Pacers 125, Knicks 111: In with the new, the new again and the old

It was a night for new Knicks and old problems in a home loss to the Pacers

Oh how the mighty have fallen . . . just kidding. If the reaction to last night’s game by some is any indication, the Knicks just lost their most important game of the season. Despite missing four key rotation players, some would have you believe this loss to the rival Indiana Pacers exposed weaknesses in the Knicks’ armor. I’m here to alleviate those concerns. 

This was just another game. One played on the doorstep of the All-Star break, which usually sees a heightening of mediocrity. This isn’t to excuse the Knicks for this lopsided affair. There was plenty to learn from this loss; you’d hope so, with the return of Jalen Brunson and the debuts of newcomer Bojan Bogdanović and returning newcomer Alec Burks. So what mattered? Let’s dive in.

Two debuts, one return

Want a simple demonstration of Jalen Brunson’s value? Watch him scoring an efficient 39 points (14-of-25 from the field, 10-of-10 from the line) in a game his team trailed by as many as 22. Brunson returned from his one-game absence and didn’t miss a beat. Despite operating in compromised space due to the ghastly lack of shooting around him, he glides between defenders masterfully; games like this leave you wondering if it’s even possible to prevent him from getting a good shot.

The spacing wasn’t always bad. When Bogdanović took the court and Precious Achiuwa, impressive once again across 43 exhausting minutes, slid to center, the Pacers’ aggressive trapping became less fervent. Bogdanovic, just 3-of-10 from the field, mostly operated as a spacer waiting to shoot off the catch or attack a close-out. It’ll be interesting to see how Tom Thibodeau deploys him in the coming games, as Bogdanović is capable of creating offense and adding variety to the team’s scheme.

Burks’ arc was the opposite: he came out of the gate mirroring the most frustrating version of himself from 2022., seeming to always have the ball in his hands but unable to dip his toe into the game flow. Knicks fans know what he’s capable of, so there was hardly apprehension in the air. We just wanted a reason to cheer the return of this beloved, former and now current Knick. When Burks caught fire in the fourth, it was easy to reminisce upon his most special moments from 2020-22. By that point, the game was well out of hand.

Still, it’s apparent neither Bogdanović nor Burks will have a problem fitting in and providing what the team asks of them. Early on, as OG Anunoby, Julius Randle and Isaiah Hartenstein recover from injuries, Thibodeau might lean on them more. But even when the Knicks are fully healthy and the newcomers’ roles are inevitably scaled back, both profile as additive pieces who can help without compromising the fantastic impact of New York’s top players.

The Hart of the issue

There’s no skating around this one – Josh Hart was bad. It’s not just that he missed some shots, though he only missed four. Sometimes impact, positive or negative, goes beyond the box score. Hart gets into these funks where he simply refuses to shoot. And when defenses recognize that, it allows them to defend the other Knicks (mainly Brunson) differently. When Hart is the worst or second-worst shooter on the floor, this is less of an issue. But with the Knicks shorthanded, Hart is Brunson’s second option off the ball. If the defense only has to respect one off-ball option, it is damn near impossible to score efficiently on a consistent basis.

It was probably unreasonable to expect Hart to replicate his impact after arriving from Portland a year ago. His shooting was so clearly an outlier, it skewed the lens with which we viewed him. Everything looked prettier. If you look at his per 36 minutes this season, the rebounds and assists look roughly the same. What doesn’t: instead of shooting 51% from deep as he did last season, he’s shooting just 30.9%.

Hart doesn’t need to hit half his threes to return positive value. He remains an elite rebounding wing, can defend multiple positions and is a willing screener. The Knicks are the third-slowest team in the NBA; they’d be the slowest if not for how often Hart grabs a rebound, goes the length of the floor and creates a basket out of nothing. You could argue points like that mean more than the two added to the scoreboard; a huge chunk of what Hart brings cannot be reflected by a simple box score.

Unfortunately, some of the ways Hart hurts you can’t be, either. You may see he shot 2-of-6 and think “At least he didn’t kill us,” but you’d be wrong. Not shooting on a night the Knicks desperately needed offense outside of Brunson did kill them. And we’re now 53 games into a season that finds Hart in the 28th percentile of offensive estimated plus-minus.

Hart’s refusal to shoot is hurting the Knicks in a big way. It was telling that, despite running effectively a six-man rotation, Thibodeau, President of the Josh Hart Fan Club, didn’t close with him. These last 29 games will be important for the Knicks for a number of reasons, the primary being getting healthy. Once they are, it’ll be vital for Thibodeau to find out what the ideal rotation should be and the roles each player will play. I’d imagine Hart finding his confidence from beyond the arc and becoming a more willing contributor off the ball will play a big role in that equation. Will he do it? Only time will tell.

His first chance to prove it will be Monday night in Houston, when the Knicks try to stop this recent skid. They’ve lost three of four. Let’s hope they find a way, because only so many games don’t matter before they all do.