Will the Knicks…can the Knicks get down and dir—physical enough to win this series?

The New York Knicks are facing the new and dir—very physical Detroit Pistons…has JB Bickerstaff found his team?

I called JB Bickerstaff “Jalen Brunson” Bickerstaff when he was the Cleveland Cavaliers coach because we owned that team during that period. Well, the Brunson-led Knicks, who went to the playoffs, did.

But now Bickerstaff is coaching last season’s 14-win comedy squad, the Detroit Pistons, and they are metamorphosing—or should I say have metamorphosed into the 1980s NBA bad boys 2.0.

Yes, the lowly Pistons are now, or are trying to be, the most physical team in the league, in my opinion. They have won the regular-season matchup with the Knicks 1-3, the last time about two weeks ago. So…as Knicks fans, how should we perceive this matchup? And will Tom Thibodeau finally make adjustments?

Adjustments

Last season, most of the league, especially the Cleveland Cavaliers, feared meeting up with Tom Thibodeau’s defensive-heavy Knicks. So what happened? The Cavs are the same team as they were last season. Did the coaching change do that much, especially since their former coach is doing well with his new team?

I’ll tell you what happened. The other teams made adjustments to get past not only Thibs’ defense but also Jalen Brunson. Yeah, they made adjustments to get by our best player. Their adjustments worked for them because the Knicks could not defeat them once.

No, the Knicks can have a lead at halftime, but their opponent will come out of their locker room for the third quarter and erase any deficit. If their opponent is not leading, they will go into the fourth quarter within range to win the game. This makes Mr. Clutch Brunson work harder to close out the game with a win.

But once the opps have made their adjustments and are closing in on the Knicks and erasing their lead, does Thibs make adjustments to prevent it? No, he doesn’t. Would he not put Landry Shamet back into a game where he’s hit five out of seven three-pointers and the Knicks have gone cold? No, he would not.

Can Knicks fans hope that Thibs will make the adjustment to his starting lineup and maybe start Mitchell Robinson at center and move Karl Anthony Towns to the four, where he’s more comfortable? Moving Mitch will stop the Pistons from getting the early lead because Mitch will be the defensive monster they’re going to need to stop the Pistons’ physicality.

What happens if they lose in the first round?

According to some analysts, nothing. Thibs will remain the Knicks coach until I think James Dolan has something to say about that. The present regime has had five years to get to the Finals. Thibs hasn’t smelled the Finals, not even the Eastern Conference Finals.

This is the first time in five years that I haven’t had any confidence in the postseason. Thibs has been his stubborn self until his team loses by double digits, and he’s probably threatened to make a change.

I looked at the projected starters for game one. Mitch is not starting. I’m hoping that’s wrong, but I’m always doing that…imagining and hoping Thibs will be different.

The regular season - so what, they won 51 games!

The Knicks won 51 games this season. So freaking what! They didn’t defeat the Boston Celtics, the Cleveland Cavaliers, or the Oklahoma City Thunder - at all. Not once. Recent games where the Knicks had double-digit leads were disintegrated during the third or fourth quarters. That was also true with some under .500 teams, like the Detroit Pistons.

The Knicks MUST get past this first round against the Pistons. They have every player available and healthy except Ariel Hukporti, who is even listed as questionable after a meniscus injury; many more than last season, when they made it to the seventh game of the Eastern Conference Semi-finals and only lost because Brunson broke his hand, and I think Josh Hart broke his stomach.

I’m not making any excuses for this Knicks team. There aren’t any to be made. There’s no reason they can’t do better than previous seasons. This team has some of the best players this league has to offer. There are two starting All-Stars with Brunson and KAT, and more than likely, they will be All-NBA also.

I’m always asked, told, advised, pleaded with…don’t do it to yourself, let them go, you have the NEW YORK LIBERTY, THEY ARE CHAMPIONS!!!

I’ve been a New York Knicks fan since I was 12, and they wore very short pants. Walt “Clyde” Frazier turned 80 a week or so ago. He was in his twenties when I met him. The Captain, Willis Reed, is no longer with us, but he was not yet 30 when I met him.

I can’t let them go, unfortunately. Not even after they traded first Clyde, then Patrick, then RJ…

I will be praying for my team today. Until next time…