Game Day: Knicks vs. Nets, 1/13/21
The Nets come across town to visit the Knicks with… well, a few things off the court distracting them, namely one of their two max players. Can the Knicks take advantage of the other New York team being the source of drama for once? We’ll see!
Lord, here we go. If there was ever a team that I just am loathe to talk about, here it is. I’m not even some virulently anti-Nets guy. They wanted the coverage the Knicks rightly get, well here it is. That attention you ordered.
I think ESPN’s sports-is-religion atmosphere is positively idiotic and Stephen A. Smith might work hard, but the untamed fury of his rhetoric is tempestuous, so my apologies for sharing something from him. First, last. I find his shtick to be damaging all told, but that’s a different conversation.
To be fair to Stephen A.’s batshit bullshit, it’s also not sane how Kyrie Irving has done as little as possible to shed light on what he actually seems to be thinking and what he’s contending with. I don’t think Irving is a crazy person, but he turns himself into an unworthy victim with his inability (unwillingness?) to think things through, then plan accordingly. He’s the guy that buys you something extravagant and perishable right before you’re going on a month long trip. Thanks? I’ll have to have you over... right now, I guess.
Certainly he has made efforts to be an upstanding member of the community, be it giving money, food, or praise — shining light on societal issues that don’t get enough attention. But there’s always another shoe ready to drop right into his pile of silence. This article from merely a week ago was promptly trampled on. Then this piece immediately turned to dust. That’s part of the confounding nature of it all, he has people who want to support him and he very publicly makes that abnormally difficult.
His cohort, Kevin Durant, may dash headlong into Twitter beeves with random eggheads, but you know he’s going to do whatever he can to play, and that he’s desperate to win.
I don’t begrudge Kyrie, or the contract he negotiated, and if he doesn’t want to play right now, it’s not that big of a deal in my opinion. He should not forfeit the money that’s owed or retire. He should get his shit together. Use all the English you want when you’re in between the lines of the basketball court, but for everyone’s sake, please be a straight shooter outside of them.
So anyway…
The one guy that doesn’t matter tonight is the only guy being talked about. How dumb. The Knicks will be welcoming back their top draft pick, Obi Toppin, and their old pal Taj Gibson. I’m expecting about ten or twelve minutes from Obi and only break-in-case-of-emergency minutes for Taj. Or shit… maybe some garbage time.
Yea but…
The interesting part of this game will be who guards Kevin Durant and for just how long they can keep him in front and contest without fouling. A Durant free throw parade will sink the Knicks in no time flat. Probably RJ Barrett and Julius Randle are both too small, but you can’t put Mitchell Robinson on him. You live with Mitch on a switch, sure. If I’m the Knicks, it’s all about RJ. If the kid can’t shoot, that’s one thing. It does not excuse him from having to D all the way up, every single possession. Can he stop Durant? No, probably not, but at least slow him down, muscle him up when you can and at the very least, let Randle get a little bit of rest on the court by just hanging out in the corner with Jeff Green.
There’s also the big questions floating through the city. Who is the best young player? Kevin Knox, who is all of 19 years old, or Caris LeVert, who is 31. The one everyone is talking about: is RJ Barrett a better wing than Joe Harris? And of course, who is the best young center in New York? Well, I’m biased, but certainly whoever develops a jump shot is in pole position, right?
Knicks by -3
Right well…
Couple Cappa slappas for y’all.
