Breakdown of Knicks’ Lineup Before Mavericks Matchup

On Wednesday night, the New York Knicks travel to Dallas to take on the Mavericks as part of a five-game road trip, during which they have put together a 2-1 record. They are coming off of an impressive outing where they scored 145 points against the Denver Nuggets behind a franchise-high 45 assists, continuing to prove they are one of the best offensive teams in the entire league. Their offseason moves are beginning to pay off as they sit in fourth place in the Eastern Conference behind Cleveland, Boston, and Orlando and are looking to climb even higher in the standings with a win tonight.

Starting point guard Jalen Brunson had a career-high 17 assists against Denver, who helped lead the Knicks’ offense to a season-high in points due to his facilitation ability. The former Maverick who helped Dallas get to the Western Conference Finals in 2022 has been a revelation for New York, signing an extension this past offseason to stay with the franchise long-term.

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Mikal Bridges will play the other guard spot, a part of the “Nova Knicks” as another member of Jay Wright’s National Championship team at Villanova in 2018. On the season, Bridges is averaging 14.3 points, 4.1 rebounds, and 2.3 assists per game after being acquired from the Nets this offseason, and is an important part of what they do defensively on the perimeter.

Josh Hart will hold down the small forward spot. He is an all-around player who is an elite rebounder for his position (8.6 boards) and a top-notch distributor (5.6 assists). He’s also shooting 60.5% from the field and averaging 14.1 points per game. He is the third Villanova player on the roster, along with Brunson and Bridges.

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Combo forward OG Anunoby will hold down the four spot for New York tonight, the Knicks’ third-leading scorer and team leader in steals per game. Coming off of a 40-point outing on 16-for-23 shooting against Denver, Anunoby has increasingly become a reliable scoring threat for the Knicks, and will be a formidable opponent for the Mavs’ Naji Marshall.

In the post is Karl-Anthony Towns, a player acquired in the blockbuster trade of the summer between New York and Minnesota. The Knicks’ leading scorer this season, Towns has more than made his mark on the team, leading them not only in points (26.3) but in boards as well (12.6). In fact, he’s been so good on the glass that he currently ranks third in rebounds per game in the NBA, behind only Nikola Jokic and Domantas Sabonis.

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Players like Miles McBride, Cameron Payne, and Jericho Sims will come off the bench for the Knicks, though head coach Tom Thibodeau is notorious for playing his starters as many minutes as possible and keeping a very tight rotation. To this point, only eight players are in double-digit minutes per game, the polar opposite of a team like the Warriors, who have 14 in their rotation.

New York’s offense is a tough matchup for a Dallas team that is still down Luka Doncic, and it will be difficult for the Mavericks to hang with this kind of high-powered offense. In order to win, Dallas is going to have to guard the Knicks’ pick-and-pop with Towns, take care of the defensive glass, limit Brunson’s ability to get into the lane, and hope that New York’s shooters have an off game. Otherwise, it could be a long night at the American Airlines Center.

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