Rule number 1 in the life of every person who is a fan or a loser group ever: Do not develop expectations. And what did New York Knicks fans, one of the most failing clubs in the NBA, do ahead of the 2021/22 season? Develop expectations. And what are New York Knicks fans doing these days really? What they are used to doing in the current millennium – seeing too many groups above them in the Eastern table, grabbing their head and waiting for the news.
We will begin the story of New York Model 21/22 with its first game of the season – October 20, 2021, Boston arrives at Madison Square Garden for an intriguing Oriental battle aired on national television network ESPN. I entered the “hit” three hours before the first ball went into the air and from that moment it was impossible not to soak up the special atmosphere.
Over 20,000 blue shirts with the club logo were waiting for the crowd on the chairs, a host of fans had already managed to buy and wear a jersey of the new acquisition Kamba Walker who returned home to the Big Apple, and in general there was a feeling of hope in the air. As if all the holes from last season were clogged, and the fact that the Knicks finished the preseason with a 0-4 balance (after a basket win with Julius Randall’s buzzer against Washington and Danny Abdia in the fourth game) must have helped with enthusiasm.
Then they started playing basketball in the Garden. Jaylen Brown was passionate about the Celtics with a new career record of 46 points, but after 58 crazy minutes – the Knicks came out with a 134: 138 victory. Randall shelled out 35 points alongside 9 assists and 8 rebounds, Owen Fournier celebrated a club record of premieres (32) and outside the hall cries of “Fuck Trey Young!” Were heard in tremendous volume. And he was born the most viral phrase of the season in New York – “Bing Bong”. That viral moment from that night along with a host of great clips – in the video below. must watch.
After finishing regular season last year in fourth place (in the city where this text was written not talking about what happened in the first round of the playoffs), everything seemed ready for another magical season in New York in hopes that it would end in a slightly sweeter taste, but as time went on the Knicks went back and lost. Their identity. Tom Thibodeau’s team opened the season with a 1: 5 balance and even held a positive balance of 21:22 on January 15, but since then it has suffered 17 losses in 20 games (after the painful loss with the buzzer this morning in Phoenix it counts 7 in a row) And dropped to 12th place in the East. How did it happen? And what next? Let’s see.
Knicks Season Opener pic.twitter.com/RkzFM5O1pi
– Sidetalk (@sidetalknyc) October 21, 2021
Falling star
One of the pleasant surprises of last season in the best league in the world was the rise of Julius Randall (clicked on the column from April 2021) who simply became the hero of New York. The infamous player was suddenly named All-Star and won the title of the best player of the season, Jeff Van Gandy said he was “almost always the best player on the floor” and no one had an explanation for the psychic improvement in his shooting, but Randall’s fame passed her very quickly and naturally. The glory of the Knicks.
Randall averages 19.8 points per game this season (10 rebounds and 5.2 assists) compared to 24.1 points last year (10.2 rebounds and 6 rebounds), with the drop being reflected primarily in percentages: from 46% from the field and 41% from three to 41.5% From the field and 30% of three. By the way, during the season Randall had a streak of 19 games in which he was not the Knicks’ leading scorer (last season his longest negative streak was three games), and his season record still stands at 35 from the opening game. Consequences – shouts of contempt directly from the Garden stands (especially after negligent losses) and one unusual incident during January in which Randall signaled to Knicks fans to be quiet, which led to his apology on social media.
When he’s 27, Randall’s record seems to be behind him and he will not be able to recreate the dream season he went through when the stands were empty, but that does not mean he can not contribute to the Knicks in a slightly less significant role. What this does mean is that he is no longer the face of the club, and to the delight of the fans they have a worthy replacement who must get the keys and become the landlord.
Rising star
While the NBA’s big hit is the second draft of the 2019 draft (Ja Morant), the third pick of that draft, RJ Barrett, is becoming the Garden’s big hit. Barrett is Manhattan’s favorite player and he’s more sympathetic than anyone else at the Knicks’ home games, but if my word’s not enough for you, pay attention: – Bart.
This season Bart keeps the opponent’s best player in every game, he often does a great job (stopping his opponents on 42.6% from the field; Abdia for example leads Washington in this category with 42.4% while also defending the stars) and at the same time the 21-year-old guard Blooms on offense.
