What to Watch For: New York Knicks vs. Philadelphia 76ers November 5

http://t0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSTGQqnuqI6-uLcYloYV6HkEFTx1s0HltUtDkP2oxzuhTayWTITvwnqC_B1Dg

Monday, November 5, 2012

Pre-Game News and Notes

New York Knicks vs. Philadelphia 76ers

The New York Knicks are off to their best start since the 1999-2000 season and will look to move to 3-0 for the first time since then against the Philadelphia 76ers tonight.  Tonight is the second game of the home-and-home series and here are some things to keep an eye on and watch for.

-Keep up the Defense

The Knicks have played stellar defense thus far this season, giving up 84 points in both games this season.  That is quite an accomplishment for this team, as it is only the second time since the 1954-1955 season the Knicks first two opponents have scored 84 points or less. 

One reason for the Knicks success is that they have been forcing turnovers and converting off those miscues.  They need to continue this pressure and take the 76er crowd out of the game from the start by setting the tone in their favor.

The Knicks also need to slow down Jrue Holiday, who had a big game Sunday afternoon going for 27 points and seven assists.  The Knicks did force Holiday into six turnovers, but slowing him down would really hamper a 76er team which will be without two of their top guns offensively in Andrew Bynum and Jason Richardson.

-Control the Paint

The 76ers are a small team without Bynum and the Knicks have to take advantage.  Throughout two games, the Knicks have been outscored in the paint because of lights out shooting from three point range.  The torrid shooting pace is unlikely to continue, so the Knicks should look to score from the post and paint more tonight against a team without an intimidating presence in the middle. 

Tyson Chandler has had a quiet start to the season with the Knicks not needing him in the fourth quarter of the games yet, but he has done a great job in his limited minutes.  Chandler has 15 rebounds and two blocks so far on the season, being a presence in the paint for the Knicks.  He has also changed a number of shots and done plenty of things for the Knicks that do not show up in box scores. 

-Melo Fellow

Carmelo Anthony has been outstanding thus far through two games, setting the tone early and often on the offensive end in both games with dominant first quarters.  Where Anthony has been even better is the defensive end, showing an improved effort on that side of the court, setting an example for his teammates to follow.

Anthony has led the defensive charge the first two games, playing physical defense against Lebron James Friday night and bringing high energy to the defensive end of the court Sunday afternoon. 

“It’s really contagious when you see your start player going out there, diving in the crowd, giving up open shots, going for loose balls,” said J.R. Smith.  “It really filters throughout the team, so as long as he keeps doing that, I think everybody won’t have a problem doing it.”

As the star goes, the rest of the team will follow and as a Knicks fan you have to really like what you have seen from Anthony.  He is following through on everything he said throughout the offseason thus far, albeit through only two games.  Anthony had a very efficient game Sunday afternoon against the 76ers; scoring 27 points on 18 shot attempts and if that continues the Knicks will be a very difficult team to beat.

-Coaching Adjustments

Beating a team on back-to-back nights is very difficult and Anthony understands that. 

“I mean, the X’s and O’s go out the window at this point.  We know what they’re going to do.  They know what we’re going to do,” said Anthony.  “Pretty sure (76ers) coach (Doug) Collins is going to make some adjustments, so it’s just a matter of us going out there and competing.”

The 76ers are going to come out fired up being home and trying to get some revenge from Sunday afternoon.  The Knicks will need to make the necessary adjustments and that falls on the coaching staff and head coach Mike Woodson.  Some added wrinkles to the Knicks sets should keep the 76ers on their toes, as the Knicks will have a chance in every game this season with the potential Anthony has of scoring 40 points in at the snap of fingers.

Knicks Take First in Home-and-Home in Rout

Sunday, November 4^th 2012

Post Game Recap

Final Score: Philadelphia 76ers: 84 New York Knicks: 100

Knicks Take First of Home-and-Home in Rout

http://media.zenfs.com/en_US/Sports/AP_NBA/201211041238455140661-p2.jpg 

The Knicks continued their strong start to the season, showing people that Friday night’s victory over the Heat was no fluke in dismantling the 76ers 100-84 Sunday afternoon.  Granted, Andrew Bynum was not playing because of a knee injury and Jason Richardson went down with a twisted ankle shortly after tip-off, but a win is a win especially against a divisional opponent.  The Knicks moved to 2-0 with the victory, giving them their first 2-0 start since the 1999-2000 season. 

Carmelo Anthony once again led the way for the Knicks on the offensive side of the court, scoring 27 points.  This 27 was more impressive than his 30 in the season opening win against the Heat in my opinion though, as it was a much more efficient game for Anthony, as he went 10 of 18 from the field in scoring his 27, compared to the 10 of 28 it took for the 30 Friday night. 

Break the numbers down even more, Anthony was even more efficient; inside the 3-point line, Anthony shot nine of 14.  Anthony also grabbed six rebounds and showed supreme effort on the defensive end of the court causing multiple turnovers, getting one steal and two blocks of his own.

For at least one game, Anthony had a sidekick in the scoring department without Amar’e Stoudemire in the lineup.  J.R. Smith lit the 76ers up from all over the court en route to scoring 20 points on eight of 15 shooting. Coming off the bench in his sixth man role, Smith was on fire from deep knocking down four of his five attempts.  Smith also made his presence felt on the boards, securing a team high nine rebounds in the game.

Smith will play an integral part for the Knicks until Stoudemire returns, as he will be relied on as the second scorer to Anthony most nights.  Even when Stoudemire returns, Smith will have to keep the scoring up as the top option off the bench. 

http://media.zenfs.com/en_US/Sports/AP_NBA/201211041228449290615-p2.jpg

Smith is an x-factor for the Knicks this season, as he can either play the Knicks into or out of games any night.  So far, it looks like he will play them into more games than out, as head coach Mike Woodson seems to finally be getting to Smith, something no other head coach has been able to do thus far throughout his career.

For a second straight game and against another potential power in the Eastern Conference, the Knicks played stellar defense.  The Knicks held the 76ers to 84 points, the same amount they surrendered to the Heat Friday night.  The 76ers shot only 43 percent from the field and were forced into 18 turnovers.  The Knicks were precise with their rotations and played great help defense, constantly talking on the defensive end.

One player the Knicks did have trouble containing was Jrue Holiday, who went for 27 points, seven assists and two rebounds.  Holiday made a killing from 3-point range, going five out of six and 11 of 18 overall.  Holiday was not immune to the Knicks stifling defense though, as he did commit six turnovers.

For how well the defense was, the offense was just as much in rhythm.  The ball movement was on point, with every player willing to make the extra pass to get the best shot possible.  Nothing looked forced this afternoon, as the Knicks seemed to always have good looks at the basket and rarely forced a shot.  The Knicks ended up with 18 assists on 39 shots made but does not tell the whole story on how well they shared the ball throughout the game.

For the second straight home game, the Knicks faithful chanted Rasheed Wallace’s name and again they were rewarded with seeing him play.  Woodson summoned Wallace from the bench with just less than four minutes left and the crowd went nuts.  When he scored his basket, the crowd exploded into a frenzy.  It only means good things for the Knicks if Wallace is seen more and more on the court.

Next up for the Knicks is a quick turnaround, as the second game of the home-and-home will be played in Philadelphia Monday night.  The Knicks will then have three days off until playing against the Dallas Mavericks Friday night, by which time Marcus Camby is expected to be healthy enough to crack the rotation.