Live Game Thread: Brooklyn Nets vs. New York Knicks, 8:00 PM EST

The Brooklyn Nets are a great basketball team, the New York Knicks are a good basketball team. And everyone is happy. Well, everyone except Nets and Knicks fans because what makes us most happy is being unhappy!

The players not suiting tonight up would absolutely be a playoff team in the East, wouldn’t it: Kevin Durant, Spencer Dinwiddie, Blake Griffin, Derrick Rose and Mitchell Robinson.

That would be a pretty good team - of course any team with a healthy Durant on it would be a playoff team...but, my point still stands.

The Battle of the Borough Part [something?] - let’s get it!

WHO: Brooklyn Nets (26-13) vs. New York Knicks (20-19)

WHEN: 8:00 PM EST

WHERE: ESPN (national), YES (local), WFAN (radio)

Game Preview.

Sometimes, it takes some time and the right leadership to bring the most out of someone. Randle’s debut season in NYC didn’t go well, but with Thibs as coach, he was able to earn his first All Star selection. Randle’s playmaking has been off the charts this season as he’s averaging a career high in assists per game and has done a good job of keeping his turnovers reasonably low considering how much he has the ball in his hands. It’s great to see talented players like Randle land with a coaching staff and team that allows them to unleash all of their skills.

The Nets frontcourt trio will look to keep at it tonight. DeAndre Jordan starts at the five with Jeff Green and Nicolas Claxton taking their turns manning the middle. They’re all gonna need to be big tonight because as a team, the Knicks have been the fourth best rebounding squad in the league this season. Paint protection has been Brooklyn’s bugaboo, and once the team fully fleshes out the big rotation when everyone is healthy, they might be able to reverse those trends.

For more on the Knicks, check out Posting and Toasting.