It appeared that neither team wanted to win this game with all of the bricks that were being tossed towards the rim in this game. The Knicks only shot 38.8% from the floor while the Bobcats only shot 38%. David Lee led the way for the Knicks in this game with 17 points, 18 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 blocked shots in 50 minutes. Al Harrington pitched in with 17 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals in 45 minutes. Nate Robinson was effective off the bench in this game with 17 points, 6 rebounds and 3 assists. Danilo Gallinari had one of the best games of his NBA career tonight with 16 points and 5 rebounds in 23 minutes off the bench. The Knicks are now 0-2 on the season after losing this heartbreaker.

The Knicks came out flat in the third quarter as they were outscored 34-15 and it doomed them. It also didn’t help that the Knicks only shot 37.9% from the floor while allowing the Heat to shoot 56.6% from the floor. Bad defense and bad offense = a 22 point loss. David Lee led the way for the Knicks in this game with 22 points, 9 rebounds and 2 assists. Wilson Chandler was also effective with 21 points, 7 rebounds and 2 assists in this game. Danilo Gallinari had the best game of his NBA career as he scored 22 points and snatched 6 rebounds in 28 minutes. The Knicks are now 0-1 on the season.

The over/under for wins this season for the New York Knicks is 31.5. I think the Knicks will improve in their second season under head coach Mike D’Antoni who brings a winning attitude with him. Nate Robinson and David Lee both see the pot filled with gold at the end of the rainbow as they will be free agents after this season so look for them to play very well this season. Al Harrington and Wilson Chandler are also going to put up solid numbers this season. I like the Knicks to go over 31.5 wins this season as they will be better than they were last season despite not making many changes in personnel.

Larry Hughes was absolutely pathetic this pre-season for the Knicks. Hughes played in 6 games (1 start) in the pre-season for the Knicks and he averaged 15.0 minutes, 1.2 points, 2.0 rebounds and 0.5 assists per game. The most shocking thing about Hughes’ play in the pre-season is that he only shot 4.3% from the floor (1 for 23). The Knicks are probably looking desperately for a trade partner for Hughes but any scout that has seen him in the pre-season wouldn’t trade even a 2nd round pick for him right now.

The Knicks have released shooting guard Joe Crawford. Crawford was caught in a numbers crunch with the Knicks as far as the roster goes. Crawford is still young enough to hook on with another team but the Knicks won’t miss him.