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Game 19: New York Knicks v Boston Celtics
Score: 97-80
By: Malcolm Merritt
Email: mjmerritt23@gmail.com
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| The Knicks look to continue their winning streak against their Division Rivals at home. |
After two consecutive wins, it looks like New York’s (5-13)
luck may be changing. They’ve won their last two games by a total of 78 points.
New York is home once again and is looking to re-establish themselves in the
dreadful Eastern Conference. The last two contests, the Knicks have shot 54.7%
from behind the arc. In their first 16 games, they shot 32.2%. The Division
Leading Boston Celtics (9-12) come into town for an afternoon showcase against
the Knicks.
A win against the Celtics is a must for this rejuvenated New
York team. Two wins in a row should not make a team smile. Their record is
still very far from expectations held by themselves and outsiders looking in.
The Celtics were expected to be at the bottom of the division, possibly tanking
for next year’s stacked draft. They aren’t playing well, losing more then they
are winning, but it’s good enough in their current situation. New York and the
other 3 teams ahead of them are on Boston’s tail and this game would make a
huge impact in the Atlantic Division and drastically increase the Knicks hopes
of wining this division.
The last time these two teams played was in the playoffs
last season where New York was expected to sweep them. The Celtics resilience
and pride kept them in the series to bring it to 6 games when they were in a
3-0 hole. That’s the only way the Celtics could possibly avoid a blowout on
Sunday. The Knicks are hungry. They’ve tasted victory and now want more. If the
Celtics show the resilience they showed in their 20-0 run in Game 6 of last
year’s post season, then this game will be very interesting.
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| The Knicks are hoping to continue their barrage of three pointers Sunday Afternoon. |
Under the instruction of rookie coach Brad Stevens, the
Celtics are frail, they are a team without much talent but a team that plays
with cohesiveness. The Knicks need to bury them with points from mid range and
behind the arc in order to make some noise.
My prediction, the Knicks will win 97-80. They will make
3-pointers. They will shoot better than 32% from beyond the arc, but it won’t
be as absurd as their last two games. New York has held it’s last two opponents
to 83 points and that is what will win them this game. They currently hold the
8th ranked defense in the league, only allowing 97.3 ppg. The
Celtics on average only score 94.3 with the 25th overall defense, a
far cry from their performance last year. New York will force turnovers
throughout the game and score in transition as they have been recently pushing
the ball down the court and picking up the tempo.
The Knicks will win the battle on the boards and will be led
by none other than Carmelo Anthony in scoring. He will score 20 points and grab
at least 10 rebounds. As of right now, he leads the team in points (26.5 ppg),
rebounds (9.9 rpg). Andrea Bargnani who now leads the team in blocks (1.6 bpg)
will continue his ferocious defensive display as well as create space in the paint
by drawing out Jared Sullinger, Kris Humphries, and Vitor Faverani. On top of
that, Amar’e Stoudemire seems to have found his niche. The pick and roll game
has worked well for the Knicks and expect him back on the floor doing the same
thing.
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| Carmelo Anthony (7) and Amar'e Stoudemire (1) have run the pick and roll well. |
The Celtics and the Knicks were recently in trade talks that
fell through that would have send Amar’e or Iman Shumpert over to New York. As
of right now, those questions are out the window.
New York is a win now city. New York has two wins in a row
and the fans are ecstatic. Hopefully they can keep the crowd happy.
Bold Prediction: Amar’e
Stoudemire will have more than 10 points.
Tune into the game at 12:00 PM ET on MSG Network!!
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