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Knicks vs. Nets: How & Who to Watch as All-Star Break Looms

The New York Knicks will look to capitalize on an opportunity against the new-look Brooklyn Nets.
Geoff Magliocchetti|
Knicks vs. Nets: How & Who to Watch as All-Star Break Looms
Knicks vs. Nets: How & Who to Watch as All-Star Break Looms

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New York Knicks

If you think things can change in a New York minute, try going through two weeks.

The Brooklyn Nets found this out the hard way, falling from favorites to also-rans at an alarming rate after the NBA trade deadline saw them send off both Kevin Durant (Phoenix) and Kyrie Irving (Dallas). It ended the latest iteration of a (men's) basketball superteam, one whose remnants come to Manhattan to face the New York Knicks on Monday night.

Perhaps the Nets' state of chaos is enough to give the Knicks a chance to turn the tables in this long-standing rivalry, one that has seen Brooklyn win each of the last nine matchups. That includes two held this season at Barclays Center, though the Knicks kept things close in a 122-115 defeat on Jan. 28, one primarily sustained through Irving's fourth quarter outburst.

As it stands, the seventh-place Knicks are three games behind Brooklyn, who holds the Eastern Conference's penultimate automatic playoff spot in fifth. The Nets are 2-3 since enacting their major deals, previously falling 101-98 to Philadelphia on Saturday, which capped off a five-game homestand. 

What: Brooklyn Nets (33-23) @ New York Knicks (31-27)

Where: Madison Square Garden, New York, NY

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

Who's Favored: NYK -2.5

Keep An Eye On: Jalen Brunson

Jalen Brunson has apparently taken a page out of Michael Jordan's book and has taken things personally. 

Despite fulfilling every expectation placed upon him when he inked a $104 million contract with the Knicks over the summer, Brunson was left off the NBA All-Star ledgers. Further denials have come despite several departures thanks to injuries and transactions. In the eight games he has played since the original roster reveals on Jan. 26, Brunson is averaging 30.9 points and 6.3 assists. In more recent affairs, Brunson has scored at least 30 points in his last two games and has combined to earn 35 in the opening frames of that couple.

Brunson claims that the exhibition snub has not played a role in the outburst, instead crediting his success to his teammates ... which now include collegiate teammate Josh Hart.

“It’s a credit to my teammates,” Brunson said, per the New York Post. “They have great confidence in me, the coaching staff. It’s a credit to my confidence, as well. But I control what I can control, and that’s all I really worry about.”

Net to Watch: Mikal Bridges

The plethora of Villanova University alumni in the tri-state have no doubt been enthused by the metropolitan deals at the deadline, which saw Hart and Bridges join Brunson in the area. One of the primary yields of the deal that sent Durant to Phoenix was Bridges, who is in the midst of a career-best season (17.3 points, 4.4 rebounds).

Nets fans quickly made Bridges feel at home, bestowing him the nickname "Brooklyn Bridges" when he made his black-and-white debut against the 76ers on Saturday. Bridges led the Nets with 23 points while rebounding six and stealing two. 

"Hearing that chant, I kind of wanted to join in and make them yell louder," Bridges said, per The Post. "People were already saying ‘Brooklyn Bridges’ when I got traded. I like it.”

Like Brunson, Bridges owns two national championship rings (2016, 2018) from his time at Villanova (Hart was in the NBA by the latter title). Don't expect Bridges to hold anything back once things get started.

“I love my boys," Bridges said. "But when I’m on the court, I don’t like them.”

Prediction

No one affiliated with the Knicks in an official capacity would likely ever admit it, but there has to be a sense of schadenfreude watching another Brooklyn superteam fall apart. That, however, will mean nothing if the Knicks continue to falter in the longtime rivalry.

This season has seen the Knicks handle business on several occasions. That trend continues against the reeling Nets tonight.

Knicks 124, Nets 111

Geoff Magliocchetti is on Twitter @GeoffJMags

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Geoff Magliocchetti
GEOFF MAGLIOCCHETTI

Geoff Magliocchetti is a veteran sportswriter who contributes to a variety of sites on the "On SI" network. In addition to the Yankees/Mets, Geoff also covers the New York Knicks, New York Liberty, and New York Giants and has previously written about the New York Jets, Buffalo Bills, Staten Island Yankees, and NASCAR.

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