San Antonio Spurs vs New York Knicks Game Thread 2/8
The San Antonio Spurs(31-16) vs The New York Knicks(14-35)
Fri. 2/8 at 7:30pm ET on MSG
Welcome to the MSGKnickz33 Pregame show, Im your host Jazzy Jeff and were here to take a look at Wednesday nights matchup. The Knicks have now lost 7 games in a row. They sufferred another dissapointing loss against the Pacers who ended their 7 game losing streak. The Knicks went cold in the 4th quarter and lost by 3. They had a 5 point lead with just over 5 minutes left but from there went on to be outscored 16 to 8.
The Spurs have won 3 straight games over the Suns, Pacers, and Wizards after somehow losing to Seattle. They recently signed point guard Damon Stoudamire who got the start Wednesday night. Tony Parker is expected to miss another 2 weeks because of a heel injured he suffered on February 1st. The Spurs are only ranked 4th in the Western Conference but theres only a 2 game gap from 1st to 4th. The Phoenix Suns are holding on to 1st place by a half game.
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 is listed as day to day
*Tony Parker is out for 2 more weeks
MSG33 PresEnTs the KeY MatChuP:Fabricio Oberto vs Eddy Curry
I apologize to anyone whos upset about Curry being part of the key matchup for the 2nd straight game. Statistically Eddy Curry had his best game in a long time scoring 20 points and snatching 8 rebounds in 32 minutes. He was all offense in the 1st half while in the 2nd half he looked to rebound more even though he "gave" a rebound away to Troy Murphy. The reason why I chose Curry as the key matchup is because his best game was against the Spurs about a month ago. Lets look at his stats from that game.
minutes
25pts
83.3fg%
12rbs
4to
Besides the turnovers good stats for Eddy. Tim Duncan and Curry guarded each other for most of the game. Zach Randolph was suspended for this game so some would draw the conclusion that Eddy was motivated to perform well to prove that he can be productive with Z-Bo out of the lineup. Randolph said in an interview that Curry needs to play strong (like he did against Duncan) no matter whos on the court.
Eddy Curry Last 5 Games
*Stats not including 4 min. played vs Utah
24.2mpg
15.4ppg
71fg%
4.4rpg
.4bpg
I called it last time in my key matchup when I said that Curry would finally gave a good game. I did not mention this but I should have also written statistically just so no one gets it twisted. I think its less likely that he'll have a good game against the Spurs, Im only going off of what he did a month ago. At the same time his way of scoring is something that no team can stop when he gets good position down low. He is too strong for Oberto and Duncan. I would still only predict 12pts and 4rbs because of his softness.
Fabricio Oberto Last 5 Games
23.8mpg
7.2ppg
58fg%
7.2rpg
.2topg
.2bpg
In .4 less minutes Oberto has averaged 2.8 more rebounds then Curry. Something is wrong here:
Oberto-6'10" 245
Curry-6'11" 285
Oberto>>>Curry
The Official MSG33 Pregame Strategy:
Ball Movement!!!! Spurs-91.1pts allowed per game (6th)
Perimeter Defense!!! Spurs-37% (Tied-6th)
Give Balkman, Nate, and Lee big minutes
Hope for good luck
Player Spotlight
Renaldo Balkman doesnt put up the best stats but hes always out working hard from the moment he enters the game. His defense and hustle are a necessity to this team. If were gonna lose, lets at least play some of the more entertaining players instead of boring bums like Crawford, Z-Bo, and Curry.
Balkman tells Rondo to get that Sh!t outta here!!!!!
Renaldo Balkman-First 4 games of February
25.8mpg
7.5ppg
51.8fg%
5.8rpg
1.3bpg
1spg
The 1.3 blocks per game and 25.8 minutes per game standout. Its great to see Balkman finally getting more minutes. When it comes to blocking shots, the Knicks are an outlier.
