Game 3 Preview: The battle moves up the Hudson

Henacy · Apr 21, 2004

playoffs, Round 1 Game 3

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Arena:Madison Square Garden
Time/Date: April 22, 2004, 7:00pm
TV:TNT
Series Out Look:Game 1: Nets 107- Knicks 83
Game 2: Nets99-knicks81
(Nets lead series 2-0)

Quick Game 2 recap: After game 1, the Knicks talked alot about making game 2 alot more pyshical. And the game was just that. Both teams committed alot of hard fouls. There was some jaw smacking back & forth between the 2 teams. Lets juast say that these teams didnt like each other. But despite the bad blood & all the extra curricular activity, the Nets, similar to game 1, were the team that forced their will on the game. The Nets got defensive stops. And pushed the ball in the open court all night long. The Knicks just counldnt keep pace with the Nets fastbreak game. The Nets outscored the Knicks 22 to 4 in fastbreak points alone. The Nets open court style led to a well balanced offensive attack. The Nets had 5 players score in double -digits(Martin, Kittles, Kidd, Jefferson,& Rogers).

On defense, the conitued the harrassment of knick ball handlers, forcing 18 turnovers by the knicks. Kerry Kittles also put together another spectacular defensive effort in containing the Knicks best player, Stephon Marbury. Kittles made Marbury work hard for every basket. And took away Marbury's ablity to run the Knicks offense effectively. Kerry Kittles,along with the rest of the Nets defense as well as a balanced offensive attack allowed the Nets to take a 2-0 series lead as the scene sifts to the garden thursday night. Game 2 final score Nets 99- Knicks 81.

Game 3 Starters(and their possible impact on the game)

SF:

penny hardaway (NYK) / Richard Jefferson(NJN)

Hardaway
Game 2 Stat Line:40mins 5-16fg 7rebs 10 ast 13pts (series avgs: 15.5ppg, 6.5apg,4.5rpg)
Jefferson
Game 2 Stat Line: 38mins 6-13fg 4rebs 4ast 20pts (series avgs: 20.5ppg, 4.0apg, 4.5rpg)

Penny Hardaway was once again in game 2, penny had an extremely well balanced game. And penny was the primary ball handler & playmaker for the Knicks in game 2. Penny's ball handling allowed Steph Marbury to play off the ball & try to generate some offense. In game 3 I expect Penny to once again handle the ball & run the Nets offensive sets. The one question for Penny is, what type of outside shooting will Penny provide the knicks? With Allan Houston unavaible & Tim Thomas doubtful, the Knicks need someone to step up & makes some perimeter shots besides Marbury. Hardaway seems like their most suitable option.

Richard Jefferson has been nothing short of amazing in games 1 & 2. Jefferson's aggresiveness going toward the basket has kept the knicks in foul trouble all series long. Jefferson has attempted over 10 free throws per game, so far in this series. In game 2, Jefferson also used the drive to setup his perimeter jumper. Jefferson used the dribble head fake a few times. And then pulled up to bury the jumper in knick defenders grills. I expect Jefferson to continue to be aggressive. He knows that he can take knick defenders like Shandon Anderson, Penny Hardaway to the hoop anytine he wants too.

PF:

Kurt Thomas(NYK) /Kenyon Martin(NJN)

K.Thomas 
Game 2 Stat Line:36Mins 8-16fg 12rebs 2Blks 20pts (series avgs:11ppg, 9.5rpg, 1bpg)
Martin
Game 2 Stat Line:35mins 9-16fg 16rebs 2Blks 22pts (series avgs:19ppg, 14rpg, 1.5bpg)

The main thing the Knicks can hang their heads on after game 2, was the 2nd half play of Kurt Thomas. After struggling thru game 1 & the 1st half of game 2, thomas finally woke up on the offensive end scoring 16 of his 20pts in the 2nd half of game 2. Thomas was able to find open holes in the Nets defensive to get off his most effective shot. The 10-15 foot jumper was extremely effective for Thomas in the 2nd half. I look for the Knicks to try to establish Thomas in the mid-range area alot earlier in game 3. They really would like if Thomas could establish a pressence alot deeper in the post. But that really isnt Thomas strong point. And with Martin taking up so much space with his D in the low block, establishing Thomas in the post seems unlikely right now. So the mid-range game is the way for Thomas to go right now.

