Pre-Game News and Notes
The Knicks will look to get on track tonight against the
Pelicans after a tough loss last night to the Memphis Grizzlies. The Knicks
will also be looking to exact some revenge on the Pelicans, who beat the Knicks
103-99 December 1st at Madison
Square Garden Davis
in the lineup tonight but the Knicks do match-up pretty well with the current
lineup the Pelicans are forced to use. Here are some things to look forward to
in the game tonight.
-Players News and Notes
The Knicks, who were without Kenyon Martin prior to the
All-Star break will be without him again tonight and most likely for the
remainder of the road trip. Martin is dealing with more ankle soreness and the
Knicks are missing him immensely. Andrea Bargnani has been out a month now and
there is still update on his injured elbow. His timetable is still unknown of
when he is expected to return to the court.
Two players to keep an eye on also are Raymond Felton and
Iman Shumpert. They are the two names brought up most in trade rumors involving
the Knicks and if anything is close to being made official on the trade front
both players may not be suiting up tonight.
For the Pelicans they will still be without Jrue Holiday.
His status has been upgraded and he should be back with the team within a week,
but the Knicks will not have to face him. Anthony player they should be happy
about not facing is Ryan Anderson. Anderson
is out with a back injury. That sound was a sigh of relief by the Knicks, who
have been killed by Anderson every
time he steps on the court against them.
Match-up Of The Game: Carmelo Anthony/Tyson Chandler vs.
Anthony Davis
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| Kathy Willens/AP Photo |
The Knicks front court will have their hands full with Davis
no matter who is guarding him. He presents match-up problems against virtually
everyone in the NBA as his combination of athleticism and size is not rivaled
by many in the league. Davis , in
the midst of a breakout career year will cause problems for the Knicks wherever
he is stationed defensively. He has the intangibles to make life difficult for
Anthony, who would be best suited taking Davis
away from the basket. It would help the Knicks a lot by having Davis
as far away from the basket as possible to diminish his rebounding and shot
blocking abilities.
-Re-Kindle New Orleans
Magic
Over the weekend during the All-Star festivities two Knicks
put on offensive shows. Tim Hardaway Jr. and Anthony both set the court ablaze
with hot outside shooting. Anthony set an All-Star game record with eight
three-point makes while Hardaway scored 36 points in the BBVA Rising Stars
Challenge Friday night. It would go a long way if both players were able to put
on performances reminiscent of that tonight against a Pelicans team that allows
teams to shoot a high percentage against them at 46.2 percent.
-Woody’s Rotation
Last night we saw Mike Woodson go against his normal
rotations and ride the hot hands throughout the second half. It helped get the
Knicks back into the game but also could have been a problem holding that lead;
Woodson made only two subs the whole fourth quarter, as Pablo Prigioni played
the last 14:29 of the game without a rest. Woodson needed to use the players
that were performing, but at what cost?
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| Anthony Gruppuso/USA TODAY Sports |
Tonight it will be worth watching how he monitors minutes.
The Knicks are engaged in trade rumors with seemingly the whole NBA so until
the game starts they are not even 100 percent sure which players will be taking
the court for them tonight. It would benefit him and the team greatly if he
dipped a little deeper into the bench tonight and gave some more minutes to
players like Jeremy Tyler and Toure’ Murry with it being the second game of the
back-to-back set.
-Perimeter Play
Even without Holiday , the Pelicans
still possess strong perimeter play. They start a capable replacement in Bryan
Roberts and have Eric Gordon alongside him in the backcourt. The real problem
for the Knicks is former Rookie of the Year winner Tyreke Evans. In the first
meeting this season Evans scored 24 points, 10 of which came in the fourth
quarter, to go along with seven assists and four steals.
The Knicks will need a spirited effort from their perimeter
players to keep up with the Pelicans. An improved performance from J.R. Smith,
who is very vocal about his dislike of the mask he needs to wear to protect the
broken bone in his face, should become more comfortable with it in the coming
days. He was pretty much useless Tuesday in his first game with the mask,
shooting 2-8 and grabbing five rebounds to go with one assist.
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