New York @ Sacramento

[Mr. J]

<div align="center">

*made by Knicks Analyst

@

Knicks 18-27 / Kings 19-25</div>
<font size="3">
Date: 2/4/05
Time 10:00
TV: MSG, NBALP</font>

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

Previous Games:
Knicks: 96-76L @ Nuggets
Kings: 111-107 30T W @ Warriors

Knicks
Record: 18-27 (.400)
Standings: Fifth, Atlantic
At Home: 12-11
On Road: 6-16

PPG: 94.7 Opp PPG: 98.3
FG%: .441 Opp FG%: .465
RPG: 40.6 Opp RPG: 42.5

Kings:
Record: 31 - 14 (.689)
Standings: Second, Pacific
At Home: 18-6
On Road: 13-8

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

<font size="4">
<font color="DarkOrange">Knicks Starters</font></font>
PG: Stephon Marbury
39.6mpg 20.0ppg 3.0rpg 8.2apg

SG: Jamal Crawford
37.1mpg 19.1ppg 2.9rpg 3.7apg

SF: Trevor Ariza
17.3mpg 5.5ppg 2.8rpg 1.4apg

PF: Kurt Thomas
36.6mpg 11.5ppg 9.7rpg 2.0apg

C: Nazr Mohammed
29.7mpg 11.8ppg 8.7rpg 0.6apg

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

Moochie Norris
10.7mpg 2.7ppg 1.3rpg 1.2apg

Jamison Brewer
11.5mpg 2.2ppg 1.1rpg 0.5apg

Vin Baker
7.6mpg 1.4ppg 1.5rpg 0.3apg

Bruno Sundov
4.5mpg 1.7ppg 0.8rpg 0.1apg

Complete Knicks Stats

<font size="4">
<font color="Indigo">Kings Starters</font></font>
PG: Mike Bibby
38.1mpg 17.5ppg 4.4rpg 6.apg

SG: Cuttino Mobley ?
34.1mpg 17.6ppg 3.0rpg 2.4apg

SF: Matt Barnes
15.2mpg 3.7ppg 3.0rpg 1.2apg

PF: Darius Songailia
19.3.3mpg 6.5ppg 4.1rpg 1.0apg

C: Brad Miller
36.8mpg 15.2ppg 9.36rpg 3.7apg

<font size="3">Bench</font>
Maurice Evans
17.5mpg 6.5ppg 2.6rpg 0.7apg

Kevin Martin
10.7mpg 2.9ppg 1.5rpg 0.6apg

Michael Bradley
6.3mpg 1.5ppg 1.6rpg 0.3apg

Greg Ostertag
9.7mpg 1.6ppg 2.7rpg 0.5apg

Eddie House
15.8mpg 6.8ppg 1.3rpg 1.4apg

Complete Kings Stats


<font size="4">
<font color="Red">Injuries:</font></font>
<font color="DarkOrange">NYK:</font>
<font size="4">?</font>

and

Tim Thomas(questionable) and Allan Houston

<font color="Indigo">SAC:</font>

<font size="4">?</font>

Chris Webber, Peja Stojackovic, Bobby Jackson, Erick Daniels, Cuttino Mobley(probable)

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

vs.

PG: It is Marbury and Mike Bibby going head to head at this matchup. Mike Bibby is a great point guard that is overshadowed by everyone else on the team. I think this is similar to what Nash went through in Dallas. He was a great point guard however, it wasn?t until he left that everyone really saw how good he was. If Bibby were to leave Sacramento, everyone would see his prowess at the 1 overshadowed by Peja, and Webber. Bibby can also shoot the 3 pointer very fluidly. He also has great handle. I remember him shaking up Penny Hardaway last year in Arco. He is a good penetrator and creator so Marbury must keep him in check. Most of our points in the paint are due to cleaning up the messes of our frontcourt. Marbury?s defenseive role will be very important tonight.

vs. <font size="4">?</font>

SG: Jamal Crawford has Cuttino the cat Meowbly on him lol. 44Thrilla?s favorite player may not be in the line up. He was out last game against the Warriors with back spasms. If he is here, Crawford needs to watch out for his shooting. He was brought in to substitute the havoc that Bobby Jackson created before he had a season ending injury. Crawford needs to put a body on him on defense. He is capable and fully talented enough to give Mobley a tough time. He is taller, has longer arms, and can match his quickness. The question is will the effort be there tonight.

vs.

