W2W4: Detroit Pistons vs Brooklyn Nets April 4th, 2014

By Nick Ziegler (@Ziggy26x)

April 4th, 2014

W2W4: Detroit Pistons vs. Brooklyn Nets

Pre-Game News and Notes

barclayscenter.com

The Brooklyn Nets will be back at the Barclays Center looking to bounce back from an embarrassing loss on Wednesday night in Madison Square Garden against the Knicks. Brooklyn is currently 2.5 games behind the Toronto Raptors in the Atlantic Division, and will be looking for some help on Friday from the Pacers, who will be in Toronto.

Match-Up of the Game: Brandon Jennings vs. Deron Williams

The match-up of the game for the Brooklyn Nets has to be at the Point Guard position, as the Nets small lineup will no doubt have their hands full with the monster front court of the Pistons; it puts pressure on Williams to have to outplaying Jennings, and control tempo. In the three games that Jennings has played against Brooklyn this season, despite a poor shooting percentage his stats are pretty good. In the three wins the Pistons have this season against the Nets; Jennings is averaging 16 points, 7.7 assists, and five rebounds per game. Williams has missed one of the losses to the Pistons, but in two games his assist numbers are down at just 4.5 per game, but he is averaging 16 points which is a bit above his season average.

- Rebound

In the Nets three losses to the Pistons this season it has been the frontcourt of the Pistons that have really hurt Brooklyn, as they have been able to dominate the painted area. In the three games, the Pistons are out-rebounding the Nets by 10.3 per game, and out-scoring them in the paint by and average of 23.3 points, which is ridiculous. Andre Drummond has been the main problem for the Nets, as in the last two games the up and coming young Center is averaging 19 points and 17.5 rebounds per game. Kevin Garnett will be missing his 19th straight game so Plumlee will once again be asked to shoulder the load at the Center position.


- Series Sweep

Detroit will be looking for an impressive season series sweep against the Nets, after what has been a disappointing season for a team that had to think with all its off-season moves and a weak Eastern Conference that they would be in the playoffs. Pulling off the sweep will be no easy task however with the Nets at home being backed by a 14-game home winning streak. If the Pistons can pull of the sweep it will be the first time since the 2007-08 season that they did, as that year they won all three games against the then New Jersey Nets.

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Knicks Losing Streak Hits 7

By Kenneth Teape (@teapester725)

Monday, March 3^rd, 2014

New York Knicks vs. Detroit Pistons

Post Game Recap

Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports

This was a rough game to watch for fans of either team, but it hurt a little more for Knicks fans as they fell to the Pistons 96-85 Monday night. The Knicks didn’t not put forth the effort once again and were once again embarrassed by their opponent. The focus and attention to detail just are not there for this team as a playoff run looks as out of the question as ever now. They have completely collapsed after a strong January and look to just be going through the motions as the positives needed to win basketball games are coming far too sporadically for this team. The Knicks losing streak now hits seven as they have lost 13 of their last 15 games and fall to 21-40.

Player of the Game: None

There was no Knicks player that brought it on both ends of the court tonight. The closest person was Jeremy Tyler, who came in and continued to give the energy and competitiveness he has shown all season. With the season all but down the drain he should see his minutes increase. You could also say that Shannon Brown and Earl Clark were players of the game as they didn’t give any negative plays to the Knicks on the court being stapled to the bench and receiving DNP-Coach Decision.

-Positives

Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports

Amar’e Stoudemire was inserted into the starting five and he responded in a big way. Stoudemire poured in 22 points as he had it going all night offensively. He was able to attack the rim and knock down his jump shots when they were presented to him. When Stoudemire is able to get consistent minutes he looks spry and is extremely effective on the offensive end. He also added six rebounds tonight.

Carmelo Anthony didn’t let Stoudemire have all the fun offensively, scoring 28 of his own points. Anthony and Stoudemire looked like the tandem they were supposed to be when the Knicks traded for Anthony. Anthony added five rebounds, two assists and three steals. When your offensive weapons combined for 50 points you would expect to be more in the game than the Knicks were.

-Negatives

The Knicks were an abomination in the rebounding department tonight. The Pistons dominated the boards, out rebounding the Knicks 54-40. The Pistons hurt the Knicks on the offensive glass, as they resulted in easy baskets for the Pistons big men. Andre Drummond was a one-man wrecking crew rebounding for the Pistons as he grabbed a career-high 26; seven offensive and 18 defensive. Tyson Chandler grabbed 18 for the Knicks but he did not impact the game as much as Drummond as he missed multiple point blank shots at the rim on his put-backs.

