Category → Game Preview
Timber…Wolves
Essentials
- Teams: Minnesota Timberwolves (24-44) at Detroit Pistons (24-47)
- Date: March 26, 2013
- Time: 7:30 p.m.
- Television: FSD
What to look for
After earning huge praise for their moves during the offseason, the Minnesota Timberwolves have disappointed.
It was assumed that Rick Adelman would get the club in position to contend for a playoff spot given the talent he had on board. Couple that with his offensive schemes and it seemed like a foregone conclusion his group would be hovering somewhere around the eighth or ninth seed in the Western Conference standings throughout the season.
Ah, but injuries are the great equalizer.
Kevin Love — one of the best power forwards in the league — has missed the majority of the season. Their stud point guard Ricky Rubio missed a third of the campaign, thus robbing Minnesota of their top playmaker.
There was a little hope that Brandon Roy would be a solid and productive player for the Wolves, but quite frankly his stay in Minnesota has been awfully reminiscent of his last few seasons in Portland.
As a Trail Blazer, Roy was forced into retirement because of injuries.
Granted, every team in the league deals with players missing time because of health concerns, but in the case of Adelman, he’s been forced into coaching this season without his best players.
Consequently, one of the most gifted offensive minds in the league is stuck with an offense producing 99.4 points per 100 possessions. That figure is in the bottom five of the Association.
It’s quite perplexing to see them rank so low statistically given all of the things the team does in terms of sets and plays. The Wolves start two point guards in Rubio and Luke Ridnour, which is good for ball movement.
Adelman runs plays with a lot of counters and misdirection, which tends to fool defenses. The constant movement of players makes just about every a player a threat on each possession.
They will run some screen-the-screener action and then follow that up with pick-and-rolls, which gets defenders completely discombobulated. Combine Rubio’s incredible court vision and flair for passing and this team has some serious highlight potential.
There’s just one problem: these guys can’t shoot.
The one constant the Wolves can count on is Nikola Pekovic on the interior. He is a bruising talent that tends to move players. Rumor has it, he once posted up the Equator and moved it further down south by virtue of his superior strength.
He is great in the paint and around the rim. The rest of his teammates though, not so much.
Hence, scoring is quite a chore for this team.
They are an average unit defensively at best. That would have been sufficient for the group to contend for a postseason berth with an above average scoring, but the absence of shooting and talent has torpedoed the offense and consequently the season.
The Wolves have broken the 90-point barrier (!) in four of their past 10 games. That’s hardly a recipe for success in the NBA and not so coincidentally, they have been victorious three times during that same stretch.
It’s sad to watch the Wolves and simply wonder what could have been if not for health.
Read about the Timberwolves
Off to Charlotte…
Essentials
- Teams: Detroit Pistons (23-47) at Charlotte Bobcats (16-52)
- Date: March 23, 2013
- Time: 7:00 p.m.
- Television: FSD
What to look for
Something has to give tonight.
The Detroit Pistons have won 8-of-34 road games this season while the Charlotte Bobcats have been victorious in 10-of-34 contests at home.
One trend will have to take a brief pause tonight when these teams square off.
The Pistons have lost 10 games in a row entering the matchup this evening and will desperately be attempting to remedy the situation.
Unfortunately for the Pistons’ faithful, Detroit was part of history Friday night on the road in Miami. After opening the contest with a great offensive showing, Lawrence Frank’s unit faltered in the second half and gave Miami their 25th straight win.
Greg Monroe was dominant against the Heat’s diminutive frontline and his play coupled with Jose Calderon’s allowed the Pistons to drop 54 points in the first half.
Erik Spoelstra had his team turn up the pressure in the second half and Miami seemingly snuffed out every Piston play.
In the game’s preview, we had pointed out that outrebounding the Heat wouldn’t be sufficient and it wasn’t. Detroit was dominant on this front, grabbing 47 rebounds to Miami’s 33 but it hardly mattered.
Charlotte on the other hand is coming off a victory Wednesday night against the Toronto Raptors. The win gave the Bobcats their first back-to-back set of victories since November.
Their great offensive showing against Toronto came as a product of their interior assault combined with their outside shooting. The Bobs scored 46 points in the paint and converted 8-of-16 shots from 3-point range.
The Pistons should allocate a fair amount of defensive attention to Byron Mullens when the teams meet tonight. For whatever reason, teams tend to lose track of him be it on the perimeter or on the boards, which gives him multiple easy scoring opportunities.
