New York Knicks: Major regroup now approaches after loss

The New York Knicks now approach an important week that suddenly seems to have a little more urgency.

After rattling off two wins to start the season the Knicks fell short against an Orlando Magic team that NY had run up the score on just two nights earlier. 

New York Knicks: Time to regroup

It would have been a much different vibe had the Knicks been going into this week 3-0.

It seems dramatic for one loss to be a panic button. It’s not a panic button. This loss to the Orlando Magic was more wake up call than a panic button.

The Orlando Magic are might be the worst team in the league. They will upset some teams this season but you don’t want to be one of them.

This loss still means something. The New York Knicks’ goal for the season is essentially to assert themselves as a playoff contender in the east. They want to be a playoff team, not a play-in team. That’s no easy task.

The goal is to be a playoff team and win a playoff series. They want to assert themselves into the tier of teams that features the Miami Heat, Atlanta Hawks, Boston Celtics, Chicago Bulls, and Philadelphia 76ers.

The Knicks may have finished as a 4 seed last year, but they didn’t do much with it. Aside from the Bulls, the Heat, Celtics, and 76ers have all had deep playoff runs and know that they belong. This is the year for New York to prove it, and guess what, their next two games are against two of these teams: The 76ers and the Bulls.

New York could not have shot the ball any worse in this game. They finished the game 37% from the field, 27% from three, and 67% from the free-throw line. 

Still, I always hate chalking it up to “just a bad shooting night”. The Knicks had ten players play over twelve minutes last night. They were not just all “off” shooting the ball.

There was a lack of urgency. There were long stretches where the seemed as though they were just going through the motions.

Holding the ball on the perimeter, not moving off-ball, reluctant to attack the basket — it was a stagnant Knicks offense, something we’ve seen before when the team is playing their worst ball.

Now, it’s up to coach Tom Thibodeau and his players to wake up. With games against the 76ers and Bulls, this team can either end the upcoming week wondering where they stand in the East, or they can establish themselves as one of the teams to beat.