SF: Ariza has a good match on him, a good energy player that kind of resembles him. He is physically stronger than Ariza and is capable of giving him a hard time in the post. Ariza is still a good defender anyway and can give him trouble on offense though. Barnes is still yet to develop the consistent shot and Ariza needs to remember that. He is also a pretty bad freethrow shooter at 59.5%. Did Nazr even shoot that badly? I don?t want a hack-a-Barnes type of situation, we need to foul in moderation. With players out we can ill afford foul trouble.

vs.

PF: A big man that comes into the game bringing great mobility, exuberance, and shooting to the floor. He can not be forgotten about because his jumper his decent. From what I remember about him, Kurt Thomas might have his hands full tonight. He sometimes has trouble with the forwards like that. Will Jerome Williams be a better option? I guess we will have to wait and see. Kurt Thomas? midrange game needs to be on target tonight. If it is it relaxes the stress at the 1, and puts points on the board. Songaila has not really proved himself defensively and I think someone like Michael Sweetney can give him a rough time.

vs.

C: This Brad Miller character has been doing his thing for the last couple of games. He is definitely on his way to a player of the week award. Just last game he had 38 and 17 rebounds. Two games before he had 27 points and 15 rebounds. Nazr has his hands full today. Last time we played against the Kings, Miller was shooting the lights out because no body really pressured him. Nazr needs to play smart offense and smart defense. He needs to do the dirty work and rebound and actually give us a presence. Nazr has been erratic thus far this season. Tonight on a series of losses is a bad time for Nazr to have left his game in the hotel.

<font size="3"><font color="DarkOrange">Knicks Bench Summary</font></font>
We might have Tim Thomas back from the injury. It is a 50/50 situation for us. If we have Tim Thomas, he needs to play off the bench. On the bench he was decent for Milwaukee and maybe he can do the same for us. I know he was in contention for 6th man of the year a while ago. Good thing Hardaway is here to stay. I think even if Tim plays horribly believe it or not, his presence alone might give us confidence and make us feel more of a team. At least I hope. Then he?ll be good for something.

<font size="3"><font color="Blue">Kings Bench Summary:</font></font>
No Jackson so we have less to fear. The 02-03 6th man of the year is injured for the rest of the season. The Kings bench is still pretty strong. They have Maurice Evans who gave us a ton of problems with his athleticism, and our lackadaisical defense. There bench is somewhat chopped away with 2 and possibly 3 players from the starting lineup who were injuried.

<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.

Bibby
Mike Bibby and Stephon Marbury are the key matchup tonight, especially with everyone suffering from injuries tonight on both teams. Both are exciting players to watch. Since players are missing from each individuals team, their roles become more important as they simultaneously get everyone involved while scoring. These are the two best head to head competitors at this position and it is no wonder why it is a key matchup. Last meeting at NY, Bibby made key baskets down the stretch, and Marbury?s heroics is what got us into the game after we fell behind. Now, they are head to head and Marbury and the Knicks are in Arco. This will definitely be an interesting one, I wonder what will go down.


<font size="4">My Prediction:</font>
Yet another dog fight at hand. So much history we have with Sacramento. They barely win here, we barely win there. I do think we will win because they won over there, but what really makes it a very winnable game for us is Chris Webber AND Peja are gone from the game. Maybe even Cuttino Mobley! We are still in for a tough game as any team in the league is tough for us. On paper it looks really good for us but effort isn?t measured on paper. On paper we should be a top seed in the east. I hope we don?t come out lethargic and effortless tonight because they are gone. This will just have to make us in a better situation. With all of our supposed ?winnable? games passing by, we MUST take advantage of opportunities like these. I am predicting a win for us, 100-95. I really hope I am right. We need a win NY, I don?t want to have to talk about Hakim Warrick or anyone else. If we want to take back the division, we MUST win!

