NIAGARA FALLS, NY – Happy Monday, There’s nothing as schizophrenic as Northeast springtime weather. It’s been an insane week: 70° highs, then cold rain, then back to 40-something. Speaking of highs and lows, today’s topics are the New York Mets’ weekly review, the New York Knicks’ update, and the Buffalo Sabres’ update.
NY Mets Week in Review
Congratulations to the New York Mets for finally snapping their losing streak this past week. They ended it at 12 games. They lost one game to the Minnesota Twins at home, went on to lose a 13th, then finally got a win, and then lost the next game to Minnesota to drop another series. Then they went on to get swept by the Rockies over the weekend.
This team is lacking timely hits. They got shut out by the Rockies, and then in two games of the doubleheader yesterday—well, in Game 1 of the doubleheader, they got close within one run but couldn’t get there when they needed to. Pitching hasn’t been great, but I mean, only giving up three runs, maybe four—it’s just that the offense can’t manage to get them in and hold the lead. They wasted some great pitching performances. But it’s a new week. Hopefully, they can get it right and actually get a little win streak started.
NY Knicks Update
Well, the Knicks managed to give the fans a headache again. The Hawks came back in a game, hit a go-ahead shot, and beat the buzzer. Then, after climbing back in Game 3, the Knicks let the Hawks hit another go-ahead shot with 12 seconds left. They got an inbound pass, but then I can’t tell you what happened—Taylor brought the ball in, passed to nowhere, the clock ran out, and they lost another game to the Hawks by one point.
Then came Game 4, and the Knicks finally just woke up and dominated from about the second quarter on. There was a key moment of conflict between star point guard Jalen Brunson and Knicks assistant coach Rick Brunson, who also happens to be Jalen’s dad—so there’s that caveat. If you’re a lip reader, you could tell that Rick was yelling at Jalen to pass the ball, and he didn’t. He didn’t just go after Jalen, either; he also went after the backup point guard Jose Alvarado. I think that seemed to be the difference—the other players picked up on it. The Hawks seem to be overplaying the point guards, and as long as the point guards got the ball out of their hands quicker against the double team and pressure, it left other guys more open for easier shots.
We’ll see if the Hawks adjust for Game 5 back in New York, but it’s a 2-2 series, so now it comes down to the best of three.
Sabres Recap
What a Game 4 for the Sabres. Boston had their worst evening, but what was impressive was watching the highlights—the Sabres’ passing was insane. I think they had about three, maybe four, passes to go before scoring. And when I say “passes to go,” I’m not talking about turning it over, recycling, and then eight passes later getting a clear shot. I’m talking two or three passes, bank, in the net. It was so effective that by the end of the first period, it was already 4-0 Sabres, and they went up as high as 6-0 before Boston scored one goal with like 30 seconds left.
It was a quality, ruthless performance by the Sabres, coming from behind again to win Game 3. If they can show that ruthlessness again in Game 5 in Buffalo and put this series to bed, that would be good for them in terms of rest and a real step forward in terms of having the right playoff mentality.
Jets Draft and UFA
I know the NFL draft was this weekend I should talk about it as a Jets fan. I will not. I will wait until pre-season at the earliest. Yes the Jets had 3 first round picks. They had that a few years back and have traded two of the guys with the third guy likely to ask to be traded when his contract is in its last year. I know better than to get excited. I will talk about them when the time is right.
Thanks for coming. Stay tuned tomorrow for The Big Aristotle