Mullens was a terror against the Raptors, pouring in 25 points on an efficient 7-of-11 field goal shooting.
Read about the Bobcats
Miami Heat: 24 and done?
Essentials
- Teams: Detroit Pistons (23-46) at Miami Heat (53-14)
- Date: March 22, 2013
- Time: 7:30 p.m.
- Television: FSD, NBATV
What to look for
The Miami Heat have turned themselves into one of the toughest teams to beat in NBA history.
Every time they seem headed for a loss, LeBron James or Dwyane Wade pull a rabbit out of their hats and end up laughing at those in the audience that temporarily doubted them.
Chris Bosh and company are currently in the midst of the second longest winning streak in NBA history. They’ve won 24 straight games and will be shooting for number 25 tonight against the Detroit Pistons.
Just how ridiculous has Miami been of late?
During the string of victories, they’ve actually been outrebounded on average. Indeed, not only are teams gathering more boards than the Heat, they are also generating more field goal attempts.
And yet, Erik Spoelstra’s men keep winning for two reasons: firstly, they consistently outshoot teams from the field. Secondly, their crunch time performance has been superior in comparison to their opponents’.
During the win streak, Miami is winning games by an average of 10.8 points. The instances where the contests have been tight have brought terrific defensive and offensive outputs by the Heat’s big three and the players surrounding them.
In the last 47 days or so, the Heat have scored 126.7 points per 100 possessions in the clutch (defined as the last five minutes of the game with the scoring margin within five points), the best figure in the league over that time.
Defensively, they’ve surrendered 80.8 points per 100 possessions in crunch time, which is the second best figure in the NBA since February 3rd (start of the streak).
Their play this week has been perfectly indicative of their excellent late game execution during their undefeated run. On Monday night in Boston, the team rallied from a 17-point deficit to make the game close late in the fourth quarter.
LeBron James was spectacular in that outing by virtue of his scoring and playmaking to end the game. The offense helped the Heat take the lead late, while the defense closed out the contest despite a career night by Jeff Green.
The following battle occurred two nights later at the Quicken Loans Arena where the Cleveland Cavaliers took a 27-point lead. It seemed as though the Cavs would be making history by ending the Heat’s run.
However, the defending champions bounced back late in the third quarter and made a game of it again. By the time the fourth quarter rolled around, Ray Allen and LeBron James looked as though they had insulted Nas and Mobb Deep in their very own rendition of Jay-Z’s Takeover.
The Chosen One and Jesus Shuttlesworth combined for 21 points in the final period and helped Miami take the lead in crunch time. The defense closed out the head-to-head matchup and sent Miami to victory.
The Pistons will have a shot tonight at the champs.
As evidenced by the data, owning the boards won’t be enough. Lawrence Frank’s unit will desperately need a good shooting night if they plan on keeping the contest close and getting an opportunity for a road win tonight.
In addition, protecting the ball against a selective ball-hawking defense is mandatory against this Heat squad. They feed off miscues, which allow them to get out in transition and gain momentum.
If Detroit is successful in these key areas, it should afford them the possibility of stealing the contest late. Mind you, their execution in crunch time will have to be superior to that of Miami.
Sounds difficult? Well, no one said taking down the chest-beating champs would be easy…
Read about the Heat
Statistical support provided by NBA.com.
NBA All-Potential 1st Team: Brooklyn Nets
Essentials
- Teams: Brooklyn Nets (38-28) at Detroit Pistons (23-45)
- Date: March 18, 2013
- Time: 7:30 p.m.
- Television: FSD
What to look for
With every frontcourt player for the New York Knicks seemingly injured, the Brooklyn Nets have emerged as the best professional basketball club in New York. Granted, Carmelo Anthony, Tyson Chandler and Ama’re Stoudemire will be back at some point in time.
Then we will be having another discussion.
At this very moment though, Brooklyn is creeping up on the Knickerbockers in the standings and it was about time.
All it took was a four-game losing streak by New York on their current Western Conference road trip to narrow the gap between both clubs. Mike Woodson’s team was defeated for the fourth straight time by double digits this past Sunday while P.J. Carlesimo’s unit has won three-of-five entering tonight.
The Nets have a shot at the third best record in the conference. And yet, somehow they leave many underwhelmed.
Joe Johnson returned to the lineup last night against the Atlanta Hawks after missing last Tuesday’s game due to a sore heel. J.J. was once a dynamic shooting guard capable of defending a multitude of positions all the while serving as both a scorer and playmaker on offense.
