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Knicks host sizzling Wizards on Thursday
By: Zach Cohen - StatFox
Published: 1/19/2017  at  12:34:00 PM
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WASHINGTON WIZARDS (22-19)

at NEW YORK KNICKS (19-24)

Tip-off: Thursday, 8:05 p.m. ET
Line: N/A, Total: N/A

The Knicks will be hoping to earn a second straight win when they host the Wizards on Thursday.

The Wizards are really rolling right now, as they have now won six of their past seven games. Washington’s victory on Wednesday night was especially impressive, as the team beat a good Memphis group 104-101 as a two-point home favorite. The Wizards startled a lot of their fans with a miserable start to the season, but they have found a way to right the ship. They should be looking forward to this game on Thursday, as well. The Wizards are facing a Knicks team that has won just three of its past 14 games, but New York is coming off of an impressive win of its own. The Knicks went into Boston on Wednesday and beat the Celtics 117-106 as an 8.5-point road underdog. The Knicks shot 50.5% from the floor and outrebounded the Celtics by a total of 22. They’ll be hoping that energy carries over into Thursday because they’ll need it against the Wizards. Washington is 7-1 SU and 5-3 ATS versus New York over the past three seasons, and that includes a 3-0 record both SU and ATS when playing at Madison Square Garden. One trend that does favor the Knicks is that teams that have allowed 105 points or more in three straight games (New York) are 70-32 ATS over the past five seasons when facing an opponent that just won a game by six points or less. PF Kristaps Porzingis (Achilles) will likely miss this game for New York, and C Joakim Noah (Ankle) is doubtful too. That might not be bad news for New York, though. The team is 5-0 SU when Noah doesn’t play this season.

The Wizards have dominated the Knicks over the years, and PG John Wall (22.9 PPG, 10.2 APG, 4.4 RPG, 2.2 SPG) is certainly a big reason for that. In 20 career games versus New York, Wall is averaging 19.9 PPG, 8.5 APG and 1.6 SPG on 45.3% shooting from the floor and 40.0% shooting from three. Wall also happens to be playing very well right now, averaging 21.8 PPG, 10.4 APG, 5.2 RPG and 2.0 SPG over the past five games. He has had some extra burst this season, and that should serve him well against this lousy Knicks defense. Wall should look to drive to the rim as much as possible, as New York has been vulnerable when defending elite drivers all season. SG Bradley Beal (22.2 PPG, 3.5 APG, 1.0 SPG) should also have no trouble against the Knicks on Thursday. Beal has finally taken the next step as a scorer, which is something Wizards fans have been waiting for forever. Beal always had a nice shooting stroke, but he never hit threes at the clip people expected he would. He’s doing that now, shooting 40.5% from the outside. That might not seem like anything too crazy, but he is attempting 7.1 threes per game this season. Beal is also much more adept attacking the basket, as he is shooting 4.9 free throws per game. That is 1.7 more than he was attempting a year ago, which was a career high at the time. He’ll need to be aggressive against the Knicks, who have struggled to defend players like Beal this season. The other two guys that will really need to play well are SF Otto Porter Jr. (14.3 PPG, 6.4 RPG, 1.5 SPG) and C Marcin Gortat (11.2 PPG, 11.6 RPG, 1.0 BPG). Porter Jr. will likely spend plenty of time guarding Carmelo Anthony, so it’s very important that he is locked in on Thursday.

The Knicks played well on Wednesday, and the most important thing that head coach Jeff Hornacek did was move SF Carmelo Anthony (22.0 PPG, 5.9 RPG, 3.1 APG) to the power forward spot. Anthony only had 13 points in the game, but he didn’t need to do that much scoring. New York played a lot faster with Anthony at the four, and the Knicks would be wise to make this a permanent switch when Porzingis comes back. The Latvian will thrive at the center position, as he’ll be able to take his defenders off the dribble with ease. He was already being relied on to defend the rim, so not much would change on that end. The biggest beneficiary of the lineup change is, however, SF Mindaugus Kuzminskas (6.1 PPG). The 27-year-old has started each of the past two games, and he averaged 15.5 PPG, 5.5 RPG and 1.0 SPG in those games. Kuzminskas is a very active body that puts a lot of pressure on opponents at all times. He’s extremely athletic, but he is also a marksman from three. Kuzminskas is shooting 37.5% from downtown on the season, but he is hitting 38.7% of his catch-and-shoot opportunities. That number is likely to go up as he gets more comfortable in his new role. He should also see more open looks as the Knicks begin to play an up-tempo style. That style also benefits PG Derrick Rose (17.8 PPG, 4.5 APG, 4.0 RPG), who had 30 points, 10 boards, five assists, two blocks and two steals against Boston on Wednesday. When Porzingis eventually comes back at the five, Rose will no longer need to slow down to accommodate the slower Noah. That will allow him to attack the basket in transition, and also better utilize the pick-and-roll. Rose’s play on Thursday night will be crucial, though. He must hold his own against John Wall or the Knicks will not stand a chance.


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