The Tale of the Tape for Thursday's epic Knicks-Nets showdown
The 3-13 New York Knicks are heading across town to visit the 5-13 Brooklyn Nets on Thursday night for a 7 p.m. showdown. It's going to be awful.
Vegas lines show the Knicks as one-point favorites and the action is split between the two teams - basically, this has been ruled a pick 'em by oddsmakers and gamblers alike.
As J.R. Smith said, though, somebody's gotta win, and we want to try and figure out who that might be. So, let's take a look at the tale of the tape.
| Nets | Category | Knicks |
|---|---|---|
| Brooklyn | Burrough | Manhattan |
| Mikhail Prokhorov | Owner | James Dolan |
| Jay-Z | Marquee Fan | Spike Lee |
| 0 | Distance Travelled | 6.1 miles |
| Brooklyn Knight | Mascot | Chris Smith |
Okay, well that doesn't tell us as much as we thought it would, though the Nets have a clear mascot edge with Chris Smith having been assigned to the Washington Generals.
What about the actual games, you ask?
| Nets | Category | Knicks |
|---|---|---|
| 5-13 | Record | 3-13 |
| -7.56 | Margin of Victory | -6.25 |
| 10th | Strength of Schedule | 7th |
| 102.1 | Offensive Rating | 101.6 |
| 110.2 | Defensive Rating | 108.4 |
| 92.2 | Pace | 90.8 |
Get ready basketball fans, it's two teams that play at glacial pages and do a poor job scoring and defending! Enthralling.
Let's get more specific.
| Nets | Category | Knicks |
|---|---|---|
| 43.2 | FG% | 42.1 |
| 34.8 | 3FG% | 32.2 |
| 52.1 | TS% | 50.3 |
| 24.7 | ORB% | 25.3 |
| 72.7 | DRB% | 75.8 |
| 13.9 | TO% | 12.2 |
| 13.2 | Opp TO% | 14.8 |
Now we're getting somewhere - the Nets score more efficiently but the Knicks do a better job controlling possession by turning the ball over less, forcing more turnovers and rebounding better.
| Nets | Category | Knicks |
|---|---|---|
| Brook Lopez | Top Scorer | Carmelo Anthony |
| 19.3 | PPG | 26.3 |
| Kevin Garnett | Top Rebounder | Carmelo Anthony |
| 7.6 | RPG | 9.9 |
| Shaun Livingston | Top Playmaker | Raymond Felton |
| 3.4 | APG | 5.8 |
| Brook Lopez | Most Efficient | Carmelo Anthony |
| 26.3 | PER | 21.5 |
| Brook Lopez | Highest Usage | Carmelo Anthony |
| 27.4 | USG% | 32.1 |
At the individual level, things are more interesting. Carmelo Anthony is unquestionably "the guy" for the Knicks, while the Nets are more balanced, even when running thin (Deron Williams, Jason Terry, Paul Pierce and Andrei Kirilenko are all injured).
You'll see the teams operate differently, to be sure. The Knicks don't have anybody capable of handling Lopez, but the same could be said of Anthony, as much as Garnett and Alan Anderson will try. Both top scorers will get theirs, and it could come down to which team's depth prevails and which team gets hot from long range.
And then, there's the coaching battle. Let's just circle back this way if both coaches have jobs come Friday morning.
So, who is the smart money on? The Nets have a slightly better record but have faced an easier schedule and fared worse by point differential, plus they'll be missing four key players. Alternatively, the Knicks (also without Tyson Chandler, it's worth remembering) are the Knicks.
The Pick: Don't bet on the game, and watch the Jacksonville Jaguars and Houston Texas play on Thursday Night Football instead.
Seriously though, we like the Knicks by eight in a borderline-unwatchable game.