"The Nets may not have manifested this moment. But they've had a hand in it all the same - a direct one - as the Knicks stagger into a must-win matchup against their cross-bridge rival on Wednesday amid a skid of nine losses in their last 11 games. Two summers ago, the Knicks sent the Nets five first-round picks for Mikal Bridges. Now Sean Marks, Jordi Fern ¡ndez and Michael Porter Jr. have a chance to do the funniest thing ever - and at this rate, the Knicks may let them."
"Patience is wearing thin at Madison Square Garden, where the team that lifted the NBA Cup less than a month ago now finds itself nearly three times closer to the Play-In Tournament (2.5 games) than it is to the Eastern Conference's top-seeded Detroit Pistons (7.0 games). The warning signs were all there on Monday. At full strength, the Knicks lost to a Dallas Mavericks team whose injury list stretched further than the Williamsburg Bridge. They let two players they openly labeled "hot" shooters - Max Christie and Klay Thompson - combine for nine made threes on 11 attempts in the first half, 12-of-17 combined on the night, including an 8-of-10 night from Christie that landed him in a 14-way tie for third on MSG's all-time single-game three-point leaderboard."
"Which brings us to Porter Jr. He has no regard for contests. He averages 10 three-point attempts per game. And he's in the middle of a career year as the lone veteran scorer in Brooklyn's youth movement. If there's anyone who would love nothing more than to aura-farm the remains of his fan base's biggest opponent - even if it's the last act of his brief but productive Nets tenure - it's him. Porter Jr. has 12 games this season with five or more made threes. He has nine more with four. The Knicks know this. They also knew Christie and Thompson were hot. They know Porter Jr. went just 2-of-10 from deep in Brooklyn's last game against the physical Phoenix Sun"
Brooklyn acquired Mikal Bridges after the Knicks reportedly sent five first-round picks two summers ago, and the current Nets roster could now exploit New York's struggles. The Knicks have lost nine of their last 11 games and enter a must-win against the Nets, sitting 2.5 games from the Play-In and seven from the conference lead. Recent losses featured permitting hot shooting nights from perimeter players and a defeat to an undermanned Dallas team. Michael Porter Jr. is averaging about 10 three-point attempts per game and is having a career scoring year, making him a primary threat to Brooklyn's rivals.
Read at New York Daily News
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