New York Knicks Talk: Power Ranking the Top 5 Players for the Stretch Run

The Knicks got quite the black eye last night.

They’re clinging to the ropes after dropping a meekly-fought game against the Derrick Rose-less Chicago Bulls and now own the eighth seed by just a single game over the Milwaukee Bucks.

The 76ers won, a small punch to the gut, putting Philadelphia ahead and into the seventh slot by one game.

The Celtics beat the Heat, making the task of catching Boston and getting the four seed—likely critical for any hope of advancing to the second round—that much closer to impossible.

And now, tonight, after mopping their poor performance off the United Center floor and arriving in Milwaukee in the wee hours this morning, the Knicks have to face the season’s true nemesis, the damn pesky Bucks, who just won’t go down (and by the way, own the tiebreaker).

But you have to look at the bright side. Thankfully, there aren’t any other teams vying for those bottom postseason berths.

The Knicks are going to have to shrug last night off, splash a little water on its face and get back in the ring for the remaining bouts of 2011-'12.

These five (ok, six) cagers playing at proper peak performance are the only way back into any sort of playoff or title contention.

5. Steve Novak and J.R. Smith

Steve Novak was 0-for-3 from behind the arc and 0-7 in total last night. Turn that around and this is a different game.

J.R. Smith was 2-for-11 from three-point land in Sunday’s game against the Bulls. Stop that. Make a few of those, or make better decisions and that game does not hinge on missed free throws (let’s admit it).

The three-point daggers that Novak and Smith were routinely tossing up at different points in the season have gone missing. Those were critical weapons, bunker-busters, that rocked opponents and kept them at bay.

The Knicks aren’t going anywhere without the three-pointer and Carmelo Anthony can’t be the only one sinking them.

4. Baron Davis

As good as Baron Davis is syncing with Anthony, the drop in offensive production from the point guard position after Jeremy Lin’s injury is hurting the team.

Davis rarely reaches double figures in scoring (twice) or even assists (once). None of the playoff contenders in the East boast such poor production from the position.

Toney Douglas can pick up some of the scoring slack, but he’s no floor general.  Mike Bibby is a ghost.

Davis must get more involved in the offense, so he can free up Iman Shumpert and Landry Fields to focus on defense, rebounding and scoring.

3. Iman Shumpert

Iman Shumpert has delivered more than expected this year. His defense has been all that was asked for and then some. He’s scored in 10 or more points 25 times.

Stealthily, though, one of Shumpert’s biggest contributions in this shortened and injury-plagued season has been his playing minutes.

The rookie is averaging nearly 30 minutes a game, and 37 a game in the last eight, including 45 in that eked-out win over the Bulls.

With Lin and Amar’e Stoudemire out, and Davis old and hurting, this will have to continue down the stretch if the Knicks intend on making the postseason.

2. Tyson Chandler

The top two critical Knicks players down the stretch are obvious.  One is the defensive leader, one the offensive leader.

Tyson Chandler is peaking and has four double-doubles in his last five games—his best run this season.

Count that Easter Sunday Bulls game as a loss minus Tyson’s 16 rebounds.

Any drop-off in Chandler’s performance at this point will spell doom for the Knicks’ postseason hopes. He must continue grabbing defensive rebounds and creating second-chance points at a monstrous clip if the Knicks are going anywhere.

It would be nice if he pumped up his blocks, too.  In the first game of the season, Chandler had six in a win over the Boston Celtics.  Since then he's had four twice, and that's about it—averaging a bit more than one a game.

It's now or never to be just a little fiercer.

1. Carmelo Anthony

No doubt, all the Knicks’ eggs are in Carmelo’s basket.

But it is not at all what you think.

When Anthony scores 25 points or more, New York is 8-13.

That clearly indicates that putting the whole game on Anthony’s shoulders is a losing proposition.  Sure, in the end, you want him to take that last shot to tie or win the game, and you want as many points as possible out of the small forward position, but not at the expense of a more balanced offense.

A wildly-scoring Anthony is a fail, but a moderately-scoring one who expends additional energy on defense and decoying is a success. New York is 10-5 when Carmelo scores between 15 and 24 points.  That’s much better.

If Carmelo Anthony is “taking over a game” for 35 minutes or more, that’s a bad sign.

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