Jazz 121, Knicks 106: Wa-wa-wa-waaaa
An up-and-down season continued with the Knicks hitting a flat note against the Jazz
Sunday I watched Bryce Young lead the Carolina Panthers toe-to-toe against the Kansas City Chiefs, up until Patrick Mahomes and company secured the win on a field goal. Despite the official L, it was for the Panthers a good win for a bad team against a much better team attempting a three-peat. Saturday’s New York Knicks’ loss to the Utah Jazz was a bad loss to a bad team by a team we’ve convinced ourselves is a championship contender. But the team’s two shiny new toys, Mikal Bridges and Karl-Anthony Towns, struggled as a now 3-11 team danced around them.
One run of 17 consecutive points was all New York could muster against the longer, taller Utah youth. Walker Kessler recorded three blocks in his first game since November 9. And that run wasn’t driven by Bridges or Towns, let alone Jalen Brunson; it was sixth man Cameron Payne and two-way star OG Anunoby who led the charge. Jericho Sims had some nice minutes in that span as well, in what has to be one of the greatest midseason turnarounds for any New York youth this decade. The Knicks entered the fourth quarter down nine, Lauri Markkanen caught two crosscourt lobs from Jordan Clarkson and Collin Sexton and the Jazz never looked back.
It was an embarrassing effort all around for a team that will tell anyone who will listen they hold themselves to a high standard. The problem is they’ve yet to reveal that standard at any point over their first 16 games. Therein lies the only redeeming quality to the team’s start to the season: it’s just that. A start. David Fizdale’s Knicks – may all of them but Mitchell Robinson rest in peace with the swords they fell on – got 22 games before changes were made. This year’s team under Tom Thibodeau has the benefit (?) of a much higher ceiling. But with that comes the illusion of floors that are lower, still. Maybe they are. I don’t know. It’s hard to pinpoint north, south, east, or west when you first get off a roller coaster. New York is still on one.
Notes
Another game, another defensive highlight for Pacôme Dadiet.
The 19-year-old drafted to be a Eurostash told fans he’d be playing with the Knicks this season. He didn’t lie. And if that one play can turn into two, three – four, even – he’s got as good a chance as anyone at earning Thibs’ trust. At this point any spot off the bench that isn’t Miles McBride’s is up for grabs.
Bridges struggled again, perhaps more than he has all season: 7 points on 3-of-15 shooting, 1-of-7 from three. It’s the first game he was flat on offense all four quarters. Hopefully that’s an outlier. Saturday was only the second time this season he didn’t record an assist, the other the loss in Houston. Blame it on the rest of the offense shooting poorly (39 percent from the field), blame it on Mikal getting the yips, but don’t blame it on Leon Rose. Some things are unprecedented. Saturday’s version of Bridges becoming the standard fare would and should surprise. His defense was somewhat of a redeeming quality for at least the first half of the game.
Reasons not to bet the house on single game plus-minus: Josh Hart was a team-worst -37. He was not their worst player, nor were his efforts a net negative. Hart finished with 17/6/6, three blocks and two steals in 40 minutes (of course). His hot 3-point shooting continued with his 2-of-4 from deep lifting him to 36 percent on the year.
You can’t talk Knick 3-pointers without talking Anunoby. I called him a two-way star earlier, and that was keeping my bias in check. He shot 7-of-12 from three en route to a 27-point performance, to go along with 3 steals and 2 blocks. Anunoby scored the most important basket of the night, in my opinion. There’s an argument for him being New York’s best player this year. We’ll pencil that conversation in for later.
Anyone who’s ever called Karl-Anthony Towns soft got some much-needed fuel after his Saturday night. He got straight-up bullied by Markkanen, Kessler and John Collins, who weren’t altering KAT’s shots so much as keeping him out of reach for Brunson and other distributors. Thibs and Towns have to figure out how to combat big lineups like Utah’s. It’s hard to ignore Towns’ struggles when Sims is having a better night.
Lastly, on Sims: He has outperformed whatever his career-best play is time and time again of late, flashing a feel for the game we’d not seen prior. His ability to manage 15 minutes a night until Robinson returns raises New York’s ceiling, and not just slightly. Imagine a world where Thibs didn’t trust Sims. Taj Gibson is enjoying life in Charlotte with the Hornets. Where else would we turn? (Ed. note: Former Knicks and Thibs henchmen Joakim Noah and Nazr Mohammed are available)
As in all things, New York’s latest downfall (if you’re willing to stretch the narrative around a November loss that far) provides an opportunity. Tonight Brunson and the Knicks face Nikola Jokić and the Denver Nuggets in the third leg of their five-game road trip. A convincing win over a team that just stomped the Los Angeles Lakers would be a nice rebound. But at some point, and hopefully soon, the Knicks will either plateau or stabilize. Given preseason projections, the latter would imply a failed season, the former hope for a lengthy postseason. Nothing’s decided after just 16 games. But everything’s on the table.