Knicks Have a Point to Prove vs. Rose and Wall

 via Nick Mancini MSG.com

At first glance, these two opponents may not have much in common. The Bulls are a consensus pick to make the Playoffs, as they have for the last two years, while the Wizards are coming off a 26-win season the highlight of which was landing the No. 1 pick in the NBA Draft. However, each team presents a similar problem for New York: an outstanding young point guard. Now that the World’s Most Famous Arena has been deemed safe, the team can focus on the on-court threats of the Bulls’ Derrick Rose and the Wizards’ John Wall.

This will make four straight games that New York has had its hands full with opposing point guards and strong Knicks guard play, especially on defense, will be essential if the team hopes to put two more notches in the win column before the weekend. Last Friday in Boston, Rajon Rondo put up a triple-double with 10 points, 10 rebounds and an eye-popping 24 assists in 45 minutes of play. The next night at the Garden, Portland’s Andre Miller shot 6-for-8 from the field en route to a 19-point, 10-assist effort, while Brandon Roy – though more of a combo guard than either a pure point or shooting guard – also dropped 29 points in 40 minutes. Against the Knicks, Rondo and Miller together averaged 21.2 assists per 48 minutes and posted a combined Assist % (which estimates the percentage of teammates’ field goals a player assists while on the floor) of 61.9 percent. This is an extremely high number; Steve Nash led the NBA in Ast % last season with 50.9 percent.

Of course, it’s only two games and those numbers, from the Knicks’ perspective, will undoubtedly improve as the season progresses. But the rest of the week’s games won’t be any easier for New York’s guards. Rose has put up some gaudy per-game averages this season –- 27.7 ppg and 8.7 apg –- while Wall, after a rough start against Orlando, has been scorching hot in his last two games, shooting .545 from the floor with an .576 effective FG%. His season Ast % is 50.7 percent. Where the two opposing point guards have been vulnerable is turnovers. They have combined to commit 29 turnovers over their first three games, a rate of almost five per game and more than six per 48 minutes each.

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