The Knicks outscored the Heat 13-2 in the final 3 minutes to steal a win in Miami last night.

 

The driving force? Chauncy Billups. He had two huge steals and hit the go-ahead three. I'd almost forgot that the Knicks got more players than Carmelo. I've been amazed at how little Billups has been mentioned when the experts break down this trade. Like he's just another guy. The reality is, he's as good a PG as you'll find in the league once you get past the top tier guys, and he's as clutch a performer as there is. He was a huge pick-up, IMO, and makes the Knicks a potentially dangerous first round opponent for one of the top 4 seeds in the East.

 

And once again, Lebron came up short in crunch time. With the ball, trailing by one, Lebron drove to the basket with Carmelo guarding him and was rejected by Stoudemire. Again, down three, Lebron faked Carmelo, moved to his left for an open three and missed. Two shots, one to take the lead, one to tie, and he missed them both.

 

Now, consider me a guy who doesn't understand why Miami doesn't put the ball in D-Wade's hands in these situations. He has proven himself to be a more clutch performer, IMO, throughout his career. He didn't touch the ball last night in the big moments. I understand letting Lebron be the more dominant guy through the course of the game. He is the better player. But, at the end, when I need a shot, I'd much rather see Wade with the basketball if I were a Miami fan.

The driving force? Chauncy Billups. He had two huge steals and hit the go-ahead three. I'd almost forgot that the Knicks got more players than Carmelo. I've been amazed at how little Billups has been mentioned when the experts break down this trade. Like he's just another guy. The reality is, he's as good a PG as you'll find in the league once you get past the top tier guys, and he's as clutch a performer as there is. He was a huge pick-up, IMO, and makes the Knicks a potentially dangerous first round opponent for one of the top 4 seeds in the East.

 

I was a big Chauncy Billups fan while he was playing in Detroit. Definitely a tough competitor, he plays very strong I feel like.

The Knicks outscored the Heat 13-2 in the final 3 minutes to steal a win in Miami last night.

 

The driving force? Chauncy Billups. He had two huge steals and hit the go-ahead three. I'd almost forgot that the Knicks got more players than Carmelo. I've been amazed at how little Billups has been mentioned when the experts break down this trade. Like he's just another guy. The reality is, he's as good a PG as you'll find in the league once you get past the top tier guys, and he's as clutch a performer as there is. He was a huge pick-up, IMO, and makes the Knicks a potentially dangerous first round opponent for one of the top 4 seeds in the East.

 

And once again, Lebron came up short in crunch time. With the ball, trailing by one, Lebron drove to the basket with Carmelo guarding him and was rejected by Stoudemire. Again, down three, Lebron faked Carmelo, moved to his left for an open three and missed. Two shots, one to take the lead, one to tie, and he missed them both.

 

Now, consider me a guy who doesn't understand why Miami doesn't put the ball in D-Wade's hands in these situations. He has proven himself to be a more clutch performer, IMO, throughout his career. He didn't touch the ball last night in the big moments. I understand letting Lebron be the more dominant guy through the course of the game. He is the better player. But, at the end, when I need a shot, I'd much rather see Wade with the basketball if I were a Miami fan.

I for the life of me do not understand it either. I am at least glad LeBron drove the ball, but Amare made a great play. The three point attempt is just stupid. LeBron will go on streaks where he can catch fire, but he is not that great of a shooter. Why he continues to jack up threes, or how he is able to have plays drawn for him to shoot late moment threes, I will never understand. The game against the Bulls he missed the rim by about 2 feet in the closing seconds.

I for the life of me do not understand it either. I am at least glad LeBron drove the ball, but Amare made a great play. The three point attempt is just stupid. LeBron will go on streaks where he can catch fire, but he is not that great of a shooter. Why he continues to jack up threes, or how he is able to have plays drawn for him to shoot late moment threes, I will never understand. The game against the Bulls he missed the rim by about 2 feet in the closing seconds.

