The New York Knicks will cross the river for the first time this season to take on the Brooklyn Nets. New York sits at an even 5-5 on the season while Brooklyn is 4-7, including a 2-1 record without star guard Kyrie Irving.
Irving is currently serving a suspension and will be out for Wednesday’s game. The Nets have put stipulations in place for him to return to the team, but there’s a belief that he might’ve played his final basketball game in Brooklyn.
Typically, being down a player of Irving’s caliber would be a reason for a team to be at a disadvantage, but his absence has had the opposite impact on the Nets. Second-year guard Cam Thomas, who wasn’t pleased with his playing time under previous coach Steve Nash, has done well in Brooklyn’s past three games. Irving’s future is still unclear, but for the time being, the Nets will be without him.
Although Brooklyn looks like a better team without Irving, the team has weaknesses that New York can exploit. The Knicks haven’t beaten the Nets since Jan. 26, 2020, but if they carry over the energy that they played with in Minnesota, we could see New York gets its first victory over a Brooklyn team led by Kevin Durant.
3 Nets weaknesses that the Knicks can exploit on Wednesday at Barclays
3: Pushing the pace
Jalen Brunson’s free agency addition has brought a new level of basketball to NYC. The Knicks have a point guard, and an efficient one at that, but he’s also helped New York play faster. At the very beginning of the season, Tom Thibodeau hinted at the Knicks playing at a quicker pace in 2022-23, and so far, that’s been the case. Julius Randle echoed that when he said that during training camp, the team spent time focusing on pushing the pace.
New York currently ranks 17th in pace in the league, which is a jump from where the team finished last season at 29. Meanwhile, Brooklyn is ranked 21st in pace. Playing at a quicker pace is something that will benefit the Knicks, considering that transition defense is an issue for the Nets.
Brooklyn being a poor defensive team is something that New York should be able to capitalize on when pushing the ball down the floor. The Knicks playing at a quick pace and moving the ball will be key to potentially securing their second consecutive win.