With Stoudemire and J.R. Smith being inserted into the starting lineup, the bench lost a lot of punch offensively. Tonight the bench was unable to keep up with the bench of the Pistons, as they were outscored 36-7. Overall it was a tough go at it offensively for the Knicks, who shot 38.6 percent overall from the floor. The team looked out of sync outside of the first quarter, turning the ball over 17 times and showing no semblance of an offense. Too often a player would take the ball up, dribble multiple times and hoist up a shot without making a pass or even starting the offense.

For much of the season the guard play has really let the Knicks down and it continued tonight. Tonight it was hard to watch as all the guards combined to shoot 9-41 from the field. What makes it worse is Smith missed his first 10 shots of the game; he only got going once the game was decided. He finished the game 2-17, Raymond Felton was 1-9, Pablo Prigioni was 1-2, Iman Shumpert 2-7 and Tim Hardaway Jr. was 0-6. Hardaway Jr. may have had the most disappointing night of the bunch, as he gave nothing else on the court, recording only one assist as his only other registered stat.

Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports

How Mike Woodson sits on the sideline and doesn’t make changes is mind-boggling. He has players like Tyler and Toure’ Murry that have shown time and time again that when they are inserted into the game they will bring energy every night. Surround that with the right lineup and things start looking like a Knicks team fans have missed all season. Instead he sticks with lineups and rotations that have not worked, making it hard to continue watching this team play and giving little hope of closing the season out on a high note.

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Tim Hardaway Jr. Named to 2014 BBVA Compass Rising Stars Pool

arizonasports.com

NBA All-Star weekend brings out stars and celebrities from all different genres. From the 3-point contest to Slam Dunk competition, there are names to be made on numerous different platforms for NBA players. One aspect of All-Star weekend that is overlooked is the BBVA Compass Rising Star Challenge.

The Rising Star Challenge pits NBA rookies and second year players in a game to showcase the best youngsters in the NBA. The game used to pit the Rookies and Sophomores against each other, but the newest format places players from both years in a pool as TNT personalities will instead draft teams to play against each other. It is a glorified pick-up game but one that up-and-coming NBA players could make a name for themselves in as it is the only time younger players get a chance to show off their talents.

This season the New York Knicks will be represented in the game once again by Tim Hardaway Jr. For a team that has drafted as poorly and held onto younger players as infrequently as the Knicks, they have been well represented in the past couple of seasons. In 2012 Jeremy Lin and Landry Fields both partook for the Knicks, Fields a multiple time participant as he was also named to the team as a rookie in 2011. Danilo Gallinari preceded them in 2010, Wilson Chandler in 2009, David Lee in 2007 and both Channing Frye and Nate Robinson participated in 2006.

Getty Images

Hardaway Jr. is well deserving of a place in the player pool this season, averaging 8.6 points on 45.9 percent shooting from the field, 40.9 percent from behind the three point line and 82.5 from the foul line. Amongst qualifying rookies, Hardaway Jr. ranks fourth in scoring, second in shooting percentage, second in three point shooting percentage and fourth in free throw percentage. Hardaway Jr., who was the 24^th overall pick in the 2013 Draft, looks to have been a steal for the Knicks and someone worth keeping onto for the long haul.

Hardaway Jr. will be joined by 17 other players for the Rising Stars Challenge; Steven Adams, Rookie, Oklahoma City Thunder; Pero Antic, Rookie, Atlanta Hawks; Giannis Antetokounmpo, Rookie, Milwaukee Bucks; Harrison Barnes, Sophomore, Golden State Warriors; Bradley Beal, Sophomore, Washington Wizards; Trey Burke, Rookie, Utah Jazz; Michael Carter-Williams, Rookie, Philadelphia 76ers; Anthony Davis, Sophomore, New Orleans Pelicans; Andre Drummond, Sophomore, Detroit Pistons; Terrence Jones, Sophomore, Houston Rockets; Damian Lillard, Sophomore, Portland Trail Blazers; Victor Oladipo, Rookie, Orlando Magic; Kelly Olynyk, Rookie, Boston Celtics; Mason Plumlee, Rookie, Brooklyn Nets; Jared Sullinger, Sophomore, Boston Celtics; Jonas Valanciunas, Sophomore, Toronto Raptors; Dion Waiters, Sophomore, Cleveland Cavaliers.

Taking a closer look at the list you will be able to reinforce what many people were saying about the 2013 NBA Draft Class being one of the weakest ones ever. Notice that nine lottery picks, Anthony Bennett, Otto Porter, Cody Zeller, Alex Len, Nerlens Noel, Ben McLemore, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, C.J. McCollum and Shabazz Muhammad are all absent from the pool.

