The New York Knicks went into Saturday night's matchup against the Orlando Magic shorthanded, with OG Anunoby out due to a hamstring strain. Things got worse when Landry Shamet injured his shoulder in the first half, leaving the team extra-thin at wing. Head coach Mike Brown, however, made clear after the game what he thought the Knicks' biggest issue was: the 64 points they allowed Orlando to score in the paint.
Knicks struggle again with Magic's physicality
New York played Orlando just last week, losing 124-107 on Wednesday night at Madison Square Garden. After the game, Brown was unafraid to provide reporters with a blunt account of what happened out on the court.
"They kicked our ass; it's as simple as that...they came out with a physical presence and we didn't handle it well," the Knicks' head coach admitted. He went as far as to say that what disappointed him most in the game was the team's penchant for complaining to the officials.
In the teams' second meeting of the young NBA season, the Magic were once again too physical for the Knicks. Brown, again, told reporters after the game that his team struggled to match their opponents' presence in the paint.
"We didn't do a great job of taking care of the paint tonight, 64 points in the paint, that's what they do. Thirty free throw attempts. That's what they do, so we have to do a better job in that area while trying to take care of the ball," the coach said, according to SNY. He went on to explain that Orlando ultimately deserved all the credit for their late-game dominance.
Are New York's answers already on the roster?
Against the Magic on Saturday night, Brown was so sure that his Knicks weren't going to make a fourth-quarter comeback that he pulled the remaining starters with 2:34 to go. Starting center Mitchell Robinson played just 17 minutes total in the game with Orlando winning those minutes by three points.
23-year-old center Ariel Hukporti played three minutes in the loss, with Brown putting him in the game as part of his terms of surrender. Hukporti appeared in 25 games for the Knicks last season, averaging 8.7 minutes per game and providing them with much-needed rim protection in Robinson's absences due to injuries.
With Brown already struggling to find consistent playing time for Guerschon Yabusele, it's unlikely that Hukporti enters the rotation any time soon. But the Knicks' coach was effusive with his praise of the young center during the offseason and preseason. If the Knicks decide that they need to shake things up, they may have a rotation big waiting in the wings to fill a potentially vacant rotation spot.