Post Game Reaction: Rockets 118 Knicks 99
Another poor showing by the Knicks as they lost to the Rockets 118-99. Again the defense was an issue as they gave up 100 points through just the third quarter. Here are few of my observations from this game.
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Knicks defense another no-show. The New York Knicks may have the worst defense in the league. They gave up 118 points, let the Rockets shoot 47% from the field and make 15 threes. The Rockets had 50 paint points and scored 12 on fast break points. The rotation on defense was very poor and that gave the Rockets too many free layups and open three point shots. This needs to improve or the Knicks are going to lose a lot of games.
Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports
Knicks had no answer for James Harden. In correlation to the poor defense, it started with James Harden, who torched the Knicks all night. He finished with 30 points and 15 assists, while making the Knicks defense look silly. They had no answer and he did whatever he wanted.
Knicks struggled to defend the three-ball or the paint. As part of the theme of the night, the Knicks defense struggled to stop the three ball or limit the layups or dunks. They let the Rockets hit 15 threes and most of them were wide open. It became evident that Porzingis or Noah were not comfortable chasing Ryan Anderson on the wings. Most good teams would at least limit either the paint points or points from the three point line but the Knicks were in a generous mood and let the Rockets also score 50 paint points.
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Get Justin Holiday more minutes. Jeff Hornacek needs to get Holiday more minutes as he has been the best Knick off the bench. He has shown the ability to make the three ball, while putting effort on defense. He is right now getting between 15-18 minutes, that needs to go up to the mid-20s. His effort on both ends is something the Knicks need more of. He also is one of the few Knicks that does not need the ball in his hands to have an impact on the court.
Bench has another poor outing. Outside of Holiday everyone else has struggled to provide any relief for the starters. Jennings had 12 points but was a minus 11 on the court and the combination of Ndour, Thomas, O'Quinn and Vujacic all provided very little. The problem is that none of them are capable scorers and on top of that don't play any defense. This could become a major issue because the starters maybe forced to play more minutes, which could lead to injuries as they could get over worked.
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Porzingis has very little impact. In a game that you expected Porizingis to dominate as he would be matched-up with Anderson, really struggled and was totally lost on defense and offense. He only took 1 shot in the whole first half. His final numbers of 3pts and 8rebs and 0-4 from the field was very poor showing from him. But it brings up a bigger issue because the Knicks offense is not featuring Porzingis and that is worrisome because he is arguably their best player.
The Knicks defense and bench have become an issue through the first 4 games. After this loss, the Knicks sit at 1-3 and have a long climb up to be even considered a playoff threat. Hornacek really needs to figure out his rotation within the first 10 games so that they can build better chemistry on the court. The Knicks play again on Friday against the Bulls in Chicago, a homecoming for Noah and Rose.
