Brooklyn Nets vs. New York Knicks; East River Showdown-IV

From the desks of:

THE HOOPS OF FLATBUSH  and  DUTCH PANTS CAN'T JUMP

EAST RIVER SHOWDOWN - IV

Knicks Lead Series 2-1

I - NYK 113; BKN 83

II - BKN 103; NYK 88

III - NYK 110; BKN 31

TONIGHT

GAME FOUR:

New York Knicks

vs.

Brooklyn Nets

FROM

BARCLAYS CENTER

Flatbush Avenue

THE BATTLE OF THE BENCHES: The Big Inner City Showdown Is Not Likely To Feature Many Starting Players.

Back in October, I bet all Knicks and Nets fans had this game circled.  This was widely projected to be an epic NBA battle for first place of the Atlantic Division.  The league slotted the game for prime-time coverage, and said see you then.

Now, here we are....  Over the last six months, this match-up has devolved into a meeting of the meaningless.  The Nets did what they needed to do, but the Knicks didn't hold up their part of the bargain.

There is only be one real matter at stake, and that would be Brooklyn's ability to clinch the 5th seed with a victory.  They'll likely enter the post-season as the Eastern Conference 5th season anyway. You never know though.  Facing the Bulls or Raptors is still undetermined. 

Meanwhile, the Knicks were officially eliminated from playoff contention.  To their credit, they delayed the inevitable with a very strong month of March.  This evening however, several players will simply continue auditioning for Phil Jackson.  Carmelo Anthony's situation is an entirely different matter.

Andray Blacthe in all likelihood needs these last two games to audition for Jason Kidd's playoff squad.  The offensively oriented, defensively challenged center is now behind Mason Plumlee on the depth chart.  With Kevin Garnett back in action, three centers officially became a crowd.

This will be the final regular season at Barclays Center, where the Nets own a 28-12 record.  My main concern for tonight will be the crowd.  It had better sound decidedly pro-Brooklyn.

Thank you very much.




Mike.BTB