by Thomas Quaynor for Wannamakeabet.com
The New York Knicks (31-18) visit the Washington Wizards (13-35) tonight at Capital One Arena. This is the second of three matchups between the teams. New York defeated Washington 119-102 at home in the first meeting on Nov. 3. They’ll square off for a final time on Mar. 22 in New York. The Knicks have owned the Wizards winning ten in a row and 13 of the last 14 head-to-head matchups dating back to March 2022.
New York is a 13.5-point favorite and the total is 227.5.
WHAT BOTH TEAMS DID IN THEIR PREVIOUS GAME
New York defeated the Los Angeles Lakers 112-100 at home on Sunday night in front of a nationally televised audience — it was the debut of NBC’s “Sunday Night Basketball.” After trailing 56-52 at halftime, the Knicks took control in the second half outscoring the Lakers 60-44 to pick up their season-best sixth straight victory.
OG Anunoby (25 pts), Josh Hart (20 pts) and reserve Landry Shamet (23 points) each surpassed the 20-point mark in the win. Shamet’s 23 points were a season-high. Anunoby — a 16.7 ppg scorer — has scored at least 20 points in three straight games and four out of the last five. Leading scorer Jalen Brunson (27.2 ppg) was held to just 12 points, but dished out a season-best 13 assists and tied a season-high with 7 rebounds for the Knicks.
The short-handed Wizards outlasted the Sacramento Kings 116-112 at home on Sunday night. The Wizards won the game without leading scorer and rebounder Alex Sarr, who was out with right calf soreness. Rookie forward Will Riley led the Wizards with a career-high 18 points (6-15 FG, 4-8 3Pt, 2-2) in 30 minutes off the bench. He added 6 rebounds, 6 assists and a steal. Seldom-used reserves AJ Johnson (13 pts) and Skal Labissiere (17 pts) also had big games off the bench for the Wizards.
Washington was able to pull out the victory with five reserves — AJ Johnson, Will Riley, Skal Labissiere, Anthony Gill and Sharife Cooper — closing out the game. Four of those reserves (Johnson, Riley, Labissiere, and Cooper) spent time in the G-League this season. The Wizards have won three of their last four contests.
GAME STORYLINES: NEW YORK
In July 2022, the New York Knicks signed Dallas Mavericks guard Jalen Brunson to a four-year, $104 million deal. The signing did not receive much fanfare as Brunson spent the first four years of his NBA career playing a complimentary role alongside superstar Luka Doncic. But Brunson immediately transformed himself into a superstar once he donned a Knick uniform beginning in the 2022-23 season.
Jalen Brunson raised his scoring average from 16.3 ppg in his last season with Dallas to 24 points per game in his debut season with the Knicks. Brunson also led the Knicks to a 47-35 record — its best finish since 2012-13 — and a playoff series victory over the fourth-seeded Cleveland Cavaliers. The Knicks had missed the playoff in 8 of the previous 9 seasons before Brunson’s arrival.
Jalen Brunson has maintained his stellar level of play with the Knicks as he now participates in year four with the team. Last season, Brunson led the Knicks to the Conference Finals for the first time since 2000. This year, Brunson is averaging 27.2 points, 6.1 assists, 3.2 rebounds and 3 threes per game on 47.2 percent shooting from the floor and 38.3 percent shooting from long distance through 44 games. Brunson was named an All-Star for a third straight season this year.
All-Star big man Karl-Anthony Towns (19.8 pts, 11.8 rebs, 2.9 asts, 46.1% from 2 in 46 gms), athletic forward OJ Anunoby (16.4 pts, 5.5 rebs, 1.8 stls, 2 threes, 48% from 2, 36.3% from 3 in 39 gms), swingman Mikal Bridges (15.7 pts, 4.2 rebs, 4.1 asts, 1.5 stls, 2.2 threes, 50% from 2, 38.9 from 3 in 49 gms) and versatile wing Josh Hart (12.5 pts, 7.6 rebs, 5.1 asts, 1.3 stls, 50.7% from 2, 40.7% from 3 in 38 games) round out a talented and versatile Knicks starting lineup.
