Lakers at Knicks
Two of the NBA's marquee franchises are going through tough times, and both are hinting at big changes in the future. New York Knicks star Carmelo Anthony will try to lead his team to a win as long as he's still in town when they host the Los Angeles Lakers on Monday.
Anthony remains the hottest name on the NBA trade market despite having the ability to veto any deal, and his performance of late - 12-of-42 from the floor in the last two games - combined with the rumors is beginning to turn the home crowd against him. "It's been happening as of late," Anthony told reporters of the booing. "I mean, you are what the back page says you are. Fans read that. And they react to that. I got to get in the gym tomorrow and work on my shot (so) they won't boo me." The Lakers brought Hall of Famer Magic Johnson back into the fold as an executive last week, signaling the start of a change in philosophy for the front office with the trade deadline weeks away. Los Angeles fell in the first two stops of its five-game road trip and dropped 10 of its last 12 games.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, Spectrum SportsNet (Los Angeles), MSG (New York)
ABOUT THE LAKERS (17-36): It's not all doom and gloom for Los Angeles, which is getting strong play from second-year point guard D'Angelo Russell. The 20-year-old Ohio State product returned from a calf injury on Tuesday and set a career high in assists two games in a row with 10 against Denver and 11 at Washington before handing out six to go with 20 points and six rebounds in Friday's loss at Boston. "He’s growing up a little bit, maturing a little bit," Lakers coach Luke Walton told reporters of Russell. "We all know he’s got talent, it’s about being able to use that talent and play this position at a high level. He’s showing good signs of that."
ABOUT THE KNICKS (22-30): New York made plenty of moves in the offseason in an effort to make the playoffs in the Eastern Conference and still believes it has a chance to do so despite dropping 17 of its last 23 games. One of the moves over the summer brought in Courtney Lee, who scored 17 points on 7-of-11 shooting in Saturday's 111-104 loss to Cleveland and believes the team can still move up the standings. "The reason why we signed here is to try to make the playoffs and we still have a great chance of doing that," Lee told reporters. "That’s the key now - getting in the playoffs. It doesn’t matter what the record is. As long as we get in there, it’s a new slate. So, if we get there I like our chances."
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Knicks PG Derrick Rose (ankle) sat out the last four games while C Joakim Noah (hamstring) left Saturday's game and joins Rose as day-to-day.
2. Lakers PF Julius Randle (pneumonia) sat out three of the last four games but is expected to play limited minutes Monday.
3. New York took the first meeting 118-112 at Los Angeles on Dec. 11 behind 26 points and 13 rebounds from PF Kristaps Porzingis.