Utah Jazz (26-29) @ New York Knicks (26-29) When: Friday 20 February, 7:30PM (ET) Where: Madison Square Garden TV: MSG MSN (Local), NBALP (National) Standings Jazz 9th Western Conference (.473) Knicks 6th Eastern Conference (.473) Knicks home record: 16-13 Jazz road record: 7-19 Probable Starting Lineups Jazz / Knicks PG: Carlos Arroyo / Stephon Marbury SG: Raja Bell / Shandon Anderson SF: Andrei Kirilenko / Anfernee Hardaway PF: Michael Ruffin / Kurt Thomas C: Greg Ostertag / Dikembe Mutoumbo Coach: Jerry Sloan / Lenny Wilkins Key bench players Jazz: Raul Lopez, Jarron Collins, Aleksandar "Sasha" Pavlovic Knicks: Othella Harrington, Frank Williams, Tim Thomas Injuries Jazz: Curtis Borchardt, Matt Harpring Knicks: Allan Houston, Cezary Trybanski <u>Jazz Update</u> Deshawn Stevenson, Ben Handlogten and Keon Clark are no longer part of the Jazz. They were traded before the deadline, the newest Jazzmen are Gordon Giricek and Tom Guggliota. Both aren't expected to play tonight. Keys to the game Jazz 1. Fouls. They will be short on numbers tonight, so they can't afford any starter getting into foul trouble. Also, teams seem to kill the at the line down the stretch. 2. Marbury. He should score big tonight, Utah can't let the get going. If they do, Arroyo and Lopez will have a hard time stopping him from anywhere. Knicks. 1. Take advantage. Utah are so weak right now it isn't funny, they've lost to the Magic by 13 on the road. Deshawn Stevenson is, a starter, is gone to. 2. Post play. Utah wont be putting up to many 3's, most of their points will be two's. New York can't let Ruffin and Ostertag get the easy putbacks and second shots. Key Matchup, PG: Carlos Arroyo vs. Stephon Marbury Prediction: It'd be pretty dumb to expect Utah to win this one, New York by 16. I just hope Utah have still got that ability to beat teams when no one expects them to.
Tag didn't start but played very well off the bench. Sasha impressed me soooooo much. He will most likely start the rest of the games for the Jazz at SF Giricek came in with about 2:30 minutes to go in the 4th and missed a shot. I hope he does well for the Jazz. Googs and Giri will play more on Sunday against the Pacers. Very good win for the Jazz, lord knows they needed it
That's a good example of how important scoring is to the Jazz. 4 players had 10+ points, Kirilenko with 23. Utah's bench contributed 36 points. Jerry Sloan hinted at changes, and they happened with Jarron Collins contributing 12 rebounds, 9 points as Utah's starting Center. Tag got 16 points off the bench. Kirilenko had 4 steals. Sasha got 16 and 6 in 43 minutes, that might be another positive in the Deshawn trade, more minutes for Sasha. This was a good game for Utah considering Arroyo and Ruffin weren't up to their normal standards. Utah shot 30-34 from the line, and deserved to win this one.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting tmac15:</div><div class="quote_post">Utah shot 30-34 from the line.</div> That is a HUGE improvement from what they usually shoot at the charity stripe
Horrible game from the Knicks, by the looks of it . They miss Van Horn's rebounding, seeing as TT can't rebound for sh..