<font color="RED"><font size="4">THIS GAME IS AT 10:00 NOT AT THE USUAL 7:30.</font></font>

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

 

[Beat]

This team is missing three of their best players. Our team is missing only one of our best(Tim Thomas) and some other guy(other guy) The odds are in our favor and i think we can win this..... As a matter of fact i think they will lose. These a the exact situations that they fail to take advantage of.

 

[Tribute to H2O]

Good preview. TT isnt going to play though not that it's a big deal. I dont know what to think anymore. Weeks ago before this nightmare started I would have called the Knicks to win in a second but now....I still say the Knicks will win. The Kings have alot of injury problems and I think the Knicks are going to use this win to get back on track. I predict 92-85.

 

[Mr. J]

^Thanks Tribute. I really do spend a lot of time on the previews and I'm glad you read them. Some people just post in them during halftime, or after the game and really don't read them. I'm glad I'm not wasting my time!

Yeah, I was thinking about the same thing but, Webber AND Peja and maybe Mobley. WOW, it's almost impossible to lose a game like this. We don't take advantage of situations but when you lose 40+ points 14 rebounds and 7 assists, I think we should win this game but again, this is the New York Knicks. Anything is possible.

 

[onetwo88]

it says on the top right corner of http://www.insidehoops.com that tim thomas has been activated saturday night

 

[Mr. J]

Wow, this defense and energy in the first quarter so far is AMAZING. We are playing like we don't want to lose! Hopefully it can LAST throughout the whole game. Look at Mohammed!

 

[Mr. J]

<font size="7">Halftime</font>
Knicks 61

Kings 54

<font color="DarkOrange">
<font size="4">Knicks Leading Scorers:</font></font>
Tim Thomas: 14 FG's:6-8

Nazr Mohammed: 14 FG's 7-8

Stephon Marbury: 8 FG's: 4-7

Trevor Ariza: 8 FG's: 4-6

<font color="Indigo"><font size="4">
Cavaliers Leading Scorers:</font></font>
Brad Miller 21 FG's: 6-11

Mike Bibby 15 FG's: 7-10

,

Matt Barnes 5 FG's: 2-3

Kevin Martin 5 FG's: 2-4

<font size="4"><font color="Red">mrj18's Hot at the Half Player:</font></font>
<font size="2">Tim Thomas</font>

Whoa, whoa, whoa! When did this happen! WOW. Our beloved Tim Thomas is the hot at the half player! Tim was killing out there. 14 points in 8 minutes? Wow, it was almost as if every possession I was like what is Tim going to do now! Shooting that banker (hey it went in lol), That spin move and those layups. The only time I remember Tim Thomas playing this well was in a preseason game against Utah. He had 19 points in only the 3rd quarter. This looks like a brand new Tim. At least we all hope it is. If Tim Thomas played like this or even similar to this every single game, we would be a pretty good team. I wonder if this is a lucky game or whether Thomas is a really good player off the bench! He would give us all sorts of depth if it is! Anyway, great first half, or should I say second quarter from Tim. He truly deserved the honor of getting the mrj18 Hot At The Half Player Award!

<font size="4">My Prediction:</font>
Bibby and Brad are killing us. I can even see Bibby he is a quick clever and slick guard, but Brad Miller? Don't get me wrong he is a good player but many of his points were from the freethrow line and from jumpers. Let's simply put a body on him and give him trouble. I don't think he can shoot with a hand in his face on a consistent basis so no need for silly fouls especially from Bruno. If we can contain these two I see about a 15 point win however, I don't think we will. I am taking my Knicks by a score of 105-95 though. We need this game, EVERYONE in the Atlantic won so games like this are very crucial. Let's see what's good with the second half. Hopefully it will even be more prosperous then the first!

 

[Tribute to H2O]

Brad Miller is killing us because of Bibby. Mohammed cant be in two places at once. Once he has to help Marbury, Miller gets a good look and he's hitting them tonight. Not really his fault. We all know how TT operates. Good game followed by a series of nothing games. This is a high scoring game even though Crawford isnt really involved(which isnt neccessarily a bad thing). The Knicks have come out with some intensity in the third quarter so it looks like were going to win this one. Keep your fingers crossed. I'm going to change my predicted score, I still say Knicks win by seven but the final score will be 102-95.

