New York @ Phoenix

[Mr. J]

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*made by Knicks Analyst

@

Knicks 18-28 / Suns 37-11</div>
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Date: 2/5/05
Time 9:00
TV: MSG, NBALP</font>

<font size="4">Season Stats</font>

Previous Games:
Knicks: 116-115L @ Sacramento
Suns: 108-79 30T W @ Minnesota

Knicks
Record: 18-28 (.391)
Standings: Fifth, Atlantic
At Home: 12-11
On Road: 6-17

PPG: 95.2 Opp PPG: 98.7
FG%: .445 Opp FG%: .466
RPG: 40.7 Opp RPG: 42.3

Suns:
Record: 37-11 (.771)
Standings: First, Pacific
At Home: 17-4
On Road: 20-7

PPG: 101.9 Opp PPG: 98.3
FG%: .458 Opp FG%: .441
RPG: 42.9 Opp RPG: 44.6

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<font color="DarkOrange">Knicks Starters</font></font>
PG: Stephon Marbury
39.6mpg 20.4ppg 3.0rpg 8.2apg

SG: Jamal Crawford
37.1mpg 18.8ppg 2.8rpg 3.8apg

SF: Trevor Ariza
17.4mpg 5.7ppg 2.6rpg 1.4apg

PF: Kurt Thomas
36.6mpg 11.5ppg 9.8rpg 1.9apg

C: Nazr Mohammed
29.6mpg 11.9ppg 8.7rpg 0.5apg

<font size="3">Knicks Bench:</font>
Jerome Williams
16.8mpg 4.8ppg 3.7rpg 0.6apg

Jamison Brewer
11.5mpg 2.1ppg 1.3rpg 0.7apg

Vin Baker
7.6mpg 1.4ppg 1.5rpg 0.3apg

Bruno Sundov
4.6mpg 1.8ppg 0.8rpg 0.1apg

Complete Knicks Stats

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<font color="DarkOrange[Suns Starters[/COLOR"></font>
<font size="4">
Suns</font></font>
PG: Steve Nash
34.2mpg 15.5ppg 3.2rpg 11.1apg

SG: Quentin Richardson
38.0mpg 16.0ppg 6.6apg 2.2rpg

SF: Joe Johnson
39.4mpg 16.3ppg 5.3rpg 3.6apg

PF: Shawn Marion
39.4mpg 19.4ppg 10.9rpg 2.3apg

C: Amare Stoudemire
36.4mpg 25.9ppg 8.5rpg 1.6apg

<font size="3">Bench</font>
Jim Jackson 37.9mpg 12.5ppg 4.4rpg 3.3apg

Jake Voskhul 9.9mpg 2.0ppg 2.8rpg 0.5apg

Steven Hunter 13.4mpg 4.7ppg 2.9rpg 0.2apg

Smush Parker 9.0mpg 3.0ppg 0.8rpg 0.9apg

Bo Outlaw 5.5mpg 0.7ppg 1.4rpg 0.4apg

Complete Suns Stats


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<font color="Red">Injuries:</font></font>
<font color="DarkOrange">NYK:</font>

and

Moochie Norris and Allan Houston

<font color="DarkOrange">PHO:</font>

Leandro Barbosa

<font size="4">
<font color="Green">Matchups:</font></font>

vs.

PG: Marbury is coming off an unstoppable game vs. Sacramento (Defense, and freethrow line not included) I heard him with some comments yesterday and nobody could stop him yesterday. That was the Stephon of old in the beginning of this season and last season. He will have to keep Nash in check ON DEFENSE. If Marbury did not score, but kept Nash in check and did not allow him to create, we will actually have a legit shot at wining the game. Nash is quick plus can shoot the 3 ball and can distribute. 11 assists per game does not lie. Defense and effort will keep him in check that?s it.

vs.

SG: Jamal Crawford dropped 40 on him last game. He really kept us in the game but defense is going to propel us t o victory. Despite his scoring heroics, Q was dropping buckets on us from downtown including one crucial game deciding 3 to give the Suns the momentum for a victory. All Q does is shoot 3 after 3. Nothing else. The Knicks must make sure to keep a body on Q and not allow him to get hot. Let Amare do his damage downlow but he will always get two. 3?s kill down the stretch and decide games.

vs.

