Knicks At the All-Star Break

The New York Knicks entered the All-Star break in third place in the Eastern Conference with a record of 35-20, a half game behind the Boston Celtics and six games behind the Detroit Pistons. They are 10-2 over their last 12 games; the two losses coming at the hands of the Pistons and the Indiana Pacers. 

During this recent stretch, the Knicks have beaten the Philadelphia 76ers (twice), the Toronto Raptors, the Los Angeles Lakers, the Denver Nuggets and the Celtics - all playoff teams. They've allowed an average of 101 points per game while scoring an average of 118.5 points per game. Their defensive rating of 102.9 and offensive rating of 120.7 are tops in the league. They won the NBA Cup in December, and are widely viewed as the deepest and most talented team in the East.

And yet even with all that, their toughest opponent remains the Pistons. In the two losses against Detroit, New York was outscored 239 to 170. That's a difference of 69 points, making Thursday night's game at the Garden as close to a must win as the Knicks will have this season.

Leon Rose has done a masterful job assembling this roster. His acquisition of Jose Alvarado at the trade deadline and the signing of Jeremy Sochan a few days later has made the Knicks a formidable contender; one that, in my opinion, is capable of beating almost any team in their conference; emphasis on almost. 

Let me be clear: these Pistons are not the Celtics of last season. That team lived, and eventually died, with the three pointer. This Detroit team doesn't beat you from the perimeter; they beat you in the paint. They're about as subtle as a bull in a china shop. To quote from my last piece, "It's no secret that they are the most penalized team in the NBA; when they foul you, you know you've been fouled." They didn't just beat the Knicks; they mauled them.

Which is why it's essential that the Knicks win this game. If nothing else, they need to prove to themselves that this Pistons team is beatable; that they're not the second coming of that infamous Bad Boys team of the late '80s and early '90s. Waiting until the Eastern Conference finals to do it could prove fatal to their championship aspirations.

There's another reason why this game is so essential for the Knicks to win. They need to plant a seed of doubt into the collective conscience of a Pistons team that, ever since they lost to them in the playoffs last season, has been chomping at the bit to get even. They and their fans have been running their mouths all season long. It would be nice to shut those mouths, if only for a couple of days.

And finally, there are the standings to consider. While New York currently sits in third place, they are only one game ahead of the Cleveland Cavaliers. Like the Knicks, the Cavs have been hot, winning nine of their last ten games. Should the Knicks finish the regular season in fourth place, they would face the Pistons in the second round. But if they finish in second or third place, their likely opponent in the second round would be the Celtics. If I were the Knicks, I'd much rather face Detroit in the conference finals than in the second round. 

Look, can the Knicks still beat the Pistons in the playoffs if they lose to them Thursday night? Yes, but it will be a lot more difficult. 

Nick Saban once said that success can become "addictive." The same is true for failure.

The Pistons Present a Real Problem for the Knicks

I suppose after winning eight in a row, it was inevitable that the Knicks would lay an egg. And last night in Motown they laid a beaut: a 118-80 drubbing at the hands of the Detroit Pistons. The only bright spot was that coach Mike Brown was able to rest his starters in the fourth quarter. Actually, he could've pulled them at half time.

There will be those who will be tempted to dismiss this loss, arguing that with Karl-Anthony Towns, O.G. Anunoby and Deuce McBride out with injuries, the Knicks were shorthanded. The problem with that argument is that all three players were on the court a month ago when they got smoked by this very same Pistons team, which I would point out was missing its number one center Jalen Duren last night. 

Then there will be those who will point out, perhaps with some validity, that regular season games don't mean all that much. After all, the Knicks went 0-4 against the Boston Celtics during the regular season last year and look what happened in the playoffs. That is certainly true, but I would counter that the Celtics were a flawed team that had become over reliant on the three, and it finally came back to bite them against the Knicks. 

This Pistons team has no discernible flaws. True, they're not the Chicago Bulls of the '90s, or the L.A. Lakers of the '80s; hell, they're not even as talented as the Knicks. But, pound for pound, they are the toughest team in the NBA to play against. They pushed the Knicks to six games in last year's playoffs and they are more than capable of beating them in this year's playoffs. 

What is it about this Pistons team that makes them such a dangerous opponent for the Knicks? In a word, it's their size. They are big and they play big. If they wore skates, they'd be the Philadelphia Flyers of the '70s. They aren't merely content with beating their opponents; they want to send a message: enter the paint at your own peril. It's no secret that they are the most penalized team in the NBA; when they foul you, you know you've been fouled. No slap on the wrist or tug on the jersey. Your ass is on the court. To quote Eddie Murphy from 48 Hours, "Did that hurt? It looked real painful from here."

