Unbelievable. Deja Vu all over again. In what has been the most painful sports week in recent memory the Knicks have somehow made fans feel as if they were tortured, escaped, recaptured, and tortured again in the same day. First Ray
Allen and now KG, this is ridiculous. And again the Knicks can't close out a game. Again they had a lead, again the Celtics come back, and as usual all systems shut down. This is maddening. Carmelo made the right play, the pass to Jeffries was on the money, and he somehow couldn't rotate his body towards the basket and finish, instead fumbling and allowing the ball to be recovered by KG. Great play by Garnett to shield his body from Bill Walker to get the timeout, but again another lapse by the Knicks. On the Celtics inbounds, with OVER 4 SECONDS TO PLAY, the Knicks don't put a guard on Delonte West. They stand there, and don't realize that the clock is winding down, and foul him with under a second left. Astounding. The Knicks could have gotten the ball back down 3 with 3 seconds left, plenty of time to try and get a good look. But no, as usual a lapse at the worst time. Again the Knicks were out of timeouts, again had the lead with just over 30 seconds to play, again got outsmarted, outcoached and outplayed in the end.
And who is to blame for this? Look no further then Mike D'Antoni. Both games he has been brutally outcoached from start to finish. How can a coach not be aware of the situation around him? How can a coach not tell his players to foul as soon as the ball is inbounded, with four seconds left? Only Mike D'Antoni can achieve that. It is incredible to me that the Knicks have had so many mental lapses, and plays Doc Rivers drew something up and the Celtics immediately went to town on the Knicks. I don't even care about the fact that he is a terrible defensive coach, but when you can't coach to the situation at the end of a game you don't serve a purpose.
But the worst part is that yet again, they played so well! Carmelo was off the charts, 42 points and 17 rebounds in one of his best games ever. He was just stunning for much of the second half, just putting the Knicks on his back with tons of incredible shots. Again the Knicks played great defense, and just got out everythinged in the last 30 seconds. Even without STAT the Knicks stuck with them and took a lead, only to see it vanish like the mirage that very well could be the Knicks 2-0 series lead.
Now the series shifts back to New York, where fans are left crushed by the events in Boston. The Celtics are taking on a Reggie Miller against the Knicks persona, and it is terrible to witness. The Knicks have to win the next 2, but at this point I don't want to look that far ahead. Just lead by more then 20 with 37 seconds left, and then I might breath easier.
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