Wizards at Knicks
Two teams on the wrong side of the postseason divide in the Eastern Conference face off when the New York Knicks host the Washington Wizards on Tuesday, but only one them will be operating under a new coach. The Wizards have dropped eight of their last 11 games while the Knicks have fallen in five straight and nine of the last 10, and fired coach Derek Fisher on Monday and played him on an interim basis with assistant Kurt Rambis.
The Wizards advanced to the Eastern Conference semifinals last season but have taken a big step back on the defensive end and are last in the conference with an average of 105.4 points allowed. That defense has developed a habit of letting big leads slip away, including a 19-point first-half advantage that disappeared in a 108-104 loss at Charlotte on Saturday. Fisher took "some" responsibility for New York's recent run of poor starts and apparently the team's front office felt he deserved a little more. “I’ll take some responsibility for it - whatever is or isn’t happening - so that we’re ready to play right at the tipoff,” Fisher told reporters after a loss to Denver on Sunday that proved to be the final straw.
TV: 8 p.m. ET, CSN Mid-Atlantic (Washington), MSG (New York)
ABOUT THE WIZARDS (22-27): Washington allowed the lowly Philadelphia 76ers to cut a 25-point deficit to single digits in the fourth quarter of a win on Friday and again struggled with a big lead against the Hornets. “It’s a mentality you have to have, stepping on somebody when they’re down instead of relaxing,” Wizards coach Randy Wittman told reporters. “Not going, ‘Hey, I’m not going to run after this one. I hope he misses.’ Then they knock a couple down and then the momentum changes.” Washington scored 58 points in the first half on Saturday before slumping to 17 in the third quarter as the Hornets climbed back in the game.
ABOUT THE KNICKS (23-31): Fisher was struggling to come up with answers for the series of losses. “The reality is that we have chances to win these games but we are not winning them,” Fisher told reporters on Sunday. “… We have never been truly consistent. It seems like the issues have bounced around some but the reality is until something changes, it won’t change.” The Knicks felt that change needed to be on the bench and send Fisher, who signed a five-year deal prior to last season to coach after retiring as a player, away while replacing him with Rambis.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Knicks F Lance Thomas (concussion) sat out the last two games and is not expected to play on Tuesday.
2. Wizards C Nene (calf) missed the last two games and is day-to-day.
3. New York snapped a seven-game losing streak in the series with a 117-110 win at Washington on Oct. 31.