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One of the season's most exciting comebacks took place at Madison Square Garden. The New York Knicks fans witnessed a ridiculous buzzer-beating bank shot 3-pointer byRJBarrett that capped a 24 point rally and win against the Boston Celtics.
It was the Knicks' fifth victory in their last seven games and a reason for joy in the home locker room. But for Julius Randle, whose 22 points and eight rebound helped New York's great escape, something seemed off when he sat down at the podium.
The answers were terse and clipped. He was asked what message he was trying to send by giving a thumbs down to the hometown fans after a bucket midway through the fourth quarter.
The Knicks trailed by double figures early in the game and the fans at the MSG booed them.
It was a release of frustration that was indicative of a season that hasn't gone how the Knicks had hoped. The Knicks' run to the No. 4 seed in the Eastern Conference in the first half of the 2021-22 season was a feel-good story.
Wednesday, January 19
The Hornets are at the Celtics.
The Clippers are at the Nuggets.
On Friday, January 21.
Raptors at Wizards.
On Wednesday, January 26.
The Spurs are at the Grizzlies.
The Suns are at Jazz.
All times Eastern.
The pillars of New York's run have yielded mediocre results as the Knicks are fighting for a spot in the play-in.
One question is posed, which ending is ahead for the Knicks, last season's frantic finish for home-court advantage or another seat at the lottery?
The Knicks are a classic example of what happens when you go from hunter to hunted, according to an Eastern Conference executive.
The Knicks' breakthrough season in 2020-21 was powered by four key factors: Randle's rise into an All-NBA player, New York finishing with the league's No. 4 defense, Rose's resurgence as a Sixth Man finalist and Barrett's sophomore leap.
The pillars of last season's surprise run are in danger of collapsing.
Last season's Most Improved Player has seen his shooting numbers decline from 41% on 3s to 31% in the next two seasons.
This year's 31% clip from behind the 3-point line is the third highest of his career. Second Spectrum's tracking shows that Randle is among the top five in difficulty of shots created off the dribble. Among the 31 players who have run at least 225 isolation and post-up plays, he ranks 27th in efficiency.
He has seen his points per drive drop from 1.12 last season to 1.03 this season, which is 32nd out of 63 players with at least 100 direct drives.
A Western Conference scout said that they thought they had a guy that they would be able to build around. It might not be the case.
He's not an All-NBA player like he was last year, according to a second Eastern Conference executive. That's a big change.
USA TODAY Sports' Wendell Cruz.
The Knicks are behind their player. The coach has pointed out the ways in which his star is impacting the game beyond making shots, while his teammates have preached the importance of his energy on the court.
The team's defense has been a bigger issue than the offense. The team that slipped to 16th from its fourth-ranked unit last season is being led by a defensive guru.
Poor transition defense and a decline in 3-point defense are two of the main reasons. New York went from 11th to 27th in the transition rankings this season, allowing 1.33 points per possession.
The Knicks were the best team in the NBA at defending against 3-pointers. They were the luckiest of all of them. The Utah Jazz had a bigger difference in the league than the 2.3% gap between what their opponents shot and what they were expected to shoot.
The gap has dropped this year. The Knicks are 15th in opponent 3-point percentage allowed.
Rose will be out until the All-Star break in mid-February because of a right ankle injury.
The Knicks are scoring 9.8 points per 100 possessions better with Rose on the court compared to the starting unit.
Rose averaged 19.4 points per game and hit over 47% of his 3s in the first round of the playoffs, but the Hawks limited his impact as the team lost to Atlanta.
"Just having his leadership out there, just making the game a lot easier, that's what I like about him," Knicks forward Taj Gibson said. He makes it a lot easier for the young guys. A lot of guys had to step up when he wasn't here.
Through the first half of the season,Barrett failed to build on the career-best numbers he flashed in his sophomore campaign.
After scoring 15 points on 40% shooting through the end of December,Barrett has started to turn things around. He's averaged 23 points in January on 45% shooting from the floor and 44% from 3-point range, which is the same number he had in his first two-plus seasons.
Last week, after missing six games due to COVID-19, he said he was feeling good again. His play supports that belief.
After three games in which he played in the mid-20s, he scored 26 points against Oklahoma City on New Year's Eve. Since then, the 21-year-old wing has averaged 23 points, 6 rebound and 3.3 assists per game, and has hit over 44% of his shots from 3.
Evan Fournier said recently that there's no ceiling on what he can do. He becomes less predictable when he scores on all three levels. He can do what he does best, which is be aggressive and drive.
He draws a lot of attention and he's a willing passer so it makes the job easy for everyone. Hopefully he keeps going.
The Knicks continued their remaking process last week, when they traded Kevin Knox and a protected first-round pick to the Atlanta Hawks for forward Cam Reddish, who they hope can improve with a change of scenery.
New York's signings of Kemba Walker off waivers and Fournier via a sign and trade with the Celtics haven't had an impact on the Knicks' offense, which continues to rank among the league's bottom third.
Play.
The Knicks might make another move to complete the team after trading for Cam Reddish.
Walker was benched early in the season after New York's starting lineup was getting outscored by more than 15 points per 100 possessions while playing more minutes than any five-man unit in the NBA. After the team's COVID-19 outbreak, Walker only returned to the court when Thibodeau had no choice but to play him.
Walker missed three weeks with knee soreness after playing nearly 36 minutes per game over a six-game stretch in late December.
The Knicks' issues this season are out of their control. They haven't experienced the burden of expectations in almost a decade.
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The Knicks were predicted to finish with one of the worst records. They had a.500 record through the first half of the season, but went on to win 14 of their final 18 games. It wasn't going to be the same as following up with a nearly identical record.
"It's a long season," he said. We started last season the same way.
This isn't last season's East. Two of the East's bottom five teams last season, the Chicago Bulls and Cleveland Cavaliers, are currently in a race for the conference's best record. The Toronto Raptors are back in the mix as a play-in contender after finishing 12th in the Eastern Conference.
The second-easiest remaining schedule in the league is owned by New York, but last season's No. 4 seed appears to face a steep climb back there.
"It's hard to argue that the Knicks should be anything other than what they are right now," the Western Conference executive said. I don't think Kemba, Fournier or even Rose will get better defensively when he's healthy, and I don't think Julius will be more efficient when he's healthy.
They haven't been able to repeat last year's success because everything fell into place.
While the Knicks have won five of their last eight games, they still have a ways to go to replicate last season's formula, which was a stout defense and just enough offense led by Randle, Barrett and Rose.
Each day you can't look back, and you can't look too far down the road. You just have to look at it. Today, put everything into it.
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