The talent is still there but Johnson has struggled some this season. He is nonetheless one of the most feared players in the league in late game situations, a reputation Pistons fans are all too familiar with because of his heroics against Detroit earlier in the season.
Deron Williams was once upon a time not only in the discussion with Chris Paul for the title of best point guard alive; but was in the lead for a brief moment. At this juncture, with the terrific play of Paul, Russell Westbrook, Tony Parker, Kyrie Irving, Rajon Rondo and Stephen Curry so far this season, Williams might not even make the top six.
And then there’s Brook Lopez.
The modern game has changed so much that big men are now expected to stretch the floor for teams to be efficient on offense. Lopez fits that mold but still manages to bully defenders on the low block for scores.
He leads the Nets in scoring and converts 52 percent of his shots. Although he will not be mistaken for a throwback center, he should still be a dominant center by today’s standards.
Teams with great backcourts and stud centers typically contend for titles.
Dwyane Wade and Shaquille O’Neal, Kobe Bryant and Shaq, Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and so on goes the list. The Nets players obviously aren’t on those levels, but they certainly have the talent to perform as All-NBA caliber players.
We just haven’t seen it from them collectively.
They are a borderline great offensive team, while their defense is mostly average.
In addition, it’s difficult to put the finger on just what it is that this team does truly well. Figuring out what they hang their hat on is a bit perplexing.
The Brooklyn Nets certainly seem to have the potential to be great, but they have been anything but in the 2012-13 campaign. They most probably are a second tier team that will have nights where they look as though they can compete with the big boys but cannot in actuality.
But then again, things change quickly with injuries and the Knicks are living proof.
Maybe the Nets shock us.
Or maybe they remain as is: a potential contender.
Read about the Nets
Final stop out west: Portland
Essentials
- Teams: Detroit Pistons (23-44) at Portland Trail Blazers (30-34)
- Date: March 16, 2013
- Time: 10:00 p.m.
- Television: FSD
What to look for
After defeating the New York Knicks on national television last Thursday, the Portland Trail Blazers will be hosting the Detroit Pistons tonight.
Terry Stotts’ group is one of the most talented young teams in the NBA and consequently many believe they are full of promise. Mind you this is problematic on a number of levels.
The Oklahoma City Thunder were once upon a time a bad team.
But the players took their lumps and came of age together. The roster collectively failed but understood the bigger picture. The Thunder front office brought in individuals that complemented each other and understood the program.
Outside of the acquisitions of Thabo Sefolosha, Kendrick Perkins and Kevin Martin, every player earning big minutes on the team was brought in through the draft.
One could say Portland was first to this party, and that would be factually correct.
Brandon Roy and LaMarcus Aldridge were drafted together, while Nicolas Batum and Greg Oden were acquired via the same process a few years after. Wes Matthews signed as a free agent a little less than three years ago and Damian Lillard joined the Blazers as a rookie this season.
That’s a lot of talent.
Sadly Roy and Oden didn’t pan out because of injuries.
Portland is nonetheless a competitive team but nowhere near what fans and analysts expected say three years ago.
The Trail Blazers were supposed to mirror the Thunder believe it or not. The issues with Oden obviously forced the franchise to take a step back, but the question needs to be asked: when will this group compete in the postseason?
They boast a near elite offense this season, thanks in large part to Aldridge’s terrific interior play.
The Texas product is a lethal mid-range shooter that also punishes defenders in the low block. Thus, despite only averaging 24.1 shots at the rim per game (19th in the NBA) according to Hoopdata, Portland owns the 11th best offensive efficiency in the league.
The prized big man is surrounded by a host of shooters ready to take advantage of every opening afforded by Aldridge’s presence on the court.
And when things get tight down the stretch of games, Lillard breaks down defenders with his ballhandling skills, which allow him to either get to the rim or create a jumper for himself from long-range.
There is a great tandem in the making in Portland but their recent history forces a bit of trepidation on outsiders looking in.
The evolution of their personnel leaves one to believe they might always be that young team that sells hope to its fans.
Their youth shows up on defense where teams simply take advantage of breakdowns and the lack of great defenders.
Batum and Matthews are very good defenders, but game changers they are not on this front. Oden was supposed to change it all but he is now a thing of the past.
Thus, Stotts operates with a defense ranked in the league’s bottom five.
