Steve Popper: After 77 games, Knicks still not playoff ready
Knicks' Josh Hart handles the ball against the Grizzlies Olivier-Maxence Prosper during the first half on Wednesday in Memphis, Tenn. Credit: Getty Images/Justin Ford
MEMPHIS
The Knicks had a night off in Houston Monday and still got the good news that they had clinched a top six playoff spot in the Eastern Conference, which might have, in another year, signaled a time to start resting players and readying for the postseason, where the success or failure of this team would truly be determined.
It’s hard to say much could be learned Wednesday as the Knicks toyed with a pieced-together roster of two-way and 10-day contracts wearing Memphis Grizzlies uniforms for a 130-119 win.
But the fait accompli that they had secured the playoff spot did little to assuage the nervous feeling that now, 77 games into the season, they still are not appearing nearly ready for the playoffs.
“We’re not going in the right direction,” Hart said after the loss in Houston. “We’re not trending upwards. So we got to figure it out . . . That’s a must-win for us.”
It’s hard to argue that this game wasn’t a must-win under any circumstances considering the Grizzlies injury list numbers nearly as long as their win total. And judging the Knicks performance would not be a referendum on how the starting five could fit together since Jalen Brunson sat out with a sore right ankle and the Knicks held bench pieces Deuce McBride and Mitchell Robinson out for injury management.
Still, lose to a team like Memphis — or Chicago back home Friday night — at a time in the season when not only should all of the questions have been resolved, but each win has an effect on the standings and playoff positioning would be a red flag waving wildly, or maybe even a white flag ready to surrender the championship aspirations.
The Knicks haven’t gotten there yet, not with a team built on the same foundation as the team that made it to the Eastern Conference finals last season. But there are alarming trends regardless of the experience.
“Regardless of being veterans or not, we got to turn the page and do something about it,” Brunson said. “It doesn’t matter how long you’ve been in the league or not.”
The Knicks fired their coach, Tom Thibodeau, after falling short of the NBA Finals last season. It’s hard to imagine that there won’t be some sort of change if they don’t meet the lofty goals that have clearly been voiced all the way to the top of the organization.
Madison Square Garden chairman James Dolan said in a radio interview earlier this season that he believed they should absolutely reach the NBA Finals and can win it.
There are certainly moments and a 49-28 record is evidence of that. But Mike Brown has spoken all season about following an upward trend throughout the season, expecting the usual bumps and slumps, but peaking at playoff time. And in March there was little evidence of that. The Knicks last win against a team with a winning record came on March 6 in Denver when everything seemed to click perfectly in a blowout win.
But since then the Knicks are 0-5 against teams with winning records and 8-0 against teams with losing records, although this one saw a 22-point first half lead trimmed to just three in the third quarter before securing the win. Spoiler: they won’t be facing any teams with losing records in the playoffs.
The problem is that as they approached Wednesday’s game they have been watching the same problems crop up: slow starts, sluggish play from the starting five, a disconnect on both ends of the floor and a lack of physicality. The bench has gotten a boost with McBride returning from two months away this week, although he was held out Wednesday on the second night of a back-to-back set along with Robinson. And Landry Shamet was back Wednesday after missing the last five games with a bone bruise in his right knee.
The Knicks matched a franchise record for points in the first quarter (48) and set a season-high with 79 by halftime. Karl-Anthony Towns posted his first triple-double of the season and second a Knick with 20 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists. OG Anunoby had 25 points and 13 rebounds and Mikal Bridges added 24.
“I feel the team we have, a lot of guys able to shoot, drive,” Bridges said. “I’ve been talking about this since last year. We got a lot of talent that can do a lot of things. Just got to share the ball and play off each other and try to make the right reads.”
“It’s great,” Towns said.
“It doesn’t matter about the triple-double, double-double, as long as we get a win, something that has been escaping us in the last week. Good to end the road trip on a high note so we can go back home to our fans where we’re comfortable and we get that energy from our fans and hopefully make it a two-game winning streak.”
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.
