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Knicks vs. Nuggets: How & Who to Watch as NY Seeks Weekend Gold

The New York Knicks return to action at Madison Square Garden with the dangerous Western Conference leaders, the Denver Nuggets, due for a visit.

Geoff Magliocchetti

In this story:

There's no place like home ... unless you're the New York Knicks. 

New York, embarking upon a resilient playoff push, returns to Madison Square Garden for the first time since Mar. 7 on Saturday, forced to the road by college basketball proceedings. Having salvaged a split from a brutal four-game Western Conference tour, one mostly missing star point guard Jalen Brunson, the Knicks now welcome in the Denver Nuggets, the lasting Western Conference leaders looking to find themselves before the postseason tips off.

It's been a while since the Knicks and Nuggets did battle, with the former taking a 106-103 decision in the Rockies back on Nov. 16. Denver ended a four-game losing streak, its longest of the season and first beyond two games since early December, on Thursday with a 119-100 win over the woebegone Detroit Pistons. The Nuggets are the only team in the Western Conference that has clinched its playoff spot thus far and hold a 4.5-game lead over second-place Sacramento for the top seed. 

The win in November ended a streak of bad luck for the Knicks, who had not won in Denver since 2006. Saturday will see them go for their first sweep of the Nuggets since 2002-03. 

What: Denver Nuggets (47-23) @ New York Knicks (41-30)

Where: Madison Square Garden, New York, NY

When/Watch: Sunday, 1 p.m. ET, MSG/MSG Go

Who's Favored: DEN -3

Keep An Eye On: Mitchell Robinson

This Knicks' season has been defined by overcoming obstacles, the latest being impressive victories over the surging Los Angeles Lakers and playoff-battling Portland Trail Blazers without Brunson's services. For every challenge overcome, however, there's been a petty one to succeed. 

Usually, there are immediate opportunities to get over it ... the wins over Los Angeles and Portland have made a troubling loss to Charlotte seem like eons ago. But Robinson's recent issue, a thinly-veiled critique of his role in Knicks rotation on Snapchat, is something that can't be repaired in a single night. The current nine-man set continues to list Robinson in the starting five, but the final interior minutes have often gone to Isaiah Hartenstein. 

While Robinson's primary issues seem to stem from his perceived lack of role in the Knicks' offense, his defense might be relied upon to nix the Nuggets: Nikola Jokić's prescience speaks for itself and Denver as a whole averages 55 points in the paint per game, fourth-best in the Association. If Robinson wants the high-pressure minutes, coming through against the potential Western favorite would be a good place to make his case. 

Nugget to Watch: Nikola Jokić

Yes, it's truly quite bold to suggest to the two-time defending MVP is someone for the Knicks to keep an eye on. But with questions of both the supportive and derogatory variety surrounding his case for a third form of hardware, Jokić has taken things to a new level. Thus far in March, he's shooting a jaw-dropping 64 percent from the field, averaging a 26.1-point, 13.1-rebound double-double.

The most dangerous part of Jokić's rampage is that he doesn't seem to be making voters' opinions a priority, using the publicized MVP debate between ESPN analysts Kendrick Perkins and JJ Reddick to refer to the process as "not really healthy." That hasn't stopped Jokić's teammates from prematurely bestowing him the award, with many impressed by the way his defense has improved.

“He’s a smart defender,” Jamal Murray told Michael Singer of The Denver Post. “He knows tendencies. He has great hands, and he forces (opponents) to make a contested shot. He’s going get beat sometimes, obviously, like everybody does in this league, but for the most part, he plays the angles well and knows how to play cat-and-mouse in the paint. I think he’s underrated, with his hands, the deflections, tips and rebounds. … I don’t think he gets enough credit for that.”

Prediction

A good part of the Knicks' success on Saturday may come down to the prescience ... or lack thereof ... of primary point guard Jalen Brunson. As of press time, Brunson appears destined to be questionable for the affair and the Knicks could certainly use him down the stretch as they try to lock up their spot among the Eastern Conference's top six. Even so, it shouldn't fall solely on Brunson to be the difference in a visit from the Western leaders. Expect the Knicks to keep pace with a team eager for spring success but picking up the first MSG win since Mar. 1 will be a tall task.

Nuggets 118, Knicks 115

Geoff Magliocchetti is on Twitter @GeoffJMags

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Geoff Magliocchetti
GEOFF MAGLIOCCHETTI

Editor-In-Chief at All Knicks

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