WHO: Brooklyn Nets (26-23) vs. New York Knicks (10-36) WHAT: The hottest team in the NBA, the Nets, host the last place Knicks. WHERE: Barclays Center, Brooklyn, NY WHEN: 7:30 p.m. EST HOW: YES, MSG; NBA League Pass THE STORY: Game Preview The Knicks are last in the league in field goal percentage, assists, true shooting percentage, and rank close to last in a bevy of other categories like opponent points allowed per game and Net Rating. The Nets, in January, are 6th in the league in Defensive Rating, 12th in Offensive Rating, and 9th in Net Rating which, over the course of a full season, would make them one of the best teams in the league. The Knicks, despite being bad, have some decent young players and maybe even a couple of veterans who could be flipped in a couple of weeks for assets or salary cap relief or something. Tim Hardaway Jr. is the leading candidate, being owed $18 million next year with another $18 million player option the year after that. If the Knicks really want to sign a big free agent, getting Hardaway off their books would help. He’s a solid offensive player, and while he’s shooting just 39% from the field and 35% from three this season, some of that can be attributed to his being essentially the only shot creator on the floor for large stretches of time and he has a green light period. On a good team with a system and players ahead of him on the depth chart, those numbers would probably get a bump. But his scoring average wouldn’t likely be that high either.<doc-sep>The New York Knicks finish up their 2018-19 season series with their crosstown “rivals”, the Brooklyn Nets. Spencer Dinwiddie won’t play for Brooklyn; God only knows who will and won’t play for the Knicks (and what Enes Kanter will say about it). Game is at 7:30 PM on on MSG. This is NetsDaily. No trolling them, please. Please don’t post large photos, GIFs, or links to illegal streams in this thread. Be nice to one another. Go the Knicks!<doc-sep>There hasn’t been a more reliable NBA moneymaker for sports bettors over the past six weeks than the Nets. D’Angelo Russell and company take the floor again Friday at home against the Knicks (MSG, YES, 7:30 p.m.) Even with Wednesday’s non-cover vs. Orlando (a 114-110 victory as a 5-point favorite), the Nets are now 18-5 straight up against money line prices, 16-6 (73 percent) against the spread since Dec. 7. As we’ve discussed previously, the young and hungry Nets are ideally positioned to take advantage of a league that tends to coast through its middle months. Contenders are pacing themselves so they’re poised to peak when the playoffs begin in April. Bad teams have no motivation to play well now because awful win-loss records position them well for the draft lottery. Talented young tweeners like the Nets can ignite! This current tear is reminiscent of one we saw last year at this time by the Heat. Same spot in the league hierarchy. Same story lines. Comparable success. From Dec. 6, 2017 to Jan. 29, 2018, the Heat went 18-8 straight up, 15-10-1 ATS. Betting markets weren’t caught quite as flat-footed because there was more lingering respect for the Heat at that time than there was for the Nets this season. Still, that was a 60 percent cover stretch for Miami in a league that’s usually priced fairly well. Does that mean the Nets are due to cool off by the end of the month? That’s largely up to the man driving the race car, coach Kenny Atkinson. If he wants to keep his foot on the gas, this could last even longer. Though, coaches or teams can’t control when bad injury luck will happen. And, it’s harder to catch opponents flat-flooted over and over again through a few months unless they’re outright tanking (Orlando was in a revenge spot Wednesday after losing at home to Brooklyn last Friday). Bettors should keep an eye on results and cover margins to see if the market is gradually honing in on the Nets’ true level of nightly play. Over the last 11 games, cover margins during an 8-3 ATS run look like this on a number line from worst to best (median in parentheses): -10.5, -7, -1, 4, 6, (7), 9, 9.5, 13, 15, 25.5. Wednesday’s nail-biter was the sample’s only ATS sweat. The Nets bettered expectations by six points or more in seven of those 11 games. What about the Knicks? We talked about their lack of motivation to get results earlier this week. After Wednesday’s 114-110 loss to the Rockets (61 for Harden in the Garden! ), the Knicks have lost 15-of-16 straight up, and are 3-22 their last 25 (disaster on the money line). The Knicks are 8-14 ATS their last 22. For now, the Nets, who lost Spencer Dinwiddie for a reported 4-6 weeks with a finger injury, are a playoff-caliber team on pace to be a big first-round underdog against an Eastern power enjoying home-court advantage, while the Knicks are zooming in on the Zion Williamson sweepstakes. Betting markets are trying to catch up with one, catch down to the other.