ATLANTIC DIVISION CHAMPIONS
Well, we did it. I know this has been inevitable for quite some time now but now that it's official it feels GREAT. Top 4 seed in the East, guaranteed Homecourt Advantage in the first round. Oh, and also, we just won our 13th straight game. This would have been a perfect night if not for what happened with 10:30 left in the 4th quarter. But more on that later.
Carmelo Kyam Anthony
Earlier this week, Forbes came out with a list of who they thought were the most overpaid players in the league. Melo topped that list. Last year, ESPN ranked Melo the 21st best player in the league. Earlier today, they revamped their rankings and upped him to number 9, with the likes of James Harden, Tony Parker, Russell Westbrook, and Dwayne Wade all above him. So how does Melo respond? 36 points, 8 rebounds, 6 assists, 13-21 shooting. Yet another fantastic game during this torrid stretch. He continues to make everyone look stupid and prove the haters wrong. And I'm loving it.
Iman Shumpert has awoken
For now let's forget that new addidas commercial where for some reason Iman is rocking Celtics green. Shump was en fuego tonight, playing a great overall game after a couple of forgettable ones. He finished with 18 points and was money on his corner threes. And he did it all tonight without showing any emotion on his face, more like relief that he was finally hitting shots. Let's hope that this is the start of something. We're gonna need him to step up big time come playoff time.
3 to the dome
The Knicks tied a franchise record tonight by hitting 20 three pointers including 9 in the first quarter alone. And it wasn't like we were just jacking up random long range bombs. The Bockers shot 20-36 from beyond the arc tonight and most of it came from good open looks and solid ball movement.
We just won the Atlantic Division for the first time in 19 years
Hey Brooklyn, tell me how my ass tastes.
Martin's injury
I was going to talk about John Wall in this section but who cares about him. This is a more serious issue. This game was a good old fashioned blowout from the start and everyone was having a grand old time knowing that the Knicks were well on their way to their first division title in nearly 2 decades. That was, until about 10:30 left in the 4th quarter when Kenyon Martin jumped up for a rebound and came down awkwardly on his ankle, falling to the ground clutching his leg and banging on the Garden hardwood in clear pain/frustration. Everybody held their breath. The crowd went silent. The players looked worried. Prigioni tried to heal K-Mart himself by rubbing his leg. And I entered the fetal position. It looked bad. Martin was clearly upset and he had to be helped off into the lockerroom. For the rest of the game, everybody was on edge, fearing the worst even the players. Luckily, Tina Cervasio came back with a report 10 minutes later saying that x-rays were negative and Martin had suffered a sprained ankle.
Could have been a lot worse. Still have to check in again these next few days but it is likely that Martin will sit until the playoffs, when hopefully he'll be healthy again. With our entire front line already injured/old, losing Martin would be a devastating blow. We'll just have to stick with Copeland/Novak at center (LOL!) for the rest of the season and hope that Tyson and K-Mart and Camby(LOL!) are healthy come playoff time.
This was a classic Knick game with the highs (blowout, 13th straight, division crown) and the lows (injury to Martin) but with the news that Martin's injury may not be as bad as initially thought, we can enjoy this one a bit more. It's a big win in Knick history, we have suffered long enough...this division title feels fantastic. And we're peaking at the perfect time. Let's keep this rolling.
The Chicago Bulls. They are one of four teams (Clippers, Blazers, Rockets) and the only Eastern Conference team we have not beaten this year. Luckily, it looks like we may be avoiding them in the postseason but still, it would be great to at least take one game from them before season's end. We dont match up very well against the Bulls, they are very physical. But win number 14 would be the best so far if we can beat the Bulls in Chicago. And with the way Melo and the Knicks have been playing these past couple of weeks, I dont think thats much to ask.
A great recap!
