Couldn’t make it two. The Brooklyn Nets went to Canada to take on the red hot Toronto Raptors. Brooklyn fought hard, but Toronto was too much to handle as they pulled away late to extend their winning streak.
The opponent tonight has grand expectations, but things have been pretty rocky as of late. The New York Knicks went south to face the Orlando Magic, but lost 133-121. The loss was bad enough, but they wound up losing another rotation player. More on that shortly.
Double coverage! YES Network and MSG on TV. Gotham Sports on streaming. WFAN on radio. Tip after 7:30 PM.
No Cam Thomas, Ben Saraf, or Haywood Highsmith. Night two of a back-to-back so we’ll see if anyone else is out. Also, we don’t know if Brooklyn will bring back Nolan Traore and Danny Wolf who’ve played well in their five-game stint in Long Island.
Landry Shamet left Saturday’s game with a right shoulder injury. He was diagnosed with a shoulder sprain and is out. OG Anunoby is out with a strained left hamstring. Deuce McBride missed Saturday’s game due to an illness. He should be good t go tonight.
The Knicks won the first meeting.
Luckily for the Nets, they’ve got a few days off after tonight. Three games in four nights in three cities across two countries is a heck of a stretch. And with the holiday coming up, the team gets a chance to rest up and spend more time with their families. Just gotta get through tonight first.
Brooklyn’s defense bottomed out in the first meeting, and they’ve been relatively decent ever since. Starting from November 10 onward, Brooklyn has allowed 116.2 per 100 possessions, which is 18th in the NBA. That’s not especially great, but it’s better than the Knicks during the same period. NY is allowing 118.2 points per 100 possessions since the meeting on the tenth, good for 20th in the NBA. The Knicks have big places to go this spring, and they’re going to need to fix that in a hurry. We’ll get a better gauge for this group when Anunoby returns.
Noah Clowney stocks are through the roof!
He and Nic Claxton will have their hands full on the inside tonight. Mitchell Robinson is coming off of a season low three rebounds on Saturday night, but has been one of the better rebounders in the NBA this season. He’s second in offensive rebounding, averaging almost five o-boards in 17 minutes per game. He’s relentless on the glass and for a Nets team that has struggled on the glass, Robinson could press on a weakness in a major way.
The Nets will also have to contend with Karl-Anthony Towns. With KAT, you often worry that he’ll take himself out of a game with an ill-advised foul, but those moments haven’t been as pronounced. His shooting numbers are down (thanks to a career low 60.4 percent inside of three feet), but he’s getting to the free throw line at the highest rate of his career. The percentages should be back to where we’re used to soon enough, but if he continues to be a foul magnet, look out.
It’s been a while since Brooklyn beat their neighbors in Manhattan. The Nets have lost seven straight games against the Knicks and haven’t beaten them since January 28, 2023. Feels like a lifetime ago.
With the two teams in drastically different spaces, the Mikal Bridges return game won’t really have that much juice attached to it. Mikal’s exit from Brooklyn wasn’t especially acrimonious, but usually there’s some extra oomph when you’re going up against a former teammate that joined a contender. It probably won’t be like that, but Bridges should still be a featured part of the Knicks attack. He plays well of of the All Stars and can heat up in his own right.
Michael Porter Jr can heat up as well, and if he can get on an early heater, he’ll shape the tenor of the crowd at Barclays Center. As we all know, Knicks fans always make their presence felt and if the Nets find themselves down big early, the ‘clays will turn to a Garden party by the end of the first quarter. MPJ has been one of the best scorers in the league this year and a big time outing would help Brooklyn finally pick up a home win.
Player to watch: Jalen Brunson
When you’re missing so many key players, the franchise player has to put a bit more on their shoulders. Luckily for the Knicks, they’ve got the right man for the job. Jalen Brunson has carried the Knicks franchise since he came to NYC all the way back in 2022, and he’s kept it going ever since. JB is ninth in the NBA in scoring at 28.4 points per game on 48/36/86 shooting splits. Brunson does everything on offense for this group and if the game is close late, put it in his hands and watch him work. The first Nets matchup didn’t require many theatrics as he cut the Nets up for a cool 19 points in 28 minutes. As the Knicks look to get back on the winning track, Brunson will look to assert himself early.
Can’t afford to turn it over in the ways the Nets did last night. They turned it over 19 times, second highest total this season. For Egor Dëmin and Drake Powell, they’ll try to bounce back in an especially tough matchup. As we mentioned earlier, the team has done a lot of traveling the past few days, and I’m sure this is extra taxing on rookies on this adventure for the first time. Brunson is a matchup nightmare on a normal day. Seeing him when you’re exhausted and desperately waiting for a well deserved mini-break? Look out.
One step closer to the Survivor Series!
And happy trails, Brandon Nimmo