The lesson to learn from Monday night’s game (Jan. 2) is that if you live by the three-pointer, you also die by the three-pointer. The New York Knicks attempted 35 three-pointers against the Toronto Raptors, making just 10 of them to finish 28.6 percent from beyond the arc. Overall, the team went just 28-for-78 from the field (35.9 percent) in a game that simply got away from them at the end.

This 90-85 loss to the Raptors is extremely frustrating; especially with how good the Knicks looked against the Sacramento Kings back on Saturday (Dec. 31). The team had to play without All-Star power forward Amare Stoudemire again, and at first it didn’t seem like it would hurt the team. The Knicks took a nice 23-22 lead at the end of the first quarter and it looked like a great game was brewing. The second quarter got out of control though, as Toronto out-scored the Knicks 29-11 in those 12 minutes alone.

Heading into halftime with a 17-point deficit to a team that won 22 games last year is not what Knicks coach Mike D’Antoni wanted to see, and at least the team put in more effort in the second half. The Knicks fought back to within one point with just 35 second left but couldn’t stop the Raptors when it mattered most. In the early Atlantic division standings, New York now falls behind Toronto by means of the head-to-head tie-breaker. This is definitely not where the team wanted to sit after five games in a shortened season.

Carmelo Anthony finished the game 13-for-31 from the field, often taking shots he wasn’t comfortable with just to get the offense going. Far too many times there were other players passing up shot opportunities and it seemed like Bill Walker was afraid to even take shots on Monday night (Jan. 2). I don’t blame Anthony at all for attempting 31 shots, but I would have liked him to make a couple more. He did finish with 35 points, 11 rebounds and 4 assists though, so fantasy basketball owners that have him had to come away happy from this game.

Next up for the 2-3 Knicks are the Charlotte Bobcats, who come to town on Wednesday (Jan. 4) for a 7:30 p.m. ET game.

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Sources:

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*Ryan Christopher DeVault is a fan of the New York Knicks that has followed the team since the days John Starks, Charles Oakley, and Anthony Mason instilled their defensive will on the rest of the league.

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The New York Knicks really took it to the Sacramento Kings on Saturday night (Dec. 31), and in the process proved that the team has weapons other than Amare Stoudemire. Forced to play without the power forward, the Knicks still cruised to a nice 114-92 victory.

Every starter for the Knicks scored in double-figures against the Kings, including rookie Josh Harrelson going for 14 points and 12 rebounds in his first career start. The Knicks have a real asset in Harrelson, and it is clear that he could add a lot to the team this year. This is what I was talking about when I wrote about how the Knicks could benefit from having Stoudemire sit out a game.

Carmelo Anthony led the team in scoring with 23 points, but he struggled from the field (6-for-15). Anthony made up for it by going 11-for-13 from the free throw line, grabbing 7 rebounds and dishing out 5 assists. Down low, Tyson Chandler was an absolute beat, going 6-for-8 from the center position and hitting all 10 of his free throws. For a guy that took only 6 shots total in the first three games, this was a huge outing. Chandler’s 22 points were more than any Kings player had.

Helping with the additional scoring was Landry Fields with 21, Toney Douglas with 17 and Bill Walker with 11 points off the bench. The Knicks made 88.9 percent of their free throws, going 24-for-27 from the line to really put this game out of reach. It also didn’t hurt that the defense held the Kings to just 34.9 percent shooting from the field and just 27.3 percent from three-point range.

After losing two games on the West Coast to the Golden State Warriors and Los Angeles Lakers, this was a great way to bounce back. The Knicks improved to 2-2 on the season and kept pace with the 2-2 Philadelphia 76ers in a tie for first place in the Atlantic division. For a team still trying to find itself, Knicks fans have to come away from this win with a big smile. The team got forced to find offensive weapons other than Stoudemire and passed that test will flying colors. If the team can keep this up when he returns, it could become tough for any of the Eastern Conference teams to stop them.

