Before and after Tuesday’s game in Utah, security guard Austin Rivers pointed out that the Knicks are “tired.” And he indicated that it was not only physical, but also mental.
Rivers, the most outspoken Knick, initially blamed it on a grueling road list. The Knicks were on the road in a pandemic for 13 of their first 19 games – one piece ended with Tuesday’s 108-94 collapse against the Jazz.
After the Knicks were toppled by an embarrassing 28-13 count in the fourth quarter, Rivers said he didn’t know the reason, but blowing a 15-point lead and not showing a fight in the last quarter was proof.
“I mean boys were dead,” Rivers said. So I don’t know what the reason was. But when we looked around with six minutes to go in the fourth, it didn’t look like we were ourselves as a unit. Only our energy changed the second half. They became more physical. They have taken the fight to us. It just felt like it was falling apart there. “
It was a damning accusation for a team built on persistence – not offensive talent. Rivers, who scored 25 runs in the first half and none in the second, did not blame the minute split as the cause. Nor did he specify the demanding road safety protocols.
But Tom Thibodeau’s minutes could become a problem if the 8-11 Knicks, who lost three straights, fail to reverse when they return to Garden Friday against Cleveland after the eight-day four-game western swing.
Thibodeau is revered throughout the league for his insight into coaching, but his approach to winning at all costs has produced opponents. A short rotation and an inability to give up on bursts and use its depth is evident in the first 19 games.
Julius Randle (36.7) and RJ Barrett (36.4), his two main cogs, are now second and fourth, respectively, in minutes per game in the NBA. During the fourth-quarter hit on Tuesday, Thibodeau kept Barrett on track until 1:19 was left, 17 behind. Barrett ended up logging 40:22.
It could have been a moment to give 2017 lottery pick Frank Ntilikina some action. Ntilikina, now healthy, did not play for the second game in a row after being out for 3½ weeks with a sprained knee.
Thibodeau does not easily throw in the towel. Against the Nets on January 13, Brooklyn won in defeat. It seemed like an obvious opportunity to put Randle aside and give rookie Obi Toppin, back in his first game from a calf injury, a chance to work his way into form.
Thibodeau kept Randle in the game and the Knicks made a frantic comeback. But the Knicks would have needed a miracle to bring home the win. They eventually expired, 116-109, winning some compliments on national TV for the comeback attempt. There was indeed short-term success, but it raised questions as to whether this was best for the long term.
Before Tuesday’s game, Rivers said of the first 19 games, “I don’t know how a schedule could be more difficult than what we’ve played. Physically and mentally.”
63-year-old Thibodeau, an old-school New Englander Bill Belichick loves, doesn’t want to hear about a difficult schedule or fatigue. And now it should get easier with 11 of the next 16 in the Garden.
“The schedule is the schedule,” Thibodeau said of Rivers’s comments. ‘It’s in balance. Sometimes it is to your advantage. The thing that makes this a bit more unusual with the COVID stuff is you run into teams that don’t have a longer period of time [like in Portland]. But that’s all part of it. You could probably find an excuse for every game. You have to watch out for that. You have to have the mental toughness to get through everything. ”