After handily beating the Wizards (120-99), the Knicks may not have been happy to see their thirteen-game winning streak end in overtime in Chicago Thursday night (118-111). But they won when it mattered: Wins over the Cavs (101-91) and Pacers (90-80) clinched the second seed in the Eastern Conference and allowed the Knicks to get some rest in a meaningless loss to the Bobcats last night (106-95).
Even if they lose to Atlanta tomorrow in the season's final game, the 53-win Knicks have had their best regular season since 1996-97 when they won 57 games under coach Jeff Van Gundy. But like any fifty-plus win team, regular season success is no longer enough. Their recent play has elevated expectations to the point that anything less than a trip to the Eastern Conference Finals will be a disappointment. And they'll be tested early, with a first round matchup against the Celtics.
What Went Right This Week: The Knicks got the wins they needed and put themselves in position to have home court advantage in the second round of the playoffs while avoiding LeBron James and the Heat for as long as possible. They managed to do that despite playing without Tyson Chandler for all and Kenyon Martin for most of the week. That they were able to clinch the two-seed by beating the Pacers, who will now be seeded third, made it all the better.
Melo had strong games against the Wizards, Bulls and Cavs, scoring more than thirty points and shooting better than fifty percent from the field in all three games. He slowed down in a physical contest with the Pacers Sunday afternoon before leaving with a shoulder contusion but still managed to score 25 points. The Knicks rested Anthony last night in Charlotte and are likely to keep him out of the season's final game as well. Playing alongside Chris Copeland up front against Chicago, Melo grabbed nineteen rebounds and his passing in Washington was a big part of the reason the Knicks won so easily. Melo also locked up his first scoring title, that is unless Kevin Durant scores 99 points in the next two games.
JR Smith continued his Sixth Man of the Year campaign, highlighted by a 31-point, 13-16 shooting performance against Cleveland Friday night. When JR Smith is playing well, there are few players in the league more fun to watch.
The win over Indiana was exciting not just because of its importance but also because the game got physical, suggesting a potential second-round series between the two teams will be something fans of old-school hoops can really enjoy. Six or seven games of Lance Stephenson versus JR Smith and Kenyon Martin versus David West will not be for the faint of heart.
What Went Wrong This Week: As usual for this team, it was injuries. Tyson Chandler continued to sit out with a bulging disc in his neck, Kenyon Martin "severely" sprained his ankle against the Wizards and has not played since, Marcus Camby's got what appears to be a fatal case of plantar fasciitis and Rasheed Wallace made his return after months with a stress fracture in his foot against the Bobcats, only to experience soreness in the foot and leave the game after four minutes.
Things got so bad that the Knicks were forced to give up on Kurt Thomas, cutting him to bring in Solomon Jones, a player four or five NBA fans have heard of. The Knicks were so impressed with Jones that they went right back to starting small forward Chris Copeland at center after watching Jones play thirteen minutes after walking in off the street against the Cavs and fourteen minutes as a starter against the Pacers. Give it some thought: the Knicks signed a guy who had no idea how to run their offense or defense and started him in a game against the team just behind them in the standings. Not good.
Even if Martin and Chandler are able to come back for game one against Boston it will take them a game to get back up to speed. And losing home court advantage by dropping one of two at home to start the series will make it hard to beat a team with as much experience as Boston.
Losing to the Bulls would have been no big deal and might have even been a moral victory if not for one extremely small man.
No one mocks friend of Gothamist Steve Novak like that (skip to 1:00 to see), although when a guy scores 35 points and eight of them are in overtime, he earns the right to talk a little ish.
Knick of the Week: Chris Copeland is a 29-year-old NBA rookie who played four unimpressive years at the University of Colorado, nineteen unimpressive games in the D-League six years ago and, until this season, was a basketball nomad who had only done his thing in countries that can't be identified easily.
Now, Copeland is a rotation player on one of the top teams in the league. He's a feel good story who had a great week when the Knicks needed him. He played four games at center, happily mixing it up with guys like Carlos Boozer and Roy Hibbert. He displayed his deceptively deliberate inside-outside game with seventeen points against Washington, twenty points against an Indiana team known for its defense and 32 points against Charlotte, shooting just under 50% from both the field and from three along the way.
Copeland might not be the best defender around and he gets yelled at by Mike Woodson more than anyone, but he's certainly become a fan favorite just as we hoped he would at mid-season.
Anything Funny This Week?: JR Smith made fun of Mike Woodson's clothes again, which is always good for a laugh. If the Knicks win a championship JR's going to surreptitiously photograph Mike Woodson in the shower and put it on Instagram. You've been warned.
Up Next: It's another meaningless game for the Knicks against Atlanta Wednesday, a game that Melo, Chandler, Martin, JR and countless others are likely to sit out again. After that they're off until Saturday when they face off against the Celtics in game one of the playoffs. The Celtics know how to win, gave the Heat a scare in the playoffs last year and are certainly capable of getting under the Knicks' collective skin. It won't be a walk in the park for the Knicks. Stay tuned.