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Knicks Hold On Despite 4th Quarter Struggles

By Kenneth Teape (@teapester725)

Tuesday, January 7^th, 2014

Detroit Pistons vs. New York Knicks

Post Game Recap

The Knicks did not make it easy on themselves but they were able to knock off the Pistons at Madison Square Garden 89-85 Tuesday night, ending their four game home losing streak in the process. The Knicks led by 15 to start the fourth quarter and allowed the Pistons to come all the way back but were able to hold them off for the win. The win tonight marks only the second time this season the Knicks have put together consecutive wins; the first came December 5^th and 6^th against the Brooklyn Nets and Orlando Magic.  The Knicks will take the victory, albeit it ugly, as the Knicks will face some of their stiffest competition Thursday in the defending champion Miami Heat.

Player of the Game: Carmelo Anthony

Jim McIsaac

If not for Anthony the result of the game tonight easily could have been in the Pistons favor. Anthony would not let it happen as he willed the Knicks to a win tonight with a game high 34 points. Anthony shot the ball efficiently, shooting 13-24 overall from the field, including a scorching 6-7 from behind the three-point line. Anthony was the catalyst in the third quarter to get the Knicks in control of the game as he nailed three straight three pointers in the middle of a 15-0 Knicks run. He added a fast break dunk to punctuate the run. Anthony helped the Knicks ice the game playing outstanding one-on-one defense against Josh Smith on the Pistons last offensive possession and grabbed the offensive rebound off Raymond Felton’s missed free throw with seven seconds left. He added four rebounds, two assists, four steals and one block on the night to round out his stat line.

-Positives

Andrea Bargnani was faced with a tough assignment going against an outstanding rebounding team but he held his own in the game. Bargnani finished the game with a team high 11 rebounds and the highest +/- on the team with +17. The Knicks were very productive with Bargnani on the court as he also added a little scoring, putting in 13 points on 6-13 shooting. It would have been encouraging to see Bargnani score a little more but the fight he showed on the glass made up for it.

Without Kenyon Martin it is hard to imagine the Knicks even having as many wins as they have this season. The intensity and tone he brings to the game is matched by no one on this team; when he is on the court good things happen. Tonight was one of those nights once again as Martin stepped into the starting lineup for Tyson Chandler and they didn’t miss a beat. Martin scored six points, pulled down seven rebounds and handed out five assists. Any production Martin gives on the offensive end is an added bonus.

Jim O'Connor/USA TODAY Sports

Raymond Felton returned form his hamstring injury tonight and looked to be in great shape. He got into the paint and attacked the basket with ease in the opening quarter, making for easy scoring opportunities for himself and his teammates. He finished the game with 12 points (4-9 overall, 1-2 3pt, 3-4 FT), two rebounds and six assists. Felton did start to fatigue down the stretch but was able to make it through the game without re-aggravating any injuries.

Iman Shumpert didn’t have the gaudy scoring numbers or an insane scoring stretch like on the Texas road trip but he still had an impact on the game tonight. Shumpert grabbed six rebounds, dished five assists and came away with two steals. The most impressive thing he did on the night was hold Brandon Jennings in check even though he had some early foul trouble. Jennings, who has killed the Knicks throughout his career, especially at Madison Square Garden, was held to five points on 2-12 shooting. The Knicks played solid defense overall on the night, holding the Pistons to 37.2 percent shooting for the game.

-Negatives

At this point the Knicks cannot be picky about wins but this one they were lucky to come away with. Outside of Anthony the Knicks offense was abysmal, combining to score only 55 points on 35.1 percent shooting (20-57 from the field, 3-19 3pt). The Knicks will need a better performance from their supporting cast Thursday night or else the Heat will run them off the court.

Al Bello/Getty Images

It is never easy when you don’t have your starting center but the Knicks got hammered on the boards tonight. The Pistons man handled the Knicks in the rebounding department, out rebounding the Knicks 54-38. Andre Drummond and Greg Monroe has their way in the paint, grabbing 17 and 11 rebounds respectively as the Knicks had no ways of slowing them down.

The fourth quarter let down by the Knicks is unacceptable. Jennings has questioned his team before, saying they give up too easily but tonight they fought until the very end; it was the Knicks who looked to pack it in being up 15 entering the final quarter. The Knicks need to stop reverting back to bad habits as the offense stalled. The combination of isolation plays being called and Felton losing steam because his conditioning is not up to par yet resulted in a disastrous fourth quarter fort he Knicks that saw them get outscored 27-16.

Mike Woodson still does not seem to put this team in the best position to win with the rotations and lineups he decides on. Tonight Felton was pushed to the max and it almost cost the Knicks as he had two costly turnovers while the Pistons mounted their comeback. Also J.R. Smith somehow was able to get 30 minutes of playing time again giving the Knicks almost no impact; he finished with only six points and -10. The Knicks will also fall into luls like in the fourth quarter as Woodson continues to show blind loyalties to certain players.  

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