Minutes before tip in New York
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Minutes before tip in New York
John Mitchell, Inquirer Staff Writer
NEW YORK – Just about 30 minutes before game time here in the Garden, and 76ers coach Doug Collins is concerned about defending the three-pointer, something I touched on this morning in the paper.
What Collins wants the Sixers – off since the played their last game on Wednesday – to do is prevent the Knicks from setting up and getting comfortable taking that long shot. In their season-opening 104-84 rout of NBA defending champion Miami on Friday, the Knicks connected on 19 of 36 three-pointers (52.8 percent).
“We went back and looked at the film and what we saw was that 17 of those threes were catch-and-shoot threes,” Collins said, “so it just demonstrates that we have to defend their shooters. We’ve got to do a good job of jumping out there and defending those shots.”
It will be interesting to see how the Knicks perform today, coming off that impressive win over Miami. Could there be a letdown? Equally interesting will be how they play on Monday, when these two teams meet again in the second of a back-to-back series at Wells Fargo Center. With an average age of 31.6 years, the Knicks are the oldest team in the NBA.
more Dribble for the fans. Colins ought to be ashamed of coaching the sixers and quit and get a real job that means something.— rduexpress
John Mitchell is in his second year covering the 76ers for the Inquirer after joining the paper in November 2011. He covered the Washington Wizards for the Washington Times from 1998 to 2008. He's also worked at the Philadelphia Tribune, the Wilmington News Journal, Courier-Post, Trenton Times and Elmira Star-Gazette.Born and raised in West Philadelphia - not too far from Will Smith - he graduated from Overbrook High School the same year the 76ers won their last championship. He's a proud graduate of Howard University and the proud father of two sons, Jared and Jordan.
ABOUT MARC NARDUCCI
Marc Narducci has served in a variety of roles with the Inquirer since beginning in 1983. He has covered the 76ers as a backup and a beat writer. In addition, Narducci has covered everything from the Super Bowl to the World Series and a lot in between. Narducci also has a true passion for South Jersey scholastic sports, which he has covered for many years.
