Wednesday night’s overtime loss to the Pacers at the Garden marked the Knicks’ fourth straight defeat. If they’re going to win again in November, they’ll have to do it on the road. The Knicks, currently 3-8 in the Atlantic Division, travel to Washington, D.C., this weekend before playing three games out west. Here’s a look at each of the four matchups.
Wizards (Saturday)
Washington is 4-7, but has won two in a row. A young backcourt led by John Wall (15.8 ppg, 9.7 apg) and Bradley Beal (21.2 ppg) makes the Wiz a threat any night. But without a frontcourt defender capable of containing Carmelo Anthony (26.1, 9.5 rpg), this is a winnable game for the Knicks.
Trail Blazers
(Monday)
Portland (10-2) has won eight straight and leads the Northwest Division behind LaMarcus Aldridge (22.5 ppg, 9.0 rpg) and Damian Lillard (19.9 ppg, 5.8 apg). The Knicks will miss Tyson Chandler, still out with a leg injury, and his defensive presence when looking to stop Aldridge. Keep expectations low against the Blazers.
Clippers (Wednesday)
It’s still the Blake Griffin (22.7 ppg, 10.8 rpg) and Chris Paul (19.5 ppg, 12.5 apg) show for Los Angeles’ “other” team. At 8-4 entering Thursday night’s game in Oklahoma City, the Clips remain one of the best in the West. Maybe Melo and Griffin will cancel each other out, but Paul gets others involved like few other point guards in the league can. This will be a tough one.
Nuggets (Nov. 29)
Denver, a playoff tema last season, sat at 4-6 before Thursday night’s game against the Bulls. Ty Lawson (22.0 ppg, 8.6 apg) has emerged as the team’s top player, but few others in Denver can score. Look for secondary Knicks scorers Andrea Bargnani (14.5 ppg) or J.R. Smith (13.0 ppg) to step up.
