The NY Knicks are facing off against the OKC Thunder on Friday night and the team has Kristaps Porzingis and Carmelo Anthony looking to get the Knicks over .500 to 7-6 with a victory. New York catches a break for this game, as Kevin Durant will not return from his injury to face the Knicks and that could give the team a chance to get another win.
The Knicks are 6-6 this season and the team has already played above expectations over the first month of the year, as they did not reach six wins until January last season. Kristaps Porzingis has started off very well for the Knicks after being a top five draft pick and he has quickly become a fan favorite for fans. Carmelo Anthony has praised the effort and hard work of Porzingis and the two have had good chemistry on offense and that is welcome news for Phil Jackson.
Anthony praised Jackson's moves this offseason, including the additions of Arron Afflalo and Robin Lopez, who has helped give the team more size and defense up front. Afflalo was injured to start the season, but since coming back he has played well and he gives the Knicks a solid offensive option alongside Anthony. Porzingis had the best game of his young career with 29 points and 11 rebounds in the win against the Hornets and he said after the game that he thinks he can play even better moving forward.
Porzingis is averaging 12.8 points and 8.6 rebounds this season and he has been shooting over 40 percent from the field. Porzingis surely will have some growing pains this season, but to start off the year he has been playing above expectations and he has fans watching the Knicks closely and feeling a bit hopeful about this season. The Knicks have won three of the past five games and they are looking to keep things going against the Thunder on Friday.
Kevin Durant has been dealing with a hamstring injury and he has been out for a stretch and is not ready to return for the game against the Knicks. Durant has been able to start working out again and he also was able to do defensive drills with the Thunder on Thursday, but he will be unable to play on Friday. Durant has played in eight games this season and is averaging 28 points and 7.3 rebounds.
The Knicks schedule has some tough games ahead and the team is about to start a four game road trip with the game in Oklahoma City. The team has the Thunder next and then the team will play against the Rockets, Miami Heat and Orlando Magic on the road. After that the team returns home for some easier matchups, including against the Rockets, Sixers and Nets before hitting the road against the Bucks. The Knicks are hoping to hover around .500 over this next stretch of games.