Three Things to Watch for: Wizards at Knicks 11/4
By Jesse Jones
Washington’s offense vs. New York’s defense
Apr 4, 2014; New York, NY, USA; Washington Wizards center Marcin Gortat (4) is blocked by New York Knicks power forward Amar
Over the past two games, new head coach Derek Fisher has the Knicks playing defense. Yes, you read that correctly. The New York Knicks are actually playing defense. I don’t think anybody has said that since the Patrick Ewing days.
Carmelo Anthony & Co. forced LeBron James into eight turnovers last Thursday in the greatest sporting event ever. They also forced 19 turnovers.
Against Charlotte and the new-look Hornets, New York continued to force turnovers, causing Charlotte to commit 12 and held the Hornets to just 13 points in the fourth quarter.
However, the Knicks shot defense has not been particularly well so far this season. The Cavaliers shot 45.7 percent from the floor last Thursday, while the Hornets made 47.1 percent of its shots.
While Washington is averaging 15 turnovers a game this season, they’ve shot the ball just over 50 percent from the floor and are averaging almost 103 points per game this season, according to ESPN.com.
Washington’s bigs should also have a day against New York.
Marcin Gortat is off to a tremendous start to the 2014-15 campaign. Offensively, he’s scoring a hair over 19 points per game on 63.4 percent shooting. Nene is averaging 17 points per game (he missed the opener due to suspension) and has made 68.2 percent of his baskets.
Both Samuel Dalembert and Amare Stoudemire are shells of themselves at this point in their careers. Dalembert, 33, is averaging just 16 minutes per game. Stoudemire, 31, is putting up slightly better numbers than last season, 12.3 points and 7.3 rebounds per game, but hasn’t shown he can play with the best of them in a number of years.
Did I mention that starting power forward Quincy Acy has a sprained wrist? Good luck fighting for a loose ball with Nene.
If the Wizards can limit their turnovers and work the ball down low while getting some fast break points from Wall, Washington should be able to neutralize a recently tough New York defense.