Mike Woodson didn’t.
The Knicks coach believed his team could go toe to toe with the Heat before it beat Miami without Carmelo Anthony on Thursday night. New York’s 20-point win in South Beach just strengthened Woodson’s opinion.
“I think it’s out there, there’s no doubt about that,” Woodson said of the notion that the Knicks can finish atop the Eastern Conference, above the Heat.
“This is the team that’s going to give the Heat the most trouble because they have the perimeter players,” Johnson said on the radio show.
1. The Knicks are 14-4, their best 18-game start since going 14-4 in 1993-94, a season in which they lost to the Houston Rockets in seven games in the NBA Finals.
2.Via Elias: The Knicks are the third team in NBA history to go on the road and beat a defending NBA champ by at least 20 points, while playing without their leading scorer.
Today’s Burning Question: How big a role did Mike Woodson’s offseason conditioning program play in getting the Knicks to compete at a consistently high level?
After the Heat game, Tyson Chandler was asked what people learned about the Knicks on Thursday night. He said, “We’re a deep team.”
But there was something else: How well-conditioned the players are, which allowed them to jump out to a 85-67 lead with 3:05 to play in the third quarter.
[New York Times] Mayo’s 23 Lead Mavericks Past Skidding Suns 97-94 (Fri, 07 Dec 2012 07:51:42 GMT) Fans were guaranteed a good time or their money back at the Phoenix Suns’ game against Dallas. [New York Times] Knicks 112, Heat 92: Knicks Rout Heat With 3-Point Barrage (Fri, 07 Dec 2012 06:57:16 GMT) Playing the [...]
MIAMI — Up until this point, the Knicks have been so focused that they haven’t gotten caught up in how people are perceiving them. But now that they have the best record in the Eastern Conference (14-4) and upset the defending champs twice, J.R. Smith is speaking out about how he wants others to view his team.
“I wish they would say we’re the real deal,” he said on Thursday night after the Knicks beat the Heat, 112-92, “but you know what, we can’t worry about that.
New York Knicks 112 Final Recap | Box Score 92 Miami Heat Kurt Thomas, PF 11 MIN | 2-2 FG | 0-0 FT | 7 REB | 1 AST | 4 PTS | +8 Kurt snaggled a couple of Kobe assists tonight and helped the Knicks to do a more-than-decent job on the boards for [...]
MIAMI — With the Knicks’ No. 1 offensive option, Carmelo Anthony, out of the lineup on Thurdsay night, Raymond Felton facilitating the pick-and-roll became top priority.
And the Knicks’ starting point guard did not disappoint.
Felton finished with a team-high 27 points to go along with seven assists and two steals, leading the Knicks to another 20-point defeat of the defending champs.
“Raymond has been playing unbelievable,” Tyson Chandler said after the game.
WHAT IT MEANS: Wow.
The Knicks gave the Heat their first home loss of the season, dropping them to 8-1, thanks to their 18 3-pointers (40.9 percent). And, amazingly, they blew out the second-best team in the Eastern Conference, and defending champs for that matter, without Carmelo Anthony (left middle finger laceration). Yes, you heard that right.
When the Knicks beat the Heat in their season opener back on Nov. 2 at the Garden, 104-84 (also a 20-point win), they also did it from beyond the arc.
No Carmelo Anthony, not a problem. The Knicks still made it a game, thanks to back-to-back shots by Steve Novak and then one by Raymond Felton towards the end of the second quarter. But they need more overall scoring beyond their starting point guard.
Here are several main observations at the half:
1. Raymond Felton made sure to pick it up without Anthony. Felton knew that more would fall on him and Tyson Chandler in the pick-and-roll, and the point guard shifted into high gear.