Game 3 was the home opener for the Knicks, and it came on Halloween night against the rugged 76ers. I snagged some last minute tickets off of Craigslist and excitedly scurried cross town along 32nd street to the Garden. Not only was this the home opener, but it was Danilo Gallinari's first start of the season, a night I did not want to miss.
The Rooster did not dissapoint, dropping 8-16 from beyond the arc for a career high 30 points. It looked like my 35 point prediction for Il Gallo had a chance to come through, but things went quiet for Gallo in overtime and he remained at 30. Still, Gallo gives the fans reason to be optimistic. Whenever he shoots a three, you just know it is going to swish, kinda like how when Jared Jeffries shoots, you just know it is going to bounce over the backboard. Al Harrington had a big game in his new role as sixth man, dropping a career high of 42 points on a super efficient 16-22. Al only attempted four 3 pointers out of 22 shots, and was constantly taking it the hole with agression, a very good sign. Larry Hughes also had a great game. I know i bashed him after the preseason, but I have to give him props for this game. He was dishing, taking good shots for the most part, and playing aggressive defense. 7 for 11, 18 points, 5 rebounds, 6 assists and 4 steals have me thinking Larry might be the teams answer at point guard for now. I just hope he keeps his shooting under control like it was this game.
On the bad side, the Knicks defense was and is pathetic. They let up 40 points in the first quarter and 70 points in the opening half. The 76ers are a quick and athletic team, and they drove to the hoop as often as possible. The Knicks went with their two trademark defensive schemes, the Matador and the Swiss Cheese, letting the Sixers finish at the hoop uncontested. They shot 61 percent! Diminuitive point man "Sweet" Lou Williams was 10-12 and 7-8 at the charity stripe, leading the way with 27 points, 10 rebounds (!) and 7 assists. Andre Iguodala almost had a triple double as well, with 32, 11, and 7. The Knicks almost let up an extremely rare double triple double.
David Lee was apparently benched for much of the 2nd half, and the Knicks saw the most success with the small ball lineup of Al, Gallo, Chandler, Hughes and Duhon. Interesting lineup of 3 tweener forwards and 2 smaller guards. Nate Robinson sprained his ankle and was limited to 20 minutes. Starbury made an appearance courtside, and stood up and filmed a bit with his iphone, but when the usher realized Steph was supposed to be in the 2nd row, Steph decided that this was unforgiveable, and left after the 1st quarter.
The Knicks fans lost faith, and the Garden was pretty empty while the Knicks made their ferocious comeback. The true fans who stuck it out at least go to see a good show, as the Knicks once again stormed back to force overtime on a clutch drive and layup by unlikely hero Chris Duhon. I and everyone around me at the game were all hoping for a Gallinari 3 to win it, but it didn't happen. In overtime a super hyped up Harrington fouled out, and the Knicks lost all the momentum and lost big.
This game has me questioning David Lee's value to the team. He was out for most of the 2nd half, and the team played so much better without him. He is a force on offense and on the glass, but maybe his defense is so suspect that the team is better of without him. I love David Lee and his game, but he has to step it up on defense. I don't know how much I trust +/- stats, but Lee was -36 on the night, but far the worst on the team.
The main thing to take from this game is that Gallinari is awesome and is ready to be the star. I think he will continue to build confidence, and start utilizing more of his game, including post ups and dribble drives. Who knows, the Rooster may average over 25 ppg this season.
Next game is tonight at MSG against Chris Paul and the Hornets. Let's see if the Knicks try to put Jeffries on CP3 to frustrate him with his length. Maybe Gallo will go for 40 this game.
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