The New York Knicks(14-32) vs The Seattle Supersonics(11-35)
Fri. 2/2 at 10:00pm ET on MSG
Welcome to the MSGKnickz33 Pregame show, Im your host Jazzy Jeff and were here to take a look at Friday nights matchup. The Sonics have suprised everyone by winning 2 straight over the Spurs and the Cavs, the 2 teams that battled for the championship last year. Previous to that the Sonics had a 14 game losing streak. The Knicks lost their 4th straight game lasat night against the Portland Trail Blazers in overtime. The Knicks poor shooting finally caught up with them in overtimes as the Blazers were able to finish them off. They have now lost their first 4 of 5 games on this West coast trip.
STARTING LINEUPS
The Seattle Supersonics
pg-Earl Watson
sg-Kevin Durant
sf-Jeff Green
pf-Chris Wilcox
C-Kurt Thomas
AND NOW YOUR NEW YORK KNICKERBOCKERS!!!!
AT POINT GUARD JAMAL CRAWFORD
AT SHOOTING GUARD FRED JONES
AT SMALL FORWARD QUENTIN RICHARDSON
AT POWER FORWARD ZACH RANDOLPH
AT CENTER EDDY CURRY
*Quentin Richardson and Eddy Curry are listed as day to day
*Wally Szczerbiak and Chris Wilcox are listed as day to day
MSG33 PresEnTs the KeY MatChuP:Kevin Durant vs Jamal Crawford
As everyone knows by now this is the toughest part of the game thread. Im considering Crawford as a shooting guard because of the minutes Nate Robinson gets off the bench. I probably should have went with Zach Randolph vs Chris Wilcox but I told TheKidd that I would have someone else besides Randolph in the Key Matchup. Durant as a rookie has a similar build to Crawford but hes already a better shooter.
Jamal Last 5 Games
46mpg
20ppg
33.6fg%
27% 3P
5.4apg
1.2topg
22 field goal attempts per game
Some very ugly numbers for Crawford. Suprisingly his turnovers have been low. As much as Crawford sucks these numbers are not all his fault. Look at his minutes per game. I think its time his father Isiah lets his son rest and gives some minutes to Wilson Chandler. When a player is only shooting 33.6% on 22 field goal attempts per game its the coaches job to step in and do something about this.
Kevin Durant has been turnover prone and terrible from 3 point range but other then that his numbers look good. He is very elusive and at 6'9" he will be a tough cover. Balkman showed he can do a good job in the summer league games. Back on Dec. 12 Durant scored 30pts(11-20) while Balkman only played 5 minutes. Isiah needs to start taking notes.
The Official MSG33 Pregame Strategy:
Prepare for a battle down low!!!!! Sonics are the best rebounding team in the NBA(45rpg)
Be Aware!!!! Sonics average the 4th largest amount of turnovers per game in the league (15.95), Look for steals and sloppy play
Put Balkman on Kevin Durant
If Wally Szczerbiak plays, do not leave him open!!!
Player Spotlight
Mardy Collins has come up in recent discussions. Some still believe in him while others have given up on him.
Mardy Collins gives a good hard foul (no homo)
Collins played great at the end of last year. He was passing the ball, showing leadership, rebounding, and defenending well. This year he hasnt been able to get things going. Lets take a look at what hes done over the past 5 games:
Mardy Collins Last 5 Games
15.2mpg
2.6ppg
2.4rpg
2apg
28.6fg%
These numbers are ugly. Even if you double them hes still not productive. Does he need more consecutive minutes or did fans overrate him going into this season? Last year Mardy Collins averaged 15.1 minutes per game for the season. Lets see if his numbers were any better since the minutes are almost the same.
15.1mpg
4.5ppg
2rpg
1.6apg
38.2fg%
Somewhat better but to get a true understanding of what Mardy might be capable of you have to look at his numbers from last April.
