The New York Knicks Most Glaring Problem
By James Ryder
The New York Knicks have been getting torched
Sure, many NBA greats have been known to go off in MSG because it’s The Mecca. Players want to put on a show on the league’s biggest stage. Jaylen Brown simply couldn’t miss, as he finished with a career-high 46 points in the Boston Celtics double-overtime loss to the Knicks.
Brown is an all-star, so that kind of assault can come at any time from him and too much shame shouldn’t come from allowing it or being unable to stop it. Brown is the only such caliber player to do so this season against the Knicks.
Fred VanVleet, OG Anunoby, and Gary Trent Jr. walloped the Knicks, mainly in the third quarter, back on November 1st. VanVleet shot 3-8 from three, just about all of them were wide open, on his way to 17 points. Anunoby, a rising star in his own right, dropped 36. His overall three-point shooting for the game wasn’t good but he still hit 4 shots on 12 attempts. That outburst was, as you might have guessed, a career-high. Trent Jr. also torched the Knicks with a bevy of uncontested looks. He was 4-for11 from three and had 25 points.
And the list only gets longer and more despicable from there.
Cole Anthony, whose a promising sophomore but still plays for the abysmal Orlando Magic, destroyed the Knicks from deep on his way to 29 points. He shot a nasty 5-for-9 from three. In that same game, known Knick killer Terrence Ross helped pile on the Knicks in the fourth quarter as he scored 22 points. He too wasn’t hitting his threes, but he is still a perimeter player who did a ton of damage, so much in fact that he alone nearly outscored New York’s 24 points in the final frame.
By the way, these performances haven’t been exclusive to The Garden.
Myles Turner sat on the perimeter all night on November 3rd in Indiana, being completely ignored by all of the New York Knicks big-men. The Pacers center canned a career-high 7 three-pointers and finished with 25 points in the win.
I can keep going. And I will.
Ricky Rubio’s onslaught at MSG was personally the most disappointing for me to witness. The Cleveland guard is another known Knick killer but is not known for his shooting or scoring. That didn’t stop him from hitting his first 8 three-point attempts, going 8-for-9 for the game, and recording a 37 point 10 assist double-double in the Cavaliers win. Those 8 made threes and 37 points were both career highs.
New York nearly blew the game against the Philadelphia 76ers in which they had a 14-point halftime lead. How did the Sixers close the gap and almost secure a comeback victory? By outscoring the Knicks 25-14 in the third quarter and hitting 6 of their 13 made three-point for the game in the second half, of course.
And then, finally, the Bucks came to town. Much of the latest game was eerily similar to the Knicks’ first matchup of the season with Milwaukee last Saturday when they came back to win despite being down 21 at halftime. By the way, Grayson Allen in that game was pulverizing NY to the tune of 22 points. His 6-of-9 shooting from three nearly won his team the game. The Knicks bench however brought the team back from the dead.
A few nights ago, the bench almost did it again vs the Bucks. Unfortunately, the Knicks instead gave up another winnable game by allowing open threes to rain on them.
Did I forget anyone? No? Surprising.
The recent slate of games for New York’s fans has felt like it’s lasted a millennium. This pathetic display has to be resolved.