Knicks refuse to let up for remaining three games
Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau shouts during the first half of the team's NBA game against the Bulls in Chicago on Tuesday. Credit: AP/Nam Y. Huh
BOSTON — Ask anyone in the Knicks locker room and while acknowledging they are watching the scoreboard and standings, they insist that they are focused on their own ability to take care of their business.
But, they took a step forward Wednesday with a night off — clinching a top six playoff spot with Miami’s loss to Dallas, assuring the Knicks of avoiding the play-in tournament.
Yet it’s hard to ignore the sight of Giannis Antetokounmpo limping off the floor Tuesday, lost for the remainder of the regular season, or the Orlando Magic losing in Houston and Milwaukee with Franz Wagner sidelined with a sprained ankle.
The Knicks have come to terms with the absence of Julius Randle and if you’re wondering how they are approaching the last three games of the season you only need to scan the boxscore from Tuesday’s win over the Bulls. Jalen Brunson and Josh Hart never left the court for a breather in the second half, logging 42 and 46 minutes, respectively. The rotation was trimmed to a playoff-like eight-man rotation.
So while there are plenty of questions of how most teams will handle these last days, there is no doubt how coach Tom Thibodeau and the Knicks will approach these last three games.
“It’s the same mentality. Same approach,” Brunson said after a 45-point effort — his second straight 40-plus performance. “I just think as we get close to the end of the season, we’ve been talking about not jogging to the finish line, just sprinting to it. So making sure we’re playing as hard as we can, getting better every single day. And we got to make sure our minds are ready to go.”
The Knicks moved into the third seed in the East with the win Tuesday and had a night off to watch as Cleveland beat Memphis and Orlando lost to Milwaukee, the first of their two games against each other. With Boston the final stop on the four-game road trip for the Knicks there is reason to wonder who the Knicks would face in the game with the Celtics sitting at least one of their starters in four of the last five games.
The Celtics had four of their five starters and a top reserve listed as questionable for Thursday — Derrick White the only starter not on the injury report. But there is no question how Thibodeau and the Knicks will approach this game.
“I just want us to be playing our best at the end,” Thibodeau said. “Just stay focused every day on what we have to do to improve. Don’t be satisfied with where we are. Stay hungry. Stay focused. I always say, your concentration is everything. Use good judgment, communicate, play well, get out there, do your job, pay attention to everything.”
There is an argument to be made for either side of the rust versus rest debate — whether to protect star players through the final week. But Thibodeau and the roster of players built in his likeness don’t play to that side of it, particularly with a week off before the playoffs start as long as they reach the magic number of one to clinch a top six spot.
“You’re always playing for something,” Thibodeau said. “If you’re trying to get to the play-in, you’re playing for that. You may be playing for home court. You may be playing to get the highest seed. You’re playing for something. And then you have teams — the teams that have tough decisions are the Bostons. They have such a big cushion. They’ve locked up everything. So now, rest versus rust, they’re answering those questions. And so, everyone has different things to deal with. So as long as you have to play for something, you have to keep playing.”
Steve Popper covers the Knicks for Newsday. He has spent nearly three decades covering the Knicks and the NBA, along with just about every sports team in the New York metropolitan area.
