Knicks vs. Grizzlies Preview: How, Who to Watch in Shorthanded Effort
It's a good thing Mike Walczewski won't be reading the injury reports for the New York Knicks and Memphis Grizzlies come tip-off of Tuesday night's game.
The Knicks have it bad enough with four missing men entering the second and final yearly showdown with Memphis: they already knew that they'd be without Julius Randle and Mitchell Robinson but they'll also continue to miss OG Anunoby and Quentin Grimes, who will be out for their fifth and third straight games respectively. However, the Knicks have a clean bill of health compared to the Grizzlies, who have 13 players listed on their ailment list submitted for Tuesday's game.
New York will be looking to restart a new winning streak against the declawed Grizzlies, as their NBA-long nine-game trek was severed on Saturday in a 113-105 final against the Los Angeles Lakers. If there's a time to do it, Tuesday's the night: the Knicks have earned ordinary wins in extraordinary fashion, as only four of their 18 losses have come against teams currently situated outside the top six of their respective playoff brackets.
A win on Tuesday will give the Knicks their first sweep of the Grizzlies since the 2020-21 season, as they previously topped Memphis 106-94 on Jan. 13 at FedExForum.
What: Memphis Grizzlies (18-32) @ New York Knicks (32-18)
Where: Madison Square Garden, New York, NY
When/Watch: Tuesday, 7:30 p.m. ET, MSG
Who's Favored: NYK -14.5
USA TODAY SPORTS
Keep An Eye On: Isaiah Hartenstein
If there were any worries that an Achilles injury would hamper Hartenstein's ability to continue filling in for Robinson in the primary center's spot, they were soundly eliminated last week: Hartenstein hauled in 46 rebounds over his last three games, helping the Knicks maintain one of their most distinct advantages over the competition. That bodes well for him against the Grizzlies, who give up over 35 defensive boards a game, second-worst in the NBA.
Grizzly to Watch: Scottie Pippen Jr.
With the younger Pippen in the lineup, the Grizzlies' sole purpose on the floor may be to remind millennial basketball fans how old they've become. Granted an extended opportunity in the wake of the countless injuries in the Memphis lineup, Pippen was one of the team's lone bright spots earlier in the opener of team's brief road trip in Boston, as he put up a career-best 19 points and six rebounds in a 40-point defeat.
They Said It
He's playing great. Outside of this organization, there was a question mark on, ‘Would he be able to do this?’ All of us believed in him inside this organization, the team, the coaching staff, everything we knew he was capable of, and he's been performing. He's been playing well. He's been just locked in every single night, doing the dirty work and just playing his style of basketball, which has been fantastic. So we knew he was capable of this.”-Jalen Brunson on Isaiah Hartenstein's contributions (h/t Anthony Rieber, Newsday)
Prediction
Tuesday presents another situation where if the Knicks don't win, uncomfortable conversations will be held, especially so close to the trade deadline. If there's one thing the Knicks have done extraordinarily well this season, it's handle business in games that they're supposed to win, and there's no reason to assume they won't be able to start another winning streak against the downtrodden Grizzlies.
