Spurs 122, Knicks 115: A practice in lethargy

Whether tired, apathetic, or both, the Knicks, short RJ Barrett and Jalen Brunson, didn’t play their best against the Spurs and got exposed for it.

Fuck.

…

(Just kidding.)

The Knicks played a basketball game last night in San Antonio. Fresh off of a devastating loss in Dallas that had almost the entire fanbase paralyzed, the Knicks rolled into San Antonio looking to rebound. Unfortunately, they were short-handed once again as both RJ Barrett (expected to be out a week with a finger laceration) and Jalen Brunson were ruled out.  

If you’re reading this, you know what happened. The Knicks came out flat-footed and the Spurs couldn’t miss. It was as if the Knicks expected the Spurs, playing without Devin Vassell, to roll over and let them have this victory. But as Knick fans have become all too familiar, easy victories are becoming rarer and rarer in today’s league.

So what exactly happened to cause the Knicks to lose their fifth game in a row? And how much of it really matters? Let’s dive in.

A practice in lethargy

I’ll be honest, there really isn’t much to break down from this game.

The Spurs, a woeful offense, decided, as many have recently, that the Knicks would be the opponent they couldn’t miss against. And the Knicks acquiesced, refusing to try and make their lives much more difficult. The Spurs got pretty much wherever they wanted on the court using an abundance of off-ball movement and paint penetration. Standout defenders Mitchell Robinson and Quentin Grimes were more susceptible to errors than usual. And Julius Randle, perhaps overtaxed on the offensive end, reverted to his worst habits. The Spurs, whose Head Coach is one of the greatest in NBA history, looked to exploit these Knick woes by attacking the source.

Offensively the Knicks relied on two men — Randle and Immanuel Quickley. With Barrett and Brunson out, the Knicks were short on candidates to run the offense. Randle and Quickley performed admirably, combining to score 77 points on 54 shots. Following a 15-assist, one-turnover game, Quickley backed that up with seven more assists to just one turnover. Quickley has (relatively) struggled with his scoring efficiency this season. His true shooting percentage (TS%) sits at just 53.1%, below average for his position. But shooting isn’t the only form of efficiency. Quickley’s advanced turnover rate provides more possessions for a Knicks offense that can grow stagnant in the half court.

While Quickley and Randle did their best, they desperately needed a third wheel. Probably the most telling statistic of the night is that Evan Fournier, playing his first game in over a month, was the Knicks’ third leading scorer and the only other player in double digits. 

So, ya, two Knicks scored 67% of their points and the opposing team couldn’t miss. Not the best recipe for success. Especially shorthanded.

Where do we go from here?

The Knicks lost this game, but how much can we discern from their effort? The players were likely exhausted. Four different Knicks eclipsed 40 minutes Tuesday night in Dallas. And how many teams can survive without their second- (or arguably first-) and third-best players? Make no mistake, the Knicks should have still beaten San Antonio. They were the more talented team. But nights like these happen in the NBA. I feel perfectly comfortable labeling this a schedule or exhaustion loss. Which brings us back to the original question; if the game was, essentially, meaningless, what can we learn from it?

For starters, this team needs Brunson and Barrett to have any chance. Losing them impacted the Knicks’ depth monumentally, but that’s just the beginning of the effect their absence has. Missing those two players also has compounding effects that hurt the team. Randle (and to a lesser degree, Quickley) is forced to carry such an offensive burden it impacts his defense. Quentin Grimes is forced to slide over to small forward because the Knicks’ biggest weakness is on the wing. 

We also learned what Robinson and Grimes look like when you remove elite defense from the equation. And it isn’t pretty. Those two are the defensive catalysts in the starting lineup. The defense starts and ends with them. Grimes is a dynamo at the point of attack, and Robinson the last line of defense at the rim. While both are improved offensive players, it is rare for either to impact the offense in such a way that their defensive output just doesn’t matter.

Lastly, we are learning exactly how good Quickley is. We are approaching a point where a reasonable argument could be made for giving all 96 guard minutes to the Knicks’ three best guards; Brunson, Grimes and Quickley. Quickley finished the night with 36 points, seven rebounds and seven assists, to just one turnover. And you know what? He left a ton of meat on the bone. Missed shots, poor possessions. This wasn’t even a spectacular performance from him. Some may deride him for it, but I don’t think you’ll find many players who can put up 36-7-7 on a bad night. 

The best part? His biggest strength is his positional versatility. He has shown an ability to play off of other elite initiators like Jalen Brunson, but he has also taken charge when necessary and performed admirably. Even when the team is fully healthy, 20 minutes played is no longer acceptable for Quickley. It’s time for the team to trust this kid and open up pathways to him playing major minutes consistently.

More than anything, this game showed us how fragile the life of an NBA team can be. Especially one that does not have elite talent. The Knicks have no true superstars. Their goal is to be better than the sum of their parts. And more often than not this season, when healthy, they have been. Which is why I am not sweating this game too much. Dark days could be on the horizon. Change may be coming. So forgive me if I’m not up in arms about this loss. The team has moved on to Houston for their next game on Saturday. So should we.