Knicks’ Injury Depleted Season “Fall Short” 125 Indiana, 111 New York
The Knicks, without their five biggest and best big men, had just the 6’8 Precious Achiuwa and Pray for Rain up front. They were outmatched by Indiana’s size and lost 125-111 on a Saturday night at Madison Square Garden.
Indiana made it easier for them from the outside by attacking the paint all night long, which opened up the offensive.
Precious’s parents are Pentecostal ministers from Nigeria; despite growing up in the Bronx, Precious and her siblings are named God’sgift, God’swill, and Promise, and Precious’s sisters are Grace and Peace. The Knicks could have used him if he had a brother named Pray for Rain, as their only other big man was 38-year-old, 6’9 Taj Gibson, who, on this particular evening, kind of played like he was 6’7 or had recently retired. Taj had a bad night; underneath, he appeared overburdened and sluggish to respond.
The most impressive player on the court was Jalen Brunson, who scored a remarkable 39 points on 14 of 25 shots. Newcomer/oldcomer Alec Burks scored 22 points, most of which came in the fourth quarter, while newcomer/oldcomer Bojan Bogdanovic added firepower with 11 points. However, it was insufficient because the Knicks’ defence lacked vigour.
Julius Randle, Isaiah Hartenstein, OG Anunoby, Mitchell Robinson, and Jericho Sims will all eventually return, but this team doesn’t seem like the one we saw two weeks ago until at least one of them does.
In response to questions regarding the addition of Bogy and Burks, coach Tom Thibodeau stated, “I thought for their first game, there were obviously some good things, but obviously there is a lot for them to adjust to.” We need to perform much better as a team because we lack players, which will require us to play much harder and more toughly. We will also need to rely on our rebounding and defence. We need to address that quickly because it’s one of the few occasions this year that we’ve been outrebounded.
“We’re small, but we’re not disappointed in our team. We’ve fought all year and we’ve responded to every challenge. I think we’re capable of being a lot better and I think we will. Right now, you’re counting on your hustle. Your hustle can make up for mistakes. There will always be an adjustment period. We don’t have to be perfect, but if we’re playing real hard you can make up for those things.” Thibs continued, “We have to gang rebound. We’re not going to be able to count on one or two guys. We have to put our bodies on people and go fight for the ball.
