Following the Knicks’ loss to the Boston Celtics, many fans around the league are asking this question. Are the Knicks frauds who cannot play their competition? They are now, as of the writing of print, 0-7 against the Boston Celtics, Oklahoma City Thunder and the Cleavland Cavaliers—the top 3 teams in the league. Those losses are not close either. In these games, they lost by an average of twenty points. Let’s get into the reasons why.
Tom Thibodeau and the minute policing conversation
The entire starting five is in the top 20 in minutes per game, leaguewide, with all of them averaging at least 35.1 minutes. Notably, looking at the box score of non-overtimes games, it is not unusual to see 2–3 Knicks starters have 40 minutes logged for the night. Looking at the box score when they win in regulation, most of the starters play upwards of 35 minutes. In their win over the Raptors on Feb. 4, all the Knicks’ starters played above 40 minutes.
However, what drew criticism towards the squad is that Karl Anthony Towns, in their recent loss to the Celtics, was seen limping on his way to the bench. It was believed that he hurt his knee and was visibly in pain. After leaving for the locker room and coming back, he was still on the floor when the Knicks were down 20. I’m not sure if that was a coaching decision but, regardless of the actual reason, this contributes to the narrative that Knicks starters are overplayed.
Lack of defense, depth / size and bench efficiency
The Knick’s defense is not good enough when facing elite teams. It is fine when you are not playing the top 3 teams but, against them, it leads to open threes.
Knicks fans, me included, are hinging on Mitchell Robinson’s return. It was originally believed that he would return mid-January, but considering it is the end of February, hopes are quickly dwindling. Whenever he comes back, his defensive impact needs to be great enough to offset the rest of the team’s defensive issues. However, there’s no real denying that he’s injury prone, and banking your teams’ defensive hopes on the off chance he comes back playing Defensive Player of the Year level isn’t realistic.
But, of course, Robinson and the starting five are not the only players on this roster. Who else do we get? Well, if I told you, you might not be able to put name to face, because outside of Cam Payne, Miles McBride, and Ariel Hukporti, most other players do not see the floor for long.
Tyler Kolek and Pacome Dadiet are in the same boat, where they are not given time to showcase their abilities through rotational play.
Teams like the Celtics and the Cavs produce results off their bench, but this is hard if you do not play your bench. Knicks players on the bench are not given the minutes to prove themselves on an NBA floor. How are you supposed to know how good someone is if you cannot see them play?
The off-season acquisition criticism
The most notable acquisition criticism is about Mikal Bridges, who was traded for five first round picks. He is faced with criticism for being inconsistent on offense and sometimes on defense, which was why the Knicks got him. You can argue that he is not worth that, which would be correct, because Bridges is not a runner-up DPOY material anymore. But, when a team ships off their potential future on the off chance you can play some level of defense, it is frustrating when you cannot.
We also must talk about Towns. As great as he is on offense, he has significant issues on defense, especially when it comes to the perimeter. There is a worry that Towns is a playoff dropper, not a riser. Despite whether that is the case, his performance on defense is subpar so far, which a lot of critical Knicks fans are harping on.
Then, there’s also OG Anunoby. Is he worth the $212 million , especially when they could have resigned Isaiah Hartenstein, who is now on the Thunder—another team they cannot beat? You must think about cap space and that the Knicks offered him as much money as they could. Those losses are things you cannot help, but considering recent streaky performances, many people think he is not worth the money.
There have been arguments about the general loss of their identity. The toughness they displayed was lost when we lost Julius Randle, Donte DiVincenzo and Hartenstein in the offseason. I partially agree, but you also must investigate the potential negative aspects of players like Randle.
Optimism in retrospect
Alright, Knick fan bias incoming.
Stay with me here, but I remember a good three years ago when the Knicks had blown a 28-point lead against a Nets team with no Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving or Ben Simmons. It was their most recent loss out of the total three games they blew a 28-point lead in February alone. They were the first team to do that in a calendar month in the last 25 years. It was then that I thought Thibadeau was going to be fired, but they kept him, and the Knicks have been better ever since.
If you go further back, to 2018-19, 17-65, David Fizdale coached the Knicks, losing the lottery with Durant and Kyrie going literally 5 miles away from the Knicks. Pair that with the horrible ownership and front office fumbles of the 21st century, and the Knicks were the cautionary tale of the league.
In comparison to today, hopes are up. They were higher at the start of the season, but the first game of the season was a reality check on the hype. Things get rocky and teams cannot win every game, and sometimes, as fans, we lose sight of that.
If I were Leon Rose, I probably wouldn’t trade the five first rounders for Bridges. Do some negotiations, or wait a year. The Towns-Randle trade is something you do nine times out of ten, except for the one-off chance where you either doubt Towns or believe in Randle. In the Knicks first game against the Timberwolves, the point was illustrated wonderfully.
In discussions with other fans, it is mostly a 43-minutes-a-game problem, though it’s a much more nuanced conversation than that.
It will probably be okay. The Knicks, realistically, have a second-round ceiling and can go no further for reasons unbeknownst to me. Nothing changes till we get James Dolan out of here. Ever since Donald Sterling got booted out of the league, I am convinced he’s got to be the worst owner in the league. His presence is what is holding this team back.
In conclusion
It is my belief that the Knicks are not contenders because they cannot win against the top three teams in the league, but they are not pretenders either. Being above .500 and keeping the third seed in the eastern conference is not an easy thing to do, despite it being the weaker conference.
Their strength of schedule looking forward is not too bad, with an even mix of contenders and bottom NBA teams. They play the Cavaliers two more times and the Celtics one more time, so the hope here may just die with the Knicks going 0-10 against the top 3 teams. Regardless, they are still in a better position than a lot of the league. Although they do not have a lot in the way of draft capital, this is the foundation for a good core to hopefully contend future.
Or, by the 21st century curse, they may not win anything. This is technically fine by media standards. Dolan makes enough money, so there is no real motivation to win anything if you think about it.
Even then, the fans of the Knicks deserve better than that.