44.1mpg
14.8ppg
6.7rpg
4.7apg
39.2fg%
2spg
4topg
He played very good defense as well last April. The turnovers were high but hes still only in his second year now. Does Mardy still deserve a chance with his weak statistics this year?
Eastern Conference Standings
Celtics(36-8)
Pistons(33-13)-4GB
Magic(30-18)-8GB
Cavs(25-20)-11.5GB
Raptors(25-21)12GB
Wizards(24-21)12.5GB
Nets(20-26)17GB
Hawks(18-24)17GB
Pacers(19-28)18.5GB
Bulls(18-27)18.5GB
Bucks(18-29)19.5GB
Bobcats(18-29)19.5GB
76ers(18-29)19.5GB
Knicks(14-32)23GB
Heat(9-36)27.5GB
The Official Playoff Race: Knicks are 6 games out
Lets compare numbers from the first 4 months of the NBA season.
November(5-11):Opponents Points per game=101.5
93.1ppg,43.4rpg,17apg,42.9fg%,32.2%3P,70.2FT%,6.9s pg,3.2bpg
December(3-11):Opponents Points per game=102.6
94.6ppg,41.3rpg,16.4apg,42.6fg%,33.1%3P,70.7FT%,6. 7spg,1.5bpg
January(6-10):Opponents Points per game=98.8
96.4ppg,40.4rpg,21.3apg,46.1fg%,35.2%3P,74.4FT%,5. 8spg,2.3bpg
February(0-1):Opponents Points per game=94
88ppg,55rpg,12apg,39.4fg%,11.8%3P,80FT%,3spg,4bpg
As we see the Knicks rebounds and free throw shooting is off to a good start for the month of February. Other then that they did a bad job of moving the ball against Seattle and scoring from the perimeter. At the end of the day the only thing that counts is that the Knicks are 0-1 so far in February and they are 14-32 on the season.
SuperSonics Top 3 Point shooters
Szczerbiak-41.1%
Watson-35.7%
West-35.6%
Wilkins-32.7%
Durant-28%
Ridnour-20%
Should not be too much to worry about here. Seattle is the 6th worst 3 point shooting team in the league.
If Wally Szczerbiak plays the Knicks need to stick to him like glue. Shooters have killed the Knicks all season long. I can see Wally going for 25 to 30 points. Kurt Thomas and his tough defense will slow down whoever plays center for the Knicks which could be Randolph, Curry, or Lee. Earl Watson is known as a tough point guard defensively. We'll see how he matches up with Nate/Crawford. Same goes for Delonte West, the former Celtic. Damien Wilkins is not what his father or uncle was but hes had a couple of big games this year so you can't forget about him.
You dont know what to expect from Chris Wilcox. On some nights he'll go for 20 points and 12 rebounds; other nights he disappears. He is more athletic then Zach Randolph but Zachs the more skilled of the 2. This might be a good matchup to watch. Nick Collison is a serviceable bigman averaging similar numbers to David Lee. Jeff Green is an explosive rookie who will dunk on you if your in his way. He has no perimeter game but he has a good shoots well (43.4fg%). Johan Petro is a good shotblocker and Luke Ridnour is a good passer.
Throwback HipHop Video of the Day:
Artist:Eric B. and Rakim
Title:As the Rhyme Goes On
Album:Paid in Full
Year:1987
That does it for my pregame show. I thank everyone for joining me and remember to tune in Saturday night to catch the Knicks and the Sonics.
I do not know how the Knicks are going to win this game.Nobody has respect for the Knicks, in the NBA, and teams know that all they have to do is drive to the rim, and they'll get easy lay ups and dunks.Even coach Nate McMillan was saying this to the Trailblazers, when they were down by double digits, late in the game.I doubt the Sonics won't exploit this weakness,and I look for Durant to son Jamal Crawford.The only hope the Knicks have of winning this game is if the Sonics shoot below 38% from the field for the game.If they even shoot 40%, they'll get the win.
