Knicks Welcome the Washington Wizards to the Garden

Let’s all calm down; the Knicks are coming off two double-digit losses to teams at the bottom of their respective conferences, the Charlotte Hornets and the San Antonio Spurs. These are teams the Knicks can not afford to take losses from if they want to not only build momentum going into the playoffs but also keep their spot as the third seed in the Eastern Conference. They have struggled in the absence of Jalen Brunson and have proved they are not much of a unit without him on the court. Going forward into the game against the Wizards, New York must show they can play together as a whole and knock off teams that shouldn’t even have the opportunity to hold a candle to them.

Game Insight

The current season series between Washington and New York is 3-0 in the Knicks’ favor, as they beat them in the early months of the season. The Knicks can not overlook this team after their past two losses; this must be a definitive win in which the game is lopsided from the opening tip. These teams are both currently on two-game losing streaks and are looking to get something going as this season begins to wrap up. Mitchell Robinson is currently a game-time decision, still battling his ankle injury, while Jalen Brunson is ruled out again. The Wizards will be without Malcolm Brogdon and Bilal Coulibaly in this matchup.

Key Matchup 

The matchup I believe will have the most prominent effect on the end result is the big man matchup between impressive rookie Alex Sarr vs. Karl-Anthony Towns. Alex Sarr has been putting on eye-opening performances as of late, having 20-plus points in each of his last three games. It will be interesting to see how Towns can slow down the quick rookie and if Sarr is going to be able to keep up with the extremely talented skill set that Towns possesses. Whichever one of these talents can gain the upper hand on the other will be a major influence in the end result of this contest.