The Knicks got away from a last gasp shot by the Heat to win a game in their first round playoff series. It’s a minor miracle that they won a game at all, but, they finally won a playoff game for the first time in a long time. That losing streak alone would be enough to crush most sports fans and franchises. Once you get started down that road, it’s hard to stop.
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If the New York Knicks somehow thought that Linsanity 2.0 would save them from an opening-round series sweep at the hands of the Miami Heat, they can think again.
Even if Jeremy Lin was healthy enough to start in Game 4, it’s doubtful that he would be able to muster enough magic to salvage the Knicks‘ opening-round series against the Miami Heat.
The Heat all but stuck a fork in the Knicks following Thursday night’s 87-70 Game 3 victory. New York was able to keep things close for the majority of the game, but behind the power of LeBron James’ 32 points, the Heat pulled away in the fourth quarter.
With another win for both of them last night, the Thunder and the Heat are but one win away from sweeping their first round playoff series. If you look at the Thunder and Mavericks it’s confusing because the Mavericks should be able to do something with the Thunder. However, the Knicks, they’re just a mess. There was so much promise, but now there’s not. Why is that?
The only thing that felt worse than the New York Knicks following their 104-94 loss to the Miami Heat in Game 2 of their opening-round playoff series was the glass casing surrounding a fire extinguisher next to the Knicks‘ locker room.
That and Amare Stoudemire’s left hand.
Stoudemire, who was clearly upset that the Knicks had lost their 12th consecutive playoff game and fell behind in the best-of-seven series 2-0, took out his frustrations on the fire extinguisher casing following the loss with a solid left jab. Suffice it to say the glass won.
The first week of the hectic 2012 NBA Playoffs are in the books and already there are plenty of story lines and drama that will likely ensure to become a very entertaining 40 nights to decide a champion. From the match ups to the injuries and records being broken, every game this weekend had worth watching and plenty of things to discuss: The Magic and Clippers are up 1-0, Derrick Rose is out and the Spurs and Heat look like the best teams in the postseason. Highlights from Weekend 1 include:
Reports are coming out that Jeremy Lin has been able to cut in workouts, but that does not mean that he needs to be put into this disastrous series between the Heat and the Knicks. Yeah, he might help, but, he’s a huge piece of their future–he’s not going to save the Knicks from the Heat.
He played one-on-one with a Knicks assistant, but that doesn’t really mean anything to me. All it means is that he had a light workout a few hours before a game. That doesn’t make him even remotely an option for this postseason.
Michael Wilbon wrote a column on ESPN.com about how he felt that Derrick Rose’s torn ACL was a “symptom of this season.” Well, we’ve found another symptom. Iman Shumpert tore his ACL as well, in the first game of the Knicks/Heat first round series.
With the second torn ACL of this postseason, I think it is time to reconsider the faster format. You know the one I mean, it’s the quicker schedule that sort of arose from the lockout. I mean, everyone kind of thought starting on Christmas Day was a good idea, but, now two blown knees (probably not the last ones,) and we have to assume that there are plenty of other injuries that we could attribute to this lockout and shortened schedule.
When the Heat defeat the Knicks 100-67 in the first game of their first round series, you know that the matchup was not one that was made in heaven. I mean, I didn’t really think the Knicks had much of a chance against the Heat, but, I think that it might have been a little bit closer than a 33-point beatdown. So, looking at the loss, we can only assume two things:
1. The Knicks can’t play defense against the Heat.
2. The Knicks can’t play offense against the Heat.
I know, it sounds kind of laughable. It would work better in text language. Something like:
Did you see Carmelo Anthony’s performance Sunday night? Yeah, it wasn’t exactly spectacular. And I’m not talking about the one on the court.
After scoring 42 points in a loss to the Miami Heat on Sunday, Melo appeared on Showtime’s Nurse Jackie as a former baseball player who was attending rehab with the main character. As you could imagine, the performance wasn’t exactly Oscar-worthy. Actually, a lot of people thought his work was horrible. At least, that was the opinion of Michael Roberts in his column.
If last night’s 96-80 thumping at the hands of the New York Knicks was any indication at all, the drama that has surrounded the Orlando Magic all season long is beginning to take its toll.
That drama reached its climax prior to Thursday night’s game when head coach Stan Van Gundy said he had been told by high-ranking team officials that star center Dwight Howard had previously asked to have him fired.
“I know he has,” Van Gundy told reporters after the team’s morning shootaround. “That’s just the way it is. Again, I’ve been dealing with that all year. It’s not anything real bothersome. You go out and do your job.”
