<font color="blue">Washington Wizards (12-17)</font> at <font color="darkorange">New York Knicks (8-21)</font> Madison Square Garden, New York Monday, Jan. 6th 7:30pm, MSG, NC8, NBALP <div align="center">vs.</div> <font size="2">After a dramatic triple overtime win against the Phoenix Suns, the Knicks look to match their highest win streak this season with two games. The Wizards, who are on a three-game losing streak, started off the season strong, but haven?t been doing too well since then. With a Boston loss, and a Knick win, New York will only be 2.5 games out of a eighth and final playoff spot.</font> [div=50%] <font size="3"><div align="center"><font color="Blue">Washington Wizards</font></div></font> Project Starters <div align="center"> </div> Backcourt [imgl]http://www.nba.com/media/playerfile/gilbert_arenas.jpg[/imgl] <font color="blue">PG ? Gilbert Arenas</font> 29.7ppg, 6.1apg, 44.2%fg Arenas has been a stud the last two games averaging 45.5 points per game. Ironically, those two big games were losses. Arenas has the ability to shoot the ball and of course, put on the floor and swoop to the hoop. One of his main flaws, however, has been incorporating his team in the offense. Arenas has the tendency to sometimes hog the ball and take many illadvised shots. As the point guard Arenas will have to stay more focused on the team instead of himself. [imgl]http://www.nba.com/media/playerfile/caron_butler.jpg[/imgl]<font color="blue">SG ? Caron Butler</font> 15.9ppg, 5.2rpg, 2.3apg Traded in the summer for the under achieving Kwame Brown, Butler has been making the Lakers look like they?re making a big mistake. The tenth overall pick in 2002 from Connecticut is a strong, aggressive defender. His strength athleticism could pose a problem for the Knicks? backcourt. FrontCourt [imgl]http://www.nba.com/media/playerfile/jared_jeffries.jpg[/imgl]<font color="blue">SG ? Jared Jeffries</font> 5.6ppg, 4.7rpg, 2.0apg Jeffries has been in rumors coming to New York, actually. Keep a close eye out for him and see what you think. He?s a 6?11? small forward who can?t shoot, but plays pretty good defense mostly due to his length and athleticism. Could he give David Lee problems? [imgl]http://www.nba.com/media/playerfile/brendan_haywood.jpg[/imgl]<font color="blue">C ? Brendan Haywood</font> 8.4ppg, 5.9rpg, 1.6bpg As another great defender in the starting lineup, Haywood could become a problem for Curry. He?s seven feet, a strong, athletic 263 pounds and is capable of getting it done offensively if not being taken care of properly. His forte, however, is on the defensive end of the court. If he shuts down the low post and dribble penetration, the Knicks will have trouble this game. [imgl]http://www.nba.com/media/playerfile/antawn_jamison.jpg[/imgl]<font color="blue">PF ? Antawn Jamison</font> 18.0ppg, 10.3rpg, 40.5%fg Antawn Jamison isn?t having the best of seasons this year. He?s averaging 18 points, which is good, but on a 40.5 field goal percentage and 30% from downtown. He?s rebounding the ball better, though. One thing the Knicks have to take advantage of Jamison?s awful defense. <u>Keys To Game</u> <font color="Blue">Ball Distribution:</font> I must be frank; I haven?t seen too many Wizards games this year, but the ones I have seen the ball distribution hasn?t been too good and it was even worse when Larry Hughes was on the team. The ball has to be moving in order to give the Knicks defense some sort of problem. <font color="Blue">Role Players</font> Arenas can?t do it alone. It will be up to Washington?s role players to step up and give him some help. In addition, it will be up to Arenas, as the point guard, to get these guys set up all through out the game. [/div] <font size="3"><div align="center"><font color="darkorange">New York Knicks</font></div></font> Projected Starters <div align="center"> </div> Backcourt [imgl]http://www.nba.com/media/playerfile/nate_robinson.jpg[/imgl]<font color="DarkOrange">PG ? Nate Robinson</font> 8.4ppg, 2.8rpg, 1.6apg Robinson going up against the best scorer at the point guard position? Interesting match-up here. I wouldn?t prefer Robinson on the opposition?s best player simply because of the height mismatch. I think Jamal might get some extended minutes tonight. Robinson will need to give us energy, hustle, and smart basketball like he?s been doing lately. [imgl]http://www.nba.com/media/playerfile/stephon_marbury.jpg[/imgl]<font color="darkorange">SG ? Stephon Marbury</font> 