Knicks, Nets still have something to play for
Nets coach Steve Nash gestures to players during the team's NBA basketball game against the Houston Rockets, Tuesday, April 5, 2022. Credit: AP
This wasn’t the way that the Knicks or the Nets — or the NBA, which created a 75th Anniversary crawl through history — believed this game would be when it was penciled into the schedule.
When the schedule was made the Nets’ star-studded lineup made them favorites to win the title and the Knicks were fresh off a fourth-seed and a playoff berth with Tom Thibodeau the reigning coach of the year and they were led by Julius Randle, coming off a second-team All-NBA season.
The Nets now find themselves relegated to the play-in tournament, which at least allowed them to look down upon the Knicks. Their crosstown rivals have limped through the season, bringing a 35-44 record into Wednesday night and running out the string on the season with a skeleton crew roster.
What it left was a game for the Nets still to try to improve play-in positioning and the Knicks to play for pride. For the Nets, every win right now could mean the difference between a home or road game in the play-in — or even needing to win two play-in games just to reach the back end of the playoff seeding. But they had to treat this like the rivalry it might have seemed in the schedule-makers minds even as the Knicks were without Julius Randle, Mitchell Robinson, Derrick Rose, Quentin Grimes and an assortment of other pieces.
“This is a road game against a local rival so hopefully there’s more juice and more on the line tonight,” Nets coach Steve Nash said. “To answer your question, I’m not really sure. [I] tell them before every game against a team that’s not up high in the standings, 'do not take this team lightly.' They’re going to look at this as a great opportunity. They’re going to come out and try to prove who they are and what they can do. We talk about it but we’re human beings and it’s not as easy as just saying it.”
It certainly is tough to treat the Knicks like a rival even if proximity creates some sort of fan-based trash talk. The Nets entered this game with six straight wins over the Knicks, including all three meetings this season. The best the Knicks could say is that they’ve made it close — the six wins coming by an average of 4.3 points per game.
“Each game’s a test, tells you exactly where you are, and where you have to go,” Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau said. “Obviously, when you have players like — you look at a Kyrie [Irving], Kevin Durant — that puts a lot of pressure on you.”
The Knicks still rule the city in fan bases, but are left to take some measure of pride in holding onto that edge by measuring themselves against the Nets.
“We lost so many close games against them,” Obi Toppin said. “We just got to get a win against them. We got to come out with a lot of energy. We’re in our home in the Garden. So we got to come out with this win.
“It’s a New York matchup but at the same time we don’t want to disrespect the game. We still [are] playing basketball and we’re going out there and compete and basically finish off this season and carry on to the summer and carry on to the next season. So we’re building good habits and trying to get these last three games.”
“I just think, one: [It's] just battle of New York, and two, Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, you know?” RJ Barrett said. “For me, my godfather [Steve Nash] is on the other side, so it’s always a big matchup and it’s always a fun game.”
Notes & quotes: Mitchell Robinson was a late scratch with a non-COVID-19 illness. Grimes was held out with a sore right knee. Thibodeau said he was unsure if Grimes would play in either of the final two games.
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.