SF: Joe Johnson will be playing against our Trevor Ariza. He was trying to play our boy Trevor and left him open and you know what happened? A Career high 20 points, 11 rebounds (8 offensive.) Joe Johnson is one of those clever slick guys so Trevor must be careful. Hopefully it does not come down to post ups because Johnson clearly has the advantage on that side. He clearly brings some other things to the table such as rebounding and a little passing as well. No question why he plays the most minutes on the team.

vs.

PF: Wow. Another toughie for Kurt. The Matrix Shawn Marion is a small forward but, I?m sure by now you know he was moved to create a full lineup of havoc. Great leaping skills has range and is quick Kurt Thomas has his hands full tonight. When is the Junk Yard Dog who hasn?t been playing of late? We need him for this matchup. Forget about Baker! We need help.

vs.

C: Is Nazr even playing? I hope he is and brings his game that he did with Sacramento (minus the freethrow shooting). He played with fire and desire and looked very aggressive crashing the boards. The only thing is he is playing a more aggressive Amare Stoudemire. We have seen the MVP contender and we have seen him play. He can shoot from 15 feet post up and can do it all. The last time he killed us. If Nazr is out, it?s a wrap. Bruno on Amare? Laugh of the year?

<font size="3"><font color="DarkOrange">Knicks Bench Summary</font></font>
We have Hardaway back which is a good thing all though he played crummy basketball. We also have Tim Thomas coming off the bench playing great basketball yesterday. He was simply unstoppable. If he can play well like he did yesterday it will obviously do us some good. He needs to give us some nice scoring off the bench consistently for us to be effective.

<font size="3"><font color="DarkOrange">Suns Bench Summary:</font></font>
I?m not worried about anyone but, Jim Jackson. The perimeter defense is weak enough so when this guy comes in just like Q, all they do is shoot, shoot, and do more shooting. That Hunter guy is not scary. He just cleans up and stuff and can?t shoot freethrows. The Knicks really have to worry about Jackson coming off the bench.

<font size="4"><font color="Green">Key Matchup:</font></font>
The Key Matchup is at the PG position.
Marbury

" target="_blank">http://www.nba.com/media/act_stephon_marbury.jpg"></a> vs.

Nash
Steph and Steve. Starbury and the best PG in the league. A matchup of the ages in our very midst. I think Marbury will own the matchup because he is the more lethal scorer coming off a 37 point game. Forget about any of them playing defense. This will be one of those fan favorite kind of matchup. Marbury always seems to play well against Steve Nash from what I have seen. A no brainer for the key matchup I really don?t even think I have to explain more.


<font size="4">My Prediction:</font>
Forget about a dog fight. This is like a Dog against Hamster. I assume you guys know who the hamster is. The funny thing is after that Knicks loss yesterday the same night I had a dream we were going to beat the Suns today. Hopefully my dream is right. Anyway, we will probably lose this game 135-100 am I too biased? We should get killed in this game and we really don?t deserve to win playing this JV style of basketball. If we can get a miracle win tonight, we will definitely make the playoffs due to simply confidence however, no surprise if we lose. We will only be 11 games below .500. These days I am thinking how much are the Knicks going to lose by. Anyway, hopefully we lose respectfully and don?t get ourselves embarrassed out the America West Arena. Oh yeah I forgot they?re at home. Should I throw in another 10 points to the loss?

<font color="RED"><font size="4">THIS GAME IS AT 9:00 NOT AT THE USUAL 10:00?s THAT WE HAVE PLAYED ON THE TRIP.</font></font>

<font color="RED"><font size="2">REMEMBER THAT THE GAME IS ON 1050 ESPN RADIO ALSO</font></font>

 

[KnicksUK]

9:14 to go in the 4th, trailing 83-81. We're gonna lose........as usual. I said before we'd lose to the Kings and plenty of people were quick to say that I was wrong. We lost. We'll lose this one too. I'm not even gonna bother highlighting why, it's all been said before. 95% of Knicks fans KNOW what need to be done. Isiah must bein that 5%.

