Noah, Lee look to improve when Knicks meet Grizzlies
Two highly-regarded newcomers for the New York Knicks will be looking for their first points of the season when the Knicks host the Memphis Grizzlies Saturday at Madison Square Garden. Center Joakim Noah and shooting guard Courtney Lee, both free-agent signings by New York, failed to score in the season-opening 117-88 loss to Cleveland on Tuesday. Noah missed on his only attempt, an inside hook, and Lee went 0-for-5. "We're not looking for Jo (Noah) to go out there and make jump shots," Knicks first-year coach Jeff Hornacek told the New York Post. "He's going to roll to the basket. Early, he was setting good screens and Derrick (Rose) was getting to the basket. "(Cleveland) did a good job of keeping (Noah) off the offensive boards." Lee replaced Arron Afflalo as the starting shooting guard in an offseason remodeling that includes former MVP Derrick Rose, who scored 17 points in the opener. "He's a great shooter," said Hornacek of Lee. "It was just one of those games." Forward Carmelo Anthony scored 11 of the Knicks 18 first-quarter points against Cleveland, but managed just eight the rest of the way. "I believe we'll get better," Anthony told the Post. "I think more of our focus should be on defense now." Memphis guard Mike Conley, who signed the largest contract in NBA history in the offseason, led the Grizzlies with 24 points in their season-opening 102-98 win over Minnesota on Wednesday. The Grizzlies signed Conley to a five-year, $153 million deal. After a 20-3 run by Minnesota to start the game, the Grizzlies answered by making six of nine 3-point shots in the first quarter. Memphis averaged only 6.14 three pointers made per game last season. Trailing by one point with 1:37 remaining in the game, the Grizzlies went on a 7-0 run over the next 1:13 to take a 98-93 lead. Center Marc Gasol added 19 points and power forward Zach Randolph recorded 19 points and 11 rebounds off the bench. "That was the one thing that was really awesome about getting this job is that I wasn't just taking over a team that was trying to figure out who could come through in the crunch," first-year Memphis coach David Fizdale said on the team's web site. "I've got guys here who are not afraid and have done it on a high level. That gives me a lot of peace knowing that I have guys I can go to when the game gets tight from multiple areas." Forward Chandler Parsons was held out of the Grizzlies opener as he recovers from a second knee surgery that ended his season early for the second year in a row. His timetable to return is uncertain "When he (Parsons) does practice, it looks pretty good," Fizdale said to ESPN.com. "I'm thinking in the next week or two that he'll be ready to go, but there's no definite timeline." Fizdale instituted an up-tempo brand of offense, predicated on taking shots early in the shot clock when the defense isn't fully set. In seasons past Memphis was more of a low-post, grind-it-out club. "It's not necessarily how fast we can shoot," Fizdale said on cbssports.com. "It's just a tempo thing. Can we explore early options to get easy baskets? "We want to take our chances with getting a quick easy one." |