SNY's The Warm-Up: Mets & Yanks buzz — Panarin takes leave from Rangers — NY Fans return tonight

Tuesday, Feb. 23, 2021 · Get Today’s New York Sports Here The Tweet of the Day --------------------------------------------------------------- 🌅 Good morning. [Here]( SNY's Ralph Vacchiano with a deep dive on Marcus Maye's upcoming free agency. --------------------------------------------------------------- 📅 Tonight's sports schedule - Devils vs. Sabres, 7 p.m. 🏒 - Knicks vs. Warriors, 7:30 p.m. 🏀 - Nets vs. Kings, 7:30 p.m. 🏀 - St. John’s at No. 8 Villanova, 8 p.m. 🏀 - UConn MBB at Georgetown, 9 p.m. 🏀 --------------------------------------------------------------- 📺 SNY originals - [BNNY]( What will the numbers look like for a Francisco Lindor contract extension? Today's word count: 790 words Do you know of a youth baseball or softball league in need of assistance? Opportunities may include a grant, equipment donations and special experiences with the Mets. Apply for SNY’s Play Ball program at [sny.tv/playball](. The Knicks and Nets are done playing to empty arenas Sarah Stier/USA Today Tonight, for the first time since March 12, 2020, when St. John's and Creighton played [a single half]( of basketball at Madison Square Garden, there will be fans at a New York City sporting event. - The Knicks are allowing 2,000 fans at MSG for their game against the Warriors. The [second-hand ticket websites]( (remember those?) had some tickets listed for around $100 as of Tuesday night. - In Brooklyn, the Nets will hold roughly the same amount of fans for their home game against the Kings. Second-hand tickets don't appear to be available for sale for tonight's game. By the numbers: It's been 351 days since the Knicks and Nets last hosted a game with fans in attendance (March 8, 2020 against the Pistons for New York and a game against the Bulls for the Nets). [Here]( are the highlights from that Knicks-Pistons game. Also: The Jets and Giants released a joint statement yesterday [announcing]( that MetLife Stadium would start allowing fans at events on March 1, with a 15 percent capacity. If the XFL wasn't gone, that would be a lot more exciting. Trivia time Two Mets have led the National League in saves. Who are they? Hint: One did it twice. Answers at the bottom. Lindor disusses an extension, and other baseball notes Jasen Vinlove/USA Today 1. Francisco Lindor had a news conference on Monday. Funnily enough, the topic of a contract extension came up. "I've never been shy about an extension, but everything has to make sense," he said. "It has to make sense. If it doesn't make sense, then that's just not fair." Read his full comments [here](. See what acting GM Zack Scott had to say on the topic [here](. 2. Yankees GM Brian Cashman said this offseason the team hopes to have Luis Severino back by "late summer." Severino said [yesterday]( he's shooting for earlier: "I hope to be back sooner, but that’s not something that I have an exact date," he said. "The most important thing, I feel pretty good." 3. Jeff McNeil spoke [yesterday]( on his hitting philosophy entering the 2021 season, namely limiting his lowlights and poor stretches. "I hate those ups and downs, hitting .400 one week and hitting .200 the next week. ... So I think I'm gonna focus on that, limiting the slumps to just a few days instead of a week here, a week there." On SNY.tv: - MARTINO: [Francisco Lindor, a union leader, discusses his views on MLB economics and analytics]( - [Severino pushes back on now-former Mariners CEO's translator comments: 'It's not easy coming to a new country']( - [Mets roster battles to watch at spring training]( - [Yankees roster battles to watch]( Five stats that have defined the Knicks' and Nets' seasons so far Kim Klement/USA Today If the season ended today, the two-seed Nets and the seven-seed Knicks would be a Knicks play-in game win from facing off in a playoff series for the fourth time ever. Here are five stats that stick out from the city's two teams thus far... 117.8 offensive rating The Nets now have a 117.8 offensive rating, best in the league. If the number holds, it will be the best mark in NBA history, beating out Dallas' 116.7 from a season ago. 107.5 defensive rating On the other end of the spectrum, the Knicks have a 107.5 defensive rating, third-best in the league. Their defensive rating was 112.4 last year. 7 games, 186 minutes For all the buzz, Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving and James Harden have played only seven games and 186 minutes on the floor together. Brooklyn's peak is yet to come. 36.8 minutes per game The Knicks' season has involved a whole lot of Julius Randle: He's second in the league in minutes per game (36.8), 13th in touches per game (81.8), eighth in post ups per game (4.2), and 13th in isolation plays per game with 3.8 (Harden is first, with 6.9). 43.2 assist percentage James Harden's 43.2 assist percentage ("an estimate of the percentage of teammate field goals a player assisted while he was on the floor," [according]( to BBRef), third in the league behind Luka Doncic and Trae Young. Panarin to take leave of absence, denies 'fabricated' Russian story Bruce Bennett/USA Today On Sunday night, a Russian media outlet [a]( that Rangers star Artemi Panarin assaulted an 18-year-old woman in Riga (Latvia) in 2011. The team released a statement on Monday strongly denying the allegations while saying he plans to take a leave of absence from the team: "Artemi vehemently and unequivocally denies any and all allegations in this fabricated story. This is clearly an intimidation tactic being used against him for being outspoken on recent political events. Artemi is obviously shaken and concerned and will take some time away from the team. The Rangers fully support Artemi and will work with him to identify the source of these unfounded allegations." Panarin has been a vocal critic of Russian president Vladimir Putin. The source in the story accusing Panarin is a former KHL coach named Andrei Nazarov, who is a supporter of Putin's. Both [David Quinn]( and [Ryan Strome]( offered support to Panarin yesterday during their news conferences. The New York Minute - [READ]( Taj Gibson says the Knicks 'showed growth' by not collapsing on Sunday night. - [READ]( James Harden was named Eastern Conference Player of the Week yesterday. - [READ]( Sandy Alderson on if he'll attend Yoenis Cespedes' showcase: "We're going to rent horses." TRIVIA ANSWER: Jeurys Familia (2016), John Franco (1988, '94) That's the buzzer. Enjoy your Tuesday. (Have feedback for The Warm-Up? Click [here](mailto:%20SNYfeedback@gmail.com?subject=)). Copyright © 2021 SNY- Sportsnet, All rights reserved. Our mailing address is: SNY- Sportsnet 150 Greenwich St Fl 50New York, NY 10007-2444 [Add us to your address book]( [update your preferences]( | [unsubscribe from this list](