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| If the Nets are gonna win, D-Will probably has to play as well as he did in his 38-point performance vs the Knicks last season at MSG |
When: 3:30 PM; Monday, January 21st, 2013
Where: Madison Square Garden; New York, NY
TV: YES Network/NBATV/MSG Network
When the Knicks punked the Nets on December 19th by a score of 100-86 at MSG, the loss pushed Brooklyn to just one game over .500 and started to cast serious doubts on the Nets' viability as an Eastern Conference contender. Carmelo Anthony was unstoppable, scoring an easy 31 points on just 12-22 shooting. Brooklyn simply had no answer for him or Tyson Chandler or J.R. Smith for that matter, the three Knicks player to score in double figures on the evening.
However, both of these teams are in radically different places for today's Martin Luther King Jr. day matinee. The Nets have won 11 of 15 since then, as former coach Avery Johnson was fired in the middle of that stretch and P.J. Carlesimo initiated as the interim head man, whom Brooklyn has gone 10-2 under. In that same time period, the Knicks are 6-7. Those records show how that loss jumpstarted Brooklyn to pick up its performance while simultaneously knocking the Knicks off the winning rhythm they were feeling for much of the beginning of the season.
Clearly, it's different now than it was in December. The Nets are coming off a tough, hard-fought 94-89 win over the Hawks on Friday at Barclays, a game in which they didn't play very well throughout but started to turn it on in the second half in order to close out the win. Sure, the fact that Al Horford didn't play due to injury helped out Brooklyn–and Reggie Evans, who collected 20 boards on the evening. The Knicks last game was also a win, over the lowly Detroit Pistons in London. After a taking a 12-point lead after the first quarter, the Knicks weathered a late Detroit run to hold onto an advantage they would keep throughout the game for a win.
Probable Lineups
BKN- D-Will (PG), Johnson (SG), Wallace (SF), Evans (PF), Lopez (C)
NYK- Kidd (PG), Shumpert (SG), Anthony (SF), Copeland (PF), Chandler (C)
Final Thoughts
Other than Marcus Camby and Raymond Felton being out for the Knicks, it appears that both of these teams are finally healthy so today's game should represent a true and accurate representation of which team is truly better right now. Amare Stoudamire could be an x-factor today as he didn't play in the last meeting but is well enough to play now, and offers the added bench scoring for the Knicks that can stretch any defense.
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