It?s the showdown of best PG in the east. Marbury is looking to get out of his mini slump while Francis wants to continue playing well. If Marbury has another bad night along with Crawford?s injury, unless someone has a spectacular night we should almost expect a loss. We already lost about 20ppg from Crawford, and losing Marbury?s 20 will give us a very poor result. The PG?s need to keep both of their teams involved. They are both dealing with injuries but, obviously the Knicks are greater. <font size="4">My Prediction:</font> After a solid analysis of both the New York Knicks and Orlando Magic I really have no idea who will win. I think it is 50/50 for both squads. This is definitely a winnable game for the Knicks as it is for the Magic. The Magic have been playing well including giving defeats to the Spurs. The Knicks still smell a bit and that loss against the Bobcats hardly cleared it up. I think it is which team is hungrier and stays consistent. Let?s wait and see how the game turns out.
Great job as always mrj18. I think this game will go down to the wire as last time, but the knicks are without JC, so the magic are in advantage. I think Magic will win this one by 8. Magic: 95 Knicks: 87
Nice preview but I have to disagree with you on one thing mrj18. The key matchup wont be the point guard position. It will be the shooting guard position. You said it yourself, Cuttino killed us last game. We already know what were going to get out of Marbury and Francis and we dont need Marbury to score. He just has to keep breaking down defense and get Nazr Mohammed those easy lay ups and dunks. But we do need Houston to score and defend against Mobley which will be a tough assignment. But he doesnt have a size disadvantage and will put a hand up whenever he shoots. Houston can only get better as the games go by so Mobley will also have to work on the defensive end. The bench will also be pivotal in this game. This game is too close to call. The Magic will want to get into transition but they wont be able to. However they have no problems playing in the half court. Whichever team plays better defense will win this game. The Magic are playing at home so that might give him the edge. I do believe the Knicks will win this game though. Their going to come out with energy because they want to beat the Magic who are one of the better teams in the East. I predict a Knicks win by 5.
Halftime <font size="7">Halftime</font> Knicks 71 Magic 54 <font color="DarkOrange"> <font size="4">Knicks Leading Scorers:</font></font> Stephon Marbury: 21 FG's:9-14 Allan Houston 13 FG's: 5-6 Kurt Thomas, Jerome Williams, and Tim Thomas have 8: K.Thomas FG's 4-7, Williams: FG's:3-3, T.Thomas 3-9 and <font color="Blue"><font size="4"> Magic Leading Scorers:</font></font> Cuttino Mobley: 13 FG's: 5-11 Steve Francis: 12 FG's: 3-7 Dwight Howard: 10 FG's: 2-4 <font size="4"><font color="Red">Hot at the Half:</font></font> <font size="2">Stephon Marbury</font> Now this is the Starbury that we know! Marbury has been struggling for the past couple of games. He all showed us flashes of the begining of the season. It seems as if he was trying to send us a message. Also him and Francis were going at it a bit making the game much more enjoyable. Francis could clearly not guard Marbury as he lit it up. Right now, he has 21 points in only the first half on a more than solid 9-14 shooting. Keep it up Marbury! <font size="4">My Prediction:</font> We are up by 17 and are playing excellent basketball. What we can?t do is lose our lead or even worse lose to the Magic after being up by as much as 19. The Knicks are known for giving up leads like that. If we continue this great basketball with our excellent bench options, we should be okay. Minnesota is not looking so scary right now. Especially at the Garden. Anyways, great first half and I see us winning with a final score of something like 108-95. I think we will win it. Atleast we should.
Final <font size="7">Final</font> Knicks 119 Magic 111 <font color="DarkOrange"> <font size="4">Knicks Leading Scorers:</font></font> Stephon Marbury: 12 Tim Thomas: 12 Nazr Mohammed: 14 <font color="BLUE"><font size="4"> Magic Leading Scorers:</font></font> Josh Howard: 26 Dirk Nowitzki 23 Michael Finley 21 <font size="4"><font color="Red">Player of the Game:</font></font> <font size="2">Stephon Marbury</font> Marbury played one of his best games of the season. He had 34 points and did a good job in helping the Knicks not lose continuity. The Knicks could have very well lost the game but, his timely hoops and smart plays only helped us win and get a big upset to the 2nd best record in the east. He is undoubtedly the player of the game. He had a good all around game and if he didn't perform like this, to tell you the truth, I do not even know if we would have won. <font size="4">Recap</font> We played good basketball for all 48 minutes. We started off scorching hot with an early 9-0 run. Then we made sure to keep the offense rolling scoring 71 points in the first half, and leading by 17 at the break. After a strong talking from the Orlando Magic head coach, the flat Magic seemed somewhat rejuvenated. However, the Knicks always countered the run the Magic tried to make. It wasn't untill early in the 4th quarter when Orlando attempted a serious run. As the quarter progressed, the Magic were within single digits from us. But, timely baskets from Kurt Thomas, Sweetney and Tim Thomas slowed down the pace of the Magic in an obvious home upset against Orlando. The Knicks move to 15-13 and play the MVP led T'Wolves on Wednesday. This game should definitely give them some confidence but, the Knicks are erratic many times so we don't know. Nevertheless we got a good win and increase our Atlantic lead.
Final <font size="7">Final</font> Knicks 100 T'Wolves 87 <font color="DarkOrange"> <font size="4">Knicks Leading Scorers:</font></font> Stephon Marbury: 34 Nazr Mohammed: 19 Kurt Thomas: 14 <font color="GREEN"><font size="4"> Magic Leading Scorers:</font></font> Latrell Sprewell: 22 Sam Cassell: 21 Kevin Garnett: 17 <font size="4"><font color="Red">Player of the Game:</font></font> <font size="2">Stephon Marbury</font> Isiah did a great thing. That talking really got to Marbury. When he scored his 11 of our 13 points late in the 4th, we clinched it. Who penetrates better than Starbury? I really don't know. Marbury was making amazing shots. He kept the team involved and became a leader down the stretch for the Knicks. 30+ points from him back to back. Stephon Marbury is going to be great for us no question. I can't even wait to see what happens in the playoffs. <font size="4">Recap/Final Thoughts</font> Excellent win for the Knicks. They started on a brief 1-8 slump however, as time progressed, we came out strong and had a 7 point lead at half. As the 3rd started we increased our lead was cut down. And the Wolves were looking to try and give us some competition. In the 4th the Knicks allowed the T'Wolves to even get the lead on 2 occasions. But, after the second, Marbury would here none of that. He was literally slicing and slashing and penetrating in the paint for And1 layups and many amzing things you and I wish we could do. He carried the team on his back and became the catalyst as the Knicks moved to 16-13 of this almost expiring year but, still young season. In as much as the Wolves are struggling, they still managed to beat an elite team. These Knicks are looking really good. Kurt Thomas provided excellent defense on the MVP and arguably the best player in the world, Kevin Garnett. Does this mean Kurt Thomas is the best defender in the world ? All I know he is good and can be on one of the all NBA defensive teams this season if he keeps it up. We are really starting to become a great home team. We are 10-4 at home and although we had some bad losses I really think the Knicks are starting to really get it together. But, anytime it looks like that, the Knicks manage to play like they did against Dallas and Boston. Either way, a great win for us, a great confidence builder, hopefully a great future, and definitely a great night for me as I go to sleep !
