Game Day: Knicks vs. Bulls, 4/28/21
The streak is over, but the Knicks have a chance to still end the home stand at 5-1 before hitting the road for a grueling west coast trip. Can they take care of business against the struggling Bulls?
The magical streak is over, but that doesn’t mean that the magic is gone for the Knicks.
The broke way to look at the streak coming to an end on Monday is that the Knicks’ streak was broken. The woke way is to look at it that they’ve won nine of their last 10 games (a fact that was true both before and after the loss on Monday).
This game might actually be one of the biggest tests for the Knicks this season, as they definitely seem to have a somewhat delicate line that they toe as far as confidence is concerned. Will they let the streak-busting loss get them down and lose to a clearly inferior Chicago team? Or will they dust themselves off and go back to taking care of business?
My money’s on the latter. It’s not like they were never tested or pushed to the limit during the win streak — three of the games went to overtime, after all, even if they ultimately won two of them by 10 points apiece. They were floundering a bit before the Memphis game, getting double-digit leads in games only to blow them down the stretch. I think the streak illustrated that they know they need to play a full 48, even against inferior teams.
And the Bulls… they’re inferior, that’s for damn sure. Since getting Nikola Vucevic at the deadline and losing Zach LaVine to injury, they’ve been absolutely plummeting. Things have maybe leveled out a bit in the short term — they’ve won four of their last six games — but the level of competition has definitely not been there. Those four wins came against Cleveland (who they also lost to), the very depleted and skidding Hornets, a split with the Heat, and a win over the Celtics (who also suck).
Still, even without LaVine, this team has kind of assembled a Voltron of “dudes who crush the Knicks.” Vucevic almost always gives them problems, Coby White is definitely a certified Knick killer, and so is Lauri Markkanen. It’s only a matter of time until Patrick Williams randomly drops 30 on their heads, too.
Other than LaVine, the Bulls are without Troy Brown Jr. The Knicks remain without Mitchell Robinson, but Alec Burks has cleared COVID protocols! Still, if they follow the blueprint they did with Derrick Rose, he might not see the floor tonight. The Knicks also won’t have Luca Vildoza, their newly-signed guard from overseas, but I’m just excited about that acquisition and wanted to share.
It feels like it’s been two eternities since these teams faced off in a back-to-back in Chicago in early February, which they split. The Bulls are looking totally different these days, whereas the Knicks are in many ways the same.
The difference-maker, as it has been lately, will probably be the bench for the Knicks. If Rose and Immanuel Quickley can provide the same spark they have been lately, then the Knicks should be able to blitz the Bulls off the bench. Of course, Chicago doesn’t really have anyone in their starting lineup that can reasonably check Randle, either. Williams might be able to do the job on RJ Barrett, but we’ll see if that’s even the assignment he draws.
The game’s at 7:30 tonight on MSG. Come hang with us on Twitter!
