Melo's Issues Front And Center Against Magic
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Two days removed from an exciting win over the East's second-best team, the Knicks' loss in Orlando is a tough pill to swallow.
New York overpowered the Magic early on, outscoring Orlando 37-15 in the second quarter and appearing poised for a second straight victory (and the first back-to-back wins in the Carmelo Anthony era). However, the Knicks melted down at the end of the third quarter, allowing Orlando to score unanswered on three straight possessions in both the third and fourth quarters, and ultimately fell to the Magic 116-110.
There was some fiery play, as the teams combined for five technical fouls, but New York's offense lacked a spark.
The Knicks followed up a meager shooting night Sunday in South Beach (43.8 percent effective field goal percentage) with a pathetic 41.3 percent in Orlando. And at the center of the problem is Anthony.
In four games for New York, Melo has done well by traditional statistics, averaging 27 points per game. However, advanced stats show him to be a drain on the offense.
Anthony has taken 93 field goal attempts to net 108 points, a poor ratio. And while the league average in true shooting percentage is usually around 54 percent, Anthony has a TS% of 50.2 percent for New York. Compare those numbers to Chauncey Billups, who has scored 93 points on only 49 shots, with a 65.5 TS% in the blue and orange, and it's clear who has been the better Knick thus far.
There was a lot of support around the league for the Anthony deal, but there also was a sizable contingent who felt he didn't address the team's needs. Prior to the big trade, New York had a potent offense and a weak defense, and needed depth at point guard and center. And while the Knicks added offensive firepower in Melo, they never addressed some of their biggest weaknesses before the trade deadline.
And even though he's one of the leading scorers in the league, Anthony's style of scoring might not mesh with the Knicks' offense. Melo scores primarily using isolations and post-ups, and doesn't possess an accurate 3-point shot -- all of which are antithetical to Mike D'Antoni's offense.
Given the Knicks' poor efficiency since the trade, it appears some of the worries might be vindicated.
Proponents of the Anthony move spoke well of his high-volume game -- especially his ability to create with the ball -- and its positive effect in the fourth quarter of close games.
But down the stretch against the Magic, Anthony missed all three of his field goal attempts, turned the ball over once and managed only four points.
New York was hoping its deadline deal would put it among the East's best teams. But, despite besting the Heat in Miami, it doesn't look like the Knicks are there -- at least, not yet.
While blowing a possible win against Orlando might have been tough for Knicks fans, being saddled with an ill-fitted Anthony for the long haul might be an even bigger pill to swallow.
Read more from Kurylo at the TrueHoop Network blog Knickerblogger.net »
Two days removed from an exciting win over the East's second-best team, the Knicks' loss in Orlando is a tough pill to swallow.
New York overpowered the Magic early on, outscoring Orlando 37-15 in the second quarter and appearing poised for a second straight victory (and the first back-to-back wins in the Carmelo Anthony era). However, the Knicks melted down at the end of the third quarter, allowing Orlando to score unanswered on three straight possessions in both the third and fourth quarters, and ultimately fell to the Magic 116-110.
There was some fiery play, as the teams combined for five technical fouls, but New York's offense lacked a spark.
The Knicks followed up a meager shooting night Sunday in South Beach (43.8 percent effective field goal percentage) with a pathetic 41.3 percent in Orlando. And at the center of the problem is Anthony.
In four games for New York, Melo has done well by traditional statistics, averaging 27 points per game. However, advanced stats show him to be a drain on the offense.
Anthony has taken 93 field goal attempts to net 108 points, a poor ratio. And while the league average in true shooting percentage is usually around 54 percent, Anthony has a TS% of 50.2 percent for New York. Compare those numbers to Chauncey Billups, who has scored 93 points on only 49 shots, with a 65.5 TS% in the blue and orange, and it's clear who has been the better Knick thus far.
There was a lot of support around the league for the Anthony deal, but there also was a sizable contingent who felt he didn't address the team's needs. Prior to the big trade, New York had a potent offense and a weak defense, and needed depth at point guard and center. And while the Knicks added offensive firepower in Melo, they never addressed some of their biggest weaknesses before the trade deadline.
And even though he's one of the leading scorers in the league, Anthony's style of scoring might not mesh with the Knicks' offense. Melo scores primarily using isolations and post-ups, and doesn't possess an accurate 3-point shot -- all of which are antithetical to Mike D'Antoni's offense.
Given the Knicks' poor efficiency since the trade, it appears some of the worries might be vindicated.
Proponents of the Anthony move spoke well of his high-volume game -- especially his ability to create with the ball -- and its positive effect in the fourth quarter of close games.
But down the stretch against the Magic, Anthony missed all three of his field goal attempts, turned the ball over once and managed only four points.
New York was hoping its deadline deal would put it among the East's best teams. But, despite besting the Heat in Miami, it doesn't look like the Knicks are there -- at least, not yet.
While blowing a possible win against Orlando might have been tough for Knicks fans, being saddled with an ill-fitted Anthony for the long haul might be an even bigger pill to swallow.
Read more from Kurylo at the TrueHoop Network blog Knickerblogger.net »
__________________
The most serious mistakes are not being made as a result of wrong answers.
The true dangerous thing is asking the wrong question.
The most serious mistakes are not being made as a result of wrong answers.
The true dangerous thing is asking the wrong question.
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