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By Kenneth Teape (@teapester725)
Wednesday, April 17th, 2013
Pre-Game News and Notes
Atlanta Hawks vs. New York Knicks
Wednesday night will be the last regular
season game for the Knicks and Hawks before heading into the playoffs, but will
be taking different approaches into the finale.
The Knicks have literally nothing to play for, as their seed is locked
in and are just looking to get to the playoffs without suffering anymore
injuries. As for the Hawks, they are
playing for the fifth or sixth seed. If they
win tonight they will face off against the Nets in the first round, if they
lose and the Bulls win they will face off against the Pacers. This will be
third time that the Knicks and Hawks faceoff this season, with the Knicks
winning the first two meetings.
-New Face, Same Place
The Knicks have made some roster moves in
the last couple of days, continuing to try and make the best team from 2005 and
continuing the moniker of, “Once a Knicks, Always a Knick” with the signing of
Quentin Richardson and Earl Barron.
Both players have previous histories
with the Knicks and Richardson has a real chance to become a player in the
playoffs. Barron is here because of the retirement of Rasheed Wallace today,
opening up a roster spot the Knicks elected to fill with a player they know.
As for Richardson, no one knows what
type of shape he is in but his history shows that he can help the Knicks in the
playoffs. He is a tough-nosed player
that is not afraid to mix it up, getting into it throughout his previous stint
with the Knicks with the likes of Paul Pierce and Lebron James, two of the
people the Knicks will presumably have to get through to reach the NBA
Finals. He can also shoot the three
ball, something the Knicks offense is predicated on. Richardson has a chance to make the rotation
ahead of players like Chris Copeland and Steve Novak because of his defensive
prowess he has shown throughout his career.
-Scoring Champion Is…
He will not suit up tonight, but Carmelo
Anthony looks as if he will be the scoring champion this year in the NBA. He currently sits 0.6 points ahead of Kevin
Durant, who is also supposed to sit out his last game of the season. Anthony would become the first Knick to lead
the NBA in scoring since the 1984-1985 season when Bernard King won the scoring
title.
-Get Out of Here Unscathed
With the playoffs starting this weekend,
Saturday most likely for the Knicks, the goal will be to get out of the game tonight
with no more injuries happening.
Anthony, J.R. Smith, Jason Kidd, Kenyon Martin and Tyson Chandler are
all out Wednesday to get them ready for the playoffs, meaning the reserves will
see big minutes again.
Most likely the Knicks will have very few
players available to play in the game tonight, meaning big minutes for the
likes of Iman Shumpert, Copeland, Steve Novak and the new comers Richardson and
Barron again tonight.
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