Knicks vs. Raptors: 4 Matchups to Watch North of the Border
Linsanity continues tonight as the red-hot New York Knicks and national sensation Jeremy Lin, look to make it six wins in a row as the Knicks head north of the border to take on the Toronto Raptors, losers of four of their past five games.
This is an important three-game stretch against under .500 teams for the Knicks as they try and get over the .500 mark for the first time since January 16.
Here's a look at at few important keys that could determine tonight's winner.
Jeremy Lin vs. Jose Calderon
Naturally Lin is getting all the attention right now, but Calderon presents a very tough matchup for Lin. Lin won the Eastern Conference player of the week, averaging 26.8 points and 8.0 assists while leading the Knicks to five consecutive wins.
Calderon is coming off a good performance of his own in Sunday's two-point loss to the Los Angeles Lakers, scoring a career-high 30 points and dishing out six assists while hitting 13-of-18 from the field, including all four 3-pointers.
It could come down to turnovers and which guard takes better care of the ball.
Amar'e Stoudemire returns
Stoudemire makes his return to the Knicks' lineup tonight after missing the past four games due to the tragic death of his brother.
Right away it will be interesting to see what type of chemistry Stoudemire has with Lin. Stoudemire excelled in Mike D'Antoni's system in Phoenix with a good pick-and-roll point guard. He has that now in New York with Lin, so we will get to see how well they work together.
A bigger key could be how well Stoudemire and Tyson Chandler work together.
Chandler's become a big part of the Knicks offense in Stoudemire's absence and it would be good for the Knicks if he stays that way, but the two big men have had trouble spacing things out together since the beginning of the season. Tonight we will get to see if there will be any issues.
The Benches
Both benches need to be productive and it will be interesting to see if D'Antoni starts to give more minutes to Steve Novak over the struggling Bill Walker.
When Lin's on the bench, the team has struggled under Mike Bibby's guidance, but Novak and Iman Shumpert have been pretty good of late.
Meanwhile, Linas Kleiza, Ed Davis and Leandro Barbosa can give the Knicks trouble off the Raptors' bench.
DeMar DeRozan vs. Landry Fields
DeRozan torched the New York for 21 points last time around, but the Knicks have played much better defensively as of late.
Fields on the other hand must remain a part of the Knicks' offense even with the return of Stoudemire.
He can't be a forgotten man, but he has to produce when he's given the opportunity. Inconsistency has been his middle name and it seems the Knicks have less success when he's not productive.
Prediction
The legend of Lin continues to grow as he will have another double-double in leading the Knicks to a 99-88 win in Toronto.
While Lin will be good once again, it's Stoudemire that will reap the rewards as he will have one of his best games of the season, wrecking havoc in the pick-and-roll all evening long.
