The next 4 games are MUST WINS

ORLANDO
NEW JERSEY
CLEVELAND
TORONTO

http://www.nba.com/2011/news/03/28/anthony-knicks.ap/index.html?ls=iref:nbahpt2

This game against Orlando is a big one. It's the first game of a 4 game home stand. From here on out it should be PLAYOFF intensity from these guys EVERY NIGHT. They practiced this morning and appear to be ready to put in work.

I was encouraged by the last game against the bobcats. Good game from Melo, I think this team is ready to gel and it has to start here, in MSG, right NOW. I think we will see a different team tonight. It's going to turn a lot of heads if we come out ready to smash on dwight howard, frustrate him and keep the lane filled. It's gonna be a good one!

The 3 games after this are must wins because we need the wins to cinch playoff berth. if we can get 4-0 or 3-1 in these next games the entire attitude of this team will change.

I think we need that playoff intensity from the opening tip off until we are finished for the year.

I agree with you. These 4 games are crucial. We might even catch Philly. It's 2 games between us and them.

I think we'll win 2 or 3 out of those 4. We can't stop Howard that's why we lose against Orlando time and time again. Toronto look very poor this season and I hope it's payback-time against CLeveland. New Jersey are basically garbage, but Deron Williams is a threat and he's already improved his teammates since his arrival.

Time to get it going again. Melo has had a few good games for us and I honestly think that most of the criticism he received was a bit unfair and over the top.

I would like the coaches to start Toney Douglas over Billups for the next 2-3 games, just to see how things go with Billups coming off the bench. He's been piss poor since his return from injury, while Toney is a major factor this season and has been rock solid as a starter.

We also need some toughness ad presence at the center position. Jeffries is too skinny to guard centers, Shawne Wiliams is way too small and STAT is STAT. Maybe we should give Shelden Wiliams another chance at the center position?

Lineup I would like to see tonight:

Douglas (28 mins)
Fields (30 mins)
Melo (38 mins)
STAT (32 mins)
Shelden Wiliams (20 mins)

Billups (28 mins)
Walker (8 mins)
Shawne Wiliams (20 mins)
Jeffries (20 mins)
Turiaf (16 mins)


Let's go Knicks! We're all sick of losing!

One thing is for sure... If we actually beat Orlando to start off this home stand... The Knicks could seriously be 1 game above .500 before you know it.

Then it's time to move, improve & make our playoff run from there.

I just hate the thought of having a losing record heading into the playoffs. Look @ how the sports media treated the 7-9 Seahwaks this year. Ugly.

I'd love to head into the playoffs a good 4 maybe even 5 games above .500 but unless we go on a serious little run none of this can happen.

Gotta get those wins vs. the Nets & Cavs, can't continue to lose vs crappy teams here. Especially if we lose to the Nets after they got Deron instead of Melo, the media will have a field day with that one.

Completely agree about needing to bring the playoff intensity from here on out the Knicks need to get into that habit & get accustomed to performing with that type of mindset. Can't just coast into the playoffs & expect to suddenly flip the switch & turn it on.

Definitely must wins. One down, three to go.

Playoff intensity tonight. Hope this sets the trend.

With the way the Knicks have played against piss-poor teams I won't consider any of these games easy W's until I see the final score this time around.

With all that said, I do picture us @ 1 game above .500 after our next 3 games which would be a huge turn around considering the fact that we could have been 4 games below .500 after tonight with no hope of turning it around. If we can get back to 1 game above .500... Then it's time for our SERIOUS playoff push against better teams. Going into the playoffs 5 games above .500 in my overall goal as a fan; especially considering the fact that we were only 2 games above .500 heading into the all-star break. 5 games above .500? We have to get HOT starting with NJ coming up. Contain D-Will under 15 pts/11 assists, battle Lopez & we should run away from the Nets. We better WHIPE the floor with Cleveland or just Win... Back to .500.

All I know is we better win these games vs. the Nets & Cavs this team needs to show this win isn't just an aberration & they're playing w/a winning team's mentality.

That's 2 for 2 so far! The nets game was looking bad in the 1st, but we pulled it through. Melo is so damn clutch, I'm really happy that we have him in the spotlight now rather then Gallo, who would consistently choke under pressure.

so close to clinching playoffs! I think a Win against the Cav's propels us even further then a win against the Magic. The history of losing to the cav's is something we NEED to get past. A win at home against them will pump up the team, allow them to show the critics they can bring intensity against sub .500 teams and get us that much closer to a playoff berth.

A win against Toronto means i get to rub it in the faces of all the raptors fans. so that's good too.... "Right this way Senor!"

This thread could seriously be on the verge of becoming & earning the official rally thread of the year award.

p0nder created this thread during a time where we lost 9 of 10 games, thanks to a 6 game losing streak. 2-0 since this thread was created. An overtime win against the Magic where we played with a tough defensive intensity/mind set until the closing seconds of an overtime period, followed by an outstanding performance during the 2nd half of last nights game against NJ earning a well earned come from behind victory. Wonder what's in store for us against the Cavs? I really hope to see us whipe the floor with em. A win over the Cavs won't erase the fact that we lost to them during our previous 3 meetings, but it'll be a step in the right dirrection. A dirrection of leaving that Cleveland disaster as a thing of the past.

