New York Knicks vs. Denver Nuggets

[Mr. J]

Knicks 9-10

vs. Nuggets 12-7

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Date: 12/12/04
Time 12:00 (11:30 Cannon Business Solutions Knicks Gamenight)
TV: MSG
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<font size="4">Season Stats</font>

Knicks:
Record: 9-10 ( .474)
Standings: First, Atlantic 3rd Seed in East
At Home: 6-2
On Road: 3-8

PPG: 95.9 Opp PPG: 98.0
FG%: .442 Opp FG%: .466
RPG: 43.6 Opp RPG: 41.4



Nuggets:
Record: 12-7 ( .632)
Standings: Third, Northwest 6th seed in the West
At Home: 9-4
On Road: 3-3

PPG: 94.1 Opp PPG: 93.5
FG%: .442 Opp FG%: .451
RPG: 41.5 Opp RPG: 41.6

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<font color="DarkOrange">Knicks</font></font>
PG: Stephon Marbury
20.1ppg 2.9rpg 8.8apg

SG: Jamal Crawford
18.2ppg 2.6rpg 3.9apg

SF: Tim Thomas
9.4ppg 3.6rpg 1.0apg

PF: Kurt Thomas
11.8ppg 10.2rpg 1.5apg

C: Nazr Mohammed
13.0ppg 9.7rpg 0.2apg

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<font color="Blue">Nuggets</font></font>
PG: Andre Miller
14.4ppg 4.1rpg 5.5apg

SG: Greg Buckner
6.5.ppg 3.0rpg 1.8apg

SF: Carmelo Anthony
20.9apg 5.9rpg 3.3apg

PF: Kenyon Martin
13.5ppg 8.0rpg 3.4apg

C: Marcus Camby
7.4ppg 8.7rpg 1.4apg

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<font color="Red">Injuries:</font></font>
NYK: Penny Hardaway, Jamison Brewer
DEN: Voshon Lenard, Arthur Johnson, Mark Pope
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<font color="Green">Matchups:</font></font>
PG: Stephon Marbury is finally playing a non-shooting PG in Andre Miller. Marbury needs to force Andre Miller to take jumpshots as he shoots 20% from downtown. Andre Miller can match Stephon Marbury in quickness and get his team in transition quickly. People forget that he is also a great passer that led the league in assists 3 years ago. Marbury needs to continue his great play and now that he has Houston, he has all the space in the world to penetrate.

SG: Jamal Crawfprd will be playing Greg Buckner who shoots an amazing 50% from the field and 44% from behind the arc. Crawford can't take him for granted. He needs to play good defense and force him to take contested shots. Greg Buckner is also a great defender so Crawford will have his hands full. In order for craford to take advantage of this one he needs to take quality shots. He can't just chuck up shots especially against someone like Buckner.

SF: If we ever really hoped to get something out of TT this season it would have to be against Denver at home. From the playoff mess last year vs. NJ, Thomas has wanted a piece of Kenyon Martin and now is his chance to get it. I think TT will play good defense against the runner up rookie of the year: Carmelo Anthony. Carmelo is just a flat out scorer and has an array of moves for putting points on the board. I think in this matchup, Anthony is the one who will really have his hands full. I think TT will be determined and will get his season high. I hope I'm not stretching it a bit.

PF: Kenyon Martin will square off against Kurt Thomas. Martin is a very powerful beast who gave us many problems in the past. Kenyon Martin I think will be playing with some fire and desire just because of TT. Kurt Thomas will have to force Kenyon Martin to take jumpshots instead of posting up. Martin has learned a thing or two about passing playing with Jason Kidd. His apg is 3.8. Kenyon Martin has been struggling so far with only 13ppg. I know he has Anthony and Miller who can both score but for about 90 million I think he should be doing some more. It still will be a tough matchup for Kurt Thomas.

C: Nazr Mohammed will be facing the toughest challengeso far of the season. The ex-Knick Marcus Camby is a defensive machine who can match Mohammed's athleticism. In addition, Marcus Camby is an inch taller than him and has long arms. Currently Marcus camby is averaging 2.9bpg, and will give Mohammed some serious trouble. I do not see how Mohammed can put up those great stats he's been putting up with Camby on him. If Mohammed can sneak in a double double for us on a decent field goal percentage, it will definitely show us how skilled a big man he is.
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<font color="Green">Key Matchup:</font></font>
The Key Matchup is at the SF position. Carmelo Anthony and TT are without a doubt very talented ballers. The only reason why I think this will be the key matchup is because of TT's revenge he wants to take out on Kenyon Martin. I think TT will be playing the best basketball game of the season to try and prove a point. He will be trying to do it against a great player who at age 20 leads his team in scoring.

