One of the prevailing complaints regarding the current entertainment value of the NBA is the quality of competition in the regular season, and how much the first 82 games really matter.
Yet, after each Knicks loss, there seems to be some sort of reckoning regarding the team’s makeup, what they’re truly capable of accomplishing, and if they will ultimately disappoint in their most hyped season in decades.
It has become a repetitive, exhausting, and - frankly - unnecessary conversation, one that seemingly is unique to New York. Often, when good teams struggle or even slip up during the regular season, the conversation is one of mild annoyance at most, as fans typically point to the playoffs, when the games really matter, as the true barometer for whether the season as a whole will be a success or failure.
These Knicks have proven to be much different in the eyes of the fanbase. After rattling off five straight victories, including emphatic wins against quality competition like the Grizzlies and Nuggets, New York fell to the Lakers on Saturday night, as LeBron James turned back the clock with a 33-point triple-double, guiding LA to victory without Anthony Davis. The Lakers stymied Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns while lighting it up from downtown, and OG Anunoby went down with a non-contact injury that the Knicks later labeled as a foot sprain.
Putting the Anunoby injury aside, the postgame reaction was one of ‘Here we go again,’ as the discourse surrounding the team’s ability to defend the 3-pointer was once again front and center, and the offense, less than a week removed from scoring 143 points in consecutive games, was back under heavy criticism, specifically Towns, who shot just 3-for-12 as he continues to fight through his thumb injury. Then the Tom Thibodeau discourse begins, as fans lament the team's minutes workload (a criticism that his players continue to shoot down) and if this rotation will be able to hold up come playoff time.
Why are the five previous wins so quickly forgotten? Why does every Knicks loss seem to be a platform for fans to raise questions about the big picture, and wonder if the team has been exposed in a way that outs them as frauds? It has become a pattern. After winning nine in row from mid-December to New Years Day, the Knicks dropped three of four, including two to the loaded Thunder, and fans wondered if OKC just showed New York what a real contender looks like. The Knicks responded with a 140-point onslaught against the Bucks, but one game later, a close loss to the upstart Pistons brought the same “is the sky falling” question back into the spotlight.
With games against Boston and Cleveland coming up in February, it is important to maintain perspective before a specific result leads to drastic assumptions about a team that is still learning how to share the floor with each other. The Knicks are still ironing out the kinks with two new starters in the fold in Towns and Mikal Bridges, and one of them is trying to regain a feel for his shot after injuring his thumb. Towns has two and a half months to get that feel back before the playoffs, and New York has the same amount of time to fully gel as a unit before the postseason. There is still plenty of time, not to mention the Knicks have already shown what they can do when they’re at their best. Their performance in the second quarter in their first matchup with the Thunder was pure basketball bliss, as the Knicks carved up an elite defense in a way no other team has been able to do this season. Why are those moments forgotten as soon as the final horn sounds on a loss? Why are the winning streaks so quickly discarded?
It’s tough when a fanbase is starved for success and suddenly senses that their team is closer to glory than it has been in a generation. There comes impatience and angst with that level of hope and hype. But those emotions need to be managed in an 82-game season in which many fans believe is nothing more than a warmup to the playoffs. There is plenty of time for the Knicks to get right. Towns has had games since his thumb injury where he has shot 11-for-18 from the floor, and the Knicks have shown spurts where they look like they are undeniably one of the best teams in the league. Injuries are another story, but in terms of the team’s on-court performance, every misstep cannot spark the tired debate over whether it’s time to panic.
The Knicks are barely past the halfway point of the season, and are closing in on the No. 2 seed in the East. They have two All-Star starters for the first time since Clyde and Earl. Mitchell Robinson is closing in on returning to practice, and the trade deadline or buyout market will likely offer a chance to add more meat to the bone that is the team’s bench. In no way does any of this guarantee that the painful championship drought is nearing an end, but each regular season loss does not guarantee that the season is destined to end in disappointment.