Heading into tonight's game with a record of 15-47, losers of 16 straight, the Sixers hit the floor at Madison Square Garden against the Knicks (24-40), who have found struggles of their own. Tip-off for tonight's contest is slated for 7:30 PM and can be seen on CSN.
The Sixers are coming off of a 104-92 loss to the Jazz on Saturday night. Tony Wroten exploded for the Sixers, scoring 30 points off the bench on 12-for-15 shooting. Thaddeus Young had 18 while James Anderson contributed 16 points and six rebounds. Michael Carter-Williams, who has endured some shooting problems lately, couldn't find his stroke against the Jazz, shooting just 2-for-13. He did manage to grab seven rebounds and dish out nine assists though.
The Knicks are riding a three-game win streak after they dropped seven in a row. Their most recent win, against Cleveland, came on Saturday night by a scorre of 107-97. Five of the six Knicks starters scored in double figures, led by Carmelo Anthony who had 26 points and grabbed seven boards. Amar'e Stoudemire and JR Smith pitched in with 17 points each.
These two teams met twice back in January and split the matches. The Sixers dropped the game to New York in Philadelphia, 102-92 on January 11th while they managed to pull out a 110-106 win in New York on the 22nd. Of course, the Sixers are a much different team now without Evan Turner and Spencer Hawes.
While the Sixers will be facing the Knicks for the first time since the trade deadline, Philadelphia ranks higher than New York in some big categories this season. The Sixers are 18th in the NBA in scoring with 99.7 points per game while the Knicks rank 21st with 98 per game. Meanwhile, the Sixers also outrebound the Knicks by just under three boards a game. The Sixers rank 13th in the NBA in assists while New York is ranked 26th.
Game Notes:
- Since the All-Star break, Thaddeus Young is averaging 20.3 points per game.
- Michael Carter-Williams is averaging 15 points, 9.5 rebounds and seven assists per game against the Knicks.
- James Anderson has scored 35 points on 16-of-24 shooting against the Knicks this season.
- Tyson Chandler will not play for the Knicks tonight because of personal reasons.
- Amar'e Stoudemire has averaged 21 points on 25-of-33 shooting in his last three meetings with the Sixers.
Sixers Starters:
PG – Michael Carter-Williams
SG – James Anderson
SF – Hollis Thompson
PF – Thaddeus Young
C – Henry Sims
Knicks Starters:
PG – Raymond Felton
SG – Iman Shumpert
SF – JR Smith
PF – Carmelo Anthony
C – Amar'e Stoudemire
Prediction: The Sixers have allowed an average of 114.7 points during their 16-game losing streak and the Knicks will likely get close to that number. With Tyson Chandler out for the game, I think the Sixers will put up a fight but eventually drop their 17th in a row, 108-96.
Injury report:
Sixers:
- Lorenzo Brown (foot) is day to day.
- Brandon Davies (finger)
- Nerlens Noel (knee)
- Jason Richardson (knee)
Knicks:
- Andrea Bargnani (elbow)
- Kenyon Martin (ankle)
Brandon Apter is a writer for Sixerdelphia. Follow him on Twitter @ApterShock
