Seriously, this is getting ridiculous. Just when you think you've figured out this Knicks team, they throw a curve Sandy Koufax would be proud of.
23-9, 2-9, 8-0, 4-4, 4-1, and now 1-2.
I give up.
How can the same team that was responsible for the only loss the San Antonio Spurs have suffered since the beginning of February need a second-half comeback against a Utah Jazz team that was fined $500,000 by Adam Silver for tanking? Your guess is as good as mine.
Exasperating doesn't begin to describe it. This team plays with all the consistency of a ship without a rudder. One minute, it's a championship contender; the next, it's a borderline play-in team. And the most frustrating thing about them is you never know which team is going to show up on any given night.
Even last night, the Jazz pretty much had their way with the Knicks in the first half, shooting 54 percent from the floor and 67 percent from three. Jalen Brunson went 1-8 and was a minus 16, while Mikal Bridges - the MIA player of the year - went 1-5 and was a minus 17. If it hadn't been for Karl-Anthony Towns (5-9 / 15 points) this game would've been over by halftime.
Fortunately for the Knicks, they were playing the Jazz. That sense of urgency which had been missing in the first half, as well as against the Lakers and Clippers, suddenly appeared in the third quarter. Brunson woke up and scored 18 points, and Jordan Clarkson had himself a nice homecoming, scoring 19. In all, New York outscored Utah 78-52 in the second half and won going away.
But why did it have to come to that? Why does this team, which everyone agrees is loaded with talent, insist on playing down to the level of its opponents? That is the sixty-four thousand dollar question that must be answered satisfactorily by the playoffs or this dream season will come to a nightmarish ending.
It starts with having heart. No, not Josh Hart, who was out because of left-knee soreness, but good old-fashioned heart; the kind that championship-caliber teams display on a regular basis. If you can beat teams like the Spurs, Boston Celtics or Denver Nuggets handily, you should have no problem beating lottery teams like the Jazz or Indiana Pacers, who upset the Knicks at the Garden last month.
The fact is games like this should never be in doubt. Yes, I realize that even the best teams occasionally have an off night or two, but with the Knicks, it's become something of an occupational hazard. You can almost predict when the next slump will occur. It typically happens right after a good stretch of games. If ever there was a team that couldn't stand prosperity, it's the Knicks.
I have defended Mike Brown numerous times in this blog. In my opinion, he is a vast improvement over Tom Thibodeau. The proof is the Knicks record against the best teams in the NBA. Last season, they were 0-10 against the Cavaliers, Celtics and Thunder. This season, they're 4-3. Even with these last three games, the Knicks still have the best defensive rating in the league over their last 24 games.
But if there is one criticism that you can levy on Brown - and it is one that has plagued him throughout his coaching career - it's that he wants to be liked by his players. You can tell by his demeanor on the bench. He rarely, if ever, calls them out, even when they deserve it, like they did after that horrendous first quarter. Being calm, cool and collected is all fine and dandy, but every once in a while, you gotta be the bad cop. I'm not saying he has to be the second coming of Hubie Brown or Bobby Knight, but Jesus, even Thibs occasionally lost it now and then. There are worse things than hurting your players feelings; being eliminated in the first round, for instance.
One player whose feelings desperately need to be hurt is Mikal Bridges. The small forward has been a virtual no show the last three games, scoring a combined total of 12 points and posting a minus 34. So bad was he against the Jazz that Brown benched him in the fourth quarter. It is simply unacceptable for someone as valuable as Bridges to play that poorly. And let's be clear, this isn't the first time the player Leon Rose traded five first round picks for has gone AWOL. In fact, you could say he's been a repeat offender.
The irony is that Bridges, for all his disappearing acts, has had some memorable moments. It was one year ago tonight that he had one of his best games as a Knick, scoring 33 points against the Portland Trail Blazers, including the deciding three pointer to propel New York to a 114-113 OT win. Earlier that season, he scored 41 points against the Spurs on Christmas Day at the Garden. The man has the talent; it's the will that's been lacking.
Brown must find a way to unleash that will. He has to risk hurting Bridges feelings so that the talent that's in him comes out more consistently. Mike Keenan was one of the toughest NHL coaches ever to work behind the bench. The man was, for all intents and purposes, a hard on. But in the Spring of 1994, that toughness was exactly what the Rangers needed to win their first Stanley Cup since 1940. Nice guys don't always finish last, but they seldom finish first.
Mike Brown doesn't have to be as tough as Mike Keenan in order to win a championship; but being Fred Rogers isn't going to cut it.
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