*made by Knicks Analyst Knicks 16-16 Cavaliers 19-12 <font size="3"> Date: 1/8/05 <font color="Red">Time 1:30</font><font size="2">(This is an early game. Take note of that. I wouldn?t want anyone missing out on the action because of the time!)</font> <font color="Red">TV: ABC</font> <font size="2">(Also take note that this game is not on MSG! I wouldn't want people missing out on the action because of that either!)</font> </font> <font size="4">Season Stats</font> Previous Games: Knicks: 102-94L @ Heat Cavaliers: 101-85W vs. Hawks Knicks Record: 16-16 (.500) Standings: First, Atlantic 3rd seed in the Eastern Conference At Home: 9-2 On Road: 6-8 PPG: 97.1 Opp PPG: 98.4 FG%: .448 Opp FG%: .462 RPG: 41.5 Opp RPG: 42.2 Cavaliers: Record: 19-12 (.613) Standings: First, Central 2nd seed in the Eastern Conference At Home: 12-3 On Road: 9-7 PPG: 96.9 Opp PPG: 93.5 FG%: .454 Opp FG%: .441 RPG: 41.8 Opp RPG: 39.0 <font size="2">*Bold Indicates Leads the Team. Allan Houston is not included.</font> <font size="4"> <font color="DarkOrange">Knicks</font></font> PG: Stephon Marbury 39.0mpg 21.0ppg 3.0rpg 8.5apg FG%:43.8 3P%:35.5 FT%:84.4 SPG:1.46 BPG:0.03 TO:3.22 SG: Allan Houston 24.4mpg 10.9ppg 1.0rpg 2.1apg FG%:43.7 3P%:43.2 FT%:88.5 SPG:0.36 BPG:0.14 TO:1.21 SF: Tim Thomas 27.4mpg 10.4ppg 3.6rpg 1.1apg FG%:40.5 3P%:37.5 FT%:80.9 SPG:0.59 BPG:0.38 TO:2.50 PF: Kurt Thomas 36.1mpg 11.1ppg 10.1rpg 1.8apg FG%:48.7 FT%:77.4 SPG:1.09 BPG:0.88 TO:1.22 C: Nazr Mohammed 30.6mpg 12.9ppg 9.4rpg 0.4apg FG%:53.3 FT%:73.8 SPG:1.19 BPG:1.22 TO:1.34 <font size="3">Bench:</font> Jerome Williams 15.2mpg 4.8ppg 3.4rpg 0.5apg Trevor Ariza 14.3mpg 4.3ppg 2.4rpg 1.4apg Moochie Norris 10.9mpg 2.1ppg 1.2rpg 1.0apg Vin Baker 7.3mpg 1.4ppg 1.5rpg 0.2apg Bruno Sundov 4.0mpg 1.8ppg 1.3rpg 0.3apg <font size="4"> <font color="DarkRed">Cavaliers</font></font> PG: Jeff McInnis 38.3mpg 15.6ppg 2.3rpg 5.7apg FG%:45.3 3P%:42.4 FT%:80.5 SPG:0.81 BPG:0.03 TO:1.94 SG: LeBron James 40.8mpg 24.3ppg 7.0rpg 7.2apg FG%:49.0 3P%:34.9 FT%:75.5 SPG:2.42 BPG:0.84 TO:3.13 SF: Ira Newble 22.8mpg 5.8ppg 2.4rpg 1.0apg FG%:457.7 3P%:11.1 FT%:81.6 SPG:0.48 BPG:0.13 TO:0.71 PF: Drew Gooden 31.7mpg 14.0ppg 10.2rpg 1.6apg FG%:51.7 FT%:82.4 SPG:0.97 BPG:1.76 TO:2.08 C: Zydrunas Ilguaskas 33.5mpg 16.6ppg 7.6rpg 1.5apg FG%:45.2 FT%:83.1 SPG:0.74 BPG:1.77 TO:2.42 <font size="3">Bench</font> Lucious Harris 17.7mpg 5.0ppg 2.5rpg 0.8apg Robert Traylor 16.5mpg 4.9ppg 4.0rpg 1.0apg Anderson Varejao 11.5mpg 4.3ppg 3.6rpg 0.3apg Eric Snow 20.5mpg 3.6ppg 1.6rpg 3.3apg Desagna Diop 11.1mpg 0.9ppg 2.7rpg 0.3apg Aleksander Pavlovic 14.5mpg 3.6ppg 0.8rpg 0.1apg <font size="4"> <font color="Red">Injuries:</font></font> <font color="DarkOrange">NYK:</font> Penny Hardaway, Jamison Brewer, Jamal Crawford <font color="DarkRed">CLE:</font> Dajuan Wagner, Luke Jackson, Scott Williams <font size="4"> <font color="Green">Matchups:</font></font> vs. PG: Yet another PG that Marbury has to watch out for because of their prowess from beyond the arc. Stephon Marbury will be matched up against Jeff McInnis who was brought in to help LeBron James become more of a scorer and take the PG role off of him. Marbury needs to bring back that defense that he played against Miami, and bring it here where we need him. With LeBron James in the game it can be quite easy to forget about role players like McInnis who shoot a blistering 42% from 3. Marbury has to penetrate and score to keep the Knicks in the game and has a PG he needs to keep the Knicks in it whenever they regain continuity. vs. SG: I heard that he was a good defender but, I really think it will be no problem for Allan Houston. The question is will he take advantage of his opportunities. Many times I see Allan Houston sometimes being reluctant shoot. For us to be extremely effective he will have to take advantages of such matchups. vs. SF: Tim Thomas will be matched up against King James who is scary. He is 19 and almost leads his team in everything and is not far off from league highs either. What I really do not want happening is LeBron James putting highlights on the Knicks. I really don?t want to see any dunking, crossovers or anything but, then again this kid is good. Last time the Knicks had him on smash as he shot only 33% and only had 13 points. Ariza will be needed but, James can abuse him in the post as well so, I think JYD will be needed a lot in this game. He can match James? quickness and muscle. What can we expect from Tiny Tim? Nothing much. He could play half decent defense and make things a little tougher for LeBron but, he probably wont. The real matchup is when Lenny Wilkens makes his first substitution for the 3 spot! vs. PF: Kurt Thomas will be playing Drew Gooden who killed the Knicks in their last meeting. In addition to shooting the lights out (even from 3) he also cleaned up the boards from missed shots and was the catalyst in the 3rd quarter rally that the Cavs made. Kurt Thomas should contain him this time. Also he should