<div align="center"> ^made by Knicks Analyst @ Knicks 27-37 / Spurs 51-16 </div> <font size="3"> Date: 3/21/05 Time 7:30 (Eastern Time) TV: MSG, KRRT, NBALP, </font> <font size="4">Season Stats</font> Previous Games: Knicks: 97-82L @ Miami Heat: 110-101L @ Detroit Knicks: Record: 27-37 (.422) Standings: Fifth, Atlantic At Home: 19-14 At Road: 8-23 PPG: 96.5 Opp PPG: 99.0 FG%: .450 Opp FG%: .464 RPG: 40.7 Opp RPG: 42.1 Spurs: Record: 50-16 (.758) Standings: First, Southwest At Home: 31-3 At Road: 19-13 PPG: 96.8 Opp PPG: 86.9 FG%: .463 Opp FG%: .422 RPG: 42.3 Opp RPG: 39.2 *BOLD* indicates leads team in particular stat. <font size="4"> <font color="DarkOrange">Knicks Starters</font></font> PG: Stephon Marbury 39.8pg 21.1ppg2.9rpg 8.1apg Jamal Crawford 36.7mpg 17.2ppg 2.8rpg 4.2apg SF: Tim Thomas 27.7mpg 11.9ppg 3.5rpg 1.5apg PF: Mike Sweetney 18.6ppg 8.3ppg 5.3rpg 0.6apg C: Kurt Thomas 36.6mpg 11.8ppg 10.3rpg 2.1apg <font color="Blue"><font size="3">Knicks Bench:</font></font> Penny Hardaway 24.2mpg 7.3ppg 2.4rpg 2.0apg Trevor Ariza 17.4mpg 6.0ppg 2.9rpg 1.1apg Maurice Taylor 11.6mpg 4.6ppg 1.8rpg 0.3apg Malik Rose 17.6mpg 6.4ppg 3.1rpg 0.4apg Jerome Williams 15.6mpg 4.6ppg 3.5rpg 0.6apg Jermaine Jackson 7.0mpg 1.8ppg 1.3rpg 0.3apg Bruno Sundov 4.7mpg 1.6ppg 0.9rpg 0.1apg Complete Knicks Stats <font size="4"><font color="DimGrey">Spurs Starters</font></font> PG: Tony Parker 34.2mpg 16.1ppg 3.8rpg 6.1apg SG: Manu Ginobili 29.9mpg 16.1ppg 4.5rpg 3.9apg SF: Bruce Bowen 31.7mpg 8.3ppg 3.4rpg 1.5apg PF: Nazr Mohammed??? 15.7mpg 6.6ppg 5.7rpg 0.9apg C: Rasho Nesterovic 34.2ppg 22.5ppg 10.3rpg 2.9apg <font color="SlateGrey"><font size="3">Spurs Bench</font></font> Devin Brown 18.3mpg 7.2ppg 2.5rpg 1.4apg Brent Barry 20.5mpg 6.7ppg 2.1rpg 2.2apg Beno Udrih 14.0mpg 5.8ppg 1.0pg 2.2apg Robert Horry 16.7mpg 5.4ppg 3.1pg 1.1apg Dion Glover 9.5mpg 1.0ppg 2.0pg 1.0apg Tony Massenburg 107mpg 3.oppg 2.3pg 0.2apg Complete Spurs Stats <font size="4"><font color="Red">Injuries:</font></font> <font color="DarkOrange">NYK:</font> and Allan Houston and Jackie Butler <font color="DimGrey">SAS:</font> Sean Marks / Mike Wilks / Linton Johnson III <font size="4"> <font color="Green">Matchups:</font></font> vs. PG: A fun one right here as we have two of the fastest PG?s going head to head. This will be a good matchup and if I remember correctly, doesn?t Marbury have a history of owning Parker...or was that just in the playoffs? All I know is when Marbury made Parker fall, it was PRICELESS Now, back to the more important stuff, Parker really breaks down defenses with a lot of ease so the Knicks weak perimeter defense should be easy. Breaking down the defense will open things up and allow Parker to show why he leads the Spurs in assists per game. Defense will be key today for Marbury. He should also take advantage of his strength on Parker. Post up plays should be used run for Marbury. I do want Marbury to have more of a scoring role while allowing Jamal to run the point. vs. SG: Another fun matchup. The Argentinean super slasher will be going against Jamal Crawford. While the Knicks got killed at the SBC Center earlier in the season, I remember this highlight from Crawford too well. It was a fast break?knowing about Manu?s defensive prowess, I was afraid he would strip the ball from Crawford guarding him. My son Jamal shook Manu right out of his shoes, and layed it up! Crawford who has one of the top 10 crossovers in the league today, can not go out of control today. I like the more conservative Crawford when Herb assigns him to the 1. He usually gets those dimes and the team seems to respond to him better than Marbury. Ginobili who is now an all-star, has improved his game. Playing .5 minutes less than last year, his FG% has sky rocketed by about 7%! His 3 point shooting as increased by 3 at now a very respectable 39%. Crawford needs to put a hand in Ginobili?s face and also he can?t forget he is left handed. vs. SF: Bruce Bowen and the unstoppable Tim Thomas. Bowen a very?clever defensive player finds a way to get into the minds of players Vince Carter a very potent offensive weapon even has trouble against Bowen. Even if you drop 40+ on him, he can still find some way to take you out the game. Tim Thomas can?t fall into the traps of Bowen. Last time Shaq intimidated him enough for him to get a technical I believe, so imagine Bowen. Bowen also lead the NBA in 3 point field goal percentage two years ago. He only shoots 3?s from the corner off open feeds. Tim Thomas needs to do something he?s done little of over his career?playing defense. He has 3 or so inches on Bowen and 40 more pounds to be utilized in the post. Tim Thomas has been playing good basketball as of late, the question is will he continue it or give us flash backs of what