Indiana Pacers and New York Knicks: Preseason Preview
Indiana Pacers and New York Knicks
May 9, 2012; Miami, FL, USA; New York Knicks power forward Amare Stoudemire (left) with small forward Carmelo Anthony (right) after Stoudemire fouls out of the game during the second half of game five in the Eastern Conference quarterfinals against the Miami Heat of the 2012 NBA Playoffs at the American Airlines Arena. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-US PRESSWIRE
New York Knicks Off Season Recap
The Knicks thought they had something in place to land Steve Nash, but that never happened, so they went to plan B and signed Jason Kidd. He’s still got some good left in him and he should be able to help get Carmelo Anthony the ball as much as Carmelo Anthony wants the ball. But there were other moves the Knicks made that didn’t make much sense. Sending off plenty of young players to get some older veterans who are past their prime back in return, like Marcus Camby. When’s the last season Marcus Camby has been worth much? Raymond Felton is headed to the Knicks as well, but he’s not worth all the pieces the Knicks gave up. They did resign a couple of there guys in J.R. Smith and Steve Novak, so keeping some of the same pieces there could be a good thing for the Knicks. You still wonder where they will end up in the Eastern Conference.
If things work out and Jason Kidd can lead this team, they are probably headed to the playoffs. With a healthy Amar’e Stoudemire and Carmelo Anthony playing with his head straight, there’s talent on the team. But you do have to wonder how much defense this team will play and if they can keep up with that end of the floor. Also, if Jeremy Lin is able to do something special in Houston, people in New York will be screaming about the Knicks not resigning him. It’s going to be interesting to watch what happens from both sides of the fence in Houston and New York.
Indiana Pacers and New York Knicks Match up
Remember last season when Danny Granger called out the Knicks and said they were winnable games, but then the Pacers lost two straight to the Knicks? Hopefully that doesn’t happen again. Sure, the Knicks are a beatable team when you consider the Pacers are the more talented team, so therefore the Pacers should take care of business. Especially if you consider the fact that these teams could possibly meet in the playoffs and that would bring back the memories of years ago with Knicks and Pacers.
But for now, the Pacers have the advantage of being the better teams, and better teams win out against not so good competition. Some of the match ups to watch are George Hill going against Jason Kidd. Hill has some good defense, and can slow down Kidd a bit.
There’s also the battle of big men in Tyson Chandler and Roy Hibbert. Once again, defense comes into play. Chandler can hold his own against Hibbert, so it’s important for Hibbert to make some good moves in the post.
The one match up I think will be most interesting to watch is Carmelo Anthony and Danny Granger. Is there that much of a difference between the two guys? Anthony might be a step above Granger. But both guys are scorers. Both guys tend to relax on defense and only play when they look to be that focused. Anthony does have that clutch ability and he will ask for that last shot. So I’ll give the edge to Anthony in that area, but overall, these guys are similar. This is the type of game that I could see Danny Granger stepping up and leading the Pacers to some wins.