NBA Game of the Week: Mavericks vs. Knicks

Can I say it? I’m going to say it. It’s officially time to say New York basketball is back. The Knicks have a legitimate superstar at the guard position in Jalen Brunson and they are beginning to look like a solidified contender.

However, on Thursday night, I’m not quite sure that the Knicks will be walking out of the Garden with a win as the Mavericks might cause some trouble for New York.

Dallas is a tricky team to analyze because when you look at their roster it’s not overly talented but when you watch them play, you quickly understand why the Mavs can take on almost any team in the league and this is because of the elite guard tandem of Kyrie Irving and Luka Doncic.

Doncic is averaging a league-wide best 34 points per game along with eight rebounds and nine assists while his co-star Irving is averaging 25 points a game with five boards and five assists.

The Mavericks have been in the middle of the pack in the Western Conference and as of now they would be in the Play-In Tournament as the 8th seed.

This season’s definitely been a letdown for them but lucky for them they still have a lot of games to play and who knows, maybe they can make some noise late in the season.

For the Knicks, it has been the complete opposite. The Knicks are rolling and since Jan.1 they are 15-3 which has led them to the fourth seed in the East.

It seems like OG Anunoby has been the missing piece that they have needed as the Knicks have been dominant since they traded for him at the end of December.

Anunoby has a +/- of +252 since being dealt to New York which is the third-best in the NBA in the year 2024.

Unfortunately for the Knicks, injuries have caught up to them as the All-Star Julius Randle is expected to miss time due to a shoulder injury and they are still waiting to see if Mitchell Robinson will be returning this season at all.

The Knicks are coming off of a loss to the Lakers on Feb. 3 but for New York, they might have a big problem as the Lakers might have just set the blueprint for the league on how to stop New York.

The Lakers double-teamed Jalen Brunson over 30 times in the game and it led to the Knicks being without a field goal for almost seven minutes in the final quarter of regulation.

The Knicks were without Anunoby and Grimes in the loss and they are both in line to miss Thursday night’s game against Dallas.

For Dallas, they are hoping to get back Derrick Lively II and Dante Exum as they both have missed time due to injuries.

Dallas is coming off of a strong win against Philadelphia as Irving recorded 23 points, Doncic had 19 and Josh Green had 20. It was a very sharp performance all around for Dallas and they’ll need to play this way if they are going to beat New York.

The Knicks have solidified themselves as a contender over the last month but they will be without some of their top scorers against one of the more high-powered offenses in the league.

Dallas can explode offensively on any given night but will they be able to contain Jalen Brunson in The Garden?

Jacob Zacharia is a first-year student majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, please email jjz5612@psu.edu.