They yield the third most shot attempts at the rim, an ugly stat that occasionally pop up in late game situations. Per NBA.com’s
Portland field goals allowed in clutch for 2012-13 season.
advanced stats tool, the Blazers surrender a 42.8 percent field goal conversion mark to opponents in the clutch (defined as last five minutes of the game with scoring margin within five points). That figure is one of the league’s bottom 10 marks.
This might be an issue this season, but with the added repetitions and collective growth the potential is there for a better Blazers defense.
The oldest player on the roster is Jared Jeffries at 31 years old and he barely plays.
The biggest area of concern in all of this mind you is LaMarcus Aldridge. He is signed until the conclusion of the 2014-15 campaign, but the inescapable amount of youth movements must be wearing on him.
At age 27, speculation on his long-term commitment might become an issue. Also, he’s already opened the door on maybe one day playing elsewhere, which must be a scary proposition for the team’s fans.
But all that talk about Blazers’ potential shortcomings in the near future can be halted with one thing and one thing only: winning.
Read about the Trail Blazers
Statistical support provided by NBA.com.
Next up: Golden State
Essentials
- Teams: Detroit Pistons (23-43) at Golden State Warriors (36-29)
- Date: March 13, 2013
- Time: 10:30 p.m.
- Television: FSD Plus
What to look for
The Golden State Warriors finally defeated a team with a winning record. Considering the Dubs have positioned themselves to make the playoffs, one would think this would be par for the course, but not quite.
Prior to defeating the New York Knicks on Monday night, the State of the Warriors outlined the fact that Golden State had only registered two victories against teams with winning records since late January.
In addition, their last 10 games have been a little a subpar. They’ve won four of their last 10 contests.
Surprisingly, Golden State is the only Western Conference team projected to make the postseason with a negative scoring differential. And that’s despite their 29-point shellacking of the Knicks earlier in the week.
The Warriors have had some issues in their most recent stretch of games, but they are still a solid team capable of giving anyone a good run.
The frontcourt is difficult to deal with on the boards and also does a great job of creating scoring opportunities on the interior.
The backcourt might potentially be the best shooting guard tandem in the league. The moment that Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson get going, opponents might just as well turn off the lights and head home as New York found out Monday night.
The Splash Brothers (term coined by the folks at Warriors World) combined for 49 points with the help of a 10-for-17 shooting night from 3-point range.
The Pistons are coming into tonight’s contest having lost six straight games and will be looking to end this insufferable streak.
The last time these two teams met, Golden State was victorious at the Palace of Auburn Hills, but Detroit pounded them on the boards. Lawrence Frank’s group turned the ball over 17 times and allowed Curry and his teammates to get out in transition.
This is particularly pertinent because it allowed both Curry and Thompson to get a few open looks at the basket and they drilled 9-of-14 treys against the Pistons on December 5th.
With the Pistons making a full-fledged interior assault on the Warriors and the Dubs’ backcourt bombing from deep, tonight’s contest offers the potential for a lot of fireworks.
Both defenses have been mediocre for the most part, a characteristic that should give both teams ample opportunities to put up points on the board.
Read about the Warriors
All that Jazz…
Essentials
- Teams: Detroit Pistons (23-42) at Utah Jazz (32-31)
- Date: March 11, 2013
- Time: 9:00 p.m.
- Television: FSD
What to look for
The Pistons have lost five straight games and are in desperate need of a win. During this recent stretch of losses, Detroit has fallen three times on the road and twice at home.
And if that wasn’t already cause for concern, this is: their next five games are all against playoff hopefuls. The Pistons’ four-game Western Conference road trip started last night with a 32-point loss at Staples Center where the L.A.P.D. are still trying to determine whether to charge DeAndre Jordan with a misdemeanor or felony after attacking Brandon Knight’s manhood with a violent dunk.
Lawrence Frank’s group will have to be prepared for a tough turnaround entering tonight’s game in Utah.
Knight and his teammates will be playing the back end of a back-to-back set. After playing one of the most athletic and explosive frontlines in the NBA last night, the Pistons will be playing a Jazz team whose starting frontcourt is equivalent to UPS Ground in comparison to the Clippers’.
Tyrone Corbin’s unit is methodical and likes to run the offense through its big people. Al Jefferson and Paul Millsap will spend most of their time attacking from either the low block or the high post.
This presents a difficult matchup for the road team given that their interior defense has struggled for most of the season.
On the other side of the coin though, tonight’s hosts will be playing their first home game since returning from a four-game eastern road trip that turned into a disaster.
The Jazz lost all four games.
