Nets vs. Knicks preview: Rumble at the Garden

Things haven’t been going great for the Nets recently. However, they’ve been a LOT worse for the struggling Knicks.

Summarized by AI ⓘ

What is the story about?

Nothing doing. The Brooklyn Nets returned home to face a revitalized Phoenix Suns team on Monday night. Brooklyn battled, but the Suns were too much to handle. The L was their second in a row and dropped the Nets to 2-9 in January.

The opponent tonight… boy I don’t know. The New York Knicks walked in to this season with championship expectations and an Eastern Conference that was theirs for the taking. After winning the NBA Cup, it looked like they were on the road to a top seed and a run of good

feelings. And then … things fell apart in a hurry. They got embarrassed at home on MLK Day on national tv against the Dallas Mavericks and have lost four straight games and eight out of their last ten. In fact, the Nets and Knicks have the same record over the last 11: 2-9. The sky isn’t falling, but things aren’t pretty on 33rd and 7th right now.

Where to follow the game

Ah we’ve got a full house tonight. YES Network and MSG on TV. Gotham Sports on streaming. ESPN Radio and WFAN on radio. Tip after 7:30 p.m. ET.

Injuries

Day’ron Sharpe is questionable. Ben Saraf remains with Long Island.

Nothing doing for the Knicks.

The game

New York won the first two meetings in November. The season series wraps up in March.

There will be tons of scoring in this one. In January, the Knicks’ team defensive rating is 118.4, 27th in the league. After a great December, the Nets’ defense has fallen off a cliff as they’re allowing 121.3 points per 100 possessions, 29th in the league. Considering how talented this Knicks team is on both sides of the ball, that’s unacceptable and as Josh Hart said in postgame, he and his teammates have to “be professional.” Eek.

Speaking of players that need to be better, Mikal Bridges, welcome to the big time! When he got his wish to get out of Brooklyn a few summers ago, he wanted to go to a team that could compete and be on a team that’s one of the centers of attention in the NBA. He’s gotten his wish and when you struggle on the Knicks, that attention becomes a pain to deal with. We mentioned the defense falling off a cliff earlier, and he + OG Anunoby were supposed to be the top dogs on that side of the ball that would lock up elite perimeter players. If Bridges doesn’t turn things around on that side, things are going to get really rough for him.

Can Noah Clowney do it again? The last time he played the Knicks, he set career highs in points (31) and 3- pointers made (seven). Clowney’s had a good season for the most part, but there have been some rough patches every so often. He only grabbed one rebound against the Suns on Monday, and the Nets will need all the help they can get on the glass when Hart and Mitchell Robinson are on the court. A game like this will be a great test of his progress this season.

If Brooklyn wants to end their ten game losing streak against the Knicks, they’re going to need a big outing from Michael Porter Jr. MPJ returned to action after a day off on Sunday and led the team in scoring with 23 points. With the Knicks defense being a wreck right now and Porter Jr having the ability to heat up at a moment’s notice, tonight could be the right mix for an All-Star showing.

The Nets will also need to slow down Jalen Brunson. JB was named an All-Star starter on Monday, and it’s a well deserved honor for the franchise guard. He’s got bigger things to worry about these days, such as ensuring his team is on the same page and playing basketball that meets the expectations of a title contender. For the Nets, having Drake Powell chase Brunson around will be a great test for the rookie and one they’re excited to see. Powell has played well in his minutes and is carving out a solid role for himself on this team. A big time outing tonight will give him a boost as we enter the dog days of the season.

And there’s another rivalry we should mention: that between the two head coaches, Jordi Fernandez and Mike Brown. Fernandez started off his career in the U.S. as youth coach who worked with Brown’s son. Brown gave Fernandez his first NBA job as an assistant with the Cavaliers’ G League club and the rest as they say is history written by Brian Windhorst.

For more on the Knick situation, listen to our Lucas Kaplan talk with Erik Slater on Erik’s Locked on Nets podcast.

Player to watch: Karl-Anthony Towns

So I’m not on Twitter, the Everything app, much these days. The only time I hop on there is to share my Women’s Basketball Roundup newsletter (you should subscribe and tell a friend!) and then get the hell out of there. When I do get on there, the algorithm feeds me SO MUCH negativity on Karl-Anthony Towns. Between the despair from Knick fans (more than usual) and Mike Brown being brutally honest about Towns’ miscues

I’m starting to get the impression a turn is occurring against Towns.

Determined to not have Twitter cook my brain or steer me down the wrong path, I went searching for analysis from experts who follow the game and not reactions designed to gin up outrage, so I went looking for some real analysis from folks who know what they’re talking about. So I turned to Michael Zeno and our friends over at Posting and Toasting, and buddy lemme tell you what I found was concerning:

“KAT doesn’t seem comfortable in Mike Brown’s system, for whatever reason, but that doesn’t explain the lapses in effort. The team themselves are not putting him in the best positions to succeed on that end, but there’s been an alarming amount of stupid plays, drives, and offensive fouls.

When the Knicks are at their best this season on offense, they’re driving and spraying to open shooters. Defenses naturally collapse when someone is going hard to the basket, which allows for a kick to the corner. They just aren’t doing that lately. Looking at KAT specifically, when he gets the ball at the three-point line and drives, it’s rare that it actually results in a basket.

Whether it’s not going up strong, phishing for fouls that don’t get called, committing dumb offensive fouls, or just getting the ball stripped, it’s just not working. It’s getting to a point where it feels mental with him, where the struggles and the team’s horrifically bad whistle of late is getting to him and bleeding out to the team.“

Yeesh.

In looking at the numbers, Towns’ field goal percentage is at career lows, thanks in part to a career worst shooting percentage on shots inside of three feet and a lack of success (compared to his standards) from 3-point range. And although he had a good game by the numbers on Monday, he got booed as he exited the court for the final time. After the game, he was asked about it and gave a fair, thoughtful answer

I see no lies here. Luckily for KAT, he works at The Garden so the boss won’t spy on him… I think.

Nic Claxton will look to continue Towns’ struggles. Rim protection will be essential to any chances of a Nets victory, and Clax will be tasked with forcing Towns into tough shots at the rim when he’s in the post and silly fouls on the other end. The frustration levels are off the charts for the Knicks, and Claxton being able to put another bad outing on KAT’s ledger can turn the temperature up even more at MSG. These two teams are at vastly different stages of their basketball journeys, but all the pieces are there for the Nets to finally get a win against their cross-town rivals.

From the Vault

Monday was Dr. Martin Luther King Jr Day. It’s always good to hear Dr. King speak, so let’s take you back to 1967 and listen to Dr. King talk about militarism and the Vietnam War