Game 67/82: Knicks (24-43) @ C’s (42-24)

Posted by Brian Robb on Mar 17, 2010 68143 commentshttp%3A%2F%2Fcelticshub.com%2F2010%2F03%2F17%2Fgame-6782-knicks-24-43-cs-42-24%2FGame+67%2F82%3A+Knicks+%2824-43%29+%40+C%27s+%2842-24%292010-03-17+19%3A52%3A20Brian+Robbhttp%3A%2F%2Fcelticshub.com%2F%3Fp%3D6814

New York at Boston
7:30 P.M. EST.
TD Garden
Local TV/Radio: CSN/WEEI

Offensive Efficiency:

Boston: 107.2 points/100 possessions (15th)

Knicks: 106.9 points/100 possessions (18th)

Defensive Efficiency:

Boston: 102.3 points allowed/100 possessions (1st)

Knicks: 109.9 points allowed/100 possessions (23rd)

Probable NYK starters:

Danilo Gallinari, Al Harrington/Bill Walker, David Lee, Toney Douglas, Tracy McGrady

Injury Report

Knicks: OUT: Eddie House (achilles) Wilson Chandler (knee)

Thumbnail: The Knicks return to town once again to finish off a 6-game road swing, riding some momentum after crushing Dallas over the weekend and beating Philly Monday night. They will be shorthanded off the bench with no Chandler and House, which means plenty of run for old friend Bill Walker as well a Chris Duhon sighting in all probability. Meanwhile, the C’s look for their 3rd straight home blowout on St. Patty’s day over an inferior squad, in an attempt to sustain some momentum before an upcoming stretch of 4 games against tough Western foes.

WHAT THE KNICKS DO WELL:

This is a tough category to define for the New Yorkers given how much change in personnel they’ve had over the few weeks. The fact is though that they have played well in the last couple weeks (4-6) including a couple of wins over semi-contenders (Atlanta, Dallas) so they can play with the big boys if they get hot.

* Defend The 3 Ball

For a poor defensive team, this is the one thing they do quite well on that end on the floor, limiting their opponents to just 33.8 percent shooting from downtown this year, good for 5^th in the league. Why this is I’m not too sure, but their strong perimeter defense definitely does not translate well to the interior.

*Take Care of the Ball

9^th in the league in turnover percentage…..not exactly world beaters, but a heck of a lot better than your Boston Celtics. New personnel though in the form of Spanish Chocolate and Tracy McGrady could change this.

WHAT THE KNICKS DO POORLY:

Lots to pick from here, so let’s just make a nice laundry list of items to choose from:

Shooting

Doesn’t matter from where it is on the floor (45%) or from deep (33%), they don’t do it well

*Rebounding

Rank in the bottom 5 in both offensive and defensive rebounding percentage. That will happen when your 2^nd best rebounder is Al Harrington at 5.6/game. David Lee is terrific, but gets no help down low

Defending the interior

As noted above, when your 2nd best big man rebounder is Al Harrington, it likely indicates a bit of a problem in the paint defending big men. David Lee is no world-beater inside either on the defensive side of things.

PLAYER/S WHO MAKE ME WORRY:

* David Lee

His offensive rebounding and efficient movement without the ball have always given the C’s some trouble. As long as the C’s keep him to just 20-10, they will be fine, but Perk and company need to pay extra close attention to him on the boards tonight, given their rebounding problems this year.

PLAYER/S WHO DO NOT MAKE ME WORRY:

* Tracy McGrady

If the C’s can’t contain him, this team has no hope come playoff time.

WHAT WE WANT TO SEE FROM THE C’s TONIGHT:

* Pound The Interior

As I said before, the Knicks front line right now is extremely thin. In fact their depth chart at center consists of David Lee, Jonathan Bender (yes, the former Pacer) and Al Harrington. KG seems to have gotten his groove back offensively these last couple games as has Perk. Strong interior play will open up the outside game as well as potentially put the Knicks biggest threat against the C’s (David Lee) in foul trouble.

* Focus

Pretty self explanatory.

PREDICTION: This one stays tight early on, but the Celtics pull away easily in the 2^nd half.  Celtics 109, Knicks 91