Knicks’ Week Preview: Mar 3-9

Happy Saturday, Knicks fans. Our heroes have three on the docket this week, and none are pushovers. Sadly, an 0h-and-3 week is a real possibility as we await the return of our burly reinforcements. All three games will air on MSG Network. Here’s the schedule.

New York Knicks at Cleveland Cavaliers, Sunday, 7 PM EST, March 3, 2024

Donovan Mitchell and the Cleveland Cavaliers (39-20) are heavily favored for Sunday’s engagement. This will be the third regular-season meeting between the two clubs. They’re tied 1-1, with New York winning 109-91 on Halloween, and Cleveland winning the next night 95-89.

Cleveland currently sits second in the Eastern Conference, thanks to a stingy defense (NBA’s second-best), solid rebounding, and another All-Star season from Mitchell. He’s averaging 28 points per game and career-bests for assists (6.2) and rebounds (5.4).

Mitchell is dealing with a knee issue and missed the Cavs’ game on Friday. Something tells me he will find the stamina to play against New York tomorrow. Unless he drops a massive stinker, brace yourselves for endless bellyaching about how he was supposed to be a Knick, and why did we cling to Quentin Grimes only to waste him anyway, and yadda yadda yadda. We should sell P&T-branded earplugs to drown out that noise.

The Ohio Players actually rank behind the Knicks for offense (CLE 16, NYK 11). That difference will be more apparent once New York is full-strength again. Lacking three starters, the Knicks have struggled on offense of late, and glaringly so in a 110-99 loss to the Golden State Warriors on Thursday. With little support from the bench (looking at you Burks and Bogey), their scoring is reduced to the three Nova Knicks. Overall, Donte DiVincenzo has shot great this season and scored 20 points per game over the last three contests, but dropped to 35% on 13.3 three-pointer attempts over that stretch. Josh Hart played 47 minutes on Thursday. Jalen Brunson is a walking bruise. These guys can be forgiven for feeling any exhaustion.

To make matters worse, Isaiah Hartenstein still doesn’t look right while dealing with a sore Achilles, and Precious Achiuwa looked more pedestrian in the previous two games. You may not be aware that there are monsters in Cleveland’s frontcourt, with Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley both averaging 10 rebounds a game. Don’t place any big bets on New York.

This game will also air on ESPN.

New York Knicks vs Atlanta Hawks, Tuesday, 7:30 PM EST, March 5, 2024

The Atlanta Hawks (26-33) come to town on Tuesday, and sad-face for them: they’ll be without Trae Young. He is having surgery on a busted finger and will be re-evaluated in four weeks. Onyeka Okongwu will also be out with a toe injury.

This will be the second meeting between the two teams this season. New York leads the series 2-0, having won a squeaker in November, 116-114. Julius Randle scored 29 points and Mitchell Robinson grabbed 15 rebounds in that game. Neither will be available on Tuesday. C’est la vie.

Atlanta still has Dejounte Murray, despite all the trade gossip I was obligated to write about this season (no hard feelings), and he steps forward as ATL’s leader in Trae’s absence. Murray has averaged 21.6 points, 5.6 assists, and 5.3 rebounds in 56 games this season. And their frontcourt can still be beastly, with Clint Capela and Jalen Johnson combining for 19.1 rebounds per game. Without their starters, New York might find it difficult to overcome Quin Snyder’s boys. Look for their Bogdanović (Bogdan) to outscore ours (Bojan).

New York Knicks vs Orlando Magic, Friday, 7:30 PM EST, March 8, 2024

The Orlando Magic (34-26) again? C’mon commish. In their fourth and final regular-season game against the Disneys, New York will hope to avoid the sweep. OG Anunoby is supposed to be progressing, but I wouldn’t expect him to return in time for this game. When they last played, on a sad Valentine’s Day, Orlando won 118-100. I’m not feeling optimistic for a different result this time around.

Enjoy your weekend. And go Knicks!