If Kenyon Martin is injured someone needs to tell the Knicks. Martin is controlling the paint right now on both ends of the court. And also dominating the backboards. The only thing to watch with Martin is how he keeps his cool. In game 2, Martin got caught up in the pushing & shoving with Mutombo. And he picked up back to back foolish fouls that sent him to the bench. He also got a flagrent foul in that same mix of extra cirrcular activity. Martin must keep his head in the Garden.

Center

Nazr Mohammed(NYK)/Jason Collins(NJN)

Mohammed
Game 2 Stat Line:15mins 2-7fg 5rebs 0blks 4pts (series:10ppg, 6.0rpg, 0.5bpg)
Collins
Game 2 Stat Line30mins 1-3fg 4ast 0rebs 2blks (series avgs:5.0ppg, 0.5rpg, 2.0bpg)

After solid offensive out puts from both Mohammed & Collins in game 1, game 2 was more like the output expect from these 2. The starting center spot is not going to give either team alot of points.And the Nets can live with that. The Nets will bring in Rodney Rogers & Aaron Williams to make up for the lack of scoring by Collins. The Knicks on the other hand, might need some production from Narz. Kurt thomas is unable to score in the low post right now, Mutombo is unable to finish in the low block due to age. And the knicks for some reason dont play Vin Baker. So the Knicks may need Mohammed toget them some scrappy points in the paint.

SG:

Shandon Anderson(NYK)/kerry kittles(NJN)

Anderson
Game 2 Stat Line:40min 3-15fg 3ast 2rebs 9pts (series avgs:6.5ppg, 2.0rpg,4.0ast)
Kittles
Game 2 Stat Line:31mins 6-11fg 5rebs 3ast 16pts (series avgs: 18.0ppg, 4.5rpg, 37% 3PT)

Shandon Anderson, boy oh boy, he is having a horrible series. He cant score, his shot selection has been horrible. And the one thing he does well defend, he isnt having success at either. I know the knicks are limited at their wing position with both Houston & Thomas out but Anderson just isnt cutting it. The Knicks maybe need to look to giving the young fella, Frank Williams some serious minutes. Maybe williams can generate something on offense in game 3. The way Anderson is playing they wont be risking anything by giving williams more minutes.

On the other hand, Kerry Kittles might be the player of the series so far. Kittles is producing in a major way on both ends of the court. As the main defender on Steph. He is making Marbury work for everything he gets, which is helping to disrupt the Knicks offensive flow. And on offense Kittles timely shot making has led to big runs by the Nets. In game 3, Kittles defense will once again be tested. As he will be asked to guard Marbury.

POINT GUARD MATCHUP (***KEY MATCHUP***)

steph Marbury(NYK) / Jason Kidd(NJN)

Marbury
Game 2 Stat Line:43mins 7-20fg 3rebs 7ast 23pts (series avgs:18.0ppg,4.5apg,3.0rpg)
Kidd
Game 2 Stat Line:39mins 6-11fg 6rebs 8ast 15pts (series avgs:14.5ppg, 10.5apg, 5.5rpg)

Matchup Thru Game 2: Well, well, what was built up as the battle of the 2 best point guards in the association has been pretty one sided. First off, in defense of Marbury, he is going to war without 2 of his top guns(Houston & now Tim Thomas). But still the play of Marbury still leaves something to be desired if Iam a Knicks fan. This doesnt look like the new Marbury, knicks fans have been praising since his arrivial in late December. The Steph we are watching now reminds me of the Steph from his days as New Jersey Nets point guard. The Steph that cant elevate the play of his teammates. The Steph that doesnt compose himself well in certain situations. Situations that lead to poor decision making on the part of Steph. This Steph doesnt look like a top 2 or 3 point guard in the NBA.

