Wednesday, November 21, 2012
Pre-Game News and Notes
New York Knicks vs. Dallas Mavericks
The Knicks continue their stretch of
five games in seven days with a stop in Dallas against the Mavericks. The Knicks will look to start 9-1 for only
the fourth time in franchise history, with the last two occurrences ending with
NBA titles in 1969-1970 and 1972-1973. A
win tonight would also give the Knicks a season sweep of the Mavericks,
something that hasn’t been done since 1999-2000, also the last time the Knicks
won a playoff series. Here are some
things to watch tonight:
Will Melo Keep it Going?
Carmelo Anthony is coming off an
impressive scoring night against the Hornets, as he scored 29 points in 28
minutes, adding six rebounds and four assists in the process. It was only the second time in his career
that he scored that many points in that amount of time, with the other time
coming December 22nd, 2007.
Anthony is the fifth Knick to put up his
season averages of at least 24 points and seven rebounds through the first nine
games of the season. There is no reason
this should stop tonight, as Anthony already has poured it on Dallas this
season.
On November 9th, Anthony went
for a season high 31 points, seven rebounds and two blocks all the while
battling foul trouble. The Mavericks
will still be without Dirk Nowitzki, but Shawn Marion should be back in the
lineup after missing five games with a knee injury.
Jason Kidd Returns To Dallas
The reaction that Jason Kidd receives will
be something to keep an eye on tonight.
Kidd, who won a title with the Mavericks in 2011, alongside Tyson
Chandler, left the team this off-season to sign with the Knicks, leaving some
people very upset with his decision.
Kidd backed out last minute on
re-signing with the Mavericks and accepted a similar deal with the Knicks, a
move that left Mavericks owner Marc Cuban quite upset.
Thankfully for the Knicks and everyone
with any type of stake in them Kidd came.
He has been a big part in the 8-1 start, bringing ball movement and
veteran presence to the team that hasn’t been seen if what seems like
forever. The Knicks are currently
turning the ball over the least amount of any team in the NBA with 10.3 per
game.
Control the Glass
The Knicks and Mavericks are two of the
worst rebounding teams in the NBA; something has to give tonight in this
matchup. The Knicks out-rebounded a
Hornets team without Anthony Davis Tuesday night, 48-35, so hopefully they can
build upon that.
The rebounding department has been one
glaring negative for the Knicks thus far this season, but they have won despite
the deficiencies. With Rasheed Wallace
and Marcus Camby still rounding into playing shape and Iman Shumpert and Amar’e
Stoudemire getting closer to returning, that rebounding number should improve
as the season goes on.
If the Knicks win the rebounding battle
tonight, it would go a long way in limiting the Mavericks possessions and
keeping the ball out of O.J. Mayo’s hands.
Mayo torched the Knicks in the first meeting this season, knocking down five
three pointers in the first half alone and is coming off a strong night against
the Warriors, scoring 27.
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