Knicks face tough test against Giannis Antetokounmpo and Bucks
New York Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau gestures in the second half of an NBA basketball game against the Orlando Magic at Madison Square Garden on Monday, Oct. 24, 2022. Credit: Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke
MILWAUKEE — The numbers would tell you that the Knicks' game against the Milwaukee Bucks on Friday night was a classic battle of immovable object versus unstoppable force — or at least elite defense against a potent offense.
The reality is that the Bucks were the only unbeaten team left in the NBA, and while they had the best defensive numbers in the league, they are much more than that, with two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo piling up spectacular offensive statistics (36.0 points, 13.0 rebounds, 5.3 assists per game). And the Knicks, even with three consecutive wins entering the game, had to know they are an unproven commodity.
“We feel like if we stick to who we are, play how we play, play unselfish, play fast, get out and run, we feel like it’s a formula for success against any defense,” Julius Randle said after the morning shootaround. “ . . Any time we can go on the road and compete against the best teams in the league, teams that have championship aspirations, we can see how we stack up against them. It’s always fun. Definitely, our team is looking forward to the challenge.”
The challenges will come in waves for the Knicks. After losing to a shorthanded Memphis squad on opening night, they won three straight games against teams that likely are lottery-bound. But after the Bucks, they will face Cleveland on Sunday before five more games against teams likely to reach the playoffs.
With the arrival of Jalen Brunson as a steadying force offensively, the Knicks entered Friday ranked eighth in the NBA in offensive rating, second in the league in points in the paint per game (60.7) and second in assist/turnover ratio (2.13). That may not sound like a team coached by Tom Thibodeau, who is known more as a defensive coach, but from his early days in Chicago with Derrick Rose guiding the team, Thibodeau has put offensively efficient teams on the floor.
“I think his reputation and who we are as a team is a defensive-minded basketball club,” Randle said. “But that doesn’t take away from what we do on the offensive end at all.”
When the Knicks faced Charlotte on Wednesday, Hornets coach Steve Clifford, who worked alongside Thibodeau years ago as Knicks assistant coaches, said he wasn’t surprised to see the Knicks' offense perform well.
“No, because I talk to him all the time,” Clifford said. “You can look this up. Once you get branded as a coach, that’s how you’re viewed. He and I are both viewed as [Jeff] Van Gundy disciples. Look at over the years his teams' offensive numbers, they’re raised every place he’s been. Everybody talks about the defense. He is a great defensive coach. He’s also a great offensive coach. And again, once you get labeled a certain way that’s how it works.”
The Knicks have benefited from the play of Brunson, but some aspects of their offense have struggled, and the Knicks are convinced that it will come. RJ Barrett, for example, shot 3-for-21 from beyond the arc in the first four games, but Barrett and Thibodeau insist that the shots will fall.
Still, the Bucks presented a different sort of test.
“I mean, they’re a great team," Randle said. "You can’t take away from what they’ve done. They’ve showed that they’ve been successful against many styles, many different types of teams. I feel confident regardless, just based off everything we’ve established through training camp and early in the season to come in and get a win. As long as we compete and play selfless, we’ll give ourselves a chance at the end of the day.”
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.
