And it certainly includes the Heat (10-5), which, despite missing out on the Dame Lillard sweepstakes, returned with force to start the regular season. The Knicks (8-6), who still have to prove they can beat good teams after feasting on bottom dwellers, are part of that group. If you caught Thibodeau in a different mood, he’d say, as he’s done in the past, that players are human and removing all emotions is impossible.īut even ignoring the past, there’s the order of the current Eastern Conference that gives this matchup extra juice.Īfter the Celtics (12-3) and Bucks (10-5), the cluster of teams in the second tier is deep. And I think that’s a big part of winning in this league.” We try to build that habit and not get distracted by any outside noise. “And so, just get ready for this season and focus on each day. “Last year had nothing to do with this year,” Thibodeau said. It’s hard to believe that’s accurate if the Knicks are truly the innate competitors they often claim. Still, in the spirit of Thibodeau downplaying everything as ‘one day at a time,’ the coach said the playoffs were already forgotten and a nonfactor for Friday. Julius Randle was hobbled, ineffective and largely a disaster. Mitchell Robinson was outworked and outsmarted by Bam Adebayo. Tom Thibodeau was out-coached by Spoelstra. Knicks’ Tom Thibodeau loving NBA In-Season Tournament, crazy courts: ‘Think it pops’ Other than Jalen Brunson (and maybe RJ Barrett), the Knicks lost all their matchups during that second-round appearance. Whether or not the tournament truly moves the needle for the Knicks or they’ve been simply paying lip service to Adam Silver’s baby, there’s also the significance of the first game against the Heat since getting eliminated in South Beach in May. Jimmy Butler and the Heat eliminated Jalen Brunson and the Knicks in the playoffs last season. It’s not an exaggeration to say that if the Knicks lose Friday, they’re very likely eliminated from the In-Season Tournament.Īnd if they manage to beat Butler and Erik Spoelstra, they’d be 2-1 in group play and in strong position to qualify for the elimination round (their final group game is Tuesday against the sloppy Hornets). So definitely gonna be a lot more urgency going into that game.” “Jimmy did his thing last season in the playoffs against us,” Grimes said, “and there’s gonna be a little bit more urgency when we play an In-Season Tournament game. It’s an MSG game against Jimmy Butler’s Heat that doubles as a payback opportunity and highly significant to advancement in the In-Season Tournament. So with full bellies, there can be no excuses for one of the bigger matchups of the Knicks’ regular season on Black Friday. The team had the luxury of three days between games to chill at home. The Knicks recharged on Thanksgiving, scattering on the off day for their family meals and, in the case of Quentin Grimes, preferring ham over turkey. Knicks’ poor roster construction has led to mounting frustration Knicks’ guard brutally trolls ‘loser’ Pelicans foe over plans for tournament prize money Grading the Knicks through 20 games, from Jalen Brunson’s A to a disappointing D. Carmelo Anthony tried to get Knicks to draft this budding star in 2020
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