Reactions: Warriors 84, Knicks 89

New York Knicks

Final

Golden State Warriors

	Marreese Speights, PF 19 MIN \| 2-8 FG \| 0-0 FT \| 8 REB \| 1 AST \| 0 STL \| 1 BLK \| 0 TO \| 4 PTS \| +8After an impressive performance that saw Speights shoot 78% from the field for 15 points and eight rebounds in 26 minutes against the Memphis Grizzlies, a repeat performance was unlikely. But, there was some hope that Speights found something in that game, something that could help the Warriors through these injuries and into the playoffs. On Sunday night, that didn’t happen and Speights played a measly 18 minutes. The Knicks played small, and the Warriors countered with small lineups throughout. Mo started by default, but Mark Jackson had him on a short leash due to the faster, wilder pace of the game and the various lineups the Knicks throughout. On a positive note, Mo did have eight rebounds in 19 minutes. Unfortunately, Mo only made two of his eight shots to go along with these rebounds, and had he made a few more of those shots he surely would’ve seen more time. He also had troubler containing Amare Stoudemire early on, and was just never a fit for this type of game. Jackson played this one by feel, and he made the right call.
	Andre Iguodala, SF 34 MIN \| 1-4 FG \| 9-10 FT \| 5 REB \| 6 AST \| 0 STL \| 1 BLK \| 1 TO \| 12 PTS \| -1Iguodala has the monumental task of guarding Carmelo Anthony, the second best scorer in the league. Melo draws fouls, can shoot over anyone, post-up, spot-up, drive and accomplish pretty much anything you’d want a player to do on the offensive end. He’s your prototypical NBA scorer, and Iguodala held him in check for the majority of the night. His defense has been less than advertised at times, and while he’s still nursing injuries he did a fantastic job of forcing Melo into contested shots all night. His length bothered Melo, and while he ended up with 19 points, he only made seven shots all night. At least three of those shots were made when Harrison Barnes was engaged as well. On the offensive end, Iguodala saw the ball a lot, but managed only one made shot (a three) to go along with his free throws. Tack on six assists and you have your traditional Iguodala line. But without David Lee’s scoring, he was needed for more than 12 points tonight.
	Jermaine O’Neal, C 29 MIN \| 3-7 FG \| 2-2 FT \| 12 REB \| 2 AST \| 0 STL \| 2 BLK \| 1 TO \| 8 PTS \| -1Not the best of nights for the veteran, who was the recipient of a vicious facial by Tyson Chandler in the 3Q. O’Neal led the team with 12 rebounds as the Warriors out-rebounded the Knicks 46-40 on the night. Mark Jackson indicated postgame that O’Neal is going through the motions of what you think an 18-year veteran would. He’s hurting, and this was a tough game against the active (but not as active) Tyson Chandler. This was a fast, unpredictable, wreckage of a game. O’Neal wasn’t much help on the offensive end, but Mark Jackson’s willingness to assemble isolations and over-simplistic offensive sets puts O’Neal in tough situations on that end. There were no easy buckets for him.
	Stephen Curry, PG 41 MIN \| 10-21 FG \| 6-8 FT \| 4 REB \| 1 AST \| 1 STL \| 0 BLK \| 2 TO \| 32 PTS \| +5Speaking of Mark Jackson, Stephen Curry can praise his coach all he wants, but there’s no denying that there’s much to be desired on the offensive end. It’s convenient that this is brought up after another disappointing home loss that saw the team score a putrid 84 points, but it’s the truth. While David Lee and Andrew Bogut were missed, this is the same Knicks team that game up 51 points in one quarter to the Los Angeles Lakers just days ago. How is that possible? The Lakers shot at a ridiculous clip (58%) that night, but it’s largely a byproduct of their system and Mike D’Antoni’s commitment to that style of play. What is Mark Jackson’s system? Besides transition baskets, some pick-and-roll’s and a lot of isolations what exactly can be described as the Warriors offense? There’s too much talent on that end of the floor to be limited to 84 points, even without Lee. This has been a reoccurring problem this season, and Curry has been covering up a lot of Mark Jackson’s mistakes. Curry only had one assist, which was his lowest total of the season. Raymond Felton isn’t anywhere near the fastest guard in the league, but he did an excellent job of denying Curry the ball on multiple occasions Sunday night. He made Curry work, more than Curry might’ve thought. Still, 32 points is no easy task, and this game doesn’t fall on the hands of Curry even with his deflating turnover in the final seconds.
	Klay Thompson, SG 37 MIN \| 6-18 FG \| 0-0 FT \| 9 REB \| 0 AST \| 0 STL \| 0 BLK \| 2 TO \| 15 PTS \| +2Thompson has fallen back to Earth a bit his last two games, shooting 35% in these contests and only hitting 3/14 of his shots from beyond the arc. There have been some bright spots in this quick slump: his five assists against Memphis and his nine rebounds on Sunday night. He missed a lot of open looks against the Knicks and the Warriors couldn’t afford him to. This was a rare night where his opponent got the best of him too, as JR Smith led the Knicks with 21 points on 47% shooting in 41 minutes. Smith’s shots were wild and uncanny as Thompson was chasing him around for most of the game, expending a lot of energy and leaving a lot to be desired on the offensive end. With the bench playing like it’s early season form, Thompson needed a great game to help his fellow Splash Brother towards the victory. That didn’t happen, and the Warriors fall to another inferior opponent in Oakland.