They were defeated in three close heartbreakers and routed in the last contest by 29 points at Madison Square Garden by the New York Knicks.
The losses themselves were deflating for the team and its fans, but it also knocked them out of the eighth spot in the Western Conference standings.
The Los Angeles Lakers now have the inside track on the Jazz and might finish the season by making the playoffs at the expense of Utah.
The Hollinger Playoff Odds predict that Corbin’s team will miss the playoffs by a mere two games. Jefferson and company obviously still have a chance at making the postseason, but that requires them to win games like the one tonight against the Pistons.
Read about the Jazz
Not the City of Angels?
Essentials
- Teams: Detroit Pistons (23-41) at Los Angeles Clippers (44-20)
- Date: March 10, 2013
- Time: 9:30 p.m.
- Television: FSD
What to look for
The Detroit Pistons are in the midst of a tough stretch. Lawrence Frank’s squad has won two of their last 10 games and the potential is there for a harsher reality.
The Pistons will start a four-game Western Conference road trip tonight at Staples Center. During the time away from home, Detroit will play against the Los Angeles Clippers, Utah Jazz (32-31), Golden State Warriors (35-29) and Portland Trail Blazers (29-32).
Tonight’s contest in Los Angeles will pit them against the third best team in the west.
For the most part, the Clippers have played like one of the best teams in the league this season and there is reason to believe this will be evident against Greg Monroe and company.
Chris Paul and his teammates have earned a reputation for highlight reel type plays.
It’s warranted.
Whether it’s Jamal Crawford embarrassing defenders with his superb ballhandling skills, Paul breaking down defenders and getting into the lane for a gorgeous floater or simply watching Blake Griffin commit basketball felonies by dunking on opponents with unparalleled aggression, the Clippers are arguably the best show in the league.
Oh, and while we’re at it, Jamal Crawford’s between the legs lob pass to Griffin earlier this week was a beauty.
Lost in the Clips’ entertainment value is the fact that they do some interesting things on both sides of the ball.
Their pick-and-roll game is quite lethal and leads to several high percentage shots within the vicinity of the basket. According to Team Rankings, Lob City scores 45.3 points in the paint per game, good for the fifth best mark in the league.
This is particularly pertinent entering tonight’s game because the Pistons are in the league’s bottom half in terms of allowing points in the paint. Frank’s interior defense is prone to surrendering shots on the inside, an area that Vinny Del Negro’s group will more than likely exploit.
The Pistons for their part will rely on that very same aspect and attack the Clippers on the interior tonight but it may produce mixed results. Frank’s unit produces 46 points in the paint on average, the second best mark in the league.
Between the post ups, drives and cuts to the basket, Detroit does a great job of manufacturing shots in the painted area.
There’s just one problem: the Clippers are great at limiting opponents on this front.
The Clips yield a mere 36.7 points in the paint per game, the second best figure in the league.
DeAndre Jordan and his teammates are great at hugging the paint and contesting shots on the interior to take away easy baskets.
When both teams faced off earlier in the season at the Palace of Auburn Hills, the Pistons were held to 34 points in the paint.
The Clippers boast a top 10 defense that can occasionally fluster teams, as Detroit knows all too well after scoring a mere 76 points against them on December 17th.
Del Negro’s defense places an emphasis on protecting the interior and forcing miscues with their hoard of athletes. Lob City’s defense forces the most turnovers in the league on a per game basis, which allows them to get out in transition and entertain the masses.
The Los Angeles Clippers are one of the best teams in the NBA, and tonight’s contest might just show Pistons fans why. They offer the theatrics on one end, but also buckle down and play very good defense on the other.
Read about the Clippers
Facing off against the Mavs
Essentials
- Teams: Dallas Mavericks (27-33) at Detroit Pistons
- Date: March 8, 2013
- Time: 7:30 p.m.
- Television: FSD
What to look for
The Dallas Mavericks will stroll into the Palace of Auburn Hills tonight to take on the Detroit Pistons. The Mavs are coming off a home victory over the Houston Rockets and will be looking to win back-to-back games.
Dallas is still in the playoff hunt although they need several things to go right for a postseason berth to manifest itself. The absence of Dirk Nowitzki earlier in the season made it tough for Rick Carlisle and company to manufacture wins as evidenced by their sub-.500 record.
February was their best stretch of basketball this year. The Mavs won 6-of-11 games and posted their only winning month of the season. This obviously ties in with the former NBA Finals MVP.
