Knicks vs. Grizzlies: How & Who To Watch in Opening Night Rematch
What's a holiday weekend for if not for revenge against your brothers?
O.K., sure it means much more than that, but the New York Knicks have a major opportunity for revenge against an NBA sibling on Sunday evening when they take on the Memphis Grizzlies to wrap up Thanksgiving weekend. New York and Memphis previously opened their respective seasons with a showdown on Oct. 19, a 115-112 Grizzlies victory in overtime.
Nothing perhaps defines the Knicks' season to date better than the fact that they were able to take three of five games during a recent trip out west but enter relatively reeling as losers of three of their last four. The most recent defeat was another overtime heartbreaker, falling 132-129 to the Portland Trail Blazers on Friday night.
Despite numerous injuries (including one to Ja Morant, who did not appear on Sunday's report), the Grizzlies have kept pace with the Western Conference's elite. They ended a two-game losing streak on Friday night with a 132-111 triumph over the New Orleans Pelicans, one that saw Dillon Brooks lead the way with 25 points.
What: New York Knicks (9-10) vs. Memphis Grizzlies (11-8)
Where: Madison Square Garden, New York, NY
When/Watch: Sunday, 6 p.m. ET, MSG/MSG Go
Keep An Eye On: Miles McBride
Some of the more positive early development of this Knicks season has been younger players fighting tooth-and-nail to carve a role for themselves in Tom Thibodeau's notoriously stubborn lineups. Alas, such developments have come at medical costs, but the Knicks' young depth is going what it can to soothe the respective blows.
When Mitchell Robinson went down, Jericho Sims filled in flawlessly, to the point of convincing Thibodeau to play three centers on Friday. It's now Miles McBride's turn to embrace an opportunity, as he's set to play a big role on Sunday with Cam Reddish and Derrick Rose still ailing, not to mention the uncertainty surrounding franchise headliner Jalen Brunson. McBride has seen a boost in minutes with Reddish and Rose sidelined, averaging 13 in his past three games after playing only 11 total in the first 16.
"He’s worked really hard, he practices great all the time," Thibodeau said of McBride. "It gives us confidence that he’ll play well when he’s given the opportunity."
Grizzly to Watch: John Konchar
Speaking of those stepping up in the face of injury, we'd be remiss not to mention the performance of Konchar, who has made up for the medically-induced loss of Desmond Bane's outside antics.
Having taken over Bane's shooting guard role (similar to the way Quentin Grimes has stepped in for Reddish), Konchar ranks second on the team behind him for three-point success rate (42 percent), which has allowed him to embark upon personal-best endeavors of his own. Konchar is averaging nearly double his career-best in scoring (8.4 over last year's 4.8) and has made 10 starts in Bane's place after appearing in only seven starting fives over his first three seasons.
These efforts and more are showing why Konchar, an undrafted free agent out of IPFW, earned a three-year extension from Memphis over the offseason. The Knicks have cracked down on outside shooting efforts, but they can't let up, even with Memphis' top sharp-shooter sidelined.
Geoff Magliocchetti is on Twitter @GeoffJMags
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