It was appropriate the Knicks’ preseason ended tonight in gritty Newark. The Knicks weren’t necessarily good this preseason but they were gritty, not usually a staple of a Mike D’Antoni team.
Dwight Gooden and Joe Jackson, Michael Jackson’s father, sat courtside – more star power in the front row than on the court.
Never has a record looked more deceiving than the Knicks’ 5-2 finish. Dwyane Wade is not quaking in his boots awaiting the opener in six long days.
The Knicks’ preseason victories included three wins over the hapless, winless Nets, without their best player, Devin Harris each time. And the other W was against Maccabi Tel Aviv, which is D-League caliber.
So the Knicks proved one thing definitively during their seven-game schedule. They won’t finish last in the East as long as the Nets don’t go bankrupt.
Of the seven games, the Knicks looked very sharp in just one – the victory Tuesday vs. the Celtics. Shockingly, their defense looked better than their offense, shooting nearly 40 percent for preseason.
The Knicks hit a 1 for 18 stretch in the second half tonight that allowed the Nets to come back from an 18-point deficit. But even with D’Antoni playing the end of his bench, the Knicks hung on barely – thanks to a missed Courtney Lee free throw with 1.8 seconds left.
Despite the record, the preseason had more disappointing moments than positive ones. Obviously, the Eddy Curry comeback turned into a disaster, lasting one practice.
Prized prospect Danilo Gallinari did not shoot the ball with confidence or accuracy. He was 2 of 8 tonight after his Boston bust-out Tuesday and finished the preseason 15 of 49.
For all the positive press new backup center Darko Milicic and his interior defense got from other media outlets, I frankly thought his preseason was poor. He was completely incompetent on the offensive end, making Jared Jeffries look like Reggie Miller.
I noticed D’Antoni had Milicic posting up a little tonight to give him a different way to score the ball because his perimeter shot has been brick-like. Milicic blew an easy one around the basket tonight, the only shot he took in 15:50.
Veteran Larry Hughes and rookie lottery pick Jordan Hill failed to make the rotation, not so much because they were outplayed, but both were so out of sync. Hill looked nervous tonight with three turnovers – two travels. Hughes (0 for 3) finished preseason 1 for 23, worst in the NBA for those who took 20 or more shot attempts.
Finally, Wilson Chandler looked good enough to start, but was not the same explosive, hungry player he was last season as a second-year player with lots to prove. Definitely does not look like the guy LeBron James is dying to play alongside. Chandler’s ankle surgery kept him off the court almost all summer and it showed. “He didn’t play all summer,” D’Antoni said. “There’s going to be a little bit of a dip. It’s short term. I don’t see a problem.”
Now the positive side: Even though Jared Jeffries is usually off on his long-range shot, he does so many other things he’s worth it. Jeffries, with a solid plus-minus rating, has earned a starting job but you have to wonder if they are showcasing him. Trading Jeffries would open up even more cap space for 2010.
Al Harrington looked like he will be their leading scorer because he puts it in the hole many ways. He’ll hit more big shots down the stretch this season, feeling more comfortable as a Knick.
David Lee was workmanlike, though didn’t seem to have improved in any department. Ditto Duhon. Nate Robinson is still the firebrand scorer off the bench but the same agitator who could incite a brawl at any moment as he tried to do tonight.
My season prediction? Not until Sunday’s Post.