<div align="center"><font color="Grey">Nets : 10-18 (.357) </font>@ <font color="Blue">Knicks : 16-13 (.552) </font> When : 1st of January, 2005 7:30 PM(ET) Where : Madison Square Garden, New York TV : NBALP, Local TV</div> <u>Projected Starters</u> PG : Jason Kidd vs. Stephon Marbury <font color="Blue"> Advantage = Knicks </font> SG : Vince Carter vs. Allan Houston <font color="Grey"> Avantage = Nets </font> SF : Richard Jefferson vs. Tim Thomas <font color="Grey"> Avantage = Nets </font> PF : Nenad Kristic vs. Kurt Thomas <font color="Blue"> Advantage = Knicks </font> C : Jason Collins vs. Nazr Mohammed <font color="Blue"> Advantage = Knicks </font> <div align="center"><u> Key Matchup</u> Season stats Kidd : G: 12 PPG:8.3 RPG:6.0 APG:6.0 Season stats Marbury : G: 29 PPG:20.2 RPG:3.1 APG:8.6</div> <font color="Grey"><font size="4">Nets Key's to win the Game</font></font> *Try to get Jason Kidd back on his old level. If he can play even with Marbury ,the Nets can win the game. *Run and Gun. Now you have VC, don't play half-court offense. *Defend well on the perimeter. Houston and Marbury can be deadly from the outside *Try to outrebound the Knicks. It will be hard, but if it works, Nets could get away with the win. <font color="Blue"><font size="4">Knicks Key's to win the Game</font></font> *Get Allan Houston going. Don't let him repeat that 2 on 11 performance. *Marbury should run all day long and take advantage of Kidd's weak play as of late. *Dump the ball down low to Kurt Thomas. If he can dominate inside, the Knicks can escape with the win. *Ball movement. <font color="Green"><font size="4">Phuzer's Prediction</font></font> I take the Knicks in this one. I expect New Jersey to struggle once again because of New York's good play as of late. Maybe we can see the old Jason Kidd back and he could create much havoc on the defensive end when he's back to his level of last year. Don't count on it though, because I think he still isn't fully recovered of his injury. New Jersey - 78 New York - 92
I agree with a score similar to that Phuzzer. The Nets frontcourt is weak and I think the Knicks will take full advantage of that. I really expect Mohammed to own Collins and for Kurt Thomas to take advantage of Kristic. Carter and Jefferson are the only ones that we really have to contain. Also Rodney Buford shouldn't be taken lightly. But, the Knicks have a strong bench still with the subtractions of Jamal Crawford and Penny Hardaway. Stephon Marbury has a lot to think about now. After his recent statement I am the best PG in the league he is going to have to prove to himself and the rest of the world, that he can continue to play this way. I think Marbury will give Kidd much trouble. Kidd just came back from a knee injury not too long ago and his lateral movement is probably a concern. So, with Marbury's feline quickness, it should be no problem getting into the paint, and when someone tries to get Marbury...swish Kurt Thomas just hit a baseline jumper or...Bang...Mohammed just through it down. This game should definitely not be a problem at all. However, the Knicks usually play stagnent and nonchelent on struggling teams who are not at all considered elite. Also when they have a lead, often times they end up making the game unnecessarily closer than it should be, and sometimes even losing. With Detroit and Washington losing yesterday and the day before, along with James injuried, the Knicks can climb up to the #2 seed and get some mommentum for the playoffs. I am taking the Knicks with a final score of 95-80. As I said above, the Knicks just have a better squad right now. I look forward to seeing these two compete when everyone is healthy. Imagine seeing these two teams in the playoffs in a rematch! It will be quite a series but, too bad it will have to end in a New York Sweep over the Nets .
Phuzer - Since when was KT capable of dominating inside? ____________ I'm going to this game . Anyway, this should make for an interesting basketball game. We've won three straight, our chemistry has been outstanding, the defense is getting better, and there's a flow to the game on offense. The Knicks simply can not let the Nets get into a rhythm. The Nets are deadly when they have the pace of the game down pat. Wilkens should implement full-court and half-court switches to throw the Nets off their game defensively. And I think we all agree that it's tough to get in a rhythm when you can't stop a team from scoring. Also the Knicks must develop a tempo early on and stick with it, even with the switches a basic tempo is essential to scoring and later in the game can lead to a better defensive mindset. It's all a matter of tempo and rhythm tonight, and if the Knicks can win that war (they're perfectly capable - as the chemistry is strong and the Nets are shaky with the addition of Carter) they will win. Prediction- Knicks: 91 Nets: 83
Finally the game I've been waiting all week for is going to begin soon. The Knicks will win by double digits. Period. Kidd has not been shooting well which is a result of not getting into the transition game as often as he needs to. Marbury definetely has the advantage against Marbury. The Nets frontline is pitiful and the perimeter players dont mesh well with each other. We should easily outrebound them which will make it hard for them to get into a transition game. And our transition defense will stop what few attempts they make at getting fast break points. This game will turn into a half court game and the Knicks have the clear advantage in a half court game. In the half court the only thing they can do is run isolation plays and that will only work so many times. If either Carter or Jefferson start getting out of hand we can toss in Ariza to slow them down. Our big men should expect to get season highs in rebounds this game. If Sweetney gets the minutes and touches he can have a career game. Knicks Analyst- Kurt Thomas may not dominate inside the paint but how about Sweetney? The Knicks are simply better overall. We've been sharing the ball, stepping up our defense, rebounding and executing down the stretch. There is little to nothing the Nets can do to win this game. By the way mrj18 the Nets will not make the playoffs so there wont be a playoff rematch. Sorry.
