Tonight had the makings for a really ugly loss for the New York Knicks; going up against a strong Chicago Bulls team extremely shorthanded on the road isn’t a formula for success. While the Knicks did suffer a loss still, it was a game they were able to stay competitive in as they fought right to the end. It was nice to see the Knicks not lay down against an obviously superior opponent and battle right to the end. Alas, there is only so much moral victories can do, as the Knicks record just continues to get worse and now stands at 5-23.
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Player of the Game: Cole Aldrich
Aldrich was inserted into the starting lineup tonight for the first time this season and he responded with a strong game. Aldrich registered a double-double, scoring 13 points and 10 rebounds. Unlike Samuel Dalembert, Aldrich provided a presence on both ends of the court. He has a much stronger game offensively than Dalembert and can score the ball if given the opportunity. He had multiple hook shots tonight en route to his 13 points. He also added three assists, one steal and one block. He has definitely earned more minutes, and possibly even the starting job.
-Surprising Rebounding Edge
Outside the final possession, the Knicks actually controlled the rebounding game. They out-rebounded the Bulls 41-32, a shocking edge as the Knicks are one of the worst rebounding teams in the NBA while the duo of Pau Gasol and Joakim Noah gives the Bulls one of the strongest rebounding teams in the NBA. It was a team effort on the glass for the Knicks, as every player had at least two, led by the 10 from Aldrich.
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-Bull Blossoming
According to Stats LLC., for the 16th time this season, the Knicks were torched by a player scoring their season-high in points. It was not only a season-high this time, but a career-high for Jimmy Butler, who is continuing his breakout season. Butler lit the Knicks up for 35 points on 11-21 shooting, including 4-7 from beyond the three-point line and 10-11 from the charity stripe.
The Bulls were running their offense through Butler tonight because Derrick Rose was sidelined from an illness. He took full advantage not only scoring, but distributing as well. He ended the game with seven assists. He added five rebounds as well, and was a terror defensively with four steals and one block. The Knicks couldn’t catch a break tonight, as in typical Tom Thibodeau fashion Butler rarely sat, playing 45 minutes.
-Hardaway Jr. Leads Offense
Without Carmelo Anthony and J.R. Smith the Knicks were in dire need of someone to pick up the scoring slack. Hampered by foul trouble, Amar’e Stoudemire missed longer stretches of the game than the Knicks had hoped. In stepped Tim Hardaway Jr., who scored 23 points on 8-19 from the field. After struggling with his jumper the past couple of games, he had it going from deep tonight to the tune of 5-8.
More impressive than the scoring output though was the other areas Hardaway Jr. contributed in. He still needs to work on his defense, but with the extended minutes he is finally beginning to give the Knicks help in other stats. Tonight, it was in distributing, as Hardaway Jr. led the Knicks in assists tonight with five. Fisher is beginning to trust Hardaway Jr. more and more, evident from the 40 minutes of playing time he received tonight.