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.
previous coach Steve Nash</a>, 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.</p>
<p>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 <a href=https://dailyknicks.com/2022/11/09/3-weaknesses-knicks-exploit-against-kevin-durant-nets/"https://dailyknicks.com/2022/08/20/kevin-durant-kyrie-irving-plan-avoid-knicks/">Kevin Durant</a>.</p>
<h2>3 Nets weaknesses that the Knicks can exploit on Wednesday at Barclays</h2>
<h3>3: Pushing the pace</h3>
<p>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 <a href=https://dailyknicks.com/2022/11/09/3-weaknesses-knicks-exploit-against-kevin-durant-nets/"https://nypost.com/2022/10/01/knicks-now-built-to-increase-pace-amid-new-personnel-conditioning/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">at a quicker pace</a> 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.</p>
<p>New York currently <a href=https://dailyknicks.com/2022/11/09/3-weaknesses-knicks-exploit-against-kevin-durant-nets/"https://www.nba.com/stats/teams/advanced?dir=A&sort=PACE%22 target="_blank" rel="noopener">ranks 17th</a> 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.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background: #007BC1" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://dailyknicks.com/2022/11/09/3-weaknesses-knicks-exploit-against-kevin-durant-nets/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> One of the Nets' most glaring issues </a>
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<img decoding="async" class="size-full wp-image-135645" src=https://dailyknicks.com/2022/11/09/3-weaknesses-knicks-exploit-against-kevin-durant-nets/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_2134,w_3200/https%3A%2F%2Fdailyknicks.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2022%2F11%2F1439873370.jpeg" alt="New York Knicks, Jalen Brunson" width="3200" height="2134" srcset="https://dailyknicks.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2022/11/1439873370.jpeg 3200w, https://dailyknicks.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2022/11/1439873370-768x512.jpeg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 3200px) 100vw, 3200px"><p class="wp-caption-text">Jalen Brunson, New York Knicks. (Photo by Dustin Satloff/Getty Images)</p>
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<h3>2: Poor defensive effort</h3>
<p>New York has been critiqued for its defense thus far under defensive-minded coach Tom Thibodeau, but for a team that’s supposed to be a championship contender, Brooklyn’s abysmal on the defensive end. The Nets’ defense ranks 22nd in the league and previously ranked dead-last after their 1-5 start to the season.</p>
<p>Barclays will be home to a high-scoring game on Wednesday, but the Knicks have an opportunity to gain the upper hand. Kevin Durant’s one of the purest scorers to ever play the game, but even his offensive firepower isn’t enough to guarantee Brooklyn a win.</p>
<p>The thought was that Ben Simmons would be the defensive leader for the Nets, but to start the year, he’s <a href=https://dailyknicks.com/2022/11/09/3-weaknesses-knicks-exploit-against-kevin-durant-nets/"https://www.nydailynews.com/sports/basketball/nets/ny-ben-simmons-knee-injury-20221108-3ff4ncdrbngkpasj4oi26bj3ke-story.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">looked far different</a> from the player that he was in Philadelphia. Brooklyn has quite a few players that can be exploited on defense in shooters Patty Mills, Joe Harris, and Seth Curry. When Irving plays, he’s on that list, too. Those are players that the Knicks need to attack when they’re in the game.</p>
<p>The Nets lack an interior defender as well, which brings us to their next weakness that New York can exploit.</p>
<div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background: #007BC1" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://dailyknicks.com/2022/11/09/3-weaknesses-knicks-exploit-against-kevin-durant-nets/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> Will Thibs switch up the lineup again? </a>
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<img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-135644" src=https://dailyknicks.com/2022/11/09/3-weaknesses-knicks-exploit-against-kevin-durant-nets/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_2134,w_3200/https%3A%2F%2Fdailyknicks.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2022%2F11%2F1439873300.jpeg" alt="New York Knicks, Julius Randle" width="3200" height="2134" srcset="https://dailyknicks.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2022/11/1439873300.jpeg 3200w, https://dailyknicks.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2022/11/1439873300-768x512.jpeg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 3200px) 100vw, 3200px"><p class="wp-caption-text">Julius Randle, New York Knicks. (Photo by Dustin Satloff/Getty Images)</p>
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<h3>1: The issues at center</h3>
<p>The Nets watched Andre Drummond sign with the Chicago Bulls in free agency, but they could really use him now.</p>
<p>Nic Claxton is Brooklyn’s starting center, and he’s taken quite the leap in year four thus far, but behind him is Day’Ron Sharpe. With increased minutes in his second season, Sharpe has been a disappointment. He’s been a non-factor on the offensive end.</p>
<p>Even with Claxton being much-improved, the Nets struggle to defend the paint and rebound. If <a href=https://dailyknicks.com/2022/11/09/3-weaknesses-knicks-exploit-against-kevin-durant-nets/"https://dailyknicks.com/2022/11/07/mitchell-robinson-injury-mean-knicks-starting-center-job/">Mitchell Robinson</a> were healthy, he’d be a nightmare for Brooklyn, especially on the boards. Brooklyn is dead-last in rebounding percentage at 46.3%. The Knicks started Jericho Sims on Monday, and given that lineup worked, the 24-year-old should get the start again on Wednesday. Sims should feast on the boards.</p>
<p>We might even see Thibodeau get creative again and deploy a Julius Randle-Obi Toppin lineup. That small-ball lineup worked well in a win over the Sixers and could also be effective against the Nets.</p>
<p>This is a very winnable game for the Knicks, but of course, no one should overlook Kevin Durant. He’s capable of taking the game into his own hands, but even if that happens, New York needs to find a way to overcome Brooklyn’s lowly defensive effort.</p>
<p>It’s been far too long (1,018 days to be exact) since the Knicks were able to get a win over their crosstown rival. Will New York find a way to end that streak tonight?</p>
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