A week and a half ago, the Knicks beat the Pacers in the bottom half.
They were without Mitchell Robinson, OG Anunoby and Julius Randle, but Isaiah Hartenstein (19 rebounds) and Jericho Sims (4 boards in 12 minutes) helped own the paint.
The Knicks had 16 more shot attempts than Indiana and 10 more than the Pacers in their Feb. 1 win at the Garden.
On Saturday, the very same Pacers team played against a very different Knicks team.
With Hartenstein and Sims walking in with injuries, the Knicks will be without three of their top centers and two of their best forwards.
The Pacers grabbed nine more rebounds than Tom Thibodeau’s group and clinched the victory.
“The last time we were here they killed us on the glass,” Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton said. “We were able to control it well.”
Suddenly, the Knicks, one of the teams best at asserting themselves and dominating inside, were in control.
If this setback is prolonged due to injury, their greatest strengths, in this case literal strength, size, and rim protection, can turn into weaknesses.
The return of Jalen Brunson on Saturday certainly helped, but it was the Knicks’ lack of paint presence that hurt the most.
Without Robinson, Hartenstein, Sims, Anunoby and Randle, Thibodeau started Taj Gibson on a second 10-day contract, with Precious Achiuwa behind him. Gibson didn’t perform well, going hitless in four games, and Achiuwa (15 points, 6 rebounds) was minus-12 points.
The team, which entered Sunday’s NBA action as the fourth-best rebounding group in the NBA, was outrebounded 41-32. Indiana’s starting frontcourt of Myles Turner and Pascal Siakam combined for 42 points on a foolish 17-of-22 shooting from the floor.
“We have to rebound all at once,” Thibodeau said of his team, which at one point offered 6-foot-7 rookie Bojan Bogdanovic to play center. “We can’t rely on one or two guys. We have to rely on people and go get the ball. We’re small.”
It’s likely to remain small, at least for a while. There is no further update on Hartenstein, who has been called up on a day-to-day basis due to a sore left Achilles tendon that worsened during Thursday’s game against the Mavericks.
Hartenstein is listed as doubtful for Monday’s game in Houston, but he suffered an Achilles tendon problem last season and missed two games last month with the same injury.
Sims has missed three consecutive games due to illness and is expected to recover as soon as Monday, so there are hopes that he will recover as quickly as possible.
Anunoby (required surgery to remove a bone chip in his right elbow), Randle (dislocated shoulder) and Robinson (ankle surgery) have longer injury schedules.
Anunoby will likely miss the remainder of February. The Knicks would be happy if both he and Randle (who is rehabbing his shoulder and could have his first update as early as Thursday) can return in early March. Robinson’s timetable is unknown, but he is on pace to begin shooting on-court immediately after the All-Star break.
The Knicks can tolerate some pain, especially with a team with deep big man depth, but the injury report has been too long to ignore.
After playing against Houston, Thibodeau’s group is scheduled to play in Orlando on Wednesday and then take a week off for the All-Star break at the appropriate time.
“It’s always tough when you’re small,” Donte DiVincenzo said. Hopefully the guys come back, but if they don’t, we’ve got to be ready, we’ve got to be careful and we’ve all got to hit the board a little better. ”
The Knicks, who entered Sunday as the NBA’s No. 2 team in second-chance points, lost 12-4 to Indiana in that category. A Knicks team that usually takes control in the paint lost 62-54 underneath it.
There are too many injuries, and if health doesn’t return quickly, the team’s identity could crumble.
“Our margin of error is small at this point,” Thibodeau said, and “small” is a theme these days.
