NBA Schedule & Standings: 5 Things to Watch in Chicago Bulls vs. New York Knicks
The Chicago Bulls and New York Knicks will play each other on Wednesday at Madison Square Garden as the 2014-15 NBA season opens up for both teams, each with something to prove.
The Bulls and Knicks have had a rivalry with one another for decades. Both teams have a lot of question marks heading into this season, and health is always a concern. This match-up may not be the Michael Jordan led Bulls against the Patrick Ewing-led Knicks, but it will do. Get ready to watch Spike Lee court side yelling at officials on evey foul call.
Here are five things to watch for in tonight's game:
1. Derrick Rose
Rose is a good point guard and a former Most Valuable Player Award winner, but he just hasn't been able to stay on the court lately. Rose has played just 49 total regular season games over the last three combined seasons, including just 10 games over the last two seasons. Rose isn't a prototypical point guard like John Stockton or Steve Nash, but instead he can score and attack the basket. The issue with that is he puts his body in jeopardy. Facing the Knicks, Rose should focus more on passing and distributing rather than scoring.
2. Knicks Triangle Offense
Even though Phil Jackson isn't coaching this Knicks squad, his former player Derek Fisher is. Fisher is very familiar with that style of play, having won five NBA Championships with the Los Angeles Lakers. Carmelo Anthony, J.R. Smith and Amar'e Stoudemire have to do a lot of running and passing for this system to work successfully. It's only the first game, so we shouldn't expect Scottie Pippen-Michael Jordan-esque statistics just yet, but it will be interesting to see how it starts out.
3. Jose Calderon
All signs point to point guard Jose Calderon starting the opening game for the Knicks. With so much attention being placed on LeBron James, Jeremy Lin and Kevin Love, the Knicks made the most underrated addition of the offseason by trading for Calderon. The 33-year-old Spain-born point guard is one of the best passers of the 21st century. Calderon is also an exceptional free throw shooter, making more than 87 percent of his shots from the line. The Knicks desperately need to increase their ball movement for a more efficient offense.
4. Carmelo Anthony
With Kevin Durant of the Oklahoma City Thunder out for an extended period of time, Carmelo Anthony is now the best scorer in the NBA. Anthony had an eventful offseason as a free agent, when he opted out of his contract. There was a possibility Anthony would join the Bulls or the Los Angeles Lakers, but he chose to return to the Big Apple. Anthony still has a lot to prove when compared to other elite players. His defense and passing game has hardly improved since his rookie season with the Denver Nuggets. It's time for Anthony to play great on both sides of the court.
5. Bulls Defense
Last season, the Bulls had the worst scoring offense in the entire league, averaging just 93.7 points per game. Still, the Bulls were the No. 4 seed in the Eastern Conference thanks to their defensive play. Forward Joakim Noah won the Defensive Player of the Year Award last season as well. Head coach Tom Thibodeau stresses a lot of defense, and Pau Gasol is the newest great addition to this Bulls team. Noah and Gasol could very well be the best defensive frontcourt this season.
Schedule
The New York Knicks-Chicago Bulls NBA season opener can be seen at 8 p.m. EDT Wednesday night on ESPN. Live stream coverage of the game can be seen here.
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