Overall this season Barrett has jumped his averages from 17.6 points last year to 18.9, but the big change has come in recent months. Since Jan. 10 Barrett has been one of the best scorers in the NBA with 24.4 points per game and in his last five games until this morning he stood at 29.5, when in the home game against Miami last week he shelled out a career high of 46 points (even though he finished with 14 of 22 from the line). Extended a contract for the player she selected in the first round.
And if we’ve already mentioned Randall and Bart, we must address the following statistic that points to the mismatch between the two: As of March, the top two Knicks players have the second lowest index out of the 50 pairs with the most minutes together on the floor in the NBA. In last place – Kyle Kozma and Cantavius Caldwell Pop.
There’s a star in the Garden pic.twitter.com/jbljDxhFms
— Yoav Modai (@Yoav_Modai) February 26, 2022
Kamba disappoints and Rose is injured then improvises
Kamba Walker was supposed to be the man to lead the Knicks offense, but his season turned into a roller coaster. After an unsuccessful first month in which he was at the bottom of just about every advanced figure – Thibodeau decided to take the veteran coordinator out of the rotation and push him to the edge of the bench, when he is on my toes.
But then almost the entire league went into isolation, Derek Rose was injured (has not returned to this day) and Kamba awoke from the grave straight into the top five against the Boston ex. In that game he scored 29 points, in the next game 21 points, then shelled out a season-high 44 points against the Wizards and then on Dec. 25 swept his team to a win over the Hawks when he became the seventh player ever to record a triple-double at Christmas. But that band-aid did not last long and recently the Knicks decided to shut down Walker again and bring Alec Brex back to the top five.
The problem is this: Brex is not really a coordinator. Is a classic shooting guard who stands at an average of 2 assists per game over an entire decade in the NBA. Try to think of all the opening coordinators in the league, who are usually also the big stars of their teams, and now back to the brakes. The Knicks do not have a playmaker in position 1 and the result of that is in the statistics – New York is ranked in the last place in the league in assists with only 21.5 per game. Fans at the Big Apple want to see more minutes of Emanuel Quickley and Miles McBride, because if they are already losing at least the young coordinators will develop, but too often Thibodeau insists on 30-year-old Brex.
Once saved here
A total of a year ago New York was one of the best defensive teams in the NBA. This was her identity, the rivals knew they were coming to the Garden to scrape points and her defensive index was fourth in nature in the league (107.8). Although the team’s base was maintained (yes, Margie Bullock, Alfred Peyton and Frank Nilikina parted ways) the Knicks dropped to 18th place this season in the defensive index, and when the offense is also dysfunctional (25th in the league in the offensive index), the losses pile up.
After New York’s loss to Philadelphia this week, Randall claimed the Knicks were not fighting defense. Well, for the vast majority of this season, Randall (who is supposed to be the leader, set an example, etc.) is the one who is lazy and does not fight on this side of the field. When he wants Randall can be an excellent guard, but in many posers he just is not focused enough. Even in the loss a few hours to the Suns we saw him lose control and sent off in the third quarter with his side in the lead 10. Recently McBride who was selected 36 in the last draft said he “wants and can keep the best players in the league”, and at 21 he has shown more than once. Does he get less than 7 minutes per game?
The words defense and character have always gone hand in hand, and since the Knicks no longer have defense – they also do not have that much character. That is, even when they show good ability and seem to be on their way to victory, the local crowd knows that it is a matter of time before the opponent’s run arrives. In all of the last five games in which New York has led by 14+ points, it has also lost – losing a 23-point lead in Portland, losing a 21-point lead over the Lakers, losing a 28-point lead at home to the missing Brooklyn, losing a 16-point lead in Philadelphia and losing a 14-point lead in Phoenix. And in the words of Knicks fans on the net: “Our team is finding new ways to lose.”
Julius Randle needs to be benched, consistently allowing this sets a poor example for younger Knicks pic.twitter.com/o0bK1Yf42M
— Alex B. (@KnicksCentral) February 28, 2022
This is the type of stuff we’ve seen far too often from Randle this season…
Wants a foul call. Doesn’t hustle back on defense. Lazily jogs back up the floor. Because he late getting back, he’s forced into a mismatch. Then plays horrible individual defense as a cherry on top pic.twitter.com/vTvI864NlM
— Tommy Beer (@TommyBeer) December 24, 2021
BING BONG OUT, PING PONG IN
The short “bing bong” era from the beginning of the season was very nice but it is far behind us. The same slogan that shook the Garden has become a joke at the expense of the Knicks at every loss, and now it’s time to forget what it was and look ahead to the 2022 Lottery ping pong balls that will determine where New York will choose the 2022 draft.
