A night of anxiety and release

Say the phrase “meaningful games in September” to a New York Mets fan and you can actually see the nausea rise in them. The words, courtesy of history’s greatest cheapskate, Fred Wilpon, were meant to suggest a modest goal: not making the playoffs, but being in the hunt come the final month of the season. The New York Knicks are making the playoffs, with last night’s 101-92 win over the Miami Heat essentially clinching their spot in the top-six. With the rights to the fifth seed within reach, the Knicks face the prospect of meaningless games in April, before the postseason begins. Meaningless never looked so good.

The short-term appeal is evident from a distance: any team would prefer being able to reduce minutes and rest players altogether before the half-year marathon slims to a two-month sprint. With these Knicks the appeal is crystal-clear: Julius Randle suffered an ankle injury going up for a rebound in the first half and didn’t play the rest of the night. Jalen Brunson did return after missing seven of the prior 11 games with foot and hand issues. The Knicks don’t just need to clinch the fifth seed STAT so they can re-charge their legs. This team has two All-NBA caliber players. They’ll need both as fit as possible heading into what should be a slugfest against Cleveland.       

But when life brings us joy we must take the time to celebrate, together; otherwise why live? Celebrate the win! The teams were tied entering the fourth quarter, where it was the banged-up Knicks and not the healthier Heat who rose to the occasion. Miami had Jimmy Butler, Bam Adebayo and Tyler Herro all out there in crunch time. The Knicks went with RJ Barrett, Immanuel Quickley, Quentin Grimes, Josh Hart and Isaiah Hartenstein. 3 > 2 has become the NBA’s new math, but 5 > 3 is as true now as it was in 1970 and 1973. 

Quickley continues to play like he should’ve been a top-five pick out of college. The man who went 25th has been as precious as silver in all sorts of dimensions, all of which were on display last night, including the sublime.

Celebrate 23 points, eight rebounds and four assists, along with plus defense: just another day at the office for Butler. Except that wasn’t Butler’s line. That was Quentin Grimes. You can count on one hand how many shooting guards the Knicks have employed over 20 years who could do that. Everyone’s favorite Rohrschach test, Barrett had ups and downs, but it was his three late in the shot clock that put New York up 11 with just over two minutes left; if it wasn’t the nail in the coffin, it was at least making sure the lid was a snug fit. 

Celebrate the Cardiac Kids, Hart and Hartenstein, who deserve special commendation not just for last night, but in a larger sense. H&H are connectors whose vision and energy push the team forward, always forward. They do everything – really, other than Hartenstein having pretty much abandoned his outside shot, these two do a little bit of everything on the court. Hartenstein played most of the night at center, including the whole fourth, and gave the Knicks a boost on both ends on a night Mitchell Robinson was meh. Hart took on the task of defending Butler in crunch time and Butler, who is whatever little air Miami’s offense feeds on, had one basket and one assist in the final frame, or as many as Hart had lefty dunks.

Celebrate the big picture. The Knicks are headed back to the playoffs for the second time in three years. They feature a player who’ll likely be named All-NBA for the second time in three years, plus an All-NBA caliber point guard for the first time since . . . Micheal Ray Richardson, if not Clyde himself? Mitch has continued to improve since signing his new deal. All is well, and if that’s only for now when else do we have?Tom Thibodeau is just as Tom Thibodeau as we knew he would be, but here in year three it’s fair to say he’s shown us more than we figured he possessed. The Knicks are 11 games in the black. Meaningless games in April near. What a rich time to live.