Knicks vs. Nets: How & Who to Watch as Metro Series Ends

The New York Knicks and Brooklyn Nets will do battle for the final time this season as the teams trend in drastically different directions.

Author:
Geoff Magliocchetti
Updated:
Mar 1, 2023 1:55 PM EST

In this story:

New York Knicks

Hardwood fortunes have flipped between Manhattan and Brooklyn.

With the NBA trade deadline serving as the indirect catalyst, six consecutive victories from the surging New York Knicks have moved them into fifth place in the Eastern Conference's fluid playoff picture. They take over the spot from the Brooklyn Nets, who have opted to more or less start over after ending the Kevin Durant/Kyrie Irving era. Their departures have led to losses in seven of their past nine and now they face the Knicks at Madison Square Garden on Wednesday night.

The second win of the Knicks' ongoing streak came against the Nets, a 124-106 triumph on Feb. 13. It was good for their first win over their crosstown rivals in nine meetings and now they'll look to split the series for the first time since the 2019-20 campaign.

What: Brooklyn Nets (34-27) @ New York Knicks (36-27)

Where: Madison Square Garden, New York, NY

When/Watch: Wednesday, 7:30 p.m. ET, MSG/MSG Go

Who's Favored: NYK -7.5

Keep An Eye On: Mitchell Robinson

Plenty of headlines and narratives after the NBA's trade deadline have centered on the fact that the Knicks are undefeated since Josh Hart arrived from the Pacific Northwest (even if he'd rather place the credit elsewhere). The winning streak also accounts for the return of Robinson: the Knicks were able to tread water and then some while he healed from finger surgery (8-6 in the final 14 before the All-Star break).

But Robinson has proved his value and then some, earning double-doubles in each of his first three games back, averaging 10.3 points and 12.3 rebounds in that span. Now averaging a career-best 9.2 rebounds a game in his first year on a new four-season, $60 million contract, Robinson is rising for the Knicks when it matters most. One of the defining images of the Knicks' winning streak, and perhaps their season as a whole, was Robinson's first quarter denial of Boston Celtics star Jayson Tatum early on in a Monday meeting, setting the tone for what's arguably the most impactful win of the season.

His impact has not been lost on the Knicks' on-court observers.

“He’s an elite defender, obviously,” Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau said after the win over Boston, per Peter Botte of the New York Post. “The rim protection, even if he’s not blocking [shots], they’re looking for him, and he’s got great discipline in the restricted (area). Then offensively, just creating the extra possessions and doing what he does there, it’s been big for us.”

Net to Watch: Cam Thomas

The Nets built enough room between themselves and NBA oblivion to breathe relatively easy (6.5 games up on 11th-place Chicago entering Wednesday action) but they'd be foolish not to use the final stages of the regular season to start forming their future. Brooklyn has already exercised its 2023-24 option on Thomas, who is coming off a fantastic February.

Thomas averaged 23.5 points over 11 contests last month but the Nets have opted to keep him as a reserve for the time being. Head coach Jacque Vaughn is going to stick with that even as uncertainty lingers throughout the Brooklyn roster.

“For him to come off the bench and have the attention that he garnered, to be able to make shots for us, to be able to create for us (is huge)," Vaughn said of Thomas after he put in 19 points in 21 minutes in a Feb. 15 win over Miami, per Christian Arnold of amNY. "I thought he used each possession and was pretty efficient with it. He made the right decisions, which is growth for him, so definitely more so what we wanted to see.”

Prediction

Every time the Knicks play the Nets, even in their deflated state, it's going to be a chance for a statement, at least until they win something of postseason substance. The Knicks' winning streak obviously won't last forever but asking them to dispose of the reeling Nets at home and finally generate a new winning streak in the fizzling rivalry shouldn't be too much to ask for.