Repercussions
Last night's result was all too predictable, which is a major problem for the NBA.
Good morning. That was a bummer.
Sixers 116, Knicks 107
19-8 Overall (L1); 13-2 at home
In terms of predictability of the outcome, this was about a 9.5 out of 10.
Off since Sunday, the Sixers came into the Garden led by the best group of young guards in the East, if not the entire league. Guided by the NBA’s predominant jitterbug in Tyrese Maxey (current scoring average: 31.4, good for third in the league), Philly might be toughest matchup around for a team that has trouble staying in front of their man on defense. The Knicks, meanwhile, were playing their third game in four nights with two plane rides sprinkled in between, and were missing their best small guard defender in Deuce McBride. This was a recipe for disaster on par with Rachel’s half English trifle, half shepherd's pie on Friends. That it was a three-point game with under three to go is a testament to New York’s gritty resolve.
But an NBA team can only overcome so much on one night, and the combination of terrible shooting (8-for-32 from deep; tied for their lowest hit rate of the season) and sloppy play (18 turnovers; tied for second most) did in the league’s second ranked offense to a degree that even their best rebounding margin of the season couldn’t overcome. This was only the fifth time in the last 5+ seasons that the Knicks have had a turnover rate over 15 and a 3-point percentage of 25 or less, and they are unsurprisingly 1-4 in those games1.
Tired legs and cloudy heads…not exactly surprising given what their last 72 hours looked like. Jalen Brunson predictably refused to take the bait when he was asked whether this was an excusable loss (and also gave proper credit to the Sixers, whose shotmaking was on another level down the stretch irrespective of anything New York’s defense was or wasn’t doing), but it was hard to run from the truth.
His noble attitude notwithstanding, this loss stung for two reasons. For one, they wasted one of the best regular season games of Mitchell Robinson’s career. Maybe 50 years from now, attendees will still tell their grandkids about the night they witnessed Money Mitch turn into Steve Nash from the foul line, but it won’t have the lasting impact it should have because they couldn’t secure the W.
More importantly, Adam Silver and his cohort at Olympic Tower need to have a come to Jesus moment.
