The Chicago Bulls will play the New York Knicks tonight at Madison Square Garden in New York. The game will be live streamed at 8:00 PM ET over ESPN/ESPN.COM.
Both teams are struggling mightily without their star players. Chicago will be without Derrick Rose for the remainder of this season with a second major knee injury in consecutive seasons. The Knicks are without their All-Star center, Tyson Chandler, who broke his leg over a month ago.
Both teams were expected to compete for an NBA championship this season but the Bulls record is 8-11 while the Knicks are near the bottom of the Eastern Conference standings with a terrible 5-15 record.
The talk in New York is about the security of head coach, Mike Woodson's job. Rumors are now flying that he will be relieved of his duties shortly, unless the team starts winning games. However, without Chandler, who isn't expected back for another 3-4 weeks, the Knicks don't have anyone else who can defend their basket, block shots, and rebound the basketball.
Last night, the Knicks lost for the 11th time in 13 games to the lowly Cleveland Cavaliers, 109-94. The 15-point blowout loss was one of many games the Knicks haven't been close to competing in, a factor that may lead to Woodson's early-season dismissal.
Kyrie Irving, whose own shooting woes with the Cavs have been well-chronicled, got healthy against the Knicks' weak defense, scoring 37 points while assisting on 11 other baskets by teammates. Nobody on the Knicks seemed able to stay with Irving, who shot the ball without a man in his face or drove the lane without fear of getting his shot blocked.
Irving entered the game with a career-low .394 field goal percentage, but was 14-for-23 from the floor, 4-for-7 on 3-pointers, and 5-for-6 from the foul line against the Knicks. The third-year pro scored 22 points in the second half -- shooting 4-for-6 beyond the arc -- and dished out seven assists in a brilliant 18-minute stretch.
"I haven't been shooting as well as I want to, so I've been putting in a lot of work on my off-days in the gym," said Irving, who is averaging 20.5 points.
The Knicks hope to take advantage of a Bulls team that is struggling to find its identity without its high scoring point guard, Rose. Luol Deng is the leading scorer, averaging 19.4 ppg.
