Is it too early for Knicks to press the panic button?
The New York Knicks have gotten off to a rather average start to the 2022-23 NBA season, and many fans are already starting to worry. The Knicks’ wins so far have generally come against losing teams, and their losses have generally come against winning teams. It is not so much the losses themselves that worry fans, but the manner in which they are losing.
Fans were well aware of the issues this team would likely face coming into the season. Now that we’ve seen them live in living color out on the floor, the pessimism is starting to kick in. Even though we’re not even a quarter of the way through the season, is it time for Knicks fans to start panicking?
The New York Knicks should NOT be panicking
Alright, slowly take your hand off the panic button. Nice and easy. The 2022-23 season is barely a month old and some teams better than New York are out to worse starts. However, there are glaring issues that if gone unresolved, the Knicks risk digging themselves into a hole that they can’t climb out of.
While Knicks fans shouldn’t panic, I wouldn’t blame them for being a bit concerned. For starters, Quentin Grimes’ nagging foot injury has limited his involvement so far this season. Grimes, who was reportedly made untouchable in negotiations with the Utah Jazz concerning a Donovan Mitchell trade this past summer, is one of the Knicks’ best two-way players so his contributions have been sorely missed. The same can be said for Mitchell Robinson, who is out with a knee injury.
We wondered how open Tom Thibodeau would be to embracing the youth movement this season. While he is slowly coming around, there are still long stretches of games where Immanuel Quickley and Obi Toppin don’t see the floor. He has finally conceded to playing Toppin and Julius Randle together, but we still have only seen it sparingly. Evan Fournier has seen his overall minutes decrease as of late *thanks God*, but he still is inserted in crucial stretches where Quickley or Reddish would be better suited.
Then there’s the defense. Statistically, the Knicks have a league-average defensive rating this season. Yet, there are quarters and halves where opponents completely have their way. The Knicks gave up 69 points in the first half to a Kyrie Irving-less Brooklyn Nets on Nov. 9, and let a 23-point lead get slimmed down to 8 after giving up 36 points in the second quarter against Atlanta on Nov. 2. There’s no way a competent defense lets Edmond Sumner drop a season-high 18 points.
The most troubling issue is the overall inconsistency. You don’t really know what version of this team will show up. It could be the version we saw in Brooklyn where the Knicks could only muster 85 points against a Nets team that’s not known for defense, or it could be the version we saw against the Minnesota Timberwolves. Couple that with the ever-changing starting lineups, the lack of a defined and consistent guard rotation, and the competitiveness of the Eastern Conference, and it’s easy to see how this season can go awry.
This early in the season, there’s really only one team that should be panicking, *cough* *cough* the Lakers *cough*. As concerning as New York’s mediocre start may be, it isn’t necessarily surprising given the Knicks’ opponents. There is still plenty of time for the Knicks to gather themselves and gain some momentum.
