Big win for the Knicks. Melo showed up at the end and our defense picked up as well.
I def liked how Tyson came out to play tonight and we basically neutralized Hibbert. Reason why we were able to do this was because, we put him in tough positions to score. Really, the only time Hibbert scored was when he was one on one with Chandler. I loved the help defense with wing players and Felton came out to play tonight. He didn't score this game, but he did a lot of the little things like distributing and keeping his composure on the defensive end.
I think bringing in Prig and Kidd when they came in were great moves by Woodson. Kidd is really showing his worth to the team. Dude does all the little things that won't show up on the box score.
JR still can't seem to find his shot and we're going to need him to pick it up.
Also, this break will be great for us. Melo will get treatment for his shoulder; it's def bothering him and you can see it. Amare is also going to be key for us as well. When the 2nd unit comes in, he's going to have to rebound and go in the post. He should be able to against Indiana's second unit. I don't expect anything big from STAT, but all we can hope for is him being active on the boards and defending. Anything more is a plus.
I've watched Hibbert all series long, and dude just can't guard out of the paint. Everytime he's in the Pick and Roll situation, Hibbert will sag off and wait for the ballhandler to go to the basket. If we can keep him moving, dude is basically useless. It's when he's on his two feet set and ready to contest. Hibbert barely contests shots out of a pick and roll. Hibbert also really depends on the playing going through the pick to recover and help out. Usually Paul George is the guy who does this well. We will need other players who aren't George to go through the Pick and Roll. I think if we use the Pick and Roll with Shumpert (who is usually guarded by West) and Tyson, we'll expose Hibbert the most.
I feel like this is the first game in the entire series we've actually played our style of basketball and forced Indiana to match the pace. Indiana doesn't want to play that way and we need to take advantage throughout the entire series.
^Word. They keep using the word "winnable" again in the post game interviews. Hope we beat them over the head in Indy by 40 pts and more.
It seems like Indiana always uses the word "winnable" against us. We need to come out aggressive and force the issue.