LAKERS @ Knicks Halftime Post

Score: LAL 47 NYK 51

Alright, welcome in to the halftime report of the Lakers' game against the Knicks where the Knicks have captured the four point edge going into the half against the Lakers.

Very competitive game. That's the main theme for the Lakers' all road trip long, just stay competitive and most of the time they've fell short. They're in a four point deficit, but it's not too much to overcome.

Let's go with the positives: Pau Gasol 12 points on 6-9 shooting at the half. All I can say is thank goodness he's getting his touches in the paint, where he is most effective at. He can make a mid-range jump shot here and there, but once he's in the paint, he can be unstoppable. Which brings up to my next positive, the paint. Most D'Antoni teams have been notorious for living and dying by the 3, but majority of the Lakers' points here so far have come in the paint and they've outscored the Knicks in the paint like 22-9 something like that I can't remember. Another positive, we limited the turnovers and generated a couple even though the margin of 5 turnovers compared to the Knicks' 8 doesn't sound too much and the Lakers managed to cash in on most the Knicks' turnovers on fastbreak. I'd say I'd give Manny Harris a positive too, 7 quick points off the bench and creating shots for his team, the guy can penetrate and hopefully Mitch considers extending his contact because his contract of 10 days with the team ends after this game.

Onto the negatives: we basically have no answer for Carmelo Anthony. Melo has 20 points in 2 quarters, but at least we're not letting him erupt. Ryan Kelly is having a tough time defending him in the starting lineup and he picked up 3 quick fouls. That's an obvious problem because we know Kelly cannot hang with Melo all game long. Another negative, the 3 point shooting. Only Jodie Meeks has provided 2 3-pointers, but overall the Lakers are shooting 16% from beyond the arc. Wesley Johnson aside from the two sensational dunks has gotta limit his 3 point attempts and focus on cutting to the basket for easy shots. Nick Young also has gotta re-discover some of his shooting grove because the last few games, he's been shooting awful despite still putting up double-figure numbers.

Overall, like I said, we can live with Melo going off, if we can contain the rest of the Knicks' squad, then the chance of getting this win to savor this road trip becomes better. The Lakers just gotta keep playing and keep feeding Pau in the paint and take high percentage shots when necessary.