The New York Knicks have not had the start to the season they wanted to have and as the team travel to Atlanta to play a Hawks team that has had a solid beginning to the season, major questions are coming up for the franchise and the game on Wednesday will be a nationally televised one starting up at 8:00 pm from Philips Arena and will be on television from ESPN and streaming online live from the WatchESPN website.
The Knicks have been a mess so far this season on offense and they have not been able to put any type of consistency together and that was very evident against the San Antonio Spurs, who pushed the Knicks around a bit on Sunday to send them to their fourth loss in six games this season and the blowout was one of the worst at Madison Square Garden, as the team won by more than 30 and the Knicks were soundly beaten on all fronts. Carmelo Anthony finished with 18 points and eight rebounds to lead the team, but there wasn't much of a positive spin for anything coming after and now Mike Woodson will take his team on the road to play against his former team in the Hawks and while Atlanta was not as highly regarded coming into the season as New York, the team has been off to a good 4-3 start and they will try to get another home win with the Knicks coming to town.
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The team has not played well on defense overall even though they are ranked 10th in points allowed per game with just under 98 and the offense has been lacking after ranking 11th in the league last season, as they are averaging just 93 points per contest. The Knicks were expected to be contenders in the east this season with teams like the Brooklyn Nets, Miami Heat, Indiana Pacers and Chicago Bulls, but so far they have been one of the disappointments in the conference and one positive thing they can look to is the fact that JR Smith will be coming back to the lineup after serving a suspension and that could be a big boost for the team.
The fact that Tyson Chandler is injured has changed things quite a bit and now the team is exploring a possible trade with the Denver Nuggets and young star Kenneth Faried to help get by without Chandler. The bad start has now brought up even more questions about Anthony and whether he will opt out to become a free agent after the season and the way they are playing, it seems like a foregone conclusion that it will happen. The Knicks need to win on the road, as they come home for a tough test against the Houston Rockets next and that game could be a disaster if they come in at 2-5, as the Rockets are one of the best offensive teams in the league and could light up the Garden like the Spurs did.
Al Horford and Paul Millsap will be the main focus for the Knicks defense with Chandler out for at least a month and that is one reason why the team is exploring the trade. Iman Shumpert is one of the team's best young players and they could potentially send him away for Faried, who has been a solid rebounder for the Nuggets over the past few years. The Knicks and Nuggets have made a number of deals in the past and now this could be another one added to the mix. The Hawks have the Sixers next after playing against the Knicks and that will be a home game as well and the Knicks have to beware, as the Hawks have been one of the top scoring teams in the league, ranking sixth with over 100 points per game and if the team gets behind early, it could be another long night for Raymond Felton and company.
The game will start up at 8 pm from Philips Arena with the Knicks and the Hawks and will be streaming on Watch ESPN.