Excessive Turnovers May Be the Reason for the Knicks Struggles.

     The saying, "Win some, lose some," does not suffice after the New York Knicks lost in overtime to their rival, the Boston Celtics with the score being 115-111. This was a game that Knicks fans were most interested in, especially because the Knicks defeated the Celtics in the season opener after the 2010-2011 playoff sweep by the Celtics. This time, the atmosphere for the Knicks was different than the season opener as they played last nights game in Boston.

     Unfortunately, last night Jeremy Lin was not able to produce another jaw dropping performance to lead the Knicks to another win. He had 14 points, 5 assists, 4 rebounds, and also contributed 6 of the 22 Knicks turnovers in the loss. Turnovers were one of the most crucial factors in last nights loss. Imagine at least half of those 22 turnovers were actually a productive play. That would have possibly lead the Knicks to defeating the Celtics. Taking care of the ball has been one of the biggest problems for the Knicks this season. It seems as if they are too careless with the ball throughout their offense. In basketball the key to success is defense and making the most out of each possession; two problems which the team has been experiencing this season. The Knicks have to start treating each possession as if it is the final play of the game and try to execute an effective offense.
     Carmelo Anthony tried to set a spark to his offense, but unfortunately it was not enough. He finished the game 25 points, leading his team in scoring. Amare Stoudemire and Tyson Chandler both finished the game with double-doubles, but the defense was not enough to stop the red-hot Celtics. The Knicks struggled to stop Paul Pierce and Rajon Rondo, as both players tore apart the Knick's defense at many points throughout the game. Pierce finished the game with a season high 34 points. Of course, this win was a team effort, which is shown by the spread of points of the Celtics players, but the point guard, Rondo, deserves a majority of the credit. Rondo lead his team to a win with an amazing 18 points, 20 assists, and 17 rebounds, which recorded his fifth triple-double of the season. These statistics just show how much of a well-rounded player Rondo has become. He was able to effectively contribute as a great facilitator, scorer, and defender as well.
     Hopefully this game acts as a wake up call for the Knicks to work on minimizing turnovers and running a more effective offense. They travel to Dallas on Tuesday for a match-up against Chandler's previous team, the Mavericks. This will not be an easy game for New York, but if they look back on all the msitakes they made against the Celtics, they should be able to come out with a win.