As the NBA season winds toward the All-Star break, we find the New York Knicks within striking distance of an Eastern Conference playoff berth at 23-27, while the Los Angeles Lakers are languishing in the West's last place at 9-41.
The Knicks may be ahead in this race back to immediate respectability, but neither franchise is close to where it really wants to be—recapturing the championship luster that befits mega-market powerhouses.
Much rides on the youthful core of each team. And while Latvian wunderkind Kristaps Porzingis has taken the Big Apple by storm, L.A. is regularly trotting out a lineup that features a bevy of babies. It is also worth noting that the BBVA Rising Stars Challenge during All-Star Weekend will be represented by each side—Porzingis from New York and Jordan Clarkson and D’Angelo Russell from Los Angeles.
In this ongoing series of semi-monthly exchanges, Knicks featured columnist Sara Peters and I delve into a comparative discussion of our respective neophyte brigades.
Prior posts have examined New York’s early lead in the relevancy race, and the Lakers recalib ...
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Article written by David Murphy
Race to Respectability: Pain and Gain for NY Knicks, LA Lakers’ Young Cores
February 1st, 2016 by David Murphy Leave a reply »
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