MSGKnickz33
The Gold Mac
New York Knicks(8-19) vs Orlando Magic(18-11)
December 26th 7:00pm ET on MSG
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays everybody. Welcome to MsgKnickz33 pregame show Im your host Jazzy Jeff and we gonna take a look at Wedenesday nights matchup in Orlando. Both teams have been struggling: The magic have lost 7 of their last 10 while the Knicks have lost 8 of their last 10. Both teams have loss 2 games in a row so we know at least the Magic will come ready to battle. You never know what to expect with the Knicks. What starting lineup will we see with Marbury returning and the chemistry problems of Z-Bo and Eddy?
Lets take a look at the projected starting Lineups:
Orlando Magic
pg-Jameer Nelson
sg-Keith Bogans
sf-Hedo Turkoglu
pf-Rashard Lewis
C-Dwight Howard
sg-Keith Bogans
sf-Hedo Turkoglu
pf-Rashard Lewis
C-Dwight Howard
And Now, Your New York Knicks!!!!!!
At Point Guard, Jamal Crawford
At Shooting Guard, Fred Jones
At Small Forward, Quentin Richardson
At Power Forward, David Lee
At Center, Zach Randolph
At Shooting Guard, Fred Jones
At Small Forward, Quentin Richardson
At Power Forward, David Lee
At Center, Zach Randolph
Now lets take a look at MSGKnickz keys to victory:
- Slow Down Dwight: Keep a body between him and the rim, Dwight does not have much game outside of 8 feet from the hoop
- Defend the Perimeter: Orlando is a good 3 point shooting team, Knicks need to contest all shots!!!!
- Box Out!!! Knicks are a good rebounding team(12) but Orlando is an even better rebounding team(8).
- Play as a team: It doesnt matter who takes the most shots or scores the most points, Knicks need to share the ball and go with the hot hand.
Stat of the Night: When the Knicks allow their opponents to score 100 or more points, their record is only 2-14.
Now Lets take a look at our key matchup:
Zach Randolph/Eddy Curry vs Dwight Howard
Curry and Zach will be guarding/guarded by Dwight Howard most of the game. They need to make him work on defense and try to get him into foul trouble. To stop Dwight Howard, you cant let him get to the rim for those easy dunks. Theres one simple way to slow down Dwight and thats have a stronger guy like Curry keep his body between Dwight and the rim. Howard doesnt do anything past 8 feet and he does not posess incredible speed, he scores mainly off of dunks. He is a great player but he should not be scoring over 23 points per game.
Stephon Marbury is expected to play tomorrow but it is unlikely that he will start. The Knicks have been struggling so we'll see what happens when Marbury comes back and especially once he gets back into game shape.
Wednesday night the Knicks will have a tough battle with the Magic who have lost 2 games in a row and have been struggling. The Knicks need to come ready to play because the Magic might try to jump on them early. They can either move to 12 games under .500 with a loss or 10 games under with a win.
You can catch the game Wednesday night at 7:00pm ET on MSG. Im Jazzy Jeff and I thank everyone for joining me for my pregame show.
Merry Christmas