According to the “Tankathon” website, the Knicks’ chance of choosing first place is 6% compared to 26.3% in the top 4. New York currently holds the eighth worst balance in the league along with Portland and one player who is already on the radar of the people in the city is the guard. Jayden Ivy From Purdue University. Ivy (20, 1.93m, 17.4 points per game) reminds many scouts of Jay Morant in light of his athleticism and first step, he is expected to be selected in the top 5 and because the upcoming round does not include many senior guards – the Knicks need to think well about their next move.
Assuming Ivy or any other coordinator comes through the draft, he will join not a bad young skeleton at all that is in MSG. Barrett is of course his face, and next to him you will find Obi Topin, Mitchell Robinson (who may be leaving in the summer), Cam Radish, Quentin Grimes, Jericho Sims and the guards we mentioned earlier Quickly and “Dos” McBride. With your permission, we will honor Grimes in a few words because he honestly earned them.
Grimes who functions as the shooting guard is New York’s biggest bright spot this season after Barrett, because he brings to the table the shooting that was so lacking for the team. He barely played in the first 26 games of the season, but the Corona outburst on the team gave him a chance against Milwaukee and he netted 7 threes en route to 27 points (the Knicks’ rookie record since the 96/97 season), which set him a permanent place in the rotation. In total this season he stands at 1.7 threes per game at 40% off the arc, a figure that can certainly cheer up the desperate crowd.
Zion fantasy
During the 2018/19 college basketball season the entire United States was enthralled by Duke’s young star trio – Zion Williamson, RJ Barrett and Cam Radish. Bart and Radish are already in the big apple … you understand for yourself what the fans want. Zion has previously expressed his love for New York (admitted before the draft that he would be happy to be selected by the Knicks, said last season that after New Orleans he most likes to play for Garden) and as injuries continue to haunt him – so Pelicans fans are losing patience more and more.
Honestly, people seem to have somewhat forgotten how talented a fucker is. Last season when he was just 20 he was selected to the All-Star and averaged 27 points on 61% from the field, while recording historical numbers within the color. Injury? The fracture in the foot haunts him? It’s time to mention that Joel Ambide missed all of his first two seasons due to a foot injury, and at the end of the current regular season he may pick up the MVP title.
Zion has become the object of ridicule, with even New Orleans laughing at his weight. During a parade held in the city last week, locals prepared a huge installation and called it “1ton” instead of “Zion,” with an overweight cartoon on it saying, “I’m hungry,” and around it dollars. Now the 21-year-old forward’s value is lower than ever and it may be the right move for the Knicks to explore that option this summer and bring Randall back to the Pelicans (with more players / picks), who can contribute to a better Louisiana team with Brandon Ingram and C.J. McCollum.
And what do Knicks fans think of this move? We asked Jordi Bloom, the man from the video above who coined the term “Bing Bong”, and this is what he had to say: “Assuming a healthy fuck, all of New York would be very happy to have it, there would be madness here. It would be hard to give up too many assets for an actor “He’s so injured, but if he reunites with Bart Vardish it will be an amazing story that will show how a combination of talent and friends from college can be reflected in the NBA as well.”
Meanwhile, New York has a basic problem – the team thinks differently from the fans. The crowd has given up on the current season, but Randall announced a few days ago that he and his teammates plan to fight for a place in the playoffs (currently 5.5 games from the playoffs). The audience wants to see the youngsters, but Thibodeau tends to go with the veterans. The Knicks’ most famous fan on the net, Rob Perez, sums up every game of his team on his Twitter page, with his recurring question being “What is our goal for this season?”. This question does not currently have an unequivocal answer, and until it has an unequivocal answer – the disappointing bunch from New York will continue to look lost in the big city.
They made a Zion float in New Orleans and called him “1Ton” ????????????
(???? @darrenrovell) pic.twitter.com/qcit9Cj7b8
— NBACentral (@TheNBACentral) February 26, 2022
With Cam Reddish and RJ Barrett now reunited, The Knicks are only missing Zion Williamson in getting the centerpieces of the 2019 Duke team back together ????
Will the Knicks make a trade for Zion? ???? pic.twitter.com/I3ATBH1nWY
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPointsApp) January 13, 2022