What a weekend...the Knicks’ 9 game streak ends with losing streak
Not only were the Knicks defeated by the Thunder, the Bulls got in on the action giving the Knicks back to back losses for the third time this season.
Friday night’s game against the Thunder was touted as some type of NBA Finals preview, and maybe it could be. Saturday night, the Knicks played the Chicago Bulls, and on that night, the Bulls honored Derrick Rose. On both nights, the Knicks lost.
Unfortunately, it was not a weekend when the Knicks or their fans would find anything to celebrate. Instead, it raised a lot of questions. Are the Knicks’ starters worn down? Is Tom Thibodeau running his players into the ground?
Josh Hart says no…
Last season, when asked about the amount of minutes he and his teammates were playing, Hart had this to say,
“I think he got kind of an unfair narrative that follows him around, If you look at the injuries we had this year, Julius falls on his shoulder with a freak incident, Bogey where Batum tried to dive for a loose ball and caught a piece of his ankle, Mitch with stress injuries. Those are tough ones.”
“Jalen breaking his hand, OG pulling his hamstring where he's going full speed to try to get the ball. You never know what's going to happen. So, a lot of the injuries we had were freak incidents. We got seven, eight healthy players, and then you mad at a dude for playing six,".
So what’s wrong?
Knicks at Thunder, 107-117
It happened suddenly. The Knicks, proclaimed the best third-quarter team in the League, needed much more against the Thunder.
After being down 30-33 in the first quarter, the Knicks came out swinging in the second. The Thunder couldn’t get anything done because of the Knicks’ defense. Mike Breen claimed the second quarter was the Knicks’ “best this season.” They were leading the Thunder 54-66 at halftime.
The third-quarter magic wasn’t there, and the Thunder chipped away at the Knick’s lead until, in the fourth, they broke the game open. Even when the score didn’t state it, the air in the arena had changed.
As much as it pains me to say, at this time, at this point in the season, the Thunder is that team, and they know it. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and company are the real deal. That fourth quarter was like when the young punks who think they know it all come to the playground and purposely show up the old folks. Unfortunately, the Knicks fed into it, and by the time Thibs had the starters back in the game, their nine-game win streak was gone…
Each of the starters had a good game. Each played 40 or more minutes and was in double figures. The Bodega Kat again had 20-plus rebounds.
Knicks at Bulls, 126-139
Saturday night, the second game of a back-to-back. Something happened when the Knicks were put out there as the best third-quarter team in the league. It seems that the other teams may have started studying up on them. The Bulls outscored the Knicks 41-17 in the third quarter.
The New York Knicks went into halftime leading 72-63. Jalen Brunson had 26 points in the first half—nine of nine from the free-throw line! Kat had 17 points and 10 rebounds. The Knicks played good basketball in the first half, shooting 52% from the field and 35.3% from beyond the arc. Their largest lead was 11, and they scored 39 points in the second quarter to the Bulls’ 34.
When they came out for the third, the Bulls had their number. By the 6:15 mark, when Thibs called timeout, the score was tied to 80-80. Ball movement stopped. Period. By the next timeout, the Bulls were up 89-101, and excuse my French but Coby White was kicking their asses. No scoring AND no defense. At this point, it’s hard not to say that the Knicks are exhausted. Without Miles “Deuce” McBride, the only bench is Precious Achiuwa.
Bodega Kat had a late-game injury scare and is questionable for Monday’s game against the Orlando Magic. Towns had 44 points and 16 rebounds but left the game after limping after being fouled. Brunson played 33 minutes and had 33 points. He missed one free throw. After 26 points in the first half, he had seven in the second.
Questions, questions…
Are the starters worn out? Where was the defense? What happened to the Knicks’ three-point shooting? There are a lot of questions that must be answered after this weekend. What about the bench? Deuce can’t be what’s holding down the second unit.
And Mitch…when will he return, and how will Thibs use him?
Miss Tee on Basketball…
The Chicago Bulls honored Derrick Rose on Saturday night and retired his jersey. There were warmup jerseys for both teams commemorating the event that were pretty incredible. Instead of highlights from this game, here is Derrick’s jersey retirement ceremony, in case you missed it.
Until next time…