Immanuel Quickley, Knicks (Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images)
If you’re a New York Knicks fan, life is not as cruel as you thought.
The team is currently the 4th seed as this is being written and they’re always competing night in and night out.
We’ve witnessed many classics in the first half including the twenty-point win against Milwaukee, RJ Barrett’s 28 point explosion at Golden State, as well as the 140 point performance as a team against the Sacramento Kings.
Throughout this set of games, we’ve learned so much about a team that we thought would be a bottom feeder, a team that wouldn’t see a lick of the play-in tournament.
The Knicks are winning again and the fans are basking in the glory.
Now we’re as invested as we’ve been in years and I can speak on behalf of countless Knicks fans when I say we’re as excited as we’ve been in many seasons.
The young core is seemingly developing along with coach Tom Thibodeau and the team finally has an established all-star in power forward Julius Randle.
In addition, New York has traded for Derrick Rose who’s making the most out of his second go-around in New York, and it has been made evident that Leon Rose is not done wheeling and dealing.
After over 35 contests, the second half of the schedule has just been released and it’s time to get ready for another slew of games that will determine if the New York Knicks are a playoff team.
Here are 3 matchups to watch in the second half of the season.
New York Knicks</a> fan, life is not as cruel as you thought.</p>
<p>The team is currently the 4th seed as this is being written and they’re always competing night in and night out.</p>
<p>We’ve witnessed many classics in the first half including the twenty-point win against Milwaukee, RJ Barrett’s <a href=https://dailyknicks.com/2021/03/02/must-watch-knicks-games-second-half/"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kXszv5cDJUo%22 target="_blank" rel="noopener">28 point explosion at Golden State</a>, as well as the 140 point performance as a team against the Sacramento Kings.</p>
<p>Throughout this set of games, we’ve learned so much about a team that we thought would be a bottom feeder, a team that wouldn’t see a lick of the play-in tournament.</p>
<h2>The Knicks are winning again and the fans are basking in the glory.</h2>
<p>Now we’re as invested as we’ve been in years and I can speak on behalf of countless Knicks fans when I say we’re as excited as we’ve been in many seasons.</p>
<p>The young core is seemingly developing along with coach Tom Thibodeau and the team finally has an established all-star in power forward Julius Randle.</p>
<p>In addition, New York has traded for Derrick Rose who’s making the most out of his <a href=https://dailyknicks.com/2021/03/02/must-watch-knicks-games-second-half/"https://dailyknicks.com/2021/02/27/knicks-derrick-rose-making-the-most-of-his-second-chance-in-new-york/">second go-around in New York</a>, and it has been made evident that Leon Rose is not done wheeling and dealing.</p>
<p>After over 35 contests, the second half of the schedule has just been released and it’s time to get ready for another slew of games that will determine if the New York Knicks are a playoff team.</p>
<p>Here are 3 matchups to watch in the second half of the season.</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/2021/03/02/must-watch-knicks-games-second-half/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> Matchup 1: @ Brooklyn on March 15th </a>
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<img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-115766" src=https://dailyknicks.com/2021/03/02/must-watch-knicks-games-second-half/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_2244,w_3200/https%3A%2F%2Fdailyknicks.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2017%2F07%2F1301299866.jpeg" alt="" width="3200" height="2244" srcset="https://dailyknicks.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2017/07/1301299866.jpeg 3200w, https://dailyknicks.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2017/07/1301299866-768x539.jpeg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 3200px) 100vw, 3200px"><p class="wp-caption-text">Brooklyn Nets, Knicks (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)</p>
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<h2><b>This Knicks Nets matchup should produce some fireworks.</b></h2>
<p>Unfortunately, the Knicks squandered their only opportunity to defeat the star-stacked Brooklyn Nets at MSG back on January 13th, losing 116-109.</p>
<p>Despite this that doesn’t mean Knicks fans won’t have the opportunity to attend the game, they’ll just have to take an elongated ride on the subway.</p>
<p>It’s easy to deem New York’s loss to Brooklyn a disappointing one.</p>
<p>It came the same day as the trade for James Harden and aside from Kevin Durant, the Nets roster really didn’t contain any players you were rushing to watch.</p>
<p>We here at Daily Knicks don’t think <a href=https://dailyknicks.com/2021/03/02/must-watch-knicks-games-second-half/"https://dailyknicks.com/2021/01/15/james-harden-trade-means-for-new-york-knicks/">the addition of James Harden</a> is anything much to worry about. They’re still a beatable team.</p>
<p>Now, both rosters are each different as Harden takes the floor along with Durant, and all-star Kyrie Irving while Derrick Rose is back in orange and blue for the second time in his career.</p>
<p>While on paper it’s easy to recognize Brooklyn as ‘the better team’, I can almost assure you that the Knicks understand that the pride of New York is on the line and that they’re representing a group of fans that absolutely despise the Nets.</p>
<p>Plus, this is no longer your run-of-the-mill Knicks vs Nets game.</p>
<p>With <a href=https://dailyknicks.com/2021/03/02/must-watch-knicks-games-second-half/"https://www.nba.com/news/2021-nba-all-star-reserves-revealed" target="_blank" rel="noopener">four combined all-stars</a> taking the floor, it’s a guarantee that quality basketball will be on display for the viewers.</p>
<p>It has been made clear throughout the course of the season that Knicks fans don’t take it well when Nets fans call their team ‘New York’s team’ so it’s safe to say that a Knicks victory in this matchup will be an emotional one and it’s without a doubt a must-watch if you call yourself a New York basketball fan.</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/2021/03/02/must-watch-knicks-games-second-half/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> Matchup 2: Vs. Dallas on April 2nd </a>