<font size="4">My Prediction:</font>
The Kenyon Martin/Tim Thomas rivalry will definitely spice up the game. I expect a dramtic confrontation between TT and Martin. I think it will have a playoff feel to it. A lot of action, physicality and heart will be played. But, The Knicks are playing at home and it is Allan Houston's debut at home so the crowd will be crazy. And when the crowd gets crazy at MSG to quote Cassidy: "It don't get no better!" I am going to go ahead and say the Knicks will get the W with an exciting 100-97 win. Btw, I won't be able to see the game or do the halftime updates I am going to be at church. Will someone else be willing to do it?

 

[Henacy]

I dont know, this is a difficult matchup for the Knicks in certain areas. The Knicks transition Defense falls a sleep from time to time. And Denver in recent games has re-establihed that running dtyle that made them so effective last season. So it will be interesting to see how the Knicks contend with that. And along with the improved open court play, has come the improvement in Carmelo Anthony's game. That means another diffcult wing player the Knicks dont really have anyone that matches up well against. It seems like you can always book an automatic 20+ for a scoring wing player against that Knick perimeter. So I can expect a strong game for Melo.

And Kenyon Martin is a Knick Killer as well. Granted there is no Kidd playing alongside K-Mart. But the area where K-Mart really kills the Knicks is in his athletism on the backboards. The Knicks cant really keep him off the glass, so that will be a changelle for Kurt Thomas. As far as Tim Thomas & K-Mart goes, I doubt anything happens, the NBA got the eagle hawk eye on players right now. And if it looks like anything close to something negative about to happen between the two with their History. They will be hitting the locker room immediately & gone from the game. And I think both should be smart enuff to understand, after what happen in Detriot, the league is watching all potential situations.

 

[STC]

First it says that the Nuggets are 10-6, then in there bio it says they are 12-7?

This is a tough matchup for the Knicks. There frontcourt athleticism is going to kill the Knicks. Kurt and Nazr aren't athletic enough for Kenyon and Marcus. I don't see how Kurt is going to stay with Kenyon the offensive glass.

TT having a career game vs Carmelo is a stretch in my mind. Carmelo is one of the best young scorers in the league.

Nuggets are going to get the W in this one.

 

[Tribute to H2O]

Kurt Thomas and Nazr are good rebonders. Their not going to dominate the glass. Besides K-Mart is having his difficulties(and I hope they continue). I'm sorry but Carmelo Anthony hasnt been too scary so far this season. TT wont do anything to K-Mart. He might play inspired basketball but I wouldnt hold my breath. I just hope he doesnt try to do too much otherwise we'll find ourselves in a hole early on. The Nuggets half court game is suspect as well as their bench. Transition defense and our bench will win us this game. I say the score will be 101-92

 

[jbb94ftOfTherapy]

<div class="quote_poster">Quoting STCBBall3:</div><div class="quote_post">First it says that the Nuggets are 10-6, then in there bio it says they are 12-7?</div>The nuggets are 12-7.

 

[Knicks Analyst]

<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Henacy:</div><div class="quote_post">I dont know, this is a difficult matchup for the Knicks in certain areas. The Knicks transition Defense falls a sleep from time to time. And Denver in recent games has re-establihed that running dtyle that made them so effective last season. So it will be interesting to see how the Knicks contend with that. And along with the improved open court play, has come the improvement in Carmelo Anthony's game. That means another diffcult wing player the Knicks dont really have anyone that matches up well against. It seems like you can always book an automatic 20+ for a scoring wing player against that Knick perimeter. So I can expect a strong game for Melo.

And Kenyon Martin is a Knick Killer as well. Granted there is no Kidd playing alongside K-Mart. But the area where K-Mart really kills the Knicks is in his athletism on the backboards. The Knicks cant really keep him off the glass, so that will be a changelle for Kurt Thomas. As far as Tim Thomas & K-Mart goes, I doubt anything happens, the NBA got the eagle hawk eye on players right now. And if it looks like anything close to something negative about to happen between the two with their History. They will be hitting the locker room immediately & gone from the game. And I think both should be smart enuff to understand, after what happen in Detriot, the league is watching all potential situations.</div>I have to say. That was very well said. I pretty much agree with you on all levels.