The next game for New York is on Monday, Jan. 2 against the Toronto Raptors in the first of several games at Madison Square Garden.

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Sources:

Full Knicks Schedule

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*Ryan Christopher DeVault is a fan of the New York Knicks that has followed the team since the days John Starks, Charles Oakley, and Anthony Mason instilled their defensive will on the rest of the league.

Note: This article was written by a Yahoo! contributor. Sign up here to start publishing your own sports content.

The New York Knicks have a tough game against the Sacramento Kings on Saturday night (Dec. 31). Currently the Knicks are on a two-game losing streak and may have to play without power forward Amare Stoudemire. I wrote about how the Stoudemire injury could become a good thing for the Knicks if it is just a short-term thing, but it’s definitely tough to play without one of the two best players on the roster.

It’s very unclear what coach Mike D’Antoni will do if he doesn’t have Stoudemire in the starting lineup, but it could mean a chance for Bill Walker to step in at power forward. He is certainly a bit undersized at 6-6 and 235 pounds, but we aren’t talking about a team with a lot of depth. The other option is to give rookie Josh Harrellson that chance to get some big minutes for the night. I like the latter option because Harrellson has really good energy on the floor.

The starting lineup for the Kings is Tyreke Evans at point guard, Marcus Thornton at shooting guard, John Salmons at small forward, Chuck Hayes at power forward and DeMarcus Cousins at center. Through three games for the Kings, Thornton leads them in scoring with 20.3 points per game, followed by Evans and Cousins with 14.3 each. Both Hayes and Cousins average more than 10 rebounds per game, so the front line of New York is going to have their hands full. Providing energy off the bench are guard Jimmer Fredette and power forward J.J. Hickson, two players that go all-out every night.

The Kings are 1-2 (just like the Knicks through the first three games and average just 92.3 points per game. They also give up 100 points per game, which should allow the Knicks plenty of opportunities to score. New York is getting out-scored this year as well though, to the tune of 98.3 to 88.7, ranking the Knicks as the sixth lowest-scoring team in the NBA. The team is also the worst rebounding team at just 31.3 per game, so going up against a team packed with good big men could pose a problem on Saturday night.

The Kings aren’t as good as the two teams that New York has lost to this week, but this is also a team that should not get underestimated. Tyson Chandler has to stay busy on the offensive glass and it’s worth noting that he has just 6 total shots through the first three games. Carmelo Anthony needs to have a big game and the guards have to start hitting shots. The open three-pointers that the Knicks miss are really starting to add up and the team has gone just 19-for-63 from long-range in the first three games.

The game plan is simple on Saturday, even if it isn’t simple to carry out. The Knicks have to work the inside-outside game, make at least 45 percent of their three-pointers and keep the Kings from getting too many fast-break points. Evans and Fredette like to run and the Knicks guards have to put a body on them.

The Knicks play the Sacramento Kings at Power Balance Pavilion on Saturday, Dec. 31 at 8 p.m. ET.

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Sources:

Full Knicks Schedule

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*Ryan Christopher DeVault is a fan of the New York Knicks that has followed the team since the days John Starks, Charles Oakley, and Anthony Mason instilled their defensive will on the rest of the league.

Note: This article was written by a Yahoo! contributor. Sign up here to start publishing your own sports content.

The New York Knicks may have to play without power forward Amare Stoudemire on Saturday night (Dec. 31). Stoudemire suffered a sprained ankle in the Thursday (Dec. 29) game against the Los Angeles Lakers and is officially listed as day-to-day. It means he could still play on Saturday, but that he would have limited mobility in his left ankle.

This injury has good and bad sides for the Knicks, especially as the team tries to find an identity in the early part of the season. The bad part is that Stoudemire is one of the two main offensive weapons that the Knicks have and it is hard to find offense when he or Carmelo Anthony is on the bench. The good part is actually the same situation, because it would force the lineup to figure things out with Stoudemire on the bench. Then, when he returns from the injury, the team will know what to do when he is taking a breather during games. Someone else has to step up to take pressure off of Stoudemire and Anthony, and this is the perfect opportunity to figure out who can do it.