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<img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-115541" src=https://dailyknicks.com/2021/03/02/must-watch-knicks-games-second-half/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_2133,w_3200/https%3A%2F%2Fdailyknicks.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2017%2F07%2F1228147736.jpeg" alt="" width="3200" height="2133" srcset="https://dailyknicks.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2017/07/1228147736.jpeg 3200w, https://dailyknicks.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2017/07/1228147736-768x512.jpeg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 3200px) 100vw, 3200px"><p class="wp-caption-text">Kristaps Porzingis, Knicks (Photo by Ashley Landis-Pool/Getty Images)</p>
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<h2><b>The Knicks won the trade for Kristaps Porzingis. That is all.</b></h2>
<p>As long as Kristaps Porzingis is playing basketball for the Dallas Mavericks, Dallas coming to MSG will always be circled in red ink on New York’s schedule.</p>
<p>The trade involving the Latvian Unicorn will go down in the history books as one of the more controversial deals in NBA History. We believe that <a href=https://dailyknicks.com/2021/03/02/must-watch-knicks-games-second-half/"https://dailyknicks.com/2021/02/23/knicks-mavericks-lost-porzingis-trade/">the Knicks won the trade</a> for a multitude of reasons, and will continue to stand by that sentiment.</p>
<p>Last year, the Knicks were able to claim victory over Dallas in both meetings at home and on the road.</p>
<p>Current Los Angeles Clipper Marcus Morris was the hero at home hitting the game-winning three in the face of Maxi Kleber and Frank Ntilikina was the hero in Dallas scoring 14 points and grabbing six boards.</p>
<p>Why is this game so exciting? Because Kristaps Porzingis’ time with the Mavericks has been an absolute failure.</p>
<p>Yes, you can call his numbers above average but there have been countless occasions where KP has missed time due to knee problems, something he’s constantly had to deal with since he tore his ACL in February of 2018.</p>
<p>Now, the Mavericks will be attending ‘The Garden’ with at or around 2,000 fans in attendance and it’s a guarantee that Porzingis (if he’s even playing) will be hammered with boos whenever the ball is in his hands.</p>
<p>Kristaps aside, Luka Doncic is always a fun player to watch whenever he’s in town.</p>
<p>The all-star starter will surely give New York at least a handful of trouble as they try to collect a pride-boosting win.</p>
<p>Former Knicks Tim Hardaway Jr. and Trey Burke will also be in action so calling this one a ‘revenge game’ seems to be quite acceptable here.</p>
<p>With the Knicks being a competitive team this season, this game will be even more meaningful than the two last season despite the atmosphere we witnessed in the previous meetings.</p>
<p>This inter-conference matchup will definitely be an entertaining one and a game I recommend checking out if you, like many other Knick fans, hate Kristaps Porzingis.</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/2021/03/02/must-watch-knicks-games-second-half/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> Matchup 3: Vs. Los Angeles Lakers on April 12th </a>
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<img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-115768" src=https://dailyknicks.com/2021/03/02/must-watch-knicks-games-second-half/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_2133,w_3200/https%3A%2F%2Fdailyknicks.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2017%2F07%2F1231368807.jpeg" alt="" width="3200" height="2133" srcset="https://dailyknicks.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2017/07/1231368807.jpeg 3200w, https://dailyknicks.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2017/07/1231368807-768x512.jpeg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 3200px) 100vw, 3200px"><p class="wp-caption-text">LeBron James, Knicks (Photo by Alex Goodlett/Getty Images)</p>
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<h2>The Knicks can stick it to “The King” in this one.</h2>
<p>Whenever the Lakers come to Madison Square Garden, quality highlights seem inevitable at this point.</p>
<p>We’ve seen Kobe Bryant score 60 points on what was a hopeless Knicks team and then saw 5th overall pick bust Mario Hezonja stuff LeBron James at the buzzer in what was a game crucial to the Lakers’ playoff hopes that season.</p>
<p>To be brutally honest, even today the Lakers are a much better team than the Knicks; but that doesn’t mean this game isn’t a must-see event.</p>
<p>When a top-three NBA player of all time (LeBron James) seems to document every game he plays at The Garden, you know there’s some meaning behind the matchup.</p>
<p>As this is being written, the defending champions are 23-11 and have lost four of their last five games, likely because of the absence of eight-time all-star Anthony Davis.</p>
<p>In previous seasons the Knicks haven’t regularly gotten blown out by Los Angeles due to their lack of powerhouse play, and now that they’re a top tier defensive team in the league, it’s an easy guarantee that the Knicks will want to put on a show against one of the league’s most prestigious squads.</p>
<p>While the Lakers likely won’t be as vulnerable as they are now on April 12th, you could potentially see them playing with some desperation as they need to make up some ground if they want to claim to the top seed in the west from the Jazz and Clippers.</p>
<div class="fs-shortcode" data-type="StoryLink" data-theme="dark" data-text="Should Knicks trade for Jerami Grant?" data-url="https://dailyknicks.com/2021/02/28/should-knicks-trade-for-jerami-grant/" data-call-to-action="Next"> <div class="story-link-next"> <a class="story-link-next-btn" style="background: #007BC1" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="story-link-next-shortcode" href=https://dailyknicks.com/2021/03/02/must-watch-knicks-games-second-half/"https://dailyknicks.com/2021/02/28/should-knicks-trade-for-jerami-grant/"> <span class="call_to_action">Next:</span> Should Knicks trade for Jerami Grant? </a> </div>
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