Nice addition with the arena. I think we gunna win tonight, even though yesterdays game was long, and the result wasn't good. Curry, and Q Rich are probably still out with the flu, so David Lee, and Balkman will get their well deserved minutes.
Knicks will win this one. I expect Crawford to score big today cause he is a incosistent mofo.
Lee to get another double double and Isiah to get a large coke thrown at his head when going to the locker
How can I did I forget to big you up with the Rakim video! I wouldve prefered Know The Ledge, but I don't think this Knick squad is worthy of such a classic.
How can I did I forget to big you up with the Rakim video! I wouldve prefered Know The Ledge, but I don't think this Knick squad is worthy of such a classic.
haha yeah man very good point on the craw situation. he is a 7 year vet playing like a promising rookie. which brings me to a trade idea send him back home to seattle with Malik Rose and Wilson Chandler for Watson (or Ridnour) and Delonte West. gives them a year off the guards contract and gets them somethin in return for West who wants out.
btw, i miss marbury. i hate to admit it but i do. his D and yes i must say.. passing ability.. 8 assists the whole first half? thats embarassing/
wasnt like stephon was racking up the assists either
He wasn't racking up assists, but he was trying to.It's just that when you got inconsistent Crawford,inconsistent Richardson,no passing ability Zach Randolph, and no passing ability Curry, it makes it hard to get others involved.In my opinion, not even Steve Nash could average high assits/game on the Knicks.I mean,Jamal Crawford is our lead assist man, and he attempts almost 17 shots per game.That tells you how unreliable the Knicks can be, when you pass them the ball.
I think the Knicks did the right thing by giving Zach the ball, for the last shot.The mistake the Knicks made was that they didn't get themselves open for a shot, in case Randolph got double teamed.Nate had a good look, but you don't want a player that hurt their quadricep to have to hoist up a 3 at the end.In a way, this losing streak isn't so bad.It tells people that the Knicks aren't better without Marbury.Like Marbury or not, he can score, pass, and makes Crawford's minutes go down, because you have a guy that can play the point guard position.Without him, you have to overplay Crawford, and you risk him either being injured or not being effective, because of fatigue.Also, you make it easier for your oponent to drive to the basket, because you don't have a guy that can fight over screens, like Marbury does.
He wasn't racking up assists, but he was trying to.It's just that when you got inconsistent Crawford,inconsistent Richardson,no passing ability Zach Randolph, and no passing ability Curry, it makes it hard to get others involved.In my opinion, not even Steve Nash could average high assits/game on the Knicks.I mean,Jamal Crawford is our lead assist man, and he attempts almost 17 shots per game.That tells you how unreliable the Knicks can be, when you pass them the ball.
i totally disagree, ever since stephon has gone down wit the injury, the assist per game as team has gone so much higher and its been obvious, the ball is moving so much quicker and smoother
i totally disagree, ever since stephon has gone down wit the injury, the assist per game as team has gone so much higher and its been obvious, the ball is moving so much quicker and smoother
If what you're saying is true, then why have the Knicks lost 5 in a row?The ball movement has not improved, since Marbury left.Everyone has actually been saying that the Knicks have played with good ball movement, until the fourth quarter, where they start to play 1 on 1, and it's showed, hence the 5 game losing streak.The stats are decieving, because a lot of why the Knicks are averaging more assists, is cause Nate has become a better distributer.But as we've seen, he doesn't like to pass the ball in the 4th quarter, and neither does Crawford.I'm not trying to attack Nate, cause he's been great, and I think he deserves to start, but he still has a long way to go before he can be considered a pure point guard.A few games where he has high assists doesn't prove he can do this on a consistent basis.Marbury has averaged 8 assists for most of his career.Nobody on the Knicks is currently averaging above 4.That tells you something.The main reason the offense has been going more smoothly is because they've minimized their turnovers.But Marbury has nothing to do with their turnover problems, cause he only played 24 games this season, and only averages
2 to per game-a low number for a guy that played 33.5 mpg.
New York Knicks vs Seattle Sonics Game Thread
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