he was doing in the beginning of the season. vs. PF: Tim Duncan hasn?t really been out this season so whether Nazr Mohammed is starting or not in this matchup, is questionable. If the Spurs are starting Nazr on Sweetney it will be interesting. So much emotion will be involved in this game. For about a year, I?ve been watching Nazr Mohammed and I?ve had mixed emotions about his game. Mostly because how inconsistent it?s been! But on the real, Mohammed was decent for the Knicks and actually elevated his game. Before, he was just an athletic athlete who happened to be fast. He was not even really decent and he used to always pick up two fouls in the beginning seconds (I?m not joking either!) In the summer, Nazr completely elevated his game to the level where even some people are overrating him!!! That is quite an improvement. Now the center that the Knicks made will be playing against us. He will be playing against the future of the New York Knicks, Michael Sweetney from Georgetown. Due to Mohammed being seriously foul prone, Sweetney and his post game and bulk can easily get Mohammed into trouble. Mohammed?s athleticism and speed might do vice-versa with Mike. Both can really do well or struggle in this matchup. vs. C: Rasho doesn?t use much of a post game. Similarly to Kurt Thomas, they both thrive on the from the midrange area. Only on defense, Rasho is a 7 footer and an excellent shot blocker. Kurt Thomas must remember he should put a body on him and not expect constant post ups like his usual opponents. Again, Kurt makes up for his lack of size with that midrange jumper keeping great shot blockers like Rasho out of the paint area. If size becomes too much of a problem for Kurt, he shouldn?t hesitate to foul him?he only shoots 44.4% from the charity stripe. I don?t see this being too much trouble for Kurt, just another day at work! <font size="3"><font color="DarkOrange">Knicks Bench Summary</font></font> The X factor off the bench? If you said Malik Rose you are right. While Malik Rose is a great guy and taking his trade to the Knicks well, it really must be hard for him leaving San Antonio where he spent 7 and ? years. He still is a bit upset about that and I believe he will show it playing his former team. The good thing is that he knows all of the plays. The bad news is how do we stop them? We also need Taylor?s game to be on today. Ariza and JYD need to give us intensity and depth off the bench. Penny needs to start playing better and provide us with some scoring off the bench. <font size="3"><font color="DimGrey">Spurs Bench Summary:</font></font> The Spurs bench is deep and it is full of proven role players who perform their best all of the time. The Spurs bench has always been elite and consisted of role players such as Beno Udrih, (I believe a late first rounder), Malik Rose when he was there, Robert Horry, and Nazr Mohammed. They are capable of giving any team a hard time and they should be watched out for. <div align="center"><font size="4"><font color="Green">Key Matchup:</font></font> POINT GUARD PLAY</div> <div align="center">Well the two floor generals who get their teams involved are the key matchup. They are in control of the tempo of this game. The two leading assist men for their teams have to exude discipline and leadership as they are in tough situations. While Tim Duncan an MVP candidate and Spurs leading scorer is out, it is a struggle everyday for Marbury and the Knicks. This matchup will reflect the whole team and whoever takes the role of point guard more seriously will win. I?m pretty sure of that. vs. " target="_blank">http://www.nba.com/media/act_tony_parker.jpg"></a> </div> <div align="center">STARBURY VS. PARKER</div> <font size="4">My Prediction:</font> As much as I want to lose today, I have a feeling the Duncan-less Spurs will be at the mercy of the Knicks at home tonight. I see Rose and Marbury stepping up their games as the Knicks win this game at home. I know San Antonio is a good team and I don?t even want the Knicks to win this game, I just think it will happen. New York 95-87 win over the Spurs. <font color="Red"><font size="4">Don?t Forget:</font></font> <font size="3">THIS GAME IS AT 7:30 PM EASTERN TIME!!! AND IS ON 1050 AM ESPN RADIO</font>
Malik took this game personal, he really wanted to prove a point. He played a good game last night. Spurs just couldn't buy a shot in the 2nd half. With Manu still not there yet in terms of minutes you would at least think Brent Barry would step up but nope..he bricked every shot and all of them were basically wide open. Where on earth is the guy that played in Seattle? Devin Brown was again impressive. He is the one guy I think will be one of the Spurs leading scorers without Duncan in the line-up. This guy has alot of talent.
