From the Hendo to the wall! Impressive dunk by Gerald Henderson.
Even after having one of the biggest and most well-received summer in free-agency, there are still going to be some nights where our team will still look and play like one of the cellar-dwellers in the NBA. Tonight was definitely one of those nights.
One of the things that made this game interesting was that Steve Clifford was admitted into a hospital late Thursday night due to chest-pains as a precautionary measure. Unfortunately, Clifford had to remain in the hospital throughout Friday, and he was unable to coach the game for the Bobcats this evening. Instead, it was up to his head assistant, Patrick Ewing, to get the Bobcats motivated for a game against Carmelo Anthony and the Knicks.
In short, this game was a blowout. The Knicks spoiled Ewing’s coaching debut with stellar shooting, and a great night from Melo. The Knicks went on to shoot 46% from the field, and even knocked down 12 three-pointers. 12!!! Compared to the Bobcats 4 three-pointers, the Knicks gunned down the Bobcats from the outside in. There’s only so much you can do as a defender when Carmelo goes 12-22 from the field fro 28pts.
One of the takeaways from this game, however, is that Kemba played well. Kemba finished with 25pts off 8-22 FG, and he even dished out 5 assists. For anybody who doubted Kemba’s development, it’s hard to argue with those numbers. Kemba is the centerpiece of the franchise right now, and if the team is going to make a turnaround, it’s imperative for Kemba to play well night-in and night-out.
MKG scored 14 off 6-11 FG, again demonstrating his ability to drive to the basket and finish through contact. I think this may be the most undervalued aspect of MKG, and while his shot is still very, VERY ugly, being able to put the ball in the basket is all we need him to do. He also blocked 3 shots, and gathered 8 rebounds. So again, seeing MKG play with confidence is a beautiful thing, but the Knicks just had the upper hand tonight.
Bismack also got 11 rebounds, but he only scored 3pts. It’s going to be quite a while until Biz becomes consistent on offense, but with Tyson Chandler out, it was a great chance for Biz to dominate the paint on both sides of the ball tonight. I’m happy he’s focusing on rebounding, but getting 8pts a night from him would do wonders for this team.
Overall, there honestly wasn’t much that the Bobcats could do to stop NY. They were hot. They were so hot, in fact, that Andrea Bargnani looked like the #1 pick that he was supposed to be for Toronto. I’m ready to put this game behind me, and I hope the Cats are too.
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