The New York Knicks take on the Chicago Bulls Monday night (March 12) in an extremely difficult game. In the midst of a five-game losing streak, the Bulls are the last team that anyone would want to play. Coming into the game, the Bulls hold the best record in the entire NBA at 34-9. That's a pretty intimidating mark for the Bulls, but this is also the team that finished with the best record in the Eastern Conference last year as well.
Meanwhile, the Knicks are trying to hold on to the No. 8 spot in the East, which itself became much more difficult when the team stopped winning games. Monday night (March 12) is important, because the Knicks are now just one game ahead of both the Milwaukee Bucks (17-24) and the Cleveland Cavaliers (16-23). Those are also two teams that have beaten the Knicks recently, showing how terrible play is coming back to bite this team.
Now a road game in Chicago comes up on the schedule and hopefully the Knicks can at least keep the game competitive. If the team plays defense like it has over the last two weeks, then this game could get ugly, especially if Bulls point guard Derrick Rose gets allowed to roam free on the court. The Knicks have got to step up the defensive intensity and it must begin early in the first quarter, or this game could turn into the type of blow-out loss that can stick with a team for quite a while.
On Saturday (March 10), the Bulls were without All-Star Luol Deng, center Joakim Noah and guards C.J. Watson and Richard Hamilton. Despite all those injuries, the Bulls made easy work of the Utah Jazz, possibly proving how deep their team is in the process. All of those players could possibly miss the Knicks game as well, but Noah was out only due to illness, so he could get back out there if he is feeling better. A weakened Bulls team is exactly what the Knicks need to face, even if Rose is still lurking.
Game time is 8 p.m. ET on Monday night (March 12), with ESPN coming in to provide national coverage of the match-up. It's certainly a good measuring stick for the Knicks, because if the 2012 NBA Playoffs began today, a first round match would become No. 1 seeded Chicago against No. 8 seeded New York. Now is the opportunity to see if the Knicks can really put up a fight against one of the two elite teams in the East, or if the end of March and April are going to become unkind for Knicks fans.
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Sources:
NBA Standings
Full Knicks Schedule
New York Knicks Website
*Ryan Christopher DeVault is a fan of the New York Knicks that has followed the team since the days John Starks, Charles Oakley, and Anthony Mason instilled their defensive will on the rest of the league.
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