Knicks Pregame News, Notes vs. Hawks November 8th

New York Knicks Pregame News, Notes vs. Atlanta Hawks November 8th, 2014

The New York Knicks will be back at it Saturday night, looking to end their three-game losing streak on the road against the Atlanta Hawks. Both teams are coming off of games Friday night, so it could be another ragged, slow paced game. Here are some things to watch for tonight when the two teams tip off from Phillips Arena.

Matchup of the Game: Iman Shumpert vs. Jeff Teague

Dec 14, 2013; New York, NY, USA; Atlanta Hawks point guard Jeff Teague (0) advances the ball during the first quarter against the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Anthony Gruppuso-USA TODAY Sports

With Pablo Prigioni now joining Jose Calderon on the sidelines, the Knicks had to move Shane Larkin to the bench so that there was a point guard with the second unit. That in turn made Shumpert the starting point guard against the Brooklyn Nets Friday and he should continue running it until Prigioni and or Calderon return.

Tonight Shumpert will have the task of slowing down the speedy Teague. Teague played well against the Knicks last season, averaging 18.3 points and 5.3 assists per game, but he has stepped it up thus far this season, averaging 18.0 points and 9.0 assists per game through four games. It will be up to Shumpert to slow down Teague and try to avoid a repeat of Friday night. He will need some help from his teammates though as it is a team effort on defense.

-Will Melo Get It Going?

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The Knicks go as Carmelo Anthony goes, and it is evident in their win-loss record. In the two Knicks’ wins this season, Anthony is shooting 53.8 percent and averaging 26.5 points. In their four losses, Anthony is averaging 16.0 points on 29.9 percent shooting. Weirdly enough, Anthony is averaging more assists, rebounds and shooting free throws in losses better.

Anthony, like the rest of the team, is doing his best to learn a new offense. But as the leader of this team, he needs to get things going as they play off of him. When Anthony is successful his teammates are, but when he struggled they normally do as well.

The Hawks are a team that could help get Anthony back on track, as he averaged 29.5 points in four games against them last season.

-Perimeter Shooting

On Friday night, the Nets lit the Knicks up from deep, knocking down 14 three-pointers. The Hawks are a deadly three-point shooting team and the Knicks have to watch them. On the season the Hawks are shooting 41 percent thus far, with Kyle Korver leading the way at 59.1 percent. Forwards Mike Scott and DeMarre Carroll are both shooting 50 percent as well.