The Knicks came out extremely flat on the second night of a road back-to-back in Indiana, falling behind by nearly 30 before dropping back below .500.

If the 2022 Knicks were a murder mystery, last night’s 122-102 loss in Indianapolis was more of the mounting evidence that the culprit is still at-large. The initial suspects – Kemba Walker and Mitchell Robinson were both demoted from the starting lineup or the rotation altogether – may have disappointed this season, but not at a felony level. Julius Randle and RJ Barrett have struggled mightily shooting compared to last year, but both do enough other things to remain productive members of society. Where do we turn to next in our investigation of a sub-.500 team that’s currently out of the playoffs and even the play-in? How about the head coach?

Tom Thibodeau had success this year shaking up his starters, first replacing Walker with Alec Burks in Atlanta, then benching Mitchell Robinson for Nerlens Noel in Dallas; the Knicks won both games thanks to heroic performances from Burks and Noel. Last night Noel was out with a sore lower back and Thibodeau replaced him with Taj Gibson, which will not go down in history as crossing out “Pipp” and writing in “Gehrig,” or even “Mitch” with “Noel.” Would Thibs consider starting Obi Toppin alongside Randle at center? That might have helped last night, when New York had but one field goal in the first six minutes.

The offense didn’t just struggle with production. Too often the shot clock is down to 12 when the Knicks get into a set. Too often that leads to this: the defense has countered the Knicks’ first two options, so now Barrett or Immanuel Quickley or Evan Fournier are 30 feet from the basket with the shot clock down to five seconds, forced to make a move against a defense with time on its side. The Knicks are 23rd in defensive rating after giving up 122 last night, and honestly that could have been worse – the Pacers shot 60% from the field and nearly that well from 3-point range in the first half. Maybe it’s time to embrace the best defense being a good offense.

Would Thibs consider moving RJ to the bench? It could benefit the player and the team. Barrett looks good getting up the floor with the quicker reserves, and any minutes with the subs are minutes he’s more likely to operate with the ball in his hands rather than playing off Randle. For Barrett and the Knicks’ long-term ceiling, he needs more reps as the initiator. Last night the starters shot 38% from the floor and all five had negative plus/minus ratings. Meanwhile, Indiana rookie Chris Duarte, scored 23 to lead the Pacers; their starters made 65% of their shots and outscored the Knick starters 97-59. That’s a striking disparity, but it’s not unheard of this year. The Knicks made big changed to their starting lineup in the offseason. So far, it hasn’t amounted to much good.

Indiana was up double-digits at the half and used a 10-0 run to open the third to pull away. Last year the Knicks gave up just under 105 points a game; last night they’d surrendered 96 entering the fourth. Midway thru the quarter, RJ appeared to be free for a breakaway that would have cut the gap to 13, but Myles Turner hustled after him to block the shot, leading to a Brad Wanamaker lay-up on the other end and a 12-0 run that buried whatever faint hope remained.

Notes

• Fournier’s got a lil’ Antonio Cromartie in him. If you remember the former Jets defensive back, dude was a legit playmaker – for either team. He seemed to either intercept every ball thrown his way or give up a 40-yard completion. Fournier’s turnovers always seem to be pick-6s, but he also has quick hands in tight places that lead to steals. Whatever’s happening around him, there’s always something happening around him.

• Turner fouled RJ on a 3-point attempt. I can never see a Pacer foul a Knick behind the arc without remembering Larry Johnson.

• Per Kenny Albert: the Pacer record for most rebounds in a game is 29, held by OAKAAKUYOAK Herb Williams

• Jeremy Lamb has succeeded Sleepy Sam Perkins as the Most Laconic NBA Player. Coincidentally, Big Sam spent time in Indiana, too.

• Every time I hear “Wanamaker” my brain wants it to be Buttermaker from the Bad News Bears.

• Rebecca Haarlow spoke with Metta Sandiford-Artest in the crowd. He mentioned three Queensbridge Projects who ended up playing for the Pacers: Vern Fleming, Sean Green and Metta. This is my chance to harp on Fleming, who I had like a million of his basketball cards for some cosmic reason and who was once NBA Player of the Week. Vern could ball.

Quoth Walt Frazier: “No fire.” What does this L mean? The Knicks are two games out of a playoff spot, tied in the loss column for a play-in spot and a game ahead of Toronto for 12th in the East. Guess who their next game is against? The Raptors, in Toronto, tomorrow night. That’s a tough game and maybe as big a 26th game of the season as it gets: next week New York hosts Milwaukee and Golden State before traveling to suddenly unbeatable Houston and then Boston. Just win, baby.