Ain't That a Kick in the Head

The Knicks stumbled in Chicago

Good morning. Not exactly the weekend newsletter I wanted to write, although with the return of a key injured Knick, all the news isn’t bad…

Game 77: Knicks 100, Bulls 108

Sing it with me, Dean…

In a New York minute…

The Knicks came out of the gate like a team that had played less than 24 hours earlier, while the Bulls looked like a team that had three days off. Making matters worse, Josh Hart got ejected late in the first quarter when he (according to the refs) unnecessarily and excessively kicked Javonte Green in the head as he was falling out of bounds. That loss neutralized the return of OG Anunoby, and New York soon found itself down 20 for the second game in a row.

But like they always do, the Knicks fought back, using inspired third quarter defense to close the gap to four points several times, including with 2:29 left in the game after a Jalen Brunson and-one. Unfortunately, the thing that was their undoing for much of the game - grabbing rebounds - reared its head at the worst moment, with Green skying for an offensive board to put the Bulls up by six. A Vooch triple on the next possession sealed the deal, and New York fell on the road.

Three Things

1. Slow Start. This, we probably should have expected.

Coming off a high-intensity win that required a 21-point comeback against one of the fastest teams in the league, the Knicks had to board a plane to the Windy City and tip off against the Bulls less than 24 hours later. Chicago is the definition of mediocrity, but they were 31-26 (now 32-26) after a 5-14 start. If nothing else, they are a competent squad that requires you come ready to play.

The Knicks did not come ready, falling behind by double digits midway through the first quarter and by 20 before the end of the first half. The Bulls played in a different gear out of the gate, flying around on the offensive end and using cuts and put-backs to bury New York early. The entire Knicks starting five looked a step slow.

The question now is about the level of concern. After going down by a dozen in the opening frame yesterday, New York has now been outscored 153-108 in the last five first quarters they’ve played. Their first quarter net rating over that time is negative 36.3, which ranks third to last in the NBA ahead of only the tanking Jazz and the incompetent Nets.

Despite those numbers, and the fact that the team is certainly tired, I’m not ready to sound alarm bells just yet. Before these five games, the Knicks had the fourth best first quarter net rating in the NBA at plus-7.3, trailing only Boston, Denver and New Orleans.

More than that, there’s a reasonable explanation for the recent early follies. The Kings, Heat and Spurs combined to hit 20-of-34 shots from downtown in their first quarters, compared to 6-of-24 by New York in those same games. The Knicks also led 22-17 after the first against the best team of these five, OKC, and last night can be chalked up to tired legs.

Even with that context, this is now something to keep an eye on over the final five.