Knicks at Rockets Preview: How, Who to Watch in Brief All-Star Trip

The New York Knicks will look to get things right before the All-Star break with a brief road trip beginning on Monday against the Houston Rockets.

The NBA trade deadline provided Detroit-branded rocket fuel for the New York Knicks, who are burdened with massive expectations for the rest of the 2023-24 season after acquiring Bojan Bogdanovic and Alec Burks. 

Liftoff has sputtered, however, as the Knicks dropped a Saturday decision to the Indiana Pacers, dooming them to their third defeat in the last four games after racking up a winning streak that made it to nine. New York has two opportunities to make things right by the All-Star break, as they'll endure a brief road trip that begins against the Houston Rockets on Monday night. 

New York has lost consecutive games for the first time in the new calendar year but they still sit fourth in the Eastern Conference entering Monday night play. The Knicks' recent stretch has been defined by injuries: OG Anunoby, Julius Randle, and Mitchell Robinson all remain out with long-term injuries while Jalen Brunson and Isaiah Harenstein each missed games last week. Brunson returned to score 39 in Saturday's loss while Hartenstein is listed as questionable for the visit to Houston.

Whereas the Knicks have risen up the NBA leaderboard in the new year, the Rockets have been in a downward spiral: Houston is 8-14 in the new calendar year and has fallen out of the Western Conference playoff picture thanks to losses in each of their last four. All but one of the four have come by less than 10, including a 122-113 defeat in Atlanta on Saturday.

This will be the second and final meeting between the Knicks and Rockets this season, with the former previously prevailing by a 109-94 final on Jan. 17 at Madison Square Garden. New York currently holds an eight-game winning streak against the Rockets, having swept each of the last three couples. 

What: New York Knicks (33-20) @ Houston Rockets (23-29) 

Where: Toyota Center, Houston, TX

When/Watch: Monday, 8 p.m. ET, MSG

Who's Favored: NYK -4

Keep An Eye On: Josh Hart

Hart continues to insist that he's better suited for the backcourt but he's no doubt rising to the occasion as the Knicks' interior situation continues to sort itself out. He has pulled in at least 10 rebounds in each of the past seven games, trying a season-long for the team previously set by Hartenstein. The 10.7 he's averaging in that span is tied for seventh-best in the NBA. Hart's interior mettle will be put to the test on Monday: for all their flaws, the Rockets rank second in the league in defensive rebounds per game and fifth overall.

Rocket to Watch: Jalen Green

Gilbert Arenas tried to will the Knicks into trading for Green earlier this winter, claiming he was the "superstar" the team was looking for. The price likely would've been too much for the Knicks to pay, especially with their intentions of contending both now and later, but now comes the hard part: dealing with him when they return to action. As it stands, Green remains one of the sole reasons for the casual viewer to stay tuned to Rockets basketball for the remainder of this season, as the third-year man and second overall pick of the 2021 draft is struggling to live up to the 22-plus-point scoring effort he had last year but has found a bit of an interior game at 4.9 rebounds a game, a new-career best. 

They Said It

“I just deal with reality. This is what we have and I think we can win with what we have. So that’s all I think about. Get in there and get it done. There are no moral victories. Get out there and get it done. If you’re here and you’re on this roster that means you’re a hell of a player and we can win.”-head coach Tom Thibodeau on working with the injuries (h/t Kristian Winfield, New York Daily News)

Hartenstein Upgraed For Brief Road Trip Opener

Prediction

The Knicks aren't at 100 percent but they're not going to use that as an excuse. Frankly, it's impossible to do so with losses and lapses in three of the past four. Even with a relatively depleted roster, however, they should be able to handle a freefalling Houston team with relative ease, especially considering their prowess against losing teams so far this season.

Knicks 119, Rockets 104