Meanwhile, Kidd is running a extremely effective open court offense. He throwing behind the back,between two defenders, off a guys head in the front row,alley oop passes. He playing the passing lanes, rebounding. Basically kidd is doing any & everything to run the Knicks out the building. Kidd is not only teaching Marbury what it means to be a great player. He is teaching Marbury daily lessons in Point Guard 101. Lets just hope Steph is taking notes.

Game 3 Many people feel game 3 is the biggest game of Marbury career. I totally agree with that statement. The pressure is going to feeling as hot as a kitchen fire on the back of Steph Marbury. He has been out classed so far in this series. And the Knicks need him to step up to give them some confidence. If Marbury can step up at home.And carry the Knicks to a victory,he can breath new life into the knicks in the series(especially if Tim Thomas comes back by game 4). Steph must be extremely aggressive yet smart in his decision making. Steph needs to make sure that when he isnt shooting, he needs to be creating plays for Kurt Thomas & Penny Hardaway.

J.Kidd will continue what he been doing except he will try to take it up another notch early. Kidd knows that hitting Martin for Dunks. And Kittles for transition jumpers early will take all of the life out of the garden crowd.Kidd knows that if they put the Knicks way early in game three then this series is just about over.

Key Nets Bench Player

Game 2 Stat Line:21mins 5-7fg 6rebs 12pts (series avgs:8.5ppg,4.0rpg)

Rodney Rogers hit some timely baskets in game 2. Most notebly a 3pter followed by a layup off an offensive rebound, after a stretch when the Knicks went on a 9-0 run to cut the Nets lead to 10pts in the 3rd quarter. Rodney Rogers used his jumper to keep Kurt thomas in an uncomfortable position. Kurt Thomas can not guard Rogers on the perimeter. So it is important that Rogers uses his jumper to stretch the Knicks defense.

Knicks key bench player

Game Stat Line:22mins 2-4fg 6rebs 1blk 5pts

After game 1, Mutombo was talking about making game 2 alot more pyshical. And the knicks did look like they put an effort into being more pyshical. A large part of that had to do with DK playing more minutes. But In game 3, the Knicks need more actual production from DK,as far as rebounding. And blocking some shots.

Key Knicks Injury

Tim Thomas sat out game 2 with a sore back suffered on a hard foul in game 1. He probably will not be suited up in game 3. But should be ready for game 4.

What The Nets want to do

Take the garden crowd out of the game early. The playoffs are finally back at the world's most famous arena. And you know the garden crowd will be juiced. But nothing will take the air out of the garden quicker than easy buckets by the Nets early. A couple Jefferson/Martin dunks early or a few kittles three's will stump on the heart of Knick fans & knick players.

Stay Composed. Everytime the Knicks made a run in game 2, it was because the Nets let them. The Nets got caught up in the jaw smacking & shoving, the Knicks used that to stay in the game. The Knicks are going to try to use the same method in game 2 except this time they will have the wild garden crowd on their side. The Nets can not get caught up.

Shot Making. If there is ever a game where the Knicks will at least be able to slow down the Nets fastbreak game 3 will be that game. The Nets will have to make a few shots in the half court.

What the Knicks have to do

Use Some Home Cooking. The Knicks have to use the home court to set a pyshical tone to the game early. They have to come out with a sence of pride & desperation about them selves. They cant let the Nets just dance thru the lane without putting a few players on their backsides. If the knicks fight early, the garden crowd might help carrry them to a victory late in the 4th.

Smart Shot Selection : Its like a broken record but Shandon Anderson & some of the other knicks havent heard the song yet. Right now all the Knicks quick shots are doing is starting the fast break for them. If your going to start the Nets fastbreak game for them you might as well stay home.

Milk The Shot Clock The Knicks need to run the shot clock down as far as they can on every offensive trip. That is the only way they will be able to slow down the Nets & the game. They should run down the clock and then put the ball in the hands of Marbury or Hardaway to create a play with the shot clock running out.

Henacy's Prediction

The Knicks are going to put up a fight or there is going to be a fight. Meaning if the knicks are getting blown out in the 4th quarter, it wouldnt shock me if the a Knick gave a Net a hard foul that leads to an altercation. Guys like Kurt Thomas, Mutombo's pride cant take one more blow out with the Nets dunking all over them.

