Knicks Fall to Cleveland: Why Does New York Lose Every Time?
A famous phrase goes "third time's the charm."
Try telling New York Knicks fans that one.
The New York Knicks lost for the third time this season to the team holding the NBA's worst record, the Cleveland Cavaliers. The Cavs are now 12-49 this season, a .197 winning percentage. Somehow though, even with Carmelo Anthony, the Cavaliers are a perfect 3-0 against the Knicks.
The last loss was the most gut-wrenching of the three to watch. The Knicks had a 12-point lead with under eight minutes to go. New Cavalier Baron Davis did not want to lose this game, and he took it into his own hands to lead the comeback. On the strength of his three-pointers and crucial offensive rebounds, the Cavaliers won the game, 119-115.
The thought going through Knicks fans' heads must be: How can this team beat Chicago and Miami, but not Cleveland? How was New York the only team to lose to Cleveland in a 36-game stretch earlier this season? How can a team be a title contender if it cannot beat a lottery-bound team?
The lack of size and defensive presence down low has been the biggest issue against the Cavaliers.
In their Dec. 18 meeting, Anderson Varejao grabbed 17 rebounds, en route to a 56-47 domination of that category. In the last two games the teams had against each other, both after the Carmelo trade, Cleveland power forward J.J. Hickson stepped up in Varejao's absence. He has averaged 23.5 PPG and 11.5 RPG, both well above his season average.
In the Feb. 25 matchup, the Knicks were out-rebounded, 62-42.
These numbers will only add to the heat Amare Stoudemire takes for lack of defensive play. Losses like this put pressure on him to perform better against the league's better big men. It also puts pressure on Donnie Walsh to find a center with defensive or rebounding skills.
If he doesn't, losses like this will continue to pile up, constantly bringing the team down during its quest for a championship.
Perhaps the two losses shouldn't be that surprising because the team is still not accustomed to playing with each other. Billups and Anthony are both still new to D'Antoni's system, and once they're completely up to speed, Cleveland may not be able to keep up with the scoring monster the Knicks will be.
The main issue is still the center position of the Knicks. The Cavaliers expose it each time they play the Knicks. What happens in the playoffs when it isn't J.J. Hickson down low, and instead it's Dwight Howard?