Nowitzki averaged 18 points and 8.5 rebounds per game on 45.4 percent field goal shooting in February for a team that relies almost exclusively on mid-range jump shots.
In Shawn Marion, Vince Carter and Elton Brand, the Mavericks have a lot of players with great names. At one point or another, all of these athletes were All-Stars and projected to have amazing careers. Even O.J. Mayo to some extent was seen as a talent that would be difficult for opponents to handle in the NBA.
But that’s just it: we look at the Mavs player for what they should be as opposed to what they are.
As presently constructed, Dallas players are all for the most part good or great finishers. But creators they are not.
Consequently Carlisle is left with revolving the offense around Nowitzki — which is obviously smart — but his teammates have trouble creating high percentage shots out of one-on-one situations even when defenses are titled towards the German big man.
The end result is a team that does a poor job of creating shots right at the rim. Per Hoopdata, the Mavericks only attempt 22.6 shots per game at the rim, a figure that puts them in the league’s bottom five.
The lack of shots at the basket also has an effect on their ability to draw fouls. Carter and company attempt 21.6 free throw attempts per game, good for 18th in the NBA.
Surprisingly, Dallas still has the 13th best offense in the league, but it’s prone to some tough nights. The Mavericks rely heavily on the most inefficient shot in basketball: the mid-range jumper.
NBA.com’s advance stats tool tells us the majority of their field goal attempts are mid-range jumpers, a shot they convert 41.6 percent of the time.
For the sake of comparison, powerhouse offenses like the Miami Heat and Oklahoma City Thunder take a steady dose of mid-range shots, but also manufacture a superior amount of attempts right at the rim.
The Mavs roster is an imperfect one, but it clearly works best with Nowitzki in the fold. An argument could be made that there isn’t another player in the league much more suited for an offense that produces outside of the paint but also inside the arc.
Read about the Mavericks
Statistical support provided by NBA.com.
Knicks coming to the Palace
Essentials
- Teams: New York Knicks (36-21) at Detroit Pistons (23-39)
- Date: March 6, 2013
- Time: 7:30 p.m.
- Television: FSD
What to look for
The regular season can certainly play tricks on basketball fans. The New York Knicks began the season by breezing through their schedule and defeating just about every elite opponent they faced.
The Knickerbockers rode a Carmelo Anthony that had changed his game to accommodate his teammates and consequently make New York better.
From opening night all the way to December 31st, it seemed as though Melo could do no wrong. Pundits made the claim he was the front-runner for the MVP award, a claim that would have been difficult to refute at the time.
Anthony was averaging 28.5 points and 6.5 rebounds per game on 47.3 percent field goal shooting for a Knicks team that had won 21 of their first 30 games. In addition, they had blown out the Miami Heat twice and also won on the road versus the San Antonio Spurs.
Mike Woodson’s bunch was destroying opponents from the outside, connecting on 39.3 percent of their 3-point looks. The torrid shooting coupled with Anthony’s production resulted in NY scoring 109.4 points per 100 possessions, a figure that would represent the third best mark in the league (this is actually their ranking at present time).
The New Year brought a different Knick team though.
Since January 1st, Anthony’s field goal shooting has dropped o 41.4 percent. The Knicks’ offense in turn has taken a small step back. From the time the New Year kicked in until today, NY would have the seventh best offense in the league.
The difference isn’t huge but it exists nonetheless. They’ve slightly increased their turnovers and seen their 3-point shooting take a small hit.
In addition, after starting the season as one of the best defenses in the league, the Knicks regressed to the point that they are now playing like a middle of the pack team on that front.
The end result is that games have been far closer and consequently opponents have had opportunities to steal the games late. Indeed, New York’s offense morphed into of the league’s best in clutch (clutch defined as last five minutes of a game with scoring margin within five points) situations while their defense was among the stingiest earlier in the season.
The clutch offense has since fallen off a cliff and is in the bottom third of the league since the New Year. The defense is more than respectable, but it’s not at the level it was earlier in the season according to NBA.com’s advanced stats tool.
Put it all together and Woodson has coached his team to a 15-12 record in 2013.
What does this mean for the Detroit Pistons?
Lawrence Frank’s group has been defeated three times by double digits by Carmelo Anthony and company. Tonight’s contest might just offer a closer result at the Palace of Auburn of Hills, especially if New York’s leading scorer is limited in his movements after injuring his knee against the Cleveland Cavaliers on Monday night.
Read about the Knicks
Statistical support provided by NBA.com.