Much as I applaud Leon Rose for not gutting the team to land Giannis Antetokounmpo, and for acquiring Jose Alvarado at the trade deadline, the failure to add size in the front court could come back to haunt him in the postseason. What good is having another ball handler on the bench when your starters are getting mauled by a more physically dominant opponent? And don't kid yourself; while Cade Cunningham is one of the most talented guards in the league, the majority of his teammates would make the Broad Street Bullies blush with pride.

Barring an early round upset, the prohibitive favorites to advance to the NBA finals will likely have to go through Detroit to get there. And that's a problem because everything the Knicks do well, the Pistons excel at preventing. Beating the Celtics last year came down to making adjustments, especially in the fourth quarter. But how do you adjust for height and weight? 

In the late 1980s and early '90s, the NBA was forced to endure a reign of terror. A Pistons team led by the likes Bill Laimbeer and Dennis Rodman ran rough shot all over their opponents. The infamous fight between Laimbeer and Larry Bird in game three of the '87 Eastern Conference finals remains to this day a stain on the sport. There are parallels between that Pistons team and this one; parallels that the league - and especially the Knicks - would do well to take notice of.

In the 1990s, New York was one of the best teams in the NBA. But their Kryptonite was the Chicago Bulls. No matter how hard they tried, they just couldn't beat them. This Knicks team is also one of the best in the NBA. Will the Pistons end up being their Kryptonite, or will they find a way to beat them and hopefully put an end to a 53 year-old curse?

Memo to the Knicks: "Hold Off On That Coronation"

The best thing I can say about last night's train wreck in Detroit was that I didn't see it. That's because I refuse to pony up any more of my money for a subscription just to watch games I thought I was getting through my cable provider. But I can sure as shit read a stat sheet, and all I can say is that if this was a preview of what we can expect from the Knicks in a best of seven playoff series against the Pistons, this will be the most lopsided sweep in Motown history since the days of Isiah Thomas and Bill Laimbeer. 

Now that I think about it, calling what happened last night a train wreck would be doing a disservice to the term train wreck. At least a train wreck started out as a train going somewhere. This game was ostensibly over 30 seconds after the opening tip off. That's when Duncan Robinson buried a three pointer to put the Pistons ahead for good. New York kept it close in the first quarter before the wheels came off in the second.

It's hard to believe that this is the same Knicks team that won the NBA Cup just three weeks ago. On December 13, they were 18-7, two games behind the first place Pistons in the Eastern Conference. They were averaging 121 points per game, while limiting opponents to just 112.2 points per game. Both were fourth best in the NBA. Yours truly wrote on December 17 that they had sent a message. 

Well apparently that message was postdated, because since then, the Knicks have gone 5-6 and have lost four in a row. They now trail the Pistons by four games and are in third place in the East.

What is most disturbing about this slump is how badly they have defended. Over their last three games, their opponents have outscored them by an average of 18 points. The Sixers shot 54 percent from the field and 47 percent from three, while the Pistons shot 55 and 52 percent respectively. Against both teams the Knicks were out-rebounded and outscored in the paint, despite having both Karl-Anthony Towns and Mitchell Robinson in the starting lineup.

Towns and Jalen Brunson were the main culprits against the Pistons. According to Tommy Beer, this was the first time in 728 games as a pro that KAT attempted less than five shots and five free throws in the same game. Brunson wasn't much better. Though the captain scored 25 points, he had zero assists on the night. Both players committed six turnovers.

OG Anunoby is also becoming a concern of late. In his last four games, the man Leon Rose signed to a five-year, $212.5 million contract is 4-18 from beyond the arc. Even worse, he is a minus 78 over that span. There is no way to sugar coat this. If these three players don't dramatically improve their game, and soon, this team will not only fail to reach the finals, it may well fail to reach the playoffs.

Is Mike Brown partly to blame here? Yes. His offense relies heavily on taking three-point shots, and when they don't go in, and the Knicks don't control the boards, like they did earlier in the season, they are susceptible to fast breaks the other way. In the month of January, New York is literally being dominated in every facet of the game: scoring, shooting percentage and rebounding.

