Game Preview Knicks at Nuggets- 1/1/19

Hello and welcome to the year 2019. It’s been 5779 for a little while and it will be 4717 pretty, pretty soon. We’re even well into the 6000’s by some accounts, and of course, we’re actually just on this here voyage for a blink of this 4.543 billion year old marble’s eye.

New York (9-28) is in Colorado for the third game of their six-game road trip. Denver (23-11) closed the 2018 portion of their schedule with the best win percentage in the Western Conference. They ring in the new year with the inclusion of three key players all of whom will require minutes and all were starters prior to their injuries.

The Knicks are coming off one of their worst beatdowns in recent and distant memory. Whereas the Nuggets are coming off a blistering Jamal Murray effort. Which is something the NBA world is growing accustomed to. Word of advice: don’t lose him “three passes” away hanging in the corner. He’s closer than you think.

So! Best in the West tonight, then the Lakers, Trail Blazers and closing out with the Warriors. No problem-o!

sɹǝʇɹɐʇs pǝʇɔǝɾoɹd

The Nuggets are set to get back three pivotal players in Gary Harris, Paul Millsap and Will Barton. It’s unclear if that will just buoy their rotation for now, or if they’ll be inserted directly to the starting unit. Denver has been very healthy in the wins department despite these three being sidelined. Barton is least likely to storm the starters- he’s played only two games this year, both starts- because Juancho Hernangomez has been a nice spark for the Nuggets. Willy’s brother boasted big boards and begat a bucket boom to the tune of 27 points and 13 rebounds in a loss to San Antonio just last week.

dnɥɔʇɐɯ ʎǝʞ

I’ll have my eyeballs on Noah Vonleh vs. Nikola Jokic. The Knicks may not have the top down talent to make Denver sweat. They do have the great agitator in everyone’s favorite basketball snowplow, Noah Vonleh. This brute has gotten to be quite good on both ends. Toss in the added space provided by Luke Kornet these days and you start to see just how perplexing Vonleh can be for opposing defenses.

A challenging combo of quickness and force, with a surprising amount of finesse near the cup and pushing up the floor. His shooting from range isn’t a fluke at this point either. If Jokic is paired up with him, I can easily see Vonleh just turning on the jets and pulling away from the lumbering Jokic after a series of dribble hand offs.

Turn around to the defensive side, Vonleh’s blunt force will be able to keep Jokic from getting great position. The biggest don’t-push-the-red-button challenge will be avoiding foul trouble. With any luck Vonleh won’t be handsy and his quickness will keep the big Serbian from slipping and wobbling around the floor causing havoc. Anything to negate some of that dastardly passing.

Utter nonsense, this guy. I would say he has a plethora of passing mixtapes and all around videos with some of the most stupefying plays in basketball. Curiously, no defensive highlight tapes.

uoᴉʇɔᴉpǝɹd

The Knick guards just won’t be able to keep up with the swirling Nuggets. Hopefully being in Denver for a couple days will help them have their lungs. Unless they’ve decided to test their lungs on some of those thingies they be having out there in Colorado. Who will check Jamal Murray? He would probably savor going balls deep on the Knicks D.

Knicks by -19.

ɔᴉsnɯ dn ɯɹɐʍ

You know how 2019 got me feeling?

I got worry.