Weekend Recap

Overshadowed by the trade news, the Knicks lost two games against key conference opponents

Good afternoon, and thanks again for rolling with a wonky schedule this week.

There will be NO NEWSLETTER tomorrow, but we’ll be back on a regular schedule starting on Tuesday, when you’ll have a full recap of the Wolves game. For the rest of this week, my plan is to do an IQ/RJ retrospective of some kind, and then finally get to my long-awaited analysis of a possible Dejounte Murray trade on Friday. Stay tuned.

Weekend Recap

Game 31: Knicks 108, Magic 117 - New York came out of the gate flat but took a lead into the second quarter thanks to some early Julius Randle dominance. That led to the worst stretch of basketball they’ve played all season - more than seven minutes without a point - but a late flurry kept it close at halftime. The Knicks again looked uninspired out of halftime, and were down by 20 within three minutes. A furious comeback featuring Randle at center brought New York back within six, but an unfriendly whistle and their inability to get key stops ultimately did them in.

Game 32: Knicks 126, Pacers 140 - Down three rotation players (Quentin Grimes was sick, in addition to no RJ & IQ) the Knicks came out scorching from downtown after being ice cold the night before. Unfortunately, the Pacers were just as hot, and it was a two-point game at the half. From there, New York started showing the effects of playing with a shorthanded roster on the second night of a back to back, and whatever semblance of defense they played in the first half began to erode. The Knicks tried to hang around and cut the lead to 10 with under three to go, but a 9-2 Pacer spurt ended any chance of a comeback.

Three Things

1. OG can’t come soon enough. How large of an impact can one non-center make?

We’re about to find out, and for the Knicks’ sake, they better hope it’s significant.