This whole thing started with a fourth-quarter collapse in San Antonio, and it has now snow-balled into a full-fledged crisis. The Knicks aren't just struggling, they are getting outworked and out-hustled. Brown, in his post-game presser, didn't mince his words. "It's pretty simple, they just physically kicked our ass." As if to add insult to injury, the Pistons were without Jalen Duren and Tobias Harris, two of their most dominant players, while the Knicks were without Josh Hart.

Losing streaks are part of the game, I know, and even the best of teams occasionally sputter. While the Orange and Blue were shitting the bed in Detroit, the Oklahoma City Thunder were being throttled by the lowly Charlotte Hornets. Indeed, last season's champions are 5-5 in their last ten games.

But it's the manner in which the Knicks are losing that is alarming. Much as it pains me to admit, this team may have gotten caught up in all the hoopla of the pre-season prognostications. The trouble with being the prohibitive favorites to advance to the finals is that the other teams in the conference aren't all that impressed. If anything, they seem extra motivated when playing them, as evidenced by the beatdown in Detroit. The Pistons sent a message loud and clear, and the message was "Hold off on that coronation."

The Knicks need to snap out of this funk fast before the season unravels on them. And trust me, it can, quicker than Mike Breen can yell "Bang!"

Mr. Clutch Comes Through Again.

In what looked more like a bi-polar convention at a psychiatric ward than an NBA playoff game, the New York Knicks were on the verge of a loss that would've meant a seventh and deciding game at Madison Square Garden Saturday afternoon. The Detroit Pistons had erased a twelve-point, fourth quarter deficit and were leading 112-105 with 2:35 left.

That's when Jalen Brunson - aka, Mr. Clutch - stepped up and said, "I don't think so." The Captain scored eight of his team's final eleven points, including a three pointer that hit nothing but net with 4.3 seconds on the clock that will go down as one of the most iconic shots in NBA playoff history, to propel the Knicks to a 116-113 win. He would finish the game with 40 points and seven assists.

We're running out of superlatives to describe Brunson and what he means to this team. Just look at some of these stats:

• He's tied for second with Giannis Antekokoumpo, Dwayne Wade and Charles Barkley for the most 40 point road playoff games with two. Michael Jordan - the greatest basketball player of all time -had four during his career.
• He opened this postseason with four straight 30 point games. The last player to do that was Jordan in 1998.
• In the series against the Pistons, Brunson scored 66 fourth-quarter points in just 55 minutes. Over his career as a Knick, he's averaged just under a point per minute in the fourth quarter of the playoffs. 
• In the three games at Detroit, Brunson scored 23 clutch-time points; the Pistons as a team scored 24.
• As a Knick, Brunson has averaged 31.5 points per game in the playoffs. His regular season average is 26.4.
• Brunson has more 30 point playoff games (14) than Magic Johnson (12), and Johnson appeared in 190 playoff games while Brunson has only appeared in 55.

Some have compared Brunson to another Knick great: Walt Frazier. Respectfully, while Frazier does have two rings to show for his tenure in New York, I don't think it's that much of a stretch to say that when his career is over, his jersey will be hanging in the rafters. If the measure of a player's stature is how many times he comes through when it counts, then Brunson has earned every accolade he's received.

Case in point, the Pistons series. Going in, the so-called "experts" thought Cade Cunningham would be the best player on the court. Well, guess what? Jalen Brunson owned him, and it wasn't even close.

Detractors can mock his size all they want; they can continue to diminish his accomplishments on the court; or qualify them, as Candace Parker did last season on TNT. To his fans, he will forever be known as Mr. Clutch: the man who, night in and night out, dons a cape and delivers his teammates from the evil clutches of the loss column.

The man is legit, he's elite, and he's the reason the New York Knicks are headed to Boston to play the Celtics in the second round.

Critics be damned. 

Thibs' Terrible "Coach's Decision."

With 2:57 left in the fourth quarter, it was obvious both Jalen Brunson and Josh Hart were hurt and needed to come out of the game. Tom Thibodeau called a timeout to put in Deuce McBride and Cam Payne. At the time the score was 97-95 Pistons. 

One minute later, the score was 101-95. Both Brunson and Hart were now at the scorers table waiting to check back in. Thibodeau had one timeout left but elected not to use it. Over the next minute and a half, the Knicks had three possessions and made exactly one basket: a fadeaway by Mikal Bridges with 50.1 seconds left to bring the Knicks within four.

Finally with 27.1 seconds left, Thibs called his last timeout and put Brunson and Bridges back in the game. By that point, the sore was 103-97. Bridges made a three to make it 103-100, but Dennis Schroder made one of two free throws for the Pistons to make it 104-100. OG Aununoby, then hit a three-pointer to make it 104-103, but Cade Cunningham made two free throws to ice the victory for his team and send the series back to Detroit for a game six. 