 

[jbbHardaway]

Marbury and Thomas are shot hot!

 

[Tribute to H2O]

WOW!!! I wish I could say I was surprised. But when you miss that many free throws...well you cant expect to win close games. I dont know what to say. I'm stunned. This game was in the bag and we need to look no further than freethrows to see how it got out of the bag. Crawford was useless and could have iced the game down the stretch. But no he had to be unclutch and miss the free throw. Short of a miracle(i.e. Houston coming to play tomorrow at 100%, and that's not going to happen) this season is over. Someone has to be traded now if we want to salvage what's left. I'm just wondering what's going on in that locker room. Maybe a fight because God knows I would hit someone, probably Crawford, after a loss like that.

 

[jbbHardaway]

(0:37) [SAC 113-115] Bibby Jump Shot: Made (40 PTS) Assist: Barnes (2 AST)
<font color="Red"> (0:34) [NYK] Hardaway Turnover: Bad Pass (3 TO) Steal: Barnes (3 ST) </font>
(0:31) [SAC 115-115] Miller Layup Shot: Made (35 PTS) Assist: Barnes (3 AST)
(0:31) [NYK] T. Thomas Foul: Shooting (4 PF)
(0:31) [SAC] Miller Free Throw 1 of 1 missed
(0:31) [NYK] K. Thomas Rebound (Off:3 Def:14)
(0:24) [NYK] Team Timeout: Regular
(0:24) [NYK] Ariza Substitution replaced by Crawford
<font color="Red"> (0:12) [NYK] Hardaway Jump Shot: Missed </font>
(0:10) [SAC] Evans Rebound (Off:2 Def:2)
(0:09) [SAC] Team Timeout: Regular
(0:09) [NYK] Crawford Substitution replaced by Ariza
<font color="Red"> (0:06) [NYK] Hardaway Foul: Shooting (4 PF) </font>
(0:06) [SAC] Barnes Free Throw 1 of 2 missed
(0:06) [SAC] Team Rebound
(0:06) [SAC 116-115] Barnes Free Throw 2 of 2 (16 PTS)
(0:06) [NYK] Team Timeout: Regular
(0:06) [NYK] Ariza Substitution replaced by Crawford
<font color="Red"> (0:01) [NYK] Hardaway Turnover: Lost Ball (4 TO) Steal: Barnes (4 ST) </font>
(0:00) End Period


what's matter of penny?

 

[Mr. J]

And you thought Doug Brien was a choke artist?

How many games have we lost like this? We had that game wrapped up! What more evidence does this Isiah need? Don't give me that contract crap! Give me a W! Come on this is just ridiculous. Who said anytime TT plays well we lose?

Anyway, horrible game, no defense, silly plays, and we choked. Hardaway really killed us. What I really want to know is...

<font size="3"><u>WHY ISN'T ISIAH DOING ANYTHING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!</u></font>
Too busy on Marbury and Crawford's meat rack to do anything huh?

 

[jbbHardaway]

i hope the starting line-up is...
pgenny/Crawford
sg:Marbury/Crawford
sfenny/TT
Pf:KT
C:Nazr

but the coach never put penny in starting line-up..although penny has play bad game tonight,but he still a good point guard

 

[Ming637]

Ha, Penny Hardaway only deserves what his name is, "Penny"

. Yea well anyways, Starbury and Crawford always had problems with knocking down free throws and c'mon, the Knicks need to learn how to take care of the leads and close out games properly. I don't know what Isiah is thinking not making any transactions at a time like this.

Get rid of Penny man.

 

[Tribute to H2O]

<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Ming637:</div><div class="quote_post">Ha, Penny Hardaway only deserves what his name is, "Penny"

. Yea well anyways, Starbury and Crawford always had problems with knocking down free throws and c'mon, the Knicks need to learn how to take care of the leads and close out games properly. I don't know what Isiah is thinking not making any transactions at a time like this.

