The New York Knicks have been riding the energy of the Madison Square Garden to success in 2017-18. The Knicks must learn to motivate themselves on the road.
The New York Knicks have reestablished Madison Square Garden as a venue that teams don’t want to enter. No matter what transpires between now and April 11, the Knicks have built confidence at home that should breed future success.
For as well as the Knicks have played at Madison Square Garden, however, they’ve been equally as disappointing on the road.
At 15-6, New York has the second-most home wins in the NBA, trailing only the San Antonio Spurs. Unfortunately, the Knicks are also 2-10 on the road—the second-worst road record in the NBA behind the 2-14 Dallas Mavericks.
According to Zach Braziller of The New York Post, veteran big man Enes Kanter knows that the players must be the source of their own energy if they’re going to improve on the road.
"“Everybody needs to bring energy,” Kanter said. “Because on the road it’s just us against 20,000 people. We’re playing against the whole crowd and the team. We just need to fire ourselves up and just stay together.If you look at this team, this team on this court, we have enough talent to beat every team on every court. It doesn’t matter on the road, not on the road. We just need to stay together and just bring energy.”"
The Knicks are building around a core of young players, but veterans like Kanter, who’s only 25 himself, deserve equal credit for the continued creation of a new culture of accountability.
If the Knicks are going to realize their potential as a postseason-caliber team, they must be able to win games away from Madison Square Garden. A 15-6 record at The Mecca borders on elite, as it sets the pace for a 29-12 record over the 41-game home schedule.
A 2-10 road record sets the pace for seven road wins—when rounding up—however, which would max the Knicks out at 36 total wins.
That may be an improvement over what New York managed to do in 2014-15, 2015-16, and 2016-17, but it would also be disappointing to those in the locker room and front office.
The primary issue that the Knicks have failed to overcome on the road is what Kanter touched upon. Energy and effort have been unpredictable traits when New York plays on the road, due in large part to the fact that the attending crowd isn’t cheering them on.
That’s a primary reason why the Knicks have an offensive rating of 108.9 and a defensive rating of 103.0 at home, only to fall to 97.9 and 108.6 on the road.
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Whether fortunately or unfortunately, the New York Knicks will play 20 of the next 27 games on the road. Enes Kanter and company will need to be prepared for hostile environments.