{"id":348458,"date":"2011-03-29T20:52:17","date_gmt":"2011-03-29T20:52:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.ghanamma.net\/2011\/03\/29\/knicks-eager-to-move-past-rocky-march-ap\/"},"modified":"2011-03-29T20:52:17","modified_gmt":"2011-03-29T20:52:17","slug":"knicks-eager-to-move-past-rocky-march-ap","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/03\/29\/knicks-eager-to-move-past-rocky-march-ap\/","title":{"rendered":"Knicks eager to move past rocky March (AP)"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

NEW YORK (AP)\u2014The hard part is just about over for the New York Knicks<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Heightened expectations and a demanding schedule created a draining month of
\nMarch. The Knicks complained of too much fatigue and too little fun, strange
\ntiming for a franchise that was enjoying its best season in a decade.<\/p>\n

April should be easier\u2014at least until those playoff games the Knicks are
\nso close to qualifying for.<\/p>\n

First, they close the month Wednesday with a visit from the New Jersey Nets<\/a>,
\nending a turbulent stretch they can\u2019t wait to put behind them.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s been maybe the hardest month I\u2019ve ever played in in my career,\u201d
\nAll-Star forward Amare Stoudemire<\/a>(notes)<\/a><\/span> said Monday after a 113-106 overtime victory
\nover Orlando in a game that was rescheduled from November.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo many games, so many back-to-backs, and then they threw in the makeup
\ngame this month, so it was very, very tough. And on top of that, we\u2019re trying to
\nget used to our new teammates. So it was a tough one for us, but hopefully we
\ncan cap it off against the Nets with a win.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Knicks never could have imagined it would be so difficult when the month
\nopened. Just days after the blockbuster deal for Carmelo Anthony<\/a>(notes)<\/a>,<\/span> they went to
\nMiami and beat the Heat in their final game of February. They stood in sixth
\nplace in the Eastern Conference and were even talking about moving up to fifth.<\/p>\n

Instead, they went backward.<\/p>\n

The Knicks are 6-11 in March and have tumbled into seventh place at 36-38.
\nSpring arrived in New York with cold temperatures and an even more frigid team
\nthat lost nine of 10 games before outlasting the Magic behind 39 points and 10
\nrebounds from Anthony in his best game since the trade.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe got that monkey off our back and now we focus on Wednesday\u2019s game, and
\nnow we need that same intensity,\u201d Anthony said.<\/p>\n

Problem is, the Knicks haven\u2019t shown it against losing teams, and those are
\nwhat they face over the rest of this four-game homestand. They host Cleveland on
\nSunday, trying to avoid an improbable and embarrassing four-game season sweep,
\nthen close it out by welcoming Toronto on Tuesday.<\/p>\n

Win just a couple of them and the Knicks, with a magic number of four, could
\nbe back in the postseason. But they\u2019ve curiously struggled against sub-.500
\nteams, one of many problems over the last month.<\/p>\n

New York lost twice each to Indiana and Milwaukee during its 18-game
\nschedule that included six sets of games on back-to-back nights.<\/p>\n

\u201cLot of games, lot of nights, lot of things, and who knows what causes it,
\nsometimes things sap your energy and you might not even be aware of it,\u201d coach
\nMike D\u2019Antoni said after Monday\u2019s victory. \u201cBut with efforts like this, the
\nteam will come together and we\u2019ll be better for it.\u201d<\/p>\n

D\u2019Antoni has struggled to find answers during the swoon. He pointed to a
\nlack of practice time, yet then canceled the team\u2019s last two scheduled practices
\nin favor of extra rest. He frequently changed his lineup, sometimes even from
\nhalf to half, and alarmingly said before Monday\u2019s game that he was \u201cnot sure
\nwho needs to play.\u201d<\/p>\n

At least he has Anthony, who had set his previous Knicks high two nights
\nearlier. Stoudemire is more of a concern, appearing worn out after carrying the
\nclub for most of the season. The NBA\u2019s fourth-leading scorer with 25.5 points
\nper game has been held to 16 or fewer in three of the last five games.<\/p>\n

But the Knicks believe the three-day break between games after Wednesday
\nwill help get some spring back in his legs.<\/p>\n

\u201cBoth those guys will have big games and big moments, that\u2019s what they
\ndo,\u201d D\u2019Antoni said. \u201cAgain, I just keep going back, if we can keep the
\nintensity and the urgency right there, then we can get out of this slump for
\nsure.\u201d<\/p>\n

With Chauncey Billups<\/a>(notes)<\/a><\/span> appearing back in form Monday after playing poorly
\nmost of the month following a bruised thigh March 1 that cost him six games,
\nplus a solid defensive effort that held Dwight Howard<\/a>(notes)<\/a><\/span> without a field goal in
\nthe first half, the Knicks again had the look of a team that could cause trouble
\nin the first round.<\/p>\n

They could draw Boston, a team that\u2019s having its own issues adjusting to a
\nmajor trade. Or maybe it will be a Heat team they split with, including that
\nimpressive victory in Miami before everything went so wrong.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t really dwell on what happened before,\u201d D\u2019Antoni said. \u201cWe\u2019ve got
\nto take this and go forward, and again, we\u2019ve been here before. We were like
\nthis against Miami and then it slipped away. We can\u2019t let it slip away.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

View the original here:
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