New York Knicks

Carmelo Anthony and the New York Knicks took a beating at home from the Miami Heat, and their interim head coach Kurt Rambis was no help. 

Miami Heat 98 (33-26)
New York Knicks 81 (25-36)
Full Game Box Score
Madison Square Garden, New York, NY

By Chip Murphy

Kurt Rambis is a fool.

That’s not fair, Phil Jackson is a fool for thinking that Rambis could be a successful head coach for an NBA team. Nothing has changed since the Feb. 9 firing of Derek Fisher, and there’s no reason to think things will get better for the New York Knicks.

Much like Fisher, Rambis’s rotations are often times completely inexplicable. After another impressive first half showing tonight from rookie fan favorite Jerian Grant, he sat for the entire second until the final minute of the fourth quarter.

RELATED: Watch What Kristaps Porzingis Did To The Miami Heat (Video)

You may have heard of Kristaps Porzingis, right? Well, he had a rough shooting night (4-of-13) but that doesn’t explain Rambis benching him for the stretch run of the fourth quarter while the game slipped away. The head coach was essentially throwing in the towel when he made that move.

There’s no need to talk about Jose Calderon or Langston Galloway. Just look at the box score. It’s horrifying. With no Arron Afflalo tonight, Galloway started and covered Dwyane Wade for most of the night and the future Hall of Famer ate his lunch. Wade dropped 26 points with 6 dimes and got to the line 10 times making 8 attempts. Galloway on the other hand was minus-24 in 35 minutes of action.

Kurt Rambis played Jerian Grant for 11 minutes tonight, Galloway for 35, and Calderon for 40. He should be given an MRI for even thinking about having Jose Calderon on the court for that amount of time. As much as we love to criticize the coaching, Rambis wasn’t the only problem.

The Knicks were obliterated defensively tonight and outplayed by a much better Miami Heat team as Carmelo Anthony reverted to his unfortunate ‘Melo-ball’ ways that Knicks’ fans hoped were a thing of the past. Trying to play the hero and putting to much pressure on himself in the second half, Anthony needed 24 attempts to get 25 points as his shooting became more erratic while the game continued.

Miami is fifth in defensive rating (103.2 points per 100 possessions) and sixth in opponent’s field goal percentage (43.8%) so holding the lowly Knicks to 81 points on 36.8 percent shooting isn’t a shock.

The Knicks, far from a playoff team, were outcoached and outhustled by a Heat squad that is a lock for the postseason. If anything, tonight should have been a teaching moment.

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