Greetings from Brooklyn, NY, as your intrepid reporter and family visit his stepson in beautiful Bensonhurst. Also on the road: the New York Knicks! Our heroes kicked off their five-game road trip with a merciless slaughter of the Nuggets in Denver on Friday night. This week they continue to earn their frequent flyer miles with a jaunt to the west coast and back. Here’s the skinny.
Sunday, March 8 — New York Knicks at Los Angeles Lakers, 3:30 p.m.
The Knicks travel to Crypto.com Arena to face the Lakers in a nationally televised ABC matinee. Los Angeles enters with
home-court advantage and the veteran tandem LeBron James and Luka Dončić. Although the Knicks beat them on February 1, 112-100, the Lakers have had New York’s number, winning six of their last 10 meetings.
L.A. leans heavily on their stars to generate offense, while the Knicks counter with better depth and a burgeoning defense. If New York can protect the paint and push the tempo, they have the tools to take this one in tinseltown. The nation will be watching, so they’d better take care of business.
Monday, March 9 — New York Knicks at LA Clippers, 10:00 p.m.
The Knicks close out their L.A. back-to-back at the Intuit Dome against the Clippers. The Knicks enter as clear favorites, and recent history supports our optimism: on January 7, they cruised to a 123-111 home win behind Jalen Brunson’s 26 points.
After a terrible start to the season, the Clippers have improved enough to sit on the edge of the play-in bubble. Monday’s matchup favors the Knicks, but they’ll need to contain Kawhi Leonard (averaging the most points per game of his career) and survive the fatigue of a SEGABABA.
Tune in on MSG.
Wednesday, March 11 — New York Knicks at Utah Jazz, 9:00 p.m.
The third stop on New York’s West Coast road trip brings a welcome change of pace, as the Knicks visit the tanking Jazz at Delta Center. Utah is firmly in rebuild mode, and the Knicks’ recent history against them is pretty lopsided—on December 5, New York dismantled the Jazz 146-112 behind Brunson’s 33 points, opening the game with a 23-0 run, the longest in franchise history. There shouldn’t be much to worry about in this one; rather, this contest presents a prime opportunity for younger guys and bench players to stretch their legs.
Watch it on MSG.
Friday, March 13 — New York Knicks at Indiana Pacers, 7:30 p.m.
The Knicks close out their road trip in Indianapolis, where the Pacers await at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. On paper, this looks like the easiest matchup of the trip. The Pacers always get up for a Knicks game, though. On December 18, New York squeaked out a 114-113 win, and in their game on February 10, Indy won in overtime, 137-134, despite a 40-burger from Brunson.
Watch this one on MSG.
Go Knicks.