In the first three games of the season, Stoudemire is averaging 17.3 points and 6 rebounds per game, but he has struggled to find his shooting stroke against the last two games. Against the Golden State Warriors he had just 16 points and against the Lakers he went just 4-for-17 from the field. Now the Knicks have to go up against the fast-paced Sacramento Kings next, a team that really likes to get out and run. That would certainly test Stoudemire’s ankle and it seems like the ideal week to simply rest him on the bench.

This game against the Kings is the last one on the West Coast road trip before the Knicks head back to Madison Square Garden for a Jan. 2 battle against the Toronto Raptors. If Knicks coach Mike D’Antoni plays it smart (like he should) and just gives Stoudemire some time off, his ankle should get a lot better by next Monday. Three games into the season, it just seems like too much of a risk to put him back on the court and risk the injury getting worse. It’s not like there is a break in the schedule, so getting him healthy for the Eastern Conference games has to become a priority.

The Knicks play the Sacramento Kings at Power Balance Pavilion on Saturday, Dec. 31 at 8 p.m. ET.

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Sources:

Full Knicks Schedule

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*Ryan Christopher DeVault is a fan of the New York Knicks that has followed the team since the days John Starks, Charles Oakley, and Anthony Mason instilled their defensive will on the rest of the league.

Note: This article was written by a Yahoo! contributor. Sign up here to start publishing your own sports content.

The New York Knicks stopped by the Staples Center to take on the Los Angeles Lakers December 29 and the Lakers were not hospitable to the their East Coast visitors, beating them, 99-82. The Lakers smothered the Knicks and showed that their new coach, Mike Brown, is not about “Showtime” but he leans towards a different method of winning.

The New York Knicks Amar’e Stoudemire pumped up the fans before the 2010 season.
Photo by: Chamber of Fear WIkimedia Commons

The final score was not indicative of the pace of the game. Despite the Lakers falling just short of breaking through the century mark, defense was the key to the Lakers beating the Knicks. The Lakers pounded the Knicks into submission and sent them on their way to Sacramento with their tail between their legs.

This was the second game of a three-game West Coast swing for the Knicks, who lost to the Golden State Warriors, 92-78, in Oakland December 28. Now after going down in defeat to the Lakers, the Knicks will now travel back to Sacramento to take on the Sacramento Kings on New Year’s Eve. The NBA scheduler must have it in for the Knicks with those travel arrangements.

The Knicks, playing their third game of the season with the Lakers and their first back-to back of the season, looked slow and frustrated most of the game. There were several dumb fouls on the Knicks side, including an ill-advised foul on Kobe Bryant as he threw up and hit a three-point bomb from long-range.

The Lakers are not lighting up the scoreboard as they have in year’s past. This Lakers team is going to play grind-it-out basketball every game. The days of 120 point Lakers games is over and the Mike Brown era has begun.

The Knicks have added depth in the last few days with their pick up of Jeremy Lin and through the off season with the key additions of Tyson Chandler and Baron Davis. Davis has not played due to a back injury but Chandler is in the news for his comments about Mark Cuban and the Dallas Mavericks

Chandler has been in the news since he made it clear the Mavericks are positioning themselves for the 2012-2013 season. Chandler spoke before the Knicks embarked on their three-game trip and said the Mavericks roster strategy was a major reason for him signing with the Knicks this off season.

The win over the Knicks was a huge boost to the Lakers because they did not have Andrew Bynum under the basket for this game. The Lakers are a much better team when a healthy Bynum is wreaking havoc under and above the rim. Get ready for a patented Los Angeles Lakers hot streak early in the season.

*Todd Jacobs is a native Southern Californian and longtime Los Angeles Lakers fan since the early ’70s.

Sources:

ESPN Clubhouse: Los Angeles Lakers and New York Knicks stats and news.

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