NBA Game of the Week for the Week of November 5 – November 11
A battle between two Atlantic Division rivals is this week’s NBA Game of the Week. The New York Knicks will try to remain undefeated when they visit the Philadelphia 76ers in a home-and-home back-to-back.
Yesterday, in a Sunday afternoon matinee at Madison Square Garden, New York pretty much dominated Philadelphia from start to finish. The 100-84 win gave the Knicks sole possession of first place in the Atlantic and a leg up in their season series with the 76ers.
Last season, the Knicks finished seventh in the Eastern Conference standings just one game ahead of the 76ers. New York gained that advantage by winning the season series between the two teams 2-1.
Just as it did last season, the season series between these two teams may very well have an impact on the final Eastern Conference standings. Although it is very early in the season, this is a game that can possibly affect where these teams might wind up when the season ends.
(All statistics and records are through December 25)
Monday, November 5, New York Knicks (2-0) at Philadelphia 76ers (1-1), 7:00 p.m. on MSG and CSN
In their first two games, the Knicks have held both of their opponents to 84 points and have outscored them by an average of 18 points. New York’s hot shooting from three-point land (30 for 63, 47.6 percent) helped them to their two double-digit victories. However, both games were played in the friendly confines of Madison Square Garden. The Knicks and their fans hope that Steve Novak, J.R. Smith and company can continue to drain threes at a high clip at the Wells Fargo Center Monday night.
If Philadelphia wants to tie the season series with New York, the 76ers will have to defend the three point line much better than they did Sunday afternoon. The 76ers will also need to limit their turnovers. In Sunday’s game, they turned the ball over 18 times which led to 20 New York points.
Defending the three-point line and protecting the basketball are the two primary keys for the Philadelphia 76ers in this game. Considering how important the season series between the New York Knicks and Philadelphia 76ers may turn out to be, this week’s NBA Game of the Week is as big as an early regular season game can be.
Mark is a lifelong fan of the NBA who has loved the game of basketball ever since his first trip to an NBA arena. Mark has watched more basketball games than anyone can count and has hundreds of articles about the NBA published on the internet. Mark also shares his random NBA musings and game-by-game predictions on RandomNBAFan.com.
Game-by-Game Predictions
New York Knicks 2012-2013 Game-by-Game Predictions: One NBA Fan’s Outlook
Philadelphia 76ers 2012-2013 Game-by-Game Predictions: One NBA Fan’s Outlook
Information from ESPN.com’s NBA Schedule, 2012-2013 NBA Regular Season Divisional Standings and Philadelphia 76ers vs. New York Knicks – Box Score – November 04, 2012 was used for this article.
