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Obi Toppin wants to be able to guard players like Kevin Durant. Lucky for him, he might get an opportunity to do just that on Wednesday.
“We’re gonna see,” Toppin said. “He’s a great player. I will never back down from any matchup — if that opportunity comes, I’m gonna hold my ground.”
That minor subplot to Wednesday’s Knicks-Nets matchup aside, the more important aspect of the game will be the Knicks’ motivation to knock off their rivals in a game Brooklyn needs to win.
It’s not because the Knicks want to play spoiler. It’s just, well, because.
“We got to win tomorrow,” Toppin said. “We lost so many close games against them. We just gotta get a win. We gotta come out with a lot of energy. We’re in our home in the Garden, so we gotta come out with this win.”
Added R.J. Barrett: “It’s a big game. I’m excited. I know the team’s fired up.”
The Knicks have yet to beat the Nets in three tries this season, dropping the games by a combined 10 points. Only one game has been decided by more than a possession, and the last matchup came down to a poor inbounds pass with one second left when the Knicks had a chance to tie the game.
“I think it’s ridiculous that we have lost by two or three points every single time,” Barrett said. “It’s crazy. I’ll try to break that cycle [Wednesday].”
The Nets are locked into the play-in game, but tied with Charlotte on record. Currently, they’re the 10-seed, but could move up, perhaps even into the 7-8 game if things break right.
Toppin’s ability to guard Durant could, of course, be a key factor in how Wednesday goes. With just three games left in his sophomore NBA season, the 24-year-old wants to see his game develop on the defensive end of the court going into next year as well.
“I feel like that’s the biggest thing, being able to guard 1 through 5,” Toppin said Tuesday in a press conference that amounted to an assessment of his season with just three games left. “Being able to switch onto Kyrie [Irving] or [Seth] Curry. Being able to guard those elite athletes and being able to switch onto Kevin Durant or something. I want to be a really good defender, cause I feel like that’s gonna take my game to another level.”
Julius Randle and Derrick Rose are unlikely to play the rest of the regular season, Thibodeau said.
Thibodeau said he would see how Quentin Grimes (knee) and Miles McBride (knee) feel on Wednesday morning before deciding whether they’ll play.
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