Can we all just say a prayer for the New York Knicks right now? After watching the Philadelphia 76ers in the last game, I have to say that Knicks are a lot worse. Maybe not in the roster talent, technically, but the body language, the future and everything else. It is just worse. The Knicks do not look like a team that wants to win. Carmelo Anthony can drop 30+ points and it will not matter. It just will not. The defensive end of the court is something the Knicks do not want to deal with. They would much rather worry about getting buckets and making “New York” plays.

I am sorry, am I being too hard? Well, am I? This team now is 5-28 on the season. That is just one more win than the 76ers. At least a fan can say that the 76ers play with heart and energy. The same cannot be said about New York.

The Portland Trail Blazers rolled over the Knicks by a score of 101-79.The Blazers improve to 25-7 on the year and 14-2 at home.

To set the stage, the Knicks are the worst team in the NBA at defending the three-point line. Obviously, that is not a problem against Portland right? Right?! Well, almost immediately, Portland abused and abused that weakness. Portland’s first five shot attempts were three-pointers. Four of them were makes. With 9:17 remaining in the first quarter, the Blazers had an 11-2 lead.

All throughout this game, Portland players found themselves completely open on the perimeter. While some of the three-point attempts might have been questionable when considering the situation during the possession, but how could Portland not attempt those shots? This is a three-point shooting team and in most contests, Portland works their tail off trying to find open shots. When open chances are basically handed to Portland on a silver platter, they have to take those shots. Thus, Portland finished going 16-for-36 from three-point land and shot 44%. Portland attempted 46 in the Philly game, so I was pleased with the fact that Portland did not get that three-point happy. Of those 36 three-point attempts, Wesley Matthews had 15 of those attempts. He finished with 28 points on 10-for-21 shooting, 6-for-15 from three with five assists, four rebounds and one block. In the first quarter, Matthews hit three of his six made three-pointers and cooled off as the game progressed. He kept getting open looks, but they just would not go in. I think when a team or player specifically attempts a ton of three-pointers, fatigue becomes a factor. The legs do not have enough energy and strength in them as they did in the first quarter of a game.

Portland was without LaMarcus Aldridge once again due to illness, but Chris Kaman returned following the birth of his first son. Kaman’s return was positive and welcomed. He finished with 13 points on 5-for-9 shooting, with nine rebounds, two assists and one block. That is what I am expecting from Kaman. In his last two games, he combined for 15 points and 15 rebounds. He was getting close to that in just the game tonight. With the fact that the Knicks only had nine players suited up and most of their centers and bigger players on the bench, Kaman was able to get into the lane and gain position. Cole Aldrich did have a solid game, he corralled 19 rebounds, but it is Cole Aldrich…come on.

So, coming into this game, it was already Carmelo Anthony and some friends because of all of the injuries. Furthermore, Anthony has been dealing with a sore knee that has been hampering him for the majority of the season. Analysts and reporters have asked the question as to whether Anthony should shut it down for a while or rest for a few weeks. Head coach Derek Fisher says that it is up to Anthony. In my opinion, Fisher should just tell Anthony to sit. Melo just signed a five-year extension this past offseason and keeping him healthy should be the priority. This season is already in the can, arguably, for New York. There is no point in trying to keep him out there in the hopes of winning games. New York needs to look to the future and try and keep Melo at full strength for the majority of his contract. Also, keeping him out there has the risk of either making the injury worse or him having more problems down the road. The pay-off of him playing right now seems non-existent.

If you cannot already tell, the Knicks are not a good team and there is plenty of evidence to show to back that up. However, back to the Blazers.

Portland outscored the Knicks in every quarter and made it silly early on. In these past two games, Portland has taken care of business in a big way. This is something that Portland could not do in seasons past. What was impressive was how the bench unit played. In the fourth quarter, Portland had an 18-point lead, so it was logical that the bench be emptied to some degree. The bench looked solid. Players were passing the ball, continued to rebound, continued the intensity and were confident. Will Barton still had a couple of times where it got worrisome on an offensive possession, but I was thoroughly impressed with how connected the bench unit seemed to be. Joel Freeland had a big fourth quarter with six points, five rebounds and one block. He finished with 10 points on 5-for-7 shooting with ten rebounds, two assists and two blocks. Freeland started, once again, in place of Robin Lopez and delivered. He registered a +23, the most out of any Portland player.

Nicolas Batum, who has not been the shooting well, feasted on the Knicks non-defense. He finished with 17 points on 6-for-8 shooting , 5-for-7 from three with three assists, one rebound, one steal and one block. Batum looked a lot more confident shooting. When he hits his first shot of the game, it seems to carry over to all the other attempts going forward. While I imagine when LA gets back that Batum will go back to assisting more, it was good to see that familiar shooting prowess that has been missing for the past couple of weeks.

Portland out-assisted the Knicks 25-19. The Blazers cut the turnovers down to 11, which is a much more manageable number. However, they only turned the ball over four times in the entire first half. It got a little sloppy in the second half, particularly in the third quarter where they turned it over four times. Portland scored 16 points off of 11 turnovers from New York. I would have liked to have seen Portland get to the line more (9-for-12), but it was because the perimeter was just so open and the fact that Portland was making shots. Not a whole lot of opportunities to get to the line.

Portland has had a couple of easy games and has been able to win in a variety of ways and without some key players. However, Portland will face the Eastern Conference’s best team in the Toronto Raptors on Tuesday at 7:00 p.m. PST. Toronto’s starting point guard Kyle Lowry has been on fire. On the season he is averaging 20.2 points, 7.6 assists and 4.6 rebounds. The Raptors have won eight of their last nine games. While most of those games have been against weak Eastern Conference opponents and the one loss was against Chicago, they did beat the Clippers and got a win against the Nuggets, all while not having their other all-star DeMar DeRozan. This should be a good matchup of point guards and should be another good test for Portland. Stay tuned!