Game Day: Knicks vs. Sixers, 3/21/21
The Knicks get their chance at revenge on the Sixers, only this time at Madison Square Garden. Could Mitchell Robinson returning be the X-factor the Knicks need?
It’s been just five days since the Knicks last tussled with the Sixers down in Philly, and today they’re getting back at it in Madison Square Garden.
The difference this time? Immanuel Quickley potentially being back wouldn’t be a difference — he was there on Tuesday, and had a very good game — but Elfrid Payton returning would be… something. He’s questionable right now. Oh, and who’s this? MITCHELL ROBINSON IS QUESTIONABLE!
If you ask Mitch, though, he’d probably say he’s probable:
A bionic hand! Love it. Hopefully that means that it can withstand an unintentional elbow smack from Julius Randle now when they’re both going up for a board.
On the Sixers side of things, both Ben Simmons and Seth Curry missed their game last night against the Kings, joining Joel Embiid on the injury report. Curry is for sure out for tonight’s game with a knee sprain, while Simmons will likely draw a questionable/game time decision tag with knee soreness. If both are out, the Sixers’ lineup could look like this:
Even without the other two stars, Harris went off and helped the Sixers get a win over the Kings by almost notching a triple-double on Saturday: 29 points, 11 rebounds, eight assists, and the Sixers won by 24 at home.
For now, my assumption is that Mitch comes back off the bench, IQ and Elf both miss the game, and so do Simmons and Curry:
That’s gonna work pretty well for the Knicks, methinks. As long as they don’t forget how to shoot the basketball down the stretch again, a win is definitely feasible. We literally just saw them come within two minutes of beating the Sixers with Simmons and Curry on Tuesday while holding Philly to their third-lowest point total of the season in the process. And make no mistake, that was no Joel Embiid-injury-induced fluke: the Sixers are averaging 122.75 points per game in their last eight games, where they’re 7-1, with or without Embiid.
If the Sixers don’t have Simmons in this game, look for RJ Barrett to have a field day. Simmons is probably the guy that gives him the most trouble as a defender (he kinda does that to everyone he defends), and yet RJ still had a decent game the other night regardless. The Knicks will need to do something about Harris, though, because he’s on quite a tear lately.
Ultimately, I think this one is designed for the Knicks to win. A lot of times, that means they’re destined for a loss, but I think the extra rest, catching the Sixers on a back-to-back, the injury situation, and the overall desire to get revenge and get back over .500 will push the Knicks to victory in this one. If Julius Randle comes out with the same fire and desire he did against the Magic the other night, then really forget it, it’s curtains.
The game’s at 8 PM tonight (weird start time for a Sunday, where’s my matinee??) on MSG. Feel free to comment along here or join us on Twitter!
