Bragging rights are once again at stake this coming Friday as the New York Knicks and the Brooklyn Nets renew their fierce rivalry in the season’s opening installment of the Battle of the Boroughs. Both teams are looking for a morale-boosting victory after suffering heart-breaking defeats in their last games.
Who will reign supreme in this Big Apple battle? Read on for a preview of this showdown and while you’re at it, you can check out our preview of the game between the Washington Wizards and the Toronto Raptors here.
The Knicks will look for a much better performance against the Nets this coming Friday after a disappointing 98-95 loss to the Detroit Pistons pushed them below .500 for the second time this season.
[sc:NBA240banner ]Carmelo Anthony shot below 25% (5-of-21) from the field last night to score a measly 13 points. That surely didn’t help the Knicks’ offensive numbers, which have them ranked 29th in scoring this season with a paltry 89.8 PPG average.
Anthony has put up just 19.6 points per ballgame this season, way below his 27.4 PPG clip last season. There’s still plenty of time, though, for Anthony to get his scoring groove on as he’s still trying to get the hang of the triangle offense that head coach Derek Fisher is employing right now.
It wasn’t just the offense that was to blame for the Knicks’ defeat last night. What ultimately led to their downfall against Detroit was their atrocious perimeter defense. They allowed the Pistons, who went 1 for 17 from the three point area in their previous game against Brooklyn, to explode for a season-high 11 long balls.
Where the Knicks were successful defensively was in slowing down Detroit’s top four scorers in Brandon Jennings, Andre Drummond, Josh Smith and Greg Monroe, who combined for just 28 percent shooting (15 for 53) from the field.
They will need to get their defensive rotations in order against the Nets, who are 10th in the NBA in three-point shooting with a 37.1% clip. In fact, the Nets have been lights out from the field, shooting 48.3 percent this season, the third-best mark in the entire league.
The Knicks are 7-3 ATS in their last 10 away games.
The Brooklyn Nets had their two-game winning streak snapped on Wednesday after a late-game meltdown gave the Minnesota Timberwolves the victory in a tightly-fought encounter.
The Wolves scored the last nine points to turn a 91-89 deficit into a 98-91 victory in the end. Nikola Pekovic proved to be the thorn in the Nets’ side as he scored the tie-breaking three-point play with 48 seconds remaining to give Minnesota the lead for good.
Pekovic scored 16 points and grabbed 11 boards as he led the Wolves to a commanding 51-42 rebounding advantage. What led to the Nets’ eventual demise, however, was their huge number of turnovers.
They had 17 to be exact, two of which came in the crucial final stages of the match. The Wolves made them pay, scoring 23 points off those turnovers that proved to be the main difference in the ballgame.
The Nets will need to do a much better job of protecting the ball against the Knicks who have scored an average of 15 PPG off turnovers this season, good for 18th in the NBA. The onus is on point guard Deron Williams to orchestrate the offense much better. He’s averaging 17.5 points and 7.3 assists this season but is also committing 2.5 turnovers per contest.
The Nets will need to be wary of the Knicks who seem to have their number ever since they relocated to Brooklyn. The Knicks are 3-1 in their last four meetings in Brooklyn. Last season, the Knicks’ total margin of victory over the Nets in their two meetings at the Barclays Center was a whopping 41 points.
The Nets are 5-5 SU in their last 10 home games.
Writer’s Prediction
The Knicks beat the Nets to snap their two-game losing streak.
