Is this the biggest regular-season game in franchise history? Maybe it’s not as momentous for the home squad as games in the middle of a heated playoff race, but from a national perspective I can’t remember there ever being a regular-season Grizzlies game with this kind of anticipation.
After dispatching the then Western Conference-leading San Antonio Spurs 104-102 last night in Texas, the Knicks remained the NBA’s lone remaining unbeaten team at 6-0, and they face a Grizzlies team that now leads the West at 6-1. In addition to the league’s two best records, the Knicks and Grizzlies also boast the league’s two best point differentials. No-one knows what the future holds, but, for the moment, this is a match-up of the two best teams in the NBA.
And it’ll be showcased for the nation, with a late 8:30 tipoff on ESPN. Wednesday’s game against the Thunder drew the biggest local rating ever for a regular-season NBA game on ESPN. Given that it’s a Friday night and 18,000 potential viewers will be in the building instead, this one is unlikely to match that, but it should be a near-playoff-level event anyway.
I’ll be on the scene tonight and will be tweeting from by perch on media row and filing a postgame notebook afterward. But first, here are four things on my mind about Knicks-Grizzlies, because a game of this magnitude deserves a bonus
