3 Keys for the New York Knicks to beat the Lakers

The Knicks need to get the ball out of  Anthony Davis’s hands

The Knicks’ main defensive game plan on Tuesday night needs to be to limit Anthony Davis’s offensive opportunities as much as possible. This is a lot easier said than done but with LeBron James and Dennis Shroeder sidelined, the Knicks need to take advantage of the fact that Davis is the Lakers’ only elite shot creator at the moment.

Davis was really struggling as he was working his way back from injury but he’s recently on a tear scoring 42 points in a win against the Phoenix Suns and 36 points in a loss to the Portland Trailblazers.

Davis is arguably the best big man in basketball when fully healthy and now he’s starting to find his groove. His ball-handling and jump shooting skills at 6’11 make him a tough cover for every defender, the Knicks cannot allow Davis to get hot. Whoever is guarding Davis will need to play strong ball denial.

Make his high post touches difficult so he has to exert energy just to get the ball and so he has limited time in the shot clock to work with when he has the ball. New York also needs to be prepared to send double teams and help defenders to get the ball out of his hands when Davos has it. Davis has teammates capable of punishing double teams by hitting open shots but the Knicks have a higher chance of winning if they force his teammates to beat them rather than allowing Davis to go one on one.