 

[Mr. J]

<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">As far as Tim Thomas & K-Mart goes, I doubt anything happens, the NBA got the eagle hawk eye on players right now. And if it looks like anything close to something negative about to happen between the two with their History. They will be hitting the locker room immediately & gone from the game. And I think both should be smart enuff to understand, after what happen in Detriot, the league is watching all potential situations.</div>
Nothing like a fight will take place but, I think TT will be playing very inspired basketball. They might play a bit aggressive on eachother but, I expect TT to come out really strong and after that he resumes his usual ways.

 

[Midnight Green]

I think the Nuggets will take this one by 9 points. They have a advantage over the Knciks in the front court despite what some may say. Nene had a big game recently and is looking to build on that. Kmart is coming back to the metro area so he will want to have a big game, and Camby former Knciks always wants to play good against his former team. Melo is been lighting it up lately and looking to build on that.

I think that the Nuggets win every front court position they dominate TT then there dpeth at the pwer forward slot overwelms KT. I mean first he has to start off guarding Kmart then when he thinks he gets a break with kmart going out of the game Nene comes in and brings the same amount of intensity to the court.

In the back court the Knicks have more depth than the Nuggets though since Lenard is out they will be able to really take advantage of the two, but Crawford is inconsistant so they may get by on that matchup, but then the point guard matchup there is no question Marbruy has the advantage he is a better three point shooter, and a better overall player then Miller not to take anything away from him. I think he will use his speed to have a big game, but in the end it will not be enough really.

I do not think TT will have a great game, because although he may not like Kmart there is not much he can reall do about it. He does not have Kmart head to head, and Kmarti s physically stronger than him. So it will be basically a battle inside the battle jsut for statistics the only time I think they willl go head to head is off a pick or something where the defenders switch. Though in the end I think it will be a high scroing game, but the Nuggets jsut have more scorers than the Knicks in my mind final score 101-92.

 

[02civic]

I would have to say MRG18 that in all the reviews you've done i havent seen a single one where you predict they Knicks loose. And if there are some...certainly not many.

 

[Mr. J]

*mrj18 and the out of all the previews that I have done were all very winnable games for the Knicks are yet to play teams like the Suns, Heat and other elites. The previews I have done so far have been the loses were not off by much at all. But, I'm glad to see you're such a fan of my previews if you remember all of that info.

 

[Nylex]

I'm following the game on ESPN's GameCast. So far, Crawford has missed all his shots and NY don't seem to be rebouding at all :/.

 

[jbb94ftOfTherapy]

<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Nylex:</div><div class="quote_post">I'm following the game on ESPN's GameCast. So far, Crawford has missed all his shots and NY don't seem to be rebouding at all :/.</div>umm the game isnt until 12 tonight

 

[Henacy]

<div class="quote_poster">Quoting mrj18:</div><div class="quote_post">Nothing like a fight will take place but, I think TT will be playing very inspired basketball. They might play a bit aggressive on eachother but, I expect TT to come out really strong and after that he resumes his usual ways.</div>

That is definately not out the relm of possiblity, not a career game but he can have a offensively solid game, it may be precieved as him being inspired, if it does happen. But realistically it would have alot to do with the fact that Carmelo doesnt play much defense himself. BTW, Thanks KA.

 

[Nylex]

<div class="quote_poster">Quoting 94ftOfTherapy:</div><div class="quote_post">umm the game isnt until 12 tonight</div>

The game's in progress (12 PM means midday, 12 AM is midnight)..

 

[Nylex]

Yay, Knicks win 107-96.

 

[Knicks Analyst]

Great game. We played terrific basketball. Marbury had his best game of the year IMO, and Crawford was simply superb with the exception of tha stupid foul of Boykins at the end. Kurt was fantastic with 17 rebounds and 10 points. A strong game overall from New York, we beat a Denver team that was on a 4 game winning streak and we basically extracted the winning swagger from their game. Great game, this is a big win.

 

[Ming637]

Man, I thought we would have difficulties in this one, but everything went smooth for us. We're 10-10 now.

