Next up for the New York Knicks is a game against the Minnesota Timberwolves. It's tough to have a road game the night after playing an 8 p.m. ET game in New York, especially with all the emotions tied to beating up on the Los Angeles Lakers. The Knicks now have a nice four-game winning streak that has taken the team away from the cellar in the division and moved it much close to contention.
As interesting as it was to see Jeremy Lin take down Kobe Bryant and the Lakers, it could get even more exciting as he takes on Ricky Rubio Saturday night (Feb. 11). Both point guards have a similar style of play, playing without fear and continuously rewarding fans for their support. Minnesota is also playing better than in the past, even though the team has lost its last two games. Currently the Timberwolves are at 13-14 on the season, which is slightly better than the 12-15 Knicks.
The biggest task with playing the Timberwolves is keeping Kevin Love under control and that could become a difficult task for the undermanned Knicks. Love is averaging 25 points and 13.7 rebounds per game from the power forward slot, meaning Jared Jeffries needs to play out of his mind to keep Love in check. After he did such a great job against Pau Gasol though, it may not come as a shock to fans if Jeffries puts together another good game on defense.
Hopefully there is no let-down after the big win over the Lakers at Madison Square Garden, because the Timberwolves are no longer a team that can get looked past on the schedule. The bench has some nice depth, with players like Derrick Williams and Wayne Ellington getting significant minutes, so someone also has to step up for New York again. That may fall on Iman Shumpert, who had several huge plays against the Lakers that proved he has become a very nice sixth man off the bench.
Game time against the Wolves is 8 p.m. ET on Saturday night (Feb. 11).
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*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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