While most of you were stabbing yourselves in the eye with a fork by watching Cliff Lee dominate the Yankees, the Knicks were in Miami, starting their final season until LeBron James comes and saves us all. (And by “us all,” we mean Russians in New Jersey and/or Brooklyn.) It was an unpleasant experience.
The Knicks hung with the Heat in Miami for about a quarter and a half, and then it all fell apart in a 115-93 loss that wasn’t all that close. At one point, the Heat hit 26 out of 31 shots. So the defense is a worry.
We knew the defense was a concern, though — David Lee, as was already clear but became abundantly so last night, can’t guard centers — but the Knicks also couldn’t shoot last night. The one guy who had a halfway decent shooting night was Danilo Gallinari, and that wasn’t until late, and with only one shot coming from inside the arc.
It’s all really quite simple. Three Mike D’Antoni quotes from last night will sum up how it went:
“We couldn’t make shots and couldn’t stop them. It’s not a good combo.”
“I thought we would win 82 this year. Now it’s only 81. We’ll get over it.”
“I only have 15 timeouts and I need about 20.”
Your season opener, everybody! The Knicks face a lesser foe Friday night, at Charlotte, a team that only scored 59 points against Boston last night. If they put up 110 on the Knicks, we’re officially concerned.