 

[Henacy]

I was extremely impressed with the Knicks transition Defense after the 1st quarter. That is what really truned the game in their favor,limiting Denver in the opencourt really only leaves them with one half-court scoring option Carmelo Anthony. That is why you seen alot of one-on-one by Denver in the half-court, they just dont know how to play & win in a slow down style. Iam shocked Denver kept Boykins in the court so much in the 2nd half, I know Andre Miller was struggling offensively, but Boykins was a clear cut defensive liablity. And they pretty much let the Knicks use him as the point of attack to generate much of their offense in the 2nd half. Its hard for any team to beat the Knicks, when Crawford & Marbury score as effeicently as they did this afternoon. You can live with Crawford & Marbury scoring but you got to make them work for their points, in a fashion that their scoring takes away from the rest of the Knicks as a team. And Denver simply didnt do that. They let Marbury & Crawford get theirs, even while setting up Kurt Thomas & the rest of the Knick role players. Anyway good win for the Knicks

 

[jbb94ftOfTherapy]

woah i thought that the game was at night. I thought i was smoking omething when everyone was talking about the outcome of the game. But to the game, im a bit dissapointed in Denver i thought we could have won this game, but i dont mind losing to my next favorite team.

 

[STC]

Wow, very impressive. Crawford with 31 points...Thomas with 18 rebs!...and Marbury with 11 assists.

I couldn't watch the game because of a basketball scrimmage, but did Tim Thomas play great defense on Carmelo? He only shot 7-23.

Looks like Camby had a standout game (21 pts, 14 rebs).

The Knickerbockers backcourt is one of the best in the league...they are so explosive. Today, combined for 56 points, on 21-37 shooting. Pretty impressive.

Can someone tell me how the game played out.

 

[Tribute to H2O]

Well the game wasnt as close as I thought it would be. I had the Knicks winning by nine instead of eleven but it's a pleasant surprise. The reason why the Knicks won is because of the bench and transition defense. I said it before and I'll say it again, the Nuggets need those transition points. That is their lifeblood. If they dont get fast break points they struggle. Our transition defense has been on point so far this season so I was pretty certain the Knicks would win. The Nuggets didnt dominate the glass like so many thought they would either. Marbury and Crawford played well. Andre Miller did almost nothing this game. Boykins was exploited whenever he was on the floor which helped propel the Knicks. Nothing else to say except about Houston's progress. He had a bad shooting night and finished with nine points. But no Knick fan is ever worried about Houston's jumpshot. He put the ball on the floor quite a bit(so much for being nothing more than a spot up shooter) and wasnt nearly as "tentative" as Friday night. All of his shots looked good but refused to go in. Better luck next time. He had a few assists as well. If Houston's jumpshot had been falling this game it could very well have been a blowout. Good game for the Knicks.

 

[VintageNYK]

<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Tribute to H2O:</div><div class="quote_post">Well the game wasnt as close as I thought it would be. I had the Knicks winning by nine instead of eleven but it's a pleasant surprise. The reason why the Knicks won is because of the bench and transition defense. I said it before and I'll say it again, the Nuggets need those transition points. That is their lifeblood. If they dont get fast break points they struggle. Our transition defense has been on point so far this season so I was pretty certain the Knicks would win. The Nuggets didnt dominate the glass like so many thought they would either. Marbury and Crawford played well. Andre Miller did almost nothing this game. Boykins was exploited whenever he was on the floor which helped propel the Knicks. Nothing else to say except about Houston's progress. He had a bad shooting night and finished with nine points. But no Knick fan is ever worried about Houston's jumpshot. He put the ball on the floor quite a bit(so much for being nothing more than a spot up shooter) and wasnt nearly as "tentative" as Friday night. All of his shots looked good but refused to go in. Better luck next time. He had a few assists as well. If Houston's jumpshot had been falling this game it could very well have been a blowout. Good game for the Knicks.</div>

Perfectly said, and a perfectly played game by the Knicks. Basically everything went right for us. Great game.

.

 

[Mr. J]

<div class="quote_poster">Quoting 02civic:</div><div class="quote_post">I would have to say MRG18 that in all the reviews you've done i havent seen a single one where you predict they Knicks loose. And if there are some...certainly not many.</div>
I guess I wasn't too much off on this preview either. I fanything I was being a bit modest. I didn't see the game. It wasn't on ESPN or the fan so I listened to the last two minutes on the 1010 Wins updates. Then I checked on NBA.com and it looked like we straight dominated! Thomas had 18 boards, Crawford dropped 30, and Marbury gave out 11 assists. Allan Houston was the only thing I was a bit concerned with was Allan Houston being 3-11. But, that is to be expected after being out for about 10 months. He probably had some butterflies playing at home for the first time. Any way great game for us. We have NJ on Tuesday and Detroit on Wednesday. This will definitely give us some confidence going into those games.

 

[Nylex]

People said that even though H20 shot badly, he still looked good out there.

 

[Miami's Finest]

Good win for the Knicks. I predicted Marbury would have 11 dimes and I was right on the money!