Knicks hit a wall against Raptors to Mike Miller's chagrin

Midway through the first quarter of a Friday night match-up against the Toronto Raptors, the New York Knicks found themselves up 26-13, a big start against one of the East's best squads and the defending NBA champions. Nobody in Madison Square Garden or watching at home thought Toronto would roll over and cede a blowout loss, least of all Knicks head coach Mike Miller. He knew what would happen next before the ball was even tipped.

"The good defensive teams like we're seeing will almost stand you up at a certain point and then you have to be able to get through that first wall and get the ball moving and attack," Miller said prior to the game. "I felt like we got a little bit deep in the clock more than I would have liked in the Laker game, and it put us kind of scrambling around and maybe not in the position we wanted to be in." 

Unfortunately, despite the early lead the Knicks hit that wall head on and crumpled like a Prius. The Raptors began staging their comeback in the second quarter, as Miller's foresight slowly came to fruition. Despite his preparation and how poised New York looked out of the gates, the Knicks' response did not come in the form of sharper offensive movement and execution, but in the following:

These were precisely the stalled, sloppy and generally poor offensive possessions Miller did not want his team regressing into. Part of this turn is due to Toronto switching to a zone for this stretch, which the Knicks failed to adjust to right away. To their credit, the Raptors are one of the best defensive teams in the league, and New York showed off their fight, continuing to keep the game within reach even as Toronto put their foot on the gas. Damyean Dotson in particular kept the offense humming, with a lights-out performance: 21 points on 4-7 shooting from downtown. But with a tight game in the fourth quarter's final minutes and another chance at pulling the upset, the Knicks' offense lost its flow once again as the Raps pulled away.

Playing all 48 minutes as well as they have some stretches has been a season-long issue for the Knicks, as it's to be expected with a young, developing team. If there is solace to be found, it's in the fact they can learn from these types of performances going forward. As their current talent evolves and new talent is acquired, New York should learn how to keep up their energy and execution from tip to the final buzzer.