Upcoming Knicks gauntlet just got even harder
Theres going to be plenty of games like this the next few months. Prepare for it. Brace for it. There will be times when it seems like the Knicks go hours at a time between rebounds. There will be times youll wonder if theyve simply outlawed the blocked shot as a defensive weapon.
Therell be plenty of points.
On both sides of the hyphen.
Thatll take some getting used to for you. Itll certainly take some getting used to for Tom Thibodeau, who has been known to weave sonnets about the glorious intricacies of defense. The Knicks knew early on Monday night they werent going to clamp down the Raptors. They were going to have to outscore them.
They outscored them, 136-130. Theyre 1-0 without Mitchell Robinson.
And now, it really starts to get fun.
Were a team that can go on runs, said Josh Hart, who came off the bench and contributed a typically Hart-like game 16 points, seven rebounds, eight assists, 6-for-8 from the floor. If we play our style and get stops we like getting into the open court and making plays.
3The Knicks will have to forge ahead without their most essential player in Mitchell Robinson. Charles Wenzelberg / New York PostThe stops have been something of a problem the last three games. They surrendered 146 and 133 points their last two games before Robinson suffered a stress fracture in his ankle. Against Toronto a shooting-challenged team all year it was only 130.
Thats going to be life around the Knicks for the time being. The Jericho Sims/Isaiah Hartenstein combo is capable enough together they scored 13 points (11 by Hartenstein) and had 15 rebounds, and the Knicks will sign up for that most nights. But neither has the presence Robinson has. Neither inspires much in the way of fear around the rim.
So the Knicks have to adapt. They have to adjust. It helps when so many of their key players were as sharp offensively as they were Monday night. Julius Randle had 34, RJ Barrett 27, Jalen Brunson 21, Quentin Grimes 19. Thats going to have to be more the rule than the exception for the next 2 months.
3Mitchell is more than a key defender for the Knicks, who will have to find someway to replace his contributions. USA TODAY Sports via Reuters ConMitch is huge for us on the defensive end and on the offensive glass, getting us extra shots, Hart said. We knew itd be tough and we had enough guys to win the game.
They were also missing Emmanuel Quickley, and on this night they were able to absorb his absence, too. It is a habit that will be imperative starting Thursday night, when the Knicks begin a hellacious stretch thatll take them clear to the New Year:
see also
Mitchell Robinson out at least eight weeks in Knicks injury crisis
A five-game road trip through Utah, Phoenix, LA (with games against both teams) and Brooklyn
Back-to-back home games against the Bucks, who just dumped 146 points on them, including the Christmas Day showcase
A killer trip to Oklahoma City, Orlando and Indiana
Home for the 17-4 Timberwolves on New Years Day
A season could turn upside down going through that ringer, and the Knicks are bracing for it without their most imperative defensive weapon. By the second of January, well have an awfully good feel for where this is all going. Before then itll be a lot of mixing and matching and running and gunning.
The more reps you get the better youre going to play, said Sims. Im better, stronger and quicker than I was last year, and I know the game more.
He also should have some muscle memory from last year, when he had to help out prominently during the 23 games Robinson missed. They survived those stretches, going 12-11. Itll be a longer, harder stretch this time around. But nobodys going to weep for the Knicks, so they cant feel sorry themselves either.
3Isaiah Hartenstein will be one of the Knicks centers tasked with stepping up in Robinson’s absence. Getty ImagesA number of our guys stepped up, especially offensively, Thibodeau said. The rebounding could have been better. And we need to continue to work on defense.
Theres a good chance that hes not going to like what the number on the other teams side of the scoreboard is going to look like between now and the middle of February. For one night, at least that was eased by the number on the Knicks half. That had better become a pattern, and quickly.
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