Seconds after the last buzzer, the fake noise machine was switched off and the garden was absolutely silent – like the passing of the Knicks.
In 2019-20, the Knicks only scored their fifth win in their 25th game of the season and only after David Fizdale was fired and Mike Miller promoted. Still, that stink stank, it really stank – that 101-89 home loss on Friday to Rebuilding, no-name Thunder.
In every way, this was a nightmare offensive feat, as empty as the blue seats after the Knicks five of their last six had won. Perhaps it was Miller, as assistant on the outskirts of Oklahoma City, who reminded her of last season’s defeat.
Or maybe the Knicks just got tired after all the minutes that their key players signed up. Yes, that’s the only concern for esteemed coach Tom Thibodeau.
RJ Barrett and Julius Randle were in the top two in the NBA within minutes of the start of the game.
Randle looked too much like Randle from the last Season off. He was kept goalless in the first half. Then, in the fourth quarter, Randle lazily dribbled the ball up, and Queens pride, Hamidou Diallo, stripped the ball from behind and raced to a layup for an 11-point thunder lead.
Just before that Diallo (who finished with 21 points and 11 templates) made his own mistake. The old point guard George Hill had dripped undisturbed for a layup – too reminiscent of the past few years.
Every club entered the pandemic season, which was perceived as tanking and stocking up on draft picks. Each team defied the low expectations. The Knicks are now 5-4 and the Thunder will be a 500 on Friday.
This was a lousy loss to a club that had the likes of Darius Bazley and Luguentz starting there, who have the best name and body in the world League but is a defensive specialist. The Knicks daggered there in the fourth quarter with a game-protecting 3-pointer.
Rookie Aleksej Pokusevski is also in the Thunder rotation, who came into the game with 9.5 percent, but in the final phase two big 3-point Hit scored.
Kendrick Perkins, ESPN’s new outspoken star, hailed the Knicks’ new offense as the key to their revival. But Perkins put the hex on the Knicks, who shot 35.8 percent against the Thunder.
Thibodeau said he felt the Knicks stopped moving the ball after losing the lead in the first half .
« We tried to come out individually, » said Thibodeau. “We got into it together, we have to get into it together.”
Perkins was the center of the Celtics for three seasons when Thibodeau was Doc Rivers’ assistant coach in Boston.
“During that time , where he was free in his two years, he has re-evaluated himself and returned to a different coach, « Perkins said ahead of Friday’s game on ESPN. « Because some of the games they play and some of the freedoms they have on offense, I’ve never seen a Tom Thibodeau team have so much freedom. » But I love it. «
In a moment, Thibodeau will receive the invention of the synthetic protein that is key to the new vaccine. Seriously, Perkins’ statements on national television deserve further scrutiny before confirming their accuracy.
They play faster, hit 3-pointers with greater efficiency and move the ball better than under Jeff Hornacek, Fizdale and Miller.
But when it comes to X and O and more freedom, they finished ahead of the brick on Friday Still in 28th place on average scoring (104 ppg). Their offenses will remain a problem and they will need the injured, sweet-shooting swingman Alec Burks back sooner rather than later.
Players like Austin Rivers and Immanuel Quickley were absent on Friday. Rivers even missed a 3-point shot in the fourth quarter.
And Quickley looked like a round two election – finally. Quickley had his worst night as a professional – he went 9-1 and b almost got the backboard on a floater that was too hard.
« I still see pretty vanilla on this end, » said former Wizards, Hawks and Raptors scout Bryan Oringher, who did a two-part scouting on his YouTube channel Thursday -Report on the Knicks offensive and defense. « But they are definitely defending. »
Randle was a different player after his extended boot camp off-season in Dallas. Randle defended it offensively and tore it apart with All-Star numbers of 23.1 points, 12 rebounds and 7.4 assists in front of the foul-ridden Dud on Friday.
Oringher is still not sure if this is the case « Fluky » Randle, or a new Randle, is who says the South Paw from Texas played « out of his bloody mind ».
Thibodeau showed a knack for sticking with the right players in the fourth quarter – a major sin from Fizdale. But on Friday these players looked tired, especially Barrett.
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