The West Coast meets the East Coast this Saturday evening with the Los Angeles Lakers going through off in opposition to the New York Knicks in a marquee NBA showdown at Madison Sq. Backyard.
That assembly has been producing plenty of buzz, with Los Angeles head coach JJ Redick including extra gasoline to the joy, saying how a lot he used to stay up for enjoying on the “Mecca of Basketball.”
“I’m juiced proper now,” Redick mentioned forward of the Lakers conflict versus the Knicks (h/t Dave McMenamin of ESPN.)
“We’re all juiced proper now. It’s Lakers-Knicks on a Saturday evening. Like, c’mon. There’s nothing higher. I’m juiced. And each time I performed in Madison Sq. Backyard, I used to be juiced. My favourite place to play,” added Redick, who performed quite a few instances at Madison Sq. Backyard throughout his 15-year enjoying profession within the NBA.
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The Lakers will enter the New York sport with some momentum. After shedding to one in all Redick’s former groups final Tuesday when the Lakers fell prey to the Philadelphia 76ers, 118-104, the Lakers returned to the win column by blasting the lowly Washington Wizards on Thursday, 134-96. The Lakers’ journey to New York can be the penultimate leg of the Lakers’ six-game highway journey that can finish on Tuesday versus the Los Angeles Clippers in Inglewood.
One factor to notice concerning the Lakers for this Knicks matchup is that they will not have one in all their key weapons, with celebrity massive man Anthony Davis nonetheless sidelined with an belly pressure he suffered within the loss to the 76ers. He additionally missed the date with Washington. Davis’ absence may imply extra duty for the ageless LeBron James, who has averaged 25.7 factors, 9.3 assists and 6.0 rebounds whereas capturing 53.8 % from the sphere within the Lakers’ final three video games.
Davis’ absence is a giant plus for the Knicks, who’re on a roll. New York misplaced to the Minnesota Timberwolves, 116-99, on Jan. 17, and since then, the Knicks have stitched collectively 5 wins in a row. That features their 122-112 takedown of Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets at residence on Wednesday.
The Lakers are fifth within the NBA’s western convention standings with a 27-19 file.