<doc-sep>I wish I had a really cool analogy or metaphor to lead in with here — I have pretty big shoes to fill with recapper extraordinaire MMiranda off tonight. But, look, if there’s one thing I’ve learned how to do over the years, it’s to be accepting. In this case, I’m accepting of the fact that I don’t have the seemingly endless and accessible-on-a-dime inventory of brilliant social, political, pop culture and literary knowledge of my brilliant co-worker that I can somehow turn into a Knicks-related thing. And... hey! Look! I’m doing it! Kinda. Because, you see, this Knicks season has taught me to accept these many losses. Tonight was no different, really, except that it kinda stung a bit to lose to the cross-town Nets and cede what will surely be a few scathing back page headlines tomorrow. But ultimately, this season doesn’t matter in the wins and losses column (or, at least not in the wins column). We just need to grab onto the good moments and hold on tight. Most of those good moments came in a blistering 37-point first quarter tonight, led by Noah Vonleh’s 14-point domination of the Nets’ starters (he wound up going for a career-high 22 points with 13 rebounds and three assists). 8 points for @NoahVonleh in 3 min... pic.twitter.com/6wbfNNkEr2 — NEW YORK KNICKS (@nyknicks) January 26, 2019 But it wasn’t just Noah getting it done! Frank Ntilikina drew a surprise start after it was announced earlier that Emmanuel Mudiay will miss a couple of weeks with a shoulder strain. And, early on at least, he made the most of it: Frank gets on the board pic.twitter.com/cpqMwebcmQ — Knicks Film School (@KnickFilmSchool) January 26, 2019 Look at the reach pic.twitter.com/LoSjQ2Ch3s — Knicks Film School (@KnickFilmSchool) January 26, 2019 Four points and four assists in the first had Knicks fans dreaming of a potential double-double for the Frenchman. Unfortunately, a very Mitchell Robinson-esque six fouls in 18 minutes squashed that idea, and Frank was never quite able to get that same flow back to his game with the sporadic, foul-induced shortage of playing time the rest of the way out. The Knicks still were playing well through the second quarter, though, pushing the lead to as much as 11, thanks to some resurgent play from Trey Burke. Unfortunately, the caveat of switching Ntilikina out for Burke is that you’re bound to give up at least as many points as Burke produces for you on offense, even when he’s at his best. And, predictably, once Burke was no longer shooting nuclear and simply normal, that 11-point lead faded and the Knicks entered halftime tied with the Nets at 60 apiece. Burke continued getting some buckets, but unfortunately, so did the Nets’ bench. Theo Pinson and Shabazz Napier scored 19 and 18 points, respectively, and the Brooklyn bench dropped 72 on the Knicks’ dome. Napier, in particular, shot like shit (3-13), but was given 12 opportunities at the line due to shoddy perimeter D. Yada yada yada, the Knicks lost. Can I talk about Mitch Robinson now? So, let me introduce you to this kid, if you’re not familiar: Demarre Carroll: Lemme just get this layup real quick Mitch: Nah, son pic.twitter.com/vNYOtUNSne — Posting and Toasting (@ptknicksblog) January 26, 2019 Mitch was everywhere tonight. He did everything. He was so damn fun to watch every time he was anywhere near the ball. Main reason for that? He managed to only foul twice tonight in 15 minutes, a marked improvement from his recent 18-ish minute foul outs. And thus, a Mitch Robinson free from the confines of foul pressure was unleashed upon the Nets, and he wreaked havoc: pLaY EnEs KaNtEr pic.twitter.com/EGtrCw9mcC — Knicks Film School (@KnickFilmSchool) January 26, 2019 MITCHELL R BINS N pic.twitter.com/CHwcGMW1g0 — NEW YORK KNICKS (@nyknicks) January 26, 2019 His numbers (other than the four blocks, to go with six points and four rebounds) won’t hop off the page at you, but his play certainly will. In particular, this play defied convention to me: Mitch just blocked this somehow and I'm still trying to figure it out pic.twitter.com/6NYHKWAVFA — Posting and Toasting (@ptknicksblog) January 26, 2019 I remember, like, 10-plus years ago, I was watching the NFL Pro Bowl (why, I do not know). Michael Vick was in the game, and as a lefty, he was running towards the right sideline and threw a pinpoint pass in the opposite direction that his body was moving. The announcers gushed over it for a solid 2-3 minutes due to the sheer physical difficulty of a throw like that. That particular block by Mitch was similar to that, but probably even more difficult because it happened in mid-air, and Mitch made it look super easy. I think we’ve got a real player on our hands here. So sayeth commenter Paint The Court Blue, “I’m just going to remember the first quarter (plus Mitch).” (Parenthetical my own. Impossible to forget Mitch tonight!) Notes: — D’Angelo Russell wanted nothing to do with Frank Ntilikina’s defense tonight. MSG ran a graphic at one point that showed that, going into tonight, Russell had scored six points on SEVENTY-FOUR possessions being guarded by Frank. The NBA Stats video