As soon as once more, the Knicks had been outclassed by superior Jap Convention competitors.
Lower than 48 hours after being dismantled by the Cavaliers in a 37-point loss, 142-105, New York suffered its second consecutive humiliating loss, falling 118-105 on the street in opposition to the Celtics.
The Cavaliers (46-10, first in Jap Convention) and Celtics (41-16, second in Jap Convention) are the East’s greatest groups. New York’s incapacity to compete in opposition to each means this crew’s ceiling is probably going the East semifinals.
After going all-in to compete for an NBA title this offseason by buying ahead Mikal Bridges and middle Karl-Anthony Cities, being unable to advance previous the second spherical of the playoffs for the third consecutive season could be a monumental failure.
And that is exactly the place New York seems to be headed.
The Knicks are 0-5 in opposition to the Cavs and Celtics this season, being outscored by a mean of 21.2 factors per recreation. Their protection has struggled every time, permitting a mean of 126.6 factors on 52.6 % taking pictures. Boston and Cleveland have averaged 19.2 threes per recreation on 44.2 % taking pictures from downtown.
With these two groups in agency management of the East’s high two seeds, New York should get previous one among them — barring a monumental first-round upset — to succeed in the convention finals, and sure each to succeed in the NBA Finals for the primary time since 1999.
What’s extra seemingly is the crew might be out of the playoff image by mid-Could and dealing with vital questions on its future path.
Head coach Tom Thibodeau has achieved an ideal job of constructing the Knicks (37-20, third in Jap Convention) respectable once more, however the crew would possibly want a brand new voice on the high to recover from the hump.
As a lot because the crew’s chemistry is constructive, New York should additionally take into account whether or not the Villanova core of Bridges, level guard Jalen Brunson and ahead Josh Hart could make the strides essential to win an NBA championship.
Whereas that is still to be decided, what’s instantly obvious is that the established order will not get it achieved. The Knicks must make modifications to be a severe contender. The remainder of the season may decide how drastic these alterations might be.