When asked at the post-game presser why he waited so long to burn his last timeout, Thibodeau simply replied it was a "coach's decision." If that's true, it was one of the worst in his tenure as head coach of the Knicks.

To be fair, Thibs wasn't the only culprit last night. The Knicks as a team shot 59.3 percent from the free throw line, and Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns collectively went 9-30 from the field. If Brunson and KAT had each gotten just one extra bucket, or if the Knicks had made just four more free throws, this series is probably over. But that didn't happen, and while coaches aren't responsible for how well their players execute, they are responsible for putting them in the best position to win.

This is not the first time Thibodeau's decision-making has been questioned. Earlier this season, his refusal to foul Jayson Tatum with less than 10 seconds to go in the fourth quarter and the Knicks up by three resulted in Tatum sinking a three-pointer to force overtime, where the Celtics eventually won. In last season's playoffs, the Knicks were 10 seconds away from wrapping up their series against the Sixers in five. Once again, Thibs refused to foul and Tyrese Maxey tied the score, allowing Philly to win it in OT.

Now it's entirely possible that had Thibs called his timeout earlier it wouldn't have made any difference. The way Brunson was hobbling on the court, who knows how effective he would've been? But that's beside the point. Rule number one in sports is you always go down with your best players on the court, field, rink, or whatever. 

Bottom line, Thibs needs to own this decision; a decision that gave a Pistons team that was trailing 3-1 in the series life. We know from history what can happen when you let your opponent off the mat. If Brunson continues to be hobbled by that ankle, the Knicks could very well find themselves out of the playoffs sooner than they expected. And if that happens, I can assure you James Dolan will not be a happy camper. 

Just ask Peter Laviolette. 

Knicks Need To Close It Out

The good news for the New York Knicks is that they're up 3-1 on the Detroit Pistons. The bad news for the Knicks is that they could easily be down 3-1. 

In game one, the Knicks came from behind in the fourth quarter to win 123-112. In game two, the Pistons held off a Knicks rally to win 100-94. In game three, the Knicks had a 13 point lead at halftime and held on to win 118-116. And in game four, the Knicks were trailing by 11 with 8:35 to go in the fourth quarter and came back to win 94-93.

As you can see, every game has been hotly contested; a total of eight points separates the two teams. The Knicks have not been so much dominant in this series as they've been resilient. Their two best players - Karl-Anthiony Towns and Jalen Brunson - have been better than the Pistons two best players - Cade Cunningham and Tim Hardaway Jr. Brunson, in particular, has been almost otherworldly, averaging 33.3 points per game in the series, and 13.3 points in the fourth quarter, the most by any player in the NBA since 1997.

The Pistons can complain all they want about the no-call by Josh Hart against Hardaway Jr with 8 seconds to go in game four, the fact is they've gotten most of the no-calls in this series, including one by Tobias Harris against Hart under the basket three seconds before Hardaway's three point attempt. You live by the no-call, you die by the no-call, I say.

That being said, it would behoove the Knicks to close out this series tomorrow night at the Garden. No way they want to go back to Detroit for a game six. The Pistons, having lost two games in their building, would almost certainly force a game seven. And once you get to a game seven, it's anyone's series.

There's another reason for the Knicks to want to wrap up this series in five. The style of basketball the Pistons employ can be very taxing on opponents. I wrote about their size advantage in my preview. And with the Knicks not having much of a bench, sooner or later, it's going to take its toll on the starters. 

Brunson, in particular, could certainly use the rest. He twisted the same ankle he sprained a month ago in the third quarter of game four and had to leave to get it re-taped. He came back in the fourth quarter and managed to score 15 points. But make no mistake about it, the longer this series goes on, the more stress that ankle will get. If the Knicks hope to do anything against the Boston Celtics in the next round, they will need their captain as close to 100 percent as possible. 

Bottom line: the Knicks control their own destiny. The last thing they want to do is play with fire. 

Knicks Playoff Preview (Round One)

The 2025 NBA postseason is upon us, and for the second year in a row, the New York Knicks have won at least 50 games. But that's where the similarity ends.

There's no debating that the 2024-25 Knicks are more talented than the 2023-24 Knicks. The offseason trades for Mikal Bridges and Karl-Anthony Towns have vastly improved their offense. Last season, they were 19th in the league in scoring, averaging 112.8 points per game; this season, they're 9th, averaging 115.8 ppg.