also keep him out of the paint and make him pay with the midrange jumper. His defense against such a young and explosive big man is going to be costly for the Knicks however, JYD should keep him in line before something serious happens. vs. C: Nazr Mohammed against Zydrunaus Ilguaskas. These two are competing against eachother in the All-Star bolloting. Ilguaskas the 7?3 Lithuanian is by far the more popular player however, Nazr Mohammed has been playing better thus far in my opinion. But, this is not the all-star game so let me get back on track here. Nazr Mohammed had a decent game with 11 and 9 but, Ilguaskas had 21. Nazr Mohammed might have a little trouble against the 5 inch defecit but, they do match up evenly. Nazr is the better rebounder and let?s not forget is 3rd in the league in FG%. Also Nazr?s athleticism might cause some problems for Ilguaskas. This will be a good thing if we can get him into some early foul trouble. Z this season, is averaging 4 fouls per game and a lack of his presence can give Nazr even more room to do his thing in the paint. Also we are aware of Nazr?s early foul trouble so he is a victim of it too. Sometimes he gives silly frusturation fouls which the Knicks can ill afford with their 10 man rotation. Good matchup at the C spot nonetheless. <font size="3"><font color="DarkOrange">Knicks Bench Summary</font></font> The Knicks are a bit shorthanded with Sweetney and Penny Hardaway out of the lineup. Because of this, the Knicks bench and starters will have to put in extra effort against this Cavalier team especially playing at Gund tomorrow. JYD I think will be needed the most because of his hustle but, also his versatility. He can guard both forward positions and with LeBron James matched up against Tim Thomas, you can?t expect too many positives taking place?at least for us! Also Moochie Norris? defense will be needed against Jeff McInnis if Marbury starts to slack off. <font size="3"><font color="DarkRed">Cavaliers Bench Summary:</font></font> Cleaveland has a decent bench with the acquisitions of Eric Snow and Lucious Harris. I think the Knicks bench is better because there is more of a balance. I feel as if the Knicks have to worry about the Cavaliers starters much more than their bench. But, their bench is capable of giving the starters sufficient rest so they can play fresh again. The Cavaliers bench is something not to be taken advantage of either. <font size="4"><font color="Green">Key Matchup:</font></font> The Key Matchup is at the PG position. Marbury" target="_blank">http://www.nba.com/media/knicks/marbury2_170_040106.jpg"></a> vs. " target="_blank">http://www.nba.com/media/act_jeff_mcinnis.jpg"></a>McInnis It was really close between Z and Nazr and these two but, I went with them because of their presence. Stephon Marbury is trying to keep his word about that best PG in the league thing while McInnis is trying to get yet another win for Cleveland. Marbury?s penetration is key for the Knicks success while McInnis? 3 point shooting and leadership is key for the Cavaliers. <font size="4">My Prediction:</font> After 3 straight losses for the Knicks, they are indeed trying to break that streak. They had Cleveland in a dangerous position in which they were threatening to take the 2nd place position in the east. After those 3 losses New York is at .500 and are too close to falling behind it. The Cavaliers are a good team but, many of their wins as of late have been against the likes of the Hawks, the Bobcats, and the Hornets. The Knicks even with the acquisition of Crawford can still give Cleveland a legit challenge. Last game we were up by many points. We lost our lead and got it back and we got a convincing win over them . However, this was at the garden and we are playing the Cavaliers at the Gund Arena. But, I think the Knicks will win the game. They have too much to lose to if they get defeated. I am going with a 98-90 win over Cleveland.
Man your predection were off... Can you say blow out? Cleveland just owned Knicks.. And after I hear Knicks fan saying they are better the Cleveland lol... They just got raped by even our bad bench.
Wow, great looking preview mj. But yes, you seemed to be over confident in your prediction there. Without Crawford the Knick's couldn't find any answer to stay in the game within a reasonable margin. The game was a total disaster on New York's part. Terrible inside defense and terrible shot selections made by every member on that roster. The Miracle of Richfield uni's are beautiful. Mabey if they wore them everynight, we can play like that.
I think that it was not biased or overconfident of me to say my prediction. I do not even think you Cavs fans even expected a blowout. The Knicks were on a 3 game losing streak so I thought that they would come out wiht a great effort and try to snap it. No overconfidence in that. I'm not going to go ahead and front like this was not bad. We did get owned, and I lost my money. Bottomline.
