As sports fans, our teams give us plenty to think about and then some. They give us stuff to bicker, to complain, to ramble about. We follow their every move meticulously, we break down the potential of prospective grocery baggers and hail them as the next coming. We love to read or listen to others doing the same, even or especially if we do not agree with their viewpoints. Lucky fanatics get something to cheer about every once in a while – consider that box checked by our beloved New York Knickerbockers
lately.
Understandably, that focus on one team, that love for one franchise can lead to kind of a narrow view on things at times. Nothing wrong with that; fandom doesn’t have to be rational, it doesn’t have to explain itself. And it does not necessarily have to involve the other team’s perspective or, frankly, the other team at all. At times though, that group in the different colored jerseys is the biggest answer to the question you have regarding your own squad’s performance.
Last night felt exactly like that kind of game where the Knicks did a lot of stuff well, but in the end the Cleveland Cavaliers just did most of it a little bit better. And when the Knicks didn’t do something as well, it was also the Cavaliers who had a hand in that. From the opening tip, it was obvious that the Cavs wanted this one – analytically and this time around actually in reality, too. They remembered last Saturday when New York rained on their Rocket Arena parade on the second night of a back-to-back; they surely remembered the last time they visited Madison Square Garden. And it looked like they were tired of the narrative that had them as the soft wannabes that can’t keep up when the orange and blue drivers push the pedals to the metal.
Cavaliers put an end to Knicks’ winning streak
Donovan Mitchell lived in the lane for most of the night; every high slip screen was an automatic downhill and kick opportunity for the team from Ohio, and their old and new length bothered the smaller Knicks for long stretches of the game. Peyton Watson might not be able to hit the water from the Verrazzano Bridge right now, but he sure can impact a game defensively. A lot of the Ohioans were feeling good about themselves; Tyrese Proctor and Meleek Thomas gave youthful, quality energy off the bench. And then, of course, there was James Harden. That guy who is a poster child for a lot of ugly wrongs in the modern game, the one who has been awful all year long so far but decided to show up for this one and give his team a vintage performance in the very building he crapped the postseason bed in just half a year ago.
So even if, at least in Harden’s case, it’s hard to stomach, let’s follow Knicks Fan in Jerusalem’s proposal from the Postgame Thread that gave this text its headline. Let’s credit the Cavaliers for a game well played, for shots hit, for storms weathered. But as the headline and our friend in Israel suggested, there’s another side to the story, a “but”. Tipping our collective cap to the Cavs sure doesn’t mean the Knicks can’t do a lot of things better in the future. Jalen Brunson had a good scoring game yet failed to deliver any rhythm to the offense. Too many times the ball just stuck on the perimeter (a particular problem for OG Anunoby right now), and there wasn’t nearly enough off-ball movement to stretch a much bigger defense that wants you to finish over their size.
That size played quite a role in yesterday’s contest, be it on the boards or in the passing lanes. Unfortunately, the Knicks won’t get any taller, that’s for sure. Mike Brown tried to counter Cleveland’s length by going to Mohamed Diawara early in the absence of Jordan Clarkson. Mo had a nice drive and, in theory, could be a solution for physical matchup problems like this one, but clearly isn’t there yet. The young Frenchman seems unsure about himself, plays hesitantly, and is missing the wide-open shots he knocked down in his sleep last season. His defense mostly looks good but not good enough to warrant a bigger role yet.
So, what’s happening with Mikal Bridges?
Aside from plenty of mental lapses, missing open shots was a problem for Josh Hart last night as well, but we excuse the veteran as he clearly had to shake off some rust after his injury break. That doesn’t change the fact that his lack of consistent outside shooting can become an issue at times, especially against good teams that willingly put roaming defenders on him. Normally, he adds so many other intangibles that you can live with it in the bigger picture more often than not. In Mikal Bridges’ case, though, well, what’s there right now? Hounding defense? Don’t see it consistently. A presence off the ball? Nope. Secondary scoring? Corner threes? Emotion? Desperation? Anything?
Bridges once again played an uneventful, meager 17 minutes in this one. Plenty of the other guards – Deuce McBride, Landry Shamet, and Tyler Kolek – currently do everything Bridges is paid for and actually a bit more. The longer this situation drags on, the louder Mike Brown will hear the question: When will you make a change to the starting lineup? It’s easy to understand why he’s reluctant; he sure doesn’t want to create an internal problem by benching someone who did his part in winning a championship last year. But what if the problem is creating itself? There’s a tipping point to everything.
For the Knicks, this game won’t be one, and it shouldn’t be. There might be some stuff to think about, though, going forward. Just like we want to have it as fans.
