The New York Knicks hope a trip north of the border will provide a Jurassic spark.
Reeling from back-to-back losses after a four-game winning streak, the Knicks now face a doubleheader with the Toronto Raptors at Scotiabank Arena, one that tips off on Sunday evening. Part two of the syrupy series lands on Tuesday night.
The Knicks are back at .500 and likely saw their chances at an NBA Cup repeat go up in flames after dropping a 106-104 decision to the Indiana Pacers on Friday night. A valiant metropolitan comeback effort fell just short, as the Knicks had a chance to win on the game’s last possession after trailing by eight in the penultimate minute.
Though his would-be winner fell short at the buzzer, Karl-Anthony Towns put up his 12th consecutive double-double to start the year with 23 points and 15 rebounds. One more will tie him for the most at the start of a Knicks season with Walt Bellamy, who had 13 in 1965. Jalen Brunson joined him with 33 points and 11 assists but it wasn’t enough to push the Knicks away from both an even record and an 0-2 record in NBA Cup group play.
Toronto has been working through recent outings without Scottie Barnes and Kawhi Leonard. The Raptors have dropped each of their last three, including a 123-112 defeat to the Philadelphia 76ers on Thursday. Former Knick RJ Barrett earned 31 points and 14 rebounds in defeat, falling five assists short of a triple-double.
The Knicks enter this doubleheader with 13 consecutive wins over the Raptors, five alone coming last season (including an NBA Cup quarterfinal triumph in Toronto). A 26-point, 10-assists double-double from Brunson led the way in the last meeting up north, which produced a 111-95 Knicks victory in early March.
What To Know
Who: New York Knicks (6-6) @ Toronto Raptors (5-7)
Where: Scotiabank Arena, Toronto, ON
When: Sunday, 6 p.m. ET, MSG/DAZN
Wager: TBD
Keep An Eye On: Jalen Brunson
Those who claimed that the Knicks captain was a “free throw merchant” became an endangered species after his well-rounded championship showcase. Considering the officiating hands that the Knicks have been dealt in the early going, maybe it’s time to give the people what they want.
While acknowledging that there were issues far beyond the singles, Knicks head coach Mike Brown couldn’t help but notice a free throw discrepancy in recent games. New York has taken less than 15 in three of the last four showings, and even with 25 taken in Tuesday’s win over Milwaukee, the Knicks have only 63 in that quartet (they had only two such stretches with 63 or fewer tries). Upping those rates could be a fun project for Brunson, whose propensity to take on charges hinted at his game-changing legend in the early days of his metropolitan tenure.
To be fair, Brunson has lived up to his “Big Body” moniker with over seven free throw tries a game, albeit at a relatively reduced success rate of under 80% (lowest since his junior seasons in Dallas). Having re-discovered his stroke from the field (49.5% over his last five), taking care of business from the charity stripe could help the Knicks re-discover some consistency this holiday season. Starting that off against a physical team like Toronto would be a poetic start.
Raptor to Watch: RJ Barrett
The famed trade between the Knicks and Raptors on the penultimate day of 2023 appears to have benefitted both sides: Toronto landed Barrett and Immanuel Quickley, two faces of what they’re trying to build up north. The Knicks, on the other hand, landed a Finals hero in OG Anunoby.
The foundation of Barrett and Quickley (as well as the equally ailing Barnes) could well have convinced Leonard that a return to Ontario was viable option upon his escape from LA. But with both Barnes and Leonard ailing, Barrett’s time as the essential leader of the Canadian operation has left plenty to be desired. He has filled the statsheet well but the Raptors have blown sizable leads under his watch, such as a 22-point stunner on Wednesday against Boston.
Only adding to Barrett’s fire is a glaring zero on his resume: since returning home to Ontario, Barrett is 0-6 against the Knicks and only one of those meetings was decided by less than 14 points. Eager for both a guiding light in this rollercoaster season and evidence for his case to land a long-term contract from his hometown team, there’s no better time than the present against his past employers for Barrett to post a victorious breakout.
They Said It
“We were lucky a little bit, and our guys did fight to give us a chance down the stretch. But I don’t care who you play, it’s going to be hard to win a game on the road when you lose the possession game like we did, if we get blown by on defense as bad as we did, if you let your opponent win the physicality battle like we did. It’s all a recipe for a loss, and that’s where I’m disappointed.”—Knicks head coach Mike Brown on Friday’s loss (h/t Stefan Bondy, New York Post)
“We’re starting the games off better. We’re putting ourselves in a good position. We’re actually getting out to big leads. You just have to sustain those and figure out how to win … We just got to go back to the film, sustain it. Little key things, little key moments. I would say that we’re letting teams get these runs.”—Barrett on the state of the Raptors (h/t TalkBasket.net)
Prediction
The day will come when the Knicks are unable to doom the Raptors to extinction … but this is not that day. The Knicks have plenty to figure out before they’re back to the contending form that briefly emerged during the aforementioned four-game tally. Fortunately, there’s a chance to do something right up north.
Ideally, the Knicks would have a winning record once they’re back in the States but they’re in no position to view these affairs beyond the lens of one game at a time. The current era has done two things particularly well that inch toward a collision course this week: don’t let things get out of hand and beat the Raptors. All that’s left to do is take advantage, which, even at their worst, the modern Knicks have been able to do.
Falling to two severely shorthanded opponents in a row seems out of character for the Knicks. Even at this point of what’s been a cursed year, it still has the aura of something they won’t … and frankly, can’t … engage in.
