It’s beginning to look a lot like the NBA regular season is effectively over. Rather than sit around and wait for basketball to come back into our lives, let’s reflect on what the season has dished up to this point.
We’ll take a look at each and every NBA team over the coming weeks, assessing what went right, what didn’t go to plan, and where their journey took them as well as where the team hoped it would take them.
Today, we’ll examine three teams that had expectations that far outweighed their eventual production: the Atlanta Hawks, Detroit Pistons and New York Knicks.
New York Knicks
Record: 21-45 (12th in the Eastern Conference)
82 game pace: 26-56
Expectations
For some reason, the Knicks held high hopes of a playoff berth this season. Silly Knicks!
Look, we know by now that New York is home to the Most Famous Arena in the World, and that arena hosts the Most Deranged Professional Basketball Team in the World. Still, you would think that in the pace’n’space era, playing a series of ground bound power forwards with no shooting range together would probably not have worked. Especially when you give them the worst jump shooting back court in the NBA, and a heralded top 3 draft selection that isn’t exactly the 2nd coming of Klay Thompson. Still, Kicks gonna Knick.
What went right
Mitchell Robinson was again the lone true bright spot in New York. The 23 year old pogo stick put up 9.7 points, 7 rebounds and 2 blocks in under 24 minutes a night. His astronomical foul rate was, well, still astronomical but it was much improved from his rookie campaign. Robinson still blocked shots, but didn’t go hunting the rejection so much, and therefore helped his team maintain it’s defensive shape. His 74.2% FG% will be an all time NBA record. Sure, his shooting range can be measures in inches, but why shoot jumpers when catching lobs is so easy?
There were also sporadic signs of life from rookie RJ Barrett and guards Frank Ntilikina and Elfrid Payton, whilst Julius Randle put up (mostly empty) numbers.
What went wrong
The Knicks had enough go wrong that we could make a 10 part Netflix series, and still have enough material to think of a 2nd series. So lets focus on the bigger stuff.
The team make up was horrible. Marcus Morris (who was traded mid season) aside, literally nobody on this team was a legitimate threat to score from the outside. That lack of spacing took away from what literally all of their best players do well. Payton couldn’t work the pick and roll, Dennis Smith had no driving lanes, Randle and Barrett ran into constant double teams. Robinson had to jump over multiple bodies to get rebounds and putbacks. Kevin Knox runs the very real risk of being out of the league before his rookie scale contract expires. He just doesn’t seem to do anything well.
Coach David Fizdale looked completely overwhelmed by the task that was placed in front of him. Making the playoffs with this roster is the equivalent of giving a MasterChef contestant some rice, mince meat, a mouldy apple and a clove of garlic and saying ‘make me a croquembouche’. When the team power brokers Steve Mills and Scott Perry gave an impromptu and utterly ridiculous press conference a mere ten games into the season, Fizdale knew he was on the block. He pretty much mailed it in from that point. To the team’s credit, interim coach Mike Miller has looked good. So, of course, some person who goes by the name of Steve Stoute – who may or may not work for the team – threw Miller under the bus in a calamitous interview on First Take.
Then there are the ongoing court side controversies, be it with megafan Spike Lee, beloved former player Charles Oakley, or Regular Joe fans calling out owner James Dolan. When the whole stadium wants you to…
then you know things are lousy.
The outcome
Another wasted season.
Another banished coach.
Another jettisoned front office saviour.
More wasted millions on ill fitting or over matched players.
Most importantly, more fodder for sports writers like me. Never change JD.