Heres a list of the 5 teams at the bottom of the stats in terms of blocking shots. The Knicks average 1.6 less blocks then the 2nd worst shot blocking team. If thats not a good reason to play Balkman 30-35 minutes per game, then I dont know what is. Hes also shown some crafty offensive moves lately. Hes looking to become more versatile as a player. More minutes would help his development.
Eastern Conference Standings
Celtics(37-9)
Pistons(35-13)-3GB
Magic(32-19)-7.5GB
Cavs(27-20)-10.5GB
Raptors(26-21)11.5GB
Wizards(24-24)14GB
Hawks(21-24)15.5GB
Nets(20-29)18.5GB
Pacers(20-30)19GB
Bulls(19-29)19GB
76ers(19-30)19.5GB
Bucks(19-31)20GB
Bobcats(18-31)20.5GB
Knicks(14-35)24.5GB
Heat(9-38)28.5GB
The Official Playoff Race: Knicks are 6 games out
*This stat will be here until the Knicks are mathematically eliminated from the playoffs, I apologize
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,2.2bpg
February(0-4):Opponents Points per game=96.5
91.8ppg,43.3rpg,17.5apg,44.5fg%,30.6%3P,72.6FT%,4. 2spg,3bpg
Knicks-0 and 4 in February
Knicks-91.8ppg; opponents-96.5ppg
Spurs Top 3 Point shooters
Damon Stoudamire-62.5%
Brent Barry-43%
Bruce Bowen-40.9%
Manu Ginobili-39.5%
Matt Bonner-37.5%
Michael Finley-37.4%
Jacque Vaughn-33%
Damon Stoudamires percentage is high because he because he has only played 2 games as a Spur. Im worried about every player on this list destroying the Knicks from the perimeter, especially Matt Bonner. Last time against the Knicks Bonner scored 14pts shooting 3-5 from 3pt range. He also somehow came away with 4 steals and blocked 2 shots.
With Tony Parker being injured the Knicks dont have to worry about constantly being embarrassed by him getting into the paint and scoring off of layups while Curry and Zach Randolph watch.
I should not talk about any one player on the Spurs. Tim Duncan might be the best player but the Spurs beat you as a team. If you looked up "team" in the dictionary a picture of the Spurs might come up. I dont look at Fridays game as 2 teams playing each other, its a team vs a group of players. The Knicks will have to find a way to play as a team if they want to make this game interesting.
Throwback HipHop Video of the Day:
Artist:Cormega
Title:Beautiful Mind
Album:Legal Hustle
Year:2004
Knicks upcoming Schedule:
Fri, Feb 8 San Antonio 7:30 PM
Sat, Feb 9 @ Milwaukee 8:30 PM
Wed, Feb 13 @ Boston 7:30 PM
Tue, Feb 19 @ Washington 7:00 PM
Wed, Feb 20 @ Philadelphia 7:00 PM
That does it for my pregame show. I thank everyone for joining me and remember to tune in Wednesday night to catch the Knicks and the Pacers.
Last edited by MSGKnickz33; Feb 07, 2008 at 16:48.
Well It looks like we are going to get a decent draft pick this year. Thats if Isiah doesnt make a ridiculous trade! anyway if nate gets hot again we might win this. Lee is showing why hes a real talent and possible all star in the future. The put-back dunk other night impressed me! Balkman has been playing well. He doesnt mind gettin his hands dirty. If he had a jump shot he would be a starter.
The throwback vids are off the hook MSGknickz33! That symphony is a favourite of mine and all the verses are quality but id have to say Big Daddy Kanes is the best!!!
Well It looks like we are going to get a decent draft pick this year. Thats if Isiah doesnt make a ridiculous trade! anyway if nate gets hot again we might win this. Lee is showing why hes a real talent and possible all star in the future. The put-back dunk other night impressed me! Balkman has been playing well. He doesnt mind gettin his hands dirty. If he had a jump shot he would be a starter.
The throwback vids are off the hook MSGknickz33! That symphony is a favourite of mine and all the verses are quality but id have to say Big Daddy Kanes is the best!!!
