While Noel is struggling offensively this season, shooting just 41.3% from the field, it’s his drop in defensive contributions that has been most surprising.
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“We played all right, but we didn’t play at the level we played (Tuesday) night”, said Robert Covington, who chipped in 10 points.
Adding insult to (well, someone else’s) injury, while our #3 overall pick was a DNP – Disgrace, last summer’s #4 overall pick was continuing his dream rookie season for the Knicks at our expense.
The last bit of drama came in the final minutes, when Cleanthony Early entered the game after playing in the morning for the Westchester Knicks of the D-League.
With his put back-dunking, double-double-stacking performance through the Knicks’ first 18 games, Porzingis has stamped himself as a legitimate Rookie of the Year contender and developed a national following. Knicks Head Coach Derek Fisher said of Anthony’s absence on Sunday, “We found out right before the game before we went onto the floor”. He continued to trash talk New York’s second team, saying that he barely knew who the Nets were while growing up in Europe. With his production having fallen off so precipitously, it has left the Nets without its strong second option after Lopez offensively.
In addition to the proximity of the two teams, tonight’s matchup features a number of savory storylines, including the battle of the Lopez brothers and the return of former Knicks Andrea Bargnani and Shane Larkin to The Garden.
On the first play of the third quarter, Porzinigs cut backdoor to the basket, received a floating pass from Anthony and finished a two-handed slam with authority.
The Knicks took advantage of the 6-11 Okafor’s absence in the first quarter, scoring 14 points in the paint on the way to a 27-21 lead. “I mean both teams would probably have to be somewhere at the top of the East. That’s kind of how it was”.
Comparison between players has been nearly an implicit tradition in the National Basketball Association. He has a legitimate chance to win rookie of the year. Those hopes suffered a potentially crippling blow this week when Rudy Gobert, a great young defender and shot-blocker, sprained a knee ligament, knocking him out indefinitely. It wasn’t the most points the Nets allowed in a half this season. “Hopefully we can hoist one or two [championship trophies] before that happens”. “He works hard. If he has a bad game, he goes back and works hard”.
For the longest time, it seemed that Brampton’s Andrew Nicholson was the forgotten man for the Orlando Magic, unable to have an impact because he was tethered to the bench.
Something of a whirlwind, no? The Knicks took a 15 point lead into the second half. With the Lakers in Toronto on Monday, the Raptors are still formulating tribute plans, but it’s unlikely there will be any elaborate production.
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NY scores an average of 97.0 points per game (ranked 23rd), while Brooklyn gives up 101.9 points per game (ranked 19th).
