A bunch of slow old men

With Amare Stoudemire unable to shake of his rust, Prigioni constantly duped into going for steals and JR Smith being beaten off the dribble for easy layups the Knicks looked like a bunch of slow old men tonight against the Portland Trailblazers.

Again the Knicks played poorly on defense early in the game and fell into an insurmountable hole.

Carmelo Anthony got his 30, which he always does, but tonight the Knicks back court had no answer for the quickness and shooting ability of the Blazers.

By double teaming Anthony and forcing the Knicks to get scoring elsewhere the Blazers went on to have the victory despite a late mini run by the Knicks.

If the Knicks guards can't solve the give and go and cannot cease to be baited into failed steal attempts this team will quickly fall to .500. Raymond Felton was truly missed this evening.

Knicks Lose Again, Blazers 105 - Knicks 100

Those guys get paid millions too

Last night it took the Knicks a half to figure out how to play without Carmelo Anthony and Raymond Felton. The team got down by as much as 27 points and it looked pretty dismal.

However, after half time coach Woodson came up with the right adjustments and the team awakened from its funk to storm back to take a 105 to 103 lead with seconds remaining.

In the final moments of the game the Kings' Isiah Thomas, isn't that ironic, drove the lane and kicked the ball out to James Johnson who hit the game winning three point shot.

Those guys get paid millions to play too so on a night with the Knicks playing minus their two leading scorers this loss wasn't major. In fact I think it was very good for the team.

This team lifted itself up and showed true grit to fight back from such a huge deficit on the road but most importantly they now have a strategy to play minus Carmelo and I expect them to get on another winning streak until he returns.

Knick Lose Again, Kings 106 - Knicks 105

Another loss on Woodson

The Knicks played an entertaining game but not a strategically intelligent one which is why they lost on Christmas day.

Coach Woodson needed to put pressure on the Lakers front court to get Gasol and Dwight Howard in foul trouble. However, the only big man he attempted to get the ball to, Tyson chandler, is limited to simple pick and roll moves which the Lakers were fully aware of and cut off.

The Lakers front court needed to be thwarted by a quick big man who could catch the ball in the low post and force Howard and Gasol to move their feet and play defense with their hands which would surely have drawn fouls. The only man who could do that was Chris Copeland who got no time off the bench when the game was on the line.

This inability to slightly alter the offensive game plan is strictly on coach Woodson who I can only assume was so focused on not having Amare to attack the Lakers front court that he completely forgot the promising Copeland. Chris would have at least given the Knicks a fighting chance.

That loss was on the coach, again.

Knicks Lose Again, Lakers 100 Knicks 94