 

I couldn't believe how bad he missed that.

I am not so sure that last play wasn't set up for D Wade and Lebron selfishly took the shot himself. If you go back and look Dwyane was WIDE open on the left wing with about 4 seconds left and Lebron didn't even consider passing up the chance to take the shot himself.

I couldn't believe how bad he missed that.

He has a tendency to do that quite often or even air ball three point attempts. Why he is compelled to be a high volume outsider shooter is perplexing, especially when no person is capable of stopping him driving to the hoop. Last 10 games he is 7-32 from behind the arc. He typically attempts 350+ three point attempts in a season, which he should be closer to 250, imo.

I agree with most of you about Billups; it seems almost like he fell off the radar somehow. I still consider him one of the better players in the NBA.

He has a tendency to do that quite often or even air ball three point attempts. Why he is compelled to be a high volume outsider shooter is perplexing, especially when no person is capable of stopping him driving to the hoop. Last 10 games he is 7-32 from behind the arc. He typically attempts 350+ three point attempts in a season, which he should be closer to 250, imo.

 

Agreed, Wade is the same way.

Everyone knew Billups was a solid player, but no one knew he would hit the ground running like he is. He's averaging around 21 pts, 6 assists, and 4 rebounds since the trade.

I am not so sure that last play wasn't set up for D Wade and Lebron selfishly took the shot himself. If you go back and look Dwyane was WIDE open on the left wing with about 4 seconds left and Lebron didn't even consider passing up the chance to take the shot himself.

 

Why would he pass it up? He was wide open himself. And, it's not like Wade is a great shooter from long range either. I'm guessing the play was to get the ball to James and let him make a play/decision. It's hard to fault the look, but generally speaking, he doesn't make those shots.

 

Wade should be the guy who gets the ball and then let him create a shot for himself (or someone else should he choose to dish it off). JMO He's the more clutch of the two.

I'm not saying they'll beat anybody, but I wouldn't want to have to play this Knicks team in the opening round of the playoffs. They've got the firepower. And, with Billups they've got a proven clutch player and a steadying influence as a floor leader. They're dangerous. It all comes down to how much they're willing to committ defensively. They held Miami to something like 50 points in the last 3 quarters last night. Of course, if you can get back on D, you can stifle Miami.

 

I could be wrong, but the Heat have the makings of a disappointing playoff team to me. They thrive in the open court and struggle when they can't get out and run. It's unlikely they'll get to fast-break their way through the Eastern Conference Playoffs. I also think they'll struggle in late game situations until they give the ball to D-Wade as the primary guy. Then again, maybe they'll crank it up a notch come playoff time.

I for the life of me do not understand it either. I am at least glad LeBron drove the ball, but Amare made a great play. The three point attempt is just stupid. LeBron will go on streaks where he can catch fire, but he is not that great of a shooter. Why he continues to jack up threes, or how he is able to have plays drawn for him to shoot late moment threes, I will never understand. The game against the Bulls he missed the rim by about 2 feet in the closing seconds.

 

I can recall him hitting exactly one...against Orlando two years ago.

Not only did the Knicks finish the game on a huge run, but they also finished the first half on a 15-0 run.

 

31-4 during crunch time of each half.

Amare's block on LBJ was awesome.

Maybe LBJ and Wade just don't fit together? Two guys that are average shooters and need the ball to be effective. People talked about Melo and Amare not fitting together very well, but I've liked what I've seen out of the two of them so far. With Billups I think they win their 4 v. 5 matchup against Orlando, if they can find another big body that gets bought out of their contract.

 

I think Miami has matchup problems with Boston, Chicago and NY in the East because of the point guard play on each team. I think they match up better with LA or Orlando and would give either team fits. Also in the playoffs either a team will be able to slow them down and beat them up, or over the course of a 7 game series LeBron and Wade will find ways to destroy teams. I could really go either way on that, even though Miami's record against good teams is pathetic and actually worse than the Cavs is currently.