Photo by Patrick McDermott/Getty Images One game on the schedule, but more to come if they win Tuesday’s IST Knockout game The New York Knicks (12-7) have one game on their schedule this week, but could play more depending on their IST results. A Tuesday win would send New York to a neutral-site for a Semifinal game on Thursday. The Championship game will be held in Las Vegas on Saturday. None of this is convenient for your loyal servant-scribe, who will be on ‘vacation’ from Wednesday to Wednesday, and whose wife will not appreciate the Knicker-interruptions. But as my cousin used to say, “Ma ..read more

Photo by Vaughn Ridley/NBAE via Getty Images 21 on 9 shots with 7 treys for the Big Ragu! Donte DiVincenzo 7, Toronto Raptors 6. That’s the story of Friday’s game right there. In MrBenks’ words: “Donte TriVincenzo.” In a matchup between the New York Knicks (12-7) and the Canadian Raps (9-11), the former flew north of the border and were outhustled. It didn’t matter, as the Knicks returned home with the second win in as many nights under their collective wings, 119-106. The Raptors grabbed more rebounds (48 to 43) and destroyed the offensive glass (19 to 11), forced one more free throw (17 to 1 ..read more

Photo by Vaughn Ridley/NBAE via Getty Images 52 bench points bury Toronto down the stretch. There were reasons to worry ahead of tonight’s game at Scotiabank Arena. The New York Knicks (12-7) had beat the Pistons at Madison Square Garden last night, and it was reasonable to expect some fatigue. Julius Randle was listed as questionable with knee inflammation. The Toronto Raptors (9-11) have a mediocre record, but their defense is not to be underestimated. No need to worry. Tonight, the reserves did much of the heavy lifting, combining for 52 points off the bench. Donte DiVincenzo matched his ca ..read more

Photo by Brandon Todd/NBAE via Getty Images Playing the second of a back-to-back, the Knicks hope to win their third straight as they battle the Raptors. Led by Scottie Barnes (19.1 PPG, 9.1 RPG, and 5.5 APG) and Pascal Siakam (19.9 PPG, 7.1 RPG, and 5.1 APG), the Toronto Raptors (9-10) are a tough defensive squad. Tonight, they welcome the New York Knicks (11-7), who played last night at home against the Detroit Pistons. The Knicks’ starters had to close the game to finish off the Pistons, so fatigue could be an obstacle tonight. And if Julius Randle (Questionable) sits with knee inflammation ..read more

Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images No, thank you. Today marks the first day of December which means it’s the time of year when rumors about potential trades start surfacing. While the trade deadline is still months away, teams have now gotten far enough into the current season to have at least an idea of what their ceiling is and just how good, or bad, they might be. One team in the midst of its early season evaluations, are the Chicago Bulls. They looked like they could make some noise a few seasons ago after getting off to an incredibly hot start in 2021 but ever since Lonzo Ball went down ..read more

Photo by Elsa/Getty Images The Knicks shooting guard is off to a disappointing start in his third year Heading into the 2023–24 NBA season, Knicks shooting guard Quentin Grimes looked to be in a good place. He was coming off a 2022–23 sophomore campaign that saw him play in 71 regular-season games and start in 66. Playing 30 minutes per game, Grimes averaged 11.3 points and knocked down 2.2 three-pointers at 38.6 percent from deep. The Knicks guard was also +4.8 in win shares. In my player preview of Quentin Grimes, I labeled it as his important third year. He had a nice second season, and the ..read more

Photo by Mark Blinch/Getty Images Traveling for the second game of a back-to-back, the 11-7 Knicks head north to battle the 9-10 Raptors. The New York Knicks (11-7) cross the border tonight for a game against the Toronto Raptors (9-10). The Knicks defeated the Detroit Pistons yesterday, but needed to field their starters down the stretch to achieve victory. The Raptors last played on Wednesday and held off the Phoenix Suns, 112-105. This should be a hard fought game. New coach Darko Rajakovic has Toronto scrapping, and half of their losses have been by single digits. Toronto ranks eighth in th ..read more

Photo by Elsa/Getty Images Jalen Brunson scores his sixth 40+ game as a Knick and Julius Randle adds 29 to hold off the Detroit Pistons. The Detroit Pistons (2-17) played against the Lakers last night, and successfully added a 15th loss to this season’s most shameful streak. On Tuesday, the New York Knicks (11-7) beat the Charlotte Hornets by 24 points. The Knicks would have egg on their faces if they lost tonight, with the reeling Pistons appearing in the second of a back-to-back. Yeah, well. While the Knicks thought about the Christmas presents they’ve yet to buy, or postgame dinner plans, o ..read more

Photo by Dustin Satloff/Getty Images Detroit has lost 15 straight. Led by Cade Cunningham (21.8 PPG. seven APG) and Jalen Duren (10.8 RPG), the Detroit Pistons (2-16) have lost 15 straight. Seems almost hard to do. After falling to the Lakers yesterday, they roll into Madison Square Garden tonight for a whack at the New York Knicks (10-7). FYI, Pistons head coach Monty Williams will earn $13,083,333 this season. (Hey Detroit, I’m available to coach for like half that.) Trap games always make me nervous. Tip off is 7:30 p.m. EST on MSG Network. This is your game thread. This is Detroit Bad Boys ..read more

Reunion with some familiar faces who are in the midst of a historic streak The Detroit Pistons were once a proud and historic franchise that teams hated playing against. You had the Bad Boys Pistons led by Isiah Thomas, Bill Laimbeer, Dennis Rodman, Rick Mahorn, and John Salley who struck over fear into opponents with their physical defense. And then there was the 2000’s iteration of the Pistons that rostered Chauncey Billups, Rip Hamilton, Tayshaun Prince, Ben Wallace, and Rasheed Wallace, which was just as elite defensively and had the swagger and confidence to match it. Over the last decad ..read more