New York Knicks vs. Atlanta Hawks - NBA Preview
The injury-ravaged New York Knicks will look continue the good fight on Friday, March 30, 2012 as they visit the Atlanta Hawks at the Philips Arena.
Knicks survived without their playmakers Amar’e Stoudemire and Jeremy Lin in the previous two games and are currently on a 3 game winning streak, flying high under the aegis of Mike Woodson.
Under Woodson, the Knicks have picked up defensively and are allowing an average of 86.0 points per game, a phenomenal improvement from 96.5 points per game under Mike D’ Antoni. They have also transformed from being a fast paced
offensive battery to a slower half court ball playing unit and the result is that the Knicks have now won seven of the last eight and have greatly consolidated their grasp on the last playoff spot available in the Eastern Conference.
"As a coach I'm always interested in when you're short-handed who's going to step up and make plays?" Woodson said. "And we're getting it from everybody and that to me is a sign of a good, quality team that wants to win."
The latest feather in his cap was the win against Orlando Magic on Wednesday night. Carmelo Anthony played with a strained right groin scoring game high 25 points in 26 minutes of action. Rookie Iman Shumpert had a career night
with 25 points and Baron Davis poured in 11.
The Knicks also had a huge night on the D as they hounded Dwight Howard to just 12 points and 5 boards. Now boasting with confidence they are up against Hawks. New York have won 3 in a row over Atlanta with an average of 14 points.
The most recent was a 99-82 victory on February 22, 2012 on their turf.
This will also be a sort of home coming for Woodson, who had coached for Hawks from 2004-2010. This can also be a huge advantage for the Knicks as their coach knows the Hawks game inside out.
Atlanta are currently on the 6th spot for playoffs in Eastern Conference with 30 wins and 22 loses. They are also on a 2 game losing streak and the most recent fiasco was in the game against Derrick Rose-less Chicago
Bulls. They were playing their 5th game in 6 nights and were clearly fatigued. But now, they have had some time to rest and come Friday night, the trio of Joe Johnson, Josh Smith and Jeff Teague will be looking to exact some revenge against the
short-handed Knicks.
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