Close Out Time, Take 2

The Knicks have another chance to move on.

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In other news, the Knicks will once again attempt to eliminate the Pistons tonight in Detroit. Tip off is at 7:30 on TNT. Come say hi at at halftime.

Searching for Answers

Two.

Deuce. Deux. Due. Dos. два. اِثْنان. 💩.

That’s the number of field goals the Knicks made in the first half that didn’t come in transition or semi-transition, weren’t a byproduct of offensive rebounds, and weren’t the result of individual players going one-on-one against defenders Detroit was comfortable leaving on an island. My guess is that the number of second half field goals matching this description wasn’t much higher, but I frankly didn’t have the stomach to re-watch any more of this game.

I’ll get to those two (2) first half field goals a little bit later, even though I’m not sure what conclusion should be drawn from this piece of data. Is it evidence of how poorly the Knicks played in this game? Is it proof that there is something fundamentally broken about their offense? Is it the most damning confirmation yet that they’re in need of a new voice on the sidelines? Or should we just be giving a ton of credit to the Pistons’ defense?

As with most things in life, the truth is likely some combination of all of these plus other factors I’m not thinking of. Hopefully the front office has a clearer answer as they start planning for the summer ahead.

We’ll have plenty of time to talk about offseason changes. For now, I feel compelled to revisit this game, in the same way I feel compelled to peel off my fingernails with a pair of rusty pliers: just so I can feel something.

Let’s start with a lighthearted moment:

I couldn’t help but think of Elaine Benes on the dance floor when I saw this halfhearted attempt at a kick ball from Karl-Anthony Towns.

There are levels to the comedy at play here. For one, Towns puts himself in such poor position to begin with that the only choice left in his mind is to try and bend it like Beckham. Second, he’s not even close to succeeding. Third, his positioning is so poor that Cade’s pass is made with the level of difficulty of an off-day walk through.

This isn’t defense. Not any version of defense I know, at least. KAT in drop got such a bad name throughout the season, but it remained the default setting in part because it avoided plays like this. Towns is ostensibly “showing” at the level of the screen, but not really, and is instead in the middle of nowhere. He takes nothing away. He might as well not even be on the court.

This is night and day compared to Game 1 when KAT was actually a presence, impacting Cade pick & rolls throughout the night, but never more so than during the massive fourth quarter comeback. Is he tired? Towns had played a little over seven consecutive minutes at this point, but under 13 in total. That can’t be the excuse.

The other reason I’m unwilling to turn to overuse as a Get Out of Jail Free card is that KAT brought a substandard level of energy almost from the opening tip. I mean, this was his box out attempt seventy five seconds into the basketball game:

This was one of several instances of Towns getting bodied on the boards, while the above happy dance was one of countless examples of poor defense almost every time he was brought into the action.

I’ve been a big fan of KAT this season, to the point where I’ve consistently been willing to overlook a lot. There are difficulties that come with employing him on your roster. You have to be willing to live with those going in. To me, this goes beyond that. Before Game 5, I’d have given his performance against Detroit something between a B and a B+. Would it have been good enough to get a win or two against a true contender? Depending on how his teammates played, I wouldn’t rule it out.

This is the part that’s so frustrating, and why KAT skeptics doubt he’ll ever be a part of a title team in his prime given how much of the salary cap he takes up. His wild swings between Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde occur not only between games, but within them as well. Look at this possession, for example, which occurred a mere ninety seconds after the opening clip: