Tonight at 8:00 p.m. ET the New York Knicks (2-4) will be under a lot of pressure when they take on the Atlanta Hawks (4-3), after owner James Dolan guaranteed a victory. The game can be watched on ESPN or live streamed free here by clicking this link. Knicks fans can hear the game on 98.7 ESPN New York, while Hawks fans may do the same on 92.9 The Game.
After a lethargic effort netted New York an embarrassing home loss to the San Antonio Spurs, coach Mike Woodson is making changes to the starting lineup, and the owner is making promises.
J.R. Smith is in the starting lineup, although star Carmelo Anthony doesn't think tweaks will matter much in the grand scheme of things. "I'm not worried but we do have to figure it out," Anthony said. "Whatever it is we have to figure out quickly, but as far as being worried, I'm not worried about that."
Among New York's myriad problems, Anthony's field goal percentage is among them. The reigning scoring champion is putting up 23.2 points per game, but shooting just 41 percent on 20 attempts a night. Even more troublesome than Anthony's off nights has been the Knicks' defense without center Tyson Chandler.
Andrea Bargnani has not filled in the gaps left by Chandler, and the Knicks face a high-scoring frontcourt tonight in Al Horford and Paul Millsap. Horford is averaging a career-high 18.9 points, and is adding 9.2 rebounds. Horford is also averaging a career-best 2.5 blocked shots per game, which is trouble for New York.
Still, regardless of who is on the court, Anthony said he'd shoulder the load and make the pieces effective. "The makeup of the team is different this year than last year," Anthony said. "Last year, I was more playing up top, spreading the offense, creating a lot of mismatches. This year is a little different of the makeup of the system, of the team. I'll figure it out."
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