Shifting Focus

For the Knicks to beat the Celtics, they have to look in the mirror.

Good morning! New York plays the Pistons tonight in what could be a first round playoff preview, but the Knicks will be far from full strength. OG Anunoby, Josh Hart and Mitchell Robinson are all out, and with this being the first night of a back to back, it shouldn’t surprise anyone if Brunson and potentially KAT are held out on Friday against the Cavs.

What conclusions, if any, should we draw? For one, that the Knicks are prioritizing keeping their players fresh above all else. Second, it doesn’t seem like they care who they play. A win would virtually guarantee they face Detroit in round one, so it’s not like that’s a priority (and for you conspiracy theorists out there who think New York might be ducking the Pistons, I’m not sure there’s any way they could ensure themselves a 4th place finish, and even if they could, there’s a chance Detroit could move up to 5th). Lastly, it seems like the coaching staff is comfortable with their existing game plan for a potential matchup, to the point where they don’t need to see the full roster against the Pistons to test different things out.

Anyway, come say hi at halftime. Now let’s get to the newsletter.

Shifting Focus

Before we dive back into Tuesday’s lighting rod of a basketball game, I want to attempt to shift the thinking on the monumental task at hand.

Ever since the Karl-Anthony Towns trade, many observers - myself included - have framed the challenge facing the Knicks with a distinct focus on one specific opponent. That opponent - the Celtics - are crafted in the image of Ivan Drago, a seemingly impenetrable force with no ostensible weakness (who also just so happens to bear a resemblance to Boston’s starting center, as luck would have it). The C’s have a roster full of players who can dribble, pass and shoot from anywhere on the court¹, all of whom are capable of switching onto any opponent, regardless of position, and not have it result in a five-alarm fire.

Because of the specific strengths of that roster, and the specific weaknesses of New York’s - namely, two defenders who are not obviously switchable, in addition to other drawbacks - it’s been hard not to focus on Boston, and the ways the Knicks can scale that particular mountain. Clearly, they deserve that level of respect, and should absolutely be favored to be the first team to repeat as NBA champions since the KD-Steph Warriors.

But keeping the focus purely on the Celtics is the opposite of operating from the strength mindset. Yes, the Knicks took on some additional challenges when they swung the KAT trade, but they still made the trade because of all the opportunities Towns afforded them.

That thinking not only goes for their soon-to-be-3-time All-NBA center, but the entire roster. All of these players bring so much to the table, and if they can just shift the analysis from what Boston can do to them to what they can do to Boston, the Knicks might just stand a chance.

The whole thing reminds me of an experience I’ve largely blocked from my brain but seems applicable now. On my first day at Fordham Law, I knew full well that everything I was about to learn in the next three years would be fair game for a single 12-hour exam that I’d take over the course of two grueling days in three years. You don’t really think about passing the bar when you’re in law school, but reality sets in real quick the day you sit down for the first class of bar review. Immediately, your focus shifts to the mounds of modules that you will not only need to consume over the next two months, but internalize and ultimately regurgitate in order to pass the test. It’s intimidating as shit.

But somewhere along the way, my thought process started to change. I stopped focusing on the task at hand and started worrying about myself. What did I need to do to ensure my own success. Eventually, as the test crept closer and closer, I stopped worrying about scaling the mountain and started trusting in my own ability and the work I was putting in.

Day by day and week by week, I kept that mindset and went in feeling as confident as I possibly could. It worked, and I passed on the first try. Looking back, I’m still not quite sure how I retained all the necessary knowledge to get through those 12 hours, but I know I wouldn’t have been able to do so without the right approach.

That brings me back to the Knicks, who up until Tuesday had played like a team that refused to sit for the exam against Boston, let alone one capable of passing it. Yes, they wound up coming up short, but their effort represented a marked shift in approach. Better yet, they can go a lot further in that positive direction.

It started with defense, and the idea that perfection is the enemy of the good. With all of their weapons, no defense will ever be perfect against the Celtics, but if you take the fight to them, you’ll eventually get some things to swing in your favor.

That means applying pressure, which can be akin to taking your life in your hands when you stop and think about the shooters you’re leaving open in the process. This is where the strength mindset comes in. Part of the theory of this roster is that the Knicks boast five elite or near elite defenders behind their two offensive tentpoles. In order to reap the rewards of those players, they can’t always be playing on their heels.

On that note, check out the percentage of Boston possessions that ended in a turnover over the four games…