InNETSweTrust · Apr 21, 2004

Great preview Henacy. I agree about the Garden. I'm sure there'll be lot of heckling directed to KMart esp. how he shows his emotions. It's almost as if he's challenging the Knicks with his celebrating. Now, we almost saw the KMart of before in game 2. He almost lost his cool due to Mutombo's elbow. I expect the Knicks to continue bringing him to the edge.

Mutombo's elbow + Heckling from the crowd= one pissed off KMart

I just hope that he'll stay smart and just play the game that he's currently doing. Those are monster averages and we need him.

This could be the most important game for Marbury in a KNicks uniform. If they lose this game, may God help them.

The Nets are showing a lot of teeth in this series. Before, it was only KMart who enforces the team. Now everyone is playing tough. They're making and taking hard fouls.

One thing that they need to work on are their turnovers. They need to start taking care of the ball now in preparation of the Detroit series.

Henacy · Apr 21, 2004

<div class="quote_poster">Quoting InNETSweTrust:</div><div class="quote_post">
Mutombo's elbow + Heckling from the crowd= one pissed off KMart

they need to work on are their turnovers. They need to start taking care of the ball now in preparation of the Detroit series.</div>

Me personally, Iam ready to get this series over with already. This series has no juice left as far as being a competive basketball series. The knicks just cant compete. The longer this series prolongs the more room it is for one out our key players to get suspended fighting. Or injured by a cheap shot foul by Mutombo or Kurt Thomas. This is the type of series that needs to end the beating already. If this was boxing they would have stopped this assualt in the middle of game 2. K-Mart, Rodney(those are the guys most likely to lose their cool) need to remember what the big goal is on this team. And its not worrying about the Knicks.

I agree about the turnovers, we have averaged about 20 turnovers per game in this series. That want cut it against the Pistons or pacers later in the playoffs. But the Nets are going to commit alot of turnovers because of the risks we take in the open court. I think if we reduce that # to about 15 to 16 turnovers per game, we will be ok. Iam looking to see how we shoot the ball in the half-court from the perimeter because I know against those other teams the Nets are going to have to make some jumpers in the half-court.

throwback · Apr 21, 2004

nice prev. hen

game three is going to be tightly officiated. the team that can stay out of foul trouble will have the best chance of winning. i think our guys are mature enough not to respond to nonsense unless a knick physically provokes a net player on purpose. if a knick obviously fouls to intend to hurt a nets player, then i wouldnt be suprised to see some bows fly(hope it doesnt happen). with thomas' comments, he could have really hurt his team. if a knick gives a hard foul, that could be seen as a flagrant 2 and ejection. so if they give a hard foul,they have to be smart when and how they give it. if they give a hard foul and that person doesnt make and effort to go after the ball, the refs probably won't even call a flagrant 1, they will go straight to a flagrant 2. i also think that coach frank wil have control over his team.

once again, the 3rd quater is where the game seems to end. we need to basically play the same way we did in game 1 and 2. nothing was really wrong in those games, except some defensive plays and to's. get kmart started early so he feels that he controls the game. if we dont get him started early and he misses some shots and it starts to get physical, missing shots will just make him more pissed.

expect a close game, even in the 4th quarter. this isn't just marburys biggest game as knick, but biggest game of his career. he needs to show that he is a bonefide superstar in this league. yeah he is a nice player, but hasnt proven anything. you talk to any nba fan/past player/current player/reporter that you are made in the playoffs. in the playoffs is when you become a superstar, a made-man. but it can also show your weaknesses. can show that you cant handle the playoff pressure, not a good leader, etc. im not saying that about marbury, but just in general. like t-mac, he is a great player in the reg season, but blew his chance against det last playoff year. all he is going to be remembered as is a nice player, exciting player, scoring champion, but not a great player in the history of the league. playoffs is where players write themselves in nba history and build their legacy. marbury needs to showup and show that he is indeed an elite pg in the league and elite player in the league in general. he is 0-3 in playoffs, when is he going to turn it on? i know he doesnt have a supporting class, but thats not even the case. marbury doesnt show up for 48min, its not like his team is winning and he doesnt need to be "starbury", they are gettin blow out by 20pts and he doesnt take the wheel. he's just a passenger on this train wreck .

