead means "series over" based on historical percentages of teams with such a lead.
They will leave it all on the floor in game 4. It is their season. You can't expect to win 3 in a row against a team that just beat you 3 of 4, and convincingly In 2 of the 3.
You have to understand the Knicks 'window of opportunity'. It's now. Not next year. Not in two years. It's right now. Regardless of what happens with the Heat in the next round if they make it, they want a rematch. That is all they want. A loss in the second round is a failure of a season. They want to get home 2-2 and reclaim the series lead in the Garden.
Kidd knows this. He will play better.
JR knows this. And if he doesn't play better he will lose tens of millions of dollars because his contract is up.
Carmelo is more than well aware of this and doesn't want his playoff resume to only include a series win against a fading Boston franchise in a season of great expectations.
Amare knows this. As long as he is not on the floor with Carmelo, he will produce.
Woodson knows this and is responsible for keeping Amare off the floor with Carmelo.
Felton knows this and will recognize the Knicks gave up one of the most popular players in franchise history for him for games like this, and he can only do better than the atrocity of a game he had in game 3.
Chandler knows this and he will talk to Carmelo today and guard Hibbert more effectively, and stop running his mouth after he and Melo have a get-together.
The time is now.
And if Vegas wants to give us MORE points than the previous game, solely based on an overreaction from the previous game, we will take them.
How did GOOD desperate teams fair this year?
Memphis down 1-0 to Thunder: WIN
Heat down 1-0 to Bulls: WIN
Spurs tied 1-1 with Warriors: WIN
Bulls tied 3-3 with Nets: WIN (Nets are NOT a good team, Bulls are)
Pacers tied 2-2 with Hawks: WIN (Hawks not a good team, Pacers are)
Boston Lakers Bucks and less so the Clips w/o Blake (when the series went j to the crapper) vs. Memphis all are not 'good' in the same category as the above.
The only team that really choked was Denver and even they didn't have Gallo.
The Knicks have their whole team healthy. (Carmelo looks to be ok now)
We can debate the games I chose for the wins above but that is my opinion and those are the games that stood out.
The Knicks are a GOOD team like the teams above. You have to believe that.
This will be a close game that will be a coin flip IMO and I can't take the ML on a coin flip. I can take the generous gift of 5.5 Vegas is offering.
If you believe the above, you take a comfortable 5.5 (and maybe up to 6 if you can get it?) and you trust the Knicks will come to play with their season on the line AND their future.
One NY team embarrassed the franchise and city in the playoffs this year. You'd be hard presses to ultimately say TWO did. The Knicks won't allow it. They will have pride and will play with exponentially more energy and urgency than the Nets did.
This is the NBA team I know the best and I do not take posting with them lightly.
The Time is NOW.
The pick:
KNICKS +5.5 (and even more if it hits 6)
you write too much, in the end its not gonna be worth it.
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