New York Knicks

The New York Knicks will face the Washington Wizards and their world class backcourt of John Wall and Bradley Beal in an impossible task.

By Chip Murphy

The New York Knicks (1-1) showed they were a completely different team in their opening night defeat of the Milwaukee Bucks, 122-97.

Then, however, they were then given a serious a dose of reality by last year’s No. 1 seed in the East, the Atlanta Hawks, 112-101. Tonight they go on the road and look to bounce back against what it is sure to be another difficult opponent.

The Knicks couldn’t be facing a greater challenge right now than the Wizards. They will be going up against one of the best backcourts in the league, John Wall and Bradley Beal at a time when their own is shorthanded.

The current starting backcourt of Jose Calderon and Sasha Vujacic has been thrown together due to the Arron Afflalo’s hamstring injury. In two games, the Knicks have been outscored by 12.1 points per 36 minutes when the defensively challenged starters are on the court, per Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com.

Wall has an excellent history in his 16 career games against the Knicks, averaging more than 18 points and 8 assists per game, per Basketball-Reference.com. Beal had 26 points last night against Milwaukee, 14 in the fourth quarter leading his team to a comeback victory. Both players will be looking to feast right from tip off.

The best chance the Knicks have tonight is for Carmelo Anthony to play like himself. As impressive as the bench has been, they can’t beat a legitimate playoff team like Washington without Anthony’s scoring. Reggie Miller pointed out on Thursday night that Anthony doesn’t look like he has his legs are still not there yet; and that is affecting his shot. Hopefully that issue can heal sooner rather than later.

As for tonight, chances don’t look to good for the Knicks. If anything it will be a good learning opportunity for Kristaps Porzingis. Wizards big men Kris Humphries and Marcin Gortat are going to throw him around all night long.