Wednesday April 18th 7:30 P.M. ET
New York
Knicks vs. New Jersey Nets
After a great win last night against the Boston Celtics on
national television, the Knicks get right back at it tonight with a quick
turnaround against the New Jersey Nets.
The Knicks currently sit 3 ½ games behind Boston for the Atlantic Division
title and lead the Philadelphia 76ers by 1 game for 7th place. This will be the 3rd meeting
between the Knicks and Nets, with each team winning one so far this
season. This will also be the last time
the Knicks visit New Jersey, as
the Nets are prepared to move to Brooklyn for the start
of next season. Everything is lining up
for this to be a trap game for the Knicks, so they have to come out strong from
the start and put away the Nets.
-Avoid Complacency
Coming off a big victory like last night for the Knicks, it
is common for teams to come out flat in their next game. This is especially true when the next
opponent is one that should be easily handled, which is the situation the
Knicks are in tonight. They have to
avoid coming out flat and not give the Nets any confidence. The Nets are eliminated from playoff
contention so this game is exponentially more important for the Knicks. This game will not be a cake walk as the Nets
are not going to back down to the Knicks.
Putting them away early will be beneficial for the Knicks because if
they let the Nets hang around till the end the result may not be what Knick
fans are hoping for.
Carmelo Anthony has become a leader on both ends of the court since Amar'e Stoudemire and Jeremy Lin went down with injuries. It will fall on his shoulders to make sure the team comes out ready to play with energy and intensity.
-Injury Updates
The Knicks now have another person re-added to the injury
list. Baron Davis was under the weather
and tweaked his hamstring in the game against the Celtics last night. Davis
was limited to just 18 minutes last night because of the various ailments. He also had to cut short his morning shoot around
because of a knee problem. This is
something to keep an eye on because the Knicks are deathly thin at PG with
Jeremy Lin going down injured and Mike Woodson not having confidence in Toney
Douglas. Look for Bibby to get ample
opportunities to shine again tonight.
Jared Jeffries will again be on a minutes limit tonight and
will continue to be for the foreseeable future.
He is returning from a knee injury which has plagued him all
season. The Knicks can afford to rest
him for spots now, but come playoff time they will need his defensive expertise
to succeed.
The Nets are not unscathed when it comes to the injury
front. Superstar Point Guard Deron
Williams was announced out for tonight’s game last night because of a strained
calf. It is the same calf injury that
cost Williams 4 games in March. Sundiata
Gaines is expected to start in place of Williams.
-Defensive Intensity
With the Nets playing without their best player in Deron
Williams it is setting up for the Knicks to come out flat because they
under-estimate the opposition. That is a
terrible mindset to have and will destroy the Knicks if that is indeed how they
come out. Instead the Knicks need to
turn up the defensive pressure even more and rattle all the players that will
be moving up in the rotation because of the injuries.
The Nets can not be taken lightly though as they still have
dangerous players. Recently the Nets
have sported three starters who have been explosive on the offensive end in
Gerald Green, MarShon Brooks
and Kris Humphries. They are playing as
if they are still in the playoff race and cannot be taken lightly. It will take another top notch defensive
effort from the Knicks to slow down those three and the rest of the Nets.
