CAMDEN, N.J. — The Philadelphia 76ers host the new-look New York Knicks on Friday. The Sixers seek to hold off a Knicks team that plays a physical brand of basketball.
New York is fifth in the league in rebounding (45.4 rpg). Even with the loss of Mitchell Robinson, the Knicks have relied on Julius Randle, Isaiah Hartenstein, Josh Hart and new addition OG Anunoby to crash the glass.
The key for the Sixers on Friday will be to keep the Knicks off the glass. New York is second in the league in second-chance points at 16.6 per game.
“They crash from the corner so that’s always tough when you’re keyed in, box and elbows, and you’re keyed in on certain guys so they get a running start so it’s kind of hard, but we’ve been doing a solid job at it,” said Patrick Beverley at practice on Thursday. “My biggest key to my team is always win the rebounding game.”
Beverley is correct. When teams win the rebounding advantage, they normally win the game.
“When we win the rebounding game, we give ourselves a chance to win a ton of games,” Beverley added. “That’s all that the NBA is about. The rebounding game. A lot of people don’t talk about it, but most teams that win the rebounding game really win the game. So that’s been my focus this year.”
Then, there’s Jalen Brunson who averages 25.7 points and shoots 43.2% from deep on the season. Philadelphia will have to slow him. He’s the head of the snake in New York.
“He’s a smart, crafty guard,” Jaden Springer said of Brunson. “He knows how to score the ball and he knows how to run his team so being able to play against a guy like that is super fun for sure.”
The Sixers also have to find a way to slow New York’s off-ball cutting. Anunoby has done a great job of finding open` seams in opposing defenses and guys like Brunson and Randle are finding him for easy looks.
“They’re a team that’s playing pretty good right now,” Springer added. “We know they got some good players over there. We’re gonna stick to our game plan and play hard like we’ve been playing all season. I feel like if we play together, we’ll be fine.”
Tip off is set for 7:30 p.m. EST on Friday.
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