New York Knicks Lose More Than Game Against Portland Trail Blazers
27. Final. 101. 34. 79
It was a horrible night in Portland for the New York Knicks, as they were not only defeated by the Trail Blazers, but lost more players to injury. The Knicks can barely trot out a full lineup, and for a team that was already behind the eight-ball it makes things that much more difficult. With their eighth straight loss, the Knicks record now stands at an embarrassing 5-28. Things will not get any easier as the Knicks continue their West Coast trip Wednesday night when they visit the Los Angeles Clippers Wednesday night.
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Player of the Game: Cole Aldrich
Aldrich has been pressed into extended minutes because of a number of injuries to the Knicks roster and he has responded with great performances. Tonight Aldrich played 34 minutes and stuffed the stat sheet. He scored 12 points to go with 19 rebounds, two assists, four steals and one block. With Samuel Dalembert joining Amar’e Stoudemire and Andrea Bargnani as injured bigs, Aldrich will be playing as many minutes as he can handle. If he continues to perform at this high of a level it won’t matter when they come back, he will still be in line for minutes.
-Injury List Grows
The Knicks have an extensive injury list that includes starts and main cogs of their lineups. Iman Shumpert and J.R. Smith have both missed weeks of games, and Andrea Bargnani hasn’t suited up yet this season. Cleanthony Early had surgery and his timetable is still unknown. Add the knee soreness Stoudemire is dealing with because of overuse and the ankle injury Dalembert suffered, the Knicks have almost as many injured players as healthy ones. You can add another name to that list now in Carmelo Anthony
Anthony has been dealing with knee pain, and it looked like it was only a matter of time until he would miss time again. Tonight was that time, as Anthony started the game but didn’t finish it, as he played only the first half. The Knicks have very little to play for right now, so it would not be surprising to see Anthony shut down for an extended period of time to try and get his knee right for the long haul.
-Scoring Woes
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The Knicks offense was a mess tonight. With Anthony leaving after the first half, the Knicks were without three of their top four scorers for the second half and it showed. They struggled to put the ball in the basket all night, scoring only 79 points all night. It was a struggle to even reach that, as the Knicks shot 33.3 percent from the field, 25.9 percent from the three-point line and 66.7 percent from the foul line. Playing the second night of a back-to-back with a shorthanded roster after an overtime game, it was evident the Knicks were out of gas.
-Perimeter Defense Lacking
While the Knicks couldn’t get it going offensively, the Blazers were on fire throughout the night from the field, especially from deep. The Blazers knocked down an impressive 44.4 percent from beyond the arc, making 16-36 for the game. Nicolas Batum and Wesley Matthews led the aerial assault, knocking down 5-7 and 6-15 respectively. Damian Lillard was the third Blazer to have multiple makes from deep, connecting on 2-6.