Knicks vs. Warriors: 3 must-watch matchups

Knicks – RJ Barrett’s slithery offense vs. Warriors’ Andrew Wiggins lockdown defense

Andrew Wiggins has started to change the narrative around his game this season. When Wiggins played under Tom Thibodeau for the Timberwolves, he was often at the center of the “Lack of effort” turmoil that played a major part of Thibodeau’s ugly tenure in Minnesota. There is certainly plenty of blame to go around on both sides, but Wiggins will surely be excited to play against his former coach.

Wiggins has played defense at an extremely high level all season long for the Warriors and he’s held some of the game’s top scoring wings to poor shooting performances. Now, he’ll face RJ Barrett, who has been up and down as a scorer this season.

Like Randle and Green, Wiggins and Barrett have some similarities in their physical profile — both have good size for wing players. Wiggins has been a terrific perimeter defender this season, and Barrett must continue to attack the rim if he wants to beat him.

RJ Barrett is the Knicks’ 2nd leading scorer and he’ll see plenty of Wiggins all night. Barrett absolutely needs to play a part in the Knicks’ overall gameplan, which is to attack the paint and keep the pace slow. This is an area where Barrett can excel.

RJ Barrett isn’t someone who can consistently hit difficult jump shots, so the key for him is to continue attacking his defender downhill and let the jump shots open up later. If Barrett can establish his physicality early on and potentially get Wiggins into some foul trouble, he can be a key contributor in this game.

These two teams are hungry to climb in the standings, and the Knicks will finally have their fans at the Garden to cheer them on. This is going to be a blast.