Bad Loss

Were there legitimate reasons the Knicks lost in Utah? Sure. But they don't provide much solace given what we saw.

Good morning! The Knicks are back in action tonight against the Nuggets, with tip off in Denver at 9 pm. Karl-Anthony Towns (calf contusion) and Deuce McBride (knee) are both questionable, while Aaron Gordon remains out for the Nugs. I’ll be on halftime for anyone who would like to join.

Game 16: Jazz 121, Knicks 106

• Following two of their most dominant first quarter performances of the season, the Knicks came out in Utah a step slow defensively and ice cold from deep, falling behind 22-9.

• The bench unit led by Cam Payne and Jericho Sims got them back in it with defense, only for the starters to let the Jazz lead grow to 15 at the half.

• As the cold outside shooting continued, Utah’s length bothered New York anytime they challenged the rim.

• The Knicks’ bench again changed the tenor of the game, sparking a 17-0 third quarter run to cut the lead to two, but the Jazz regained control as Utah’s hot shooting never subsided.

Game 16.

It’s not Game 36, but it’s also not Game 6. There’s still some water left in the dual wells of “it’s early / they’re figuring things out,” but if you shine a light down either one, you can see the ground beneath the quickly dwindling supply.

By the same token, New York is 9-7. That’s not 3-14 (hey there, champ), but it also isn’t 12-4, which is what a reasonable observer might suggest the Knicks should be with losses to the 7-10 Hawks, the 7-11 Bulls and the 3-12 - excuse me, 4-12 - Jazz in their rear view mirror.

This is all to say that we’re getting close to that point in the season where, as these bad losses begin to pile up, each additional uninspiring defeat begins to take on greater significance, especially when the geneses of those results have so much in common.

Were there reasons this game didn’t go their way? Of course. A barrage of Utah 3-point shooting to the tune of 55.9 percent was bad enough, but it especially hurt considering the Knicks only went 33.3 percent from long range.

If you want to extend the excuse list even further, New York’s big three of Jalen, KAT and Mikal went a combined 17-for-53 from the field while Utah’s Lauri Markkanen, John Collins and Collin Sexton shot 27-for-40. If ever the Knicks had a “this just wasn’t our night” kind of game, it was this.

(Which, by the by, should surprise no one who has paid attention to their record at the Delta Center over the past decade. My wife and I are celebrating our 10-year wedding anniversary next month. They have as many wins in Utah over that time as we have children. Sadly, there is no NBA equivalent of a vasectomy that would remove Salt Lake City from the schedule, and the Knicks’ best form of protection is still rehabbing from offseason ankle surgery.)

But all teams, even ones featuring great offense, have games where they’re not hitting the mark. The difference between good teams and great teams is that the great teams will at least defend enough to hang around, if not steal a W they probably don’t deserve. This was the ethos of last season’s inspiring unit that always seemed to find a way. Rare was the game they got hit in the mouth and didn’t punch back.

This team is not that team in so many ways, both good and bad. On the good side, they’re capable of displaying a level of offensive firepower Knicks fans never imagined could be possible, let alone we might witness with our own eyes.

But that alone is not enough to call yourself a contender. Saturday’s loss was the latest reminder that New York is not close to proclaiming they are any such thing.

And just like the starting five is spearheading that record-setting offense, they’re also responsible for the ugliest moments of the first 16 games. To wit, here are the starting five’s defensive ratings in six of New York’s seven losses:

• Boston: 170.0

• Houston: 142.5

• Atlanta: 138.6

• Indiana: 145.2

• Chicago: 139.5

• Utah: 151.7

For context, the worst defense in basketball is giving up fewer than 120 points per 100 possessions. Even more distressing, every team on the above list besides Boston has an offense that ranks 15th or lower league-wide. New York’s starters are not being outgunned by DeNiro’s Heat crew here.

Not that they should be getting torn to shreds to this degree by anyone. There is a pride factor missing in so many of these performances.

If you don’t believe me, just watch the first few defensive possessions from each half on Saturday when Cam Payne and Jericho Sims checked into the game, and then compare those plays to most of the starters’ defensive possessions.

When the subs come in, it’s like someone removes the governor from the golf cart. Take this one, which happened during New York’s early comeback and doubles as our Autograph Signature Moment of the game:

This isn’t to say all of New York’s starters have been bad defensively. Heck, Anunoby and Bridges are each in the above clip, and both of them were in the game (along with Brunson) when the Knicks stifled the Jazz during the 17-0 third quarter run.

Anunoby in particular has a great case for All-Defense despite the starting unit’s struggles. New York is 8.2 points per 100 possessions stingier when OG plays, which is in the 88th percentile league-wide according to Cleaning the Glass. That he’s at that level despite being a part of one of the worst heavy-minute five-man units in basketball tells you all you need to know about his impact.

Brunson, perhaps surprisingly, is the other starter with a positive on/off on the defensive end, albeit a slight one. Notably, New York is giving up just 112.1 points per 100 possessions when he plays without Towns, 109.9 when he plays without Bridges, and 108.5 when he plays without either¹. Hart hasn’t been perfect, but on the whole he’s been more help than hinderance.

That leaves Karl-Anthony Towns and Mikal Bridges. One of those players has been exactly as advertised while the other has been anything but. KAT is making the mistakes he has always made. The thought was that New York’s wings would insulate those negatives. Thus far, that has largely not been the case even though we have now seen Thibs give us a generous sample size of not one but two defensive schemes through just 16 games.

Bridges is partially responsible for that, although he has been better of late, and was on the floor for both of New York’s positive defensive stretches in Utah. Deuce and Precious returning will certainly help, but the starting lineups issues won’t be impacted by either one unless they make a significant change. They will continue to try and figure this out on their own.

For now.

It won’t take long before enough bad losses pile up to inspire some sort of change, whether internal or via the trade market. This conversation is premature as we still haven’t crossed the 20-game threshold, but it’s getting late early.

Time is running out.

💫 Stars of the Game 💫

⭐️ Cam Payne: Where would the Knicks be without this guy? Payne was so impressive (11 points, six boards, five assists, two blocks and a steal) that Thibs opted to close the game with him over Mikal Bridges (who, granted, shot 3-for-15). He’s been everything they’ve needed in a backup point guard. If only he could inject some of his defensive energy into the starters, we’d be in business.

⭐️ ⭐️ Jericho Sims: Remember when fans were clamoring for more Ariel Hukporti?

Me neither.

Congrats Jericho, you not only get two stars, but you earned our Juan Shining Moment of the game!

Sims finished with a plus-19 in just nine minutes. According to Basketball Reference, Sims is just the third Knick ever to be at least a plus-19 in under 10 minutes, joining the illustrious duo of Kadeem Allen and Travis Knight. Take a bow, sir.

⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ OG Anunoby: One or both of the guys above him might have been better than OG on a per minute basis, but the dude poured in a Knick career high 27 points on efficient shooting and was in no way part of the problem on defense. He’s been everything they could have hoped for and then some in the early going.

Final Thought

These are three important games coming up, going against the best player in the world operating at the peak of his powers, then facing a Dallas team that we know can beat you even without Luka, and finally a Hornets team that has no problem scoring - at a noon start on the last game of a five-game road trip, no less.

By the 20-game mark, we should have a pretty good idea of what we’re working with with this Knicks squad. Hopefully the vibes feel a little better than they do today.

🏀

“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”

1. The sample sizes descend with each one, and the no Bridges/KAT units have played just 59 possessions.