MSG3 wrote:You know I think the Knicks didn't play well either save for the second quarter and Amar'e's performance. We played with a ton of heart but we were stagnant the entire second half. We got outworked on the glass as usual. But you know what? It took a 3 at the end and a hack job by the refs in the last 30 seconds for the Celts to escape. I think we'll be ok torrid as long as the players aren't disheartened. Even if Billups doesn't play.

man, amar'e has to hit the boards all game the way he did in the fourth.

i don't appreciate his lack of board effort.

fishmike wrote:last night was not a moral victory, it was a demoralizing loss. We wasted a monster game from Amare couldnt capitalize on crunch time mistakes they never usually make.

word. we needed that ****, man.

Vmart wrote:

fishmike wrote:last night was not a moral victory, it was a demoralizing loss. We wasted a monster game from Amare couldnt capitalize on crunch time mistakes they never usually make.

Its a series you haven't lost anything yet.

come on. is mental game.

you lost big first strike ability.

now the burden rests on the weak psyche of our players, which i know is weak because, hey.

It's not like we have been blown out consistently by Boston this season, we have had them on the ropes several times and haven't been able to deliver the knockout blow. To not finish the job once again.....and for it to be in the playoffs this time...it's a wasted opportunity and a huge blow.

We absolutely controlled that game but didn't exhibit the mental toughness to finish them off (well except for Amare at least). Yes, the refs absolutely screwed us over but it shouldn't have been that close at the end to begin with (see Melo fouling Pierce on a 3 point-attempt, Douglas fouling on an and-1, not guarding Garnett on the alley-oop, etc.).

I can't find the quote, but D'Antoni actually talked about this the other day before the series started (how, if we're up on the celtics in the final minutes, we need to stay mentally sharp and play our game instead of getting caught up in Boston's half-court game which could allow refs to have more of an impact).

Pierce and KG have to expend a TON of energy trying to stop STAT and Melo and I don't think they can keep that up for an entire series and not suffer from fatigue. Eventually we're going to see STAT and Melo break thru. KNicks have to make sure to give STAT more touches, cuz he's still the key to this offense.

I think Fields and TD are going to also break loose cuz Fields had a bunch of near misses and he should be able to actually connect on a few over the course of the series. TD is gonna play more since CB is hurt and I actually think that will be a good thing. Overall I think TD is gonna eventually explode in this series a few times.

If we can hold Allen and Rondo in check we can win this series. Those are the 2 guys that we can't let get off. We can match KG and Pierce with STAT and Melo, but we can't let Allen and Rondo go off.

Vmart wrote:

fishmike wrote:last night was not a moral victory, it was a demoralizing loss. We wasted a monster game from Amare couldnt capitalize on crunch time mistakes they never usually make.

Its a series you haven't lost anything yet.

I said this was a terrible matchup for us when this started and the worst possible first round draw and this is why.

Will Melo do better than 5-18 rest of series? I'm sure he will. Can we rely on Amare to give us what he did last night? I'm sure we cant.

It reminded me of how we used to play the Heat. Let Alonzo do his thing and dont double, keep the focus on not letting the 2nd guy beat you. Thats what the Celtics did last night. Amare had a monster game but they stayed true on Melo and the rest of the Knicks and we didnt have enough firepower to push through.

Like I said... I think the Knicks win a garbage game 4 at MSG down 3-0. Call it a 'pride' game, but the Celtics will continue to carve us up in crunch time. There is a reason they were champs and in 2b2 finals.

This is like watching a pre-detirmined script run its course. Knicks lose a tough game 1. Knicks get blown out in game 2. Knicks "regroup" but lose on last shot or some crap in game 3. Knicks win game 4 showing their pride. Knicks get smoked in game 5. End of season.

I hope I'm wrong... I LOVED watching last nights game. When Douglas hit that 3 (TERRIBLE SHOT SELECTION) I stood up and started hopping around the house yelling so loud the dogs ran for cover. I'm just calling it like I see it

nixluva wrote:I think the Knicks learned a lot more than the C's did last night. For one thing we have more ways to hurt them than they do us. They didn't stop Melo, he just didn't play a good or smart game. I fully expect that he'll be smarter from here on out and he's going to be motivated.

No we don't

JrZyHuStLa wrote:Moral victories are for lottery teams.

We have two of the game's top 10 players, and we lost.

No one is claiming Moral victory, its just that what everyone here thought to be invincible in the Celtics seems to have more chinks in the armour than originally thought. Knicks played well enough to keep close and give themselves a chance to win. With a few adjustments the Knicks can and will beat the Celtics.

Vmart wrote:

JrZyHuStLa wrote:

Vmart wrote:People need to get off this Celtics are champs crap they spewing at me. they won in 2008 that was three years ago this is not the same team.

The Celtics being champs in 2008 with the big 3 (big 4) still intact carries more weight than a newly formed Knicks team.

It carries no weight.

Vmart, I love the optimism. But they're a better basketball team than we are.