Celtics-Knicks Preview
The Knicks are in Boston to play the Celtics tonight after they were dealt a 114-73 thrashing by the green on their own floor last Sunday.
Something tells me this one won’t be as easy. If the Knicks have any sort of pride, they’ll be pissed off about what took place earlier this week and they’ll come out sharp in the opening quarter. And by sharp I mean they won’t find themselves down 18-1 after the first six minutes.
Regardless, I still see the C’s pulling this one out. Bargnani clearly can’t handle Sullinger who scored 21 points on 9-13 shooting last Sunday. Crawford proved that he is too much for the Knicks guards when he posted 23 points on 8-14 shooting to go along with 7 assists. Shooting just 34% on the season so far, J.R. Smith has basically made himself a non-factor.
Basically the answer is containing Melo, which really isn’t as hard as you might think. In the Knicks’ 15 losses this year, Melo is shooting just 42% from the field and averaging two assists. He’s purely a scorer. If you take away his shot he has no other way of beating you seeing as how he’s not exactly great at getting his teammates involved.
Prediction:
Celtics 105
Knicks 98
Fact: Carmelo Anthony is second in the NBA in points per game but only 93rd in field goal percentage and 60th in assists.