You can’t blame the Knicks.
Talent is the rule in the NBA. The top talent, the most talent, the deepest talent, these are the defining characteristics of NBA champions. It’s not enough to play great together, you have to have those special players whose abilities allow them to rise above when the going gets toughest.
You have to make the most talented team you can under the salary cap.
So when the Knicks broke up last season’s hustle-junkie, hanging-with-the-fellas, good-times-and-good-vibes, “clear eyes, full hearts can’t lose” group of lovable scrappy dogs, it was understood.
Sure, they added Mikal Bridges and changed the starting lineup. Sure, they lost Isaiah Hartenstein due to a salary cap provision they couldn’t avoid. And sure, they traded Donte DiVincenzo and Julius Randle for Karl-Anthony Towns.
That’s the name of the game: get the most talented team. The Knicks might have lost a little hustle and grit, but they gained star power, and they still had Josh Hart and OG Anunoby for those things.
Here’s the thing, though: The talent has to come together and fit. Chemistry is so ephemeral in the NBA that it slides from year to year. Even if the Knicks had run it back 100 percent with the same roster, they wouldn’t have had the same feel as last year. That’s not how it works. Plenty of teams have run it back and found that they’re not quite the same.
And this Knicks team, as talented as it is… doesn’t fit.
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Knicks were exposed over the weekend
The Knicks were exposed over the weekend. In post-All-Star matchups against the Cleveland Cavaliers and the defending Boston Celtics—who the Knicks were built to counter—they were destroyed. Neither game was competitive after the first quarter, outside of a blip Sunday in the third quarter before Boston slammed the door.
The Knicks’ defense is now in the bottom 10 and feels like it. For all their offensive firepower, Jalen Brunson hasn’t commanded the field of battle like last year, and Karl-Anthony Towns is still dominating but has been identified as the weak spot.
On top of this, the Knicks’ minute load is predictably Thibsian, and Thibs’ teams have always suffered from a lack of higher playoff gear.
The Knicks added Mikal Bridges to give New York another switchable wing to counter Boston. They also added KAT because it was a great value and gave them an elite stretch five to counter Porzingis. However, in adding KAT, the entire fundamental makeup shifted.
You are no longer a switch-all team. KAT struggles in switch and drop vs. pick and roll, and is best in a two-at-level scheme, which Boston eradicates in various ways. Your switchability is now limited. You have a small guard in Brunson trying to chase over screens and a big either trying to contain in drop or getting hunted in switch.
The Knicks are still great and will coast to a top-four seed, if not higher. Maybe their story isn’t written yet, and they can build a whole new team from scratch.
After this weekend, the Knicks stand as a reminder that talent is amazing, but in an NBA built on parity, you can’t just throw components and make them work at an elite level, no matter how talented they are.
NBA NEWS AND NOTES
Newly Dominant: The Warriors’ new superteam continues to impress as Steph Curry and Jimmy Butler combined for 48 points and 12 assists in less than 30 minutes each in a rout of the Mavericks. The Dubs keep rolling since adding Jimmy, becoming the new dangerous play-in sleeper team.
Consistently Awesome: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander once again racked up 30 with 37 points against the Minnesota Timberwolves in a wild, back-and-forth, high-flying affair. SGA continues to lead the league in 30-point performances by a huge margin.
Unstoppable: The Cavs kept rolling with a win in a great game vs. Memphis. Both teams were at each other physically and vocally, including a third-quarter kerfuffle. Evan Mobley led the way with 25 points, 13 rebounds, and eight assists in the win. Memphis fails to pass the 40-20 rule with the loss.
TOP FIVE BEST TEAMS DEFENDING PICK-AND-ROLL KICK-OUTS
(via Synergy Sports)
1. Boston Celtics (0.86 points per possession allowed): No surprise, Boston wants to win the math game, and while taking threes gets you halfway there, not allowing them by the opponent helps, too. Boston allows the 8th fewest 3-pointers off pick-and-roll kickouts per game.
2. Houston Rockets (0.88 per possession): This comes on the strength of the Rockets’ closeouts, with their young players willing and able to fly around on multiple-effort plays to prevent good looks and cuts. Extra effort matters most.
3. Oklahoma City Thunder (0.89 per possession): No surprise, the best defense in the NBA is stout everywhere, especially here.
4. Miami Heat (0.90 points per possession): The Heat remain tough to crack with their use of zone and multiple coverages, even in a down year from Bam Adebayo.
5. Minnesota Timberwolves (0.90 per possession): Having Rudy Gobert who is still the best rim protector in the league goes a long way.