The truth of the night is not far from being that… of this start of the season. The glories of the 2020-21 season are now far into retro, and the madness that gripped Madison Square Garden last spring is matched only by the disappointment to see the Knicks back in troubled waters since. the resumption in October. As my Uncle Marcel would say, they will end up making us goat.
New fashion in New York? Having five starters slammed to the ground and substitutes who provide. We are going to decide straight away while … putting a little nuance even if the first part of the sentence does not match the second: last year Julius Randle played like an MVP, RJ Barrett had every reason to world to believe in a bright future and in early fall the arrivals of Kemba Walker and Evan Fournier promised Knicks fans even more show failing to guarantee a defense as solid as in the previous year. To make it short, we had all invested in a Knicks jersey, that’s how it works, but for two months … we left like in 40, always according to my Uncle Marcel, with a team more in the spotlight for its poor performances, because the Knicks remain the Knicks, with all the love and respect we have for this franchise.
The big problem this time around? Probably the fact that those who are supposed to be the leaders of the revolt are rather… the stick in the wheel of the bicycle, the bicycle which brings down the peloton. On the front line Julius Randle, light years away from his level at N-1 now that he has signed his contract. Julius keeps his hustler side but struggles to the death to dominate against defenses that await him at the turn, and without its interior All-Star New York has no solution underneath. The exteriors? The Kemba parenthesis lasted a few days but the sidelining of the mad crosseur in November means a lot to a guy as embarrassed by his knees as embarrassing by his defense and his chronic clumsiness. Evan Fournier had offered a big start to the season but now seeks himself in attack while having lost his bite in defense, RJ Barrett is perhaps the one who is doing the best but cannot be the hero, and in the end l ‘together gives us a starting five that drools, often saved by … the replacements of Tom Thibodeau, the flower of New York youth, which is best in the role players category.
That night against the Pistons? The invincible Pistons (5 wins and 28 losses)? While impeccable Hamidou Diallo and Saddiq Bey were doing the job on the Detroit side, Alec Burks, Immanuel Quickley and Obi Toppin thus scored the… last 31 points for the Knicks, including a small 20 for Alec Burks alone during the last quarter alone., confirming a relentless observation: the blue collar workers of Tom Thibodeau have again saved the day for starters. The famous stat of +/- is also cold in the back. – 27 for Randle, – 29 for Barrett, – 22 for Mitchell Robinson, – 21 for Kemba and – 17 for Quentin Grimes, that’s for starters. Facing the Pistons we reminded. The replacements? Between + 27 and + 39 for the magic trio Quickley – Toppin – Burks and the friends Taj Gibson and Miles McBride. We say how already in DM3 when the coach changes his whole five after a 10-2 in one minute? Ah yes, “American change”. Anyway, the Knicks are doing today with an almost miraculous 17-18 record, miraculous if we weigh the level displayed and the difficulties encountered.
The solution to bringing warm evenings back to Madison Square Garden? Not the revolution no, but rather expect the presumed leaders to really be. Because it passes against Luka Garza and Derrick Walton, but watch your eyes when the shadow of the Playoffs points the tip of his nose, if however the Knicks manage to reach them in the spring.
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