The best part about this thread? Everyone believed in a turn around or at least kept faith. This was during a time where some fans said we had no hope & the player "quit" on MDA.

Its great to see the team gets back to back wins against a top 4 playoff team in Orlando and then rebound after an awful 1st half to beat NJ.

Winning these next two games will be huge in moving towards the playoffs with some momentum and consistency. Not to mention right now we are looking at a 2-7 matchup against Boston, possibly the worst matchup for this team IMO.

If we can pass Philly and grab the 6th seed it will be a nice way to end the regualr season and hopefully will help us avoid Boston and give us Miami in the first round, which will definatley be an entertaining series at the least, and if things go our way we could possibly be looking at forcing a game 7 where anything can happen.

Cant wait for the Cleveland game, I want to see this team come out with some revenge in mind and finish them off by midway through the 4th quarter. No way we can lose to this team again, and I believe that Melo and company wont let that happen.

3 for 3! they must read KO.com and saw this thread.

knicks are in the playoffs! how about that!?

Ay p0nder... If the Knicks win tomorrow night vs the Raports, we would have then went 4-0 since this thread was created; 1) Against a serious playoff contending Orlando team. B) A 15 point come from behind victory against D-Will, Lopez & the Nets due to one hell of an effort 2nd half & C) Took out the same piss-poor Cleveland Cavs team that made us look foolish three times this year. Our 1st time beating that franchise in years.

If we take out Toronto tomorrow night? This thread gets my vote for...

'RALLY THREAD OF THE YEAR AWARD'.

You created it when many had no hope. Losing 6 consecutive & 9 out of 10 was the best thing that could have ever happened to this team. As soon as I laid eyes on this thread the day of the Orlando game? I knew it had potential to make for an awsome thread.

With a victory tomorrow? I fully expect another 4 game must wins vs Philly, NJ, Indy & BOS type of thread for the 6th seed & winning record heading into the playoffs.

Everyone was shitting themselves when I made this thread. I made another one called "let's not over react" as well, outlining why we would make the playoffs and why we had so much to be hopeful for. People were looking at that Orlando game like it was another sure loss, but I knew that our team has major competitors on it. These guys are not the Knicks of the last 10 years. They don't mail it in against the good teams.

Certainly these games were needed to turn the team around and get back to winning. Now that we have clinched playoffs, i'm not certain the other games are "must wins" but they are very important. Particularly the games against Chicago and Boston to end the year. We could be facing either of these teams in the first round so those games will set the tone for the playoffs. However, now that we have clinched a playoff berth I expect that billups and amar'e will get more rest then usual. This is great for the team for a number of reasons:

1: Resting amar'e and billups for a potentially lengthy playoff run is necessary. If we had clinched a berth earlier we could have rested them for this stretch against sub .500 teams and used them against teams like Philly, boston, indy and chicago. However i expect that they will be seeing a lot of bench time

2: this gives guys like Walker, Mason, Carter, Williams X2, and Douglas lots of floor time to get warmed up for the playoffs. We are going to need big games from all of these guys and if any of our starters get injured they need to be ready to play significant minutes. Having a bench that is accustomed to playing hard for extended minutes can only give us an advantage.

3: Any losses that we take now can be explained by reason that we are resting our stars, working on 2nd unit rotations, etc. The pressure is off of us and now on the top seeded teams that will have to worry about a match up with the Knicks. The team should be well rested, clicking on the offensive and defensive ends and gelling at the right time to make a playoff push.

Essentially these 4 games have given us an advantage going into the playoffs and that is why they were MUST WINS. Out of the games remaining the only games I see as significant to our playoff run are against Philly, Chicago and Boston. Beating Philly would probably put us in 6th. A win against Chicago would mean we'd have swept the season series and should feel comfortable if we need to face them. A win against Boston would prevent a season sweep and give us a lot of swagger to end the regular season. As well for the CHI and BOS match ups they could determine who we face in the first round, so that makes them significant in lots of ways.

Outside of those I think we should sit STAT and Billups as much as possible. I'd want to give them DNP's but i don't think either guy would want that.

Excellent post & agree on all counts.

We need to come ready to play at full strength vs the 76ers but tomorrow night?

C- Shelden / JJ
PF- Brown / JJ
SF- Melo / Shawne
SG- Fields / Walker
PG- Douglas / Carter

If it's a close game during the 4th? Play our starting 5 & escape with a win while resting high energy guys like Turiaf, Amare & Billups while giving Brown a chance to see if he can become our "AR".

I keep Melo in the lineup because he's playing amazing basketball & he'll be 100% ready to go for the playoffs regardless.

I have Fields starting because it'll give him a chance to be a focal point of our offensive attack.

TD23 @ the point to work with a lot of backups while gaining experience heading into the playoffs.

I wanna see a lot more of Walker & Shawne from here on out heading into the playoffs. Walker was going off & once Shawne has a 100% finger he has the ability & potential to hit on a consistant basis.

I've enjoyed what I've seen from Shelden. He needs to bully his way as our starting C