What to Watch For: Dallas Mavericks vs. New York Knicks November 9

Friday, November 09, 2012

Pre-Game News and Notes

Dallas Mavericks vs. New York Knicks

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The Knicks look to continue their hot start to the season against a banged up Dallas Mavericks team that will be without stalwarts Dirk Nowitzki and Shawn Marion.  This will be a good test for the Knicks, as the Mavericks are off to just as hot a start at 4-1 even without their star player.  The Knicks have had plenty of time to prepare for the Mavericks since they were off since Monday so they should come out ready to go.

-3 Point Shootout

The Knicks set a record for three pointers made through the first three games in a season, going 43 for 95, but the Mavericks are no slouches behind the arc.  The Mavericks are the hottest team in the NBA from behind the arc, going 50 for 103 thus far in the season.  O.J. Mayo leads the NBA with 21 makes on the season.

Darren Collison has been a big reason for the success from deep for the Mavericks, as he has excelled in the pick-and-roll game and has the ball movement at a premium in Dallas.  Collison was the response move to Jason Kidd joining the Knicks.

Another reason for the success from deep is the post play of Vince Carter, Chris Kaman and Elton Brand.  They are all willing passers and can find the open man on the perimeter when they are double teamed in the post.

-Defend the Paint

As stated, the Mavericks run a deep rotation up front with Kaman, Brand and Brandon Wright.  The Mavericks are dangerous team in the paint and the Knicks will need to lock that down for the victory tonight.

The Mavericks run their offense through pick-and-roll with deadly shooting from deep; taking out the big men would go a long way in winning tonight for the Knicks.  The Mavericks will be without top rebounder Marion, so the Knicks need to take advantage and control the boards.  Winning the battle on the boards is a formula to winning.

This should all be easier with the expected season debut of Marcus Camby.  Camby gives the Knicks a legitimate center on the second unit and someone to do everything that Tyson Chandler does in the starting unit.  Camby is an upgrade over any option the Knicks had last season and in recent memory.

Camby’s playing time will be dictated by how much Kaman is on the court, as the Mavericks have been using a small-ball lineup much like the Knicks recently, putting more of an emphasis on guard and wing play.

-O.J. Mayo vs. J.R. Smith

Mayo starts for the Mavericks and J.R. Smith is the Knicks sixth man, but they will undoubtedly be matched up throughout the game together.  Right now, Mayo and Smith are two of the most efficient players in the NBA and have numbers very similar, as Mayo is shooting 63.6 percent from deep and Smith is shooting 61.5 and both players are turning the ball over less than two times per game.

Smith has been getting at it on the defensive end this season, evident from the 1.7 steals he is averaging per game so this is the match-up to keep an eye on throughout the game.  It will be two electrifying players opposing each other.

-Get Off to Hot Start

The Knicks have had a long lay-off not playing since Monday night, so a lackluster start could be in the cards.  That is something the Knicks need to avoid though, as the crowd will be raucous and ready to watch their Knicks take the court again.  Slow starts was the norm last year for the Knicks, but so far this season they have led at the end of the first quarter in every game, a trend that would be a welcome site to see, especially at home; once you have the crowd going behind you it makes it that much more difficult for the road team.

New York Knicks vs. San Antonio Spurs Pre-Game News and Notes March 7th

New York Knicks vs. San Antonio Spurs 
Wednesday, March 7th 8:30 ET on MSG 

After dropping the last two against the Celtics and Mavericks, the road does not get any easier tonight in San Antonio against the Spurs. The Knicks are on the second night of a back-to-back while San Antonio should be well rested, last playing Sunday afternoon losing to the Denver Nuggets. Here are some things to watch for in tonight’s game. 

Changes to the Starting Lineup? 
-The starting lineup has been playing lackluster and uninspired basketball since the all-star break, putting the team in a whole right from the beginning sometimes too deep to recover from. Sluggish play from superstar Carmelo Anthony and a wearing down Jeremy Lin have contributed to the slow starts. Landry Fields also has not been playing well, seeing his minutes cut drastically with the addition of JR Smith and the emergence of Iman Shumpert and Steve Novak off the bench. So is tonight the night Mike D’Antoni finally makes a change to jumpstart the starting five? There are rumblings that a days after saying he will not shake up the lineup, that that is in fact what will be done. Iman Shumpert is expected to take over the starting Shooting Guard spot tonight for Landry Fields. This should help kick-start the Knicks earlier in games because of the intensity and energy that Shumpert brings to the game, especially on the defensive end of the court. 

Pick and Roll Defense 
-The Mavericks thrived against the Knicks in pick and roll situations. Jason Kidd was knockdown like normal from deep, going 3-6 and scoring a season high 15 points and dishing out 6 assists. Dirk Nowitzki also did his thing, scoring 28 points. The pick and roll defense will have to improve, and it starts with Jeremy Lin. For everything positive that Lin has brought the Knicks, he also comes with some negatives. One of those is his lateral quickness on defense. Lin at times seems he would have trouble guarding a garbage can. Opposing Point Guards have torched the Knicks in recent games, from Deron Williams scoring 38 to Rajon Rondo’s historic triple double, making Tony Parker who the Knicks should key in on tonight’s game. The Spurs are a lot like the Knicks in the offense they run, mostly pick-and-rolls-and-space-out offense, currently sitting 2nd in the NBA in 3point shooting percentage (39.6) and 3rd in makes (299). One thing the Knicks should stop doing to improve their defense is stop switching on the pick-and-rolls. The Knicks have a habit of switching at almost every opportunity, no matter which players are that are switching, which causes terrible match-ups for them. You will notice multiple times throughout the game Iman Shumpert or Jeremy Lin getting stuck guarding big-men on switches leading to easy baskets for the opposing team. Switching on defense is a good tactic when used sparingly and in certain situations, not as the game-plan. 

