Knicks don't mind taking their show on road
Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau reacts in the second half against the Los Angeles Clippers at Madison Square Garden on Sunday, Jan. 23, 2022. Credit: Jim McIsaac
When the game was over Sunday afternoon and the Knicks finished off a much-needed win they headed straight to the airport to embark on what normally would seem like a daunting portion of their schedule.
A three-game road trip, beginning with Monday night in Cleveland, the second half of a back-to-back set, with stops in Eastern Conference powers Miami and Milwaukee. They'll have a brief return home for two games and then a five-game West Coast trip without an easy mark among them is the sort of run that can ruin a season.
But for the Knicks, home at what they like to brag is the "World’s Most Famous Arena," has not exactly been a comforting place to be. The Knicks entered the road trip with a winning record away from home at 11-10, but just a 12-14 mark at home. It is at Madison Square Garden where the Knicks have endured more pointed vitriol than any road stop.
So as this stretch begins, the Knicks insist that there is no fear.
""I just think about the next day," Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau said on Sunday. "So it’s important to win. I think we’ll take a look at the film, it’s a quick turnaround. We’ve got to get ready for a really good Cleveland team [Monday]. You have to get in, get your rest, have your film, have your walk-through. The games keep coming.
"It’s easy to get distracted in this league. You can get mired in a personal dilemma. And you start looking backward. Well, if you’re looking backward you can’t look ahead. You can’t look at the things that are in front of you. Then it carries on and snowballs. Just concentrate on exactly what’s in front of you. You learn from every game, get ready for the next one and at the end there’s going to be a lot more good games than bad games. So know that’s part of it, how you navigate through the good times, how you navigate through the tough times, is important. We always say, you know, you have to be mentally tough when you go through adversity. And every team goes through it, every player goes through it, every coach, every organization. That’s part of this. Be mentally tough."
At home the Knicks have endured the taunts directed at last season’s star, Julius Randle, He has feuded with the fans, offering a thumbs-down and a more direct explanation afterward, which got him fined and found him replaced in the hearts of fans by his backup, Obi Toppin, and RJ Barrett.
The MVP chants reserved for Randle last season when he earned second-team All-NBA honors and was named the league’s Most Improved Player have disappeared. Instead, the crowd has serenaded Barrett, who might be poised and better positioned to carry the team into the future at just 21 years old.
He has become the affable face of the franchise while Randle chose silence for seven straight games before finally briefly speaking after Sunday’s win over the Los Angeles Clippers. And Barrett echoed his coach as the Knicks headed out on the road.
"Eight out of the next 10?" Barrett said when the trips were raised. "It was great to bounce back. We had, what was it, I think three tough ones in a row, a couple that we should’ve won. So, to just be able to bounce back and just play well really from start to finish like we did was a great feeling and something that we can replicate.
"We’ve been really good on the road. I think that's one thing about us. Also, we don’t care. I think we could beat anybody. I think we could beat anybody anywhere, so we believe that and I think that we’re going to be able to show that."
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.
