The New York Knicks had lost five of their last six entering Friday night’s matchup with the Memphis Grizzlies. Even worse, the Celtics destroyed them on the boards in Boston on Wednesday night. This loss dropped New York to No. 8 in the East, with play-in games becoming a very real possibility.
Furthermore, Friday’s game had some added lightning thanks to Grizzlies point guard Ja Morant. He and young Knicks star RJ Barrett were taken one after another in the 2019 NBA Draft. Though the Knicks would have loved to have Morant’s scoring prowess, they instead chose Barrett’s athleticism after Morant went No.