However, their success on the scoresheet has come at the expense of their defense. Last season, they allowed the second fewest points per game with 108.2; this season, they've allowed the 9th fewest points with 111.7.

But it's not just the defensive slippage that is a concern. For most of this season, the Knicks have struggled to find their identity. Last season, their tenaciousness on both ends of the court made them one of the most exciting teams in the NBA to watch. They made their opponents sweat for every bucket they made. Too often this season, opponents have been left wide open to make their shots. New York's perimeter defense is among the worst in the league.

And then there's the bench, or lack thereof. To acquire Towns, Leon Rose was forced to give up Julius Randle and Donte DiVincenzo. Randle was a starter, so that was a wash, but DiVo was a valuable cog in Tom Thibodeau's rotation last season. Losing him hurt. When you factor in that Mitchell Robinson didn't return until March, that meant that the starters were forced to play more minutes than they should have. 

How significant was this? The Knicks had three players in the top five in minutes played this season: Josh Hart (37.6), Bridges (37.0) and OG Anunoby (36.6). To put that in perspective, the Denver Nuggets had two in the top 10 and the Boston Celtics and Minnesota Timberwolves each had one a piece. The Oklahoma City Thunder, the best team in the NBA, didn't have a single player in the top 25 in minutes played, and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (34.2) is the presumptive MVP of the league.

What that means is that Thibs' starters enter the playoffs with a lot of mileage on their sneakers. And they're going up against a first-round opponent in the Detroit Pistons that is younger, bigger and considerably deeper, with a chip on its shoulder the size of the Grand Canyon. On paper, the Knicks are the better team; but playoff series aren't won on paper, they're won on the court.

I won't mince words here. There's a lot riding on this series. The Knicks entered the season with high expectations and they have struggled mightily against teams with winning records. During the regular season, they went 1-3 against Detroit and a combined 0-10 against OKC, Cleveland and Boston. After failing to get past the second round the last two postseasons, a first-round exit will not be well received by James Dolan, who is already in a foul mood over the way the Rangers imploded this season. I'm not saying Thibodeau's job is in jeopardy, but let's just say that while losing to the Celtics in five would be disappointing - but not totally unexpected - losing to the Pistons under any conditions would be an unmitigated disaster.

So how do the Knicks prevent that from happening? I believe the best way to counter the Pistons size advantage is for Thibs to start both KAT and Robinson together in the front court. Doing so allows OG to switch back to small forward, where he is far more effective. It also means Hart comes off the bench along with Landry Shamet, who, let's face it, is a more reliable shooter than Deuce McBride. Thibs also has to play Precious Achiuwa more than just a few minutes. Achiuwa isn't much of a scorer, however his size and rebounding will be essential in this series.

But for the Knicks to advance, Mikal Bridges has to produce, and by produce I mean score more than 6-10 points per game. Rose gave up five first round draft picks to the Nets to acquire what he and everyone else thought would be the third option on this team. There have been times this season when he has been virtually invisible. That cannot happen in this series. The Pistons will almost certainly attempt to double team Jalen Brunson and Towns. The only way to make them pay is for Bridges to put the ball in the hoop. Taking six shots like he did against the Lakers earlier in the season is unacceptable.

The pressure is all on the Knicks and deservedly so. The Pistons are playing with house money. After being one of the worst teams in the NBA the last five seasons, nobody expects them to win. Even ESPN - the network that loves bashing the orange and blue as much as possible - has New York prevailing. But I expect a long and grueling series. Knicks in seven.

Here's how I expect the rest of the first round matchups to go.

Eastern Conference:

Cleveland over Miami or Atlanta in four: The Cavs should romp regardless of who they play. 

Boston over Orlando in five: The Magic boast the best defense in the league. It won't be enough against the Celtics.

Indiana over Milwaukee in six: The Pacers have superior depth and that should be enough.

Western Conference:

Oklahoma City over Dallas or Memphis in five: AD would make things interesting, but the Thunder will prove to be too much.

Houston over Golden State in seven: The Warriors will have the two best players in this series; the Rockets will have the size and bench strength to prevail. 

LA Lakers over Minnesota in six: LeBron and Luka against Ant-Man. Should make for an excellent series. 

LA Clippers over Denver in six: For the first time in four years Kawhi Leonard is fully healthy going into the playoffs. 

If the Knicks advance, I'll preview the second round. If not, my prediction is OKC to win it all.