As I noted last night, if the Knicks wanted to make a statement about the early season narrative about how their record had a lot to do with their inordinate amount of home games, then the way to go about doing so sure as heck was not to lose to the Atlanta Hawks on the road. Now, if they could somehow defeat the Rockets on the road, that would be one hell of a statement!
Even in a League where the Boston Celtics have won 17 of their last 18 games, the Cavs have won seven in a row (doing their typical, “Oh, right, we have Lebron James – we can’t be that bad, right?” routine) and the Warriors are, well, the Warriors, the Houston Rockets have somehow become the hottest team in the NBA as they’ve now brought Chris Paul back to the team and have integrated him into their rotation and they are just annihilating teams in the three games since Chris Paul has gotten healthy and returned to the Houston lineup.
However, while yes, their home record was compiled mostly without Chris Paul, it is worth noting that they’re 9-1 on the road and 5-3 at home, so if there is going to be a game where the Knicks could shock the world and show them that they are to be taken seriously this season, this would be the game.
Enes Kanter is likely out tonight, though, so it’ll be tough (well, even if he was healthy, it’d be tough).
EDITED TO ADD: Oh, and KP is out, too, so now the only hope is “tortoise and hare” syndrome, where the Rockets are just so confident that they somehow get distracted.
Let’s go, Knicks!