The New York Knicks will return home from a seven-game road trip on Tuesday, Jan. 30. What must New York do to defeat the Brooklyn Nets?
The New York Knicks have survived a seven-game road trip that many feared would destroy its season. New York finished the stretch with a below .500 record at 3-4, but it did enough to remain in the postseason picture and address some of its flaws away from Madison Square Garden.
On Tuesday, Jan. 30, the Knicks will have an opportunity to build upon that success when they return home to play the cross-city rival Brooklyn Nets.
New York enters this encounter with Brooklyn in firm control of the Battle of the Boroughs. It’s 3-0 against the Nets during the 2017-18 regular season, and will have a chance to go for the clean sweep in the fourth and final meeting.
The Knicks’ recent success is all but guaranteed to motivate the Nets, however, which means Jeff Hornacek’s crew will need to be ready for a fight.
Brooklyn is a well-coached team with nothing to lose and everything to gain. It won’t have its first-round draft pick in 2018, which means it will be trying to win every game that it plays—and none will matter more than the rivalry games.
The question is: What must the New York Knicks do to avoid a loss in what could be a trap game against the rival Brooklyn Nets?