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| Carmelo Anthony shoots over two Wizards. Photo from Keith Allison |
The Knicks are becoming stagnant late in games. Typically the offense is to give Carmelo Anthony the ball and then all the other Knicks stand around and watch. When it’s not that, it’s a lot of dribbling and the triangle seems to have disappeared from the Knicks heads. This showed heavily when the Knicks went scoreless for a few minutes in a win against the Hornets last night. In order to be an elite team, the Knicks must stick to their offensive system, dribble less and space the floor better.
Surely Knicks coach Derek Fisher knows that an offense dependent upon isolation won’t take the Knicks far. As great a scorer as Carmelo Anthony is, his continual desire to clear out a whole side of the floor could be the Knicks Achilles heel. While it’s nice for maybe a few possessions a half, the Knicks offense must have continuity. Walt “Clyde” Fraizer said it last night and it was evident in the way the Knicks were playing.
One Melo isolation here, countless dribbles for Langston Galloway there. The Knicks have shown the ability to run the triangle and run it effectively. Why stray from what works? It makes no sense, it’s like using a fan to stay cool, but then, at the hottest part of the day, turning the fan off and putting on a long sleeved shirt.
The Knicks need to stay cool and remember what offense they’re running. Melo is certainly a part of the triangle, but he isn’t the only player on the court! Some of the Knicks young guards seem a little tense down the stretch too. What the Knicks coaching staff needs to make clear is that they need to play the same way throughout the whole game.
Simply because the game becomes tight doesn’t mean you have to overhaul everything. The best teams stick to their systems, only tweaking small elements of what they do.
The Knicks need to play as a team for 48 minutes. Anyone who strays from the team concept ought to be benched. Knicks basketball is at its best when the ball moves, not when the ball sticks! Get the glue off the ball and the Knicks will be that much better off.