The New York Knicks return to Madison Square Garden with a 13-game losing streak and potentially not enough players to field a full roster depending on who is healthy and who is not. The Knicks are trying to end a franchise-worst losing streak, but continue to come up short as they lost to the Washington Wizards on Wednesday night. Having dropped 15 of their last 18 home games while averaging just 87.9 points at the Garden, the Knicks prepare to face the surging Houston Rockets in an East vs. West game.
The Knicks are at a loss of words right now as they simply hope to have enough players to field a starting lineup and bench. Carmelo Anthony is expected to be out after missing the last four games with a knee injury. Amar'e Stoudemire will also be out with a knee injury. The Knicks no longer have JR Smith, Iman Shumpert and Samuel Dalembert, not to mention they waived all three players acquired in a recent trade. Now, Tim Hardaway Jr, Cole Aldrich and Cleanthony Early will be playing significant minutes for New York. That is not exactly the lineup that fills the arena.
Hardaway Jr is the biggest threat the Knicks have right now. He is averaging 11.0 points per game, putting up seven against the Wizards while missing all three 3-point attempts. In his last game against the Houston Rockets at the end of November, the guard put up five points. The Knicks have lost 18 of the past 19 games against Houston, something that likely will not change on Thursday.
The Rockets ended a three-game road losing streak by beating the Cleveland Cavaliers on Wednesday night as LeBron James sat out. Dwight Howard put up 17 points and 19 rebounds against the weaker defense and could do so again against the Knicks. James Harden scored 36 points against the Knicks in their last meeting and he is expected to be a big factor again as New York will be without significant size to defend.
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