Tonight, the New York Knicks (7-6) conclude a four-game homestead with a matchup against the Washington Wizards (2-10).

The New York Knicks are on a two-game winning streak after beating the Brooklyn Nets twice. In Sunday’s win, Karl-Anthony Towns led the team with an impressive 26 points and 15 rebounds to secure a 114-104 win.

Without Toronto, the Zards would be the absolute floor of the Eastern Conference. Washington ranks 30th in offensive, defensive and net ratings. The trifecta! Nevertheless, this is an NBA team with some talent. They rank third in pace and seventh in field goals made, so expect quite a bit of running and gunning, especially from leading scorer Jordan Poole. In his sixth season, the point guard averaged 22.2 points and 4.6 assists while shooting a career-best 46% from the field and 45% from deep.

Second in command in this tanking operation is forward Kyle Kuzma, who is a key contributor for Washington and brings the team consistent scoring (17.9 points) and rebounds (6.6 rebounds).

The team is young, with three starters under the age of 21. Selected with the second overall pick in the 2024 NBA Draft, Alexandre Sarr, the seven-foot centerman from France, has averaged 10.5 points, 5.9 rebounds and 2.4 blocks per game. until now. Another French talent, forward Bilal Coulibaly, was the seventh overall pick in the 2023 NBA Draft. He has shown promise as a versatile winger, averaging 14.7 points, 5.9 rebounds and 2.8 assists this season. Rounding out the first five is Carlton “Bub” Carrington. The Wizards’ 19-year-old guard, who is selected 14th overall in this year’s draft, has averaged 9.8 points, 5.3 assists and 4.4 rebounds in his first campaign.

Off the bench, look for veteran Jonas Valanciunas to fill in behind Sarr and Corey Kispert to fill in for the guards. Sharpshooter Kispert recently agreed to a four-year, $54 million contract extension with the club and is shooting 33% from beyond the arc.

Prediction

ESPN.com favors the Knicks at 81%. Fatigue could be a factor as the Knicks starters played big minutes in last night’s game, but . . . these magicians are very bad. The Knicks will either come out strong and give the visitors a glimmer of hope in the second half; or they play with their food all night. Either way, New York wins by +12 and starts the five-game road trip with some momentum.

Game details

Date: Monday November 18, 2024
Time: 7:30 PM ET
Location: Madison Square Garden, New York City
TV: MSG Network, NBA League Pass
Follow: @ptknicksblog