 

[Beat]

I think we will win this game.

 

[Platehpus]

Time to rebuild!

 

[Mr. J]

What more can you ask for? We played our hearts out and played with effort. I'm worried about Crawford though. Anyway, we didn't have an answer for Amare or Nash for that matter. Marion also had a nice game as well. The Knicks should have gotten blown out and the defense was much better than before. Maybe even our best effort of the season. TT's miracle game yesterday returned to its usual self. What really got us was simple Nash-Amare pick and rolls and things like that. We were just missing something...I think Allan Houston's scoring. Anyway, I was pleased it would have made me feel a lot better had we not lost 16 of 18 but, good game.

 

[KnicksUK]

Ah.....just as I thought, another loss. I've stopped being pissed off about it now, I actually believe we will lose every game at the moment so it softens the blow when we do!

 

[Mr. J]

^Word. I have been adjusting too. I don't know whether I'm just used to it or whether I'm maturing

. I actually thought we had a chance. Matter of fact we did have a legit chance. They came in fighting and even when things were looking grim, they kept up by at the end, it just came down to who is the better team.

 

[Beat]

I'm curious as to why the Knicks have so many fans outside of the NewYork/New Jersey are and why must of the same people like Penny Hardaway? Anyway i really thought the Knicks would win this game. So boring to see them lose. Its not even funny anymore.

 

[Platehpus]

The Knicks really, really do miss the clutch shooting of Houston. Marbury can't be the only clutch player out there, we need someone to step up and hit big baskets for us when they matter. I think it might be time to get rid of KT for a younger player, since we're not going to trade Marbury we might as well get a component for next year.

edit: I swear to god it can't be that difficult to play defense, as we'd have at least 10 more wins if we played some ****ing D.

<font color="Red">Watch the language - Knicks Analyst</font>

 

[Mr. J]

^Watch the language Platehpus!

I don't know about trading away Kurt Thomas right now. He has been pivotal for us in many aspects. I mean crashing the boards and getting 21 rebounds is really going to haunt us. I remember some ignorant posters calling him a bad rebounder. Anyway, unless we're getting a solid big man in the deal, I don't know about trading away Kurt Thomas. We need a solid big man in the draft. You know I would like a solid big man that can shoot, and block shots. Anyway, we need someone to help us.

 

[Timberwolf]

<div class="quote_poster">Quoting BobbyEscobar:</div><div class="quote_post">I'm curious as to why the Knicks have so many fans outside of the NewYork/New Jersey are and why must of the same people like Penny Hardaway? Anyway i really thought the Knicks would win this game. So boring to see them lose. Its not even funny anymore.</div>

New Yorkers are everywhere. I see a lot of Knicks fans, Yankees fans, Mets fans, Giants fans, and Jets fans all over the cities. They make their presence felt when their teams are on the road. There were lot of Knicks fans at Target Center on Opening Night. God knows Knicks fans basically scare the Nets fans away at Continental Airlines Arena when the Knicks come to town.

 

[Platehpus]

We obviously need to draft and/or trade for someone who can block shots and be a strong rebounder and offensive threat. Warrick would be nice, but only if we secure ourselves a big man we can build around. Defense wins championships.

 

[Courtking]

You guys gave it everything you had, that's all you can ask for. Marbury had an unbelievable game, 33 points, but only 6 assits. Kurt Thomas with 21 boards. Look at the positive, you outscored out bench, which isn't hard to do these days.

 

[Knicks Analyst]

The defense was terrible, that's for sure. Herb hasn't run any sort of defense of substance since he took over. He hasn't implemented any kind of set, hasn't taught anyone the proper zone. Really, he hasn't done anything for the team at all. Has anyone else noticed that his coaching has been awful? I like how he gives Ariza some minutes but you have to ask yourself if he would do so when Tim returns. His coaching is getting me sick and I hope that we can fiind someone to replace him this off-season. Hopefully someone with a mind for defense.

