Game 5 of 82: New York Knicks v Charlotte Bobcats (Review)

Game 5 of 82 (Review)            NY Knicks v Charlotte Bobcats            

Predicted Score: 77-86

Actual Score: 101-91

By Malcolm Merritt
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The New York Knicks (2-3) have officially broken out. This game proved to be the spark they were looking for, the spark they needed, in order to get their season going. In their 101-91 road victory over the Charlotte Bobcats (3-3), they showed desperation. The Knicks showed dominance on offense and on defense as they dominated most of the game. Although there were 6 lead changes and 3 ties, New York slowly set itself apart at one point leading by 19 points.

The team meeting seemed to have worked. Help was coming from unexpected places. The biggest surprise in this game was Andrea Bargnani. Taking over for the injured Tyson Chandler at the center position, the 2006 number 1 overall pick had his breakout game in a Knicks uniform. He had 25 points, shooting 11 for 25 from the field, 3 for 9 from 3-point range. Bargnani had 35 points total in the last five games. His ability to extend the floor was the hardest thing for Charlotte’s Bismack Biyombo to deal with. Also, he stepped up defensively and the rest of the Knicks followed suit. He recorded 5 blocked shots, one short of his career high. After one night, Bargnani is looking really good. The Knicks were of course led by Carmelo Anthony (28 points, 12-22 shooting) in scoring and were led by both Anthony and Bargnani in rebounds (8).

Andrea Bargnani (77) had a phenomenal night, scoring 25 points and swatting 5 shots. 

The offensive performance was stellar. New York was able to keep the ball and move it around the floor. Of their 12 turnovers, the first 5 were in the first 3 quarters, which at that point they were leading 85-69.  They also were extremely effective on defense. Perimeter defenders like Shumpert, Prigioni and World Peace were all extremely effective, holding the Bobcats to 25% shooting from beyond the arc and 31 of 76 from the field.

The Bobcats played a similar game to Friday with the exception of a new head coach. With the hospitalization of Steve Clifford, 52, Patrick Ewing stepped into his new role. The Knicks’ legend seemed nervous to begin the game but as time went by, grew more comfortable, moving with the pace of his team set by Kemba Walker. Walker finished with 25 points, again, on 8 for 22 shooting. The Bobcats struggled in terms of general offensive production. Charlotte was able to win the battle on the boards, but not by a huge margin (41-37). Their lack of scoring in the half-court hampered them greatly. What allowed them to defeat the Knicks in the first game was their ability to force turnovers and score in transition. The Knicks shut that down this game (until the fourth quarter at least). With very little production coming out of the half-court set, they became stagnant as the Knicks made that huge third quarter run, in which they hit 6 three pointers.

Toure Murry and Cole Aldrich also made their first appearances during the regular season near the end of the fourth. Though they only played 1-½ minutes, look for them, especially Aldrich, to have increased playing time over the next few weeks.

Look for Aldrich to be getting more playing time in the next 4-6 weeks. 

New York plays home on Sunday against the San Antonio Spurs (5-1), who just came off a close, grind-it-out win over the Warriors on Thursday 76-74. The Knicks are most excited for the return of former Sixth Man of the Year, JR Smith, who was suspended five games by the league on a drug violation. If the Knicks move the ball the same way they did on Thursday and Bargnani continues with his skillful but aggressive approach, Knicks fans can feel really good about the future.

Tune in at 12:00 PM ET on MSG Network.