WHO: Brooklyn Nets (9-18) vs. New York Knicks (8-18)
WHAT: The top team in New York heads to Manhattan to take on the Knicks.
WHERE: Madison Square Garden, New York, NY
WHEN: 7:30 p.m. EST
HOW: YES, MSG; NBA League Pass
THE STORY: Game Preview
Sure it took overtime and some more nail-biting but man, coming out on the W side of things is just so, so much better. Maybe this is a little momentum swinger, a little kick in the pants to get these guys going. Normally I’d say a back-to-back for this Nets team is probably a schedule loss, but they’re basically home the whole time (last night in Barclays, tonight in MSG) so a couple wins in a row might not be totally out of the question! Maybe I’m getting ahead of myself here, but come on! I’m excited, the streak is over!
Saturdays opponent, the Knicks, are 8-18 and find themselves in a similar situation to the Nets. Without their star player, they’re just kind of a bunch of spare parts trying to figure out who’s good and who’s gone by February.
They are also, similarly, planning on making a run at some big free agents. KD specifically, as everyone in the basketball world is quite aware of at this point. This also might be a match-up of two teams with pretty similar lottery odds when it comes time to see who will be taking Zion and who will be taking Not Zion. Let’s get into it.
For more on the Knicks, check out: Posting and Toasting
The Brooklyn Nets (9-18) will ride their fixies over to Madison Square Garden tonight. At this point it’s still unclear if they’ll remove their septum rings before the game or before the ride. The Nets broke their eight-game losing streak with an overtime win over the fanged and clawed Raptors. New York (8-18) had their last win against the two-point Milwaukee Bucks, also in overtime.
The Bucks, of course, beat the Raptors earlier this year and neither team had their best player (Kawhi Leonard, Giannis Antetokounmpo). Much like the Knicks and Nets matching up tonight without their respective stars (one Caris LeVert for Brooklyn and some mope named Kristaps Porzingis for New York). I just can’t seem to find anything similar about these two teams, other than the pallor of Sean Marks’ brilliance casting a milky shadow over the entire city’s futures.