Get rid of Penny man.</div>

Penny made some mistakes down the stretch but the bigger reason why we lost this game is because of Marbury's and Crawford's missed free throws. Marbury and Crawford are both good free throw shooters until the end of game when they matter most. This game would have been over at the 4 minute mark if we could hit free throws which is fatal in close games. I'm extremely disappointed with Crawford. What do you guys think we can get for him?

 

[Mr. J]

^Maybe if we can find some stupid takers, we might be able to get a pack of cherry Kool-Aid. That's probably a bit unreasonable from their stand point but maybe if we add some throw-ins we can get someone to take it.

 

[Mr. J]

WHY did Marbury pass up that shot?? We saw the same thing in Dallas and other games. If you were that hot, why would you do that? Where's my grandmother? Go put her on the Knicks!

 

[VintageNYK]

<div class="quote_poster">Quoting mrj18:</div><div class="quote_post">WHY did Marbury pass up that shot?? We saw the same thing in Dallas and other games. If you were that hot, why would you do that? Where's my grandmother? Go put her on the Knicks!</div>
<u>
A FREAKIN MEN!</u>

 

[Beat]

This is what I expected from the Knicks. I once heard someone say they've seen the Knicks beat the greastest teams and lose to the worst, all in one week. Thats not the case here but the knicks dont take advantage like i said earlier. Its a shame that the only reason I watchedf this game was to see what they would do to lose the game. Other teams are not beating us we're losing the games ourself.

 

[Platehpus]

<div class="quote_poster">Quoting mrj18:</div><div class="quote_post">Anyway, horrible game, no defense, silly plays, and we choked. Hardaway really killed us. What I really want to know is...
</div>
Actually, we played very well up untill the 4th quarter. You even said it yourself, why go back on your word now?

Anyways, as usual we played no defense but we actually outscored a team for once. Of course, in typical Knicks fashion, we find a way to lose. It's nothing new, and in fact every Knicks fan should be pretty used to it now. Tim Thomas came out and actually played to his potential just to get back into the starting lineup when he's healthy again. This means we'll have to put up with his lazy ass unless Herb realizes what he's doing.

Also, what happend to Marbury at the 2? I was all excited for it.

 

[Mr. J]

<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Platehpus:</div><div class="quote_post">Actually, we played very well up untill the 4th quarter. You even said it yourself, why go back on your word now?

Anyways, as usual we played no defense but we actually outscored a team for once. Of course, in typical Knicks fashion, we find a way to lose. It's nothing new, and in fact every Knicks fan should be pretty used to it now. Tim Thomas came out and actually played to his potential just to get back into the starting lineup when he's healthy again. This means we'll have to put up with his lazy ass unless Herb realizes what he's doing.

Also, what happend to Marbury at the 2? I was all excited for it.</div>
^I commented on that with about 7 minutes to go in the 1st Quarter. If we lose the way we did, it automatically makes the game horrible. Silly plays at the end got us in trouble. We played no defense and our offense was clicking.

 

[Platehpus]

Horrible to the naked eye, but the game is 48 minutes and just because we imploded in the 4th quarter doesn't mean we played horrible. We had a few bright spots, such as Nazr playing great in the paint with zest and finesse and the entire team attacking the basket. It's too bad we ended up blowing it, but there are a lot of pluses we can take out of this game.

 

[Mr. J]

There are but, the most important thing is the W. Looking back 10 years from now you're not going to remember the pluses, but, what you might remember is the Knicks record. We have 1 less win than what we should have had. The way we played in the last 3 and 1/2 minutes makes the whole game horrible.

 

[Platehpus]

I guess you're blinded or something, because this season is lost and all we can do now is look for positives. We made large strides, and it's something to look forward to. Stop thinking short-term and look towards the future, mrisiah18.

 

[Mr. J]

<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Platehpus:</div><div class="quote_post">I guess you're blinded or something, because this season is lost and all we can do now is look for positives. We made large strides, and it's something to look forward to. Stop thinking short-term and look towards the future, mrisiah18.</div>