The Knicks had lost several consecutive games on the road to two of the NBA East’s most storied beasts. They had a tough time in the quarterfinals of the in-season tournament in Milwaukee, losing by 24 points and giving up 146 points, followed by a crushing 133-123 loss in Boston.
Much of the speed from the beginning of the season is gone.
Then, on December 11th, an anvil came on my head. Mitch Robinson was ejected after landing awkwardly on his ankle in Boston. At one point it seemed like months. It was then fixed for the entire season as it turned out to be a stress fracture. It was later announced that Robinson would likely return for the playoffs. He returned to practice last week.
Monday night marked the Knicks’ 50th game since Robinson went down. To celebrate, they were given the NBA’s equivalent of a buyout game, a 124-99 breeze against the depleted Pistons. In those 50 games, the Knicks had a record of 31 wins and 19 losses. When Robinson left, they were tied with the Nets for seventh place in the East, also at 12-9.
(Yes, I had to look up the last part twice to make sure it was correct.)
In particular, with the remaining two-thirds of the Knicks’ starting frontcourt out, Julius Randle injured since late January, RJ Barrett traded away in late December, and Barrett’s replacement… Given that, things could have turned into a vicious cycle over those 50 games. OG Anunoby has played in just three games since late January.
“There’s no perfect season,” Donte DiVincenzo said the other day. “We’re always making adjustments and unexpected things happen, but there’s a lot of guys on this team who are excited to get their number called and step up. It’s great that we get together so often. It’s great to see.”
Let’s start with DiVincenzo himself. He started the season on the bench and has emerged as an integral part of the Knicks’ core, averaging 18.7 points since Robinson’s injury. The injury occurred in the same game in which DiVincenzo started in place of Quentin Grimes. Five.
(DiVincenzo outmaneuvered the Garden on Monday night when he made a team-record 11 3s en route to 40 points, but replays show he took the shot wide of his legs.) That’s when you realize you’re scorching hot (it was actually supposed to be the 12th one, until it turns out). )
Deuce McBride is also a welcome addition. Two weeks after Robinson went down, shortly after the Knicks shipped Immanuel Quickley to Toronto, McBride was signed to a three-year, $13 million deal with the hope that he might be able to provide around 85% of Quickley’s contributions. Signed a contract. But after a game in which he played the full 48 minutes and scored 26 points (five days after scoring a career-high 29 points against Golden State), you could say he was a replacement on par with Quickley. .
And for now, for Anunoby, who sat again Tuesday tending to his sore right elbow.
“I’ll do whatever they ask me to do,” McBride said after pitching a complete game against the Nets. “I will contribute in any way I can.”
What the Knicks are doing is not a dance that can be easily adjusted. They are now inching closer to avoiding the play-in round and inching closer to overtaking Cleveland for the No. 3 seed in the East (Cavs), so try to make the most of the softer parts of the schedule. It is said that They defeated Charlotte on Monday and maintained a half-game lead).
Most current Knicks are purchased based on specs. They haven’t yet played a game with all of their ideal rotation players, but that may not happen until right before the playoffs, or maybe not until the playoffs begin.
Rotate when everyone returns. USA Today Sports
That means Tom Thibodeau will have to do some clever ego manipulation. For now, this means reducing Precious Achiuwa’s minutes. He saw a lot of nights in February and early March, logging a huge amount of minutes, but his running output decreased. Anunoby’s return means McBride will definitely be left out of the starting lineup. If Randle does it, Josh Hart will have another triple-double on Monday, becoming the sixth sixth man to do so since Jan. 29.
And of course, there’s Robinson, who started this whole carousel 50 games and 74 days ago. He has already tried to ease the transition, saying on social media that he wants to come off the bench. Anyway, considering how well Isaiah Hartenstein performed in his absence (8.3 points, 9.9 rebounds, 66 percent shooting) despite often playing with Achilles pain. , Thibodeau was already leaning in that direction.
“I’m always going to put the team first,” Thibodeau said Monday. “So anything they can do to help the team, that’s what we’re looking to do.”
Given the real problems he had to deal with, it would be a relief for the coach to avoid “good problems.” How to deal with excess healthy players, etc. It will be a nice change of pace.