 

[Platehpus]

You're not being very fair, KA.

 

[Knicks Analyst]

<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Platehpus:</div><div class="quote_post">You're not being very fair, KA.</div>
Are you talking about Herb?
If so, then how am I being unfair. I realize the team is terrible too, but Herb hasnt even tried.

 

[Platehpus]

Hasn't tried? What do you expect him to do, use his time machine that he's been secretly working on for the past 20 years to teleport the team back to training camp so he can impliment his systems? You can't just go and change a gameplan dramatically during the middle of the season. As for substitusions and gameplans, he's done an amazing job. We have played some solid ball since he became coach, and even though we are losing we are playing our best. The right players are getting used in the right situation, and minutes are being more spread out.

Trade Marbury for Frank Williams and Eddie Curry!

 

[Mr. J]

^I agree Platehpus, good points.

I'm not a big fan of Curry and the way it looks Curry isn't moving anywhere so that's probably out the question. Williams is good and I loved the way he played for us but, I son't think Isiah likes him. What I do think is interesting is maybe on draft day, trade Marbury to the Hawks for a first rounder and maybe someone else. That way we can draft a great PG. It'll never happen because of Isiah though. I think that is a good move though.

 

[Knicks Analyst]

<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Platehpus:</div><div class="quote_post">Hasn't tried? What do you expect him to do, use his time machine that he's been secretly working on for the past 20 years to teleport the team back to training camp so he can impliment his systems? You can't just go and change a gameplan dramatically during the middle of the season. As for substitusions and gameplans, he's done an amazing job. We have played some solid ball since he became coach, and even though we are losing we are playing our best. The right players are getting used in the right situation, and minutes are being more spread out.

Trade Marbury for Frank Williams and Eddie Curry!

</div>
You gotta be kidding me. He's been with this team long enough (A couple of years) as an assistant coach to cook up some systems and implementing them into a shattered team isn't difficult. We have yet to see that his substitutions and such when we still have injuries scattered all over the bench. Don't give me the 'not enough time' junk. You had better arguments that you missed and went with what would be easy. Remember this: Herb has been with New York for a while now.

 

[jbbCourtVision]

All I want to know is what the hell was with Marbury on that foul on Nash with 2 minutes left in the game? That was just a dirty play. He didn't even go for the ball.

 

[Mr. J]

He was just trying to stop the play. When you are down trying to make a run you don't have anytime to think you just have enough time to react.

 

[02civic]

<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Knicks Analyst:</div><div class="quote_post">You gotta be kidding me. He's been with this team long enough (A couple of years) as an assistant coach to cook up some systems and implementing them into a shattered team isn't difficult. We have yet to see that his substitutions and such when we still have injuries scattered all over the bench. Don't give me the 'not enough time' junk. You had better arguments that you missed and went with what would be easy. Remember this: Herb has been with New York for a while now.</div>


Herb has done as good a job as could be expected. It's not just a matter of showing the guys one or two of the plays that he's cooked up. There are dozens of sets and in each there are things you need to stress to the players, which takes time, it takes practice. If you think you can do better perhaps you should phone Isiah.

 

[jbbCourtVision]

<div class="quote_poster">Quoting mrj18:</div><div class="quote_post">He was just trying to stop the play. When you are down trying to make a run you don't have anytime to think you just have enough time to react.</div>I don't know dude. Looking at the replays, the played looked very malicious. I mean he basically grabbed his neck and put him in a headlock. That was just dirty.

 

[Mr. J]

Yeah it did look like that but, the intent was not to do that. When you're trying to make a run and a crucial play like that takes place, you can only react and not think about the best thing. It did look a bit overly aggresive but, it was just one of those "I just need to stop him" kind of plays.

 

[jbbCourtVision]

^I get what you are saying. To me it looked just like a dirty play. The game was out of reach and Nash was just running the break. There was no play for the ball whatsoever, just a play for Nash' neck. I kinda got pissed that the Phoenix players didn't do anything, but oh well. As long as he wasn't injured.