Knicks vs. Suns: How & Who to Watch as 2023 Rises

Fresh off a canceled losing streak, the New York Knicks get an instant test as the calendars flip.

There probably is no more appropriate opponent for the New York Knicks to face at the dawn of a new calendar year than a team known as the Phoenix Suns. 

Judging by the way the last meeting went, the Knicks probably aren't in the mood for such serendipity, but they'll nonetheless open an uncertain, if not hopeful, 364 days with a visit from the Western Conference's most recent top playoff seed looming on Monday afternoon. 

The Knicks ended 2022 on a relatively high note, ending a five-game losing streak on New Year's Eve against the Houston Rockets. Julius Randle once again took over for the Knicks, putting in 35 points and 12 rebounds while Immanuel Quickley had 27 while filling in for RJ Barrett (finger) and Jalen Brunson (hip). Barrett will miss his third consecutive contest while Brunson is listed as questionable (his designation entering each of the last two games). 

Phoenix is no stranger to injury in its own right, as Devin Booker (groin) has already been labeled out for Monday's Booker. Save for a four-minute cameo on Christmas Day, Booker hasn't played since Dec. 17. The Suns have gone 2-5 in that span, closing the previous year out on consecutive losses in Washington and Toronto. Monday's Manhattan excursion is the penultimate game of a six-game road trip, the lone of it thus far coming in Memphis on Dec. 27.

What: Phoenix Suns (20-17) @ New York Knicks (19-18)

Where: Madison Square Garden, New York, NY

When/Watch: Monday, 3 p.m. ET, MSG/MSG Go

Who's Favored: NYK -1.5

Keep An Eye On: Evan Fournier

With the Knicks hobbled in the shooting department thanks to Barrett and Brunson's respective ailments, the forgotten Fournier has finally worked his way back into the rotation. Time will tell if it's a final stand in blue and orange, but, for the time being, Fournier has at least kept the Knicks busy in the outside game. 

Fournier reached double-figures in his first night back with the Knicks, a seven-point loss to San Antonio last Thursday, drawing the attention of Randle, the current metropolitan headliner. 

“He was great. He came in and played within himself,” Randle said. “It's tough to have a rhythm when you haven’t played in that long but he competed, and made timely shots. So he was good.”

The all-time single-season leader in successful three-pointers in a New York uniform probably isn't long for this metropolitan basketball world, but until the offense is back at full strength, he'll be partly relied upon to keep the group afloat, at least from a depth perspective.

Sun to Watch: Chris Paul

It's perhaps surprising to see that a name like Chris Paul has slipped through the cracks on a contending Suns group, but he's back in the spotlight with Booker healing, a responsibility he fully accepted upon learning Booker's diagnosis.

“It’s tough, but it’s part of it,” Paul said, per AZ Central. “(Booker has) been in the league long enough and we all understand we don’t need him in December and January. We’ve got to hold the fort down until he gets ready. Make sure he doesn’t rush back.”

But the Suns have fallen out of the tightly-packed Western Conference's top six in Booker's absence and the road shows no signs of relenting (the Suns go to Cleveland after visiting the Knicks). That's hardly been the full fault of Paul, who has dished out an average of 10 assists over the last four games. But he'll likely be looking to make a statement of sorts to open up the new year, one that lets the basketball world know that a Suns team just two years removed from an NBA Finals appearance isn't going to lay down.

Prediction 

The Knicks have been to withstand the post-Brunson/Barrett era somewhat well, Tuesday' Luka Dončić-induced meltdown notwithstanding. Monday figures to be a good test: the Booker-less Suns don't have any Dončić-style dominator but they're not in the dire straits the Rockets find themselves in. 

Randle should be able to have another strong game, yet it feels like a tall task to steal a matinee away from a Phoenix team looking to make an early statement. Expect a close game, and a strong effort from the hosts, but this one goes to Phoenix.

Suns 112, Knicks 106

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Geoff Magliocchetti is on Twitter @GeoffJMags

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