Both teams have different strengths.
This is a game where I think all of Willy G CA KP and Oquinn should dominate inside. Im looking for big Willy to score 13-15 points and have his best game of the year.
We dont match up with their cadre of guards but most teams cannot. We need to slow the pace some and let our superior front-court get good looks which should also provide excellent looks for our guards.
I think our team might be better without Noah--although he might be helpful in particular match ups. if let free I think BOTH Oquinn and Willy have very decent offensive upside BUt I also think BOTH have shown very solid defensive skills so far.
It will be a tough game based on Portlands ability to make 3's but Im looking for the W as they have been on a long road trip.
Give briggs a game thread cred!!!!
BRIGGS wrote:Both teams have different strengths.This is a game where I think all of Willy G CA KP and Oquinn should dominate inside. Im looking for big Willy to score 13-15 points and have his best game of the year.
We dont match up with their cadre of guards but most teams cannot. We need to slow the pace some and let our superior front-court get good looks which should also provide excellent looks for our guards.
I think our team might be better without Noah--although he might be helpful in particular match ups. if let free I think BOTH Oquinn and Willy have very decent offensive upside BUt I also think BOTH have shown very solid defensive skills so far.
It will be a tough game based on Portlands ability to make 3's but Im looking for the W as they have been on a long road trip.
yes. were much better without noah. it allows KP to play the stretch 5
this game is "winnable". portland has a potent offense but theyre defense SUCKS. its made up of a small backcourt that gets destroyed with screens and absolutely NO interior defense
This is an unusual game for sure. I don't think you can have the defensive strategy of just shutting the guards down. Lillard and Mason Plumlee (?!?!) lead the Blazers in APG at 4.5. Their group of guards is definitely elite and better than most teams but their frontcourt is unconventional and that can cause problems for other teams on its own.
They are 8-7.
Im sure the Knicks will respect them and like any NBA team, you get hot, all games are winnable.
Knicks have a couple of ways they can gameplan IMO
they need to hit their shots (tough for other team to run on made shots) and they need to play 48 minutes of defense because Portland can score in bunches if you let up
Hoping Lee and Holiday bring the D
The "we are better without Noah" stuff is equal parts old and dumb. Are the some matchups that are better with him off the floor? Yea.. there might be. Boy people have a short memory though. Hawks might be the first win of the season where he wasnt a big part of what we did right.
Their explosive backcourt vs our not-great-at-defending backcourt has me worried, but I really can't peg our team right now- who knows what they'll do!
On a side note, is it just me who feels there's an absolute dearth of decent knick writings this year?- over the past few seasons we've lost Beck, Hahn, Zwerling and now Chris Herring. There are now no decent Knick writers, instead we're stuck with Bermen and Isola, seemingly forever, but a bit of a dampener on following the team...
smackeddog wrote:On a side note, is it just me who feels there's an absolute dearth of decent knick writings this year?- over the past few seasons we've lost Beck, Hahn, Zwerling and now Chris Herring. There are now no decent Knick writers, instead we're stuck with Bermen and Isola, seemingly forever, but a bit of a dampener on following the team...
I dont think people read the newspapers that much anymore--its a dinosaur.
Be fun to see the "Brothers Plumlee" have at it for a few minutes!!!
BRIGGS wrote:smackeddog wrote:On a side note, is it just me who feels there's an absolute dearth of decent knick writings this year?- over the past few seasons we've lost Beck, Hahn, Zwerling and now Chris Herring. There are now no decent Knick writers, instead we're stuck with Bermen and Isola, seemingly forever, but a bit of a dampener on following the team...
I dont think people read the newspapers that much anymore--its a dinosaur.
I don't read a physical newspaper anymore but I like reading articles by professionals. Otherwise, you're left with some shitty blog post by Eny etc
SupremeCommander wrote:BRIGGS wrote:smackeddog wrote:On a side note, is it just me who feels there's an absolute dearth of decent knick writings this year?- over the past few seasons we've lost Beck, Hahn, Zwerling and now Chris Herring. There are now no decent Knick writers, instead we're stuck with Bermen and Isola, seemingly forever, but a bit of a dampener on following the team...
I dont think people read the newspapers that much anymore--its a dinosaur.
I don't read a physical newspaper anymore but I like reading articles by professionals. Otherwise, you're left with some shitty blog post by Eny etc
Hey I haven't wrote a blog since Amare was here. I'm thinking of launching it again....
you can all find me on Facebook under "diehard Knicks blog"... I have like 5 followers but I post stuff all the time. Stop by and give me a "like".... the more knick related stuff you see on your time line the better.
Whoa - a Briggs game thread! I like it!
I agree, it's an interesting matchup for the Knicks. With a decent shot at a win.
Knicks go as KP go, so lets hope its KP night again :)
Portland looked pretty good in the two halves of games I watched. However, they really, really needed Festus Ezeli to be up and running and integrated into the team. Assuming his injuries aren't chronic, I suspect he'll be a significant contributor . . . and when he is, Portland will be a better team. They are, IMO, slightly better than their record but the Knicks have a good chance tonight.
Given that this is a home game after a very nice win it would be really, really nice to see the Knicks come out as aggressors on offense and defense, push the action and generally exude a confidence that this game is theirs. Frankly if they don't display that type of approach after the last win, which was a huge bounce back win after the worst game of the year, a character-building win for a team in dire need of building character, it will be hugely disappointing from a mental approach standpoint. And since it appears the talent is there on this team, it really is all about the mental approach for these Knicks. The will to fight every minute of every game and win > 50% of them, and to not fold to any team. The smarts to aggressively exploit mismatches when of offense (KP anyone?) and get after it as aggressors on defense. The Knicks really need to show that tonight. Even if they do lose the game tonight, let's say by single digits, but they fight and are competitive the whole way I can live with that. I can't accept mental fails and lack of intensity. I can't accept muscle memory of losing plays, poor habits, those that help build future losses, as we have seen too often over the last 10+ years.
Knicks look a little sloppy early, on both ends.
