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November
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Knicks On Another Plane Of NBA Existence
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21 November 1997. New York Knicks 104, Washington Wizards 82 (record: 4-8)
Game leaders: Webber (15 points), Howard (8 rebounds), Strickland (7 assists)That's the only reason I can come up with for the Knicks continued total domination of the Bullets/Wizards. This game wasn't even close after the first quarter. The Wizards were intimidated and couldn't cover the open shooter or grab the loose rebound. The Knicks just toyed with the Wizards all night. How embarassing.
It reminded me of the Hornets loss I suffered through 2 weeks ago: a rainy night, a close score after 1 quarter, and then lights out (20 point deficits in the second half, a half-hearted run to get within 10 points, but nothing closer). The Wizards shot only 35.7% from the field for the game, while the Knicks finished at 53.2% (and were above 60% shooting until late in the third quarter).
Or check out this stat - the Wizards big 3 (CWebb, Howard, Strickland) combined for 15 of 48 shooting (31.3%), while the rest of the team only took 28 shots combined! That's because those three insisted only playing too much one-on-one ball, instead of getting motion on the court to find an open shooter.
Need I say more? This is not the basketball that the Wizards closed out last season with. Offensively, it's bad. And against a veteran team like this, the constant double-teaming and trapping is going to go to the correct open shooter. And the Wizards got killed by it.
At least coach Bernie Bickerstaff realizes some of the problems: "We were forcing shots, looking for fouls, and when that happens you have no floor balance. We did not play as a team offensively. The defense tried to give us a chance, but offensively we expended a lot of energy and were totally disorganized." Bickerstaff recognizes this as a coaching problem and will presumably work to rectify the situation.
I hope this misery ends soon.
wtf 24 November 1997
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Wizards Lose Third Straight With Flat Performance | Cavaliers Show How To Run A Fast-Break Offense To A Win |
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