When Will We See The Old Carmelo Anthony? 
-The Knicks have to make it a point to get their struggling and seemingly disgruntled superstar more involved in not only the offense, but the game as a whole. Carmelo usually has big games after poor ones throughout the season. When he scored 13 points on Dec. 28 against the Warriors, he had 27 one night later against the Lakers. When he scored 13 points on Jan. 7 against the Pistons, he had 22 two nights later against the Bobcats. And then when he scored 12 points on Jan. 18 against the Suns, he had 35 two nights later against the Bucks. Can only hope for more of the same this time around, and hopefully another win as the Knicks are also only 1-2 in those Melo bounce back games. To get the offense moving, they need to get Melo moving. He is capable of getting easy baskets; he just has to be willing to get them. Melo thus-far has been settling for too many deep 2point shots, resulting in his worst season statistically in his career. If the Knicks want to get back to having sweet harmony on the offensive end during the beginning of Linsanity, they have to make it more of a point to get Melo involved in the offense, not have to make the offense himself. 

New York Knicks vs. Dallas Mavericks Post Game Recap March 6th

Final Score: Knicks 85 Mavericks 95 

The Mavericks had complete control for most of the game from start to finish. The only time the Knicks showed any life was the start of the 4th quarter when they went on a 15-0 run to take a 1 point lead behind the shooting of Steve Novak (13pts 4-10FG 4-8 3pt 3 Reb), defense of Iman Shumpert (3 steals) and the aggressiveness of Amar’e Stoudemire The Mavericks quickly responded with their own 14-0 run behind Dirk Nowitzki (28 pts 8-18FG 12-12FT) and Jason Kidd (16 pts 4 Reb 5 Ast) to put the game away. It was a tough game to watch as a Knicks fan outside of that 6 and a half minute stretch. The rest of the game was sloppy and uninspiring for the most part. 

-Technical Fouls 
The Knicks were whistled for 3 technical fouls in the game tonight while the Mavericks had one of their own. J.R. Smith, Tyson Chandler and Mike D’Antoni received them for the Knicks, and Dirk Nowitzki received one for the Mavericks. Technical fouls have been a problem for Tyson Chandler, who has racked up 10 thus far this season. It is something to keep an eye on for the remainder of the season, because if Chandler reaches 16, a mandatory game suspension is put in place. He is then suspended one game for every 2 technical following the 16th. The technical foul was all you really heard from J.R. Smith tonight, as he had another lackluster game off the bench. 

-Wear and Tear Becoming Evident 
Jeremy Lin did not have a bad game tonight, finishing with 14 points 7 assists and only 2 turnovers, but it was a struggle at points. He shot only 4-13 from the field, floating out towards the perimeter and not attacking the basket as much as Knicks fans are accustomed to seeing. He took multiple hard hits while driving to the basket, which could have played a part in him playing more on the perimeter. For the Knicks to succeed, they need Lin to continue breaking down the defense and attacking the paint, not shooting 3 pointers. This was the 3rd game in a row that the team played in a better rhythm with Baron Davis running the point instead of Lin. Davis was the one leading the team during the ferocious comeback to start the 4th quarter. 

-Carmel-No 
Carmelo Anthony struggled again tonight, scoring only 6 points on 2-12 shooting from the field, 0-3 from 3 point and 2-4 from the foul line. Melo did have 8 rebounds, but only 1 assist. He showed aggressiveness in the 1st quarter, attacking the basket trying to get involved in the game but it did not show any results. At one point in the game, he looked more interested in carrying a conversation with Shawn Marion than the actual game, which resulted in one of the 16 Knicks turnovers (Melo threw an inbounds pass without looking, instead jawing with Marion. The result was a Jason Kidd steal.). For the rest of the game he looked disinterested and did not seem to care much about the outcome. He could be seen standing around just watching his teammates play. He took only one shot in the 4th quarter and was more than willing to become a spectator. Like everyone else, Melo needs to start developing chemistry and finding his niche with this new look Knicks squad. It would also be great to see Melo and Amar’e play well on the offensive end of the court in the same game. 

-Back to His Old Ways? 
One bright spot for the Knicks tonight was Amar’e Stoudemire. Stoudemire had a strong performance, showing some of the old bounce he had and finishing above the rim. He finished with 26 points on 10-18 field goals and 6-8 from the foul line to go along with 7 rebounds. "I went back to the old STAT, played uptempo basketball." Stoudemire said. Stoudemire provided the Knicks with timely buckets and also provided some unexpected defense. For a good part of the game, Stoudemire took it upon himself to guard Mavericks star and Finals MVP Dirk Nowitzki. The game plan had originally called for defensive minded Tyson Chandler to guard Nowitzki, but Amar’e told the coaching staff he wanted to do it before the game started. Amar’e took Dirk out of his game for a large portion of the contest, even causing Dirk to uncharacteristically lash out at the referees, resulting in a technical foul. In my opinion, this was Stoudemire’s most complete game of the season because he had an impact not only on the offensive end of the court, but the defensive end of the court as well. Hopefully this is a building block game for Amar’e and he can continue dominating teams through the end of the regular season and into the playoffs. 


Next Game: Wednesday March 7th @ San Antonio Spurs 8:30 ET