BT concerned with Knicks 'corporate' feel, worried team doesn't have same identity as last year
When the Knicks made a blockbuster trade for Karl-Anthony Towns, Brandon Tierney acknowledged the otherworldly talent they were acquiring, but worried that the identity of the team would suffer with the losses of Julius Randle and Donte DiVincenzo.
Seven games into the season, those concerns have not gone away as the Knicks are off to a 3-4 start following a frustrating loss to the Hawks on Wednesday night.
"I know it's early…however, I look at this team, and it's glaring. I don't see an attitude, and I don't see an identity," BT said. "My expectations for these Knicks is to get to the conference championship and have a real shot at winning a championship. I know it's early, but it's not too early for me to look at some of the deficiencies on this team and wonder if they're going to be good enough when it matters. Sitting here watching every game…I don't like what I'm seeing."
Statistically, there are some concerns through seven games, like the team's sluggish pace that puts them among the slowest in basketball, and Mikal Bridges' shooting away from the corner three has not been good. But Sal Licata believes things will improve as the new-look roster begins to trust each other on defense and build a chemistry on the offensive end, specifically Towns and Jalen Brunson. BT believes those things will come along as well, but the attitude and identity that made fans fall in love with last year's group? He isn't so convinced that this team will be able to capture something similar, based on how they've looked so far.
"The fire and the passion and the identity - which is what fueled them a year ago - is not there," BT said. "It feels a little more corporate. It feels a little more like 'Hey, we made this big move, let's go to the opening tip and we'll win because we made this big move.' It doesn't work that way.
"Their personality, their attitude, and their identity. I don't know what it is. I knew what it was last year, and I loved it…do you think it's definitely going to be the same this year? Because I don't."
