Lakers vs. Knicks: Players Not Named Jeremy Lin to Watch Tonight
The New York Knicks take on the Los Angeles Lakers tonight and all eyes will be on Jeremy Lin.
His emergence as the scoring playmaker the Knickerbockers need has been the main storyline in New York and around the NBA this past week.
However, he’s not going to be the only dude making an impact tonight. Here’s a few other players to keep an eye on.
Tyson Chandler
Chandler, a defensive force in the middle, is hardly receiving credit for the Knicks’ three-game winning streak.
He’s been playing some of his best basketball and contributing big rebounds and scoring from the post.
The former NBA champion has his work cut out for him against Andrew Bynum and Pau Gasol, but if anyone is up to the tall task, it’s Tyson Chandler.
Steve Novak
Do you realize that Novak has made 10 three-pointers in the past two games?
He’s shooting a blazing 50 percent from deep this season as he finally sees some more floor time with Carmelo Anthony and Amar’e Stoudemire sidelined.
He put up 19 points against both the Wizards and Jazz, with 15 apiece coming from downtown in each contest.
Novak makes a perfect target for Lin and is a big reason why his assist total is so high.
Steve Blake
Blake made his return from a rib injury last night and looked a bit rusty, but still performed better than Derek Fisher and ended up playing 32 minutes.
He will be guarding Lin when he gets on the floor and it will be interesting to see if the Lakers decide to switch Kobe onto the point guard or leave the slower Blake on him.
Arguably the biggest star in the NBA, you would have to be crazy not to keep close tabs on this gunner.
Bryant is going to need to carry the scoring load for LA and possibly guard Lin if he’s destroying their defense.
Remember, Kobe is a multiple All-Defensive First Team member and is capable of guarding nearly anyone in the NBA on top of being a top-flight scorer.
If Lin starts going off, Bryant will lock him down.