With the trade deadline looming (Feb. 5), New York is considered a possible destination for Milwaukee Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo. It was rumored that Giannis desired to play for the Knicks prior to the season, but the trade never materialized. With Milwaukee now sporting a disappointing 18-29 record, the Giannis trade speculation is becoming louder and louder. Giannis is currently sidelined with a calf injury, but if the Knicks can acquire ‘The Greak Freak” at the trade deadline, they’d be the heavy favorites to win the Eastern Conference.
GAME STORYLINES: WASHINGTON
Since 1980 (46 years and counting), the Washington Wizards franchise has consistently been amongst the worst in the NBA. They had some brief moments of hope with star players such as Jeff Malone, Chris Webber, Juwan Howard, Gilbert Arenas, John Wall, Bradley Beal and Russell Westbrook but all of those players eventually fizzled out with Washington leading to more fruitless rebuilds.
Washington’s latest rebuild began after the 2022-23 season when they put the kibosh on the ill-fated ‘Big Three’ of Bradley Beal, Kyle Kuzma and Kristaps Porzingis. That trio could only muster back-to-back 35-47 records in 2022 and 2023. Washington has bottomed out at 15-67 and 18-64 over the last two seasons, respectively. Its worst two-year stretch in franchise history. Washington’s 67 losses in 2024 set a franchise-record.
Through all the futility over the last two seasons, Washington appears to have landed some top-tier talent in the draft, in particular star center Alex Sarr. The Wizards selected the 7-footer with second overall pick in the 2024 NBA draft. After posting a respectable rookie season (13 pts, 6.5 rebs, 2.4 asts, 1.5 blks, 1.6 threes in 67 gms), Sarr is having a breakout sophomore campaign. The 20-year-old, Frenchman is currently averaging 17.6 points, 7.7 rebounds, 2.8 assists, 2.1 blocks and 1 three-pointer on 49.9 percent shooting from the floor.
With Alex Sarr’s scoring versatility, rebounding, and shot blocking, he has the potential to be Washington’s next franchise player. And having an uber-talented big man with immense upside like Sarr is an excellent foundational building block for the Wizards.
The young trio of second-year wing Kyshawn George (15.5 pts, 5.7 rebs, 5 asts, 1.1 stls, 2.2 threes, 44.6% from 2, 37.8% from 3 in 39 gms), rookie guard Tre Johnson (12.9 pts, 2.7 rebs, 2.2 asts, 2.2 threes in 39 gms) and second-year combo guard Bub Carrington (10 pts, 4.7 asts, 3.7 rebs, 2.1 threes, 40.5% from 3 in 48 gms) are registering terrific seasons alongside Alex Sarr. The Wizards have the potential to make some noise in the near future if Sarr continues on his superstar trajectory and the young trio continues to get better.
Washington made headlines earlier in the year when they acquired superstar point guard Trae Young from the Atlanta Hawks in exchange for CJ McCollum and Korey Kispert. The 27-year-old, Young was a four-time All-Star with Atlanta but wore out his welcome due to underwhelming seasons — the Hawks failed to finish above .500 or win a playoff series — over the last three years and the team playing better without him (15-13) this year when he was out with injuries. Atlanta was just 2-8 in the 10 games Trae Young played in.
Trae Young has yet to suit up for the Wizards this year due to lingering knee and quadriceps issues. He will be re-evaluated after the mid-February All-Star break. He has not played since Dec. 27. There is some speculation that the Wizards would not play Trae Young at all this year in order to ensure they get a top-eight pick in the 2026 NBA draft. Washington’s 2026 first-round pick would go to the New York Knicks if it falls to 9th or lower.
The Wizards have won 3 of their last 4 games, and appear to be a lot more competitive now than they were when they began the year 1-15. Washington currently has the fourth-worst record in the NBA, and look to be entrenched amongst the bottom 8 teams, but a 7-10 day run of strong play at some point in the season may lead them to shut down Trae Young for the entire season and save him for the 2026-27 campaign. It will be interesting to see how things play out in regards to Young’s availability.
THE PICK: KNICKS (-13.5)
New York has had their way with Washington for the last 5 years — 16-2 vs. the Wizards since Feb. 2021 — and I don’t see why anything would chance tonight. Especially, with the Knicks on a season-best six-game winning streak. Lay the big number and take the Knicks!