The New York Knicks had every reason to be riding high entering Monday night’s home tilt with the Los Angeles Lakers. The team was less than 24 hours removed from a gritty fourth-quarter comeback against the Toronto Raptors on Sunday. New York was also still riding high from Friday’s stellar overtime win over the Memphis Grizzlies.
But the Lakers were a different type of challenger. After all, they’re the NBA’s defending champions. Though without stars LeBron James and Anthony Davis, they’re still the No. 5 seed in the Western Conference.
Even so, what even are the Lakers without those two?