Henacy · Apr 21, 2004

^ Great comments throwback,I agree that K-mart is going to be more upset if he struggling early. I think Kidd going to make sure that he gets K-mart alot of easy baskets to keep his head focused on the goal, which is the win. The only way I see the Knicks getting dirty is if they are getting blown out going into the 4th.

I expect the game of Marbury's life in game 3. He knows that if the Knicks lose game 3, this series is over. The garden going to be filled to the top. I expect to see all of the garden faithful in the arena Jay-z, Spike Lee, Wooden Allen, Magic Johnson said he going to be in the arena. If he flops the whole world will be there to see it. And Sir Charles just called Marbury out(for what ever thats worth).

InNETSweTrust · Apr 23, 2004

<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">Kenyon Martin showed the New York Knicks how tough he can be down the stretch.

Martin converted a key three-point play with 25 seconds left and the New Jersey Nets held on for an 81-78 victory over the Knicks and a 3-0 lead in their Eastern Conference first-round series.

New Jersey can complete the sweep on Sunday at Madison Square Garden.

Martin was the catalyst in this one with 19 points and 15 rebounds after directing a series of insults toward injured Knicks forward Tim Thomas at practice. That followed Thomas' charges that Martin was a "fake tough guy."

"I was going to let my game speak for itself," Martin said. "I said everything I was going to say this morning."</div>

Link
Box Scores

throwback · Apr 23, 2004

close game. it came down to steph passing the ball instead of shooting it behind the 3pt line. he missed the 1st free throw anyway. kmart played big like always, along with kidd coming alive in the second half and rj had a nice game. we went aprrox. 10min in the 4th quarter w/o score a fg, AND WE STILL WON! i really thought during that streak that we would fall behind by 3-5pts and really have a tough time trying to win. but the knicks didn't capitalize and we won. that basically sums them up. they had plenty of chances to tie/take the lead and noone steped up to take that shot and make some plays back2back.

barkley called stephon out and said game3 was the biggest game of his live. marbury had 18pts and 10ast, but shot 7-20 from the field. 18/10 seem like big numbers, but it didnt seem like marbury had a good game at all. he had some nice plays, but he couldnt take over and step up. i'm not sure if steph answer barkley's challenge or not. this has got to be frustrating on marbury. he's about to be 0-4 in his playoff career and about to see his hometown team get swept while he has played very bad for his standards.

game 4 sunday. going to be sweat to sweep the knicks at the gaahhhhden

Henacy · Apr 23, 2004

I was kind of shock that Steph was so passive in the 3rd quarter especially after not scoring in the 2nd half of the 1st to games. I figure he was going to come out in the third & look to set the tempo of the 2nd half. He waited for the Nets to go back up by 8, then he decided to try & take over in the 4th. This was a so-so game for steph imo. I wouldnt say he had a great game & I wouldnt say he had a bad game. He made some big shots to keep the Knicks in it. But when he took that deep three in front of spike Lee late in the 4th. That shot should not have been taken.

And was it me but was that a foul by K-mart on the play where they ruled steph was passing the ball instead of shooting it? It sure did look like k-mart got all ball up top.

throwback · Apr 23, 2004

i think that call was an anticipation call my the refs. they might of thought that kmart and rj were a little too aggressive and maybe just a body to body contact was called a foul b/c of the situation.

the game was a subpar game for marbury, but would be a nice solid game for others. im really suprised how bad he was played. i thought he would already have at least one 28-30pt game already. he can really score and has let his team, his home and himself this series. will all the hype btw him vs kidd, he isnt looking good. it's not all his fault, but u can see he is still immature in some ways. when you see the decisions that he makes compared to kidd, you can tell marbury seems to be missing a few things. kinda like how steve francis is. but they are young, so thats a good thing

Game 3 Preview: The battle moves up the Hudson

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