Quote of the game:

J.R.: “Curry likes for the game to come to him.” I asked J.R. if he’s the same way: “Nah I wish I did. If I did I’d be a lot better player.”

— Ethan Strauss (@SherwoodStrauss) March 31, 2014

Looking ahead: The Warriors have a busy week ahead of them as they head to Texas for a quick two-step with the Dallas Mavericks (44-30) on Tuesday and San Antonio Spurs (57-16) on Thursday. The Warriors then head back home to face the Sacramento Kings and finish off their week against the Utah Jazz.

Harrison Barnes’ shot chart for last season:

Harrison Barnes’ shot chart for this season:

Your Tyson Chandler slam of the night:

http://youtu.be/HT6w7tXEZFk

Sorry Knicks fans:

Tweets of the night:

I’m convinced I’ll die first. RT @pjhoody: Sigh RT @A_Madry: I wonder when the knicks will be a legit championship contender again

— Geese Howard (@oogsBay) March 31, 2014

There is no rhyme or reason to anything the Warriors do on the offensive end.

— Frank Isola (@FisolaNYDN) March 31, 2014

Ahem. RT @JRAM_91: Mark Jackson: “That second quarter cost us the game.” pic.twitter.com/cAS3LCvC7R

— Myles (@MylesInSF) March 31, 2014

Follow @JRAM_91

	Marreese Speights, PF 19 MIN \| 2-8 FG \| 0-0 FT \| 8 REB \| 1 AST \| 0 STL \| 1 BLK \| 0 TO \| 4 PTS \| +8After an impressive performance that saw Speights shoot 78% from the field for 15 points and eight rebounds in 26 minutes against the Memphis Grizzlies, a repeat performance was unlikely. But, there was some hope that Speights found something in that game, something that could help the Warriors through these injuries and into the playoffs. On Sunday night, that didn’t happen and Speights played a measly 18 minutes. The Knicks played small, and the Warriors countered with small lineups throughout. Mo started by default, but Mark Jackson had him on a short leash due to the faster, wilder pace of the game and the various lineups the Knicks throughout. On a positive note, Mo did have eight rebounds in 19 minutes. Unfortunately, Mo only made two of his eight shots to go along with these rebounds, and had he made a few more of those shots he surely would’ve seen more time. He also had troubler containing Amare Stoudemire early on, and was just never a fit for this type of game. Jackson played this one by feel, and he made the right call.
	Andre Iguodala, SF 34 MIN \| 1-4 FG \| 9-10 FT \| 5 REB \| 6 AST \| 0 STL \| 1 BLK \| 1 TO \| 12 PTS \| -1Iguodala has the monumental task of guarding Carmelo Anthony, the second best scorer in the league. Melo draws fouls, can shoot over anyone, post-up, spot-up, drive and accomplish pretty much anything you’d want a player to do on the offensive end. He’s your prototypical NBA scorer, and Iguodala held him in check for the majority of the night. His defense has been less than advertised at times, and while he’s still nursing injuries he did a fantastic job of forcing Melo into contested shots all night. His length bothered Melo, and while he ended up with 19 points, he only made seven shots all night. At least three of those shots were made when Harrison Barnes was engaged as well. On the offensive end, Iguodala saw the ball a lot, but managed only one made shot (a three) to go along with his free throws. Tack on six assists and you have your traditional Iguodala line. But without David Lee’s scoring, he was needed for more than 12 points tonight.
