On Wednesday, the Knicks held the Pistons to just 77 points. On Thursday, they limited the Thunder — the NBA’s second-best offense — to 95. Without Carmelo Anthony.
When Anthony returns from a right knee injury — he is listed as questionable for tonight’s game against the Jazz — he makes the Knicks’ offense far more formidable. But it also means their defense will change in terms of personnel, minutes and, perhaps, effectiveness.
Since Anthony went down, the Knicks’ defense has been phenomenal. Beginning with the second half of Monday’s game against Cleveland, the Knicks have played 10 full quarters without him. They have surrendered a total of just 208 points, an average of 20.8 per quarter.
“Defensively is where we can hang our hat on because we played great defensively out there,” Amar’e Stoudemire said after the 95-94 loss to the Thunder. “We switched out on players, the bigs switched out on players and guarded well, the guards did a great job on the screen-and-rolls.”
There is no question the Knicks are a better team with Anthony than without him. However, the question is whether they can continue to defend as well when he gets back.
The prospect of Anthony’s return prompts other questions, such as:
* What is the Knicks’ preferred game-ending lineup? Earlier in the week, coach Mike Woodson admitted he should not have benched Stoudemire for the final eight minutes of Sunday’s loss to the Heat. The coach did so due to the opposing lineup.
“It’s based on personnel,” Woodson said. “And teams are playing small ball. Miami, they’ve got one big on the floor and the rest [are] shooters. That’s a matchup nightmare for our bigs. I’ve got to figure that part out and maybe make teams match up to us.”
Woodson declared he “absolutely” wants to finish games with both Anthony and Stoudemire on the court. Does that mean Anthony, Stoudemire and Tyson Chandler are all in the frontcourt? If that trio is playing together, either J.R. Smith and Jason Kidd gets paired with Raymond Felton in the backcourt and the other must sit.
* How does the playing time shake out? Woodson has said he wants Anthony’s minutes reduced to around 35 per game (he’s averaging 37.8). Woodson also has said he wants to use Stoudemire beyond the 23.5 minutes he’s averaging, even hinting Stoudemire’s 30-minute restriction may be eased in April when the Knicks approach the playoffs.
Woodson also has to determine how the minutes work for the rotation’s other reserve big men. After not playing in four straight games, Kenyon Martin logged 17 minutes Thursday and played well while Marcus Camby (who had been ahead of Martin in the rotation) was benched. Does Martin continue to see time over Camby? Does Martin move into the starting lineup over Kurt Thomas until Anthony returns?
* Can Stoudemire get more shots? He is averaging just 9.2 attempts, though he’s shooting almost 58 percent — mostly against the opponents’ reserves.
“I’m not too concerned with touches,” Stoudemire said Thursday when asked about his lack of them in the final minutes against the Thunder. “We had a great chance to win the game.”