clips are missing a few attempts, but I’m fairly certain he didn’t even attempt a shot against Frank all night. I guess we’ll see once the tracking numbers come out tomorrow. Either way, cool to see that Frank’s D has at least one player in the NBA scared shitless before the opening tip even goes down. — Allonzo Trier has really been finding himself again recently, and he shot a solid 4-6 (2-2 from three) for 13 points to continue that trend. His minutes with Mitch have easily been the most entertaining of them all — those two really have something going on right now. It’s going to be really nice when Mitch’s foul troubles are in the rearview mirror long-term and we can get 20-25 minutes of these two together consistently. I can get used to this Trier to Mitch connection pic.twitter.com/vK8hxyZaYT — Knicks Film School (@KnickFilmSchool) January 26, 2019<doc-sep>
Ok, we have to care about the Nets again. Start caring. Now stop. Start again...OK, stop. Brooklyn (26-23) has won five in a row and eight of their last ten. That’s good stuff! They’ve been cruising with D’Angelo Russell leading the way and maybe finally starting to get comfortable with the NBA game. New York (10-36) is trending quite the other way. Perhaps your local Nets fan has done everything they can to try to shout that in your ear. Losers of seven straight and only one of their previous ten, the Knicks are growing weary of the long season. Little spats of infighting have been made to appear bigger than they probably are in the case of Allonzo Trier and Tim Hardaway Jr. The just-let-me-play shenanigans of Enes Kanter are likely more toxic but even those might not make as big of a wave as presented. David Fizdale doesn’t seem too worried about it. Nonetheless this team is suffering. Asked if he’s worried Enes Kanter will become a distraction, David Fizdale cracked, “What are we going to do, lose more games?” — Stefan Bondy (@SBondyNYDN) January 24, 2019 New York is 1-2 in their series with Nets this season. This is their final meeting of the year and they could really use a win. Not because it’s the Nets but because it’s a team they’ve beaten. With Trier starting to find his stride again, certainly the Knicks will play with a sense of urgency. Projected Starters Well, I guess Enes Kanter doesn’t start in place of Luke Kornet? Maybe he does though. Who knows. This is a very complicated case, Maude. You know, a lotta ins, lotta outs, lotta what-have-you’s. In fairness to Kanter, he has actually had a good measure of success against the thinner Jarret Allen. Enes just bulls Allen until he’s dug in underneath the rim and then can just flip it up over either shoulder. So maybe we’ll get some Enes time. As for Brooklyn, one of the major weapons in their arsenal, Spencer Dinwiddie, may miss the game with torn ligaments in his right thumb. That’s his shooting hand. So while Dinwiddie may play through- if he needs surgery it would behoove the Nets to handle that sooner than later if they intend to have him when it really matters in the playoffs. Aside from Dinwiddie, lots more injury woes for Brooklyn. Including possibly their best player, Caris LeVert. Nets @HSpecialSurgery Injury Report for tomorrow night: Dinwiddie (right thumb) - QUESTIONABLE Hollis-Jefferson (left shoulder strain) - QUESTIONABLE Crabbe (sore right knee) - OUT Dudley (left hamstring strain) - OUT LeVert (right foot) - OUT Musa (left shoulder) - OUT — Brooklyn Nets (@BrooklynNets) January 24, 2019 Dinwiddie did play and pumped in 29 points in their last match against Orlando. So don’t be shocked to see him out there. Key Matchup Don’t get in the ring with Frank Ntilikina. I don’t care who you are. You want it Spencer? He’ll heat up the ball on D’Angelo Russell real fast. Be careful. In case you aren’t following- the key matchup is Ntilikina against whoever the fuck. This video came from an excellent bit by the most excellent Knicks Film School. So, yea I guess the dude got 61, but he’s been averaging nearly 50 a game for a while. So that doesn’t really seem so crazy in the larger context. You got a James Harden on your team, Brooklyn? No you don’t. You have alfalfa sprouts in your beard. And if you need to start the debate on Ntilikina, my two cents: It’s been a year and a half, and he’s been growing almost two inches a year. Let him finish growing and then we can set the clock to a year and a half from that point before you draw your ill-begotten conclusions then. Ntilikina came into the league listed as 6’5”. Here he is next to James Harden, also listed as 6’5”. The heights at the crowns of their heads isn’t so noticeably different but it certainly is different. But my goodness look at the shoulder heights! So just let Frank be done growing, and then let him figure out his body. He’ll still be a youngster, maybe a senior in college if he took that path. This photo was taken right before Harden gave Ntilikina a purple nurple. Frank will be proactively assessed one foul for tonight’s game because of the contact.