MSGKnickz33
The Gold Mac
THE NEW YORK KNICKS(12-26) VS THE WASHINGTON WIZARDS(20-17)
Friday, Jan. 18 at 7:00pm ET on MSG
Friday, Jan. 18 at 7:00pm ET on MSG
Welcome to the MSGknickz33 pregame show. Im your host Jazzy Jeff and last night the Knicks beat the New Jersey Nets for the 3rd time this season while winning their 3rd game in a row. Washington has not played since losing to the Knicks. Prior to that loss the Wizards shocked everybody by beating the Celtics twice. We'll see if the Knicks can make it 4 straight and extend the Wizards losing streak to two.
STARTING LINEUPS
The Washington Wizards
pg-Antonio Daniels
sg-Deshawn Stevenson
sf-Caron Butler
pf-Antawn Jamison
C-Brendan Haywood
Your New York Knicks!!!!!!
At Point Guard, Jamal Crawford
At Shooting Guard, Fred Jones
At Small Forward, Quentin Richardson
At Power Forward, Zach Randolph
At Center, Eddy Curry
Key Matchup: Jamal Crawford vs Antonio Daniels
When the Knicks played the Wizards on Tuesday Night, Antonio Daniels did not play because of a sore right knee. Hes known as a very steady guard whos not turnover prone and hes a good defender. Hes not going to amaze anyone with his stats but he shoots a high percentage and averages 6.3 assists per game as a starter.
Opposing teams need to start worrying about Crawford. His shooting percentages through the first 9 games of January have been very impressive. Month by month his numbers have gotten better. Lets take a look:
November
38.7mpg
17.1ppg
41fg%
30.1 3P%
84.1FT%
4.3apg
December
42.7mpg
21.6ppg
39.4fg%
34.2 3P%
86.5FT%
4.8apg
January
41.9mpg
21.4ppg
47.9fg%
45 3P%
93.3FT%
4.9apg
Crawford is now tied with Joe Johnson for 2nd in minutes per game averaging 40.9, while Allen Iverson is leading the league playing 41.5 minutes per game.
Now lets take a look at some more intersting stats:
January
Knicks ppg-97
Knicks oppg-96.7
The whole Season
Knicks ppg-94.6
Knicks oppg-100.7
Nate Robinson has also been a big part of this turnaround:
January
29.9mpg
16.1ppg
50.5fg%
47.5 3P%
77.4FT%
3.9apg
1topg
What really jumps out to is the fact that Nate is only averaging 1 turnover per game. This was always a big problem for him. His shooting percentages and point per game are also very impressive. At only 5'8" Nate has proven that hes deserving of at least 25 minutes a game. Analysts like Peter Vecsey need to learn that its time to stop making fun of him.
The Official MSG33 Pregame Strategy:
- Defense!!!! The Wizards are the 10th best team offensively
- Watch out for Roger Mason!!! He score 20 points (8-14) against the Knicks on Tuesday
- Look to double Caron Butler and Antawn Jamison
- Move the Ball!!! Washington has been the 4th best team defensively in the last 10 games
On Tuesday night both Eddy Curry and Zach Randolph struggled. Not much has changed with the Wizards since Tuesday night so the Knicks cant force the ball to Eddy and Zach. Jamal Crawford and Nate Robinson should be the Knicks 2 first options on offense. Balkman was a big factor coming off the bench to score 8 points and grab 9 rebounds.
I think Im out of stats so that does it for my show. I thank everyone for watching and remember you can catch the Knicks Friday night on MSG.