18.4ppg, 6.4apg, 3.4rpg Against the Suns was Marbury?s best game. He scored very well, got the ball to his teammates, and stepped up when we needed him most. His final stat line was 32 points, 5 rebounds and 10 assists. We?ll need this same attitude against Phoenix tonight. As the leader, when other players see you stepping up, it will naturally rub off and will increase the intensity level. Frontcourt [imgl]http://www.nba.com/media/playerfile/david_lee.jpg[/imgl]<font color="darkorange">SF ? David Lee</font> 4.4ppg, 4.6rpg, 0.7apg David Lee was magnificent against Phoenix. He had 23 points, 15 rebounds, and 3 steals. Most impressive about his points was a majority of them came from around 18 feet. When Lee is on court, the Knicks play much better because of his energy. If he plays significant minutes, I?m liking our chances. [imgl]http://www.nba.com/media/playerfile/eddy_curry.jpg[/imgl]<font color="darkorange">C ? Eddy Curry </font> 13.8ppg, 6.8rpg, 1.0bpg Curry, claiming to be better than any lottery pick in ?06, has been looking good as of late. He looks like he can be a solid 25/15/5 player in about two years. Who am I kidding? But I do think he can be very good in this league, especially when you take into consideration he just turned 23 last month. Going up against Haywood, Curry will need to bring his A game and draw fouls on the Wizards best defensive player. [imgl]http://www.nba.com/media/playerfile/antonio_davis.jpg[/imgl]<font color="darkorange">PF ? Antonio Davis</font> 4.8ppg, 4.7rpg, 0.33bpg Davis hurt his back against Phoenix, but it looks like he?ll play today. If he can give Jamison yet another bad game, that will only put more pressure on Arenas. Defensively, Jamison is awful, so David might thrive in the midrange area or with some put backs. <u>Keys To The Game</u> <font color="darkorange">Fire and Desire:</font> For the second straight time, passion will be important. Energy is the only reason why we beat Phoenix and going up against a struggling Washington team, energy will give the Knicks a much greater chance of winning. <font color="darkorange">Defense:</font> Since we went into three overtimes, it?s understandable they allowed 133 points, but it definitely can?t be allowed again on our home court. Containing Arenas, Butler, and Jamison will be key as no other Wizard is capable of taking the scoring slack. Prediction: Post them below.
<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">Arenas has been a stud the last two games averaging 45.5 points per game. Ironically, those two big games were losses. Arenas has the ability to shoot the ball and of course, put on the floor and swoop to the hoop. One of his main flaws, however, has been incorporating his team in the offense. Arenas has the tendency to sometimes hog the ball and take many illadvised shots. As the point guard Arenas will have to stay more focused on the team instead of himself.</div> That could be the worst assessment of Gilbert Arenas I've ever seen. Did you see the rest of the team in those two games? I take it that you didn't. I love how you fail to mention that in the Miami game his statline was 47 points, 7 rebounds, and 8 assists. In the game against Houston, Arenas had 44 points, 6 rebounds, and 5 assists. Don't say he isn't sharing the ball, he is. His teammates aren't hitting shots. If it wasn't for Arenas, those two games would've been complete BLOWOUTS. Be critical of the rest of the team, not Arenas.
My prediction, Knicks make it two in a row with another monster game from my man David Lee. The Matchup I wanna see most is Nate and Gilbert Arenas, two of the quickest players in the game going at it.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting K8B:</div><div class="quote_post">That could be the worst assessment of Gilbert Arenas I've ever seen. Did you see the rest of the team in those two games? I take it that you didn't. I love how you fail to mention that in the Miami game his statline was 47 points, 7 rebounds, and 8 assists. In the game against Houston, Arenas had 44 points, 6 rebounds, and 5 assists. Don't say he isn't sharing the ball, he is. His teammates aren't hitting shots. If it wasn't for Arenas, those two games would've been complete BLOWOUTS. Be critical of the rest of the team, not Arenas.</div> Did I say he wasn't sharing the ball the last two games? I said in general Arenas has the tendency to get selfish sometimes. I mentioned those two games to give props to Arenas, actually.