I like what Im seein from Lee and Balkman. Balkman was all over the place last night and Im happy to see someone bring up the symphony, I got Big Daddy Kane 2nd, Masta Ace 3rd and Craig G last.
Last edited by MSGKnickz33; Feb 07, 2008 at 16:49.
Another great Game Thread MSG! I dig some old school rap, but the only thing that bothers me is that nobody knows the original songs these guys steal...cough...uh...sample from...and then take credit for. The hip-hop song of the day you got on here is a classic Otis Redding song.
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By the way, how do you imbed the youtube videos in your posts?
Another great Game Thread MSG! I dig some old school rap, but the only thing that bothers me is that nobody knows the original songs these guys steal...cough...uh...sample from...and then take credit for. The hip-hop song of the day you got on here is a classic Otis Redding song.
By the way, how do you imbed the youtube videos in your posts?
That song was from my last game thread, I posted up the Spurs one without changing anything from the Pacers game thread so I could get the poll question up there quicker. I love that song the symphony, I do know alot of the originals but I didnt know that one. I was feelin that Otis Redding song.
The new throwback song of the day isnt throwback, its from 2004. I do have a throwback version of it by Tragedy Khadafi:
Tupac, Joe Buddens, and Capone n noreaga also rapped over this beat. If anyone knows the name of the CNN one I been lookin for it, I use to have it a while ago but I forgot the name of theirs. I think they just re-did it again too, its on some mixtape but the old one was way better.
That song was from my last game thread, I posted up the Spurs one without changing anything from the Pacers game thread so I could get the poll question up there quicker. I love that song the symphony, I do know alot of the originals but I didnt know that one. I was feelin that Otis Redding song.
The new throwback song of the day isnt throwback, its from 2004. I do have a throwback version of it by Tragedy Khadafi:
Tupac, Joe Buddens, and Capone n noreaga also rapped over this beat. If anyone knows the name of the CNN one I been lookin for it, I use to have it a while ago but I forgot the name of theirs. I think they just re-did it again too, its on some mixtape but the old one was way better.
Yeah man, that's a cool song. Did you know that piano came from an old Isaac Hayes tune? That's right, Chef from Southpark funkin' it up! I know I've complained about posting music on this site, but I got to drop some music knowledge on you. Here it is. At about the 1:40 mark you can here the piano.
Yeah man, that's a cool song. Did you know that piano came from an old Isaac Hayes tune? That's right, Chef from Southpark funkin' it up! I know I've complained about posting music on this site, but I got to drop some music knowledge on you. Here it is. At about the 1:40 mark you can here the piano.
I heard that before, Im familiar with some of Isaac Hayes's stuff. There was a recent song that sampled that to a further extent of the others, it starts off the same way.
With Marbury hurt, and Nate banged up, why haven't we signed a guard like Jared Jordan to a 10 day contract?
Well, that's a good question. The reason is because Isiah's son, Jamal Crawford needs to get as much playing time as possible.He's a growing boy, and he needs the 41 mpg to keep himself in shape.Isiah has also made sure Crawford eats all his veggies, which is why he gained 15 pounds.
With Marbury hurt, and Nate banged up, why haven't we signed a guard like Jared Jordan to a 10 day contract?
I think ABCD did a great job of answering this question.
I think Isiah should set up/look for a reason to suspend Zach Randolph tonight. Without Z-Bo, Curry looked good (no homo) against the Spurs about a month ago. He was scoring and rebounding. I hate to go this far but he was even grabbing rebounds from Duncan overpowering/outplaying him. I cant believe Im sayin this but thats what I saw happening when I watched that game. It showed me what Curry is capable of but his ***** mentality and lack of conditioning only allow this type of play to happen once or tiwce a month.
With Marbury hurt, and Nate banged up, why haven't we signed a guard like Jared Jordan to a 10 day contract?
Because we have all 15 roster spots taken. The knicks would have to waive a spot to sign another. It will be the same thing that was happening in the offseason.
San Antonio Spurs vs New York Knicks Game Thread 2/8
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