1. MOVE THE BALL ON OFFENSE:

The Philadelphia 76ers have one of the premier defenses in the league. Thaddeus Young, one of the team’s and league’s best defenders, comes off of the bench. The fact that their best defender comes off of the bench shows their depth this year. You can’t just pass the ball into Amare and Melo and hope to go 1 on 1 all night. The Knicks must move the ball, find the open shot, and then knock it down. This should ensure a victory.

The Sixers are ranked #1 amongst the league in offensive points per game (OPP)

2. THE BENCH HAS TO COME UP BIG:

Believe it or not the Sixers have one of the best benches in the league right now. Their bench features weapons like Sixers Veteran Lou Williams, Evan Turner (2nd overall pick last year), Thaddeus Young, and rookie Nikola Vucevic. The Knicks cannot play lackadaisical against this bench that contains a triple threat of experience, youth and scoring. We’ll have to count on our bench tonight and trust that players like Mike Bibby, Bill Walker, Josh Harrellson and Toney Douglas will be ready to bring their A game tonight.

3. REBOUND THE BALL:

Averaging 9.6 rebounds on offense and 36.6 on defense, the Sixers are 2nd in the league right now in team rebounds per game. Bottom line, the Knicks can’t sleep on rebounds. Stoudemire, Chandler and Melo are going to have to be aggressive tonight and fight for every rebound and loose ball, it might be the difference in the game.

The 76ers are 2nd in the league in team rebounds per game