Halftime Knicks: 52 Wizards: 51 <u>Knicks Stats:</u> Leading Scorer: Stephon Marbury 10 Points Leading Rebounder: David Lee and Nate Robinson and 6 Rebounds Leading Disher: Stephon Marbury 8 Assists <u>Wizards Stats:</u> Leading Scorer: Gilbert Arenas 18 Points Leading Rebounder: Brendan Haywood 4 Rebounds Leading Disher: 4 tied with two. <u><font color=""Red"">Hot @ Half Player:</font></u> Stephon Marbury [imgl]http://www.nba.com/media/playerfile/stephon_marbury.jpg[/imgl] Stephon Marbury is finally getting the point - literally. He's been passing the rock well and already has 8 assists and only 1 turnover. If he does a better job on Arenas the second half and the Knicks keep everyone else in check for the most part, I think we can get a W.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting MrJ:</div><div class="quote_post">Did I say he wasn't sharing the ball the last two games? I said in general Arenas has the tendency to get selfish sometimes. I mentioned those two games to give props to Arenas, actually.</div> He's averaging 6 assists a game. What more do you want? If he had better help around him, then he'd be averaging probably around 8 assists. The only times he gets selfish is when his teammates aren't doing anything, he makes plays happen.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting K8B:</div><div class="quote_post">He's averaging 6 assists a game. What more do you want? If he had better help around him, then he'd be averaging probably around 8 assists. The only times he gets selfish is when his teammates aren't doing anything, he makes plays happen.</div> Assists don't necessarily dictate a players selfishness. Marbury used to be an extremely selfish player, but he averaged 8 assists just about every season. I'm not saying Arenas is a bad player who's selfish, what I'm saying is during the course of games, Arenas can sometimes hold the ball too much and get increasingly less passive.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting K8B:</div><div class="quote_post">That could be the worst assessment of Gilbert Arenas I've ever seen. Did you see the rest of the team in those two games? I take it that you didn't. I love how you fail to mention that in the Miami game his statline was 47 points, 7 rebounds, and 8 assists. In the game against Houston, Arenas had 44 points, 6 rebounds, and 5 assists. Don't say he isn't sharing the ball, he is. His teammates aren't hitting shots. If it wasn't for Arenas, those two games would've been complete BLOWOUTS. Be critical of the rest of the team, not Arenas.</div> agree with k8b... GILBERT IS NO BALLHOG, HE WOULD PASS THE BALL TO ANY OPEN MAN HE SEES!!! AND PLUS TODAY GIL DIDNT SHOOT THAT MUCH IN THE SECOND HALF CUZ HE WANTED HIS TEAMATES TO CONTRIBUTE BUT THEY COULDN'T, IF HE TOOK MORE SHOTS IN THE SECOND, THE WIZARDS WOULDN'T BE DOWN AS MUCH. and anyways what a good game for frye off the bench, and gilbert gave his jersey at the end to nate robinson can anyone think of a reason why?
Give em props to the little man because he plays with so much heart and determination. AI gave him his sleeve when the knicks beat the sixers in OT a month ago also.
<font size="7">Final</font> Knicks: 113 Wizards: 92 <u>Knicks Stats:</u> Leading Scorer: Channing Frye 30 Points Leading Rebounder: David Lee 8 Rebounds Leading Disher: Stephon Marbury 11 Assists <u>Wizards Stats:</u> Leading Scorer: Gilbert Arenas and Antawn Jamison and 22 Points Leading Rebounder: Brendan Haywood and Michael Ruffin and 5 Rebounds Leading Disher: Gilbert Arenas 4 Assists <font size="4">New York Lottery Player of the Game</font> [IMGl]http://www.regentsreviewlive.net/images/lottery_weblogo.jpg[/IMGl] [imgl]http://www.nba.com/media/playerfile/channing_frye.jpg[/imgl] Channing Frye – 30 points, 7 rebounds, 2 steals Channing Frye struggling coming off the bench from the beginning, but it looks as if he’s adjusting well. Frye did most of his damage in the third quarter to blow the game open for good. It’s the second 30 point game he has had and the most out of any rookie in this draft class. He was simply great tonight and finishes with our New York lotto player of the game. You can’t live the dream if you don’t play the game!
The knicks have started the year off very well. 2 straight wins against tough opponents. The rookies have given them so much these 2 past games. Not to mention curry who has shown why we brought em here. Steph is leading the way along with improved play by AD and rose. hopefully, they can put up a streak.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting rookie789:</div><div class="quote_post">agree with k8b... GILBERT IS NO BALLHOG, HE WOULD PASS THE BALL TO ANY OPEN MAN HE SEES!!! AND PLUS TODAY GIL DIDNT SHOOT THAT MUCH IN THE SECOND HALF CUZ HE WANTED HIS TEAMATES TO CONTRIBUTE BUT THEY COULDN'T, IF HE TOOK MORE SHOTS IN THE SECOND, THE WIZARDS WOULDN'T BE DOWN AS MUCH. and anyways what a good game for frye off the bench, and gilbert gave his jersey at the end to nate robinson can anyone think of a reason why?</div> All because he didn't play selfish today doesn't mean he doesn't get selfish sometimes. I didn't say Arenas is a selfish player. I said sometimes he has the tendency during the course of the game to make illadvised decisions with the ball instead of passing it to his teammates. There have been some possesions where he's had the ball the whole clock and takes a fallaway jumper that goes in once in a while. It's plays like those when I say he should look to get his team involved instead of taking that kind of shot.
Glad to see this one in the win column! I really wish Frye was back starting again but I'm sure starting 2 rooks is not something LB wants to do. Frye is doing everything right in my book and should be rewarded as such. Let's see if these guys can get a streak running here!!!
