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10 replies on “Knicks Morning News (2025.01.11)”
Here are two images that I think are important to keep in mind.
Here are the current Eastern Conference standings…
And here are the NBA champions of the last 16 years or so (however many I could fit without the type getting too small. Adding more teams just adds to my point, so it’s not like I’m trying to hide anything here)….
Notice something? In the past twenty-nine NBA Finals, the NBA championship was won by a team who was in the top three in their conference.
The Knicks are currently in the top three in the Eastern Conference.
Pathetic blowouts suck, because, well, you know, they’re pathetic, but they don’t mean shit in the long run, just winning enough to put yourself in a position to win in the playoffs is all that matters. The Knicks might not do that. Maybe they’ll fall apart this month. I doubt it, but maybe it could happen. But that has nothing to do with this pathetic blowout. You can’t miss the forest for the trees, and the Knicks are right in the thick of the Eastern Conference still, even with these recent pathetic losses.
Also Toronto, Dallas, Milwaukee, Cleveland and Denver winning chips gives me hope. You don’t don’t have to be a juggernaut like you did in the 80’s, 90’s, and 00’s.
That said, per Exhibit A, we’re 3 games back of Boston, 3 games ahead of the play-in so this could go a lot of different ways 🙂
Last night, I found myself having Zion thoughts.
Oh, totally, Dan, that’s why I said that things can go bad, but if they do, it won’t be because of a handful of games in January, ya know?
True, it’s January, there are 43 games left to play, we’re 25-14, this team could easily win 50-52 (maybe even 55) games, and the regular season, once you’re in a top playoffs spot, isn’t so meaningful.
But we’re in a downward spiral, with bad losses against the mediocre Bulls (yeah, we were on a B2B and yadda yadda) and ultra depleted Magic.
We need to step up, ASAP.
True, OKC is a very good team and losing with them shouldn’t be a disaster (just like it wasn’t last week, where the 2nd quarter was probably the best we have played this season), but there are losses and embarrassing losses and this one fall easily into the second category.
We need to step up ASAP.
I agree with Monica McNutt’s postgame comment, they took an haymaker (12-0 OKC run to end the 1st quarter, from 19-17 to 31-17), went down and put themselves in a fetal position.
Something fe wrong.
They were flat from the start and not for the first time this season.
We’re not used to a Knicks team that waves the white flag without a fight or even a fake comeback, they were subdued effortlessly.
I’m sorry for our warrior Josh Hart, but this group has no soul or identity and maybe they’re starting to tune out Thibs.
For instance, while Brunson beefed up his numbers from the line, his start of the game was “paynesque” (and an harbinger of things to come), he basically didn’t pass the ball on the first three possessions, missing all three shots, and that was BEFORE we learned that OG and Mikal were empty as a deflated baloon…
Thibs have been dwarfed in a short span by Mosley and Daignault and the absolute lack of adjuments after last week’s game was stunning.
The game started and we didn’t know what to do, except pumping the ball to exaustion, with no movement, no involvment of KAT in the low post, nothing.
Thibs is doing his worst job since the infamous “lost season” where he was unable to reign in Julius Randle’s behaviour all season long and stuffed his doghouse with other players instead.
Leon has his responsabilities too, his indifference toward the draft and consequent inability to bring young fresh legs to the roster is a black spot in his resumee (not that it matter, Thibs wouldn’t have used them).
The players aren’t innocent too, they are tired, exausted, squeezed to the bone by a madman, but they look as mentally empty than they look tired.
They’re unable to react and they lie waiting to be steamrolled every time the other teams makes a run.
I still think this starting lineup is one of the best in the League, the season’s isn’t over, better days should be ahead, but we’re on the brink, three years ago the month before the ASG destroyed us, let’s hope this year is different.
I agree with you. I don’t think you can argue with certainty that we’ve witnessed something rotten. I didn’t watch the breakdown in the Orlando game but I think that would be my biggest concern. Two losses to OKC and to a not-terrible Chicago on a back-to-back don’t worry me much.
I think OKC, BOS, and CLE may have the 3 best teams of the 2020s, save last year’s Boston team. Perhaps we’d be favorites in the 5 years before that, but not this year.
At least it’ll be fun to watch those 3 in the playoffs.
Notice something? In the past twenty-nine NBA Finals, the NBA championship was won by a team who was in the top three in their conference.
our non garbage time defensive rating against teams outside of the bottom 10 in offense is 118.5. league average is 115.6, so we are bottom five. as rare as it is for a team to really contend without both an offense and defense that are at least above average, it’s unprecedented for a team with that kind of performance on either end against non-terrible opponents — even the notorious 21st ranked lakers defense. i think like it or not our puncher’s chance relies heavily on our lovable but slightly resentful monster truck connoisseur to come back balling.
I passed out at the end of the first quarter certain of the eventual outcome.
I too want to see Mitch out there
The Thunder were able to hold KAT to two 3PAs over two games (and they were both in garbage time last night). Not a lot teams gonna do that but the ones that can will usually kick our ass.
Brunson only had two 3PAs last night, as well. They pretty effectively smothered our bread and butter and Thibs doesn’t have anything else on the menu.
Let’s see how we do against the Bucks tomorrow. That’s a far more significant bellwether.
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