Monday, November 26, 2012
Pre-Game News and Notes
New York Knicks vs. Brooklyn Nets
After blowing out the Pistons Sunday
afternoon, the matchup that everyone has been waiting for in the tri-state area
has finally arrived. The Knicks and Nets
will face off for the first time tonight, making up the opening night game that
was canceled because of the storms earlier in the month. This matchup will be determined by which team
plays more defense, as both teams have offensive fire power. Here are some things to watch for:
-Control the Paint
The Nets sport one of the best offensive
big men in the NBA in Brook Lopez, who is averaging a team high 19.0 points per
game. Andray Blatche comes off the bench
and offers some punch as well, scoring 9.0 points per game.
The Nets also sport two guards in Deron
Williams and Joe Johnson that are above-average at getting into the lane and
attacking the rim. Emphasis will be on
Raymond Felton, Jason Kidd and J.R. Smith to slow these guys down.
Kris Humphries is also super active in
the middle, which can cause a problem for the undersized Carmelo Anthony. Look for Mike Woodson to learn from his
mistakes in Houston and give some more run to Marcus Camby and Kurt
Thomas. The bulk of the big man minutes
will be given to Tyson Chandler and Rasheed Wallace, but pairing them together
with another big would be beneficial against a team like the Nets.
-Bench Play
The Nets bench, which was a question mark
coming into the season, has been a spark plug thus far this season led by
Blatche, MarShon Brooks and C.J. Watson.
The second quarter, when the Nets subs play the most, the Nets sport a
+5.0 scoring differential, compared to a -0.9 for the Knicks, their only
negative quarter.
The Knicks defense needs to be
consistent from the starting lineup to the second unit. The second unit has seen lapses at times on
the defensive end and struggle scoring at times, two things that cannot happen
against a team playing as well as the Nets.
The Knicks bench is no slouch, led by
J.R. Smith and Steve Novak. Smith offers
a legit scoring threat while Novak has deadly long range shooting. If Novak can bring his shooting from Sunday
afternoon to this game, the Knicks have a deadly weapon for their offense and a
huge momentum changer; every time Novak touches the ball and releases a shot,
the crowd goes into a buzz.
-Will Defense Show Up?
The Knicks have struggled on the
defensive side of the ball the last three games against lower tiered teams and
if that happens tonight the Knicks will be hard pressed for a win. The Knicks have surrendered over 100 points
in their last three games and cannot afford to do it a fourth straight time if
they want the victory tonight.
The Knicks have to get their rotations
right, as the combination of poor defense against the three point shot and a
team that shoots a healthy amount of three pointers is a deadly
combination. The Knicks give up the
second highest percentage of three point shooting; at 39.9 percent while the
Nets shoot 20.3 three pointers per game and 32.5 percent on the season.
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