Steve Popper: When it comes to Pistons, Knicks far from clicking on all cylinders
The Knicks' Jalen Brunson works against the Pistons' Cade Cunningham at Madison Square Garden on Thursday. Credit: Jim McIsaac
In the quiet Knicks locker room late Thursday night, a handful of players tried to say all of the right things about what had just transpired on the court. A few players bolted rather than say the wrong thing in frustration.
Maybe that was the best tactic. There really was nothing to say, no words that would sound like anything but hollow bluster.
Nothing the Knicks could say would matter right now, not after the shorthanded Detroit Pistons dominated them, 126-111, at Madison Square Garden, completing a three-game sweep of the regular-season series with an astounding average margin of victory of 28 points.
The best the Knicks could do is point to the postseason and cross their fingers that things will be different there.
History is in their favor. Last season the Knicks went 1-3 against the Pistons in the regular season and knocked them off in six games in the opening round of the playoffs. Then they took on the Celtics, who had swept them in four games in the regular season (including 23- and 27-point games), and they upset the defending champions in six games. After taking two of three from Indiana in the regular season, they then saw their season end as the Pacers ousted them in six games.
But just as they could argue that the regular season doesn’t matter, what they did in the past matters even less.
“It’s a new year,” Jalen Brunson said bluntly when asked about that sort of history.
It is, but it’s also getting late in that new year. While the All-Star break may feel like the midpoint of the season, the Knicks already have played 56 games and have only 26 left in the regular season. Even with a 35-21 record, they have shown little hint that they will be able to resolve those most pressing issues.
The defense, which has alternated between being one of the worst in the NBA for some stretches and the best in the NBA in recent weeks, was abysmal Thursday in the first game out of the break. Vaunted wing defenders OG Anunoby and Mikal Bridges were unable to slow down Cade Cunningham (42 points, 13 assists) and had little help.
The continuing saga of Karl-Anthony Towns and his role and fit in Mike Brown’s system was on display again. Towns didn't score until 1:53 remained in the first half on a night when the Pistons were without their starting and second-string centers. It certainly sounded as if there was some passive-aggressive dissatisfaction when Towns was asked about his limited chances and said, “I mean, our offense is our offense. It’s been that way all year.”
And maybe that’s the real problem. The Knicks need to solve their own issues before worrying whether they can find a way past the Pistons — or the Celtics, Cavaliers or 76ers.
There already has been what was called a players-only meeting called by Brunson after a humiliating loss at home to Dallas (he has insisted, along with other players, that it wasn’t that, merely the usual talk among the players before the coach enters the room).
The team may be a work in progress, but it’s easy to see an identity for Detroit and have little clue what the Knicks are or will be.
“It’s not a fun feeling,” Brown said. “It shouldn’t be a fun feeling for me or anybody else in that locker room. But for sure it’s not the end of the world. We got to regroup, watch the film to see how to get better and get the next one.”
The next one against Detroit won’t come unless they meet in the playoffs. The answer won’t really come until the postseason, and if the Knicks can get past the Pistons and get to the NBA Finals, they can offer an ''I told you so'' to the critics.
“They’ve played well against us, and they beat us fair and square every time,” Towns said. “Tonight obviously was a better showing than the first two, but there’s no moral victories, nor was it what New York wants to see. But we got a lot of film, and [if] we’re seeing each other in the playoffs, we’ve got to be ready.”
“Playoffs is a whole different ballgame,” Jose Alvarado said. “We’re not gonna sit here and say, ‘Oh, just because they beat us in the regular season . . . ’ We’re not thinking like that. I don’t think like that. When it counts, that’s when it matters.”
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.