	Jermaine O’Neal, C 29 MIN \| 3-7 FG \| 2-2 FT \| 12 REB \| 2 AST \| 0 STL \| 2 BLK \| 1 TO \| 8 PTS \| -1Not the best of nights for the veteran, who was the recipient of a vicious facial by Tyson Chandler in the 3Q. O’Neal led the team with 12 rebounds as the Warriors out-rebounded the Knicks 46-40 on the night. Mark Jackson indicated postgame that O’Neal is going through the motions of what you think an 18-year veteran would. He’s hurting, and this was a tough game against the active (but not as active) Tyson Chandler. This was a fast, unpredictable, wreckage of a game. O’Neal wasn’t much help on the offensive end, but Mark Jackson’s willingness to assemble isolations and over-simplistic offensive sets puts O’Neal in tough situations on that end. There were no easy buckets for him.
	Stephen Curry, PG 41 MIN \| 10-21 FG \| 6-8 FT \| 4 REB \| 1 AST \| 1 STL \| 0 BLK \| 2 TO \| 32 PTS \| +5Speaking of Mark Jackson, Stephen Curry can praise his coach all he wants, but there’s no denying that there’s much to be desired on the offensive end. It’s convenient that this is brought up after another disappointing home loss that saw the team score a putrid 84 points, but it’s the truth. While David Lee and Andrew Bogut were missed, this is the same Knicks team that game up 51 points in one quarter to the Los Angeles Lakers just days ago. How is that possible? The Lakers shot at a ridiculous clip (58%) that night, but it’s largely a byproduct of their system and Mike D’Antoni’s commitment to that style of play. What is Mark Jackson’s system? Besides transition baskets, some pick-and-roll’s and a lot of isolations what exactly can be described as the Warriors offense? There’s too much talent on that end of the floor to be limited to 84 points, even without Lee. This has been a reoccurring problem this season, and Curry has been covering up a lot of Mark Jackson’s mistakes. Curry only had one assist, which was his lowest total of the season. Raymond Felton isn’t anywhere near the fastest guard in the league, but he did an excellent job of denying Curry the ball on multiple occasions Sunday night. He made Curry work, more than Curry might’ve thought. Still, 32 points is no easy task, and this game doesn’t fall on the hands of Curry even with his deflating turnover in the final seconds.
	Klay Thompson, SG 37 MIN \| 6-18 FG \| 0-0 FT \| 9 REB \| 0 AST \| 0 STL \| 0 BLK \| 2 TO \| 15 PTS \| +2Thompson has fallen back to Earth a bit his last two games, shooting 35% in these contests and only hitting 3/14 of his shots from beyond the arc. There have been some bright spots in this quick slump: his five assists against Memphis and his nine rebounds on Sunday night. He missed a lot of open looks against the Knicks and the Warriors couldn’t afford him to. This was a rare night where his opponent got the best of him too, as JR Smith led the Knicks with 21 points on 47% shooting in 41 minutes. Smith’s shots were wild and uncanny as Thompson was chasing him around for most of the game, expending a lot of energy and leaving a lot to be desired on the offensive end. With the bench playing like it’s early season form, Thompson needed a great game to help his fellow Splash Brother towards the victory. That didn’t happen, and the Warriors fall to another inferior opponent in Oakland.