The New York Knicks are 0-2 after falling 107-103 to the Boston Celtics. There are still 80 games left this season, but some seasons get late earlier than expected. They probably won’t go 0-82, but there are a few early trends deserving of a slightly raised eyebrow.
1. Maybe the Knicks don’t have their legs yet
In last year’s Finals, the Knicks were outscored by six points a game over the five first halves. Their fourth-quarter heroics are what’s best remembered, but the foundation for those glories was the grit shown in the third quarters, when on average they halved that gap.
Alas, it's a new season. Two games in, the winless Knicks are winless in part because they’re losing the third quarter. Badly.
The 76ers outscored them 29-18 in the third Tuesday, then in Boston it was the Celtics’ turn, winning the frame 33-24. Is this championship hangover? Every title winner is celebrated, every New York winner even more so, but the Knicks were basically Beatlemania last summer. It’s a long way down from the heights they reached, and you don't use your legs when you're falling.
Could that be showing up late in games, their former forte when they were in peak form? Repeating in today’s NBA is hard enough without making it an uphill battle every fourth quarter.
2. The bigs are coming up small
Andre Drummond was feted for what he did in the first half of his first game as a Knick: 10 points, 12 boards, a +7 rating, impacting the game on both ends with his rebounding, his length, his strength. Since then, it’s been a different story.
Friday in Boston was a night he’d probably like to forget. Though Mitchell Robinson didn't have a big night against his former team, another uninspiring Drummond stretch means he’s now played 14 minutes since Tuesday’s first half; since then, he has four points, four rebounds and is a -21.
In a game featuring Karl-Anthony Towns, Drummond and Mitchell Robinson, no big was more impactful than Neemias Queta, while Luke Garza was a one-man insurrection in a first-half flare-up.
The Knicks would prefer consistency. If they don’t get it from Drummond, they could look elsewhere. Exhibit A: James Wiseman made his Knick debut. It was only a couple of minutes, but Mike Brown is more likely to want to see what he has in the young talent than not. Especially if Drummond isn't a compelling alternative.
The offense hasn’t gotten on track the first two games, and is a far cry from what we saw last spring. There are a lot of reasons for that, one of the simplest being Towns isn’t the Point Towns version who revolutionized their attack en route to the title.
KAT dished five dimes a night in the postseason, nearly two for every turnover. This season he has four assists total, and twice as many turnovers.
Figure Towns will figure it out sooner than later. Figure he better, because...
3. The marathon is just getting started
The Knicks played more games last season than anyone besides the Spurs. They opened this season on short rest, certainly less than their rivals. Now after losing to the 76ers and Celtics, they’ve put themselves in a difficult spot when they get further down the road.
The simplest way to win a tiebreaker with any team is to win the head-to-head matchup. The only way the Knicks can do that with the Celtics or Sixers would be to sweep their remaining six games against them. That is a high degree of difficulty.
It may seem too distant to matter now, but it does. Losing a tiebreaker can be the difference between an easy opponent and a nightmare. When you’re running the marathon the Knicks are, even a tough opening-round foe who they beat could be enough of a drain to help the next opponent drag them down short of the finish line.
And there’s no let-up in the schedule, with home games against physical sides Orlando and Detroit followed by trips to Chicago and Philadelphia. Whatever the reason for their early days malaise, if the Knicks don’t fix it sooner than later their later may come sooner than they'd hoped.
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