When the tough got going, the New York Knicks never got tough. No, this certainly isn’t the same squad that gritted their way to Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals a year ago.
The 2024-25 version—with Karl-Anthony Towns—is theoretically better equipped to handle the crux of today’s free-wheeling NBA that features the 3-pointer and abundant pick-and-roll action. Pairing him with point guard Jalen Brunson gives the Knickerbockers a lethal 1-5 screen-and-move action tough to defend.
But does it wholly make up for the grittier moments when things become extremely messy? In the Knicks’ disappointing 108-100 loss to the Atlanta Hawks on Wednesday night, at Madison Square Garden, the new version couldn’t come close to what the old accomplished.
Dec. 11, 2024: Final
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A failed physicality test
For much of the night, the game remained close. In fact, New York enjoyed a seven-point halftime lead and at least some control early in the third quarter.
That was until the officials decided to throw things back to the NBA of yesteryear a bit by deciding to let ’em play.
From midway through the third quarter until the start of the fourth (and even parts of the final frame), physicality ruled the Garden hardwood. Old-school fans couldn’t help but think of Charles Oakley, Anthony Mason and Xavier McDaniel a time or two, based on how much contact was allowed.
(And look, the modern NBA couldn’t dare dream of reaching the physical heights of what we saw in the 1990s, but you get the idea; this game didn’t resemble the usual free and unfettered version these players are used to.)
The physicality tilted the court in Atlanta’s direction, as they outrebounded the Knicks 58-49 on the night. Worse yet, they stunned the Knicks on the offensive glass, collecting 22 offensive rebounds to the Knicks’ mere 12.
To say this was the perfect game for Isaiah Hartenstein to save them would be a massive understatement. Instead, the likes of Towns, who was in foul trouble all night, was visibly frustrated.
In the postgame presser, Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau did his best to subtly attack the officiating crew.
“I just looked at who was refereeing and I knew what it was going to be like,” Thibodeau said.
Atlanta took advantage, outscoring New York 34-18 in the third quarter, a lead that helped them sail to a spot in the NBA Cup semifinals in Las Vegas.
Cold shooting
Of course, Thibs wouldn’t be the successful coach he is if he always let his players off the hook. Poor officiating or not, his guys simply did not get the job done.
“When [the lead] got to be 10 in the third, we missed some threes, we started giving them a second and third shot, (and) that was a problem,” Thibodeau told the media. “We were plus two [rebounding] at the half and the third quarter was a problem.”
Although poor focus could have contributed to the poor shooting—as the team seemed more interested in jarring with the officials—the reason why they were off all night does not really matter.
The fact that they shot so porous is the bottom line.
Point guard Jalen Brunson couldn’t find anything all night. Finishing with just 15 points on 5 of 15 from the floor, New York’s leader simply could not get rolling. None of his usual activation tricks worked, either, as his patented draw-the-foul with east-west ball movement while driving did not get the whistles.
The same could be said for Karl-Anthony Towns, who shot decent from the floor, 7 of 15, and mustered 19 points, but was constantly shuffled in and out of the lineup due to foul trouble (37 minutes on the night).
Towns did pull down a gritty 19 rebounds, but his supporting cast on the glass fell way short. Josh Hart, who finished with a team-high 21 points on 8 of 12 shooting, which included a few timely threes (when his team needed it most), finished with 8 boards, whereas OG Anunoby grabbed just 6.
Precious Achiuwa, playing in his fourth game since returning from injury, snagged 5 rebounds in 19 minutes, but the small Knicks lineup was no contest for Atlanta. Jalen Johnson (15) and Clint Capela (13) both ended up with double-digit rebounds while completely taking advantage of the physical play.
Who are these Knicks?
After the game, Trae Young imprinted his latest villainous status bump in the Big Apple’s eyes. Rolling the imaginary dice at midcourt was an ode to the fact that his team, not the Knicks, is headed to Las Vegas for the NBA Cup semifinals.
Interestingly, Young didn’t do anything overly special in the game. The new-age MSG villain went for 22 points on 8 of 22 shooting, but he hit all four of his threes and dished out 11 assists.
Atlanta’s ball movement, particularly its fearless attitude en route to the hoop for the lob, meshed brilliantly with the game flow of this physical game.
Everybody understood what the Knicks’ challenge was coming into the season. Despite wanting to re-sign both OG Anunoby and Isaiah Hartenstein, it simply could not be done. And despite never wanting to trade Donte DiVincenzo, acquiring a piece like Karl-Anthony Towns doesn’t come around that often.
It obviously left them thin. Worse yet, if left them with an identity crisis of sorts.
As they continue to work out the kinks with the Brunson-Towns combo leading the way, particularly in nut-crunching time, those in supporting roles, such as Anunoby and Mikal Bridges, must attend to filling gaps as best they can.
Wednesday night’s gap was an overall edge and grittiness last year’s squad certainly possessed.
The New York Knicks must either figure it out quickly or find the right supplemental pieces to give them a chance to compete when the going gets really tough on the NBA hardwood.
