Wednesday night’s mollywhopping of the Nets notwithstanding, the Knicks have been in a freefall since New Year’s Eve, losing nine of 11 games before destroying their crosstown rivals. Six of those losses have been by double digits, casting serious doubt on the idea of this being a serious championship contender.
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Maybe crushing the Nets means that the Knicks have found their groove again, or maybe it’s a temporary distraction from the fact that something is seriously wrong. There are definitely reasons for concern, from their drop in defensive efficiency compared to last year, to the step back that Karl-Anthony Towns has taken.
As a legendary Celtic, Paul Pierce has had a vested interest in being a Knicks hater for many years. Even in his post-playing days, he’s continued in that spirit, famously betting on the Knicks to lose to the Celtics in last year’s playoffs, then having to walk to work in his robe to pay up that bet.
Undeterred by that loss, Pierce correctly picked the Pacers to beat the Knicks in the Eastern Conference Finals, and he’s doubled down on that hate this year after the Knicks won the NBA Cup by saying that they’d never win a real championship in his lifetime. Knicks fans won’t like to hear it, but he’s looked smart as they’ve fallen apart in recent weeks.
On the most recent episode of KG Certified, Pierce claimed he saw this collapse coming. “I told you it looked like a disconnect,” he said. “I saw it early. I saw it. I don’t really see them dapping up each other. It’s pouting going on out there.”
Pierce is pinning the Knicks’ woes on team chemistry. Once one of their strong points thanks to the Villanova core they had assembled, it’s difficult to argue with Pierce’s assessment now. The vibes are so bad that Jalen Brunson said, “We a**” about the way the team was playing two weeks ago, and things have only gotten worse since.
The transition from Tom Thibodeau to Mike Brown is at least partially to blame, Pierce said.
“When you get a new coach and you gotta go through a whole ‘nother system and you’re used to doing things a certain way,” he explained, citing his own experience with Doc Rivers.
“Because I remember that with me and Doc. I was used to doing things a certain way. He come in, then he wants me to do this and do this and that. We over here, we bumping heads. That’s what it look like over there,” the former NBA champion recalled.
The difference, he said, is that those Celtics teams had much lower expectations before they brought in Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen. “We was losing and we wasn’t even in the playoffs,” he said. “At least they a playoff team and they’re predicted to go to the Finals, or at least be in the conference finals, so that ain’t cool right there. It ain’t supposed to look like that.”
Those Celtics did eventually turn it around, but notably, it took time, and some major roster moves. Will the Knicks need the same thing to get back on track?
The trade deadline is less than two weeks away, and with a lot of buzz around KAT being available, and the ongoing saga over whether Giannis Antetokounmpo will request a trade or not, a lot can happen between then and now to change the Knicks’ fortunes.
