Knicks get another test as they host another surging western conference team
What a difference a couple of weeks makes. Not too long ago, a fair amount of Knicks fans were pulling their hair out, and running around like a headless chicken, asking for Tom Thibodeau to be fired after watching their team lose six of nine games. Fast forward 12 days, and here fans are, hopeful and excited again after a three-game winning streak in which the Knicks have looked completely different on both sides of the ball. Their defense has been much better, thanks to their newfound ability to force turnovers at a higher rate. And their offense, partially boosted by their increased fastbreak opportunities, has scored 143 points in back-to-back games for the first time since 1965. Tonight, they’ll look to make it three games in a row against the Denver Nuggets.
Now, at first glance, scoring 143 points against the Nuggets seems possible. When these two teams last met, the Knicks scored 145 points in Denver. OG Anunoby led the way with a career-high 40 points, Karl-Anthony Towns scored 30 points on 12-15 shooting, and Jalen Brunson chipped in with 23 points as well. And that was back before Mikal Bridges even got going.
But the Nuggets, like the Knicks, are not the same team that played that night. That Nuggets team, which was 9-7 after the loss, looked lost on both sides of the ball, didn’t have Aaron Gordon, and weren’t starting Russell Westbrook, who has been playing some of his best and most efficient basketball in recent years. Denver does come into tonight having lost consecutive games to the Timberwolves, and Bulls, but before then, they had 17-6 in their last 23 games. That stretch did include two games against the struggling Suns, who they dropped a game to, a game against the rebuilding Jazz, and a game against the tanking Nets. But over that span, the Nuggets did have 22-point, and 23-point wins over the Clippers, back-to-back double-digit wins over the Mavericks, as well as a three-game stretch in which they beat the Magic, dominated the 76ers, and defeated the Kings.
With Gordon now back, and Westbrook in the starting lineup, the Nuggets have more or less returned to form as one of the better teams in the league. Since December 8th, the Nuggets have been second in offensive rating, fourth in net rating, and second in points per game. Denver is still a subpar defensive team, though. They are 19th in defensive rating on the season, and even during their impressive stretch, still have given up the eighth most points per game.
Prediction
This game likely won’t be the kind of blowout that the Kings game, the Grizzlies game, or the last Nuggets game was. Denver, as noted above, has been playing much better, and New York’s defense will be tested even more than they were against Sacramento and Memphis. Nikola Jokic, the consensus number one player in the entire world is having another historic season, averaging a video-game-like 30.0PPG, 13.1RPG, and 10.2APG while shooting 57.0% from the field, 47.4% from three, and 81.2% from the free-throw line. Jamal Murray is having another solid year, both Michael Porter Jr., and Christian Braun are having career years, and Westbrook has surprised many, averaging 14.6PPG, 7.2APG, and 6.1RPG in his 25 games as a starter.
But the Knicks should still be favorites. The Knicks won four of their last five meetings against the Nuggets, they are at home, where they are 16-8 this season, are playing better than they have all season long, and have a rare defensive matchup where Towns actually seems to do relatively well. Jokic will almost certainly still put up incredible numbers tonight, as he tends to do almost every night. But if the Knicks defense, which has gotten better since the last time these two teams met, can at least contain the trio of Porter Jr., Murray, and Westbrook, the Knicks’ explosive offense should have enough to overpower the Nuggets and their subpar defense.
Knicks win a high-scoring back-and-forth 130-120.
Game Details
Teams: New York Knicks (31-16) vs Denver Nuggets (28-18)
Location: Madison Square Garden, NYC
Start Time: 7:30 PM ET
Broadcast: ESPN
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