By Kenneth Teape (@teapester725)
Thursday, January 2, 2014
New York Knicks vs. San Antonio Spurs
Pre-Game News and Notes
The Knicks will embark on the dreaded
Texas Triangle road trip starting Thursday in San Antonio. For a team
struggling as much as the Knicks a road trip of this difficulty could spell
disaster. It will be a tall task for the Knicks to pull the victory out
tonight, but here are a few things to keep an eye on for the game tonight that
will point them in the right direction.
-Player News and Notes
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| Mark Bonifacio/New York Daily News |
The Knicks will get a big boost Thursday
as Carmelo Anthony is expected to be back in the lineup. The Knicks have looked
like a complete mess offensively over the last three games with Anthony
sidelined. The Knicks have obviously struggled throughout the season even with
Anthony in the lineup, evident by their 9-21 record, but having Anthony helps
them out.
Some other injury news for the Knicks is
that Raymond Felton and Pablo Prigioni will continue to be sidelined. Neither
player made the trip to San Antonio nor both are expected to be out the whole
road trip. Metta World Peace is dealing with a knee injury and his timetable to
return is unknown at this time.
The Spurs on the other hand look to be
heading into the game with a full complement of players. With them playing
their last game New Year’s Eve there should be no shenanigans pulled by Spurs
head coach Gregg Popovich, who has notoriously gave players rest when he feels necessary.
-Lineup Changes
With Anthony returning to the lineup,
Woodson has some decisions to make with the starting lineup. He did not wait
until game time to share his thoughts today, as the starting lineup was already
announced. Anthony will be joined by Beno Udrih, Iman Shumpert, Andrea Bargnani
and Tyson Chandler; yes Woodson is stubbornly going with his ‘big lineup’ once
again.
This could put the Knicks out of the
game early as the trio of Anthony, Bargnani and Chandler has not seen positive results
yet this season. It has been only 85 minutes, but in those 85 minutes they have
been outscored by an average of 7.9 points per 48 minutes and an unsightly defensive
rating of 116.6 points allowed per 100 possessions. The Spurs are one of the
most efficient offenses in the NBA, as the Knicks witnessed this season already
with a 120-89 beat down November 10th at Madison Square Garden.
-Will Defense Step Up?
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| Maddie Meyers/Getty Images |
As mentioned in the last section the defense
with that trio is not good, but the defense overall no matter who is on the
court has been underwhelming for the Knicks all season. On the season they are
a respectable 11th in the NBA allowing 99.2 points per game. Over the
last eight game things have gotten hard to watch, as the Knicks have
surrendered 104.4 points per game. The perimeter defense has struggled all season
and hit a low point recently as the Knicks have allowed 38 three-point makes
over the last three games.
The perimeter defense is something the
Knicks need to focus on tonight or the game will be over before halftime. The Spurs
have one of the best point guards in the NBA in Tony Parker. With Felton and Prigioni
sidelined Udrih and rookie Toure’ Murry will be running the point most of the
night. Udrih is a revolving door defensively but Murry is an athletic, lanky
guard who came into the league with a reputation to play good defense. In the
Knicks last game Murry played the whole fourth quarter with Udrih planted on
the bench; it would not be surprising to see the same happen tonight as the
Knicks will pull out all the stops to slow down Parker.
The Knicks will have to concentrate on
rotations to limit the Spurs three point opportunities as well. Long Island
native Danny Green made a name for himself in the NBA Finals last season with
his sharpshooting and has continued the hot shooting at a 42.4 percent clip
this season thus far. The Spurs have four other players shooting over 40
percent from long range in Marco Belinelli at 48.1 percent, Parker at 46.9,
Matt Bonner at 43.6 and Patty Mills and 40.2, making them the best three-point
shooting team in the NBA. They rank only tied for 16th in
three-point attempts per game, but if you let them shoot it they will knock it
down with consistency.
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| Debby Wang/USA TODAY Sports |
-Matchup of the Game: Carmelo Anthony vs.
Kawhi Leonard
Anthony is returning to the lineup
tonight for the Knicks and will have a difficult matchup right off the bat with
up-and-coming wing Leonard. Leonard is an above average defender and will give
Anthony fits but Anthony is one of, if not the top scorer in the NBA. Watching these
two go at it throughout the evening will be worth watching.
Leonard will give Anthony some problems
on the defensive end too. Leonard is active on the offensive end, cutting and
capable of attacking the basket. He is also able to knock down perimeter jump
shots as his offensive game has really grown since he entered the NBA. The
activity he has on the offensive end will be more of a problem for the team as
a whole than Anthony singularly. With the Knicks penchant to switch on the
defensive end, mismatches are made on almost every possession with players
always being out of position. If the Knicks can minimize the mismatches such as
Tyson Chandler being stuck on the perimeter and guards playing against post
players it will heighten their chances to win.
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